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KK , its "Blame!"

Ketara , Black Lagoon's twin , why did the main character throw up?

Ketara wrote:

In other words, you're like someone who shouts about a book being crap because he didn't like the first few chapters? I'll admit the plot took a little while to set up, but to be frank here, it's worth getting further in. Since you've admitted you only read the first few of a vast series almost as big as the long running Bleach, I can safely conclude you actually don't know enough about the series to have an opinion worth caring about.

When the first few chapters cost $10 a pop I think that's a fair amount of space to decide if someone likes a book or not.

As to Danish cartoons, that may be the case. Over here, the media blew it up into a big thing about how no-one was allowed to print images of muhammed in any context, but I'll take that with a pinch of salt. It is the media after all.

Unfortunately I had to take a professional interest in the case so I ended up knowing more than I ever wanted to.

Mohammed is routinely depicted in history books and religious texts, I think it was the fact he was portrayed as a terrorist and held up to be mocked that made the Danish cartoons different. That and provocateours on both sides looking to make a splash.

In other words, you're like someone who shouts about a book being crap because he didn't like the first few chapters? I'll admit the plot took a little while to set up, but to be frank here, it's worth getting further in. Since you've admitted you only read the first few of a vast series almost as big as the long running Bleach, I can safely conclude you actually don't know enough about the series to have an opinion worth caring about.

So I have to read dozens of unappetizing and poorly written (and expensive!) books before they get good? Clearly that has the makings of a quality series all over it.

As to Danish cartoons, that may be the case. Over here, the media blew it up into a big thing about how no-one was allowed to print images of muhammed in any context, but I'll take that with a pinch of salt. It is the media after all.

Thats how the event was portrayed all over the world, it sells better when it feeds into peoples xenophobia.

@shuma Its not about forcing people to read a few unappealing starting chapters.
You either trust him that the story will get better later on, or you dont. Doesnt hurt him either way , your own loss if it does actually turn out to be the best story ever.

Claymore , its repetitive like all action manga. But what it does offer is a VERY LARGE amount of characters , and incredible actions / sword fights.

It gets as boring and as repetitive as eating your favorite desert.

LunaHound wrote:@shuma Its not about forcing people to read a few unappealing starting chapters.
You either trust him that the story will get better later on, or you dont. Doesnt hurt him either way , your own loss if it does actually turn out to be the best story ever.

I primarily just doubt that the series gets good or deep. It's the first time I've heard that before and the plot from the first few books is really thin, while the dialogue is almost childishly grimdark. If the series won some sort of awards of recognition at somepoint in it's run I would probably be less dismissive, but the most I ever heard about it was "lol he exploded" and "The ending sucked". It's just as much my loss if I end up spending 200 dollars on novels only to realize in the end that the series actually was bad.

LunaHound wrote:@shuma Its not about forcing people to read a few unappealing starting chapters.
You either trust him that the story will get better later on, or you dont. Doesnt hurt him either way , your own loss if it does actually turn out to be the best story ever.

Or you've had your taste and decided it's not to your liking. Some books do have major gaks in plot and tone but generally after 300 pages you know if you like it or not.

And if he likes it and she doesn't, all that means is tastes differ.

Claymore , its repetitive like all action manga. But what it does offer is a VERY LARGE amount of characters , and incredible actions / sword fights.

It gets as boring and as repetitive as eating your favorite desert.

Yeah, Claymore to me is a bit like Bastard (which I do recommend for a few volumes at least). Quite cool, but then you've got it and can move on.

Claymore have so many characters that i just absolutely love
for example: the fight scene is just OHHH @_@

I've read the first six of Claymore. Can't get my hands on any more. Truth be told, while it was all very interesting with little girls wielding massive swords the constant sound effects on the side of the page were just a little annoying.

What the hell is "BIKI BIKI BIKI" supposed to mean anyway?

Emperors Faithful wrote:I've read the first six of Claymore. Can't get my hands on any more. Truth be told, while it was all very interesting with little girls wielding massive swords the constant sound effects on the side of the page were just a little annoying.

What the hell is "BIKI BIKI BIKI" supposed to mean anyway?

If im not mistaken , its the veins popping and ligaments stretching to the limit.

And the little girls can kill space marine primarchs -->

Next time you break a leg or pop a vien and it makes the sound "BIKI", just let me know.

Lol

Personally I like Naruto and Bleach Dragonball and Dragonball Z Mangas were entertaining as well as are Ranma and Inu Yasha.

The Full Metal Alchemist series is a good read...

If you liked Deathnote, I would recommend Psycho (サイコ). Some similar 'whodunit?' themes, but much darker and graphic. A bit of murderporn like Saint Young Men.

I guess this would be classified as mature manga:
Psychological thriller i guess?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homunculus_%28manga%29
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Homunculus
its about medical: The sensory and motor homunculi

I was sniffing around Amazon today and came across Gantz.

Is that any good?

Kilkrazy wrote:I was sniffing around Amazon today and came across Gantz.

Is that any good?

Ketara says yes, I say no. He's read it all, I couldn't get past the first few books.

Kilkrazy wrote:I was sniffing around Amazon today and came across Gantz.

Is that any good?

There is little to no story behind it. What exactly Gantz machine is , is still a mystery even on the latest release.
But i guess the mystery is what makes it eerie and interesting.

The art quality is 10/10 , they are very meticulous in every panel they draw in that sense its good.
The mood is always despair ( lots of extreme violence ), if seeing people sliced in half with entrails hanging everywhere , or flesh smeared along the pavement
is not something you would want to see ( common sight in every battle you can expect death ) , then ... it might freak people out.

Its basically a manga made of excessive gore fest even Khorn would be @_@... and nothing else.

Ppl classify it as having porn , but i dont think thats true. It has like... 1 scene in the beginning of the manga i guess to draw in horny readers
and then one ridiculously funny scene with booby monster , thats it.

Good story , good art , good character development , available and licensed in N.America ,
you want Blade of the Immortal 無限の住人

I hope this isn't against any rules, but there is a website for reading manga online. http://www.onemanga.com

As for recommended Manga, I am a huge fan of Death Note (Working my way through the anime for like the 6th time now...the challenge in the second episode still brings chills down my spine) and the anime stays really true to the books. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is essentially Death Note + Gundam Wing (Though I was never a big fan of the show). Along a similar vein, I love the Case Closed (Detective Conan) and Lupin III series, each one about a different side of the law.

If you're looking for a great, humorous story about bounty hunters, either look into Black Cat (More contemporary) or Cowboy Bebop (More Sci-fi). Trigun is also a fantastic read if you're into sci-fi and westerns (And some seriously awesome characters). I've also heard that the manga version of GetBackers is pretty good (A story about two extraordinary guys whose job is to get back things that were lost or stolen) although bear in mind that the two main characters are more openly homosexual than in the anime. Another really cool action/adventure manga/anime is Chrono Crusade, which has quite a bit of religion in it (Though it's focused on killing demons and devils). It also has a fairly depressing ending.

As for big mech type manga, other than the obvious Gundam Wing and its ilk, one that cracks me up every time is Terrestrial Defense Corp: Dai-Gard - aliens invade, and it's up to three mech pilots to deal with them as they appear across Japan. Another one that's kind of similar from what I've seen is Eureka 7 - though I've only ever seen a few episodes of it, so I can't say I'm an expert on the show. Another one I can strongly recommend is the Full Metal Panic! series of manga/anime. There are two seasons that focus on war and combat between these mechs, as well as one that focuses more on the romantic comedy portion of it. Definitely worth a look.

For some more surreal anime/manga, Noein: To Your Other Self (AFAIK, anime only) is pretty thought-provoking, dealing with alternate universes and a massive war brewing between two of our possible futures. It's been posted in here before, but Gantz seems to fall under a similar category (With much more action and violence). Another anime/manga that's very, very funny but also kind of surreal is the series of Haruhi Suzumiya. The only anime to be released thus far is the first one, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but there are a few more manga series about the girl.

If you're interested in romance/romantic comedy, I would strongly suggest looking into DNAngel, which is romance and comedy revolving around a teenager who has a secret identity as a Phantom Thief. Psychic Academy (Which is about one step away from softcore porn) is another one that's pretty good - but if you're living with your parents, it's not a good idea to read it around them. Edit: And the one I remembered today, the wonderful Ouran High School Host Club. But don't bother watching it in English dub - I like the various efforts of Funimation, but that one was a total miss in my opinion.

And finally, if you want the downright silly, stupid, and funny manga/anime, there are a few favorites of mine. PaniPoni Dash is a riot, as is the infamous Azumanga Daioh. Excel Saga is another one that's pretty goofy, and the short-lived Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is hilarious.

Hope my post helps others find some good reading/viewing!

Blood Monday was interesting, it was like Death Note combined with computer hacking and biological warfare.

Kid Kyoto!!!!!! I just realized something!!
The ending for Matrix Revolution copied Nausicaa of the Wind didnt it!

The Ohmus looks just like that last robot that carried Neo away , not to mention infusing the lights and stuff!
And you are right , thats by far one of the best movies i have ever watched may it be a movie or anime.
Im going to see if i can find more Miazaki's works on Amazon!

All of Miyazaki's films are on Amazon thanks to Disney.

If you speak Japanese the DVD has the original soundtrack with subtitles, as well as dubbed versions.

Just try not to judge the English dubs right off the bat - despite the bad reputation they tend to get, the Disney dubs of Miyazaki movies are actually very good (Except for Chihiro in Spirited Away. She was just annoying). Plus, you might even recognize a few Disney character voices in the movies - Pete's voice actor plays a character in Castle in the Sky.

On the topic of Miyazaki, I've started to notice that they basically fall into two categories: the incredibly epic, and the nauseatingly adorable. Go ahead and watch Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind or Castle in the Sky, then watch Ponyo. Hoooooooooly crap.

Porco Rosso and The Castle of Cagliostro would seem to chart a middle course then.

Whilst Ponyo has been generally well received, it has had some bad notices. I think it can be considered possibly the least critically successful of his films though it has done well at the box office.

As Lunahounds already thrown Blame and Biomega out there theres little for me to add.

Red Eyes
http://www.onemanga.com/Red_Eyes/

Pretty well done near future military scifi manga with exo suits.
Fun to read, with some nice bits of ultraviolence but nothing very thought provoking about it.


Next on my list would be Eden (A-P beat me to it) which I highly recomend for adult readers,

The dialogue is better written and the subject matter is far more interesting.
Something Akin to Masamune Shirow, but focuses more on the peversions of human culture.

Also, the artist has a bit of a fetish with reproducing the moment when a human body gets hit full force by high velocity rounds, or sliced to ribbons by monofilament wire...
It gets bit strange after they get to safety after the 4th book and the young protagonist (14+ maybe) starts working in a brothel

Death Note is pure genius very gripping I wasnt expecting to be a fan but it combines two things I like a good mystery with a dash of the Supernatural.

Gantz was just full on trippy the Anime was disturbing in places dead people hunting aliens though Im game for that.

Kilkrazy wrote:Porco Rosso and The Castle of Cagliostro would seem to chart a middle course then.

Whilst Ponyo has been generally well received, it has had some bad notices. I think it can be considered possibly the least critically successful of his films though it has done well at the box office.

I agree with that much - at least a few of his movies do go right down the middle, or at least not totally skewed to one side (Spirited Away is a fine example, as it tends to float between being cutesy with some of the spirits and Chihiro's personality, but still keep an almost slightly depressing overtone).

As for Ponyo, I really can't call it a bad movie - sure, it's not nearly as good as his other masterpieces, but it's far better than other movies out there. I think the biggest issue was that it tried to be really cutesy and have a sort of world-in-danger plot line. It's just too hard to do both if the emphasis is on the cutesy part of the spectrum.

If you want goofy fun and a lot of spectacular action go with King of Hell. Stray Little Devil is good for an interesting story with great art. I have only read the first 2 volumes of it but great so far. If you watched the anime you can pick up pretty much any book of Gunsmith Cats. Junk force is a good little 3 volume read. I'd describe it but I would end up ruining the series in the process. If you want a story like Love Hina but with characters who are more realistic and a story that doesn't suck to follow go with Pastel. PM me if you want any more suggestions. I have 200+ volumes of manga in my personal collection so I'm sure I have something I can recommend that would suit your tastes.

A-P wrote:

Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Anyone care to make a recommendation for manga for grownups?

Hhmmm,lets see. Just the first four that come to mind ( in no particular order ):
Eden
Berserk
Blade of the Immortal
Black Lagoon

Yes, Yes! Somebody actually KNOWS E.D.E.N. its an endless World! I can only recommend it!

I have the first manga.

What did you think of it?

LunaHound wrote:There is little to no story behind it. What exactly Gantz machine is , is still a mystery even on the latest release.
But i guess the mystery is what makes it eerie and interesting.

The art quality is 10/10 , they are very meticulous in every panel they draw in that sense its good.
The mood is always despair ( lots of extreme violence ), if seeing people sliced in half with entrails hanging everywhere , or flesh smeared along the pavement
is not something you would want to see ( common sight in every battle you can expect death ) , then ... it might freak people out.

Its basically a manga made of excessive gore fest even Khorn would be @_@... and nothing else.

Ppl classify it as having porn , but i dont think thats true. It has like... 1 scene in the beginning of the manga i guess to draw in horny readers
and then one ridiculously funny scene with booby monster , thats it.

I have the 27 tomes available in Japan and I think Gantz is the best manga I ever read so far. Tho sometimes it´s a bloodfest that would make Kharn cry. Also there is quite a few porn scenes Luna unless you are reading a heavily censored version. But that´s not what I like from Gantz rather the development of the main character from a loser guy that it´s two steps away from alienation like quite a few RL japanese to somebody that finds a goal silly as it is and starts caring. I was going to say much more about the comic but better not so I don´t give away spoilers.

M.

M.