stuff I read
7 Feb 2008 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
salineaI never post about the manga I read. Some for once I'm going to.
I'm still following XXXholic and TRC by the rhythm of French parution. Holic's up to the revealation about Himawara, and TRC is up to the Acid Tokyo arc (and I wish I hadn't been spoiled about it ^_^;;).*
Fruits Basket finished recently. I ought to go and start seeking fanfics now that I'm no longer afraid of getting spoiled. Count Cain / Godchild also recently ended (and how crackistic it was). Nana is still going on, and I love it. So is Hana Yori Dango, but it's starting to get tiresome. Still following Ouran High School Host Club which is still awesome.
Princess Kaguya continues to be going ever so slowly (9th volume so far), and is still one of the best shoujo with thriller/SF/Fantastique plotting and femslash/slash/het aesthetics all at the same time. I've no idea why nobody else seems to be paying attention to it ^_^;;
Loki Mythical Detective has finally started up there (2 volumes so far). The plots actually make more sense than in the anime (which is not very difficult), but it's still extremely endearing, cute & crackful. Can't wait to see more Norse gods showing up.
The manga Loveless also started some time ago (up to the 5th volume). I'd never watched the anime although I remembered all the (controversial) noise about it a couple of years ago. I'm finding it extremely fun so far, full of the kind of badwrong D/s I like. The plot can be confusing though.
Ludwig revolution is the new Kaori Yuki. It's crackistic (of course) and loads of fun, with an all out comedy tone but with the same hilariously over the top horror backstories. The plot focusses fairy tales rereading (always a favourite kink of mine) and is very much not serious. (I like the little red riding hood).
That new version of Evangelion has just showed up, I got the first volume. It's weird and does strange things to the characters (like, they gave Rei a personnality) and it lacks Misato kicking ass so far (nb: Misato has always been my favourite EVA character) but is not without interest. I'm curious to see what they're going to do with it.
I've recently discovered Lovely Complex and loving it (5 volumes so far). It's excellent classic high school comedy + romance and quite awesome. I wasn't surprised to realise it was popular out there ^_^
Another classical comedic romance shoujo I've been liking has been Tenshi Ja Nai ("Tout sauf un Ange" in French, "I'm not Angel" in English), which I'm liking despite the main character being extremely shy, reserved, not proactive and something of a pushover. The main love interest being a brattish guy crossdressing as a girl in order to be an idol and get lots of money (!). Yeah, it's something of a guilty pleasure ^^
In the high school romance genre, this time manhwa, I've also been reading "the seduction more beautiful than love", centering around a young female substitute teacher and a mysterious boy of her class. It's got some fun moments, the romance is heavy on mindfucks, the creepy factor works well, and I rather like the main female character. The rest of the cast is also rather nice, everyone is rather bitchy and selfish which I dig. And the graphism is gorgeous.
Another Manhwa I've been loving has been 1001 yahwa (Arabian Nights). With gorgeous graphics, lots of slashiness, tragic stories within stories, the three tomes so far have been an entrancing read.
Also got a first volume of another shoujo called Shinobi life, which also works great as guilty pleasure, based upon that good old "badass male character sworn to obey a female character's orders and to protect her" cliché. It's crackistic, but fun so far.
My new favourite mangaka is Setona Mizushiro, mainly with Afterschool nightmare ("L'infermerie après les cours" or "Hokago Hokenshitsu"), with fantastique, romance and gender queer themes, and deeply creepy dream sessions. Complex, well characterized, with a good ratio of fucked up ness, it's also very prettily drawn. Another manga I wish more of my flist read and talked about ^^
Setona has did "le jeu du chat et de la souris" ("Kyoso wa Cheese no Yume wo Miru"), a one shot yaoi story which I just read and loved. I seldom read yaoi but if more of them are like this one I should read more XD the characterization of the two main characters are very interesting, complex and well drawn, and the pron is definitly hot.
Diamond head, on the other hand, still by Setona, disapointed me. I only checked the first volume but found it pretty boring.
I'm going to stop there, but I haven't mentionned all the mangas I've been reading XD maybe I'll do a second part.
I'm still following XXXholic and TRC by the rhythm of French parution. Holic's up to the revealation about Himawara, and TRC is up to the Acid Tokyo arc (and I wish I hadn't been spoiled about it ^_^;;).*
Fruits Basket finished recently. I ought to go and start seeking fanfics now that I'm no longer afraid of getting spoiled. Count Cain / Godchild also recently ended (and how crackistic it was). Nana is still going on, and I love it. So is Hana Yori Dango, but it's starting to get tiresome. Still following Ouran High School Host Club which is still awesome.
Princess Kaguya continues to be going ever so slowly (9th volume so far), and is still one of the best shoujo with thriller/SF/Fantastique plotting and femslash/slash/het aesthetics all at the same time. I've no idea why nobody else seems to be paying attention to it ^_^;;
Loki Mythical Detective has finally started up there (2 volumes so far). The plots actually make more sense than in the anime (which is not very difficult), but it's still extremely endearing, cute & crackful. Can't wait to see more Norse gods showing up.
The manga Loveless also started some time ago (up to the 5th volume). I'd never watched the anime although I remembered all the (controversial) noise about it a couple of years ago. I'm finding it extremely fun so far, full of the kind of badwrong D/s I like. The plot can be confusing though.
Ludwig revolution is the new Kaori Yuki. It's crackistic (of course) and loads of fun, with an all out comedy tone but with the same hilariously over the top horror backstories. The plot focusses fairy tales rereading (always a favourite kink of mine) and is very much not serious. (I like the little red riding hood).
That new version of Evangelion has just showed up, I got the first volume. It's weird and does strange things to the characters (like, they gave Rei a personnality) and it lacks Misato kicking ass so far (nb: Misato has always been my favourite EVA character) but is not without interest. I'm curious to see what they're going to do with it.
I've recently discovered Lovely Complex and loving it (5 volumes so far). It's excellent classic high school comedy + romance and quite awesome. I wasn't surprised to realise it was popular out there ^_^
Another classical comedic romance shoujo I've been liking has been Tenshi Ja Nai ("Tout sauf un Ange" in French, "I'm not Angel" in English), which I'm liking despite the main character being extremely shy, reserved, not proactive and something of a pushover. The main love interest being a brattish guy crossdressing as a girl in order to be an idol and get lots of money (!). Yeah, it's something of a guilty pleasure ^^
In the high school romance genre, this time manhwa, I've also been reading "the seduction more beautiful than love", centering around a young female substitute teacher and a mysterious boy of her class. It's got some fun moments, the romance is heavy on mindfucks, the creepy factor works well, and I rather like the main female character. The rest of the cast is also rather nice, everyone is rather bitchy and selfish which I dig. And the graphism is gorgeous.
Another Manhwa I've been loving has been 1001 yahwa (Arabian Nights). With gorgeous graphics, lots of slashiness, tragic stories within stories, the three tomes so far have been an entrancing read.
Also got a first volume of another shoujo called Shinobi life, which also works great as guilty pleasure, based upon that good old "badass male character sworn to obey a female character's orders and to protect her" cliché. It's crackistic, but fun so far.
My new favourite mangaka is Setona Mizushiro, mainly with Afterschool nightmare ("L'infermerie après les cours" or "Hokago Hokenshitsu"), with fantastique, romance and gender queer themes, and deeply creepy dream sessions. Complex, well characterized, with a good ratio of fucked up ness, it's also very prettily drawn. Another manga I wish more of my flist read and talked about ^^
Setona has did "le jeu du chat et de la souris" ("Kyoso wa Cheese no Yume wo Miru"), a one shot yaoi story which I just read and loved. I seldom read yaoi but if more of them are like this one I should read more XD the characterization of the two main characters are very interesting, complex and well drawn, and the pron is definitly hot.
Diamond head, on the other hand, still by Setona, disapointed me. I only checked the first volume but found it pretty boring.
I'm going to stop there, but I haven't mentionned all the mangas I've been reading XD maybe I'll do a second part.
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no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 01:58 pm (UTC)After School Nightmare is amazing--one of the few series where I make a point hunting down each new volume the day it's released. I'm dying to see if it's going to handle the screwed-up gender themes in a way that doesn't make me throw the book at the wall. Also, I want to know if any of my weird theories about Ai are correct.
Also, Loveless ♥♥♥. So wrong and yet so well-characterized and psychologically complex that you have to keep reading anyway. Sometimes in the middle of a volume I have this moment of "I am reading a story about a D/s relationship between a 12-year-old and a 20-year-old, and I'm not nearly worried about this as I should be" shame--and then I ignore it and go back to reading.
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 03:22 pm (UTC)I'm dying to see if it's going to handle the screwed-up gender themes in a way that doesn't make me throw the book at the wall.
So much word! I first I was afraid of their handling, but then it kept getting smarter and subverted.
Also, I want to know if any of my weird theories about Ai are correct.
Ooooh, do tell your weird theories!
Yeah, Loveless had me go O_o at first but then I decided I was enjoying it anyway XDDD
I'll just go to the special hellno subject
Date: 7 February 2008 03:55 pm (UTC)Ooooh, do tell your weird theories!
Well, it's a bit crazy, but I'm convinced that there's a specific reason why Ai communicates in notes, and why no one ever seems to see her in the real world except Sou. I think that she's either a ghost, or that Sou is suffering from dissociative identity disorder (so the notes are written by him and all her appearances are actually his hallucinations). She does have a dream self, of course, but I don't see why a ghost or an alternate personality couldn't have one. The ghost option seems more likely, but I love the DID one more because it'd be so screwed up and nifty, and it would dovetail neatly with Mashiro's own male/female conflict.
Hehe, I get the feeling that that section of the special hell is going to be very crowded. Oh well, Loveless is worth it.no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:23 pm (UTC)I'm with you on hating reading manga on the computer :( I used to read 'em in the bookstores before I could afford them ;)
I hope the Loveless plot gets better, but so far it certainly made me go "er?" a bit...
LOL on Akito as a crossdressing Bellatrix. I think Akito's actually to passive agressive to be much alike Bella, but that's certainly an interesting version XD I did find the latter volumes of Furuba as less good and going on boring, but I kept on reading mainly for the Shigure/Akito which is fucked up in such a good way ^_^
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 02:45 pm (UTC)the seduction more beautiful than love sounds pretty intriguing.
I never got that much into yaoi manga, myself. I picked up one kind of at random to try the genre out, thought the first volume was pretty cool, and thought the second volume just went to hell. But a one-shot might be more my speed.
And this isn't the first time I've heard good things about Afterschool Nightmare. I should check it out.
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:25 pm (UTC)the seduction more beautiful than love sounds pretty intriguing.
I think the first volume got released in English, so you can see for yourself.
I never got that much into yaoi manga, myself. I picked up one kind of at random to try the genre out, thought the first volume was pretty cool, and thought the second volume just went to hell. But a one-shot might be more my speed.
I haven't either. I don't know if it's because it was a oneshot or just because it was well written and characterized in this case.
And this isn't the first time I've heard good things about Afterschool Nightmare. I should check it out.
Definitly! Especially if you like horror, fucked up-ness and gender queer themes ^^
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:30 pm (UTC)I should buy more Lovely Complex.
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 05:55 pm (UTC)I should buy more Lovely Complex.
Yes! It's hilarious!
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 08:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 09:20 pm (UTC)Can you tell me more about this series. I have five volumes of a Evangelion manga, which I like almost a bit more than the anime. (I have a littl crush on Misato, in whatever form, though.)
Generally, I have read more shonen manga than shoujo, because I prefer the clearer styles and I get sugar shocks from many shoujo, because the characters are too sweetly drawn. ;) Though, occasionally, I like looking at Kaori Yuki and You Higuri, because they are fun.
no subject
Date: 7 February 2008 09:39 pm (UTC)It's got more of a romance focus than the usual EVA, and other wise has this intriguing AU quality.
Yesssss, on Misato. She's great and she's hot.
Generally, I have read more shonen manga than shoujo
I tend to think all genres have their flaws and qualities. I get pretty annoyed at the endless battles genre of shounen and by the harems of the romance ones, but some of them are pretty good (FMA is excellent, I used to love Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken, I rather enjoyed Shaman King up to a certain point), some of the romance shounen actually are good (I kinda liked I''S and other manga by the same author, also digged No Bra and a few others). Shoujo can be pretty annoying when they have the reverse harem storylines with a too passive main female character, or when the romance stories are boring. I don't like sugar sweet either but they only show up in specific shoujo which I can avoid easily or specific kinds of seinen which cater to fetishes, although usually seinen is the genre with the higher quality ratio I believe (at least when they're not too erotic & violent for the sake of being erotic & violent). I love the dark & horrofic & slashy shoujo like Kaori Yuki, You Higuri or Clamp definitly! (adding Setona to those three and whatever the name of the person doing Kaguya Hime). Generally speaking stories which have a good plot with elements of SF and/or Fantastique are what I like the most, even if I occasionnaly enjoy cookie cutter romance ^^