this is why we can't have nice things
It was a great week for manga, but a wretched, wretched week for webcomic. It's as if the manga artists got together with the knowledge that the webcomics were going to suck so bad this week, and sent out some really great work to make up for that suckage.
Manga:
Nana: Dealing with Ren's death, the grieving of his friends and the people who were close to him, the different reactions of grief each person had, and finally telling Nana that Ren was dead. I liked that they mentioned the grotesque elements, like the fact that the high-impact collision left his head a wreck, so they covered it up for the people viewing the body. (Except for the two identifying it, one who sobbed and almost vomited, and the other who just looked shocked, then saddened and commented on the flawless condition of his hands.)Well done there.
Ouran High School Host Club: Finally they seem to be dealing with the pivotal reason behind my hatred for Haruhi/Tamaki: Tamaki's inability to see Haruhi as the person she is. Throughout the series, he's always had unrealistic and insulting visions of her as the perfect feminine housewife, instead of valuing her as what she is: tactless, intelligent, and gender-neutral. With the introduction of this new character, I can definitely see them dealing with this issue and I hope they do it satisfactorily. (I don't actually doubt the author, she's splendid so far.)
xxx-Holic: Just by being an update I am pleased, even with the ludicrous and hilarious plotline of Watanuki being super-serious about a woman's inability to eat her own cooking. Come on, Watanuki, just leave it alone!
Webcomic
Penny and Aggie: I can't express the disappointment I have in the storyline now. After months and months of Penny-centric bullshit, where we suffer through Penny's high-maintenance antics, Karen's nauseating party war, and more of Penny fucking up her social life, we get to see Aggie. Okay, Aggie doesn't get to find out what happened to Penny. Lisa, the obnoxious, cutesy, sound byte-spewing brat gets to make a jump of Mulder logic and come up with the perfect conclusion. FINE. At least the knowledge is there. Aggie confronts Helen and then makes absolutely certain that Karen was to blame for the rape accusation against Sara. For once, it appears that Aggie is allowed to be the strong character who can stand on her own two feet and take charge.
But, no. Fucking no. She gets crushed into the ground, heartbroken and humiliated, and Penny, grand bitch queen, gets to sail in while Aggie's crushed and in tears. This is how it goes every damn time. It's never Penny asking Aggie for help. It's never Aggie seeing Penny brought low. Penny is ALWAYS placed on a higher pedestal than Aggie, and I'm so sick of it I could puke. TC, you fail at writing this character, and I can't bring myself to care much about what happens next. They'll bring down Karen, no doubt, but Penny will do the planning and it'll be obvious that Penny was the grand force here. So, she gets to fuck up, get attacked, have her friends stripped away...and STILL be the one to offer help with that smug, self-satisfied smirk. I hate Penny. She could get hit by a car and I wouldn't care. She and Aggie both had potential as characters, but now they leave me cold. I continue to read mainly for Karen's downfall.
Red String: I barely read this, and when I do, I'm reminded of why I don't. Kazuo is a whiny, spineless moron who had sex with the girl he fully intended to break up with because of pressure from his family. He knew she was offering her heart and her virginity to him on a platter and he took it because he's an indecisive fuckhead. So, he breaks up with her right afterwards. Not only that, but he yells at her, insults her, calls her thoughtless, and says she makes everyone miserable, including him. Then he breaks their symbolic necklace and leaves her crying alone.
Two scenes afterwards, I do NOT want to see Miharu accepting the advice: "Oh, he's probably had a bad day," as if any of his actions were excusable at all. You're already treading on thin ice with the goopy arranged marriage = true love motif.
Manga:
Nana: Dealing with Ren's death, the grieving of his friends and the people who were close to him, the different reactions of grief each person had, and finally telling Nana that Ren was dead. I liked that they mentioned the grotesque elements, like the fact that the high-impact collision left his head a wreck, so they covered it up for the people viewing the body. (Except for the two identifying it, one who sobbed and almost vomited, and the other who just looked shocked, then saddened and commented on the flawless condition of his hands.)Well done there.
Ouran High School Host Club: Finally they seem to be dealing with the pivotal reason behind my hatred for Haruhi/Tamaki: Tamaki's inability to see Haruhi as the person she is. Throughout the series, he's always had unrealistic and insulting visions of her as the perfect feminine housewife, instead of valuing her as what she is: tactless, intelligent, and gender-neutral. With the introduction of this new character, I can definitely see them dealing with this issue and I hope they do it satisfactorily. (I don't actually doubt the author, she's splendid so far.)
xxx-Holic: Just by being an update I am pleased, even with the ludicrous and hilarious plotline of Watanuki being super-serious about a woman's inability to eat her own cooking. Come on, Watanuki, just leave it alone!
Webcomic
Penny and Aggie: I can't express the disappointment I have in the storyline now. After months and months of Penny-centric bullshit, where we suffer through Penny's high-maintenance antics, Karen's nauseating party war, and more of Penny fucking up her social life, we get to see Aggie. Okay, Aggie doesn't get to find out what happened to Penny. Lisa, the obnoxious, cutesy, sound byte-spewing brat gets to make a jump of Mulder logic and come up with the perfect conclusion. FINE. At least the knowledge is there. Aggie confronts Helen and then makes absolutely certain that Karen was to blame for the rape accusation against Sara. For once, it appears that Aggie is allowed to be the strong character who can stand on her own two feet and take charge.
But, no. Fucking no. She gets crushed into the ground, heartbroken and humiliated, and Penny, grand bitch queen, gets to sail in while Aggie's crushed and in tears. This is how it goes every damn time. It's never Penny asking Aggie for help. It's never Aggie seeing Penny brought low. Penny is ALWAYS placed on a higher pedestal than Aggie, and I'm so sick of it I could puke. TC, you fail at writing this character, and I can't bring myself to care much about what happens next. They'll bring down Karen, no doubt, but Penny will do the planning and it'll be obvious that Penny was the grand force here. So, she gets to fuck up, get attacked, have her friends stripped away...and STILL be the one to offer help with that smug, self-satisfied smirk. I hate Penny. She could get hit by a car and I wouldn't care. She and Aggie both had potential as characters, but now they leave me cold. I continue to read mainly for Karen's downfall.
Red String: I barely read this, and when I do, I'm reminded of why I don't. Kazuo is a whiny, spineless moron who had sex with the girl he fully intended to break up with because of pressure from his family. He knew she was offering her heart and her virginity to him on a platter and he took it because he's an indecisive fuckhead. So, he breaks up with her right afterwards. Not only that, but he yells at her, insults her, calls her thoughtless, and says she makes everyone miserable, including him. Then he breaks their symbolic necklace and leaves her crying alone.
Two scenes afterwards, I do NOT want to see Miharu accepting the advice: "Oh, he's probably had a bad day," as if any of his actions were excusable at all. You're already treading on thin ice with the goopy arranged marriage = true love motif.