A Record of Unrealistic Goals 2: Manga
So when I go up to Vancouver I'll be staying for 2 or 3 (if I take part in their work experience program, which is probably a very, very good idea) years and moving a bunch of crud up there when I do. But I don't really want to move all my crud. This will mean deciding just how much I will miss my haibane wings and baseball head if I leave them behind, whether the scarves, hats and masks I never actually wear in public are thus so much a fixture of my home that really I can't live without them, and other such sad and difficult things.
One thing is probably a given though: I really don't need all those books.
Really the "books" are a bit of a lost cause, though. I'm a slow reader and they are word-dense. I woudn't be able to knock a significant amount of them off before leaving. I will just have to suck it up and pick and choose what comes.
The manga, though, is another story. Much of it is unread, and chances are after I do read it I'll find much of it I don't even want to keep on my shelf at home much less transport to school.
Thus, the goal...
Minimum goal: Single volumes and short series, roughly 80 volumes
Ideal goal: That plus longer series. (Hikago, Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, FMA, Alive, Beck, Eden, Tramps Like Us) Mostly things I've read partially but it's been so long I will probably start at the beginning of again anyway.
And, because I'm allergic to just sitting around and reading/watching things silently apparently...
Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga - Learn how to make manga like the pros (basically mocking manga tropes and the less glorious parts of the business). A little dated (and in some ways amusingly un-dated despite it's age), but still fun. I'd left this on my coffee table for some time and flipped through it to fun looking parts now and then. Now I've read through it cover to cover...I can say really it was better as a coffee table book just looking at the parts that catch you. ^_^; I'd still have liked to see the future installments, though, if they'd come out here.
Three Manga By Eiki Eiki (The Art of Loving, Dear Myself, World's End) - I have almost no idea why I have one of these, much less three. They don't look my style. I do remember having read (some of?) The Art of Loving before and possibly...I want to say not hating it, but I did kinda hate it just now. Maybe I was just a little curious where it was going? I also kind of hate the others. The memory loss/coping with former self concept is intriguing in an angsty sort of way, but the execution is ridiculous and the semes act so entitled to their partners and their bodies they make me sort of sick. XD
Black Sun, Silver Moon V1 by Tomo Maeda - Boy takes job as assistant to mysterious priest only to find part of job description is fighting the undead. This sounded like it could be a shallow but kind of cute/fun/actioney/slightly homoerotic (^_^) read but was definitely just too...exceedingly disposable and interchangeable with other things like it.
Replica V1 by Karakara Kemuri - My initial expectations for this were much like for the above, but I actually did like this one. It's got the whole bunch of cool/eccentric people with their own unique cool/eccentric supernatural ability team up and fight monsters thing going on, which can be attractive but also get pretty tired pretty fast when it doesn't have something else to mix up the flavor a little. It's also got a clashing hotheaded immature loudmouth+mature taciturn mysterious main character duo, another thing I can like a lot when I'm sold but can be a hard sell on. A lot of the stuff in it reads pretty forced, but..I still found it nicely enough done to be fun.
...Till the very end of the volume, when I actually switched over to being genuinely intrigued. The development that did it isn't anything terribly new/original, but... It was far from random, while at the same time I didn't expect it at all. That's kind of impressive, and it left me not quite sure where it was going (but in a pleasantly intrigued rather than aimless way). I sort of went out to a few bookstores and tried to find the next volume shortly after. XD (No luck. I'll read it someday for sure though.)
7 Billion Needles V1 by Nobuaki Tadano - Girl's body is semi-taken over by alien who wants to fight another alien taking over people's bodies and destroying the world and stuff. I'm usually on the lookout more for characters I love or find intriguing rather than plot. This one might be more focused on the latter, and if it were long I might not have the dedication to keep with it till the end. But considering the series is on the short side, it's still interesting and nicely done enough I think I'll find the rest someday. I like the main character alright and the idea the situation will force her to reach out more to other people, even if I didn't really buy those the manga pushed her into making friends with so far. Though the fact her name is Hikaru and she has a naggy voice that talks to her that no one else can hear...as a Hikago fan, this is very distracting. XD
I Give to You by Ebishi Maki - Damaged guy works in teashop with other damaged guy, romance ensues. Not going to leave a strong impression I don't think, but I can say it IS one BL I actually did enjoy reading. And it manages to keep the couple somewhat apart and somewhat misunderstanding one another in decently believable ways through the course despite the fact they're clearly interested in one another. It'll stay in my collection rather than getting sold, anyway.
Antique Bakery V1-4 by Fumi Yoshinaga - I read the first volume of this aaaaaaaages ago when I was first starting to read “yaoi.” Only Antique Bakery is not a yaoi, and I thought I might give it another try in case my underwhelmed reaction back then was related to incorrect expectations. The customer-of-the-week's didn't grip me any more this time around, so I still didn't particularly care for the first volume. It seemed like the bakery employees got more attention in most of the chapters of the remaining volumes, though, and that was a lot more readable for me, but I still never particularly got into it. It feels sort of sitcom-ish to me. We can learn things about them, find out their pasts give them more depth than meets the eye, and maybe their relationships/the way they see each other is changing as the series goes on, but it can't come much in their everyday interactions-it's always got to keep that status quo of bakery bickering. Sitcoms aren't bad and it's not a bad sitcom, but it's not really want I'm interested in. The more earnest/comical characters make me smile without really getting me invested, the more mature ones make me wish they could show more sides of their character outside the serious scenes specifically designed for showing it.
On the other hand, I actually really liked the final volume, and I'm not sure what to make of that XD. In particular I liked seeing Ono and Tachibana manning the shop together alone. The series didn't turn them into affectionate bestest buddies which is sort of the predictable way for things to go. Instead it had a lot of restraint, and by the end they're just sort of two adults who maybe aren't quite as distant as once they were. And I really liked that feeling, and I would read more of it if the manga went on, only I know if it did someone odd would walk in and they'd go into Zany Mode and you wouldn't know a thing had changed at all. ^_^;
Saiyuki V1-9 by Kazuya Minekura - Speaking of static sitcom-like characters (plus interaction that is rather too forcedly bantery and bickery for me). I don't exactly like this any more than Antique Bakery (and I definitely don't like the first two or three volumes), but...I guess I swallow it easier since it's so clearly not trying to be much more than it is and doesn't have the Reputation and Expectations of Antique Bakery. It reminds me of the kind of fluffy adventurey stories I loved when I was little, even if I don't flail about it as easily now. I'd probably give up after this normally if volumes of the next series didn't keep falling cheaply into my lap. In that case...it's pleasant, and I'm just such a fan of Minekura's Wild Adapter that part of me kind of just grapples for what of her I can get, even if it's something I don't like as much.
Tenchi no Uso/Angel's Doubt by Aki V1-...2? - Not actually on my list cause it was a scanlation but I read it anyway. ^_^; I saw a really gorgeous manga on the shelves of the bookstore by this mangaka and went home and looked up reviews and that one was supposed to be kind of cruddy...but this one (though the art is not as good) looked intriguing so I tried it. It's about a guy who has high standing because of his family but is seen as frivolous and flamboyant and sort of a laughingstock among the aristocrats. But there's another (still noble but less so, though better respected) guy who finds him increasingly intriguing... It's really not smart or nuanced enough to be the mannerpunk-ish tale of high society I think it wants to be, but it's still sort of fun. I wouldn't keep reading it if it stayed as it is forever, but it could be building to something more interesting (especially when the mains start interacting more, since actually they haven't much yet <.<;). So I'd kind of like to, only the scanlations were probably dropped and it's still young and ongoing. Hmm...
One thing is probably a given though: I really don't need all those books.
Really the "books" are a bit of a lost cause, though. I'm a slow reader and they are word-dense. I woudn't be able to knock a significant amount of them off before leaving. I will just have to suck it up and pick and choose what comes.
The manga, though, is another story. Much of it is unread, and chances are after I do read it I'll find much of it I don't even want to keep on my shelf at home much less transport to school.
Thus, the goal...
Minimum goal: Single volumes and short series, roughly 80 volumes
Ideal goal: That plus longer series. (Hikago, Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, FMA, Alive, Beck, Eden, Tramps Like Us) Mostly things I've read partially but it's been so long I will probably start at the beginning of again anyway.
And, because I'm allergic to just sitting around and reading/watching things silently apparently...
Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga - Learn how to make manga like the pros (basically mocking manga tropes and the less glorious parts of the business). A little dated (and in some ways amusingly un-dated despite it's age), but still fun. I'd left this on my coffee table for some time and flipped through it to fun looking parts now and then. Now I've read through it cover to cover...I can say really it was better as a coffee table book just looking at the parts that catch you. ^_^; I'd still have liked to see the future installments, though, if they'd come out here.
Three Manga By Eiki Eiki (The Art of Loving, Dear Myself, World's End) - I have almost no idea why I have one of these, much less three. They don't look my style. I do remember having read (some of?) The Art of Loving before and possibly...I want to say not hating it, but I did kinda hate it just now. Maybe I was just a little curious where it was going? I also kind of hate the others. The memory loss/coping with former self concept is intriguing in an angsty sort of way, but the execution is ridiculous and the semes act so entitled to their partners and their bodies they make me sort of sick. XD
Black Sun, Silver Moon V1 by Tomo Maeda - Boy takes job as assistant to mysterious priest only to find part of job description is fighting the undead. This sounded like it could be a shallow but kind of cute/fun/actioney/slightly homoerotic (^_^) read but was definitely just too...exceedingly disposable and interchangeable with other things like it.
Replica V1 by Karakara Kemuri - My initial expectations for this were much like for the above, but I actually did like this one. It's got the whole bunch of cool/eccentric people with their own unique cool/eccentric supernatural ability team up and fight monsters thing going on, which can be attractive but also get pretty tired pretty fast when it doesn't have something else to mix up the flavor a little. It's also got a clashing hotheaded immature loudmouth+mature taciturn mysterious main character duo, another thing I can like a lot when I'm sold but can be a hard sell on. A lot of the stuff in it reads pretty forced, but..I still found it nicely enough done to be fun.
...Till the very end of the volume, when I actually switched over to being genuinely intrigued. The development that did it isn't anything terribly new/original, but... It was far from random, while at the same time I didn't expect it at all. That's kind of impressive, and it left me not quite sure where it was going (but in a pleasantly intrigued rather than aimless way). I sort of went out to a few bookstores and tried to find the next volume shortly after. XD (No luck. I'll read it someday for sure though.)
7 Billion Needles V1 by Nobuaki Tadano - Girl's body is semi-taken over by alien who wants to fight another alien taking over people's bodies and destroying the world and stuff. I'm usually on the lookout more for characters I love or find intriguing rather than plot. This one might be more focused on the latter, and if it were long I might not have the dedication to keep with it till the end. But considering the series is on the short side, it's still interesting and nicely done enough I think I'll find the rest someday. I like the main character alright and the idea the situation will force her to reach out more to other people, even if I didn't really buy those the manga pushed her into making friends with so far. Though the fact her name is Hikaru and she has a naggy voice that talks to her that no one else can hear...as a Hikago fan, this is very distracting. XD
I Give to You by Ebishi Maki - Damaged guy works in teashop with other damaged guy, romance ensues. Not going to leave a strong impression I don't think, but I can say it IS one BL I actually did enjoy reading. And it manages to keep the couple somewhat apart and somewhat misunderstanding one another in decently believable ways through the course despite the fact they're clearly interested in one another. It'll stay in my collection rather than getting sold, anyway.
Antique Bakery V1-4 by Fumi Yoshinaga - I read the first volume of this aaaaaaaages ago when I was first starting to read “yaoi.” Only Antique Bakery is not a yaoi, and I thought I might give it another try in case my underwhelmed reaction back then was related to incorrect expectations. The customer-of-the-week's didn't grip me any more this time around, so I still didn't particularly care for the first volume. It seemed like the bakery employees got more attention in most of the chapters of the remaining volumes, though, and that was a lot more readable for me, but I still never particularly got into it. It feels sort of sitcom-ish to me. We can learn things about them, find out their pasts give them more depth than meets the eye, and maybe their relationships/the way they see each other is changing as the series goes on, but it can't come much in their everyday interactions-it's always got to keep that status quo of bakery bickering. Sitcoms aren't bad and it's not a bad sitcom, but it's not really want I'm interested in. The more earnest/comical characters make me smile without really getting me invested, the more mature ones make me wish they could show more sides of their character outside the serious scenes specifically designed for showing it.
On the other hand, I actually really liked the final volume, and I'm not sure what to make of that XD. In particular I liked seeing Ono and Tachibana manning the shop together alone. The series didn't turn them into affectionate bestest buddies which is sort of the predictable way for things to go. Instead it had a lot of restraint, and by the end they're just sort of two adults who maybe aren't quite as distant as once they were. And I really liked that feeling, and I would read more of it if the manga went on, only I know if it did someone odd would walk in and they'd go into Zany Mode and you wouldn't know a thing had changed at all. ^_^;
Saiyuki V1-9 by Kazuya Minekura - Speaking of static sitcom-like characters (plus interaction that is rather too forcedly bantery and bickery for me). I don't exactly like this any more than Antique Bakery (and I definitely don't like the first two or three volumes), but...I guess I swallow it easier since it's so clearly not trying to be much more than it is and doesn't have the Reputation and Expectations of Antique Bakery. It reminds me of the kind of fluffy adventurey stories I loved when I was little, even if I don't flail about it as easily now. I'd probably give up after this normally if volumes of the next series didn't keep falling cheaply into my lap. In that case...it's pleasant, and I'm just such a fan of Minekura's Wild Adapter that part of me kind of just grapples for what of her I can get, even if it's something I don't like as much.
Tenchi no Uso/Angel's Doubt by Aki V1-...2? - Not actually on my list cause it was a scanlation but I read it anyway. ^_^; I saw a really gorgeous manga on the shelves of the bookstore by this mangaka and went home and looked up reviews and that one was supposed to be kind of cruddy...but this one (though the art is not as good) looked intriguing so I tried it. It's about a guy who has high standing because of his family but is seen as frivolous and flamboyant and sort of a laughingstock among the aristocrats. But there's another (still noble but less so, though better respected) guy who finds him increasingly intriguing... It's really not smart or nuanced enough to be the mannerpunk-ish tale of high society I think it wants to be, but it's still sort of fun. I wouldn't keep reading it if it stayed as it is forever, but it could be building to something more interesting (especially when the mains start interacting more, since actually they haven't much yet <.<;). So I'd kind of like to, only the scanlations were probably dropped and it's still young and ongoing. Hmm...