Any manga-ka or manga fans here?

[TsukiRyoko]

I was just wondering how many otheranime/manga fans are on the boards. I'd be interested to hear some favorites. Also, if there are any manga-ka (manga artists) here, please speak up!

[Chumplet]

Gimme a bit of time. My kids are nuts for manga, but their books are, of course, in their rooms and they're asleep right now.

Anyway, my son talked me into reading one, and to me it seemed like a whacked-out version of Sailor Moon. But that's me....

I'll let you know what they've been into lately. Stay tuned.

[Inkdaub]

I'm not even sure I know what manga is exactly. So I am not sure if I like it or not.

[E.G. Gammon]

"Manga" is just a fancy term for Japanese comics. While I have a FEW manga comics - one I have, you actually have to read BACKWARDS - it's just not something I'm all that into. If you like anime (Japanese animation), you'll probably enjoy manga.

[TsukiRyoko]

"Manga" is just a fancy term for Japanese comics. While I have a FEW manga comics - one I have, you actually have to read BACKWARDS - it's just not something I'm all that into. If you like anime (Japanese animation), you'll probably enjoy manga.

I was really confused the first time I picked up a manga that was kept in it's authentic reading form (right to left instead of left to right). But once I got used ot it, I became obsessed. :D If I read manga too often without picking up a normal novel, I sometimes start reading it the wrong way....

[TsukiRyoko]

I'm not even sure I know what manga is exactly. So I am not sure if I like it or not.
A manga is just a Japanese comic (they do translate it into English, though).

[wordmonkey]

OK, can someone explain the deal here?

What's so good about Manga? Anime too. I mean, with anime, you tend to get some really slick bits of animation surrounded by an awful lot of cheap bad animation. And lets be honst, you seen one, you seen 'em all.

Now I'll give you that AKIRA was a major thing, but even the animated version of that was the same dross studded with a sweet 30 seconds here and there. And if you didn't read the GN, the movie made little sense (and animated 2001).

Maybe I just haven't seen any great manga. Or rather having seen Akira, nothing else comes close or is really derivative.

Perhaps it's this damn flu that I can't shake, but it seems to me like manga is hot in the same way that Paris Hilton famous. No one really knows why and if you question it, you could well bring the sky crashing down on your head. And what's with the lame-a$$ art that most manga has?

Seems to me that manga and anime are 1 percent pure brilliant genius and 99 percent complete dross.

Unlike western comics which are clearly 2-3 percent genius and 97-8 percent dross.

My stuff is in the minority! ;)

[TsukiRyoko]

OK, can someone explain the deal here?

What's so good about Manga? Anime too. I mean, with anime, you tend to get some really slick bits of animation surrounded by an awful lot of cheap bad animation. And lets be honst, you seen one, you seen 'em all.

Now I'll give you that AKIRA was a major thing, but even the animated version of that was the same dross studded with a sweet 30 seconds here and there. And if you didn't read the GN, the movie made little sense (and animated 2001).

Maybe I just haven't seen any great manga. Or rather having seen Akira, nothing else comes close or is really derivative.

Perhaps it's this damn flu that I can't shake, but it seems to me like manga is hot in the same way that Paris Hilton famous. No one really knows why and if you question it, you could well bring the sky crashing down on your head. And what's with the lame-a$$ art that most manga has?

Seems to me that manga and anime are 1 percent pure brilliant genius and 99 percent complete dross.

Unlike western comics which are clearly 2-3 percent genius and 97-8 percent dross.

My stuff is in the minority! ;)
Manga and anime is, like nearly everything else in the world- a purely subjective matter. Think of it like Star Trek- some get it, some just don't.

With some people (myself included) anime and manga really strike a bell, so to speak. What this bell is, I can't say, but I'm drawn to it, and I'm sure that I'm not the only person who is.

[Inkdaub]

Hmmm...I have not read much manga, then. I would imagine it's like anything else and I would like some and not like some. I would not like to read backward, though.

[plunderpuss]

I'm a fan and a creator. My work doesn't really qualify as manga, but it's heavily inspired by it.

And lets be honst, you seen one, you seen 'em all.

There are a variety of Japanese comics the same as there are a variety of western comics. Superman, Sandman, Transmetropolitan, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, and Lenore are completely incomparable works; and it's no different with Akira, Dragonball Z, Death Note, Fruits Basket, and Paradise Kiss. Completely different genres, plots, art styles, content, and target markets.

Before you state that the entire country of Japan makes homogenous comics, maybe you should read more than you apparently have. ;) (And out of curiosity, what DID you read that you thought was so similar? Perhaps your idea of "similar" is very different from mine.)

[Snitchcat]

"Backward".

From a Western viewpoint, the way a manga opens and is read, is backwards. From the Eastern viewpoint, it's the Western 'left to right' that's backwards. LOL.

The word, 'backward' in this context, just struck me as... I'm not sure. Very Western, seemingly with little regard given to the vast difference in cultures. Seemingly.

Anyhow.

I agree with csinman: each type of manga is aimed at a different target audience. For example, comparing Akira to Cardcaptor Sakura doesn't really make sense to me.

At it's simplest, it could be said that 'Akira' is dark and very SF, aimed at teenagers and guys, while Sakura is modern day, fantasy, aimed at kids and girls.

I could also state that, once I've read LOTR or Dragonlance, the rest of the fantasy novels already out there, or are being published, are the same. They're not. Many of them may have similar themes, but fantasy is sub-divided into plenty of sub-genres. This is the same with manga / anime.

Yet, why is manga / anime so popular? So appealing? I don't know. As someone up-thread said, it's subjective. Some people loved Episode III of Star Wars, others hated it. Some would swear by LOTR, others would say it's trash. In the same way, manga / anime comes under the subjective viewpoint.

However, I have noticed that perhaps there are some manga / anime I see don't make it outside the Pacific Rim. Or am I mistaken, and the range of manga / anime is now much wider?

Series I like that I've been following:

Bleach (Death Gods and Souls)
Inu-Yasha (demons and half-demons)
Gun/Sword (pretty old one, but it's about mecha and the future)
Death Note (the anime; manga and films are complete)
Fate Stay Night (wizards; seems to be have been out a while, always good to watch, though)
Kyo Kara Maoh (second season; comedy about a boy who's the reincarnated king of Mazoku)

Can't think of anything else off-hand. Gotta go home; office is boring! =^P

[TsukiRyoko]

Some very good points were made about genre. Manga has very distinct genres, just like anything else. You wouldn't want to compare Nana to Trigun, or Chobits to Gungrave. Saying that reading one manga is like reading them all is more than a bit off target. But, I could understand how someone could not like the style and rough similarities between all manga and come to that conclusion.

[Snitchcat]

Oh, forgot to add: my 'artwork' is heavily influenced by manga / anime. Maybe I'll post links to the stuff at some point. Or maybe the avatar will do. =^P

[DragonHeart]

I don't read a lot of manga but I absolutely love anime.

My current favorites (read: obsessions :p ) are Fullmetal Alchemist and Busou Renkin.

I own a few series on DVD, as well. Let's see if I can dig them out...

Chobits
Escaflowne: The Movie
Fullmetal Alchemist
Gundam Seed
Outlaw Star
Peacemaker
Princess Mononoke
Rurouni Kenshin
Shadow Skill
Spirited Away
Tenchi Universe
Trigun
Wolf's Rain
X

...I think that's most, if not all of them.

~DragonHeart~

[TsukiRyoko]

Chobits
Escaflowne: The Movie
Fullmetal Alchemist
Gundam Seed
Outlaw Star
Peacemaker
Princess Mononoke
Rurouni Kenshin
Shadow Skill
Spirited Away
Tenchi Universe
Trigun
Wolf's Rain
X


I think... I love you.

[TsukiRyoko]

Has anyone seen Samurai X, the Rurouni Kenshin movie? Tell me that guy didn't have AIDS. They didn't come right out and say it, but I KNOW it was AIDS.

[BarbaraSheridan]

I'm gonna get flack for this but I LOVED the Dragonball Z anime. Vegeta was too cool not to love.

Rurouni Kenshi and Peacemaker Kurogane both anime & manga are major favorites of mine and I'm also a yaoi fan.

I adore the artwork by Yamane Ayano.

And last but not least my friend Tama from Tokyo has been doing and selling some doujinshis wih artwork by her friend.

[plunderpuss]

I'm not even sure I want to admit this in public...but a friend got me reading Ai Yazawa. I love her unique way of breaking the fourth wall. It actually changed the way I look at comics.

(Plus George from Paradise Kiss is a big fat jerk and I want one of us to ravish the other, but that's beside the point.)

In my other comment I listed things that were different from each other, but here are some of my favorites: Samurai Champloo, Wolf's Rain, Death Note, Berserk, Fruits Basket, and One Piece. And my friend Luka does a freaking awesome online manga called Kagerou (http://www.electric-manga.com). It's been going for five or six years, so if the art in the first few chapters doesn't do it for you, hang on. It gets amazing.

Anyway, if anyone has any recommendations, bring 'em. Right now the only people telling me what to read or watch are super-straight meat-eating dudes and girls with shounen ai spilling out of their too-small closets. Not that I don't eat meat, or have teh gay spilling out of my own closet. But those are polar opposites and some in-between opinions could be nice.

[DragonHeart]

Has anyone seen Samurai X, the Rurouni Kenshin movie? Tell me that guy didn't have AIDS. They didn't come right out and say it, but I KNOW it was AIDS.

I haven't seen it but I think I read somewhere that he got tuberculosis in China. Or something like that, it's been awhile. And I could be completely wrong. *shrug* I only have the first two seasons - haven't seen the third, heard it was all filler and not worth the time so I skipped it. Haven't seen the movies either, for that matter.

~DragonHeart~

[Christine N.]

Don't really read manga, but I adapt Light Novels for English audiences. So far I've read Gun Princess, Ballad of a Shinigami, Pita-Ten and Strawberry Panic, which is a yuri, but has interesting characters.

I like GP and Shinigami the best. The books will be released this fall from Seven Seas Entertainment (www.gomanga.com) and will be available in bookstores beside the SSE manga.

[The_Grand_Duchess]

Has anyone seen Samurai X, the Rurouni Kenshin movie? Tell me that guy didn't have AIDS. They didn't come right out and say it, but I KNOW it was AIDS.

I thought it was like syphilius or something like that. Becuase he went kind of crazy at the end and syphilis makes you crazy and then there were the sores. . . That anime made me cry. She loved that man so much.

Also about Manga being backwards. I don't read it for that reason. My brother loves the stuff though. He says my refusal to "read backwards" is ignorant. I say I have to draw the line somewhere.

[Christine N.]

Fortunately the Light Novels are left to right. :D

[Dancre]

I think... I love you.


HA!! I bet you say that to all the Manga fans. I love Samurai Deeper, Naruto, and I loved the Anime to Samurai Champloo, Bleach, Naruto (again), and I'm reading the novel Trinity Blood, which is a lot better than the anime.

kim

[TsukiRyoko]

HA!! I bet you say that to all the Manga fans. :D C'est vrai. ...and I loved the Anime to Samurai Champloo, Bleach, ... and I'm reading the novel Trinity Blood, which is a lot better than the anime.


Now I love you!

[aspiringwriter]

I've see these things EVERYWHERE--but never read one and have no desire too... To each his own I say :)

[Dancre]

:D C'est vrai.
Now I love you!

LOL!!!

[Dancre]

I've see these things EVERYWHERE--but never read one and have no desire too... To each his own I say :)

I like them mostly b/c of the storylines. They are very interesting and unlike anything I've ever read. The male MC are always over the top and beyond reality. and the women are, well, women. But the plots? WOW!! I don't like the scenes with the naked women and usually gloss over them. PFF!! Whatever.

In fact, I'm going to submitt my novel to TokyoPop and if it does well, then they will turn it into a manga, which would be cool!!! Then I'd be a manga writer/novel writer/ whatever it is I am. What am I??

kim

[aspiringwriter]

Now when you say naked women :) **kidding** I've seen them but might have to see what all the fuss is about :)

[Dancre]

I just kinda feel it's degrading to women, that's all. And plus I'm a woman, so why would I want to see a naked woman??

kim

[aspiringwriter]

I was just kidding---sorry -- It is degrading to women

[Dancre]

I was just kidding---sorry -- It is degrading to women


LOL!!! That's ok!!! I wasn't offended. I knew you were kidding. So smile!!!

kim

[TsukiRyoko]

I was just kidding---sorry -- It is degrading to women
I personally don't have a problem with the nudity in manga. Yes, an image like that can be viewed as degrading to women, but usually the naked women were slutty in the story in the first place. I mean, look at Princess Ai! Just her being there was degrading, it didn't matter that her boobs were popping out or not.

[Dancre]

LOL!! That's true!! Ms. Prudent would be fully covered.

[TsukiRyoko]

LOL!! That's true!! Ms. Prudent would be fully covered.
Unless she was being raped by a group of demons (which surprisingly happens a lot in manga....)

[DamaNegra]

Oooooo me me me!! I love manga and anime!!!

I'm currently into Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and XXXHOlic, though I've read and loved Death Note and, of course, the whole Dragon Ball manga as well as seen Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. I've also read Ah! My Goddess and Love Hina.

Oh, and of course!! All the Legend of Zelda mangas!!! XD

[TsukiRyoko]

XXXHOlic,
Oh, and of course!! All the Legend of Zelda mangas!!! XD
I only got the chance to read on of these books (can't remember the volume) but it seemed pretty good. Wish I could get the rest :(

Zelda! Zelda Zelda Zelda!

[DamaNegra]

Actually XXXHoLiC isn't that good. It's just like a fill-up for Tsubasa, which is excellent! I'm also looking forward to reading the FMA manga.

Lol, the other day I confused manga with mango. It was funny :D

[TsukiRyoko]

Actually XXXHoLiC isn't that good. It's just like a fill-up for Tsubasa, which is excellent! I'm also looking forward to reading the FMA manga.

Lol, the other day I confused manga with mango. It was funny :D
They have a second series of FMA coming out, as well as a second anime series. Ed's back!

I love mango....

[Turtle07]

I'm an anime lover! My friend got me addicted and I've been reading anime and manga ever since. My faves are Fruits Baskets (Hilarious! A must read for Fantasy readers who love a good laugh!), Ouran High (Another must read!), Vampire Knight (For Horror fans.), and Skip-Beat (For all those women who have a grudge against an ex. Something u'll definitely wanna read and laugh over!). They're all made by Japanese manga artists.

[Lyra Jean]

Manga I own:
Gunslinger Girl 1-3 (anyone know where I can get more?)
Read or Die 1-3 (haven't finished reading this yet. Are there more after 3?)
Cowboy Bebop 1 (I can never find the other two in the bookstore when I go. :cry:)
Cowboy Bebop Shooting Star (I can never find the other two in the bookstore either :cry:)
Naruto 1-14

Anime I own:
Ah! My Goddess! episodes 1-5. (I have the box to put it in. I'm just very broke.)
*Cowboy Bebop entire series plus movie (Friend of mine downloaded it for me off of some anime site. Don't ask me if it was legal or not I don't know and I don't ask. Spike is so hot.)
*Ergo Proxy entire series (I haven't really seen this one. It was given to me as a Christmas present by the friend who gave me Cowboy Bebop.)

*The way he downloaded them I can only view them on my PC. They won't run in my DVD player. This is why I haven't finished watching Ergo Proxy.

There are tons more I want to get in both anime and manga but finances keep me from purchasing them. Here is a short list:
Fruits Basket
Elfen Lied
Gantz
Evangelion
Samurai Champloo

Did I mention Spike was hot.

I've seen:
Howl's Moving Castle
Princess Monoke
**some of Full Metal Alchemist
**some of Naruto
**bits and pieces of other animes that I can't remember the names of

**my friend who gave me the anime for christmas also likes to see two episodes of anime and then switch to another one. It is very frustrating.

[Christine N.]

Has anyone read Scrapped Princess? That one looked rather interesting, just wondering if anyone had read it. Like I need more books to read.

[Sai]

Has anyone read Scrapped Princess? That one looked rather interesting, just wondering if anyone had read it. Like I need more books to read.

I didn't really like it. It has nice art, but no overall story. There's no ending or resolution, the story just...ends. I was able to get all three volumes from the library, so at least I didn't waste any money on them. Maybe the anime (or novel) tells a more complete story.

I'm a pretty big manga fan. My favorite series would have to be Kare Kano (the longest complete series I've ever bought) and Adolf by Osamu Tezuka. I'm also really into horror manga right now, such as Monster, Dragon Head, and Blood Sucker.

[TsukiRyoko]

Anyone ever read X-Day? I still don't get why they jumped into the cow story....

[Turtle07]

Has anyone read Scrapped Princess? That one looked rather interesting, just wondering if anyone had read it. Like I need more books to read.

I didn't read the anime, but they did have an anime series made of it that I watched. All together, it was kind of hard to follow, but I liked it cuz it was hilarious. :roll: Stupidly hilarious I call it. As in it's stupid, but so funny that u have to watch it!

Sai's right tho, there really wasn't a story. It was just a bunch of random episodes of protecting this one girl and more confusing things carelessly explained.

Also, I hated how they drew some of the women characters. I mean, no women's breasts hang out like that making them look like she-mans! They give the women muscular bods and flabby boobs. WTH? :Wha:

I'm currently into Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

I love that series! Maybe u can read that Christine N. I recommend it! It's so funny!! :D

[Sailor Kenshin]

Not a manga-ka, but a manga fan---bear in mind that manga is just a medium, like a painting or a movie, and the quality and subject matter varies wildly.

"If you've seen one you've seen them all" is like saying if you've read one book you've read them all.

They're not a fad. Everyone in Japan reads manga. There are sports manga, manga that outline legal cases (don't ask why), manga aimed at kids, and (ick) porn manga.

Of the ones we can get here, I have Card Captor Sakura, Rurouni Kenshin, the first series of Yu-Gi-Oh, Hikaru no Go, Fullmetal Alchemist, Konjiki no Gasshu Beru (I refuse to use the dub name!), and of course Yuu Yuu Hakusho.

If I like the story or character design, I generally read the manga.

I do draw some manga/anime character sketches, which you can find on my 'blog.'

[Christine N.]

The kids in the 4th grade class I subbed for the other day were all reading the Case Closed series. Looked cute. The teacher brought them in for them, actually. He seemed like a really cool teacher. His last name was Cho, so that may have something to do with the manga thing.

Actually the kids told me I was the only other teacher besides their regular teacher who even knew what manga was. LOL, I'm the cool sub!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Case Closed is also an anime---it's a bit weird but fairly cute.

[Leva]

Has anyone seen Samurai X, the Rurouni Kenshin movie? Tell me that guy didn't have AIDS. They didn't come right out and say it, but I KNOW it was AIDS.

That movie is not considered canon by many of the fans; the ending is not based on the manga, which ends happily. Officially, his death in the movie isn't based on any 'real' disease.

However, you're right. The symptoms do fit AIDS pretty perfectly. However, given the series is set between the 1860's and 1905 or so, AIDS would be a huge anachronism. I'm not sure if it was a weird political statement, or just coincidence that the symptoms fit so well.

Also, my mind goes ... blank ... at the idea of Kenshin cheating on Kaoru. I suppose he could've caught it from any one of the fights where he ended up drenched in his opponent's blood.

Anyway, major anachronism.

Leva
(Who adores Kenshin.)

[Sailor Kenshin]

That movie is not considered canon by many of the fans; the ending is not based on the manga, which ends happily. Officially, his death in the movie isn't based on any 'real' disease.

However, you're right. The symptoms do fit AIDS pretty perfectly. However, given the series is set between the 1860's and 1905 or so, AIDS would be a huge anachronism. I'm not sure if it was a weird political statement, or just coincidence that the symptoms fit so well.

Also, my mind goes ... blank ... at the idea of Kenshin cheating on Kaoru. I suppose he could've caught it from any one of the fights where he ended up drenched in his opponent's blood.

Anyway, major anachronism.

Leva
(Who adores Kenshin.)


This is why I was warned NEVER to see the movie.

Sort of reminds me of the last saga of YYH. It wasn't canon, and a huge disappointment.

Sailor (who also adores Kenshin)

[Leva]

They have a second series of FMA coming out, as well as a second anime series. Ed's back!

I love mango....

Where did you hear this? Maybe I missed a press release or something.

(I love manga. I'm allergic to mango.)

Leva

[Leva]

It's Monday and I'm brain dead, so I can't recall the title of the movie we're discussing here.

However, I will say that the animation is gorgeous -- far better than the series, and a very different style. It basically recaps the series, covers a bit of the Enishi arc, and then takes off on its own tangent. The manga, of course, ends with a picnic and a happily ever after.

It does have some good points -- it was nice seeing Yahiko grown up. Kenji was interesting, though I had a very hard time seeing Kenshin, with his love for children, leaving his own son and Kaoru behind for years at a time while he wanders.

And Kaoru was way, way, way OC from everything we've ever seen in the books. This would be the same woman who cracked Kenshin over the head with a bokken the first time they met??? And who followed him across Japan? Meekly standing by while her husband disappears for long periods of time.

Uh-huh.

However ... it's worth watching for the animation and for a few good moments. Just turn it off a few minutes from the end and pretend it ends happily with Sano hugging Kenshin and sending him home from Russia.

This is why I was warned NEVER to see the movie.

Sort of reminds me of the last saga of YYH. It wasn't canon, and a huge disappointment.

Sailor (who also adores Kenshin)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Where did you hear this? Maybe I missed a press release or something.

(I love manga. I'm allergic to mango.)

Leva

Plus, they're hard to pit... :D

[TsukiRyoko]

The kids in the 4th grade class I subbed for the other day were all reading the Case Closed series. Looked cute. The teacher brought them in for them, actually. He seemed like a really cool teacher. His last name was Cho, so that may have something to do with the manga thing.

Actually the kids told me I was the only other teacher besides their regular teacher who even knew what manga was. LOL, I'm the cool sub!
I love the Case Closed series! Years ago they had it on television at 5 AM. It was the only time in my life I've ever woken up before the sun rose and was happy about it. I want to get ahold of the manga because the English dub job on the show is absolutely horrendous.

[TsukiRyoko]

That movie is not considered canon by many of the fans; the ending is not based on the manga, which ends happily. Officially, his death in the movie isn't based on any 'real' disease.

However, you're right. The symptoms do fit AIDS pretty perfectly. However, given the series is set between the 1860's and 1905 or so, AIDS would be a huge anachronism. I'm not sure if it was a weird political statement, or just coincidence that the symptoms fit so well.

Also, my mind goes ... blank ... at the idea of Kenshin cheating on Kaoru. I suppose he could've caught it from any one of the fights where he ended up drenched in his opponent's blood.

Anyway, major anachronism.

Leva
(Who adores Kenshin.)
I agree that the AIDS disease doesn't fit the time frame at all (unless the whole series was actually based on a cosplaying town in the 70's....) but they do fit really well.

However, Kenshin wouldn't have had to cheat on Kaoru to get it. Throughout the entire series, this guy's open wounds are splattered with other peoples blood. He's practically rolling in the stuff. Also, in the movie, he claims to have gotten the disease (he didn't call it a disease, but I can't remember what he did call it) thanks to his numberous battles and makes a reference to it being caused by the people he's killed. he also says that he doesn't want to pass the burden on to Kaoru, and Kaoru says something along the lines of, "I'll carry the burden with you," or something to that effect, then yeah. They both die. *scratches head* It really doesn't fit the time frame, but I must say it's more than a mere coincidence.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I love the Case Closed series! Years ago they had it on television at 5 AM. It was the only time in my life I've ever woken up before the sun rose and was happy about it. I want to get ahold of the manga because the English dub job on the show is absolutely horrendous.

Hontou.

I usually prefer the subs. YYH, Pokemon, FMA and Rurouni Kenshin are about the only anime where I like the dub, too.

[TsukiRyoko]

Where did you hear this? Maybe I missed a press release or something.

(I love manga. I'm allergic to mango.)

Leva
I believe it's on Anime Insider, but I can't be sure. It's true, they're making a manga and an anime for FMA part 2. I'm so excited about it that I almost had a heart attack when I heard.

[TsukiRyoko]

Hontou.

I usually prefer the subs. YYH, Pokemon, FMA and Rurouni Kenshin are about the only anime where I like the dub, too.
The only dub I prefer is Inuyasha and Cowboy Bebop, but that's simply because I've watched the animes for so long that I can't get used to the subs. Otherwise, I live for subs.

[Leva]

I agree that the AIDS disease doesn't fit the time frame at all (unless the whole series was actually based on a cosplaying town in the 70's....) but they do fit really well.

However, Kenshin wouldn't have had to cheat on Kaoru to get it. Throughout the entire series, this guy's open wounds are splattered with other peoples blood. He's practically rolling in the stuff. Also, in the movie, he claims to have gotten the disease (he didn't call it a disease, but I can't remember what he did call it) thanks to his numberous battles and makes a reference to it being caused by the people he's killed. he also says that he doesn't want to pass the burden on to Kaoru, and Kaoru says something along the lines of, "I'll carry the burden with you," or something to that effect, then yeah. They both die. *scratches head* It really doesn't fit the time frame, but I must say it's more than a mere coincidence.

Which was the other thing I found very out of character, this time on Kenshin's part. Kenshin wouldn't knowingly have passed an STD onto Kaoru. (The implication was that she didn't have it until he passed it on. Were it AIDs ... she probably already had it. But *he* didn't know that.)

Very very weird movie. (What amazes me is that it's the same director for all three movies and the TV series, all of which feel very different.)

-- I have heard a very unsubstantiated rumor that it's "common knowledge" in the Japanese anime fandom that more RuroKen episodes are currently being made, based on the Enishi arc. Does anyone speak/read enough Japanese to track this info down for me? My source wasn't what I could consider reliable so I'd love to hear it confirmed by someone else. And, also, if it's the same director doing it. (If so, busy man, because I believe he's currently working on Le Chevalier D'Eon also. Which is very good.)

Leva

[Christine N.]

Was it definitely an STD? Or could it have been something else blood borne, like Hepatitis? Or Typhoid, both of which would fit the time frame.

[TsukiRyoko]

Was it definitely an STD? Or could it have been something else blood borne, like Hepatitis? Or Typhoid, both of which would fit the time frame.
I've heard many people suggest that it was typhoid, but is that sexually transmitted as well? To be honest, I've never read into it.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I've heard many people suggest that it was typhoid, but is that sexually transmitted as well? To be honest, I've never read into it.


NO! it is not. But it can be transmitted by handling food. Google Typhoid Mary. And some can be carriers without showing symptoms.

[Christine N.]

Right. It's airborne rather than bloodborne I think, like hepatitis would be. You could definitely contract hepatitis by being exposed to someone's blood and getting it in a cut - much the way you could contract AIDS.

They're very similar in nature, and certain hep's have no cure and no vaccination.

[Leva]

Kenshin's symptoms on the show were skin lesions (kaposi's sarcoma?), physical weakness -- and later massive weakness, general sickness (possibly pneumonia) and profound confusion -- he didn't recognize Sano, or know his own name, when Sano found him in China. I believe they also portrayed him as thinner towards the end, however, this is Kenshin -- he's a bit of an anorexic shrimp to start with, so I'm not sure there if they were deliberately trying to make him look like he'd lost weight or not. At any rate, it sounds remarkably like AIDs (and assorted secondary infections). And it was definitely an STD.

Syphilis would also be a possibility, but the lesions didn't fit. (OTOH, the director has said it wasn't ANY real illness. But the symptoms fit AIDs so well I still wonder if it wasn't some sort of political statement for which I do not have the cultural/political background to appreciate.)

And I'm cheesed that the only time in the entire series where they ever show Kaoru and Kenshin in any sort of real romantic interlude was when he supposedly gave her this mystery illness. Sigh.

At any rate, both characters were way OOC in the movie in a variety of ways and the fans generally do not consider it a representation of canon Kenshin.

[Sailor Kenshin]

It. Just. Sounds. Ick.

This is not the Kenshin I know and love.

[jedimaster107]

I'm gonna get flack for this but I LOVED the Dragonball Z anime. Vegeta was too cool not to love.

:TheWave:

DRAGONBALL Z FAN HERE!!!!!!!!!

forget Vegeta. Give me teen Gohan **growls**

Both my husband and i love manga and anime. I think it's better then what's on the comic racks now a days (had 20+ books a month of comic books and now is down to 1!!!!).

lets see what the manga shelf has on it:

.hack
Saiyuki
Kindinchi Case Files
Battle Royale
Jing: King of Bandits
Love Hinda
Scryed
Chroncialcs of the Cursed Scroll
Those who Hunt elves
Video Girl AI
Banner of the Star
Canidate Goddess
Escaflowne
Midnight Goku
King of Hell
Death: A death's door
Rama 1/2
and a buntch more that we only have one or two off

now on to the anime shelf:

Dragonball Z (have everything from when Goku goes Super Saiyan to DBGT) and all moives except for the Cooler movies
both .hacks (don't have the newer one)
Outlaw star
Hellsing
Trigun
Cowboy Bebop
Rama1/2 seeson 1
Blue Gender
Excess saga
FCLC (i think that's what it is)
Gundum Wing
Those who hunt selves
Saiyuki
Zoids
Cowboy bebop movie
Jing: King of Bandits
Rave Master
FINAL FANTASY ADVANT CHILDREN!!!!!

there's more just can't see the DVD's at the moment (hubby's sitting in the chair reading at the moment and blocking my view)

Whenever i try to talk to the poeple at work about manga and anime (except one who know what i'm talking about), everyone else gives me this weird look. So i gave up.

[Sailor Kenshin]

OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to mention all my Takahashi Rumiko stuff:

Maison Ikkoku (anime and manga both, complete)
One-pound Gospel (a few vols. of the manga, looking for more)
Inu Yasha (some DVDs and the first three manga vols.)
Urusei Yatsura (first three vols. of the video---kicking self for not buying them all when there was a chance).

:D

[TsukiRyoko]

.hack
Saiyuki
Jing: King of Bandits
Scryed




Outlaw star
Trigun
Hellsing
Cowboy Bebop
Rama1/2 seeson 1
FCLC (i think that's what it is)
Saiyuki
Cowboy bebop movie
Jing: King of Bandits
FINAL FANTASY ADVANT CHILDREN!!!!!

I. Adore. You.

I haven't thought about Ranma, Outlaw Star, Saiyuki, and FLCL in YEARS!

FF Advent Children really was an awesome movie. The graphics were a real treat.

I miss .hack//Sign. I think the most recent one they have out is .hack//Roots, and it's alright, but //Sign was by far my favorite.

[TsukiRyoko]

OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to mention all my Takahashi Rumiko stuff:

*smack* Bad. Or according to your avatar, perhaps I should say, "Sit". :D

I love Takahashi's stuff. The only thing of her's that I absolutely could not get into was Urusei Yatsura. I don't know why, but it bored the hell out of me. The rest her stuff is pretty addicting though, even if it is a little, erm.... epic.

[TsukiRyoko]

Any fan of FMA and the piano might find this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfXJHP3VXM8&mode=related&search=)entertaining.

[Sailor Kenshin]

-If you have a friend or cohort or cat who's even remotely interested in chatting incessently on a forum, snag them. Force them to join. Hold an angry lobster to their head. No, but seriously, run it by them. Even if they join and don't hang around, at least they gave it a shot.

I know everyone's busy, and I know this time of year means finals, graduation, prom, stuff like that. But it'd be cool to revive the board.

That was from Dreams, who runs my fave YYH board.

If anyone's interested in joining up...Here's the forum link:

http://www.dreamsthunder.com/board/index.php

Domo! :D

[wordmonkey]

er....

....hasn't this drifted into fanboy frothing about anime and not really about comics or manga anymore?

[TsukiRyoko]

er....

....hasn't this drifted into fanboy frothing about anime and not really about comics or manga anymore?
Yes, but then, most manga boards usually do.

[Sailor Kenshin]

er....

....hasn't this drifted into fanboy frothing about anime and not really about comics or manga anymore?

You say that like it's a BAD thing.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

It may be-- I've tried to read manga more than once and it never works. I just can't get into it. I love superhero comics, but have yet to find any manga that holds my interest long enough to finish reading it.

I'm thinking it may have to do with either the translated names or some of the storytelling conventions, but I'm just not sure. The sad part is that from everything I hear I must be missing something, but I just can't see what.

[Leva]

So not a fanboy here. ;-)

But seriously -- it's almost impossible to discuss manga without throwing in a discussion of anime. It seems to me that they're so much more linked than comics vs. animation in the western world.

er....

....hasn't this drifted into fanboy frothing about anime and not really about comics or manga anymore?

[Leva]

Question for the group -- does Kurau have manga? I've only seen the first few eps of the anime, which is excellent. It's the Japanese answer to the superhero genre. (And the anime is by the same folks who did Fullmetal Alchemist, with the same level of quality.)

It may be-- I've tried to read manga more than once and it never works. I just can't get into it. I love superhero comics, but have yet to find any manga that holds my interest long enough to finish reading it.

I'm thinking it may have to do with either the translated names or some of the storytelling conventions, but I'm just not sure. The sad part is that from everything I hear I must be missing something, but I just can't see what.

[wordmonkey]

Yes, but then, most manga boards usually do.

But this isn't a manga board is it?

And if you've moved to anime, which I am sure is lovely and sexy and socially revealing, shouldn't this thread move to the TV & Movie section?

Or the, I-have-no-friends-and-sunlight-burns-my-pale-pale-skin section?

[TsukiRyoko]

But this isn't a manga board is it?

And if you've moved to anime, which I am sure is lovely and sexy and socially revealing, shouldn't this thread move to the TV & Movie section?

Or the, I-have-no-friends-and-sunlight-burns-my-pale-pale-skin section?
Sorry, I meant manga thread (which is exactly what this is). Because manga and anime go hand in hand, I feel that it's entirely appropriate for an anime/manga discussion to go on here. Just because a thread is made for one purpose doesn't mean it can't go in other directions. This thread has only strayed from the main topic a little, because manga is still the primary discussion (aside from a few posts like this one, of course).

[Leva]

But this isn't a manga board is it?

And if you've moved to anime, which I am sure is lovely and sexy and socially revealing, shouldn't this thread move to the TV & Movie section?



(1) Manga is a form of comics, so it's appropriate to discuss it here, I do believe. Mods? Do you differ?

(2) Manga and anime go hand in hand. They are inextricably linked. You *can't* discuss manga without anime. It's not like in the west where you *might* have a cartoon or a movie based on a fairly major property like Spidey or Superman, occasionally, and then 'loosely based' ... manga and anime almost have to be discussed together because, pretty much, most anime have manga associated with them. Hence the question above about Kurau, which is a very good anime with a superhero theme. Best new superhero (eastern or western) that I've seen in a long time. I'd like to know if there's a manga associated with it, and released in the west. I've searched for it on Amazon and the various distributors and not found it.

(3) Would it be off topic to, say, discuss a cartoon adaptation of Spidey on this board as it relates to the comic? i.e., discuss points where it's the same and points where it went ... way ... off base compared to comic canon? Because that's basically what we we were doing here with the Kenshin discussion.


Or the, I-have-no-friends-and-sunlight-burns-my-pale-pale-skin section?

I really hope that was a joking comment, because I found it offensive. And ironic, coming from a comic writer, which is why I am inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume there should be a smiley after that ... I've rather respected you in the past.

Leva

[wordmonkey]

So should I assume, that because anime and manga are so completely interlinked, there really is no originality there? That if you have a well received manga book, dollars-to-donuts there will be an anime as well? Same story, same art, same everything?

It just all reads so totally passe to me. It's like the comic world's Desperate House Wives. It's soapy. And lets be honest, you see one spikey-haired, bug-eyed, pointy-chinned guy with almost no nose, you have seen EVERY manga/anime character going, male OR female. And I can only watch a cartoon character morph into an even more cartoony version so many times during the emotional roller-coaster substitues for a plot. It's funny the first time, but around number 45, it gets old.

I really hope that was a joking comment, because I found it offensive. And ironic, coming from a comic writer, which is why I am inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume there should be a smiley after that ... I've rather respected you in the past.

Yeah, that was a joking comment. Because anyone who spends time in comicbooks stores, and loves comics, would likely think, "He, he means me!" and I include myself in that. Double for PeeDee. So there was an assumed level of ironic in-joking there, to an assumed in-on-the-gag audience. Kind the kettle and pot discussing varying shades of grey.

But I still think anime is crap. And if you were talking about how to write the thing, I'd be cool with it, but when it gets to the "OMG! Did you see...." panting, then it's not about the writing. Which is what this is supposed to be about. No? Isn't that why we have the other parts like the TV & Movie section that is seperate from the Scriptwriting section?

OK, I wouldn't be OK with it, I'd still b¡tch.

But please don't take it personally. I love you all. Well, there is one I don't love so much, but you who you are - and I know you're reading this now. If we nerds turn each other, it could well cause a rip in the space/time continuum. And we're the only ones likely to know how to fix it again! :D :tongue

(Two smilies, just to make sure)

[Leva]

The thing with anime and manga is that they feed off each other, so you can't discuss one without the other. And yes, pretty much, if it's a successful manga it'll have an anime made. Or more than one, in some cases.

And ... you've obviously not watched much anime or read much manga by the descriptions you're giving. *grin*

So should I assume, that because anime and manga are so completely interlinked, there really is no originality there? That if you have a well received manga book, dollars-to-donuts there will be an anime as well? Same story, same art, same everything?

It just all reads so totally passe to me. It's like the comic world's Desperate House Wives. It's soapy. And lets be honest, you see one spikey-haired, bug-eyed, pointy-chinned guy with almost no nose, you have seen EVERY manga/anime character going, male OR female.

And I can only watch a cartoon character morph into an even more cartoony version so many times during the emotional roller-coaster substitues for a plot. It's funny the first time, but around number 45, it gets old.

The art style that you're describing is just one of many. (And I've said in the past I'm allergic to chibis!) I'll tolerate it if there's a good story behind it but I'd rather see more realistic art ... and there's plenty of *that*.

And there's a huuuuuge variety of stories that are told. Not all of them are overdramatic.

There are quite a few anime (and manga) which do not have bug-eyed super deformed characters and lack overdramatic plots. You've likely seen some of the stuff aimed at kids and possibly offerings like Fullmetal Alchemist -- which has a *very* good story behind it, but the animation and manga style put me off at first. It's definitely one worth watching or reading but yes, superdeformed characters are everywhere and there is a somewhat annoying animation style in the anime.

(FMA definitely has a very adult plot ... there's a scene in the anime that gave me nightmares because of the psychological whammy it dealt. Those who've watched it likely know which one I'm talking about. That rarely happens to me ... says something about how well it was written, that it managed to get under my skin to that extent.)

I mention FMA specifically because it is screewriting related ... there is absolutely *no way* a western studio would greenlight an animation project that had some of the content that FMA contains. It's extremely well written and pulls absolutely no punches. Characters die -- not in the 'oh, well, it's a comic book, they'll come back later' sense -- but rather, DEAD. Significant plot points. One is a small child, and you *know* in a western animated series (or live action show) the heroes would've rescued her at the last minute. Particularly the *way* she dies, and that she wasn't a minor character.

I've always found interesting the things that are taboo in the west vs. east.

(Edit: I just realized that the character's death probably had even more of an impact to Japanese audiences. The scene that gave me nightmares was the silhouette of the child's body on a wall. Err, this is Japan. Silhouettes of bodies on walls are probably rather ingrained in their psyche.)

Le Chevalier d'Eon also comes to mind as a recent release that has an almost western style of animation ... and it's set in France and Russia during the court of Louis the 15th, with a nice fantasy sub plot and a wink and a nod to real history. I can't speak for the manga as I haven't seen it, but I'm guessing it's similar, as it's not a plot that would lend itself to excessively emotional characters. (I've actually commented on d'Eon for being *too* realistic in the anime. The mouth movements look subtly "off" -- likely because I'm lip reading the characters and the animation is drawn for japanese speech. So, even though they're pretty good at matching syllable to syllable up with the animation ... the characters are mouthing the wrong words.)

One other thing to remember with manga (and anime) is that there's a *language* to comic writing. I'm sure you're familiar with Western conventions for portraying emotions ... quite simply, Japanese manga was developed independently and they use a different 'visual language' to get concepts across. Like a teardrop shapped 'sweat drop' to indicate that a character's stressing, or a cross shaped deally attached to a head indicating anger (stylized veins popping out of a forehead) ... it's just another visual language. Same thing with swirly eyes indicating dizziness, or eyes with no pupils indicating unconsciousness (or mind control.)

Once you internalize the visual language ... it's easier to read and doesn't seem nearly so foreign. (I got into manga fairly recently and found it very silly at first, then ... adapted. My perceptions changed. I got used to seeing the visual language and it didn't seem so strange.)


Yeah, that was a joking comment. Because anyone who spends time in comicbooks stores, and loves comics, would likely think, "He, he means me!" and I include myself in that. Double for PeeDee. So there was an assumed level of ironic in-joking there, to an assumed in-on-the-gag audience. Kind the kettle and pot discussing varying shades of grey.

But I still think anime is crap. And if you were talking about how to write the thing, I'd be cool with it, but when it gets to the "OMG! Did you see...." panting, then it's not about the writing. Which is what this is supposed to be about. No? Isn't that why we have the other parts like the TV & Movie section that is seperate from the Scriptwriting section?

OK, I wouldn't be OK with it, I'd still b¡tch.

But please don't take it personally. I love you all. Well, there is one I don't love so much, but you who you are - and I know you're reading this now. If we nerds turn each other, it could well cause a rip in the space/time continuum. And we're the only ones likely to know how to fix it again! :D :tongue

(Two smilies, just to make sure)

*grins* Okay, I hoped you were joking.

[Sailor Kenshin]

So should I assume, that because anime and manga are so completely interlinked, there really is no originality there? That if you have a well received manga book, dollars-to-donuts there will be an anime as well? Same story, same art, same everything?

It just all reads so totally passe to me. It's like the comic world's Desperate House Wives.
(Two smilies, just to make sure)

Your taste is your taste, but since this is a MANGA thread, it's likely that we will be discussing MANGA as well as a bit of anime.

[Leva]

Just as an additional comment ... is there any difference between discussing, say, Kenshin vs. discussing Captain America?

The Kenshin discussion had quite a bit to do with the differences between manga canon and the anime ...

*grins* I like you, wordmonkey, but the 'anime is crap' attitude pushes a few buttons. It's sort've like if you saw, maybe, two or three Hollywood movies and a few episodes of a TV show and declared every western movie was crap ever made, blanket statement.

And the shows you saw were, say, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Highlander 2, and the 60's Batman series ... and you were basing your opinion on *that* without ever seeing anything else.

*Most* of what people see is either bits and pieces at cons (not enough to really form an opinion) or what's shown on morning cartoons aimed at kids -- often badly dubbed and heavily edited and representative of only a limited number of styles. Can we say, "Yet another anime centered around a card or video game?"

The truth is there's a huge variety of styles, and subject matters, and rating levels. It's safe to say that anime covers the same breadth of subjects that live action movies cover in the west (without the limitations of live actors!) and that manga probably covers more subjects than comics do here.

Anyway ... sorry to pick on you, but the 'all anime is the same/all is crap' attitude is something that irritates me. :-)

Leva

(Who has been known to write scathing review of bad anime. Because there's (Air) plenty (Gear) out there. And scathing reviews of bad western animation, too.)

[Dave.C.Robinson]

Just as an additional comment ... is there any difference between discussing, say, Kenshin vs. discussing Captain America?

The Kenshin discussion had quite a bit to do with the differences between manga canon and the anime ...

*grins* I like you, wordmonkey, but the 'anime is crap' attitude pushes a few buttons. It's sort've like if you saw, maybe, two or three Hollywood movies and a few episodes of a TV show and declared every western movie was crap ever made, blanket statement.

And the shows you saw were, say, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Highlander 2, and the 60's Batman series ... and you were basing your opinion on *that* without ever seeing anything else.

*Most* of what people see is either bits and pieces at cons (not enough to really form an opinion) or what's shown on morning cartoons aimed at kids -- often badly dubbed and heavily edited and representative of only a limited number of styles. Can we say, "Yet another anime centered around a card or video game?"

The truth is there's a huge variety of styles, and subject matters, and rating levels. It's safe to say that anime covers the same breadth of subjects that live action movies cover in the west (without the limitations of live actors!) and that manga probably covers more subjects than comics do here.

Anyway ... sorry to pick on you, but the 'all anime is the same/all is crap' attitude is something that irritates me. :-)

Leva

(Who has been known to write scathing review of bad anime. Because there's (Air) plenty (Gear) out there. And scathing reviews of bad western animation, too.)

There's a huge difference between a discussion of Kenshin and one of Captain America. I can make intelligent contributions to a discussion of Captain America but not to one of Kenshin.

I've been following this thread mostly because I see how much the kids like anime and manga but I still can't follow it that easily. I picked up a manga today and tried to read it, but I had difficulty following the page layout. I'm not sure why, but I find it hard to follow some of the panels.

It's possible that part of my problem is that I just haven't found a manga that's about characters I'm interested in.

[Leva]

There's a huge difference between a discussion of Kenshin and one of Captain America. I can make intelligent contributions to a discussion of Captain America but not to one of Kenshin.

I've been following this thread mostly because I see how much the kids like anime and manga but I still can't follow it that easily. I picked up a manga today and tried to read it, but I had difficulty following the page layout. I'm not sure why, but I find it hard to follow some of the panels.

It's possible that part of my problem is that I just haven't found a manga that's about characters I'm interested in.

Wordmonkey was essentially claiming that discussing a comic wasn't allowed; this was about *writing* comics. I was cheerfully pointing out that he'd discussed Captain America recently. Is all. (Wordmonkey, sorry for picking on you.) Honestly, I've kept out of most of the comic discussions because, while I get the basic characters, I don't know the details, sooo what goes around comes around.

Regarding following the page layout -- you are aware that, with a few exceptions, manga is read *right to left* rather than left to right? There's the occasional manga that has been flipped for western consumption (Inuyasha comes to mind) but this causes problems with the art.

Took me a little bit to 'internalize' that because we're used to reading everything left to right in the western world. Even when I *knew* this I had a bit of trouble.

What sorts of comics & fantasy/sf books do you like? I'm betting people could make some suggestions.

Leva

[wordmonkey]

Wordmonkey was essentially claiming that discussing a comic wasn't allowed; this was about *writing* comics. I was cheerfully pointing out that he'd discussed Captain America recently. Is all. (Wordmonkey, sorry for picking on you.) Honestly, I've kept out of most of the comic discussions because, while I get the basic characters, I don't know the details, sooo what goes around comes around.

Actually I was just pushig buttons because I've been ill and feeling a little testy. Wasn't been being nasty though, just teasing.

I don't have a problem with Manga, per se. In the same way that me saying it's crap irked Leva, the "Manga is IT" attitude irks me. And in fairness, could be that I just don't get it. But a big part is that vibe that if you don't get it, you're missing something.

Your point about Cap is an interesting one. Maybe not the best example, because the recent event around Cap is a major one that sends ripples through the industry, so that odes impact the writing part. But I'll give you that point in general. Getting all fanboy about the anime part though, that's pushing it for me. And again, personal taste here. The animation ISN'T that hot. There tends to be some really slick animation sequences linked by some really poor animation. I see nothing in anime or manga that I can't get, done just as well, elsewhere.

That's no reason to nix it in and of itself, but what is new to hook me?

[TsukiRyoko]

That's no reason to nix it in and of itself, but what is new to hook me?
I can fully understand why someone couldn't get into manga. As much as it'll rub a few manga fans the wrong way, chances are if you don't like one manga, you probably won't like the rest. Most of them do follow a certain pattern in the writing (and, of course, the style) and some people just aren't into that. That's why people are usually either really, really into manga, or just can't understand the frenzy at all. Lucky for me, I'm the former.

[Leva]

Actually I was just pushig buttons because I've been ill and feeling a little testy. Wasn't been being nasty though, just teasing.

I don't have a problem with Manga, per se. In the same way that me saying it's crap irked Leva, the "Manga is IT" attitude irks me. And in fairness, could be that I just don't get it. But a big part is that vibe that if you don't get it, you're missing something.


You won't get the "Manga is IT" attitude from me. I'm so-not-a-fanatic about anything.

Actually -- this is an anime example, not manga -- but I recently roundly panned an anime DVD that I was sent for a review. I called it like I saw it -- it was sexist trash with VERY bad language in the English dub substituting for actual dialogue. I mean, every other word was blue.

It amazed me the number of nasty comments I got from fans who claimed I "didn't understand the culture" ... sorry, trash is trash. But there were a LOT of anime fans who seemed to have the feeling that because it's anime, if I'm an anime fan, I have to like it.

Some anime fans can be ... scary.

I tend to be pretty picky about what I read, watch, etc. Period. And I'll call it like I see it.


Your point about Cap is an interesting one. Maybe not the best example, because the recent event around Cap is a major one that sends ripples through the industry, so that odes impact the writing part. But I'll give you that point in general. Getting all fanboy about the anime part though, that's pushing it for me. And again, personal taste here. The animation ISN'T that hot. There tends to be some really slick animation sequences linked by some really poor animation. I see nothing in anime or manga that I can't get, done just as well, elsewhere.

That's no reason to nix it in and of itself, but what is new to hook me?

With manga ... different cultures and story-telling conventions. As a writer -- though I don't write comics -- I find exposing myself to stories that don't follow *western* conventions to be inspirational. There's quite a bit to be learned from reading the fiction of another culture. It really broadens my horizons to see how other people tell stories.

In anime ... the thing I love is the lack of censorship. They can get away with storylines American studios can't. Many of the stories (the ones aimed at adults) feel "truer" to me because the punches aren't pulled and they actually "go there" -- characters die, and stay dead. Characters make serious, change-their-lives bad mistakes and then have to deal with the consequences not in one episode but over long arcs of episodes. Bad shit happens to good people and they have to deal, and it's not all happily ever after at the end. Characters have romantic relationships -- I'm not talking about the hentai stuff, but, simply, characters having relationships that extend beyond dating and possibly, "And they lived happily ever after."

The stories are just ... fuller. They can cover more territory. American animation as a rule tends to pull its punches.

And I am *not* a fanatic about anime -- this is not "fan girl" squeeing, or at least, I hope it's not. Because I'm more than willing to be critical of anime shows when they deserve it.

And I have some American shows I love just as much. (Gargoyles and Justice League come to mind.) But I also cringe when I hear the, "All anime is about googly-eyed characters with funny voices!" type comments. Because it's not.

Anyway. :-)

And I get the cranky. I think I was being cranky right back at you, so we're even.

[SilverVistani]

Most definitely a fan here. Gotta love it! I read (and watch) a little of everything, really, though most of the series I own tend to be 1) fantasy based in some way or another and 2) often shojo manga. But hey, I'm female. I also just tend to really liket he stories. *shrugs a bit*

Again, though. Little of everything.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yet note that the title of this thread is not "Are there any manga haters out there?"

And there is also nothing illegal in letting the discussion edge over into anime, especially when the manga has evolved into an anime. It's often fun to compare and contrast.

[wordmonkey]

Actually -- this is an anime example, not manga -- but I recently roundly panned an anime DVD that I was sent for a review. I called it like I saw it -- it was sexist trash with VERY bad language in the English dub substituting for actual dialogue. I mean, every other word was blue.

Actually I think maybe this is another issue I have with it. The dubbing always seems horrible. And you should always remember that the unspoken part of anything I say is "in my experience."

It amazed me the number of nasty comments I got from fans who claimed I "didn't understand the culture" ... sorry, trash is trash. But there were a LOT of anime fans who seemed to have the feeling that because it's anime, if I'm an anime fan, I have to like it.

Which was the point I was making before about it being "it!"

Some anime fans can be ... scary.

Oh I think you can replace anime with just about anything in that sentence. Almost seems like you can't have a pop-culture fanbase without it having its own fundamentalist wing.

I tend to be pretty picky about what I read, watch, etc. Period. And I'll call it like I see it.

From what I know of you, that's what I would have expected.

With manga ... different cultures and story-telling conventions. As a writer -- though I don't write comics -- I find exposing myself to stories that don't follow *western* conventions to be inspirational. There's quite a bit to be learned from reading the fiction of another culture. It really broadens my horizons to see how other people tell stories.

I totally agree with you on this. But I'd rather go a little higher-brow. Seems I can learn more about the culture by reading "The Journey West" or "The Art of War" or "Lao Tzu." Which, for the record, I have. :D

In anime ... the thing I love is the lack of censorship. They can get away with storylines American studios can't. Many of the stories (the ones aimed at adults) feel "truer" to me because the punches aren't pulled and they actually "go there" -- characters die, and stay dead. Characters make serious, change-their-lives bad mistakes and then have to deal with the consequences not in one episode but over long arcs of episodes. Bad shit happens to good people and they have to deal, and it's not all happily ever after at the end. Characters have romantic relationships -- I'm not talking about the hentai stuff, but, simply, characters having relationships that extend beyond dating and possibly, "And they lived happily ever after."

Well, with anime, you have a different attitude towards animation. With anime and manga, there is no stigma about it being a kids genre/style. Manga is read on the moring commute. So I would expect it to be more adult. But since my focus here is more comics, I think you could find everything you are claiming is in manga, in western books too. "Watchmen" alone has all that and more.

The stories are just ... fuller. They can cover more territory. American animation as a rule tends to pull its punches.

Because generally it's aimed at kids. Adult content is a relative new addition when the studios realized that if they made a movie appealing to the adults who take the kids, they'd be more likely to actually take the kids.

And I am *not* a fanatic about anime -- this is not "fan girl" squeeing, or at least, I hope it's not. Because I'm more than willing to be critical of anime shows when they deserve it.

At last!

It seemed like this was a chick-fest here. Finally someone bites at the "fanboy" comment.

Though it does make me wonder if manga is the comic version of chick-lit.

And I have some American shows I love just as much. (Gargoyles and Justice League come to mind.) But I also cringe when I hear the, "All anime is about googly-eyed characters with funny voices!" type comments. Because it's not.

You forgot Batman: TAS.

Anyway. :-)

And I get the cranky. I think I was being cranky right back at you, so we're even.

We are indeed. But in fairness, I was trying to push your buttons (in a teasing way - nothing nasty) so you had just cause.

[wordmonkey]

Yet note that the title of this thread is not "Are there any manga haters out there?"

And there is also nothing illegal in letting the discussion edge over into anime, especially when the manga has evolved into an anime. It's often fun to compare and contrast.

And given the title of the thread, I'm just as free to say, "No. And here's why." :D

[Sailor Kenshin]

There are some very good dubs out there, and others I can't stand.

Good dubs:

Rurouni Kenshin
Pokemon
Yuu Yuu Hakusho
Fullmetal Alchemist


Horrid dubs:

Sailor Moon
Konjiki no Gasshu Beru, known as (shudder) Zatch Bell in the vile dub


I also find the contrast between a manga and its animated series fascinating. Often enough, the anime actually improves on the dramatic content.

[Lyra Jean]

After watching dubbed versions and subbed versions, I prefer the subbed versions. I don't miss anything by reading the subtitles and you get to hear the original voices.

[Leva]

Dubbing has gotten a lot better in recent years. I'm more than old enough to remember Voltron ... and lip movements that didn't even bother to match up.

I'd beg to differ on Kenshin, though. It's okay to listen to -- the actors are decent -- but I think they subtly missed some things in the character's personality in the translation to spoken English. Watch the subtitles or read the manga and then listen to the dubbed anime and you'll see what I mean.

Leva

There are some very good dubs out there, and others I can't stand.

Good dubs:

Rurouni Kenshin
Pokemon
Yuu Yuu Hakusho
Fullmetal Alchemist


Horrid dubs:

Sailor Moon
Konjiki no Gasshu Beru, known as (shudder) Zatch Bell in the vile dub


I also find the contrast between a manga and its animated series fascinating. Often enough, the anime actually improves on the dramatic content.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Dubbing has gotten a lot better in recent years. I'm more than old enough to remember Voltron ... and lip movements that didn't even bother to match up.

I'd beg to differ on Kenshin, though. It's okay to listen to -- the actors are decent -- but I think they subtly missed some things in the character's personality in the translation to spoken English. Watch the subtitles or read the manga and then listen to the dubbed anime and you'll see what I mean.

Leva

Seen 'em, read 'em. :D

I still think RK is a good dub. They are going to miss subtleties in the translation, but then again they are playing to an American audience, not all of whom are otaku.

They did the same thing with YYH---made a lot of the humor appreciable by the American audience, and it worked.

I saw something a couple weeks ago on CN's Adult Swim, and it was like being back in the Land of Voltron---the lip flaps didn't come anywhere near the dialogue. :Shrug: I don't remember the name of the anime, though.

[TsukiRyoko]

Horrid dubs:

Sailor Moon
Konjiki no Gasshu Beru, known as (shudder) Zatch Bell in the vile dub



I find that most dubs are poorly done. They don't pay attention to the best voice that fits the character, timing, important phrases, or emotional impact. That's why I usually only either stick to dubs or manga. Example- Marmalade Boy. It wasn't the best anime around in Japanese, but they KILLED it when they put it into English. Inuyasha? Same thing. With Inuyasha, though, I prefer the anime because it doesn't have the same childish art style that Takahashi is known for (the style fits for Ranma, but not Inuyasha, methinks). I'll have to start on the manga soon though, because the series stopped. :cry:

Oh! Has anyone read X-Day? If so, please explain the "cow" ending for me. I still don't get it. I loved it when they were planning on blowing up the school, but then it just skipped to the cow.

[Nakhlasmoke]

I'm always late to parties...*sigh*

I'm not a rabid fan, but I do enjoy manga (and the resulting anime *wink wink*). I'll admit I stopped watching Bleach ages ago, when they hit the filler plot, and I haven't yet wheeled back round to watching it again, even though fillers are over. Bad me. And yes, subs over dubs any time. :)

As for styles, they are so varied that it irks me that people only seem to see - as an example - Dragonball Z and take that as the be all and end all. There are some very clever mangas and anime out there (Furi Kuri, FLCL - whatever you want to call it - springs to mind.) and some very slow, dreamy fantastical stuff like Mushi-shi.

So, nothing new to add to this discussion really, but I just decided to join in anyway.

[TsukiRyoko]

Nak- FLCL really was a cool anime/manga. One of the few out there that you could read/watch over and over again without getting bored (plus, you had to in order to understand it fully).

[Nakhlasmoke]

Nak- FLCL really was a cool anime/manga. One of the few out there that you could read/watch over and over again without getting bored (plus, you had to in order to understand it fully).

Yeah, I'd love to be able to recommend it to anime newbs, but I do think that there are so many in-jokes that it might not fly as a starting place. it's well worth re-watching though, and as you say, repeated viewing is probably necessary to get all the layers.

I also have a secret love of er...*shuffles, looks at the floor*...





...Loveless. *Hides* (argh, my sekrit is out.)

[Leva]

Actually, I tend to prefer dubs over subs even when I gripe about dubs. The issue is that I can only watch about twenty or thirty minutes (so one episode) of a show before the subtitles give me a migraine.

Reading text on a background of changing colors? Is a baaaaad thing for me. Plus my vision is significantly less than 20/20 so it means sitting very close to the screen, which doesn't help the migraine bit. Bright pulsating lights at close range, ow.

I concede that subtitles generally give you a better sense of the story. It's just not how I usually watch my anime.

SailorKenshin>> Well, duh, I suppose you have read the manga. LOL. But the thing with Kenshin is that he's such a subtle character in many ways, with so many different layers, that the dubbing -- while pretty decent given the limitations of lip flaps and whatnot -- leaves his characterization lacking. It's not bad, and it's probably as good as it can be, but ... well, this is one anime I've been slowly watching with the subs (see comments above!) and it's way better subtitled.

TsukiRyoko> I had a hard time getting into Inuyasha originally, believe it or not. The animation really turned me off. I now own *all* the manga up to 29 (which is the last one released). And, uh, <whispers> I wrote fanfiction for it</whispers>. I do love the characters but both the animation and the manga have some serious flaws. But then, what show doesn't?

Nakhlasmoke> Regarding Bleach -- have you read the manga? I couldn't get into the anime on that one at all; I watched the first eight episodes and couldn't even bring myself to review them. The whole concept of the soul society left me going, "Huh?" -- Maybe I need to watch more eps, or read the manga. Is the manga significantly better?

[TsukiRyoko]

Yeah, I'd love to be able to recommend it to anime newbs, but I do think that there are so many in-jokes that it might not fly as a starting place. it's well worth re-watching though, and as you say, repeated viewing is probably necessary to get all the layers.

I also have a secret love of er...*shuffles, looks at the floor*...





...Loveless. *Hides* (argh, my sekrit is out.)
Loveless wasn't a bad anime (I don't know if they have a manga or not, but I watched the Jap sub). That's another one you have to watch at least twice.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Actually, I tend to prefer dubs over subs even when I gripe about dubs. The issue is that I can only watch about twenty or thirty minutes (so one episode) of a show before the subtitles give me a migraine.

Reading text on a background of changing colors? Is a baaaaad thing for me. Plus my vision is significantly less than 20/20 so it means sitting very close to the screen, which doesn't help the migraine bit. Bright pulsating lights at close range, ow.

I concede that subtitles generally give you a better sense of the story. It's just not how I usually watch my anime.




You'll just have to learn Japanese. :D



I can speak ten whole words.... :tongue

[Nakhlasmoke]

Leva: Re: Bleach. I found the manga more fun, I think the humour sometimes got kiddied down a bit for tv, and don't even get me started on the weird storyline that the anime filler brought in. *headdesk* I love Kubo Tite's artwork, so the manga has that as a plus.

I think it gets stronger past the first few chapters/episodes. But it's very much a shounen manga so if that's not your thing then you're just not gonna enjoy it.

TsukiRyoko: I haven't seen the Loveless anime, I haven't been able to get hold of it in South Africa, although I did find a place that had it listed as Out Of Stock. Very helpful. :P

[Snitchcat]

I had a hard time getting into Inuyasha originally, believe it or not. The animation really turned me off. I now own *all* the manga up to 29 (which is the last one released).

I didn't realise the English version of Inu-Yasha was lagging by that much. Would've thought the translations were almost keeping pace.

As a head's up: this is long series. I'm waiting for #48.


Re, Bleach:
Filler? What filler? Shows you I've not watched the anime. :p Anyhow, same with Inu-Yasha, Bleach isn't finished. Waiting for #28 (I think).

But I still think anime is crap.
I was going to respond to this. But... I don't remember what I wanted to say; only recall that it irks me and still does. Must ponder more.

[Leva]

Re: Inuyasha -- I know it's very long. As far as I know it's only available through #29. There can be *very* long delays for distributors to release stuff in the US.

There's a site that has English translations of the Japanese manga that's pretty current and which I've read some of, though it's not the same as seeing the pictures. (Even if I think the art has some serious flaws, the pictures do help carry the story!)

(Edit to add: I need a bigger house for all the books, DVDs, and manga I've collected over the years. My Inuyasha manga is currently living in a couple boxes. I need to get another box, too.)

Leva

I didn't realise the English version of Inu-Yasha was lagging by that much. Would've thought the translations were almost keeping pace.

As a head's up: this is long series. I'm waiting for #48.


Re, Bleach:
Filler? What filler? Shows you I've not watched the anime. :p Anyhow, same with Inu-Yasha, Bleach isn't finished. Waiting for #28 (I think).


I was going to respond to this. But... I don't remember what I wanted to say; only recall that it irks me and still does. Must ponder more.

[Dancre]

Most definitely a fan here. Gotta love it! I read (and watch) a little of everything, really, though most of the series I own tend to be 1) fantasy based in some way or another and 2) often shojo manga. But hey, I'm female. I also just tend to really liket he stories. *shrugs a bit*

Again, though. Little of everything.

I love it all myself, Silver. i like anime (Sat night Cartoon network!) and manga, but not so much western comics. Interesting, huh? I like the manga and anime b/c the characters are soooo over the top. The men are "manly" men. But the women are always forced into the background, which is sad. And the plots, holy moly, I love the plots!! But I think most folks don't like Mangas and anime b/c the MC interacts with minor characters for a chapter, then at the end of the chapter, the minor character and MC part ways and go on to the next minor character. You get used to the minor chara and poof, then are gone. That's a no-no in western writing. But that's the culture. But then there is this underlying arc that weaves all the chapters together. Man, I still can't figure that out. Those japanese writers are genuses.

I'm glad to finally find adults who come out of the manga/comics/ anime closet. It's so good to know I'm not, well, strange. A nerd, yes, strange, no. hehe.

kim

[Trench Kamen]

Might as well start off in this thread, as I know what is going on in here.

Long time anime/manga fan here. In short for discussion:

Escaflowne anime is incredible; manga is horrid.

I cannot believe I have seen no mention of Shoujo Kakumei Utena or Tokyo Babylon / X. The former is my favorite anime; the latter my favorite manga.

[Lyra Jean]

I saw EscaFlowne anime. I didn't like it. I want my happy ending damn it.

I'm currently watching Fushigi Yuugi anime. It is turning out way better than EscaFlowne. I'm on the last disc.

I'm currently at #14 in Naruto manga and that is one where I want to get the anime as well.

[TsukiRyoko]

Might as well start off in this thread, as I know what is going on in here.

Long time anime/manga fan here. In short for discussion:

Escaflowne anime is incredible; manga is horrid.

I cannot believe I have seen no mention of Shoujo Kakumei Utena or Tokyo Babylon / X. The former is my favorite anime; the latter my favorite manga.
Utena was pretty awesome. Haven't even thought about Utena in a long time until now. Old school anime/manga really was the best

[Snitchcat]

Utena was pretty awesome. Haven't even thought about Utena in a long time until now. Old school anime/manga really was the best

Utena was... I think I need to read the manga. The anime was too full of plot holes for me.

X was very cool, but the manga tranlsation stopped. Annoying, that. I believe they ran into translation rights probs. Not sure, though.

[TsukiRyoko]

Utena was... I think I need to read the manga. The anime was too full of plot holes for me.

X was very cool, but the manga tranlsation stopped. Annoying, that. I believe they ran into translation rights probs. Not sure, though.
It was. The anime wasn't very good at all- mostly filler.

[Snitchcat]

It was. The anime wasn't very good at all- mostly filler.

Is that why? Wow, that explains a lot about why I didn't understand it! LOL.

[AceTachyon]

(2) Manga and anime go hand in hand. They are inextricably linked. You *can't* discuss manga without anime.

Is that always the case?

Laputa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Bubblegum Crisis/Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Aura Battler Dunbine and Grave of the Fireflies are some anime I seem to recall that didn't have a manga link.

[wordmonkey]

SO, as a result of this thread and you crazy mixed up kids, I was thining about manga/anime/etc.

Then, as luck would have it, my middle kid is feeling sick, so I send an afternoon laying beside him in bed, watching cartoons (amazing that in an age of incredible medical breakthroughs, a hug and cartoons seem more effective than kids motrin).

One of the cartoons that came on was Naruto. So I figured that since I had watched an episode, I'd ask you guys how you rank/rate that show? Give me some kinda point of reference from you gurus.

[TsukiRyoko]

Is that always the case?

Laputa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Bubblegum Crisis/Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Aura Battler Dunbine and Grave of the Fireflies are some anime I seem to recall that didn't have a manga link.
I know for sure that Spirited Away has a manga, and I believe that Princess Mononoke has one as well, but both were made after the movie I think. Regardless, it still represents the manga/anime connection.

[TsukiRyoko]

SO, as a result of this thread and you crazy mixed up kids, I was thining about manga/anime/etc.

Then, as luck would have it, my middle kid is feeling sick, so I send an afternoon laying beside him in bed, watching cartoons (amazing that in an age of incredible medical breakthroughs, a hug and cartoons seem more effective than kids motrin).

One of the cartoons that came on was Naruto. So I figured that since I had watched an episode, I'd ask you guys how you rank/rate that show? Give me some kinda point of reference from you gurus.
I'm not a big fan of Naruto, but I know a lot of people who are. It's not terrible, but it's not that great in my opinion, either. But then, most of the animes that I'd give a 10 to are gunslingers.

[BlueBadger]

I'm a manga fan, and I write reviews for Cinescape.com, so I get lots of it for free. :D My personal recommendations:

Death Note
The Drifting Classroom
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
Emma
Phoenix. Everyone must read Phoenix.

[AceTachyon]

I know for sure that Spirited Away has a manga, and I believe that Princess Mononoke has one as well, but both were made after the movie I think. Regardless, it still represents the manga/anime connection.

I don't discount the connection. But the earlier statement seemed to imply that all manga had an anime and vice versa.

[TsukiRyoko]

Any other Boogiepop Phantom fans?

[Sai]

Any other Boogiepop Phantom fans?

Oh, oh me! I haven't seen the anime but I love the manga and novels. I like the first book best. The narration was confusing at first, but very rewarding on re-reads.

[Dancre]

SO, as a result of this thread and you crazy mixed up kids, I was thining about manga/anime/etc.

Then, as luck would have it, my middle kid is feeling sick, so I send an afternoon laying beside him in bed, watching cartoons (amazing that in an age of incredible medical breakthroughs, a hug and cartoons seem more effective than kids motrin).

One of the cartoons that came on was Naruto. So I figured that since I had watched an episode, I'd ask you guys how you rank/rate that show? Give me some kinda point of reference from you gurus.

I love Naruto. I watch the anime on Sat nights or tape if I have to. I like the characters. They follow Uncle Jim's teachings, in that each minor character believes the story is about them. That's what I love. The minor characters who help Naruto get to the other side of the chess board have lives of their own. And what I also find amazing is the writer isn't a writer, but an artist and learned all of his writing tech on the run. His first vol is like a PA book, ugh!! Horrible written. But somewhere between vols 1 and 2, he learned to write and his manga improved. Now wouldn't ya like to be a fly on that wall!!

kim

[TsukiRyoko]

Oh, oh me! I haven't seen the anime but I love the manga and novels. I like the first book best. The narration was confusing at first, but very rewarding on re-reads.
They skewed the anime quite a bit, but it's still pretty cool and has awesome background and theme music. Still, the manga's better. Not as many plotholes.

[Leva]

I'm not a huge fan of Naruto, though I may change my mind on that when I get a chance to watch it from the beginning. (Which I plan to.) It seems aimed at children. Haven't seen enough episodes to judge plot or characterization.

If you want to watch a good anime or read a good manga about a samurai, Rurouni Kenshin is the one that seems to appeal to the broadest segment of viewers.*

You can get the anime from Netflix. It's a fun series to watch with older kids because it touches on some actual history that is not often covered in school -- the mid to late 1800's in Japan, right when they were starting to industrialize. Very interesting from a historical standpoint to figure out what's real and what's fantasy.

(*In the context of kids watching, and Kenshin, I always give the caveat on Kenshin that there is one episode that has underage drinking -- which would have been culturally and historically accurate -- and there is a transvestite villain in a few episodes. And there's quite a bit of blood, often Kenshin's, which can be surprising to people used to western cartoons. That said, I would put it at about a "Buffy" level of violence/content. That's for the series. The OVAs have stronger content.)

Leva

SO, as a result of this thread and you crazy mixed up kids, I was thining about manga/anime/etc.

Then, as luck would have it, my middle kid is feeling sick, so I send an afternoon laying beside him in bed, watching cartoons (amazing that in an age of incredible medical breakthroughs, a hug and cartoons seem more effective than kids motrin).

One of the cartoons that came on was Naruto. So I figured that since I had watched an episode, I'd ask you guys how you rank/rate that show? Give me some kinda point of reference from you gurus.

[BlueBadger]

I was recently sent "King of Thorn" by Tokyopop. I know the scanlation has been out for ages, but it's a great manga (and it looks good on your bookshelf!). If you're into Battle Royale or Drifting Classroom, give it a go.

[Leva]

Replying to my own reccommendation here because I rewatched the first Kenshin OVA & realized how *gory* it is. Very graphic violence, which is somewhat appropriate because it's Kenshin's back story and explains why he is the way he is. However, it is definitely not suitable for children as Kenshin is a *boy*, a teenage assassin, killing people, with graphic depictions of said kills.

(The series itself is, pretty much, older child safe, with the caveats I mentioned.)

[invisigirl591]

I love reading mangas! I am also working on one myself, it's called Jalan Agaa.
I like these (though I have not read many)
Fruits Basket
Bizenghast
The Dreaming
Vampire Knight (which is my favorite!)
Tsubasa
xxxHolic
Chobits
Host Club

anyway I love anime and manga. I draw it too! Here is one of my drawings: http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/invisigirl591/Tohru.jpg?t=1183432642

[Sailor Kenshin]

I love reading mangas! I am also working on one myself, it's called Jalan Agaa.
I like these (though I have not read many)
Fruits Basket
Bizenghast
The Dreaming
Vampire Knight (which is my favorite!)
Tsubasa
xxxHolic
Chobits
Host Club

anyway I love anime and manga. I draw it too! Here is one of my drawings: http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/invisigirl591/Tohru.jpg?t=1183432642

Cute character design! You can see some of my sketches if you scroll down far enough on my LJ:

[Richard White]

Favorite Mangas:
Tenchi Muyo (original and New Adventures)
Oh My Goddess
Love Hina
A.I. Love You
Battle Angel Alita
Hyper Police
Full Metal Panic
Sakura Taisen
Chobits
Silent Mobius
Gunsmith Cats
Video Girl AI
Ai Yori Aoshi
DearS
Shadow Lady

[BlueBadger]

This just in (gasp!): Barefoot Gen is a must-read series. It's the story of a boy who lived through Hiroshima, and I'd say it's on the same level as Maus. In fact, the foreword for the latest translation (by Last Gasp) is written by Art Speigelman.

[TsukiRyoko]

This just in (gasp!): Barefoot Gen is a must-read series. It's the story of a boy who lived through Hiroshima, and I'd say it's on the same level as Maus. In fact, the foreword for the latest translation (by Last Gasp) is written by Art Speigelman.
I've heard it's good, but I've never had anyone tell me what it was about. Indeed, it does sound very good.

[BlueBadger]

If you'd like a little more insight, I have reviews of the first two volumes published. :)

Volume One (http://www.mania.com/55007.html)
Volume Two (http://www.mania.com/55008.html)

[Xx|e|ph|e|me|r|al|xX]

Xx|Oh, yes. i do so love Manga. The art is so pretty. I prefer it over Anime, in most cases. But I like both.

Let's see...off the top of my head, I have:

Mangas
Alchino - If you've ever doubted the beauty of Manga, check this one out. Breathtaking drawings...
Alice 19th
Chobits - for a time...i haven't read these in a while
Fruits Basket - I need to catch up on these. But i LOVE Ayame and Yuki. <3
Medabots
Some DNAngel
The first GATE (is the second even out yet?)

And a couple others I can't remember. XD

Animes
Spiral
Spirited Away (Saw this in theaters too, I think)
Kiki's Delivery Service (So cute!)
Totoru
Metropolis (One of my favorite movies ever)
Uhm...one or two other Miyazaki films, i forget...
Fruits Basket
Sailor Moon
Medabots
Some DNAngel

Again, and a few others I can't remember. :tongue

I want to draw a graphic novel one day. And my style would definitely be influenced by manga, especially of the Alichino variety. :D|xX

[TsukiRyoko]

Xx|Oh, yes. i do so love Manga. The art is so pretty. I prefer it over Anime, in most cases. But I like both.

Let's see...off the top of my head, I have:

Mangas
Alchino - If you've ever doubted the beauty of Manga, check this one out. Breathtaking drawings...
Alice 19th
Chobits - for a time...i haven't read these in a while
Fruits Basket - I need to catch up on these. But i LOVE Ayame and Yuki. <3
Medabots
Some DNAngel
The first GATE (is the second even out yet?)

And a couple others I can't remember. XD

Animes
Spiral
Spirited Away (Saw this in theaters too, I think)
Kiki's Delivery Service (So cute!)
Totoru
Metropolis (One of my favorite movies ever)
Uhm...one or two other Miyazaki films, i forget...
Fruits Basket
Sailor Moon
Medabots
Some DNAngel

Again, and a few others I can't remember. :tongue

I want to draw a graphic novel one day. And my style would definitely be influenced by manga, especially of the Alichino variety. :D|xX
Model has some amazing artwork, but I don't like the plotline too much. It seems like it's heading somewhere until the seventh book, then it takes a sudden turn- like the writer was pressed for time or something- and it ends feeling unfinished and unsatisfying.

As for Miyazaki films, have you seen Princess Mononoke or Howl's Moving Castle? I LOVE those. I haven't seen Castle in the Sky yet, but I've heard it's wonderful, too.

Also, try some good gunslinger animes/mangas, like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, or Gunslinger Girl. You won't be disappointed, if you haven't seen/read them already.

[wordmonkey]

I found one I like!

Lone Wolf & Cub.

Though in fairness, I like it 'cos it's so NOT pap Manga. :D

[laurel29]

I'm a little late responding to this, but I love manga and anime. My recent favorites have been:
Death Note... I love you L
Fruits Basket
Nana

Bandit Jing - I like the Twilight Tales series. The anime is ok, but geared more for kids. The manga is definitely a lot darker and more my speed. It is just fun.

ETA: The name is actually King of Bandit Jing or Jing: King of Bandits. Bandit Jing is what my kids call it. I thought I should add the real name in case someone wanted to look it up. You would find it googling Bandit Jing, but I still wanted to correct myself. The Twilight Tales series of book has completely different artwork than the original series. The artwork in Twilight Tales (Jing's character design in particular) is what they modeled the anime after. (IMHO the artwork in the manga is still better-- the anime is pretty though -- very colorful) They made the anime follow the first series of books, but they made it very kid friendly and changed Jings character into a nice guy... he wasn't bad in the books, he just wasn't the savior he is in the anime. It also doesn't have much continuing plot, it is a series-of-adventures kind of thing.

I've been browsing through Bleach... I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

I also like Naruto. I'm not as crazy about the anime and I cannot stand the dub, but I do like some episodes. I enjoy the manga. *whispers* I have a little crush on Itachi... gotta love a man who wipes out his entire clan, right?

OK, maybe you should all ignore that last remark.

I liked Gantz
I liked the english Dub of Ghost Stories because I thought it was hysterical.
I LOVED Gilgamesh... a lot of people didn't like it, but I thought it was awesome.

Howls Moving Castle was great and so was Spirited Away.

There are so many more that I love, but my brain isn't working right now. I read a bunch of Shojo manga, some of which makes me feel guilty, but I still read it... voraciously.

I also liked The Mythical Detective Loki and The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok (second series). They made an anime and I've seen it, but Loki has the same problem as Jing. They make him into a really nice guy and you lose a lot of the humor. They also remove any death (there is a lot in the manga) to make it kid friendly. My kids adore the Loki anime... I much prefer the manga.

I love the Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge or Perfect Girl Evolution). It is ridiculous at times (How attractive can they be?), but hysterically funny. I just love Sunako.

Ouran High School Host Club is pretty funny. I got a bit lost with it at first and didn't want to bother, but people kept recommending it and soon I was addicted. Sad how that happens with me.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I used to watch Medabots! I'd love to see the manga.

[TsukiRyoko]

I used to watch Medabots! I'd love to see the manga.
I've never even heard of Medabots. What's it about?

[Sailor Kenshin]

It's really cute and funny---sort of like Pokemon, only with mecha.

[Xx|e|ph|e|me|r|al|xX]

Model has some amazing artwork, but I don't like the plotline too much. It seems like it's heading somewhere until the seventh book, then it takes a sudden turn- like the writer was pressed for time or something- and it ends feeling unfinished and unsatisfying.

As for Miyazaki films, have you seen Princess Mononoke or Howl's Moving Castle? I LOVE those. I haven't seen Castle in the Sky yet, but I've heard it's wonderful, too.

Also, try some good gunslinger animes/mangas, like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, or Gunslinger Girl. You won't be disappointed, if you haven't seen/read them already.
Xx|Model? I'll check that out sometime. :3

Those are the names! Thank you. XD We have Princess and Castle in the Sky. Howl's is one I've been wanting to see.

I've heard of them. I'll flip through them next time I go, but I'm not a big fan of action/gunslinging/adventure kind of things.

Medabots is so adorable. I can't believe they stopped airing the last season the show before the finale. I never got to see how it ended. And they left out a couple shows in the course of it as well.

Here's a pic of the cover of the first (of four total) manga: [link] (http://www.serieborsen.se/images/mangalista/medabots_1.jpg)

That's Metabee the medabot up front, and the kid in the back fishing is Ikki Tenryou, the medafighter. Medabots are kind of like little friends you can buy and put together, and then pit them up against each other in "robattles".

Kiss your bot goodbye!

Of course, there was much more to it than simple fighting. There was this whole history. Metabee's rare medal (a medal is a little gold, well, medal, that is kind of like their heart and soul; a computer chip of sorts) was once the medabot, in the old civilization of them, Kiumu. Rokusho, that awesome, old, philosophical one, was the "first" medabot, his medafighter/owner/creator being the creator of all medabots, Dr. Hushi. It's this big thing. It's really cool. The Rubber Robo Gang of the first season are hilarious bad guys. Complete idiots dressed in rubber one-piece suits with antennae and sunglasses. The second season's bad guy is this genius kid who invents the "anti"-medabot, a kilobot. Basically soulless medabots made for fighting to the death without a care. But he wants them to be able to conjure the "medaforce", a special ability of the rare-medaled medabots. The medaforce draws on the heart of the medabot, though, and kilobots don't have hearts. So this one he invents does have a heart--she's something of a dark Metabee.

Of course, I don't know how it ends!

I miss that show. So adorable.


Wallflower, you say? I remember seeing that once. I want to read it. XD The covers are so pretty.|xX

[TsukiRyoko]

Xx|Model? I'll check that out sometime. :3

Those are the names! Thank you. XD We have Princess and Castle in the Sky. Howl's is one I've been wanting to see.

I've heard of them. I'll flip through them next time I go, but I'm not a big fan of action/gunslinging/adventure kind of things.


Howl's Moving Castle is AWESOME! You HAVE to watch it.
Miyazaki's also done Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Nausicaa, and a few others. I love all of his movies.

Even someone who isn't a fan of gunslingers will LOVE Cowboy Bebop and Trigun. Cowboy Bebop is a very famous series with a wonderful plotline. It gives off an amazing atmosphere, and is simply outstanding. Trigun is a bit more eccentric, in a sci-fi sense more than anything, but it's still damn good. Both of these series are among my all time favorites.

Be sure that you watch the alternative ending of Trigun, though. They dulled it down for the English and subbed versions. Find the alt. version and be prepared to ball your eyes out (Bebop will make you cry, too. Real Folk Blues pt. 2 is the last episode, and it's a killer).

[SteveW]

I know for sure that Spirited Away has a manga, and I believe that Princess Mononoke has one as well, but both were made after the movie I think. Regardless, it still represents the manga/anime connection.

Just a quibble here, those aren't really "manga" in the way that other manga were done. They're "animanga" which are screen caps from the movies (after the movie was produced) laid out and then overlaid with dialog bubbles. The only Miyazaki movie that had a "real" manga was Nausicaa (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

I'd also probably take issue with the idea that if there's a popular manga series, that it automatically can be assumed there's an associated anime series. The manga market in Japan is *huge*, there just aren't enough animation studios to do them all. Furthermore, there's more than a few anime series that don't have manga.

However, it does seem that most of the big series that make it to the US have both an anime and a manga formats, so that might contribute to the impression that it's more commonplace (it makes more financial sense if you can license for multiple formats, not to mention merchandising).

Additionally, keep in mind that it's very common for various media incarnations of a series to diverge wildly from each others' story lines. I believe this was mentioned for Inuyasha, but is also prominent in (my favorite) "Ghost in the Shell" universe. The manga, TV, and movies have the same characters, same general story universe, and many of the same themes (in fact, some have the same scenarios, but presented in varying ways), but don't actually overlap their timelines at all. Sometimes this is done very poorly, but Masamune Shirow's stories tend to be intricate, so changing one thing can lead to interesting repercussions story-wise. Of course, this happens in GN/Novel->movie franchises all the time in the US, but it seems to be a less bemoaned practice in the manga/anime world, as opposed to in the US, where the slightest deviation from canon in a movie can result in fan uproars.

Finally, I echo the sentiment that manga/anime is basically a cultural overlay on visual storytelling that's *somewhat* analogous to how comics/animation turned out in the US. The problem lay in the fact that American (western?) culture has considered comics and animation to be a primarily youth-appropriate market, whereas in Japan (and some other east-asian countries) there's a very wide range of target audiences in all age ranges (though I'm told that anime viewing by-and-large drops off after high school for mainstream adults, whereas manga reading is pretty common). So, the titles that get really popular here (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Yu-Haksho, Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha, One Piece, Naruto, etc etc) are ones selected towards a more youthful target market, in alignment with the traditional place the medium has found in our culture. You do see some exceptions to that theme (i.e. Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex gets played once in a while late, late at night on Adult Swim, and Cowboy Bebop was a Cartoon Network anime staple for a surprisingly long time), but they're not *nearly* as profitable for publishers as the series that can be marketed to youth and young adults.

Thanks. Sorry for the long-ass first post :/

Steve W

P.S. - Come on, unless you're wandering into borderline hentai / horror series, demon rape is pretty uncommon

P.P.S. - By and large dubs are awful and lose most of the subtly the voice actors (who are trained professionals) in Japan put into the characters. There's some exceptions (I personally think the dub of Bebop is one of the best, excepting Faye at times), but in general subs are preferable (some publishers are FAR superior to others when it comes to picking proper colors and strokes for subtitles, not to mention the gaping expanse between the best and worst translations).

[acharity]

Hooray, manga!

My friend turned me to it a while back (: I've nowhere near her knowledge on the subject but I do rather enjoy it! I love the facial expressions =D

[giftedrhonda]

I'm just NOW starting to discover how awesome anime is. I haven't tried manga yet, but that's next on my list.

I've been watching the series for Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai 7--awesome stuff. As far as movies, I've seen Wicked City, Akira, and two Vampire Hunter D flicks. I have a ton of stuff in my Netflix queue so I can try more out and see what I like.

Total n00b, but loving it so far all the same. :D

[Sailor Kenshin]

Woot!

Another 'convert.' ;)

[giftedrhonda]

And a happy one, at that! I totally dig it to the point where it's becoming a bit obsessive...ROFL. I can't help it, though--the stories are fascinating!!!

On a side note--anyone have any good manga to recommend to a n00b? Something good to introduce me to the genre? :D Thanks!!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yu Yu Hakusho!

(But you knew I would say that, ne?)

OK, also Card Captor Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh (esp. V 1-7, which the American TV show never got to), Fullmetal Alchemist, and Hikaru no Go.

[giftedrhonda]

ROCK ON--thank you!!! That's a great start for me!!

Rhonda, writing all this down

[Sheryl Nantus]

just discovered Hikaru No Go - been loving japanimation for years, so this is the next thing to go!

[Sai]

I love Hikaru No Go, and I don't even know how to play go. Only seen the first few episodes of the anime, but I love the manga, especially the art.

For people just getting into manga (here's looking at you, Rhonda) I'd recommend Rumiko Takahashi's works. Her stuff spans a variety of genres, from martial-arts sex comedy with Ranma 1/2, romantic-comedy/slice-of-life with Maison Ikkoku, action-adventure Inu-Yasha and even a horror series called the Mermaid Saga (my personal favorite).

CLAMP is another name to look for. They also have a large body of work, too big to list here, but I especially like Chobits, Cardcaptor Sakura, Angelic Layer, X/1999, and Suki: A Like Story.

[giftedrhonda]

Thanks, Sai--I'm writing those down, too!!! :D

[TsukiRyoko]

And a happy one, at that! I totally dig it to the point where it's becoming a bit obsessive...ROFL. I can't help it, though--the stories are fascinating!!!

On a side note--anyone have any good manga to recommend to a n00b? Something good to introduce me to the genre? :D Thanks!!
There's a lot of good suggestions throughout this thread. Just comb through it (some of them have descriptions, too), and pick out a few. I'm sure you'll find some you like.

[TsukiRyoko]

Yu Yu Hakusho!

(But you knew I would say that, ne?)

OK, also Card Captor Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh (esp. V 1-7, which the American TV show never got to), Fullmetal Alchemist, and Hikaru no Go.
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST IS THE SHIT. All noobs must either read the manga or watch the anime (It's on Adult Swim right now, around 1 AM I think, after Blood+)

[TsukiRyoko]

ROCK ON--thank you!!! That's a great start for me!!

Rhonda, writing all this down
Also, if you like decent drama stories, my personal favorites are Paradise Kiss and NANA, both by Ai Yazawa. Don't read them if you like happy endings, though. Yazawa's specialty is keeping the ending of the manga close to real life, which usually means they're tearjerkers and everyone breaks apart. I've yet to see a happy ending with Yazawa.

[Sailor Kenshin]

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST IS THE SHIT. All noobs must either read the manga or watch the anime (It's on Adult Swim right now, around 1 AM I think, after Blood+)


Language, please. There are kids posting here.

[giftedrhonda]

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions, everyone!!!

[InfinityGoddess]

*pokes around*

I'm a manga/anime fan. Stuff I'm into includes:

Inuyasha
Wolf's Rain
Full Metal Alchemist
Hellsing
Nana
Witch Hunter Robin
Tenchi Muyo
Trigun
Ranma 1/2
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Ghost in the Shell

I've seen some of Sailormoon, Kenshin, and I was a fan of Gundam Wing for a while there as well. I'm also looking into getting the Hellsing OVA that's based more on the manga version as well (I own the manga and I have the regular anime series). I have various movies, two VHS of Tenchi Muyo OVA, plus the first movie, the entire Witch Hunter Robin boxed set, first two seasons and first three movies of Inuyasha (also own some of the manga), the entire OVA of Ranma, plus the movies, Ninja Scroll movie, Vampire Hunter D, Devilman OVAs, entire Wolf's Rain, Wings of Honnieamise, Ghost in the Shell movie and the manga (also seen Stand Alone Complex on Cartoon Network), all three subtitled versions of the Sailormoon movies, the Cowboy Bebop movie, entire Trigun series, plus some manga, the Endless Waltz movie, Nana manga, and the Full Metal Alchemist movie.

Anything else I've seen, I've seen at my college's anime club or on YouTube. :P

[TsukiRyoko]

*pokes around*

I'm a manga/anime fan. Stuff I'm into includes:

Inuyasha
Wolf's Rain
Full Metal Alchemist
Hellsing
Nana
Witch Hunter Robin
Tenchi Muyo
Trigun
Ranma 1/2
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Ghost in the Shell


Hooray! Another Hellsing and Ranma fan!

[InfinityGoddess]

Hooray! Another Hellsing and Ranma fan!

Hellsing rules, man. Although I don't recommend it for the faint of heart. Lots of blood and gore and stuff, most especially in the manga. Definitely not for the kiddies.

[TsukiRyoko]

Hellsing rules, man. Although I don't recommend it for the faint of heart. Lots of blood and gore and stuff, most especially in the manga. Definitely not for the kiddies.
The manga's loads more gruesome than the anime (better, methinks), but yeah... Those with sick stomachs, try another series.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Reviving an ancient thread for a shameless self-plug.

This is not exactly manga but I'm illustrating my fanfic.


Iz halfway done! (http://jaganshikenshin.livejournal.com/)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/ProfessorBunky/Anime%20Art/Firebird-small.jpg

U reed pls k thx bai nao! ^^

[TRALLT]

Yes, I love reading and drawing manga. However, my favorite style is western.