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Discendo Vox
Mar 21, 2013

We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.
NaN: nice burn in the manga thread
Vox: it was a joke
NaN: same thing
Vox: enh, it only really hits burn status if yaoi is something to be embarrassed of
NaN: uh you understand what yaoi is right
Vox: now if he'd posted about lolicon...
Vox: homosexuality manga, right?
Vox: is it explicitly pornographic?
NaN: yaoi is specifically homosexuality between two men
Vox: yeah, that's nothing to be ashamed of unless it's porn
NaN: eh i don't ususally hear the term except in the context of porn
NaN: but i don't really read manga that features homosexuality so i guess its not that bad
NaN: but that probably describes most people
NaN: but on kiss manga that wouldn't be the case so
Vox: oh, I'm sure you don't read manga that features homosexuality, except in the case of porn
Vox: stop searching for "homo porn"
NaN: uh those naruto/sasuke slash manga aren't going to read themselves

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Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty

Discendo Vox posted:

Next time log out first so your search profile doesn't alter the results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0neB1b29l8

Captain Bravo
Feb 16, 2011

An Emergency Shitpost
has been deployed...

...but experts warn it is
just a drop in the ocean.

Captain Invictus posted:

Helck follows the titular character, the human hero, Helck, and "Anne", one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the demon world. It's hard to say much else without spoiling a lot of it, but even though I felt it was okay about 8-9 chapters in, shortly after that I hit a moment where I suddenly started reading huge chunks at a time until I got caught up, and now I really, really really like this series. It's clever and funny in ways a lot of series fail to be, it's dramatic and tragic in ways I totally did not expect it to be, it's often hilarious at totally unexpected moments that tends to balance out the really dark stuff very well, and on multiple occasions where I tend to stop reading a series if it does a particular THING, this series upended my expectations and went in a different direction with it. The world of Helck is vast and the characters are creatively designed and interesting. It may not break the mold a lot, but it does what it does exceptionally well, and Helck is a fantastic character in his own right.

So, I finally got around to reading this, and...


Yeah, that's basically the long and short of it. Read this. It's good.

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

Captain Invictus posted:



The Bride Was A Boy
Amazon link(Japanese volume)

A short, one-volume autobiographical and informative 4koma manga about a transgender woman and her transition from a man to a woman, falling in love, and getting married, all in an easily-digested, cute artstyle. It's great that this exists because it's an easily-understood, educational book in a country that has, largely, treated gays, trans, and other types of people as aberrations or freaks. Having a frank, but friendly and cutely-drawn book like this is a nice guide to getting people who may just simply not know, to understand how it all is for people making a transition and such.



This is ridiculously cute and uplifting. :3: Thanks!

Laputanmachine
Oct 31, 2010

by Smythe
I have now read two chapters of Helck and we already have a tournament with power levels and a tsundere elf teen (really x centuries old, guys) girl screaming baka. Is this going to get better or should I just cut my losses and stop here? The art style being the most generic poo poo doesn't help matters either.

I know I haven't gone in too deep yet but goddamn this first impression isn't doing any favors.

Captain Bravo
Feb 16, 2011

An Emergency Shitpost
has been deployed...

...but experts warn it is
just a drop in the ocean.
It gets way better, yeah. It starts off unassuming and cliche-filled, and then gets real good real fast.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty

Laputanmachine posted:

I have now read two chapters of Helck and we already have a tournament with power levels and a tsundere elf teen (really x centuries old, guys) girl screaming baka. Is this going to get better or should I just cut my losses and stop here? The art style being the most generic poo poo doesn't help matters either.

I know I haven't gone in too deep yet but goddamn this first impression isn't doing any favors.
It starts off that way on purpose.

It goes PLACES. The tournament lasts a handful of chapters and then ends abruptly, leading into the meat of the story, it is mostly to show a few characters off before they head off on a specific quest. Also, how does the brutal extinction of all mankind sound to you? Rarely do I see a series actually go through with something like that. Particularly a shonen.

Also, vamirio is never considered a love interest or anything for anyone. She is never even remotely sexualized ever, so you can put that worry to rest. The artwork also gets way better as the series progresses.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Erased(boku dake ga inai machi) finished, with the final chapters prior to the finale finally getting scanlated.

The ending is great, definitely one of my favorite series, an outstanding supernatural thriller.

Mr.Chill
Aug 29, 2006
I have a question for you guys:

A few years back I found (and have since lost) an untranslated manga volume that I've never been able to find since.

It had extremely detailed body horror not unlike Parasyte and appeared to be about aliens taking the piss out of a strangely unaware humanity. The opening few pages of my volume consisted of a couple standing on a roof facing a floating nude woman whose head was a massive flippery Parasyte monster. The monsters flipped its flippers and sliced the couple apart.

The most striking difference between this manga and Parasyte was twofold - 1. The humans, when not warping around, were oddly stiff and angular. 2. There was a weird photorealistic talking wolf with little skinny horns taking up much of the pages, just standing there and talking. Then his front leg got torn off.

Any ideas what this was?

Tarezax
Sep 12, 2009

MORT cancels dance: interrupted by MORT

Plethora posted:

I have a question for you guys:

A few years back I found (and have since lost) an untranslated manga volume that I've never been able to find since.

It had extremely detailed body horror not unlike Parasyte and appeared to be about aliens taking the piss out of a strangely unaware humanity. The opening few pages of my volume consisted of a couple standing on a roof facing a floating nude woman whose head was a massive flippery Parasyte monster. The monsters flipped its flippers and sliced the couple apart.

The most striking difference between this manga and Parasyte was twofold - 1. The humans, when not warping around, were oddly stiff and angular. 2. There was a weird photorealistic talking wolf with little skinny horns taking up much of the pages, just standing there and talking. Then his front leg got torn off.

Any ideas what this was?

Bloodborne? :v:

Happy Hedonist
Jan 18, 2009


I've recently read MW, Tekkonkinkreet, Nausicaa, and Uzumaki. I read Akira last year. I'm thinking about picking up Sunny because I enjoyed Tekkonkinkreet and Ping Pong so much. I'm not a fan of most of the popular stuff out there. For instance One Piece, Berserk, Attack on Titan, and Jojo do very little for me. One Punch Man seems pretty fun but I'm mostly caught up on that too.

What else should I read? Can anyone recommend some other stuff for me?

BravestOfTheLamps
Oct 12, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Lipstick Apathy

Happy Hedonist posted:

I've recently read MW, Tekkonkinkreet, Nausicaa, and Uzumaki. I read Akira last year. I'm thinking about picking up Sunny because I enjoyed Tekkonkinkreet and Ping Pong so much. I'm not a fan of most of the popular stuff out there. For instance One Piece, Berserk, Attack on Titan, and Jojo do very little for me. One Punch Man seems pretty fun but I'm mostly caught up on that too.

What else should I read? Can anyone recommend some other stuff for me?

Bunny Drop (aka Usagi Drop).

Laputanmachine
Oct 31, 2010

by Smythe

Happy Hedonist posted:

I've recently read MW, Tekkonkinkreet, Nausicaa, and Uzumaki. I read Akira last year. I'm thinking about picking up Sunny because I enjoyed Tekkonkinkreet and Ping Pong so much. I'm not a fan of most of the popular stuff out there. For instance One Piece, Berserk, Attack on Titan, and Jojo do very little for me. One Punch Man seems pretty fun but I'm mostly caught up on that too.

What else should I read? Can anyone recommend some other stuff for me?

Have you tried any series by Naoki Urasawa? They're mostly psychological thriller stuff. He's been named as the Hitchcock of manga, which is a bit much, but he is very good at building suspense. Monster and Pluto are his strongest two series IMO, but they're all pretty good. Word of warning though: even though 20th Century Boys starts out phenomenally strong, the story kind of breaks apart after halfway mark. As a whole it's still worth a look though.

Makoto Yukimura's Planetes is a very good and even somewhat realistic look to the future 100 years from now. His ongoing series, Vinland Saga is an incredible historical Viking manga. It's quite violent at times, mind, so if that was what put you off Berserk, be warned.

Speaking of historical stories, Kaoru Mori has a couple of good ones. Emma is a romantic drama set in late 19th century London and Bride's Story is same genre, same period but set in central Asia.

Finally my own favorite oddball choice, Excel Saga by Rikdo Koshi. I think the English publisher Viz put it best when they described it as "if Michael Moore directed Power Rangers". It starts out incredibly slow and somewhat aimless, but once the story gets going, it gets very good. That takes about 5 or 6 volumes though.

Neddy Seagoon
Oct 12, 2012

"Hi Everybody!"

BravestOfTheLamps posted:

Bunny Drop (aka Usagi Drop).

Oh god no, watch Usagi Drop, don't read the manga.

Mikl
Nov 8, 2009

Vote shit sandwich or the shit sandwich gets it!

BravestOfTheLamps posted:

Bunny Drop (aka Usagi Drop).

Do not actually do this. That way lies madness.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
The manga is the very definition of a trainwreck, but the anime is fantastic. It's really one of the best adaptations I've ever seen, and kinda staggering how much of a difference of quality there is.

Shitshow
Jul 25, 2007

We still have not found a machine that can measure the intensity of love. We would all buy it.

Laputanmachine posted:

His ongoing series, Vinland Saga is an incredible historical Viking manga. It's quite violent at times, mind, so if that was what put you off Berserk, be warned.

Well, he read and likes Uzumaki and there's nothing here with anywhere that level of body horror. Seconding Vinland Saga; it's great.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Vinland Saga is barely a historical series, but it's really great. It's also multiple series in one, violent antihero shonen, tragedy, slice of life, and sitcom! it's got everything!

Happy Hedonist
Jan 18, 2009


Excellent! Thank you for the replies people. I'm going to start with Planetes and Vinland Saga and then move on to something by Naoki Urasawa.

I'll probably check out Emma or Bride's Story too because I'm a sucker romantic dramas, as much as I hate to admit it.

Happy Hedonist fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Mar 16, 2016

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
For those who might've tried out Assassination Classroom early on, it finished on a high note this week. An extremely good, decent length, not overbearing shonen series about kids trying to kill their monstrous(???) teacher. The only part of the entire series I can really fault it on is the abusive mother part which was very, very, VERY obviously squashed after a couple chapters by the author's editors, because it was swept under the rug crazy fast and never brought up again. Other than that though, the whole thing was a blast, and Korosensei's one of my favorite characters in any series I've read in a long time, just hilarious, a creative design, and a godly overpowered character that still keeps things interesting from chapter to chapter. Good stuff.

Happy Hedonist posted:

Excellent! Thank you for the replies people. I'm going to start with Planetes and Vinland Saga and then move on to something by Naoki Urasawa.

I'll probably check out Emma or Bride's Story too because I'm a sucker romantic dramas, as much as I hate to admit it.
Why feel bad about liking romantic dramas? Because you're a guy(assumedly)? Shouldn't mean anything, really. A good romantic drama is good, regardless. And A Bride's Story is one of them.

If you're looking for more, that have comedic elements to them as well but also tell fairly brutal romances too, Boys On The Run and Ressentiment(both linked in the first samplers) by Kengo Hanazawa are great. Boys On The Run is a few chapters away from being fully scanlated, something happened to the dude doing it right before he finished apparently, but supposedly he still intends to finish. I Am A Hero also has some pretty loving dramatic and tragic romances in it, too, holy poo poo. The first one in particular really got me. Some aren't handled particularly well though.

Captain Invictus fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Mar 17, 2016

Epoxy Bulletin
Sep 7, 2009

delikpate that thing!
Some stuff I like about Bride's Story: Changes to focus on multiple protagonists with different situations over the course of the story to date, which keeps things fresh, but never fully abandons the "main" pair. Sweet but rarely saccharine, very honest and frank interactions. Historical facts and settings that don't (always) wind up explained in hamfisted narration boxes, but are presented naturally through the view of the characters and the realities of how they go about their day.
Artwork is: Expressive, shows without telling. Strong command of anatomy and motion, really sells the actions and emotions of characters without going way cartoony. PRETTY PRETTY SHINY

Stuff I don't like is pretty much centered around specific story arcs, like the one major drama arc so far which I felt neutered the tension way too soon, and a few of the contained character arcs feel like they were stretched further than need be, but those are all in the neighborhood of 7-10 chapters so it's not like it's a crazy slog.

There isn't a lot of high-stakes drama and excitement in general, which might be boring for some, but I think it does a good job of roping you in to whatever does happen by way of the characters; It matters to them, which makes it matter to you.

The North American version volumes from Yen Press are also pretty swanky for the price. Slightly oversized hardcovers with original illustrations wrapped on the dustjackets, thick sturdy nongloss pages, quality print job. And the afterwords are funny :shobon:

In conclusion,

Epoxy Bulletin fucked around with this message at 10:05 on Mar 19, 2016

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Spirit circle just ended at chapter 45. Overall an emotional rollercoaster of a series and I got a bit misty-eyed at some things in the finale, particularly the montage of handshakes. Really fantastic series, lucifer and the biscuit hammer was a good series, but it feels like a prototype to spirit circle's final product when put side by side. The final chapter name was brilliantly done and poignant as hell, too, not many series can play around with chapter titles in an emotional way like that.

Fantastic series, one of the best I've read in ages, for sure.

TheComicFiend
Oct 4, 2013

Let's Survive

Captain Invictus posted:

Spirit circle just ended at chapter 45. Overall an emotional rollercoaster of a series and I got a bit misty-eyed at some things in the finale, particularly the montage of handshakes. Really fantastic series, lucifer and the biscuit hammer was a good series, but it feels like a prototype to spirit circle's final product when put side by side. The final chapter name was brilliantly done and poignant as hell, too, not many series can play around with chapter titles in an emotional way like that.

Fantastic series, one of the best I've read in ages, for sure.

This post made me read 45 chapters of something really fantastic and now I have to tell a client that I'm gonna need a bit of an extension.
Thank you.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Try the lucifer and biscuit hammer as well if you enjoyed spirit circle, while I maintain that it's unpolished when put up against spirit circle, and it didn't grab me until chapter 15 or 18 or something around there, once it got me I was hooked. Excellent characters, some really surprising twists that spirit circle definitely takes inspiration from, and it all ends amazingly well with an epilogue that is super satisfying.

Shitshow
Jul 25, 2007

We still have not found a machine that can measure the intensity of love. We would all buy it.
Golden Kamui

Sugimoto is a veteran of the the Russo-Japanese war. Nicknamed "Invincible Sugimoto" during the war, he now seeks the riches promised by the gold rush on the northern island of Hokkaido. During his fruitless search, he hears a tale of a motherlode of gold stolen and hidden by a captured criminal mastermind, the map to which is tattoed on the bodies of 24 of his fellow prisoners. Partnering with an Ainu girl named Asirpa, they face off against nature, escaped convicts, and an entire army regimen (so far) to find the treasure.

It's part man vs wild, treasure hunt, and cat-and-mouse thriller. There's a good reason the ADTRW thread is called "Snow Country for Old Men".




It's paced extremely well, with sequences of frenetic action broken up by moments of surprising humor, character work, and Ainu wood craft:




It won the 2016 Manga Taisho Award and has been nominated for the 2016 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. It has supposedly been licensed in the US, but I can't find anything on Amazon, Crunchy Roll, etc, so here is a Kiss Manga link: http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Golden-Kamui

BravestOfTheLamps
Oct 12, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Lipstick Apathy
You forgot to mention that it's pretty gruesome. But I enjoyed a man getting his face torn off by a bear and using the last of his strength to unload a revolver on the bear.

BravestOfTheLamps fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Mar 31, 2016

TheComicFiend
Oct 4, 2013

Let's Survive

Captain Invictus posted:

Try the lucifer and biscuit hammer as well if you enjoyed spirit circle, while I maintain that it's unpolished when put up against spirit circle, and it didn't grab me until chapter 15 or 18 or something around there, once it got me I was hooked. Excellent characters, some really surprising twists that spirit circle definitely takes inspiration from, and it all ends amazingly well with an epilogue that is super satisfying.

I actually read lucifer yeeeeeears ago, so it helped me get fired up to start this series.
I'm sure it's worth a reread at this point.

The guy that recommended lucifer in the first place hadn't heard of Spirit Circle, so I tossed it at him last night and I'm certain he's going to love it.

Wild Horses
Oct 31, 2012

There's really no meaning in making beetles fight.
if you guys haven't read Dorohedoro you should check it out.
Funny, vicious, strange, with a great art style. It's finishing up soon too.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Dorohedoro is definitely amazing with a really unique setting, characters, and level of violence, but it also was "ending" over a year ago, so I'll not hold my breath until the last chapter actually drops. :v:

Wild Horses
Oct 31, 2012

There's really no meaning in making beetles fight.
i am hoping here :mad:

have another dorohedoro while we wait

a kitten
Aug 5, 2006

TheComicFiend posted:

I actually read lucifer yeeeeeears ago, so it helped me get fired up to start this series.
I'm sure it's worth a reread at this point.

The guy that recommended lucifer in the first place hadn't heard of Spirit Circle, so I tossed it at him last night and I'm certain he's going to love it.

Buy it, it's good!

Senor Candle
Nov 5, 2008
Lmao it took me a second to recognize that publisher because I've never bought something from Seven Seas.

Chinaman7000
Nov 28, 2003

Captain Invictus posted:

Spirit circle just ended at chapter 45. Overall an emotional rollercoaster of a series and I got a bit misty-eyed at some things in the finale, particularly the montage of handshakes. Really fantastic series, lucifer and the biscuit hammer was a good series, but it feels like a prototype to spirit circle's final product when put side by side. The final chapter name was brilliantly done and poignant as hell, too, not many series can play around with chapter titles in an emotional way like that.

Fantastic series, one of the best I've read in ages, for sure.

I started this cause Biscuit Hammer is one of the best things I've ever experienced. The guys style, tone, and ability to grow characters is something I've never seen in any other writer. Very plain, mild characters I never gave a poo poo about got so much depth by the end of Biscuit Hammer, and his apathetic tone and anti-climatic humor style really appealed to me too. The setup for Biscuit hammer was also super unique, but wasn't my favorite thing.

I'm 2/3rds through Spirit Circle now and holy poo poo. All the qualities I liked about Biscuit hammer, with very different characters, very awesome concept, and very well executed. One my favorite feelings is following a story, wondering "wait what about ----" and then the story immediately brings it up and deals with it. Spirit Circle is full of that. And the characters are maturing really amazingly, it reminds me of the character development in Parasyte, which was the best part of that manga.

I was super into the story already, but I just got through the future story, and my mind is tripping and I need to really get through the last of this now. Also, the way all his friends kept showing up in old lives was really lame at first, but has turned into this really deep and emotional thing. Seeing his daughter from one life be a random girl at his school, or his former father figure in his best friend, is surprisingly effective poo poo.

Highly recommended.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Hey! Been a while. I've read a bunch of other stuff lately, and would like to share some of it. No super huge descriptions, but these are generally good series.

March Comes In Like A Lion - Comedy, Drama, Seinen, Slice of Life, Sports

unlicensed, but the first 9 volumes are in a Japanese box set on Amazon

quote:

A youth named Kiriama Rei, who lost his family as a child, endures loneliness to become a professional shogi player. Then, through a chance meeting, he develops a relationship with the three Kawamoto sisters, who hail from a working-class district of the city, and little by little his frozen heart begins to thaw.
It switches between heavy shogi playing and slice of life living with the Kawamoto family often, and while I do not enjoy sports series in general and skip the shogi bits in this, I hear the shogi bits are quite good if you enjoy reading them. The slice of life stuff with the Kawamoto sisters and the development of Rei as a person with them is outstanding, not to mention their own growth. The series eventually goes to some pretty dark places, including an arc about bullying that is handled much better than A Silent Voice did in its entirety! March Comes In Like A Lion is a very good series, and even if you don't like sports-style series, it's still worth it, as the sports and slice of life parts are almost entirely separate and can be enjoyed individually if you so choose. There's an anime adaptation coming at some point too, it seems.

Flying Witch - Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen, Slice of Life, Supernatural

quote:

Kowata Makoto is an airhead with a bad sense of direction who just moved into her relative's house but is that all? A manga about the coming of age of a witch in modern day japan.
A super charming, blood-pressure-reducing series about a young witch in everyday Japan, but fantastical things are always happening all around her. Genuinely funny, heartwarming, and intriguing about the "rules" of witchcraft in this world, it's really one of the better slice of life manga out there, and the anime adaptation that recently came out is apparently fantastic too. Very good series. Apparently licensed but the website of the licensee both does not have it for sale in any capacity and nothing's showing up on Amazon, so any help there would be appreciated.

Hitoribocchi's Lifestyle - Comedy, School Life, Seinen, Slice of Life

Hitoribocchi volume 1 in Japanese

quote:

In order to reconcile with her childhood friend, a very shy girl aims to befriend everyone in her class.
An adorable, charming 4koma(four-panel comic) series about an incredibly shy girl who has a goal to become friends with everyone in her new class. Genuinely funny a lot of the time, heartwarming, just an all-around chill, charming series. Also has some pretty great faces in it. Author also has another new series coming out recently about a manga editor department which is just as quirky.

Kumo Desu ga, Nani Ka?

quote:

In another world, the Hero and the Demon King continued to oppose each other. As their great magic collided, the explosion crossed over worlds and destroyed a classroom full of high school students. The victims who died in that explosion will be reincarnated in that alternate world. Our heroine, who has the lowest standing in the class, was reincarnated into a spider. She nevertheless faces this challenge head-on with great determination, and adapts to it surprisingly quickly. This is the story of how our protagonist, who was reborn as a weak spider monster, does whatever needed to survive.
I was surprised at how invested I got into the survival story of a girl's spirit trapped in the body of an RPG monster spider, but while there's not a lot of chapters out, the story has some neat potential. It also juxtaposes a cute little spider with some Real Bad poo poo going on really well.

My Brother's Husband - Drama, Seinen, Slice of Life

quote:

Single father Yaichi and his daughter Kana are visited by Canadian Mike Flanagan, the husband of Yaichi's late, estranged twin brother.
A heartfelt story about discrimination in Japan and understanding that gay people are people too, written by a gay author. It deals with some serious issues while keeping things fairly light-hearted, but does not mince words when it needs to.

I've got about a dozen others or so that I'll get to later. Hopefully folks enjoy these recommendations.

Captain Invictus fucked around with this message at 12:33 on Jun 29, 2016

Captain Bravo
Feb 16, 2011

An Emergency Shitpost
has been deployed...

...but experts warn it is
just a drop in the ocean.

Captain Invictus posted:

Kumo Desu ga, Nani Ka?


I was surprised at how invested I got into the survival story of a girl's spirit trapped in the body of an RPG monster spider, but while there's not a lot of chapters out, the story has some neat potential. It also juxtaposes a cute little spider with some Real Bad poo poo going on really well.

I'm reading this one too, it originally was a Web Novel, then got published as a Light Novel, and eventually became so popular they started putting out the Manga. It's a thread favorite in the LN thread in ADRTW, and just really good in general. Definitely a must-read, and since there's only like 8 chapters translated so far it doesn't take much to get started with it. Plus the protagonist is just the most perfect kind of dork. :3:

Captain Bravo fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Jun 30, 2016

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Here's another recommendation of a series I read recently that is absolutely outstanding.

Orange - Drama, Mystery, Romance, School Life, Seinen, Shoujo, Slice of Life, Supernatural



quote:

Naho Takamiya, a second year high school student, receives letters sent from herself 10 years into the future. Her future self asks her to prevent her "biggest regret", which has something to do with the new transfer student from Tokyo, a boy named Kakeru Naruse. At first skeptical, Naho begins to believe the letters as they accurately predict events. When the letter asks her not to invite Kakeru to go out for the first day, Naho and her friends (Hiroto Suwa, Takako Chino, Saku Hagita and Azusa Murasaka) decide to invite him anyway. Kakeru ends up not attending school for the next two weeks.

Orange is a powerful story about crippling depression and trauma, and those who have to go through it. By the time I finished the series I could really tell that the author knew exactly what they were talking about, either through experiencing it themselves, or second-hand. The characters are great, particularly Kakeru, Naho and Suwa, and the overarching storyline remains strong throughout, with some unexpected twists along the way. The supernatural element, the letters from the future, are explained in an inoffensive way, and while the school shenanigans can be middling, they're ultimately secondary to the main point of the story. If you've ever dealt with serious trauma or depression, it's worth a read because I feel like the author "gets" it, which is pretty rare in my opinion, often times authors do a poor job of handling those sorts of things, not necessarily out of malice per se, but simple ignorance. And if you've not really had to deal with trauma and depression, it might be worth reading this too, since it does a good job of showcasing a person who is going through some rough poo poo.

It is short and complete at five volumes, and they are all available online at crunchyroll at the above link. Use a gift membership(there's a thread somewhere on here where folks give away free month codes) if you've not got one, or subscribe if you'd like to support this sort of thing, the manga and anime membership is like 5 or 6 bucks a month iirc

There is also an anime that is currently airing, and six episodes are out as of this post. It seems pretty good from the bit I watched, though they might have cut some scenes, and the animation doesn't seem particularly robust(though it doesn't necessarily need to be, it's not an action show).

Captain Bravo
Feb 16, 2011

An Emergency Shitpost
has been deployed...

...but experts warn it is
just a drop in the ocean.
Oh poo poo, I forgot about this thread. It's actually good timing that you posted that, because I was recently turned on to a new (actually old) series that I have absolutely fallen in love with. Originally a web novel (with an atrocious format) Maoyu ["Be Mine, Hero!" "I refuse!"] is a fantastic little story that was turned into a manga in 2011 and an anime in 2013.



I haven't yet watched the anime, although crunchyroll seems to have it so I probably will soon, but the manga is just so, so good. The first 14 volumes are readable for free, I read them on Kissmanga but I think other sites have them as well. The final two aren't really available on any free sites, I've only found them on Bookwalker for a pretty reasonable price. Although you might want to just buy the entire series because it is so good and needs to be supported. :v:

The plot is pretty simple. The Hero has come to the demon world to slay the Demon King and end the war between demons and humans. Leaving his companions behind, he ventures alone to the demon king's castle to challenge him. Except, it turns out the Demon King is actually a Demon Queen. What's more, she doesn't want to fight, instead she convinces the Hero to give her a moment to explain a few things about the war, about economies, and about how to really save everyone. At the end of her pitch, she makes him an offer: "Become mine, Hero!"



What follows is a beautiful story of romance, tragedy, economics, hope, and lots of overthinkin' it! It's hilarious just how well-written the characters are despite the fact that none of the characters in the story actually have a name. It was originally written as kind of a pseudo-play, so everyone is referred to as their title. The Hero is fantastic, a humble man who slowly learns just how little violence can solve. The Demon Queen is one of my favorite characters of all time, a self-deprecating bookworm who struggles with integrating knowledge beyond her era into a hostile world, and is overjoyed whenever she discovers someone else has realized their own strength. The cast that forms around them have their own unique voices, their own hopes and dreams, and the little clashes that occur because of this feel organic and natural.

I really just cannot overstate how incredible this series is, and how adorable the slowly burgeoning relationship between Demon Queen and the Hero is. It captures that perfect harmony of both members appreciating the other's strength, while worrying about their own weaknesses. When they finally begin to really support each other it's just... it's just so loving good ya'll. Give this series a shot, trust me.

Captain Bravo fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Aug 9, 2016

Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.
I'm tempted to post a recommendation for Goblin Slayer which is a new manga based on light novels (I believe two are out right. But I'm not sure I can because I can see a lot of people being turned off by its very dark opening and concept. The thing with Goblin Slayer I think would throw people off is the art looks very Shonen, but the content is very much not.

I'm going to err on the side of caution and let the series develop I think. Unless people are interested on a write up of a manga with only 3 chapters out.

Brainamp
Sep 4, 2011

More Zen than Zenyatta

Captain Bravo posted:

I haven't yet watched the anime, although crunchyroll seems to have it so I probably will soon, but the manga is just so, so good.

Skip the anime. First episode was pretty good, but the rest ends up smushing a lot of plot together very hastily and lazily.


Captain Invictus posted:

Hitoribocchi's Lifestyle - Comedy, School Life, Seinen, Slice of Life

The artist also has another amusing series, Mitsuboshi Colors.

Description posted:

Hark! The city is in peril! Who you gonna call? The Colors!

Sacchan, Yui, and Kotoha are here to protect the city, solving mysteries and battling enemies with help from their friends.
But their quest isn't an easy one as their arch-nemesis Saitou, the violent police officer of Ueno, meets them at every turn.

Basically just three little kids being three little kids around town.

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Lurdiak
Feb 26, 2006

I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do.


Colored kids with a policeman nemesis, huh. I don't see that lasting too long.

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