Not exactly reading, author's notes, poking at fic, etc.

[umadoshi]

I have my copy of Fruits Basket 23! But here's the problem: my habit is to tell myself sternly that I can't sit down properly with a new volume if I don't get enough work done (or whatever). And this week has been utterly insane, so while I've been working every day (and am way ahead of my deadline), I haven't been getting as much done as I want to

Comments

[shiroiko]

Did your copy of FB23 come with the bonus manga sampler? Mine did, and I was happy Tokyopop realized that the readers of FB have a manga void to fill now, but stunned at the choices for manga in the sampler, They couldn't have been more off-base with what the FB fans I know would enjoy reading. I really felt it was a wasted opportunity to get readers of FB hooked on other, thematically similar, titles.

[umadoshi]

Yeah, mine did too. I haven't looked too closely at it, although I know a lot of people who really like V.B. Rose. I...guess they're aiming at a different demographic of Furuba fandom than we're part of? Marketing choices almost always baffle me, unfortunately. :/

[EDIT: I know I'd like to see Shinobi Life promoted more, and not just because I work on it. It's not the same kind of story as Furuba, but it's a really fun shoujo title and I don't think it's gotten a lot of publicity other than the review copies that went out.]

[double_dear]

Despite its warm, fuzzy, shoujo flufflike premise, V.B. Rose does have similar elements to Fruits Basket in the exploring-people's-issues kind of way. You don't have to transform into a cute fluffy animal to have angst, after all *grin*

[umadoshi]

This is true. ^^ I keep meaning to read some more of it, actually; I read vol. 1 once ages ago, but IIRC that was at the manga library at AN and I was half asleep. Not really the best way to get an impression of something.

[double_dear]

Also keep in mind that you can't always get an accurate impression from just one volume. You were just talking about people dismissing Fruits Basket after only one or two volumes, after all.

[shiroiko]

VB Rose was the only title out of all of them in the book that I felt like checking out (the new Princess Ai's art is lovely, but the story snippet didn't really capture me). I'll definitely check it out now.

[umadoshi]

Well, no--I almost never write off a series after just one volume. (If it's truly horrible, then I will, but that doesn't happen very often. ^^) And I didn't mean to imply that I'd dismissed V.B. Rose--I liked it fine, but haven't had a chance to read any more since then. I know you and Gaffney and Lys all like it, and that's a pretty convincing list of fans. ^_^

[lyschan]

From what I heard about the sampler (since I haven't yet been to the bookstore to splurge on all the new manga that's come out recently) at the Shojo Flash blog, VB Rose was probably the best of what was in it (bummer, because I also thought it was a really exciting great idea if it were handled better). I (temporarily) forgot about Shinobi Life, but that would definitely have been a great choice for the sampler! It is so deliciously shoujo and wonderful. The Shojo Flash site said that they included the title KimiKiss, which is ecchi shounen/seinen? and sooooooooo not something I would expect most Fruits Baskets fans to read. The inclusion of that alone just makes me annoyed

[umadoshi]

Yeah, that matches what little I've heard about KimiKiss. :/ It really doesn't look like something targeted for what I would think of as a Fruits Basket audience. It's all very mysterious.

Sometimes I think adapting authors' notes is one of the strangest things about my job, because then it's their voice, rather than their writing. (I...don't know if that makes any sense?) With characters, to some extent I read through the translation and try to figure out my own impression of how they would speak if they were speaking English, but doing the same thing with notes seems a little strange. (Although it's still really all I can do. ^^;)

Goodreads.com is so handy. It tells me that I read vol. 1 of both V.B. Rose and I Hate You More Than Anyone last year (I think in the latter case my library only had one volume, but I should go check again and see if they've added more). I really would like to read more of her work, since so many of you rave about it. ^_^

[lyschan]

Oh, that definitely makes sense. I would think for a mangaka or any author, writing the script for the characters would have to be done with a very different mindset than just freetalking whatever she is thinking at the moment. The author notes are one of my favourite things about manga (shoujo manga in particular? do they have those sidebars in shounen manga? it's been so long since I read any). I feel like I can get to know something about the artist's personality through those little blurbs strewn throughout each volume...

Haha, every time I see a copy of I Hate You♥ (the heart is how me and the Twins make the title sound nicer :D) at the library or used bookstore-I never see it at the regular bookstore, sadly-I feel like I have to to pick it up/buy it then and there. Even though I already own all the volumes. It's very silly of me. But I'm very excited that more people have been talking about VB Rose lately, with the preview and whatnot. Maybe it'll get popular after all!