Currently Running Manga Discussion

[LumRanmaYasha]

New Weekly Manga Recap Visual Edition compiling the WMR guys' original thoughts on the first 20 chapters of World Trigger.

Hey, I was wondering when Infamous would make this. Made my day. I wonder what they'll think about this when they see it (they'll hopefully mention it on next week's podcast). It's hilarious to listen to them ranting so negatively and pessimistically about the early chapters of the series, considering how much they love and rave about it now. 

"Why are bothering to remember the names of the characters in this series? I'm going to go out on a limb and say this series will be cancelled under 20 chapters."
"I know we're only 5 chapters in, but I feel like we're coming to the end of World Trigger"
"Would it be any great loss for us? No. We'd just have one less excuse to mention how much we hate this guy's facial expressions"
"If this manga gets more than 16 chapters, oh my god, the manga reading population of Japan has no fucking taste"

They'll never live those statements down. 

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's funny, I've been watching the anime and I enjoy it. But I do see a lot of pessimism centered on World Trigger in general and I'm not really sure why. It's certainly no masterpiece like Naruto or Bleach, but it at least has consistent characters that actually do things.

[LumRanmaYasha]

That's funny, I've been watching the anime and I enjoy it. But I do see a lot of pessimism centered on World Trigger in general and I'm not really sure why. It's certainly no masterpiece like Naruto or Bleach, but it at least has consistent characters that actually do things.

You're watching the anime? Are you caught up? As much as I enjoy the manga, I couldn't stand watching the anime, for the same reasons I can't watch the OP anime anymore. I recently checked out clips of how they handled parts of the Invasion arc, and it gave me bad Toriko anime flashbacks (well, I suppose it's not that bad, but still).

I should point out that video only shows the WMR guys opinions on the first 20 or so chapter of World Trigger, and it's funny how negative they were back then because they LOVE it now. WT discussion is arguably now the cornerstone of the podcast. In fact, RolloT now considers it his fifth favorite manga.

Spoiler

I am terrible at remembering series and ranking them. I usually need to quickly remind myself what they were about for me to truly appreciate them, so I am positive there are some here that I am missing. Also, after the first five there is no order. Just a collection of series I really liked which are undoubtedly missing several key mentions.

1) One Piece

Not really a surprise considering the forum, and my views on WMR. One Piece is the most important manga to me. It meant a lot to me when I was reading through it, and to this day I can't think of another series that has fit my tastes so perfectly. Great combination of art, writing, comedy, drama, creative powers, utilized supporting cast, and fantastic locations. Just excellent, and the direct inspiration for most of my writing.

2) 20th Century Boys

Even after all these years I still love the mystery of this series. Kanna is one of, if not my all time favorite female lead in a series, and Urawara has such a profound way of writing very human characters. After LOST ended, I discovered LOST the manga, and it holds a place in my heart for absolutely hooking me into the plot. That Friend reveal... still makes me angry in the best way.

3) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

All the parts, though part four is my favorite. I haven't followed Jojolion since I stopped mentioning it for the recap, but this series is still incredible. Not just for its unique style, but also for the memories I have because of it. I connected very tightly with JewWario because of this series, and I'll forever treasure it because of that fact.

4) Eyeshield 21

I love sports series, and no sports series did it better than Eyeshield 21. It was an incredible series with a wonderfully developed cast that all grew over the course of a ludicrously exciting series. Everyone got their moments to shine. I still get goosebumps reading through the Naga and Oujo matches, and I love it despite that clumsy World Tournament ending. Just an amazing series.

5) World Trigger

This is probably too high for a series that isn't all that old, but I really do adore the hell out of World Trigger. Osamu is the perfect kind of lead for me, and the series continues to impress by expanding on its world and giving everyone a little bit of development. I really do regret being a big sourpuss on it early on—even if it was justified.

And from here, no real order. Just series I liked.

- Holyland (I can't remember if I liked it that much during our recap, but I loved it by the end. Some compelling writing and great, semi-realistic action)
- Magi (Haven't read it in a while, but the Kassim Arc was fantastic)
- Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (If for no other reason than Sicks. Holy fuck, Sicks...)
- Shokugeki no Souma (I still have a lot to catch up on, but this has been one of the most compelling series in Jump recently)
- Vinland Saga (Another series I have fallen behind on, but one of the few edgey manga I feel has a real point to the gore and violence)
- Bakuman (Apocalypse Dragon ending or not, Obata and Ohba crafted a great series that really is a must read for manga fans)
- Silver Spoon (Another series I'm behind on, but man did I enjoy it. I can't explain why either. It's a farming manga that is just compelling)
- Cross Manga (I wasn't high on it at first, but absolutely won me over. Sad that it is gone, but so glad we got it. I really hope we see Kaito-sensei again)
- Rurouni Kenshin (Classic series that holds up pretty well. Anju vs Sano is still probably one of my top 5 fights of all time)
- Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (A WMR recommendation that was a great read. It got me to almost cry over a fucking lizard, so that has to count for something)
- Change 123 (I barely remember anything from this series, but I remember really liking it)
- REAL (Most recent recommendation on here. I loved what REAL told, and how brutally honest it was at times)
- Shin Angyo Onshi (I still love this series, and Mushi is still one of the biggest badasses I know. Dude punched god while he was armless)
- Liar Game (I am way behind on this now, but Liar Game was my shit for a while. I like it when a series has exciting conflict without resorting to punches and energy balls)
- Haikyuu!! (I love sports series, what can I say? Behind on this one too, but I loved what I read. Very inspirational series that made indoor volleyball very appealing to me)
- Crimsons (It's an adventure series about the salmon lifecycle that was gloriously ridiculous)

[close]

The WMR listener base loves the hell out of WT too, and the official letterer for the manga for Viz, Annaliese Christman, has become a regular listener and guest on the podcast. Most other opinions of the series I've seen from those that have stuck through past the Invasion arc really enjoy and are positive about the series. Negativity towards the series seems to mostly come from how awful the anime is as an adaption, showing no effort put in on Toei's part to make it visually interesting, paced well, etc., which instantaneously put it on the shit list of most anime bloggers when it came out and sullied it's reputation as bad as the Shokugeki no Soma anime has for that manga (even though I'd call it the best manga currently running in Jump, alongside AssClass). The manga probably never picked up a lot of steam among western readers before it came out because of irregular fan translations, and because it doesn't have that much flashy/"badass" action as far as the fights go, and the early chapters are slower paced than is typical of battle shonen.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I only recently started watching it, so the pacing hasn't really bothered me since I just watch a few episodes in a row. I'm a few episodes from being caught up, but since it's only going to be 50 episodes, I can wait a little bit until they finish up.

But I like the world, the characters, the action, and the general story so far. It has a big plus to it that it gets better and better as it goes, too. I've actually been more impressed with more recent SJ than I've been in a long time.

[gunswordfist]

Hmmm, I might check it out myself.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I still haven't read past chapter 55, where the original scans stopped due to copyright issues. I'll pick it up again eventually since it gets better. I thought that it was alright up to that point. I didn't love it, but it was easily one of the better modern shonen manga that I was reading.

As for that list, I'm just glad to see REAL get a mention. It's personally my favorite currently running manga, and it's really what cemented Inoue Takehiko as one of my favorite mangaka. I mean, I already loved Slam Dunk, but I wasn't aware that the guy was capable of writing such nuanced and three-dimensional characters, and went against expectations for what you'd expect going into this type of series. Of course, this was also before I had really gotten into Vagabond, which also has these great qualities, IMO.

Overall, though, aside from One Piece, I actually took a break from all other manga over the past few months. Occasionally I will binge something once a major arc is over (which, to be honest, is WAY more engaging to me than reading stuff on a weekly basis), like how I did with the Sports Festival arc of MHA.

I also haven't watched any anime from this year. This wasn't due to a lack of interest, though, but more so a lack of time. I was a bit burned out, though, so I took a break from manga,  anime, and video games, and left my spare time mostly for books and films (and some shows like Better Call Saul, Arrow/The Flash, Daredevil, True Detective, and Game of Thrones).

Once I finally get my Pharmacy license, it'll be the perfect time to jump back into reading manga and watching anime. That said, I will definitely be following Dragon Ball Super, at the very least.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I only recently started watching it, so the pacing hasn't really bothered me since I just watch a few episodes in a row. I'm a few episodes from being caught up, but since it's only going to be 50 episodes, I can wait a little bit until they finish up.

But I like the world, the characters, the action, and the general story so far. It has a big plus to it that it gets better and better as it goes, too. I've actually been more impressed with more recent SJ than I've been in a long time.

Well, I'm glad to see you're enjoying it.  While I wasn't completely sold on the series until I got to the Invasion arc, that really put it on another level for me and made me a fan, and I've really been enjoying keeping up with it since. I'm curious as to how they'll end the anime, since the current arc in the manga isn't finished, and they are less than 30 chapters behind from what I can tell.

The current WSJ lineup is pretty strong, definitely. The only series I think is bad in it is Bleach. As for everything else, while I obviously can't speak for Kochikame and Isobe Isobee since nobody translates those, and I think they are all enjoyable series. The second weakest manga in the lineup is Nisekoi, which while often mediocre when it's focused on episodic shonen rom-com antics, still puts out really funny and really well-written chapters fairly often. I'm not very enthusiastic about Haikyuu, personally, but I'd still consider it a pretty well-written sports manga. Some series in the modern Jump are more consistent than others, sure, and but all are capable of entertaining, quality storytelling. It's easily the best lineup Jump has had since the 90's, imo.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Ah sweet, Akiko Higashimura has a new manga debuting in August! I hope that it gets translated quickly.

[LumRanmaYasha]

The Naruto mini-series is ending next week. I was expecting that the mini-series would last right up until the Boruto movie came out, but I'm not surprised it's ending this soon. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good the mini-series was, and it's honestly made me a little interested in seeing the Boruto movie. A Naruto-related project doesn't have to be a trainwreck, so I'm optimistic.

Oh, and since I forgot to post them before, here are the rankings for the June 29th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump:

Haikyu!! (Cover, Lead CP, 30 p.)
1- One Piece
2- My Hero Academia
3- Assassination Classroom
Devily Man (Not ranked)
4- The Mishaps of Kusuo Saiki
Straighten Up! Welcome to Shika High's Competitive Dance Club (Center Color)
5- Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma
6- Black Clover
Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring
Lady Justice (Not ranked)
7- Gintama
Hinomaru Sumo (Center Color)
8- Toriko
World Trigger (Not ranked. Was absent in issue #24)
9- Nisekoi
10- Kochikame
11- Kagamigami
12- Bleach
13- Ultra Battle Satellite (END)
The Story of Isobe Isobee

[LumRanmaYasha]

Detective Conan is finally coming back from it's hiatus. I'm glad Aoyama is in good health again. 

Also, Kodocha and Tokimeki Tonight are getting new one-shot chapters. Which reminds me I need to get around to reading and watching both of them (partially re-watching, in Kodocha's case).

[LumRanmaYasha]

One of the greatest WMR reviews ever is now finally in Visual Edition form.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Here are the rankings for the July 6th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump:

Hinomaru Sumo (Cover, Lead CP)
1- Assassination Classroom
2- One Piece
3- My Hero Academia
Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (Center Color, END)
4- Straighten Up! Welcome to Shika High's Competitive Dance Club (first ranking)
5- The Mishaps of Kusuo Saiki
6- Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma
7- Haikyu!!
8- Black Clover
9- World Trigger
To Love Ru Darkness (Special Chapter, Center Color)
Devily Man (Not ranked)
10- Nisekoi
11- Gintama
12- Kochikame
13- Lady Justice (First ranking)
14- Kagamigami
Aratanaru Horizon (One-Shot, 17 p.)
15- Bleach
The Story of Isobe Isobee

A nice debut for Straighten Up!'s first chapter. Though it looks like Viz was justified to not bother previewing Lady Justice. A new round of Jump Starts are set to debut next week, so it probably won't be long for this world. Kagamigami probably won't be either, I'm afraid.

[VLordGTZ]

And yet Bleach continues to stay despite always being at the bottom....  Seriously, Sheuisha should either force Kubo to end Bleach or they should just move it to Jump+. 

[LumRanmaYasha]

Tokyopop is back in the manga publishing game.

[VLordGTZ]

After being on hiatus for 2.5 years, D.Gray-man is returning as a quarterly manga in Jump SQ.Crown.


......I had forgotten that this series even existed.