underloved manga part 2
KIND OF IN A DELIRIOUSLY GOOD MOOD RIGHT NOW. THOUGHT I'D SHARE.
Crazy!Ed...is in beta. FINALLY. yay.
In totally unrelated news, I passed the JLPT (only 3, but even so) and don't really know what to do with myself. Run in circles, perhaps. Rec manga. Bother everyone who has the misfortune to know me with my uncontrollable glee. That kind of thing. :D :D :D
Recs!
Replica
by Karakara Kemuri (among other things, I love this name.)
Some obliging people are putting this up online; this makes me happy like YOU DON'T KNOW.
I originally picked up the series because one of the main characters looks kind of like Allen from D.Gray-Man. *is shallow* But hey, buying the book for its cover worked out pretty well this time. :D
In the beginning, there is Manji, a 20-something professional bodyguard. He first gives the impression of being a giant idiot. After that, he gives the impression of being dangerously insane. Neither of these things makes him particularly popular, and he doesn't understand why not. This frustration leads him to do things like destroy property, and the cycle just perpetuates itself, really.
His nickname is Red Dog (Akainu). He does not embrace this nickname at all. ("Who the hell are you calling a dog!?" *people flee*)
Next, there is Cal. He's, if I remember correctly, sixteen. Which is funny, because he's definitely the adult in this partnership. He has a tendency to look cute and innocent while saying things like, "Hurry up and kill them." He also has the ability to transfer other people's injuries to himself, and he heals fast. He's always trying to do this for Manji. Manji flies into a murderous rage every single time. I'm not sure whether it's because he doesn't like the idea of Cal in pain, or whether it's because he doesn't like people taking things from him, even if those things are horrible injuries. Neither would surprise me.
Their relationship is AWESOME. Everyone's so terrified of Manji, but the truth is, Cal's the one who's mean as a snake. It's just that Manji has that demented grin. Also an inclination toward the wholesale slaughter of people he disapproves of.
Their job is to go forth and destroy these robots called "toys" that are hell-bent on wiping out humanity because their creator is hell-bent on wiping out humanity. (Strange guy, the bad guy. Very academic. Hates everything a lot, wow.)
Loved the art, loved every single one of the characters. It's complete at four volumes, and after 3 I thought it was going to turn out tragic and I'd have to be enraged, but no! Good save! Bless Manji for being stubborn beyond reason.
I suppose this is one of those 'robots have feelings' series, only without the epic weirdness of, say, Chobits. (Oh, CLAMP). It also has a huge Alice in Wonderland theme. Randomly.
07-Ghost
by Amemiya Yuki and Ichihara Yukino
Go! Comi is refusing to release translations of this past volume 3, seemingly out of hatred. Happily, there are scanlations here.
Seriously, Go! Comi. What is that about? (ETA: apparently it is about them going slowly broke and sinking into a mire of moneylessness. I take back all of my unkind thoughts.)
The main character is Teito Klein. He's tiny and cute. He has no memory of his past. He's in his early teens, and all he can remember being is a war slave.
Startling Teito Klein is a very, very bad idea. He tends to kill first and ask questions later. REFLEX.
Through a series of horribly tragic events, Teito ends up, um. Technically enslaved? To this bishop named Frau. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. Frau and fellow bishops then decide to train Teito to be a priest, which is an interestingly death-defying process.
Frau is, I believe, a genuinely good man. That's why it's such a shame that he always looks like a goddamn pedophile, even without taking into consideration his stash of porn. Good man. Fail!priest.
Teito and Frau are like especially bitchy siblings, most of the time. When Teito isn't doing things like randomly feeling up Frau's muscular stomach, anyway. It is hilarious.
There's magic, there are dragons, there are archangels. Giant skeletal priests protect the world, the bad guys are hilarious even if love did make them evil, and Teito is just a lot of fun to watch. He can be so nice. Until he gets into a fight, that is, at which point, psychotic!Teito.
Teito's good at attack magic, which is no surprise. He and Frau eventually acquire a little boy (don't ask) who turns out to have a knack for healing magic. This boy's name is Capella.
Capella: Now if Teito gets hurt, I can heal him!
Teito: Thank you, Capella.
Capella: And maybe I'll be able to heal Frau's brain, too!
Frau: *seizes Teito* WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN TELLING HIM, YOU LITTLE BRAT?
Teito: Only the truuuuuuth.
:D
And I haven't even mentioned Mikage, Ouka, or Hakuren "Scared of Girls" Oak. All of whom are awesome.
It is a great series, and it just gets better as it goes along. ^_^
Switch
by Naked Ape
I love Naked Ape so much. They did Dolls, too, and I recommend that just as much. Switch, though, is complete--13 volumes, 12 of which have already been translated by Viz.
Switch, like 07-Ghost (and Loveless, Dolls, Dazzle, etc) originally ran in Zero Sum. I'm starting to notice trends with Zero Sum, and one of them is that the cute, sweet, tiny character is always secretly psychotic and usually murderous, too. A fine magazine, Zero Sum. :D
The main characters of Switch both work for the Greater Kanto Narcotics Control Division.
There is Hal, who became a narc because he hates everyone, and drug dealers most of all. Hal does not believe in puppies, sunshine, or facial expressions.
Kai, meanwhile, joined up to ~*~*make the world a better place*~*~. He's a sort of human embodiment of puppies and sunshine.
Hal and Kai, they don't get along so well. Despite this, their boss sends them everywhere together. Sometimes professionalism must be sacrificed for sheer hilarity. Anyway, they probably won't get themselves killed. Right?
Sure.
So there's that, and then there's the fact that this is, after all, a Zero Sum series. When Kai is extremely stressed? He swaps personalities, goes terrifying, and tries to kill everyone in his immediate vicinity. And then remembers nothing about it afterward.
Hal dealt with this pretty well the first time, I thought.
Hal: MY PARTNER IS A PSYCHOPATH.
Boss: Oh?
Hal: HE JUST TRIED TO KILL A PROFESSIONAL BOXER.
Boss: Well, he has no field experience. He's a gentle guy normally.
Hal: WHAT!?
Kai: Um, I don't like to hit people.
Hal: YOU. I WILL HURT YOU.
Kai: owwwwww...
Hal: This is so typical of my life. So typical. My partner is a lunatic. Why is it always, always like this?
Boss: Ah ha ha!
Kai: Um, I'm sorry--
Hal: Shut up, Good for Nothing!
And that's the last time Hal ever mentions that personality-switching problem to the boss, or to anyone else. He takes it amazingly in stride. He also calls Kai "Good for Nothing" from then on, but, all things considered, that seems only fair.
He also tries to figure out what Kai's problem is, which is also only fair.
There's a definite theme to these recs, I notice. They're all stories about teams, and teams in which the cute partner is crazy. Huh.
Enjoy! :D