Finally picked up the Vinland Saga manga. As someone who is both a history buff and Scandinavian, the attraction to the manga was rather natural. That said, I've enjoyed the story and characters just as much. Definitely going to be one of my favs if it holds up through the chapters I've yet to read (which is like 140 more at the time of this comment).
Started reading Dungeon Meshi since ppl were recommending it. Damn, it’s way better than I expected. Lots of innovative ideas and the world building is topnotch. Can’t wait for the anime!
Also started reading Aishiteru Game. Pretty typical romcom, but I’m a sucker for casual romcoms, and the art is pretttty good. Only on chapter 11, hoping it remains strong
Just looked into Dungeon Meshi and it's going right on my "to read" list. Thanks for mentioning it!
Glad to see you're enjoying Dungeon Meshi!
I'll focus on less known series.
Added cursificer to my read list, it looks interesting. Also it not looking like an extremely edgy looking expelled from party story is kind of refreshing.
Yup, the manga is rather cheerful. Often other characters poke fun (in good nature) at the protag and his lack of common sense, the former party is Team Rocket tier incompetent, this kind of stuff.
@seraph Been reading Gunnm: Last Order, a sequel to Alita. The sharp clean art and detailed lines amaze me and are even better than the original. Fitting for a manga about cyborgs and androids in the future
Mostly catching up with a ton of otome isekai in my reading list.
I picked up an official translation of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou so I'm gently enjoying that. The art is beautiful and the bittersweet nature of the manga is pretty beautiful honestly.
And also Go With the Clouds, North by Northwest because I love Aki Irie's art. It's set in Iceland but reminds me a little of Norway which makes me happy.
@TheMightyBlu @seraph I also picked up an official translation of Yokohama and I definitely agree the art is really pretty. It looks like it was all made with just a pen and this complements the fanservice
I’m reading 風の谷のナウシカ (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) natively, six months after restarting my Japanese studies.
I haven’t read it in English before so I was stunned at how great the artwork is. It’s quite clear Miyazaki’s style is what Ghibli became known for, but here it’s 100% Miyazaki himself.
Tons of absurdly detailed planes, bugs and flora. The Japanese 7 volume set is close to A4 in size, which feels much better than usual manga volumes, if only because there are far more panels per page.
Nice!
So this week I:
Im reading the original not the remake since I heard that one sucks. This one is a pretty nice misunderstandings based comedy, from a mixture of his mean appearance and ungodly luck the protagonist who was just a wimp at his past school starts his journey into becoming one of the most feared delinquents in school. Its pretty funny, the translation is a bit weird, at least the one Im reading feels like it was done by someone at 4chan, but the language at least makes some sense when you consider they are all edgy delinquent teens.
I dont know why exactly but I havent been enjoying this romance so I decided to drop it
This is a really special manhua for me, it is one of those "development anachronic isekai" where the protagonist starts revolutionizing a fantasy world, at least this one makes sense do to his background as an engineer + the witches powers, so I didn't get annoyed at the protagonist suddenly building a lot of stuff he has no business knowing how to like it usually happens in this genre. Also, the art and coloring are god tier. The world building has a lot of thought put into it, on the background of the story there is a political war going on in the kingdom as the king has made it a competition for his 5 heirs to inherit, there is also a conspiracy with the church and a lot of interesting details about the world even outside the kingdom.
I really recommend checking this one out if those city builder isekais are your thing
I'm so sad to see you dropped Skip to Loafer! I actually picked it up due to the anime. I liked to read it more for the wholesomeness that every character and relationship between them resolves with, so it felt like a feel good manga to me more than the romance aspect, I think you'll be quite surprised by how the romance even pans out in the later chapters, but fair reason.
Read a great 13 chapter SoL called Walking Through Today. It's just the musings of an old man who walks the same route through his neighborhood every day.
Caught up with a surprisingly decent action sort-of-harem thing called New Normal. It's set in a relatively near future world in which a virus not unlike (but worse than) covid has ravaged the world, and among the survivors, who live in a walled section of Tokyo, all of the covid-era precautions like masks and social distancing have come to be rigidly enforced societal norms. So at this point, teenage boys (and some girls) are obsessed with mouths and lips, because they're always hidden, and the story starts out as a bumbling romance after the mc happens to see the class idol's naked mouth. It goes along like that for a while - pretty standard stuff, just with the gimmick of being focused on mouths and lips, but then it veers off into action and intrigue, as the leads get caught up in all sorts of conflict and begin to learn some of the truth about the virus, and the world outside the walls.
And lots of updates to ongoing stuff...
as always, recs welcome -- especially for more stuff that's in color.
Have you read Mousou Telepathy by any chance?
i hadn't heard of it, but i see the connection! just peeked at the first few pages, bookmarked so i can come back to it in the evening :)
You're in for a great time. It has one of my favourite side character glow-ups in any manga I've read, and you'll know when the time comes. I'm hoping you'll grow to love that character too!
hey, i finished Mousou Telepathy this morning, just wanted to come back here to thank you for the rec :) nobel sure knows how to draaaaag out a plot, but the character growth was worth it!
Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, it got frustrating at times watching Nakano and Toda fumble and agonize over a couple of silly things, but things worked out, and more importantly - Mana-chan! What a turnaround from what she was at the beginning! Hands down one of my favorite characters.
haven't had time to read much but reread the translated chapters of Blooming Love. art is so sitting and story simple but very sweet
Recently finished reading Kanojo mo Kanojo. Can't say I like everything about it (can't stand the Youtube girl), but I'm going to miss it as I love the mangaka's style.
It feels like there was a lot more potential in the series, so I'm sad that it ended.
I must say, those last chapters were certainly pushing what I thought was acceptable ecchi on a shounen.
Did you like the ending or nah?
Ecchi doesn't bother me as long as it's a reasonable part of the story. Tsugumomo, for instance, has so much ecchi that it detracts from the plot. For Kanojo mo Kanojo, the nature of the story pretty much dictates that ecchi is going to happen - they're trying to work out how to have a polygamous relationship, after all, and sex is part of that. Honestly, they should have explored that part of it more in my opinion.
As far as the ending -
spoiler
no, not really. I feel like Marika should have been a side character/occasional nemesis at best. The way she took over things detracted from the story - and there was plenty of areas the author could have chosen to explore instead. I feel like there was a lot more potential for the story. But kudos to the author for not giving us a "this won't work, let Saki have him" ending.
spoiler
I agree on the ending. I too didn't like Marika, too forceful. But how she got bulldozed at the end, despite being the most stubborn character at the end was disappointing.
I'm reading houseki no kuni right now. This is such a unique manga, with a unique art style and story. I highly recommend it.
I really love it, the story is amazing. Although this is the one manga I would like to have color, specially in the start, to differentiate all gems.
I agree, I am really sad the anime didn't continue. They did an excellent job with it and I think it's actually a better way to experience the story because you can see all the difference gem colors.
I picked up a new series yesterday, The Witch and the Knight will Survive (MAL). I finished the first volume today, and I'm pretty interested to see where it goes. The pacing is pretty even, and the worldbuilding seems well thought out with a healthy does of mystery. Plus Cetia's reactions and expressions are always hilarious to see 😂