The Miscellaneous Seinen Thread

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Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Not sure if this belongs in the seinen or shounen thread, but apparently Gamaran is ending in 3 chapters. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I was sort of looking forward to some overarching plot involving the shogunate where Jinsuke is revealed to have some legitimate motive to his actions other than wanting a bunch of guys to fight each other. On the other, it will avoid all the things that can potentially go wrong with an action/fighting series that runs indefinitely and doesn't have an ending clearly thought out from the beginning.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2013 08:24

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 16:45

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Captain Invictus posted:

Man, Suicide Island's really good. Really really good. Finally getting around to the "darker" portion of my reading list(I.E. not fluffy romance or optimistic action series) and Suicide Island was this weekend's dish of choice.

The character growth and overall tone of the series is outstanding, the feel of the world is engrossing, and as it progresses you really get attached to certain characters and despise others. Honestly it's had a few parts I nearly had to stop reading just because they were really loving painful to read, such as Liv's story. Honestly the only thing I have a problem with is Sei's hesitance to kill Sociopath Supreme or King Cannibal Creepy Raper Guy. Even after witnessing Kai try to kill Miki firsthand, and knowing he killed Saori himself and tried to get Liv and Tomo to kill themselves, and immediately after leaving the group he sets fire to the school itself in an attempt to wipe them out and is unapologetic for it, Sei still can't kill him. Even though Kai will likely come back for another attempt(and indeed seems to be doing just that in the latest translated chapters). King Cannibal Creepy Raper Guy straight up said he would take the women, and kill everyone unless he became undisputed lord of everyone on the island, that he would not follow any sort of moral or ethical code, tried dirty tactics multiple times, and ambushed everyone who went to negotiate with the sole purpose of killing Ryou. Sei is really just a fool if he took KCCRG at his word in regards to staying separate groups, considering how much he's learned up until now being extremely wary of those sorts of people. He KNOWS that allowing them to live directly puts the lives of every single person he loves in danger. Hell, he witnessed it firsthand on multiple occasions. I feel like the next volume or two will deal with his inability to make that decision in order to secure the safety of his new family, and that many will die because of it. I can't see any possible good things coming from the last couple chapters that have been scanlated.

It's not so much I'm saying KILL ALL SONS OF BITCHES, but those two very specifically represent a completely hostile threat to the existence of every single person in that group. They are downright cartoonishly evil at this point, Kai has been exposed as the person responsible for many of the deaths post-initial suicide rush and has openly said he intends to kill everyone, either through his own actions or his words. KCCRG is just straight up moustache-twirlingly malicious, and is a despot of his people with no regard for anyone except himself. Whether it is possible for these two to come around to the light is not so much a question of "if", but rather "how many lives are worth risking in pursuit of that goal".

The Miki chapters were butt-clenchingly tense, hell, a bunch of chapters were. This series is so good, honestly. This core group has so many interesting, tragic, sad, or even freshly optimistic characters that it really makes every chapter a joy to read. The backstories make sense, and Ryou's was definitely one that hit home in a way. The artwork is outstanding and Ikiru is adorable. I'm really, really interested in seeing where this goes from this point, since there's still three entire volumes untranslated and it's still apparently an ongoing series.

It's not exactly easy to bring yourself to kill another human being, even if you rationally know that it's what you should do. Especially with something like a bow and arrow.

One thing I noticed about Suicide Island is that the main character is the exact same person as the main character in Holyland (his other series about street fighting). Both are really good, but if I had to name one issue I have it would probably be the fact that the main character in both is probably a little too "badass/hardcore" and ends up coming off as a bit of a Mary Sue.

Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Sep 25, 2013

# ¿ Sep 25, 2013 01:50

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Anatharon posted:

I started reading I am a hero, not expecting to like it.

I did, though. It's a little different from the super-played out Dawn of the Dead style zombies.

I feel bad how so far all three of Suzuki's male-friends got offed. The manga guy, the bacon guy and the camera guy.

Well, to be fair the manga guy was kinda a huge creep who committed literal crimes against their female coworker. Not that that justifies him being killed, but I'm not sure that we're supposed to miss him.

# ¿ Oct 7, 2013 21:39

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

TheFallenEvincar posted:

And if you enjoyed Solanin then move on to Oyasumi Punpun for sure, Inio Asano is great.

Though it should be mentioned that the tone is quite different between the two series (I think Oyasumi Punpun is overall better).

# ¿ Oct 12, 2013 07:48

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Chas McGill posted:

OK, Team Medical Dragon is totally rad. I read the first volume last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have no idea how accurate it is in regard to the Japanese medical system, but it's good fun either way.

There's also a live action drama of Team Medical Dragon that i remember being pretty entertaining, so you might want to check that out.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2013 18:35

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Fabricated posted:

Reason why is because if someone's going to end up killing you on the table by accident it's probably going to be the anesthesiologist. The difference between unconscious and dead is pretty disturbingly loving thin as far as anesthesia goes.

And this is a big issue with geriatrics having medical problems. Just putting them under for surgery is a massive gamble.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2013 23:43

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

TheFallenEvincar posted:

To whoever recommended Natsunokumo earlier, I'm really enjoying it. It sort of takes that basic "WE'RE IN AN MMO RPG" thing that more typical series like .hack and SAO do but with some actually interesting well-thought out concepts.
http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Natsunokumo

Natsu no kumo is really great; the art is amazing. I think that series about the tsundere girl (Mozuya-san Gyakujousuru) is by the same guy.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2013 20:57

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Chas McGill posted:

After reading a bunch of josei recently*, I want something to redress the balance. What are some good cyberpunk/near-future mangas with a dark outlook? I'm planning on trying Akira already, and I didn't particularly like the manga version of GitS. Blame is on my list as well.

*I made the opposite of this post a few weeks ago in the other thread.

You might like Dorohedoro. It's extremely strange and really violent/gory, but also incredibly good. While it's not exactly near-future/cyberpunk, it still has a similar feel to it. I can't really recommend it enough; it's easily one of the top 5 manga I've ever read, and probably my favorite that would be classified as "fantasy/sci-fi."

# ¿ Dec 1, 2013 21:55

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Genocyber posted:

I just finished Dorohedoro (well "finished," since it's still ongoing) and drat that was an experience. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something best described as bizarre and is okay with violence and gore. The world is basically Alice in Wonderland as done by Clive Barker (not to mention several of the character designs are clearly inspired by Hellraiser).

I'm really happy to see other people in this thread giving Dorohedoro a shot. I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say that it's one of the top 5 manga I've ever read (and probably the most unique), and my other favorites are pretty much all works done by Inio Asano.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2013 05:37

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

HenryEx posted:

Find out what? That it's finished? The translations were on a long hiatus for a while so it's pretty likely it's already finished.
The end of the recently scanlated Vol 18 also explicitly says "The story ends with the next volume". Or maybe the beginning of 19 said it was the last one, either or. The first few chapters of Vol 19 are already scanlated, so we're missing like a handful of chapters, tops.

/edit: Here, end of Vol. 18:

Does anyone know of any other series by the same author? I'm really dreading the end of Dorohedoro; it's probably the best bizarre/fantasy manga I've ever read.

Even though most of the big mysteries have been resolved, it's still hard to believe that it'll come to a satisfying end in just one more volume. But I guess it's better to end while it's still good than for it to drag on.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2013 10:40

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Blog Free or Die posted:

Maken X should be next on your list.

Ah, thanks!

One thing that I find interesting about Dorohedoro is that it somehow manages to create a huge cast of characters that are simultaneously both likable and completely awful people*. I have no clue who to root for in the various conflicts that show up in the series. Probably the best examples of this are Shin and Noi. They're seriously terrible people who do incredibly bad things, but you still grow attached to them.

*Seriously. Pretty much the only characters I can think of who don't either actively commit various atrocities or hold abhorrent opinions are Thirteen and the doctor's assistant guy with the weird facial tattoos.

edit: Maybe also the people who work at the meat pie shop in the magic world, they seemed alright.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2013 03:07

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

I've been reading this series Yamikin Ushijima-kun about a loan shark (yamikin) named Ushijima. It's incredibly dark/depressing but also pretty good and worth reading. I definitely recommend it, but only if you're okay with reading something that isn't even remotely uplifting.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2013 03:43

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

AnonSpore posted:

Seconding this. Ushijima-kun will make you rethink your life choices, but it's really good. Also it does get a bit lighter later on, though I don't think scanlations are even close to reaching that point. And by lighter I just mean "the schlubs Ushijima goes after don't end their arc strapped naked to a tree in the woods."

Some of the content hits a little close to home for me, and I can say that it does a really good job of presenting the motivations that drive someone to go to a payday/title loan place and their emotional state during/after.

I'm assuming that it will go into Ushijima's past at some point. From what we've seen, I'm guessing that he had parents who he hated (either because they abused him or some other reason) who were themselves the victims of loan sharks, leading him to project his feelings for his parents onto all of his debtors. I'm also curious about all the rabbits in his apartment.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2013 09:46

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

I'm curious as to what the motivations of the Escape Artist and vectors are. What another poster said about maybe being from our world/a world without immortality might be one direction that would give them a motive for infecting people (which sounds like a pretty time-consuming affair that requires getting close to someone over at least several months and making them love you). That would make that one guy's rant in (I think) chapter 2 about how "we're people too!" sort of strange, though, if going to the immortality world was something optional. Also there's the matter of the Escape Artist's strange ribbon tentacles and being able to make people forget her face.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2014 03:34

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Kaja Rainbow posted:

The first thing that comes to mind is protection against disabling but not lethal injuries. There's already a certain doctrine stated by a real-life person that states it's better to cripple enemy soldiers than kill them, because then they become a burden to their own side. Likewise while they can just put a bullet in themselves, it's harder if they're suffering shock while slowly bleeding out. And that'd give the enemy more time to act.

But wouldn't the only burden be "putting a bullet in the head of the disabled person"?

# ¿ Jan 8, 2014 20:52

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Law Cheetah posted:

why does there always have to be something creepy

why cant anything just be good

...did she pee on him?

# ¿ Jan 14, 2014 18:24

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Elite posted:

(depending on the rules for resurrections).

One particularly interesting thing about the immortality in that series is that it also removes all blood/etc from the scene as well.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2014 03:00

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Shinjobi posted:

http://kissmanga.com/Manga/Suicide-Island/Vol-008-Ch-073--Intruder?id=185724

Seven new chapters of Suicide Island. They keep tiptoeing closer and closer to disaster, it's stressing me out.

Yeah. While I'm sure their shields/weapons will be pretty useful, this author doesn't seem to be the type that will let this sort of thing transpire without something really depressing happening. I imagine that hesitation to kill would be more of a factor than how good they are at fighting, since if both sides were equally committing to fighting they would probably have an easy time winning against Sawada's people, who are more or less completely unorganized; Kai even mentions that it's probably a bad idea to just spontaneously attack without any sort of plan. I think they mentioned that Sawada's side has more people, but I don't know if it was ever specified how big the difference is.

Then again, even if they did completely "win," they'd still be dealing with the psychological effects of killing a bunch of people. But I'm still expecting at least one or two key, named good characters to die.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2014 00:43

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

UberJumper posted:

Does anyone have a recommendation for a decent serious manga?

I liked/Enjoyed:
- Attack on Titan
- Knights of Sidonia
- I am a Hero
- Biomega

I didn't like:
- Claymore (i got bored of it half way through)
- Blame! (I read the first volume and wasn't really interested)

My friend is lending me bezerk next week, and someone recommended me Ants (spelling? i cannot find anything about it).

I am looking for some sort of sci-fi/dark fantasy.

(I swear i posted this somewhere but i can't find it)

You might like 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa. That and his other works are pretty good "serious" series.

Also, even though it isn't really sci-fi or anything, everything by Inio Asano is extremely good and he is easily the best manga artist/writer I know of. He's one of the only manga artists I know of who writes stories that are as good as what you might read in good novels (even really good comics usually have pretty sub-par writing when compared with good novels; the writing in games is similar).

# ¿ Jan 22, 2014 04:28

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Bybus Slago posted:

I'm surprised a recommendation for Dorohedoro hasn't come up. So I'll recommend it. Read Dorohedoro. I'd say it fits into a dark fantasty theme, while having a lot of modern touches. The art style takes a bit of getting used to at first, but drat if it isn't worth it.

Yeah, do this. I can't believe I forgot to mention Dorohedoro. Easily the best fantasy-ish manga I've ever read. It takes a completely new and unique approach to the concept of "magic" and avoids many of the tropes that show up in other fantasy/sci-fi settings. As I mentioned in another post, it somehow manages to have a large cast of characters that are simultaneously both funny/likable and abhorrent (I can count the number of characters who don't commit atrocities and/or have abhorrent views on one hand). Such a great comic.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2014 07:18

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

I'm reading Kaiji, and it actually has some really good commentary on freedom of choice, particularly with regards to economic issues. That might sound like a silly thing to say about a manga about gambling, but it's true. A big point the author seems to push is that the decisions people make under stress - whether physical or economic - do not necessarily reflect some abstract "truth" and are instead the result of said stress/coercion. It's refreshing to see, given the emphasis most of society/the media tends to put on the freedom people have and control they have over their own lives.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2014 03:18

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

TheFallenEvincar posted:

These terrorist animez have crossed the line now! These colors don't run!

While I don't really mind the anti-US stuff (since it's more or less true, minus the fact that it's a little heavy-handed with its stereotypes), the whole "Japan used to be good before they lost in WW2" thing is kind of weird. It's not really stated outright, but it's heavily implied when it repeatedly states how corrupt Japan has become in the post-WW2 years.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2014 22:42

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Breaky posted:

I personally thought this series was pretty great and ended in just about the right way as well. Worth a look if you haven't tried it yet.

I guess I'm a fan of the artwork mostly. The story itself was interesting, not terribly deep, but not bad either.

I really like the art in this and the story is also pretty interesting, but it's kind of annoying that the big issue he's pushing for is denuclearization and decreasing corporate taxes.

Didn't this same guy also write some story about these two brothers who learned to sword-fight and became involved in resistance to foreign involvement in Japan in the 19th century?

# ¿ May 26, 2014 20:23

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Breaky posted:

I guess I didn't mind it. Seemed like it was mostly just focused around the Fukushima incident and that's a hell of a flashpoint politically and it fits the story and the characters very nicely. To me there wasn't like some huge nationalistic vibe to it, not like a ridiculous one or anything.

It's more that it seems like they're actually causing harm. There are all these power outages and people are having traffic accidents all because of some incredibly misguided belief that Fukushima is going to somehow detonate and render Japan uninhabitable. I'm just sort of mentally replacing denuclearization with some other issue that isn't so dumb.

# ¿ May 26, 2014 23:33

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Lazaruise posted:

Any recommendations for a none tragic romance? I'm in the mood for something sappy. I don't mind some tragedy as long as it ends happily.

Clearly you are looking for Can't See Can't Hear But Love.

I'm joking

# ¿ Jul 29, 2014 17:14

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Captain Invictus posted:

New Immortal Hounds, in which two robots try to learn the meaning of love

I like the way this might be heading. The "RDS" hunting police (or at least the chief) gradually starting to question themselves could be interesting to read.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2014 02:17

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Captain Invictus posted:

this is going to be a for sure trainwreck.

Holy poo poo, 3.5 million copies?! That would be a lot even in a country with the population of the US, much less Japan.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2014 22:12

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

L-O-N posted:

It seems that with all of Satoru's changes, Misato is going to be the next target instead, with the Teacher being the one framed for it. Of course, it could still turn out that the teacher is the actual Murderer, but it seems more likely that the actual murderer is going to use the Teacher's habits (lollipops in his car and closeness to the kids) to set him up.

I don't know, as much as I'd like it to stay a mystery it seems like it's supposed to be pretty clear at this point that it's the teacher. It doesn't really make any sense for him to be as insistent about keeping the lollypops a secret and freak out at a child finding out about them.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2014 22:45

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

L-O-N posted:

I think it's about 50/50. It just seems like too its too obvious and instead a red herring.

The story sort of has a "Chekhov's gun" (I think that's the right trope/thing) problem where we can be pretty sure the murderer is someone we've been introduced to. With this in mind, there simply aren't many options.

Maybe it's Kenya, haha.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2014 18:51

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Holy poo poo, it just occurred to me. The murderer is clearly an older protagonist going back in time and committing the crimes.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2014 22:37

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

coathat posted:

It's bull poo poo that been more than a year since a chapter got translated.

It sucks that it hasn't been translated in a long time, but it's a pretty good series and definitely meets the criteria of what that poster asked for.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2014 07:24

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Paracelsus posted:

Unfortunately it's been stalled for over a year with three volumes left to go.

It's really a shame. I like the art style in Soil a whole lot; despite being really stylized, all the characters look like actual Japanese people (rather than "anime"). The plot is a little too "LOST"-ish for my taste, but I still enjoy it.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2014 02:30

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Quidnose posted:

Was it Yamikin Ushijiima-kun?

http://www.mangahere.co/manga/yamikin_ushijima_kun/

Probably. What an incredibly depressing (but good) series.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2014 23:04

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Ibram Gaunt posted:

Update on the Kaiji situation.

That's kind of good to hear. All schools should have an ethics class where Kaiji is required reading.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2014 00:44

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

DrSunshine posted:

Latest Ponko of the Stars.

S-Somehow it's turning out as a happy story again..? Wh-what? This can't be fine, can it?!

It seems like the little brother would still find out at some point that time passed, though I guess we're supposed to assume that the transition will be easier for him now. Looks like the series will focus on the "oldier" sister in space now either way.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2014 17:44

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Jose posted:

Its George Bush rather than a generic US president and you forgot that Che Guevara is in it. Obama also appears later on

Che Guevara being one of the world's strongest fighters and a pirate was hilarious. I just binged through the second series up until the part with the dinosaur-man last night.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2014 17:41

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Captain Invictus posted:

Oh sup, new Dorohedoro chapter!

I will never tire of Nikaido's frozen demonic expression of glee.

I really need to re-read Dorohedoro so I can remember exactly what's going on. Fortunately Dorohedoro is such a fantastic series that I actually don't mind re-reading it (I almost never re-read things).

# ¿ Nov 22, 2014 00:26

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

coathat posted:

A new chapter came out last night. http://bato.to/read/_/287310/the-new-kurosawa_v1_ch3_by_fkmtkrazy

Nobuyuki Fukumoto is easily one of my favorite manga artists.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2014 07:10

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

Captain Invictus posted:

Yeah Dorohedoro's story is borderline nonsense, but the world, characters, and action are so unique, dingy and brutal that it keeps you coming back for more. The entire main cast is really fantastic, it's not just the Kaiman Power Hour all day every day. The side stories that happen every so often as extra chapters are always hilarious, too.

The amount of gore and violence is nigh-unparalleled, like I don't know if there's a single chapter where there's not at least one person being decapitated, chopped into little pieces, having mushrooms erupting from them, disembowelments, etc, but somehow it starts to become just an acceptable part of the world of Dorohedoro.

Dorohedoro's plot actually makes sense if you manage to totally put yourself into the mindset of the world they live in and all its bizarre rules about magic and what have you. The only thing that I ever found confusing was the whole deal with Kaiman and his multiple personalities being related to him having all those heads.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2015 00:47

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 16:45

Ytlaya: Nov 13, 2005

I posted about this in the shoujo/josei thread, but because its plot feels kind of like a seinen I'll also mention it here; "7 Seeds" is a pretty awesome manga. It has art that feels super 90's shoujo (which I'm not a huge fan of), but the plot and characters are amazing. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but I ended up getting hooked. It really picks up once the other teams start being introduced.

The general premise is that the human race has been wiped out by a meteorite(s) and one of the programs the Japanese government did in preparation was to create 5 teams of 7 people each, cryogenically freeze them, and awaken them after the Earth becomes habitable again. The story develops the characters of pretty much all of the members and you become really invested in what happens to them. It treats a number of pretty heavy topics in a mature manner and is just pretty great all around.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2015 21:45

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > VEGETA > The Miscellaneous Seinen Thread

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