Would anyone like to make some more recommendations, so that I might place myself deeper in debt?
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 00:31 (fourteen years ago) link
DEATH NOTE is pretty good (as current stuff goes), but I can see that it has every chance of going badly awry.
― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 00:58 (fourteen years ago) link
― Amadeo (Amadeo G.), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 03:03 (fourteen years ago) link
Matt Maxwell - Will get right on it. It's a good thing the titles you mention are fairly common material found at my local used book retailer - my used and abused bank account thanks you.
Amadeo - I do not like being disgusted - my heart goes into palpatations at the sight of blood, even if said blood is merely an ink portrayal in black and white. Nonetheless, I will scan the racks for this UZUMAKI, certain to surreptitiously remove any repulsive content should any unsuspecting reader happen upon it. (If I may DROP MY FACETIOUSNESS, I think I've seen the movie adaption of UZUMAKI - it was like a Douglas Sirk film, if Douglas Sirk ever shot a scene involving a man who's body was mutilated into a spiral in a washing machine.)
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 03:41 (fourteen years ago) link
― Adrienne Begley (sparklecock), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 04:01 (fourteen years ago) link
I'm not a big fan of manga in general, but I'd recommend Phoenix (it's rather uneven, but the high points are quite high) and the first four volumes Battle Angel Alita (ignore the silly English title, it's really a thoughtful - philosophical even - cyberpunk story). If you're looking for lighter, romantic comedy type of stuff, Oh My Goddess is probably the best choice.
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 08:09 (fourteen years ago) link
also UZUMAKI is ok but pwned by Katsuhiro Otomo's DOMU, imho, as far as horror goes
― fez (fez), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:08 (fourteen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:15 (fourteen years ago) link
― TOMBOT (TOMBOT), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:35 (fourteen years ago) link
Tuomas - I'm always looking for the "great, yet problematic" so PHOENIX sounds like something I'd be interested in. And I've been considering looking into Battle Angel Alita.
Fez - Cool...I've got the first two volumes of NAUSICAA on my hold list at my local library. Plus, I'm pro dinosaur, so GON will certainly get a perusal.
And I'll let the UZUMAKI vs. DOMU debate rage on...
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:38 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh yeah, NAUSICAA is worth checking into, Mr. Original Poster. Totally slipped my mind before.
― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:39 (fourteen years ago) link
- Checked out the first two volumes of ADOLF after work the other day, meaning that I'm probably gonna start devouring VERY soon.
- AKIRA also awaits me at my local libary.
- GHOST IN THE SHELL will eventually get a perusal soon.
- BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL, ditto.
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:44 (fourteen years ago) link
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:51 (fourteen years ago) link
i like formulaicness! it took me 35 volumes of Dragonball to get fed up with Son Goku getting stronger and stronger and stronger (and then becoming a super saiyajin and thus getting super extra strong++ deluxe supreme--- ok actually thats where i stopped reading)
and the showdown of Domu is perfect as is, anticlimactic but tense. not flat at all if you slow down your reading speed a bit after the 50+ pages of action, gore and exploding housing blocks in the second act.
― fez (fez), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 13:57 (fourteen years ago) link
― c(''c) (Leee), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 15:32 (fourteen years ago) link
I didn't have the patience for the first volume of Buddha -- wossitlike, after that, anyone? FP have them on sale at the moment.
― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 16:46 (fourteen years ago) link
I have to warn that the last volumes of BAA are highly uneven - there's still lots of interesting ideas and concepts there, but pacing and other stuff gets kinda weird. Apparently Yukito Kishiro, the guy behind it, was suffering from a long-term illness when he was finishing doing the final issues. Volume four is probably the high point of the series, but it's still worth reading to the very end.
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 19:13 (fourteen years ago) link
― Vic F (Vic Fluro), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 19:38 (fourteen years ago) link
― Eyemelt (Eyemelt), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 20:10 (fourteen years ago) link
I have been meaning to start reading it again, which is hard because I forget where I left off.
― c(''c) (Leee), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 21:20 (fourteen years ago) link
TUOMAS - more "great yet problematic"! cool.
EYEMELT - "You can almost feel the breeze of a blade flying past your head in some of those scenes." Sold - will look for in the coming weeks/months.
c("c) - thanks for the further advice.
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 22:57 (fourteen years ago) link
― The Jazz Guide to Penguins on Compact Disc (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 23:49 (fourteen years ago) link
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Thursday, 15 June 2006 00:02 (fourteen years ago) link
Akira (essential)Ghost in the shell 1Domu (Lovely art - but overrated)MemoriesLone Wolf (bast comic ever made IMO)Samurai ExecutionerLady Snow Blood (pulpier version of the above)Blade of the Immortal (great - havent read it in a couple of years though)Ranma (Tuomas is OTM)LUM (ala Ranma, except funnier and less formulaic)Maison Ikkoku (Takahashis soap opera. Very funny 0 9 volumes)Voyeur (pervy psychological thriller - quality though)Battle Angel Alita 1-9 (great sci-fi adventure - all of its great IMO)Ashen Victor (more from Alita creator - crossed with Sin City style artwork)Alita - Last order (follow up to Alita - even more westernised artwork)2001 nights (Yukinobu Hoshinos sublime tribute to Arthur C Clarke)Two faces of tomorrow (more from Hoshino - dont know if this is available as TP though)Icaro (Moebius and Taniguchi - 2 volume loveliness)Blackjack 1/2 (Tezukas medical masterpiece)PhoenixBuddha (meanders a bit, but delivers in the end)Iron Wok Jan 1-17 (formulaic yet genius cooking manga. must be read to be believed)Cannon God Exaxxion (PO-mo giant robot adventure manga, funny and violent)Neon Genesis (better than anime, straight down the line giant robot manga with shades of Akira) Gunsmith Cats (great dynamic art - stories a bit bland now and then)Oh/Ah my goddess ( From the guy and 10 girls in one house school of manga. This one has real charm in places though.)Shadowstar (weird nihilistic horror/adventure)Galaxy Express 999 (poignant sci-fi drama)Black and White (strange westernised art in this one. reminds me a bit of something from deadline)Antique Bakery (fantastically hilarious YAOH manga)Worst (High school drama/comedy)Cromartie High School (the funniest comic on earth)Azumanga daioh 1-4 (2nd funniest)Hino Horrors 1-16 (Genius - why oh why did they stop??)Panorma of Hell/Hell Baby - both by Hino. both unavailable - snap them up if you see them)Blood The last vampire (original version is best)Scary Books 1/2 (Kazou Umezu - the 'godfather of Horror manga - bit staid, but getting better)GYOUzumaki 1-3Tomie (the weakest of Ito's horrors)Parasyte (great horror/sci-fi business Vol. 5 perennially unavailable for some reason though)Strain (sleazy misogynistic violent pornographic trash)Sanctuary (as above except about politics)The first president of Japan (surprisingly entertaining political drama)Revenge of the Mouflon (9/11 inspired political action adventure)Banana Fish (francophile shojo epic ala Jacob's ladder) Barefoot Gen (Firsthand account of the bombing of Hiroshima, kicks the crap out of Maus IMO) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 1-4 (natch)Vieo Girl Ai Cinderella (young girl running a restaurant with her zombie dad)Dance till Tomorrow (theatre/slacker comedy) Barbie and her Pink Gun (bit of a weird one this, a Japanese Tank Girl with artwork that looks like it was done by Nick Abadzis)
Theres also stuff thats gone out of print like 'four shojo stories' which features stuff from the brilliant Moto Haigo, anthologies like 'comics underground Japan', and 'Manga Manga Manga' which feature comic strips, plus plenty of other stuff out there that Ive forgotten/havent read.
GON is rubbish btw ;)
― droid, Thursday, 15 June 2006 12:36 (fourteen years ago) link
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Thursday, 15 June 2006 14:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Let's not forget that Gunsmith Cats is the favorite manga of ILE Best Poster Ever conner smedley!
Also, Nauikaa absolute ACE. Way better than the anime.
― c(''c) (Leee), Thursday, 15 June 2006 17:40 (fourteen years ago) link
― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Friday, 16 June 2006 05:12 (fourteen years ago) link
― c(''c) (Leee), Friday, 16 June 2006 05:43 (fourteen years ago) link
― droid, Friday, 16 June 2006 08:43 (fourteen years ago) link
― Eyemelt (Eyemelt), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 16:31 (fourteen years ago) link
― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 17:54 (fourteen years ago) link
― droidus, Tuesday, 4 July 2006 21:03 (fourteen years ago) link
Since I began this thread, I've read the first two volumes of ADOLF (Will Hitler invade Poland???? MUST - READ - ON !!!) and the first volume of LOVE ROMA (which is providing high school dating tips for me roughly seven years too late - I still have every intention of giving them a test drive).
― Richard Baez (Johnny Logic), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 01:15 (fourteen years ago) link
HEY, ANYONE IN THE "MANGA" KNOW:
Should I invest my scarce funds into THE DRIFTING CLASSROOM? I've heard from sources whose names I've forgotten but whose overall impression was "trustworthiness" that it's well worth reading - WHAT TO DO?
ALSO: PARADISE KISS
― R Baez, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 20:26 (thirteen years ago) link
ONCE AGAIN:
NEW YOTSUBA&! - OUT LATER THIS MONTH - YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!
― R Baez, Thursday, 7 June 2007 19:48 (thirteen years ago) link
If youve read any of the 'scary book' series youll know what to expect. Its interesting but not gripping. Bizarre psychological lord of the flies horror done as if for an 80s UK girls comic ala 'Bounty'
havent read Paradise kiss, but it looks like your typical mainstream Shojo fare - seems to be based in the world of fashion which doesnt help...
Save your cash and get the fantastic 'Eden' on Dark Horse. Or any of the Ponent Mon manga - 'Times of Botchan' is good. Also worth a look are 'Satsuma Gishiden'and 'Path of the Assassin' - both in the Samurai mileu. The 'Kurosagi corpse delivery service' is great and Vertical are putting out some good stuff at the moment as well including some nice tezuka Tomes.
The brilliance of Azumanga Diaoh cannot be stressed enough. Along with Cromartie high school its probably one of the funniest comics ever written.
Oh yeah Vol 4 of Yotsuba!& just came out! this comic is amazingly good.
Theres a bit of Uzumaki love going on here, so fans of Ito might be interested in the 3 volume Museum of terror series, which collates all the earlier published tomie stories and adds a bunch of other early short stories.
― droid, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 15:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Thanks for the response! Good to know I'm not the lone soul on ILC who adores Yotsuba&!.
Actually, I've read the first two and I get the vaguest impression of Almadovar, which is a very good thing... PLUS: fashion is by no means, a hindrance for me. SIDE NOTE: I'm currently addicted to Yazawa's current ongoing-about-to-end, NANA.
Save your cash and get the fantastic 'Eden' on Dark Horse.
I've read the first three and, while sufficiently impressed (gosh - shiny!), I'm not quite compelled. SUBJECT FOR FURTHER REVIEW, WHEN MY LOCAL LIBRARY GETS VOL. 4 (IF EVER).
― R Baez, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 21:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Some of the mainstream Shojo stuff is awesome, though.^
"Absolute Boyfriend" is so lol. I love "Otomen," too. I'm such a girl, though!
― carpathian florist (roxymuzak), Monday, 29 June 2009 05:18 (eleven years ago) link
i've really been enjoying deadman wonderland
― Mordy, Tuesday, 28 August 2012 03:38 (eight years ago) link
Is anyone reading Dorohedoro? Fun, batshit seinen series; the best(okay, not best, "laziest") I can describe it is like Paul Pope drawing a China Mieville story, filtered through the usual action-manga tropes in surprising ways.
― muus lääv? :D muus dut :( (Telephone thing), Wednesday, 29 August 2012 01:56 (eight years ago) link
At my library it's still all about naruto. Claymore's getting some traction too. What some fun shojo I can introduce for balance? Kitchen princess is cute, but very fluffy.
― Virginia Plain, Wednesday, 29 August 2012 02:49 (eight years ago) link
i wish some of the scanlations for dw were better. sometimes the writing translation is so bad that it's difficult to read. i guess when you're reading something that hasn't been published outside Japan, you take what you can get.
― Mordy, Wednesday, 29 August 2012 14:10 (eight years ago) link
Two unreserved recommendations:Nonnonba by Shigeru MizukiA Drunken Dream by Moto Hagio
― This cad needs a cordial introduction to Eugene of Oxbow. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 29 August 2012 18:36 (eight years ago) link
Intrigued by Tom E's take on Attack on Titan:
http://tomewing.tumblr.com/post/96494269691/note-on-attack-on-titan
― etc, Friday, 5 September 2014 05:55 (six years ago) link
I'm about 3/4 through the first of the current Dark Horse volume of Lone Wolf & Cub. I had read some of the First reprints in the 80s, but that one jumped around in the series. The story where Lone Wolf allows himself to be captured to get thrown in jail and get to the arsonist was bad ass.
― earlnash, Friday, 5 September 2014 10:17 (six years ago) link
I got about 7 volumes into the reprints a decade ago, but dropped it. I think I might just go nuts and buy the entire series when they finish this round.
That story is pretty badass, I remember it!
― Nhex, Friday, 5 September 2014 17:30 (six years ago) link
I love the one where lone wolf is meditating on a desolate mountain full of ravenous wolves so that he can attain a state of nothingness needed to 'kill god'
― original bgm, Friday, 5 September 2014 17:44 (six years ago) link
i have about 80% of the First floppies, much prefer that book in full size than in the pocket edition
― the other song about butts in the top 5 (forksclovetofu), Friday, 5 September 2014 18:41 (six years ago) link
also: try DRAGONHEAD
― the other song about butts in the top 5 (forksclovetofu), Friday, 5 September 2014 18:42 (six years ago) link
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/terrifying-tales-from-kodansha-books
Of course they put the Junji Ito books in the $20 tier, and I already own Dissolving Classroom. Came here to ask if any of these are worth reading, and lol the last post from 2014 mentions Dragon Head. I think I read the first couple volumes of Inuyashiki, but they're not even offering the entire series here.
BTW I ended up reading all of LW&C on Hoopla, it does indeed rule
― Nhex, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 19:27 (three months ago) link
I regret it every time I read an Ito book, one of his short stories gave me a panic attack a few months ago! But maybe that's also why they're so good
― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 8 October 2020 11:57 (three months ago) link
Check out his nice mangas about cats.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 8 October 2020 14:59 (three months ago) link
That's in the bundle!
― Nhex, Thursday, 8 October 2020 15:27 (three months ago) link
I read part of the first collection of lone wolf and cub, and didn’t really do that much for me. Is it just that everything I’ve read since has stolen from it, or am I missing something?
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 9 October 2020 17:00 (three months ago) link
Like, it’s clear it’s very good, but maybe it’s just not for me
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 9 October 2020 17:01 (three months ago) link
You're probably right that so many things have been stolen from it that its impact may be somewhat diluted. It's also a series that REALLY takes its time for the main plot, the slow pacing remains through it all. That said, it's a journey worth taking, and there are moments of phenomenal art. I'd give it at least a few volumes, they're fast reading.
― Nhex, Friday, 9 October 2020 19:05 (three months ago) link