Best non-essential line in this volume: "Not the meat!"
*sigh*
I really can't believe it's completely done now. If you include the anime, this was a series I'd been following since fansubs of the anime came out in 2001. I remember being ridiculously happy when I found out Tokyopop had licensed the manga... then getting equally annoyed when they pushed the release date back. I also remember reading the ending the first time around when the scans and fan translations hit and being sad, but not completely, because I had the official releases to wait for.
I have so few series I'm collecting now, at least compared to when I was in university and started Furuba. Any suggestions for what else might fill the Furuba hole? Goodness knows, Tokyopop dropped the ball on recommendations (Seriously?! I mean, they had to have known at least some of their readers had been with the series since it came out on NA in 2004. That was 5 years ago... even if they were kids when they started reading Furuba, they wouldn't be now. Couldn't we have had at least one josei-style recommendation?).
You got into the series a bit before I did, then--I started watching the anime in late 2002, IIRC (or possibly early 2003, but I know I started seeing it [in the middle] at Ryerson and was upset that their showing of the last episodes conflicted with AN).
I buy quite a few titles (I think I'm at around 22 right now), but I don't love any of them the way I love Furuba. There are some things I love but don't feel fannish about, though, which is a good feeling in its own right. NANA is my favorite thing that's currently running, probably followed by Sand Chronicles.
I also really like Honey and Clover (although it's not for everyone, and I didn't fall for it until about halfway through the series), We Were There, and High School Debut (for shoujo recs, and HSD is mainly a fun series). FMA and Claymore both get a lot of love on my f-list; I really like FMA and I'm slowly acquiring Claymore but haven't yet made it to the part where many people think it becomes amazing.
re: josei-style...I'm not sure whether Tokyopop has anything aimed at the josei demographic these days. They tried it with things like Suppli, but I guess that didn't do so well. (I still hope it'll come back as they stabilize, though. *fingers crossed*) Josei seems to be the most under-represented demographic for all of the companies, although NANA technically qualifies and is just running under the Shojo Beat imprint. (I realize I'm assuming you've read at least some of that one? Am I right, or just imagining that I saw it on your shelf once?)
I love Honey and Clover with all my heart (especially since I was an art student in university). It's possibly my second favourite thing after Furuba right now.
I like Nana, but everyone in it becomes ridiculously self-destructive. This annoyed me back when I was reading scanlations a year or two ago and I dropped it for a bit. It might be time to pick it back up again.
I'll check out your recommendations... that should help me get back on track with my manga addiction.
I've just passed the point in the H&C manga where I remember having fallen for the anime, and it makes me so happy. I like the beginning, but my adoration sneaked up on me gradually. By the middle I'm just like "I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!" (Except Morita, often, but when he has moments I love they're awesome.)
The self-destructive tendencies in NANA are a very valid criticism. I find they hurt more than being annoying because I find most of the characters and the ways they self-destruct extremely believable, but I can see how that wouldn't work for everyone. >.> I really love most of them a lot, though.
Have you read Suppli? There're only three volumes out, and I don't know what its odds of continuing in English eventually are, but I quite liked those volumes.
Other titles that're coming to mind that aren't so much with the shoujo are things like Hikaru no Go, 20th Century Boys (and Monster and Pluto--I really like Urasawa), and Wild Adapter (actually, I have no idea what its demographic technically is). And I haven't read more than a couple chapters of Children of the Sea, but it and Ôoku: The Inner Chamber are just coming out this summer and have the entire manga blogosphere in an uproar of joy. Dogs is supposed to be really good, and I like the prelude volume (it's pretty violent but has some interesting-looking world-building). I've never read Yotsuba&!, but I know several people who love it, and Yen Press just rescued the license from...ADV?
I really enjoy a LOT of manga. I just...don't love anything else like Furuba, is what it keeps coming back down to.
Nothing is as good as Furuba, unfortunately. But if you're looking for something similar in tone (cute on the surface, but a darker story underneath), Gakuen Alice is worth a try.
*sigh*
I really can't believe it's completely done now. If you include the anime, this was a series I'd been following since fansubs of the anime came out in 2001. I remember being ridiculously happy when I found out Tokyopop had licensed the manga... then getting equally annoyed when they pushed the release date back. I also remember reading the ending the first time around when the scans and fan translations hit and being sad, but not completely, because I had the official releases to wait for.
I have so few series I'm collecting now, at least compared to when I was in university and started Furuba. Any suggestions for what else might fill the Furuba hole? Goodness knows, Tokyopop dropped the ball on recommendations (Seriously?! I mean, they had to have known at least some of their readers had been with the series since it came out on NA in 2004. That was 5 years ago... even if they were kids when they started reading Furuba, they wouldn't be now. Couldn't we have had at least one josei-style recommendation?).
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You got into the series a bit before I did, then--I started watching the anime in late 2002, IIRC (or possibly early 2003, but I know I started seeing it [in the middle] at Ryerson and was upset that their showing of the last episodes conflicted with AN).
I buy quite a few titles (I think I'm at around 22 right now), but I don't love any of them the way I love Furuba. There are some things I love but don't feel fannish about, though, which is a good feeling in its own right. NANA is my favorite thing that's currently running, probably followed by Sand Chronicles.
I also really like Honey and Clover (although it's not for everyone, and I didn't fall for it until about halfway through the series), We Were There, and High School Debut (for shoujo recs, and HSD is mainly a fun series). FMA and Claymore both get a lot of love on my f-list; I really like FMA and I'm slowly acquiring Claymore but haven't yet made it to the part where many people think it becomes amazing.
re: josei-style...I'm not sure whether Tokyopop has anything aimed at the josei demographic these days. They tried it with things like Suppli, but I guess that didn't do so well. (I still hope it'll come back as they stabilize, though. *fingers crossed*) Josei seems to be the most under-represented demographic for all of the companies, although NANA technically qualifies and is just running under the Shojo Beat imprint. (I realize I'm assuming you've read at least some of that one? Am I right, or just imagining that I saw it on your shelf once?)
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I like Nana, but everyone in it becomes ridiculously self-destructive. This annoyed me back when I was reading scanlations a year or two ago and I dropped it for a bit. It might be time to pick it back up again.
I'll check out your recommendations... that should help me get back on track with my manga addiction.
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The self-destructive tendencies in NANA are a very valid criticism. I find they hurt more than being annoying because I find most of the characters and the ways they self-destruct extremely believable, but I can see how that wouldn't work for everyone. >.> I really love most of them a lot, though.
Have you read Suppli? There're only three volumes out, and I don't know what its odds of continuing in English eventually are, but I quite liked those volumes.
Other titles that're coming to mind that aren't so much with the shoujo are things like Hikaru no Go, 20th Century Boys (and Monster and Pluto--I really like Urasawa), and Wild Adapter (actually, I have no idea what its demographic technically is). And I haven't read more than a couple chapters of Children of the Sea, but it and Ôoku: The Inner Chamber are just coming out this summer and have the entire manga blogosphere in an uproar of joy. Dogs is supposed to be really good, and I like the prelude volume (it's pretty violent but has some interesting-looking world-building). I've never read Yotsuba&!, but I know several people who love it, and Yen Press just rescued the license from...ADV?
I really enjoy a LOT of manga. I just...don't love anything else like Furuba, is what it keeps coming back down to.
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