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Manga Miscellany
Jun. 30th, 2023 09:07 pmMy brain has been mush, so I've been devouring a fuckton of manga from the library's graphic novel stacks. Here are a few short thoughts on what I've been reading:
Cardcaptor Sakura: Vol 1 & 2. Very cutesy, very nostalgic. CCS was one of the first anime that I watched while being aware it was an anime; one of my pals from the states copied a few fansubbed eps onto VHS and sent it up to me. (DNA/Parzi, if you ever happen to see this, be aware that I remember you and miss you!) As for the manga - ehh well. The art's cute, the characters are cute, very fun 'turn your brain off' kind of thing. Not deep, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Will continue.
Death Note: Vol 1. I knew the basic premise, but was a little surprised at how it went from 0 to 60 in one volume. No deep thoughts. I like the art. Will continue, at least for a while.
Chainsaw Man: Vols 1-3. This series is kind of dumb, but I like the monster designs. Will continue, at least for a while.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Vol 1. I'm actually only halfway through this at the moment, but enjoying it quite a lot. I've been meaning to look into this series for quite a while, since it seems to be well-regarded, so it's nice to finally get around to it. Really enjoying Ed & Alphonse and their dynamic (though of course I'm not very far into it yet). Will continue.
No. 6: Vols 1-3. Unfortunately, the library only has up to volume 3, which is tragic because I enjoyed the first 3 vols SO MUCH. If I weren't watching my budget, I'd seriously consider purchasing the whole series myself. ...I do own the anime; I guess I should just rewatch that (and maybe I will!). Man, I've missed Nezumi and Shion, they're just... their interactions are so good. And I like the worldbuilding and stuff. Reading this actually made me look up whether the novel has officially been translated into English; unfortunately, the answer is no. What a bummer.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Vols 5-6. I started reading this series a while back because one of my friends really likes it. I remember thinking that the first few vols were okay, though not amazing. I dropped off for a while there, but decided to pick it up again... Unfortunately I really am finding it tedious. Gojo's hot, but aside from that, this series has no redeeming qualities. I have no idea why Ama enjoys it so much! I have a few more vols checked out, so I guess I'll read them and hope to be surprised, but I'm not optimistic.
Various Junji Ito collections: My library has added a lot of these recently. The most recent one I picked up was Shiver. I really enjoy the author's notes in that one; I don't recall if the others I've read include those. A lot of them discuss the premise behind it, or how he got the idea - frequently it amounts to something like "Man, wouldn't that be fucked up?" Which is pretty simple, and I can appreciate that. After reading through several of these collections, though, I've come to the conclusion that I still like Uzumaki best out of all of Junji Ito's works. That's a short series vs short stories, so I'm thinking maybe the pacing has something to do with it.
Lost Lad London: Vols 1-3. This is a short series (just the 3 volumes) by Shima Shinya. It's a murder mystery; a university student is accused of a murder that he didn't commit. Most people involved in the investigation think he's the culprit, and the authorities want this wrapped up quickly, but there's one person on his side who's willing to find out who the real killer is. Pretty basic premise, but I really enjoyed the execution. The dynamic between Al and detective Ellis is great. And the art's really nice. Would recommend.
Cardcaptor Sakura: Vol 1 & 2. Very cutesy, very nostalgic. CCS was one of the first anime that I watched while being aware it was an anime; one of my pals from the states copied a few fansubbed eps onto VHS and sent it up to me. (DNA/Parzi, if you ever happen to see this, be aware that I remember you and miss you!) As for the manga - ehh well. The art's cute, the characters are cute, very fun 'turn your brain off' kind of thing. Not deep, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Will continue.
Death Note: Vol 1. I knew the basic premise, but was a little surprised at how it went from 0 to 60 in one volume. No deep thoughts. I like the art. Will continue, at least for a while.
Chainsaw Man: Vols 1-3. This series is kind of dumb, but I like the monster designs. Will continue, at least for a while.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Vol 1. I'm actually only halfway through this at the moment, but enjoying it quite a lot. I've been meaning to look into this series for quite a while, since it seems to be well-regarded, so it's nice to finally get around to it. Really enjoying Ed & Alphonse and their dynamic (though of course I'm not very far into it yet). Will continue.
No. 6: Vols 1-3. Unfortunately, the library only has up to volume 3, which is tragic because I enjoyed the first 3 vols SO MUCH. If I weren't watching my budget, I'd seriously consider purchasing the whole series myself. ...I do own the anime; I guess I should just rewatch that (and maybe I will!). Man, I've missed Nezumi and Shion, they're just... their interactions are so good. And I like the worldbuilding and stuff. Reading this actually made me look up whether the novel has officially been translated into English; unfortunately, the answer is no. What a bummer.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Vols 5-6. I started reading this series a while back because one of my friends really likes it. I remember thinking that the first few vols were okay, though not amazing. I dropped off for a while there, but decided to pick it up again... Unfortunately I really am finding it tedious. Gojo's hot, but aside from that, this series has no redeeming qualities. I have no idea why Ama enjoys it so much! I have a few more vols checked out, so I guess I'll read them and hope to be surprised, but I'm not optimistic.
Various Junji Ito collections: My library has added a lot of these recently. The most recent one I picked up was Shiver. I really enjoy the author's notes in that one; I don't recall if the others I've read include those. A lot of them discuss the premise behind it, or how he got the idea - frequently it amounts to something like "Man, wouldn't that be fucked up?" Which is pretty simple, and I can appreciate that. After reading through several of these collections, though, I've come to the conclusion that I still like Uzumaki best out of all of Junji Ito's works. That's a short series vs short stories, so I'm thinking maybe the pacing has something to do with it.
Lost Lad London: Vols 1-3. This is a short series (just the 3 volumes) by Shima Shinya. It's a murder mystery; a university student is accused of a murder that he didn't commit. Most people involved in the investigation think he's the culprit, and the authorities want this wrapped up quickly, but there's one person on his side who's willing to find out who the real killer is. Pretty basic premise, but I really enjoyed the execution. The dynamic between Al and detective Ellis is great. And the art's really nice. Would recommend.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.