GotWoot Manga Reviews

[Munsu]

Thought I'd give this a try, much like the "30 Second Anime Review" in General Anime. Hopefully people will do some reviews on what they are reading and maybe spark some interest on the manga.

Here are some rules:

Please review something that has not been reviewed before in the thread. In the case that you find a review lacking, do a full review again yourself, rather than simply posting one sentence explaining what the previous poster ommited.
Would preffer if the review is for a manga that is mostly unknown to us, but if you want to review something like Bleach manga, then I guess that's fine, but would preffer something obscure to us.
Make the review at least one paragraph, 4 or 5 sentences. A one sentence review doesn't really tell much, and it detracts from the purpose of this thread.
I think this goes without saying, but don't spoil the manga in your review. This is a very gray area, so use your best judgement, and try not to reveal any major surprises.
Here are some suggestions:

These are not a requirement, but I think it will make the review better in terms of sparking interest.

I think it would also be helpful in your review if at the end you can post a link to another site that contains more info on the reviewed manga, for example if you're doing a Gantz review, maybe link it to the mangaupdates.com page that contains Gantz information.
Also if you can provide a link to where you can download the manga, I think it will be helpful.
I think that maybe providing a link to a sample picture of the manga might be helpful so that people can see the art.
Well hopefully this will improve manga discussion, and bring more readers to this forum section.

I will be doing a review of Dangu shortly so that you can use it as an example/template, but I'm tired of typing at the moment, so I'll edit this post later.


Dangu
Shaman Warrior Dark Horse Title

Dangu is a Korean manhwa set in a world inhabited by musas (warriors), baekjung (peasants), and the manshin-musas (shaman-warriors). The story takes place in the country of Kugai, and begins with Yarang, a manshin-musa responsible for the current greatness of Kugai. Ten years into the story, Kugai is currently persecuting manshin-musas out of fear, using the manshin-musa Yarang as an excuse for going berserk and slaughtering people 10 years earlier. The story will follow Batu, as he raises Yarang's daughter Yaki as a warrior to fend against her persecutors. At the moment the story is taking us through Yaki's adolescence, showing how she is progressing in her inhuman training preparing her for a ruthless world. I believe that that manga is going to show us Yaki's life from childhood all the way to adult hood. The manga has pretty good art, the story has been pretty good thus far, and there's none stop action.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1276

The manhwa is being released by Nexgear, and you can find it here up to volume 4:
http://crackrabbitstudios.com/Dangu/Releases


http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/5324/dangucoverver2sls4.th.jpg (http://img60.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dangucoverver2sls4.jpg) http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/347/danguvol01ch00514az6.th.png (http://img475.imageshack.us/my.php?image=danguvol01ch00514az6.png)

[Dark Dragon]

hmm this thread couldn't have came up at a better time, i recently came upon this manga

Tokyo Crazy Paradise:

Kozuki Tsukasa parents are police officer that was recently killed while investigating a case,
leaving their 4 childrens homeless and in debt. Tsukasa has no choice but to seek help from a classmate name Ryuji who also happen to recently became the leader of the largest Yakuza group in the area because his father was assasinated. Ryuji was tricked into thinking that Tsukasa had seen the face of his father killer, one thing led to another and it end up with Tsukasa working for Ryuji as his body guard while Tsukasa is trying to get the family out of debt and become a Police Officer.

if you are interested in reading this it can be found here:
http://www.mangadownload.net/manga.php?a=series&sid=92

please refrain from reading the description on the website since it does spoil a little.

[Apraxhren]

Welcome to the NHK!

Image:
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9577/nhkv01c001p005eo4.th.png (http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nhkv01c001p005eo4.png)

Summary:
Welcome to the NHK! is a hilarious psychological look into the life of a social outcast and his attempts to return to society. Tatsuhiro Sato is a hikkomori, he suffers from social withdraw; he is unemployed and no longer in school. He lives in a world filled with conspiracies, suicide, and drugs but one day he meets an innocent girl, Misaki, who wants to help Sato overcome his hikkomori ways. Questions abound and Sato is weary of Misaki fearing she is an agent of the Nippon Hikkomori Kyoukai. Meanwhile Yamazaki, a lower classmate who Sato saved from bullies, moves in next door and introduces Sato into the world of an otaku. Sato now addicted to this otaku culture pairs up with Yamazaki and the two try to create the world’s greatest hentai game. Will Sato be able to return to society? Is Misaki really that innocent? More from Mangaupdates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=188).

Download:
Chapters 1 & 4 - 26 are available from Evil Genius here (http://bt.mindwerks.net:60000/index.html)
Chapters 2 & 3 are available from Jinmen Juushin here (http://jinmen.pyoko.org/zipfiles/LicensedArchive/)

[Munsu]

Kurosagi: The Black Swindler

Started reading this today, and so far I find it to be entertaining. It reminds me a bit of Death Note because it deals a lot with people trying to outsmart each other, kinda like Light and L going at it. The manga is about swindling. White swindlers are people that swindle other out of their money. The main character is called Kurosaki, and he considers himself a black swindler, a person who swindles white swindlers out of their money. He is doing this because his dad was a victim of a white swindler, and ended up committing suicide. Kurosaki is on a journey to find the white swindler who did this in order to kill him, so he became a black swindler. The main character is great, it's fun to see how he is one way, and then totally transform into someone else in order to accomplish his task.

http://entropy-manga.com/projects/kurosagi.php
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=587

The manga is being scanlated by Ton1x and also by Entropy. Just to note, that Ton1x doesn't translate the term kurosagi and shirosagi, which mean black swindler and white swindler respectively, while Entropy does translate it. Also Ton1x seems like they're dead, so for future releases Entropy will provide them.

I only know of IRC to download it.

The Entropy version you can get from #entropy @ irc.irchighway.net
Here's the bot list http://entropy-manga.com/downloads/bot-list.php

The Ton1x version you can get from #lurk @ irc.irchighway.net

Entropy has done up to chapter 3 so far
Ton1x up to 4, but as I said, they are dead.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9950/kurosagiv0101coversshv5.th.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kurosagiv0101coversshv5.jpg) http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/448/kurosagiv01ch1006007ri8.th.png (http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kurosagiv01ch1006007ri8.png) http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2889/kurosagiv01ch2061lf1.th.png (http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kurosagiv01ch2061lf1.png)

There also seems like there's a live-action adaptation if you're interested:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6240

[masamuneehs]

Black Cat
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/7453/300pxblackcat12er6.th.jpg (http://img67.imageshack.us/my.php?image=300pxblackcat12er6.jpg)

You've probably heard of the disasterous anime, but the manga is actually awesome!

Summary: Train Heartnet is the most lethal and feared killer in the world, Number XIII, the Black Cat. Working for the shadowy Chronos organization, the Black Cat becomes the object of desire for one of his co-workers, the batshit insane Creed Diskenth.

One day Train meets a mysterious young girl who is a Sweeper, a bounty hunter who makes sure never to kill. As they spend more time together, Train becomes unsure of his position as a killer and begins to contemplate leaving Chronos. However, at the same time Creed is plotting a earth-shaking movement, and his obsession for Train makes him unstable and even more dangerous.

Things quickly spiral out of control. But in the end Train has the chance to start anew as a Sweeper.

A story about second chances, human nature, and kick-ass gun battles.

Masa's Review:
The Black Cat anime sucked, sucked bad, even though it started out fairly well. Curious, I picked up the manga and was amazed at its depth, character and beauty. This manga does an excellent job balancing humor and action, and both are delivered through beautiful manga medium.

Story: (9/10) Themes may remind people of Kenshin, but the story is rich and detailed, giving time and attention to the awesome side-characters while progressing the main plot. The conflict between Train and Creed is a little creepy, but I like that. The arcs within the manga often have pretty good stories themselves.

Note: The manga starts at a point after some events in the summary, but they're all covered in flashback chapters (which kick assbtw)

Characters: Ususually I'd put this with plot, but Black Cat stands out because of the number of characters and how well they're all presented. You come to get a real understanding for them, and their interactions are great.

I love Creed because I'm a sucker for absolutely insane, sword-wielding villains... Sven and Eve also have excellent characters, and their interactions with Train almost always provoke a reaction in the reader. (10/10).

Drawing: I think it's frickin high quality stuff. You decide for yourself.
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/2006/blackcat222pg7.th.jpg (http://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blackcat222pg7.jpg)

Status: 24 chapters and still going.

Masa's Overall Score: 9 out of 10.
Source: Where else but At Manga Traders! (http://www.mangatraders.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=38)?
The group scanlating it there is quite good. Accurate, thorough translation and nice scans.

[Ryllharu]

Glass Mask

This is one of the preeminent shoujo series. Started in the 70's and still ongoing, this is the epic shoujo series that has been emulated countless times in manga and anime, usually as a parody or hommage to the "Glass Mask Reaction" (seen below in the third image). It is as epic in shoujo series as Berserk or HnI is to shonen/seinen.

It tells the story of Maya Kitajima, a 14 year old plain girl who doesn't realize her natural talent as an actress. A once legendary actress takes Maya under her wing to train her as her sucessor after Maya runs away from home. Along her path, she meets the incredibly talented Ayumi Himekawa, rich daughter of a famous actress and director, and the cold hearted Hayami Masumi, president of a large production company. She learns a great deal about the stage and her talents as the years pass.

What makes this series stand out so much is how much depth all of the characters get. Nemeses, seemingly minor coworkers, friends, and even side characters get a disproportionate amount of character development. Main characters are fleshed out completely, side characters given chracterization usually only seen in main characters during certain chapters and story arcs. Even the plays are given a large number of pages so the readers can get the same feel as the theater audience in the manga.

Despite the dated art (it was drawn in the 70's) emotions are clearly felt and the impact of them is hightened by the "Glass Mask Reaction." Miuchi Suzue takes her character's own advice and makes sure to display even the subtle emotions on the faces of her characters. The art may seem simplistic, and the pace can sometimes be a little slow, but the series is well worth it.

The very in-depth review that got me reading it can be found here (http://www.mangaupdates.com/reviews.html?id=109). (Warning: some minor to moderate spoilers)
Additional series info here (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=260)
.
There are roughly 20 volumes scanned of the total 42 currently out. TJO and Stage-Storm are doing a joint on volumes 19 and above. I do not know of any place other than #lurk at irc.irchighway.net to find the first 18 volumes.

TJO can be found at their irc channel: #TJO@irc.irchighway.net (irc://irc.irchighway.net/TJO)

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/3647/glassmaskv01frontcovermm3.th.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=glassmaskv01frontcovermm3.jpg)http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/382/glassmaskv01052pu9.th.gif (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=glassmaskv01052pu9.gif) http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2069/gm16173kv5.th.gif (http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gm16173kv5.gif)

[Munsu]

Akumetsu

I started reading this a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say that it's an amazing one at that. It gives a whole new meaning to the word vigilante; the main character might be similar to V for Vendetta, in the sense that he targets high ranking officials. I'm really recommending this for the sole reason that the main character is one of the most unique and kickass characters I've encountered. He is Akumetsu, and he's on a journey to clean up Japan of all evil with his twisted view of justice, and what he considers evil are high ranking officials that prey on the good society. For example, he targets the former president of the main metropolitan bank, accusing him of embezzling money, the cause for the increases in taxes which he argues to have killed at least 30 people. He submits the president to a rigorous questionnaire while torturing him until he realizes his evil ways. After all is set and done, Akumetsu is one sick motherfucker who doesn't take shit from anyone, and it's awesome to see how he accomplishes everything. The manga is very violent and graphic so beware.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=397

The manga is being scanlated by AT-T:
http://manga.nagi-fanboi.net/
http://att.white-reflection.com/

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6092/akumetsuv02c08000asqq5.th.jpg (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akumetsuv02c08000asqq5.jpg) http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9080/akumetsuv01c02061fa0.th.png (http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akumetsuv01c02061fa0.png) http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7794/akumetsuv01c02076077qg8.th.png (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akumetsuv01c02076077qg8.png)

[Dark Dragon]

This is another one of my favorite that for some reason isn't very popular in this forum.

3x3 Eyes:

Yakumo Fujii is a 16 year old high school student that work at a bar to support himself because his father left him 4 year ago to go look for a mysterious 3 eyes race. On the way to work one day he saw a cute girl getting mug and stop to help her, he got her bag back and the thief only manage to get away with her staff. She was cover and dirt and her clothes was torn so he decided to take her to the bar where he work to get her clean up.
During the conversation they had at the bar his name came up and the girl broke out in tear and gave him a letter from his father. His father is now dead, this girl name Pai is the last of the 3 eyes race and his father had promise her that he would help her turn into a human but he is unable to do so now, his last wish is for yakumo to fullfill his promise to Pai.
While Yakumo is trying to figure out what to do with Pai and the letter, a news broadcast came on saying that a Gigantic Manface bird is rampaging around town, turn out that is Pai guardian Takuhi and the staff that the thief took is use to summon him, Pai ask yakumo to come help her calm Takuhi, but Takuhi gone crazy and was unable to recognize Pai so he attacked them, Yakumo push Pai out of the way getting himself killed in the process, as he is dying Pai 3rd eye open and absorb something from him. He woke up later to find himself alive, Yakumo later learn that the the 3 eyes race: The Sazan each has the ability to absorb the soul of a human and turning that human into a "Wu" granting them immortality and the Wu would serve as the Sazan Guardian. Yakumo felt that he owe his life to her so now he will go with Pai to find a way to turn her into a human.


http://sazanquest.cjb.net/ is the only one doing translation for this manga, they currently have up to chapter 12 of Volume 27 and all chapters can be found there.


http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/213/sazanv25cover2yh8.th.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sazanv25cover2yh8.jpg) http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7979/3x3vol01030hh2.th.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3x3vol01030hh2.jpg) http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/8576/3x3vol01299dj6.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3x3vol01299dj6.jpg) http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/34/3x3eyesvol02ch07pg194vm4.th.jpg (http://img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3x3eyesvol02ch07pg194vm4.jpg)

Edit: Sorry for editing your post, but this is also one of my favorites and I just had to add some manga samples and make the title bolder and bigger. If you don't like it let me know and I'll remove my edits. The manga is one of the most violent shounen I have read, the plot is good, and there's a good romance story. It has everything. Budweineken

Edit: NP i couldn't find any good manga sample page to post or i would've anyways thx. This manga is one of the best i have ever read and its a shame that it not more popular.

[Munsu]

Angel Densetsu

Just so you guys don't think that I only enjoy dark violent mangas, I'm here to recommend the only manga, aside from Hajime no Ippo, that has genuinely made me laugh. The manga has nothing to do with angels, just so you know. It's a manga that can be explained with two words misconceptions and misunderstandings. Here you have Kitano Seichiro, a mostly quiet introverted individual, who is the nicest most generous person you could ever encounter in your lifetime. His only concerns are making good in the world, get good grades, and make lots of friends. The only problem is that he has the face of a devil, so everyone assumes that he's the incarnation of Satan, an individual purely evil. One misunderstanding after another he becomes the leader of the local gang in his newly transferred high school, which is hilarious since he doesn't even know how to fight. The leader is referred to as the Guardian of the school, so he's responsible of protecting it from rival school gangs by fighting them. What mostly makes it funny is that he has a speech problem, and every time he screams to help someone he makes the most evil sound anyone could ever hear, and the manga has a small translation to what he actually meant and to what the other characters actually hear. The manga is full of comedic situation, some interesting fights, and a hint of romance. Everyone should take a look at this manga, it’ll make your day.

You can find more info here:
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=348

The series is being scanlated by manga-sketchbook:
http://www.manga-sketchbook.org You can download some from there.

You can also download the series from #lurk @ irc.irchighway.net


http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2426/angeldensetsuv13coverslipsbq9.th.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angeldensetsuv13coverslipsbq9.jpg) http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2535/angeldensetsuv01016hw6.th.jpg (http://img214.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angeldensetsuv01016hw6.jpg) http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9702/angeldensetsuv01017bl6.th.jpg (http://img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angeldensetsuv01017bl6.jpg) http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1616/angeldensetsuv02118wh9.th.jpg (http://img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angeldensetsuv02118wh9.jpg)

[Munsu]

Shion no Ou: The Flowers of Hard Blood

I just found a very interesting manga, that I think many of you will like since many of you liked Hikaru no Go. This time around is about Shogi, Japanese Chess, instead of Go. At the moment I find the story much more interesting than that of Hikaru no Go, and the characters are better also. It has a very nice art too, and the story seems much deeper than Hikaru no Go ever was. It's a story about a girl named Shion, who 7 years ago not only did she lose her ability to speak, but her whole family was murdered. Since then she has been raised by her next door neighbor, a Shogi master. Since very little, Shion has always shown great talent and skill to play the game, and the world is about to learn this as she takes her first steps towards becoming a pro. Playing Shogi because she loves the game is not her only reason for playing, it's also the only clue towards finding her family's murderer, who apparently was a Shogi player. So I'm really recommending that you guys take a look at this, Hikaru no Go is very well liked and I think this manga has the elements to surpass it.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1378

The manga is being scanlated by Tsuzuku Jinsei o... & Hanashi and it can be found here:
http://fimbulvetr.no-ip.org:6969 for torrents
http://tjo.one-liners.net/shion.php for links for direct downloads

As always, #lurk has everything too.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8652/covershionv01bsot3.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=covershionv01bsot3.jpg) http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6747/shionv01p006dv5.th.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionv01p006dv5.jpg)http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7841/shionv01p019lg4.th.png (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionv01p019lg4.png)http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4673/shionv01p035ri2.th.png (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionv01p035ri2.png)http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5170/shionc03p095hq4.th.png (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionc03p095hq4.png)

[Dark Dragon]

Edit: Since there haven't been any new review, instead of double posting i'll just turn this post into a Adachi Mitsuru Manga review.

hmm i find this manga to be almost a combo of Hajime no ippo and H2 if you ever had a chance to read those are both great manga that i will add a review for later if no one else does.

Katsu

Satoyama Katsuki is a pretty laid back guy that really doesn't have any interest, however both him and his bestfriend has a crush on Mizutani Katsuki who happens to be the daughter of an ex pro-boxer. In order to get closer to her they both decided to join her father gym but Katsuki soon realize that he has a natural talent for boxing. He later found out that his own father also is a pro-boxer who quit due to a certain incident, while his father is oppose of him becoming a boxer Katsuki is still struggling to decide whether to live his life as it is or continue down the path that his dad had left.

Touch

The story revolve around three characters - Uesugi Kazuya, his twin brother Tatsuya, and their childhood friend Asakura Minami. Kazuya is the town baseball hero while Tatsuya is the lazy good for nothing in everyone (except Minami) eyes. Kazuya and Minami is consider to be the perfect couple and everyone expect for the 2 of them to get together. Tatsuya is a kind brother that doesn't mind taking the backseat to his brother and give him the glory, however Tatsuya soon realize that he himself love Minami and is unable to give her up to Kazuya and thus the story unfold.

H2

Hiro Kunimi was an ace pitcher in his junior high school, but one day he was told by a doctor that if he keep throwing his arm would break in 3 month. Now in high school Hiro chose to attend Senkawa High school to forget his pain since it doesn't have a baseball team. He join the soccer club to find a new path and find out that the school has a baseball club but they are consider to be a joke by everyone, the soccer club challenge the baseball club to a baseball game to humiliate them. Hiro unable to watch people make fun of the sport he love switch to the baseball club to help them only to discover that his arm is fine and the doctor that gave him that diagnosis is a bogus. Hiro suddenly realize he can play baseball again, but the school has no team and the baseball club is more baseball fan then baseball players, it is up to Hiro to create a new baseball team for Senkawa and achieve his dream of playing againts his best friend Hideo Tachibana in the Koushien.

[Munsu]

Claymore

This is the manga I've been reading lately, and I really like it. Great sword action for those of you that like that. At the moment there hasn't been much plot, just character development, but it has been pretty good thus far. I really like the art style, especially the way the mangaka draws the faces (same mangaka as Angel Densetsu reviewed above). The world is one filled with Yomas (monsters) and there's an organization that trains people to kill them, Claymores. Claymores are the only ones with the skills necessary to kill the Yomas. Who are these Claymores? That's the question that the manga will answer as it goes along. At the moment, they are an unknown identity which commoners know as Silver-Eyed Witches. The story will follow a Claymore in particular called Clare. There's lots of action, and there's no censorship as far as I can see. The mangaka is not afraid to cut-off a couple of ams, legs, and heads.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1037

This manga is released by Manga-Sketchbook, and they scan the version released by VIZ.

As of now, they've released the first 4 volumes. You can download them from www.mangatraders.com


http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9568/claymorev01c01p000coverfq9.th.jpg (http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=claymorev01c01p000coverfq9.jpg) http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3580/claymorev01c01p042mv5.th.png (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=claymorev01c01p042mv5.png) http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/48/claymorev01c01p054055tc0.th.png (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=claymorev01c01p054055tc0.png) http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2849/claymorev01c01p056de2.th.png (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=claymorev01c01p056de2.png)

[Munsu]

Unbalance x Unbalance

I had very low expectations when I chose to start reading this. At the time I was looking for something fun with lots of situational comedy. To my surprise, this manhwa was much more than that. First, it gave me an outlook of Korean school life and family life as depicted in comic books. I'd say there's plenty of character development and a pretty good drama. Some of the situations the characters are presented with are much more mature than the usual from the genre, so it was refreshing. There's also some echiness, especially towards the beginning of the series, but it has calmed down as of late. The art is good, and the women are drawn nicely if I may say so. The story is based on the relationship of one stubborn student who thinks he can do what he wants and his new, very hot, school teacher who doesn't take shit from anyone, especially men. The characters have some complexity, so it's fun to read what's going to happen and how'll they react to different situations. If you decide to read, at least give it a chance till the 4th volume. The manga gets better by the volume, so don't think you can really judge it from the first few chapters.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1829
http://www.k-manga.net/

You can discuss the series here:
http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php?t=14432

http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/9659/005splashiv1.th.jpg (http://img235.imageshack.us/my.php?image=005splashiv1.jpg) http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3190/019gx7.th.jpg (http://img235.imageshack.us/my.php?image=019gx7.jpg) http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3862/029un7.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=029un7.jpg) http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9523/035bf2.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=035bf2.jpg)

[Ryllharu]

Skip Beat

Skip Beat is a series by Nakamura Yoshiki (the author of Tokyo Crazy Paradise). It's stars Kyoko Mogami, a 16 year old girl who dropped out of High School to follow her childhood love Fuwa Sho to Tokyo and support him on his way of becoming an idol. She devotes her entire life to him, but follows him one day to find him telling his manager that he brought her along to be little more than a housemaid. Instead of breaking down and crying, she swears her undying revenge upon him and gets dragged off by security. Kyoko vows to enter show business and make him cry for forgiveness from her.

The art is fantastic, few backgrounds, but this is a shoujo title. A great mix of comedy, drama, and even some action as Kyoko enters show business not knowing a single thing other than her drive for vengeance. Instead of seeing a heroine who falls into a depression and gets saved by someone new, Kyoko instead develops an incredibly evil personality. She's more surprising than anything.

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5043/skipbeatchap010010014vd9.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skipbeatchap010010014vd9.jpg)http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/8302/skipbeatchap010010048rb6.th.jpg (http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skipbeatchap010010048rb6.jpg) http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7316/skipbeatchap010010053ux0.th.jpg (http://img501.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skipbeatchap010010053ux0.jpg)

Up to 16 volumes are available on irc, though most of the later volumes need to be redone and there is a volume or two missing. The first 8 volumes are in amazing quality, and a group is filling in the gaps and working their way up from there.

[Death BOO Z]

edit: Sorry, I guess there are some more apporopiate threads for my earlier post.

[Augury]

7 Seeds

7 Seeds is a story about survival. It starts out with a girl waking up on a sinking ship with no recollection of how she got there. She and three other people manage to use a lifeboat to land on a deserted island, but none of the others remember how they got on the ship either. The four each have very different personalities but need to work to compromise - or not - to survive and figure out what's going on.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=548
http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/347

I can't really say more in the description without giving away too much, but in terms of storyline / interest I'd rank 7 Seeds in my top ten. The manga is being scanlated by Boku-Tachi and Lavendar Tinted, but unfortunately it seems like they became inactive around the end of February. There are five volumes of 7 Seeds on mangatraders, and 13 volumes (ongoing) in Japan.

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4946/7seedsv1c1016an2.th.png (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=7seedsv1c1016an2.png) http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6396/7seedsv1c1030sq1.th.png (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=7seedsv1c1030sq1.png) http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/4180/7seedsv1c1045ao1.th.png (http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=7seedsv1c1045ao1.png)

[Augury]

Historie

I would highly recommend this for anyone who likes Vinland Saga. Historie is about the life of Eumenes, who would eventually become Alexander the Great's secretary and archivist. So far, the series has focused upon his youth based on a blend of historical transcripts and the author's storytelling to connect the gaps. Historie is aimed at a mature audience. There are elements of gore as well as romance, but its main focus is its storytelling.

Historie is being scanlated by Kotonoha, who are following the volume releases. The first four volumes are available on mangatraders or Kotonoha's website.

Mangatraders (http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/1580)
Kotonoha (http://kotonoha.monkey-pirate.com/ongoing-series/historie/)
Baka-Updates Manga (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=3548)

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2328/historiev01022ob3.th.png (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=historiev01022ob3.png) http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/6154/historiev0105051by7.th.png (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=historiev0105051by7.png) http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/9795/historiev01119hi5.th.png (http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=historiev01119hi5.png) http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/5289/historiev01141nu9.th.png (http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=historiev01141nu9.png)

[Ryllharu]

I read a lot of shoujo/josei manga, but there isn't always a lot to discuss, so here is the first of hopefully many posts explaining a few standout titles.


For reference, I might refer to a "standard shoujo formula." If you've read a few shoujo mangas, you're probably familiar with the premise. Strong willed heroine, meets bishonen and one of two things happens:
1) Heroine is hostile at first towards him at first, then she falls for him.
2) He is above her in social status, she falls for him instantly, he gets interested in her through a set of circumstances (often includes 1).
This is usually followed by a standard set of events, like jealous old girlfriend, the male lead's older sister/mother liking the heroine, squadron of girls attacks heroines for stealing their idol, etc.
The series ends happily, usually with the two of them getting together after some final trial. The once-strong willed heroine is often turned into a puddle of lovestruck goo.
Variations within the model of course exist, but there are a lot of series that fit this framework.


Kaichou wa Maid-sama

Ayuzawa Misaki is the Demon Student Council President of a former all-boys school. Because her father ran off and left her family with a huge debt, she went their because the tuition was cheap. Disgusted with the lax behavior of the boys, she personally made it her mission to defend the girls by becoming the Student Council President and making the school a safer environment for girls to attend. But she would feel guilty making her mother support her, she works part-time at a Maid Cafe. Embarrassed that anyone would discover the stern Student Council President works as a maid, she keeps it a well guarded secret...until Usui, a popular boy at school, finds out.

The series is funny, because Misaki really emphasizes the hatred towards Usui in the early chapters. He's mysteriously skilled in just about everything, and always uses it to his advantage over Misaki. Events occur frequently where Misaki is reminded of her job to the amusement of Usui and the readers. However, the side characters is where the series really shines. From Misaki's moe obsessed female boss, her takes their job way too seriously co-workers, on down through the girls obsessed with Misaki at school and all the nameless idiot boys. Each and everyone of them adds to the humor of the series or making remarks that the audience sees would embarrass Misaki.

It doesn't really deviate from the standard model a lot, but it does it very well in a way that feels fresh. If you enjoyed Special A or Ouran Host Club, you'll probably like this series a lot.

Manga-Updates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=5762)
This series is licensed in the United States, so if you enjoy it, considering picking up the volumes to support the author.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/3928/kaichouwamaidsamacover.th.jpg (http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/3928/kaichouwamaidsamacover.jpg)http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5030/maidv01c0104.th.png (http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5030/maidv01c0104.png)http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1280/13118991.th.png (http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1280/13118991.png)




Hapi Mari
(Happy Marriage)

A full-time office lady and a part-time hostess, Takanashi Chiwa works night and day to pay off her father's debt from his failed business. One night at her hostess job, she insults a high-class customer and gets fired. Then the next day, she's called in to see the president of her day job - whom she had never even seen before in the office - only to find out he's the same guy she insulted in the bar, and she is to marry him!

Disclaimer: This title contains smut.

Another comedy, this series has a few similar elements to Kaichou wa Maid-sama above. The two enter an arrangement that neither is too thrilled about, and a lot of the humor comes out from where their personalities clash. There has been some nice development in the six chapters translated where you can see the two of them try to compromise as a couple and enjoy their forced marriage, but it wouldn't be any fun if things went perfectly smoothly.

The art has very nice clean lines, and Chiwa's personality is pretty cute when she's trying to keep their marriage a secret. Another series that has at least so far followed the standard model, but there are hints of maturity in the material, and not just because they have long left school behind.

Manga-Updates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=39675)
MangaTraders (http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/4713)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3596/happymarriagech01p002p0.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3596/happymarriagech01p002p0.jpg)http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5452/happymarriagech01p018.th.png (http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5452/happymarriagech01p018.png)http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6836/hapimarich02p001.th.png (http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6836/hapimarich02p001.png)


Midnight Secretary

Kaya takes her job as a secretary very seriously and has been recently assigned to Kyouhei Touma, a director who is legendary for his arrogance, ruthless business skills, and status as a playboy. Kaya's appearance is very plain, hiding behind false glasses and a severe hairdo, but that is largely to hide her baby face, as she is often mistaken for a girl half her age. She stays late one night, intending to catch the director doing something illegal, and discovers that he is actually a vampire!

Disclaimer: This title contains smut.

This series is quite entertaining as vampire romances go, largely because of Kaya. While most vampire series perfectly fit into the framework of the standard shoujo formula, Midnight Secretary tends to break it in many ways. Kaya, despite being in an inferior position of standing, overwhelms others with her overwhelming secretary skills and tends to stand up to Kyouhei and his superiority at every turn (along with other vampires as well). She is every bit an equal to him, and doesn't hesitate to take the upper hand when she can.

The art is higher quality than the average shoujo/josei series. I highly recommend this series, and it's now complete at 7 volumes.

Manga-Updates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=7090)
MangaTraders (http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/2356)

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7826/midnightsecretaryv01p00.th.png (http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7826/midnightsecretaryv01p00.png)http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7826/midnightsecretaryv01p00.th.png (http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7826/midnightsecretaryv01p00.png)http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/228/midnightsecretaryv01p01.th.png (http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/228/midnightsecretaryv01p01.png)

[Ryllharu]

Otaku no Musume-san

I started reading this one a whim, but it has turned out to be one of the better series I have read. It starts about a girl looking her father. She finds him, but to her dismay he is a hardcore otaku. Kanau, the aforementioned Daughter of an Otaku, was temporarily abandoned by her mother who ran off due to a severe debt to a loan shark. She was conceived back when her mother and father were still in high school. When Kanau's mother disappeared from high school, her father fell into a deep depression and was only brought out of it by dating sims. Kanau is now age nine, and her father must suddenly accept that he had a daughter with his long-lost love. Throw in an entire apartment of otaku, doujin authors, and a hardcore lolicon, all run by a mature looking landlady.

The series sounds like a rather cliché gag series, but underneath is a surprisingly deep and well thought out story and cast of characters. Kanau's mother appears in the story from time to time, and there is definitely a lot of secrecy surrounding her backstory. Each of the side characters gets a number of plot arcs, and they're actually very well fleshed out characters. They make mistakes, they have their own secrets, they grow and develop as people (even the minor ones!). The main characters, Kanau and her father, grow a great deal over time. There are fights and drama, but also a lot of compromise. Kanau overcomes her prejudice about otaku and their lifestyle, her father is forced to become a responsible parent, and everything in between.

The series is heartwarming, full of twists you didn't expect but make complete sense in retrospect, and loaded to the brim with various anime, manga, and game references (Eva, Maison Ikkoku, Nanoha, Street Fighter, Fate/Stay Night, etc.). Most striking to me was the characters came off as a real people (if a little exaggerated for humor) who really change from chapter to chapter.

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6459/otakunomusumesanv03c160.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6459/otakunomusumesanv03c160.jpg)http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/329/otakunomusumesanv01c010.th.png (http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/329/otakunomusumesanv01c010.png) http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/329/otakunomusumesanv01c010.th.png (http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/329/otakunomusumesanv01c010.png)