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[RepairmanJack]

Tower of God 63-75

This can't really be happening. He's coming back right?

Holy shit this set of chapters was intense. Seeing Ren facing the two zahards then Yuri showing up. Catching a glimpse of her crew was nice as well, along with a glimpse of powers we will see later on. Overall it seems like shit just got real. I keep waiting to see a real fight though.

 

[Azure J]

Funnily enough, I'd take a shot at one of these yearly ranking things but I read so much and on such off schedules that I couldn't put together all I've experienced in the year in any concise method.

I do agree though that while One Piece hasn't been flat out bad, it's been too safe this past year.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Funnily enough, I'd take a shot at one of these yearly ranking things but I read so much and on such off schedules that I couldn't put together all I've experienced in the year in any concise method.

I do agree though that while One Piece hasn't been flat out bad, it's been too safe this past year.

It's very flat to me. I am expecting new things from the new world but it's just the same old the same old the same old.

Well, I guess even Oda can't escape from habit after releasing hundreds of chapters.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Oda's mad lib is getting really old. It's just not a fun comic to read.

 

[Dresden]

3) Vita Arcana
Cool historical manga set in Rome. It has great action, a really well developed setting and fantastic art.


9) The Wandering of Girls' Group No. 7
A sci-fi slice of life manga about a pair of girls. The world is pretty charming and each chapter has a quirky new piece of futuristic technology.

Mmm, putting this two on the list.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

It's very flat to me. I am expecting new things from the new world but it's just the same old the same old the same old.

Well, I guess even Oda can't escape from habit after releasing hundreds of chapters.

Problem is too many characters, too convoluted a plot, and too inadequate an antagonist.

The story should have been trimmed. The editors need to work on this. There was no need to have Ceasar, the blob, the babies, the samurai and his kid, Smoker, Law, Vergo, and now Doflamingo all in one arc.

I actually think this arc could have been good if they had eliminated some of the subplots and narrowed the focus to the Heart Pirates (where are the rest of them anyway?) and the Straw Hat Pirates teaming up against Ceasar with Doflamingo as the surprise twist at the end.

The result of jamming too many subplots into one arc is that the good moments don't get enough time and the pace gets thrown off because you have to switch around to different subplots too often.

Also the Punk Hazard setting had potential but that's sort of wasted when the entire arc minus a few chapters is set on the frozen side. We already had the Drum Kingdom arc.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Oda's mad lib is getting really old. It's just not a fun comic to read.

Not that I'm going to read One Piece to find out, but its pretty hard to do anything other than Mad Lib after ten years of writing the damn thing unless you're getting close to the end and last I heard, he's not.

Random musing: my wife (who is far more familiar with One Piece than I am) once referred to Luffy as an irritating protagonist because he's too much like a "happy stupid dog."

 

[brotkasten]

Random musing: my wife (who is far more familiar with One Piece than I am) once referred to Luffy as an irritating protagonist because he's too much like a "happy stupid dog."

That sounds pretty accurate.

 

[Infinite Justice]

.

Random musing: my wife (who is far more familiar with One Piece than I am) once referred to Luffy as an irritating protagonist because he's too much like a "happy stupid dog."

He's like an older version of Kid Goku from Dragonball, which is really weird LOL

 

[MCD]

His fight with Usopp and losing his brothers added more depth to his fake happy personality.

 

[survivor]

Basara vol 4-5

Oh Shidou, why did you have to go and risk your life and be a hero? What about poor Senju who waited for you all this time? The confrontation was great even though an earthquake was needed in order to even the playing field. I do wonder if there will ever be a battle without any interference from outside help/nature. One of the things I enjoyed the most and I always wish for more action to cover is how the main characters deal with the fact they have to kill people in order to achieve their goals and the inevitable consequences of the cycle of revenge continuing as seen by Senju. The mental breakdown of Hayato and Sarasa was great.

The Red King was a complete asshole who had no problems is massacring an entire village, but he really is a saint compared to the Blue King. That guy is just a crazy bastard who embraces slavery and hunts them for his entertainment. The whole betrayal thing was obvious, but I never saw the plot twist coming in after the betrayal. Oh and Iron Mask is a bro

Anyway, I really keep forgetting that this manga isn't actually set in the past, but set in the 20th century/future. There have been couple of hints about the older civilization and I'm guessing the foreigners use newer more modern technology, but I really hope the manga keeps its fantasy settings and doesn't go for a terrible mix at any point in the upcoming volumes.

 

[Infinite Justice]

Basara vol 4-5

img

dat shoujo art

 

[FlutterPuffs]

Basara vol 4-5

Oh Shidou, why did you have to go and risk your life and be a hero? What about poor Senju who waited for you all this time? The confrontation was great even though an earthquake was needed in order to even the playing field. I do wonder if there will ever be a battle without any interference from outside help/nature. One of the things I enjoyed the most and I always wish for more action to cover is how the main characters deal with the fact they have to kill people in order to achieve their goals and the inevitable consequences of the cycle of revenge continuing as seen by Senju. The mental breakdown of Hayato and Sarasa was great.

The Red King was a complete asshole who had no problems is massacring an entire village, but he really is a saint compared to the Blue King. That guy is just a crazy bastard who embraces slavery and hunts them for his entertainment. The whole betrayal thing was obvious, but I never saw the plot twist coming in after the betrayal. Oh and Iron Mask is a bro

Anyway, I really keep forgetting that this manga isn't actually set in the past, but set in the 20th century/future. There have been couple of hints about the older civilization and I'm guessing the foreigners use newer more modern technology, but I really hope the manga keeps its fantasy settings and doesn't go for a terrible mix at any point in the upcoming volumes.

How is the manga so far?

 

[brotkasten]

His fight with Usopp and losing his brothers added more depth to his fake happy personality.

But didn't you see the tears, man? They were so real and deep. It's was like when Sasuke cried about his brothers death.

dat shoujo art

That is pretty much why I can't read these. It's always turning me off, which is a shame, because I bet there are a lot of good shoujo stories out there.

 

[survivor]

dat shoujo art

I feel like these pictures I'm picking might not be helping my case in getting more people to check out the manga. I do want to mention that when there are fight scenes, we do get some nice double spreads like this one

How is the manga so far?

It's been a great read so far. Maybe my high tolerance of shoujo tropes is affecing my judgement, but I'm really enjoying the epic adventure, the battles, and the characters. The romance is nothing to write off about, it's your typical "forbidden love we don't know each other's secrety identity" type of thing, but I'm hoping it will progress into something great eventually. I should also mention the pacing has been fantastic so far, the main cast is always on the move and interesting stuff keeps happening all the time.

 

[wonzo]

Best New (in English) Manga of 2012

1) Alice in Hell
A new Jiro Matsumoto about a sniper and his robot Alice set in a postapocalypic world. Everyone is batshit crazy as usual.
2) Getenrou
I guess you would call this a sci-fi mystery series or something. Initially it seems like a collection of really funny short stories that don't have much to do with each other, but then there is a brilliant and insane (though not so funny) twist at the end that ties it all together.
3) Vita Arcana
Cool historical manga set in Rome. It has great action, a really well developed setting and fantastic art.
4) Tetsugaku Letra
Mizu Sahara does a shounen basketball manga, but it's pretty much the same as all her other manga (which is good!). Lots of bittersweet feelings involved.
5) Golondrina
Matadors, suicidal lesbians and angst angst angst. If you don't like melodrama stay far far away.
6) Mix
An Adachi baseball manga nuff said.
7) Jin
Doctor travels back in time and is forced to reinvent medical procedures.
8) Tomoshibi
A really cool and really varied short story collection.
9) The Wandering of Girls' Group No. 7
A sci-fi slice of life manga about a pair of girls. The world is pretty charming and each chapter has a quirky new piece of futuristic technology.
10) The Lady of Udon
Charming little romance manga

I've had Getenrou and The Lady of Udon on my list for a while but I'll definitely check out the rest.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

Random musing: my wife (who is far more familiar with One Piece than I am) once referred to Luffy as an irritating protagonist because he's too much like a "happy stupid dog."

People like that. That's why Elsie is popular.

Oda is actually really good at using that for humor.

 

[Laughing Banana]

dat shoujo art

The prime reason why I am now stuck at the end of Volume 3 of 7 Seeds. The art =(

It's already a huge accomplishment though for a shoujo to make me read it for 3 volumes. I normally wouldn't touch a Shoujo, especially those drawn in the old-school way, with a ten foot pole due to its art.

 

[Angry Grimace]

People like that. That's why Elsie is popular.

Oda is actually really good at using that for humor.

And here I thought Elsie was popular because they turned her into a moe blob in the anime

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

And here I thought Elsie was popular because they turned her into a moe blob in the anime

Luffy is endearing. He has bro moe. Broe if you will.

 

[Piecake]

Tower of God 63-75

This can't really be happening. He's coming back right?

Holy shit this set of chapters was intense. Seeing Ren facing the two zahards then Yuri showing up. Catching a glimpse of her crew was nice as well, along with a glimpse of powers we will see later on. Overall it seems like shit just got real. I keep waiting to see a real fight though.

Yea, that arc is just amazing.

Spoiler

I honestly did not expect that at all. Which is a good thing, since if they kept on climbing that tower 1 floor at a time it would have gotten stale. It totally changed the dynamic/flow, which is alright in my book

 

[FlutterPuffs]

I feel like these pictures I'm picking might not be helping my case in getting more people to check out the manga. I do want to mention that when there are fight scenes, we do get some nice double spreads like this one



It's been a great read so far. Maybe my high tolerance of shoujo tropes is affecing my judgement, but I'm really enjoying the epic adventure, the battles, and the characters. The romance is nothing to write off about, it's your typical "forbidden love we don't know each other's secrety identity" type of thing, but I'm hoping it will progress into something great eventually. I should also mention the pacing has been fantastic so far, the main cast is always on the move and interesting stuff keeps happening all the time.

Yeah, pacing is one of the best thing about Yumi Tamura's mangas. It doesn't waste any time and always gets to the point.

And Laughing Banana, try to finish the Winter Team arc at least. Volume 1-3 are just alright in my book, but it gets so much better after.

 

[Apath]

So where is everyone getting the cool pixel avatars?

 

[Angry Grimace]

Luffy is endearing. He has bro moe. Broe if you will.

I wonder who its harder to get a body pillow for.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Yeah, pacing is one of the best thing about Yumi Tamura's mangas. It doesn't waste any time and always gets to the point.

And Laughing Banana, try to finish the Winter Team arc at least. Volume 1-3 are just alright in my book, but it gets so much better after.

I'll try. Honestly, the story is good but I just have low tolerance for the art, is all.

Anyways,

I am not gonna stop pimping Ryuuroden. Random pages from the manga:

 

[Antiwhippy]

I'll try. Honestly, the story is good but I just have low tolerance for the art, is all.

You just can't handle the fabulousness.

Though seriously, I have a weird fondness for the old school shoujo style.

 

[Kusagari]

7 seeds ch 1-10

Definitely enjoying it so far, but, like many others, the art is hindering my enthusiasm. I don't mind all shoujo artwork, I'm a huge fan of Oreasama Teacher, but this is the classic type I hate.

 

[Laughing Banana]

You just can't handle the fabulousness.

Though seriously, I have a weird fondness for the old school shoujo style.

The sparkling shoujo eyes man... *shudders*

 

[Antiwhippy]

Say what you want about the shoujo style though, 7 seeds has some fantastic environmental art.

Also the story is still so much better than 99% of the manga I've read.

 

[Antiwhippy]

The sparkling shoujo eyes man... *shudders*

That's pretty tame man. Look at how shoujo this shit is in comparison.

And I consider to be one of the best mangas of all time.

If there're no random flowers blooming everywhere it might as well not be shoujo.

Also example of the 7 seeds environmental art I love.

 

[upandaway]

The sparkling shoujo eyes man... *shudders*

The best shojo eyes are in Taiyou no Ie. Those things are miracles on paper.

 

[flawfuls]

Yumi Tamura's style can barely be called oldschool shoujo. It's like early 90's shoujo! That shit was awful. 70's is where it's at.

That's pretty tame man. Look at how shoujo this shit is in comparison.

And I consider to be one of the best mangas of all time.

If there're no random flowers blooming everywhere it might as well not be shoujo.

See I love Glass Mask's art. Shoujo artist should either go full sparkle or go home.

 

[Articalys]

TLRD 27

...really, Yabuki? Really?

Binbougami ga! 47

Now this is exciting. We've finally got a real glimpse at the backbone of the entire story, so I'm excited where it's going to go from here. The included author's notes from what this was, the end of volume 10, say that it's entering the "second half of the mid-story", so maybe the whole series will end up being around 18-20 volumes overall? Looking forward to it either way!

 

[FlutterPuffs]

The sparkling shoujo eyes man... *shudders*

Yeah, not a fan of the eyes too. I find myself not caring after a few chapters and focus on other areas instead.

I've been a story >>> art type of person though, and I am one of those who didn't mind the chicken scratch Hunter x Hunter chapters back in the days.

 

[Envelope]

I can stomach bad art if the rest of the manga is good enough, but there's enough shoujos with good art that I haven't had to delve into the rest of them that frequently.

 

[FlutterPuffs]

I can stomach bad art if the rest of the manga is good enough, but there's enough shoujos with good art that I haven't had to delve into the rest of them that frequently.

7 Seeds is probably one of those at the very top. You should give it a try.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Man if GAF can handle the art of molester man they can handle the art of 7 seeds.

 

[Envelope]

7 Seeds is probably one of those at the very top. You should give it a try.

The recent spurt of comments about it has definitely raised my interest! The hardest part of being a shoujo fan is picking the good series out of the innumerable bland ones.

 

[Crash Station]

To Love Ru Darkness 27

It's amazing how often Yabuki is able to top himself.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Binbougami Ga 47

Bahahaha, oh man, the body switch gag was great.

 

[FlutterPuffs]

The recent spurt of comments about it has definitely raised my interest! The hardest part of being a shoujo fan is picking the good series out of the innumerable bland ones.

Oh yes very. People who complain about the stuff in shounen should see the amount of crap in shoujo. Some are just plain smut or Mary Sue stories.

 

[wonzo]

Gokujo 1-8

This was even smuttier than the awful anime adaptation and while the art style's kinda obnoxious at times it isn't anywhere near as bad as the utterly awful animation. All it needs now is to kill off the utterly awful protagonist and this would turn into something truly "great".

Yumekui Merry 29-34

lmao

Bully

A yuri oneshot about a bullied girl who wants to get in her bullies pants and vice-versa. It was ok I guess.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Oh yes very. People who complain about the stuff in shounen should see the amount of crap in shoujo. Some are just plain smut or Mary Sue stories.

Eh, I'd say that there's probably just as much smut or marty stue stories in shounen.

 

[Envelope]

Yumekui Merry 29-34


lmao

Such a shame JC Staff butchered the anime. The dad is so swag.

 

[dumbyugi]

To-Love Ru Darkness 27

Rito can tell who girls are just by looking at their arses, this must be a step foward for the harem plan.Also, was Rito squeezing through Yami's arse cheeks or was it something else?

 

[hamchan]

Read 60 chapters of Medaka Box. I actually enjoyed the silly comedy chapters, same with Hitman Reborn, but I guess becoming a battle manga is the best way for an ongoing manga to survive.

The transition always feels jarring though, probably because I've read up to this point in one day. Went from fun comedy about finding lost puppies to super humans capable of melting half a building. A bit weird but I'm still enjoying it.

 

[thetechkid]

Read 60 chapters of Medaka Box. I actually enjoyed the silly comedy chapters, same with Hitman Reborn, but I guess becoming a battle manga is the best way for an ongoing manga to survive.

The transition always feels jarring though, probably because I've read up to this point in one day. Went from fun comedy about finding lost puppies to super humans capable of melting half a building. A bit weird but I'm still enjoying it.

This is how I feel reading it, the transition doesnt bother me much as long as my laughs dont go away.

 

[wonzo]

AKB49 101-102

takamina ;_;

Binbougami ga! 47-47.5

Chapter 47 was great and all thanks to all the backstory being filled in but I just can't get over just how incredibly racist the extra round was... what the fuck.

Such a shame JC Staff butchered the anime. The dad is so swag.

Yeah, fuckin' J.C. Staff and that piece of shit Yamauchi.

 

[Kusagari]

AKB49 101-102

I hope you know what you're doing, Maeda, making Takamina cry like that.

 

[Kurita]

Binbougami ga! 47-47.5

Chapter 47 was great and all thanks to all the backstory being filled in but I just can't get over just how incredibly racist the extra round was... what the fuck.

And someone here thought Eyeshield 21 was racist.