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Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
"It can't be helped" is the sign of an amateurish translation yeah

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CJacobs
Apr 17, 2011

Reach for the moon!
Speaking of nickels I just finished reading Nickelodeon at someone's endorsement over in the Post Your Favorite Anime Halloween Event Fastball Special forum and it was pretty good. Not all mangas need to be long and winding 3000 chapter epics. It had that same feel about it that Franken Fran does where each story wraps up in a neat disconnected little bow, but sometimes they bleed into each other just enough to go "yep this is all happening in the same world for some reason". Except with like 8 pages per strip.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Also with arbitrary gratuitous nudity and gore wrapped in a candy coating of hypercartoonish art style. Dowman Sayman is great, you should try his other (still ongoing) series, The Voynich Hotel. Be warned though, it's quite a bit more violent/grotesque and has lots more nudity, but it retains his completely absurd storytelling style, albeit a bit more consistent rather than hopping around to completely different themes every chapter.

Can love between a wheelchair-bound teenager and a thousand-year-old rotting witch zombie truly bloom? Will the chef who loves poison ever get the luchador hotel owner to notice her?? Will people ever stop accidentally stepping on land mines??? Is the robot detective actually good for anything???? All this and more in The Voynich Hotel! Pretty much my only complaint is the one hotel maid who is a literal example of the thousand-year-old-loli, but I absolutely hate that trope in anything(justifiably so).

Captain Invictus fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Nov 1, 2014

CJacobs
Apr 17, 2011

Reach for the moon!


I will never get tired of Dowman Sayman's silly anime lesbians. This man has a good sense of humor.

CJacobs fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Nov 1, 2014

Nalesh
Jun 9, 2010

What did the grandma say to the frog?

Something racist, probably.

Chinaman7000 posted:

Manga are just comics. The only problem is when we end up touching the different cultural tolerances for creepy poo poo.

Oh didn't mean it that way, used to mainly just watching anime rather than reading poo poo.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
I really can't believe how good Truthism is. Pretty much every single chapter is gold. It's like Tenchi Muyo but actually funny and without fanservice(aside from one character whose entire gag is that).

Chapter 51: Let's Save Earth!

The faces in this one are fantaaaaaastic.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Rejoice, for there is another full volume of I Am A Hero released!

An honestly very light-hearted bunch of chapters, compared to the rest of the series. Oda being pregnant certainly throws a wrench into things, though. And her self-sacrificing nature to not burden Hideo and Hiromi will surely lead to more dangerous shenanigans. Seems like the infected are going a Fort Of The Apocalypse route with combining/mutating into other lifeforms, as well as having "alpha" versions that can command other infected. Should result in some real great, horrifying monstrosities, for sure! I love the fairly relaxed pace this series takes. Spending multiple pages with just Oda and Hiromi's breathing in the ocean air was a refreshing cooldown time from the first few chapters of this volume.

Man oh man I wish this series would get licensed already. :(

SalTheBard
Jan 26, 2005

I forgot to post my food for USPOL Thanksgiving but that's okay too!

Fallen Rib

Captain Invictus posted:

Rejoice, for there is another full volume of I Am A Hero released!

An honestly very light-hearted bunch of chapters, compared to the rest of the series. Oda being pregnant certainly throws a wrench into things, though. And her self-sacrificing nature to not burden Hideo and Hiromi will surely lead to more dangerous shenanigans. Seems like the infected are going a Fort Of The Apocalypse route with combining/mutating into other lifeforms, as well as having "alpha" versions that can command other infected. Should result in some real great, horrifying monstrosities, for sure! I love the fairly relaxed pace this series takes. Spending multiple pages with just Oda and Hiromi's breathing in the ocean air was a refreshing cooldown time from the first few chapters of this volume.

Man oh man I wish this series would get licensed already. :(

What a great manga. I'm so glad I read this thread.

Doctor_Fruitbat
Jun 2, 2013


I picked up All You Need Is Kill this weekend because the full collected volume is a steal at £10 and it is absolutely superb. It's pretty chunky, so it would make a good, cheap Xmas present too.

I also found a western comic book adaptation of the novel (made before the film, not sure if it came before the manga?) so I had a flick through; it was a good reminder what it is I love about manga and how obvious western tropes are when put side by side with another culture's take on the same thing, since a lot of people see the similarities between manga comics very easily but tend to be somewhat blind to their own cultural tropes.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
Have you seen Edge of Tomorrow? How does it compare to the manga? I saw it and it was fantastic and really good at putting in humor in an otherwise pretty drat bleak situation as well as having tons of great action and sci-fi shenanigans, but I've not yet read the manga.

Daler Mehndi
Apr 10, 2005

Tunak Tunak Tun!
I've read a translation of the novel, and from browsing through the manga, I can tell it's a fairly faithful adaptation. The movie, though, changes a lot of things. Not just where the story takes place, but also the characters, and the mechanics behind the movie's premise. The ending is different, as well.

FilthyImp
Sep 30, 2002

Anime Deviant

Daler Mehndi posted:

I've read a translation of the novel, and from browsing through the manga, I can tell it's a fairly faithful adaptation. The movie, though, changes a lot of things.
They certainly Tom Cruised it up a bunch to fit his character, and the manga really doesn't stray from the battlefield parts like the movie does. Though it succeeds in capturing the tone rather well for western audiences.

What was harder to replicate was the way the main character gets pinpoint accuracy with his succeeding days. Dude has to basically nail a series of events down pat to survive (sneak here, craft that) and the repetition in the manga drives the point home well. The closest they come are the battle scenes. He also doesn't get the cool Mjolnir hammer thing, and Rita is a little more sexualized or what have you.

Doctor_Fruitbat
Jun 2, 2013


Captain Invictus posted:

Have you seen Edge of Tomorrow? How does it compare to the manga? I saw it and it was fantastic and really good at putting in humor in an otherwise pretty drat bleak situation as well as having tons of great action and sci-fi shenanigans, but I've not yet read the manga.

I haven't seen the film yet, but it seemed like fun, so I'm sure I'll get around to it. I'm going to read Onepunch Man next, but if anyone could recommend anything else in the impossibly-beautiful-action genre to go with that and AYNIK I'd appreciate it!

GhostofJohnMuir
Aug 14, 2014

anime is not good

Doctor_Fruitbat posted:

I haven't seen the film yet, but it seemed like fun, so I'm sure I'll get around to it. I'm going to read Onepunch Man next, but if anyone could recommend anything else in the impossibly-beautiful-action genre to go with that and AYNIK I'd appreciate it!

I you haven't read Berserk, it is both very pretty and full of action.

Lurdiak
Feb 26, 2006

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


Do not watch the anime.

Zero_Tactility
Nov 25, 2007

Look into my eyes.

Doctor_Fruitbat posted:

I haven't seen the film yet, but it seemed like fun, so I'm sure I'll get around to it. I'm going to read Onepunch Man next, but if anyone could recommend anything else in the impossibly-beautiful-action genre to go with that and AYNIK I'd appreciate it!

Vinland Saga became extremely pretty once it went to a monthly publishing scheme and is full of awesome action for the first half (the second half is even better but has less fighting).

Mindblast
Jun 28, 2006

Moving at the speed of death.


GhostofJohnMuir posted:

I you haven't read Berserk, it is both very pretty and full of action.

Note that berserk has(and is) a lot of things and not everyone is going to like some of the stuff that happens. Only fair to mention up front I'd say.

Lurdiak
Feb 26, 2006

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


There's a baby impaled on a spike in like the first issue. I didn't come up with that as a litmus test, but I think it's a pretty good one to figure out if you want to read Berserk.

Chinaman7000
Nov 28, 2003

I feel like reading Berserk made me realize the source of some of the more hosed up perverts on the internet. Also, parts of it are really really good.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


Berserk is so unique in that the general message seems to be "the world is hosed and everything is horrible forever, your worst nightmares are true and no one is ever going to live a happy life or afterlife, but hey you shouldn't give up!"

It's one of my favourite pieces of fiction in general, but yeah it's not something everyone is going to be into and that's totally okay and probably very sane.

Jackard
Oct 28, 2007

We Have A Bow And We Wish To Use It

Lurdiak posted:

There's a baby impaled on a spike in like the first issue. I didn't come up with that as a litmus test, but I think it's a pretty good one to figure out if you want to read Berserk.

Chinaman7000 posted:

I feel like reading Berserk made me realize the source of some of the more hosed up perverts on the internet. Also, parts of it are really really good.

Something Awful Ads posted:

Jackard fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Dec 4, 2014

CJacobs
Apr 17, 2011

Reach for the moon!
The art in Berserk is also beautiful most of the time and it really is worth a read if you can stomach them making no bones about the amount of gruesome violence in the lovely world it takes place in.

edit: Well several bones are made about it, I guess, but most of them are broken.

Anora
Feb 16, 2014

I fuckin suck!🪠
Alternatively: Jing/Gin King of Bandit gets really pretty about 4 volumes in. But isn't as heavy in plot as Berserk, and is more of a fun shonen type series then anything, and each volume is basically one self contained story (the first volume is kinda crap though, both in art and story). It branched off into a second series Jing King of Bandit: Twilight Tales, which are gorgeous, but some of the stories feel a bit pretentious.

For reference, here's Yuichi Kumakura, the artist, Pulling a Miura, before Miura started doing it:

GhostofJohnMuir
Aug 14, 2014

anime is not good

Mindblast posted:

Note that berserk has(and is) a lot of things and not everyone is going to like some of the stuff that happens. Only fair to mention up front I'd say.

Yeah, good point. The people I tend to roll with have at least heard about it, I kind of forgot this is a thread where someone could walk in to it blind.

Tarezax
Sep 12, 2009

MORT cancels dance: interrupted by MORT
Also if you enjoyed the D* Souls series, it takes heavy inspiration from Berserk in many places, especially Dark Souls 1.

Lurdiak
Feb 26, 2006

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


Didn't Dragon's Dogma have a Berserk DLC in Japan?

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


Lurdiak posted:

Didn't Dragon's Dogma have a Berserk DLC in Japan?

It was in the western version for free. There were armors for Guts and Griffith and you could get Guts' sword.

Captain Bravo
Feb 16, 2011

An Emergency Shitpost
has been deployed...

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

Anora posted:

Alternatively: Jing/Gin King of Bandit gets really pretty about 4 volumes in. But isn't as heavy in plot as Berserk, and is more of a fun shonen type series then anything, and each volume is basically one self contained story (the first volume is kinda crap though, both in art and story). It branched off into a second series Jing King of Bandit: Twilight Tales, which are gorgeous, but some of the stories feel a bit pretentious.

Was this the series where the guy has a bird that turns into a gun? And there's a lot of references to mixed drinks? If so, this was probably the first manga I ever read, back in high school. :allears:

fozzy fosbourne
Apr 21, 2010

Holy poo poo, I am devouring I Am A Hero. Really incredible flow to the panels. Thanks for the recommendation Invictus!

I wonder when it will be concluded.

Chinaman7000
Nov 28, 2003

If anyone was reading Qualia the Purple and hasn't caught up to the latest of what's available (chapter 16), I recommend it. It continues to impress no matter how many times I say "well that must have been the batshit insane concept and twist they were building to all this time".

Anora
Feb 16, 2014

I fuckin suck!🪠

Captain Bravo posted:

Was this the series where the guy has a bird that turns into a gun? And there's a lot of references to mixed drinks? If so, this was probably the first manga I ever read, back in high school. :allears:

yep. I think the Seventh Heaven OAV is up on either netflix or Hulu right now too.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty

fozzy fosbourne posted:

Holy poo poo, I am devouring I Am A Hero. Really incredible flow to the panels. Thanks for the recommendation Invictus!

I wonder when it will be concluded.

I believe it's by far his most successful series to date, and there's plenty of directions the story could go still, but the progression of the actual story has been going at a comparatively breakneck pace when you look at the last half of the series. So it could end in the next couple volumes, or go on for another dozen.

Another Person
Oct 21, 2010
When was the last time Boys on the Run was updated? It has easily been my favourite thing I have read through here, and I really want it to continue. Did it actually receive a conclusion?

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
It's been over for a long time. There's only a few chapters left untranslated, but the guy doing it stopped due to college or something.

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty


Mahou Tsukai no Yome(The Ancient Magus Bride) - shounen, drama, supernatural, fantasy

Chise is an incredibly rare human aberration called a Slay Vega, an extremely powerful magic user whose abilities will eventually run out of control and destroy her, but she is very useful to magicians and wizards. Her life has been absolute hell until one day, she is sold at a slave auction to a horned wolf-skulled man in a fancy suit, Ellias. He is an outlier, an eccentric, other magic-wielders avoid him. He has bought Chise with the intention, he claims, to make her his bride, as well as his apprentice, but his motivations seem much different than he claims.

This is a relatively new series, only 13 chapters translated so far, and I hear it's been licensed though there's no actual copies released yet, with a release date in the US sometime in mid-2015. The artwork is fantastic and mystical, with lots of otherworldly creatures and magic to be seen. There's a total lack of fanservice, the premise of "child bride" seems more like an excuse for Ellias to take charge of Chise and protect her. For some reason I get a Fullmetal Alchemist-ey vibe from the world of the series as well as some of the more :stare: scenes in it, though it's obviously much more fantasy-based. It's still too early to tell where it'll go in the long-term, but so far it's been a very enjoyable read, and Ellias is a very mysterious and intriguing character. Chise and Ruth are a cute duo, as well.

Some of the scenes are very touching. Probably the most iconic one is when Chise meets the Earth Dragon.


There's a preorder listing for the first volume on Amazon, though it seems like they just listed it recently.

Next-Jin Engine
Dec 7, 2013
I don't know if it's due to everyone already knowing the author's work by heart or anything, but I feel like Naoki Urasawa at least deserves a mention or footnote. I feel that his works are incredibly accessible to western audiences: Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto (especially Pluto), and Billy Bat. Personally, not having read Monster or 20th Century Boys, but having a general understanding of the first being really nihilistic and depressing, and the second going on several long tangents, I would recommend reading Pluto. It's premise is for all intensive purposes like a Japanese Powers, but uses a well-known 65-year-old franchise to full effect as it's narrative template, while modernizing the style of its characters.



I also just picked up Billy Bat again after dropping it two years ago, which kind of spurred this post. Billy Bat is a massive mystery focusing on a half-japanese manga writer in 1949 getting caught up in a conspiracy containing many major historical events. However, in this case, the Da Vinci Code is Mickey Mouse.



This is a thriller that revolves around iconography, and I love it.

Next-Jin Engine fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Feb 1, 2015

Captain Invictus
Apr 5, 2005

Try reading some manga!


Clever Betty
It's "intents and purposes", not "intensive purposes".

Also, looking back on 20th Century Boys, I don't think it's very good. It meanders and some of the reveals and pivotal moments are incredible, but as a whole I find it middling at best. I definitely felt it dragged on a lot longer than maybe it should have.

Next-Jin Engine
Dec 7, 2013

Captain Invictus posted:

It's "intents and purposes", not "intensive purposes".

Also, looking back on 20th Century Boys, I don't think it's very good. It meanders and some of the reveals and pivotal moments are incredible, but as a whole I find it middling at best. I definitely felt it dragged on a lot longer than maybe it should have.

Sorry for the misappropriation; I believe at least that Pluto and Billy Bat both work as serialized suspense pieces. I lost interest in Billy Bat two years ago, but I was able to find my spot and continue on without having to remember too much. I think Urasawa's style is really unique to manga (Otomu's might be a close match), and enjoy the creativity that's present there, especially the blurring between comic and reality that's in Billy Bat.

Man Dancer
Apr 22, 2008

Captain Invictus posted:

Also, looking back on 20th Century Boys, I don't think it's very good. It meanders and some of the reveals and pivotal moments are incredible, but as a whole I find it middling at best. I definitely felt it dragged on a lot longer than maybe it should have.

20th Century Boys really did fizzle out, and I sold it all almost immediately upon collecting the whole series.

Monster sits proudly on my shelf with Pluto and the Astro Boy trade that contains "The Greatest Robot in the World" storyline. Urasawa isn't a sight-unseen pickup for me anymore, but his highs are among the highest in the biz.

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Next-Jin Engine
Dec 7, 2013

Man Dancer posted:

20th Century Boys really did fizzle out, and I sold it all almost immediately upon collecting the whole series.

Monster sits proudly on my shelf with Pluto and the Astro Boy trade that contains "The Greatest Robot in the World" storyline. Urasawa isn't a sight-unseen pickup for me anymore, but his highs are among the highest in the biz.

Yeah, I hesitated to bring him up on account of how well-known his titles are, but as this was the place for it, was just in case there's anyone left who hadn't heard of him, or never tried out his stuff. Also, there hasn't been any talk about his recent stuff on these forums for almost 2 years now.

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