Mylene wrote:

Just read v. 1 of Princess Knight by Tezuka Osamu.  Hmm....I really expected this to be a bit more feminist.  Unfortunately, what I'm getting from it is that girl hearts are weak and afraid and frilly.  Only if you're a girl with a boy heart accidentally inserted by a mischievous angel (in addition to your girl heart) can you be brave and fence, etc. 

That wasn't what I was expecting. Also, it's one of his frantic stories, every three pages taking a strange right turn again.  It's not bad, but after reading the utterly amazing Ayako last year, I think I was wanting something a bit more profound.

I've actually really have been wanting to read that. I've only read those couple chapters that were in shojo beat a while back...but that seems odd XD I thought it would be more feminist too...

I started reading Gakuen Alice a couple months ago, I got to volume 3 or 4 and it's pretty good. I also got six volumes of girl got game, and it's pretty decent. it's REALLY predictable, but if you want just some standard shojo, it's pretty good (I'm on volume 7 of 10).

I really want to read more Tezuka though:( I'm making my way through Black Jack (who i cosplayed ) and it's SUPER fantastic! TOTALLY recommend it:)

Mylene wrote:

yuzukelly wrote:

I really want to read more Tezuka though:( I'm making my way through Black Jack (who i cosplayed ) and it's SUPER fantastic! TOTALLY recommend it:)

Adolf got licensed rescued, and I highly recommend it along with Ayako for something that is purely serious.  Buddha mixes serious with Tezuka's zany humor as well, but it's also quite good.

I suppose there are a few feminist elements in Princess Knight (thus far).  The nurse points out that it's stupid that only a male heir is allowed to take the throne, but really...that's kind of it.  It just didn't sit with me quite right.  I prefer his dramatic works overall, I think, although I definitely want to check out Black Jack some day.

Illl check to see if those are in my local library

and i see :s

and yes! I havent finished it, but i'm on book 7 or 8 ( need to pick it back up...) i didnt expect to like it as much as i did, a really good comic.

has anyone ever read video girl ai? that has to be one of my favorite series ever. def. in my top 3. the art is simply amazing (i dont judge art as much as i used to when i was younger, im more into the story etc. because now i think everyone has their way of expressing their thoughts X) ) but the story itself, and just everything about it i really love. it's so touching and sweet. I've actually never met anyone else who has read it though there's lots of breasts and close ups of butts but if you dont mind that then i recommend it also ;)

Haha XD Yeah, one can totally tell it was written with teenage boys in mind XD but it is really good. it gets pretty sad near the end but it's a really good ending (ceres/absolute boyfriend anyone? i read ceres first and then a.b., it was SO hard to trust yuu watase after that xD the endings in my opinion were HORRIBLE[and basically the same]....but i think i mentioned that in a previous post in this thread LOL i did read imadoki, so all of her endings arent like that xD) My favorites are usually from the 90s myself:3

Yes! Sailor V! I've been getting those on their release days, I was so excited we're finally getting them:) I enjoyed it too. I think i like sailor moon better though. I regret not buying the tokyopop version (just out of being poor, i read a lot from the library. i do have a good sized manga collection, but i usually get it from half price.) because i really miss takeuchi's little random talk columns (i love those! and end of volume extras!) I wish they were put in these editions as well. but im specially saving so i can buy all the volumes as they come out, since the tp versions are harder to find at hpb. also, they mark them at 10$ now since theyre out of print(a lot of their titles are that they sell, but i guess because it's sailor moon theyre marking it up...) and might as well get the new ones you know? i did have the first volume of the tp release, but it got water damage:(  some of the only manga I ever bought new were these sailor moon/sailor v manga, and i bought the first two volumes of dramacon in middle school xD dramacon is very good~

fun story! a couple months ago, while my mom was at a recycling bin/dumpster thing she found 18 volumes of ranma 1/2 on top in a bag. i LOVE ranma! but i never bought any so far because theyre more expensive at half price (lol im so cheap, i recently discovered their clearance manga section at 2$ a book xD it's hard to go back!) but i watched it all the time and read it so much in middle school, i was so excited lol. im trying to get my best friend's little sister to read takahashi stuff, but she commented that she didnt care for the art because it was...i forget the word she used...but she likes stuff from clamp and really pretty fancy art.  takahashi really has a shonen style, but her stuff is pretty amazing i think, i tell her she's missing out! XD i'll get her to read ranma, lum or maison ikkoku one day xD

sorry i keep going on xD but! over the summer, i discovered the awesome that is junji ito! SO addicted to his stuff...im not even really into horror, but his stories are truly great. i think i read everything available in english though:( pretty sad...he has SO MUCH MORE stuff available, but my japanese is pretty bad XD

Hmm. That's a tough one. Afraid I can't help you. As for me, my current favorite is It's Not My Fault I'm Not Popular! It's just so cringeworthy and realistic and hilarious.

Okay, volume 2 of Princess Knight was what I was looking for.  While the first volume says losing a boy heart would make a girl weak, what actually happens is quite different. It's a silly, fun little manga.  I prefer Tezuka's serious work, but as SKU fans it's a series to consider for its influences.

Also, Mizuno Junko's Pure Trance was really cool. Not as good as Fluffy Little Gigolo Pelu, but still trippy fun.

OnlyInThisLight wrote:

hayama wrote:

Can anyone help me out? I just started getting into reading manga for the first time (after 8 years of being an anime fan, crazy I know), and now I don't even know where to begin with it. Right now I really want to read a good shonen-ai manga. However, I don't want any of that fetishized bishi stuff that seems to be the most prevalent in the genre (I hope I don't sound offensive in saying that). I just want an honest, realistic drama portraying the love between two males, without the theatrics of so many that I've seen before. Does such a thing exist?

I don't know if I can promise you a lack of theatrics, considering the romance genre in general and my own experience with shonen-ai, but a few shounen-ai have stuck with me out of how much they set themselves apart from the rest.  Hagio Moto's stuff is great when it comes to story and character, her works have rich, detailed and fast moving plots with detailed worlds and characters, all with a sci-fi feel.  Her art resembles the 80's bishounen look, so prepare for some fluffy hair and sparkly eyes, but trust me, her art is beautiful and she often uses stunning and effective visual symbolism and makes many literary references.  Its apparent from reading her work that she's a well read person, and has even studied psychology.  Any drama you see within won't read as melodrama no matter how intense it gets because she takes the time to develop the characters and situations properly and make their emotions feel appropriate.   There a few cliches here and there in her work, but its far outweighed by her creativity and honestly, since she doesn't use the rape as love trope, I'm happy. 

My two recommends from her would be Marginal, which is a sci-fi story that takes place on a world inhabited solely by men.   One female that is worshiped as a deity and known only as Mother provides them with children, though she is able to birth less and less, leading to a population crisis.  The story follows Grinja, a man who seeks to assassinate Mother, and boy named Kira with no memory and strange, sharp teeth.  And while a much harder read, After Us, A Savage God, also known as A Cruel God Reigns  is a powerful manga about Jeremy, who in order to escape the physical and sexual abuse of his stepfather makes plans to kill him, and accidentally kills his loving though unstable mother in the process.  His step-brother Ian, discovering both Jeremy's crime and abuse is torn between avenging his father or atoning for his sins.  When he begins to develop feelings for Jeremy himself he fears it may only be because he has inherited his father's perversions.  There a few plot contrivances here and there, and the art is rough at first (and the stepfather's design is just awkward looking and in general the bodies look weird) but its a beautiful story nonetheless that treats child abuse as the horrific and complicated issue it is, not just a vehicle for romance drama, and the the psychological journeys are fascinating and heartbreaking.  It's very realistic, though the depictions of abuse are very prolific (because the abuse is integral to the story and many characters development, so isn't treated as a hazy flashback or a sex scene).

I've never actually found any boy's love manga that didn't have huge eyes, pink hair and KAWAIIIII every two seconds, so I thought I'd have a look at some of these recommendations. Agree that After Us, A Savage God is amazing. It's really creepy but also moving. Manga that deals with serious issues like that- without turning it into cheap drama- are rare to find. And I haven't actually got to the boy's love part yet! But it doesn't look like it's been licensed so I can't find it anywhere, and it hasn't finished being scanlated yet!

(Oh, are we allowed to talk about things like scanlation here? I couldn't find it in the rules. Please let me know if we're not and I'll edit this post.)

I'm going to have to read some more of Hagio Moto now. I really like her old-fashioned drawing style.

Last edited by Honey Bear (12-20-2011 07:59:04 AM)

I'm finding myself more interested in Jeremy's struggle and whether he'll get away from his stepdad than the prospect of romance, so I think the author is doing her job very well. It all feels very realistic, especially how Jeremy's been trapped into a corner by everything. He does so much to try and protect his mother, even though she's a useless sap. And when I went back to reread chapter 1, it was shocking to see how much Jeremy's character changes in those five volumes because of the abuse. There were a few scenes that were painful to read... Jeremy, if I was in your shoes I'd want to kill that bastard too!

I feel the same way about scanlations. Almost all the manga I own I bought because I started reading it online and thought it was awesome enough to actually own a copy. It's so much nicer to have a book you can bring to bed and read.

(Though I don't think I'd read this one in bed, even if were translated. I'd have nightmares! )

Another great boy's love manga I just read... Kaze to Ki no Uta (Song of the Wind and Trees) It's completely old school and melodramatic (from the 70's) and it's awesome. I think it's probably one of the earliest of the genre as well.

Gotta love the old school.

Just read the first 3 volumes of Maison Ikkoku. Love it.  I've seen all of the anime, and it's fun going back to some of those early antics. Trying to get a lot of reading done so that I can get things packed up for showing the house (and moving).  Good excuse for binge manga reading.

Onlyinthislight, I don't know if you're still reading A Cruel God Reigns but a new scanlation group Carfish has taken the project over and have released like, 3 volumes in two months. Over christmas they were doing daily chapter updates. So there's lots more to read! Woop!

Mylene wrote:

Finished reading Monster. Read it, watch it, whatever way you choose, but it's a must-see/read.  Wow.

Glad you finally finished it! It certainly makes an impression, doesn't it?

I'm currently re-reading Mars by Fuyumi Soryo. (For the...third?...time) It's one of my all-time favorites. The beautiful older art, the real characters, the depth of emotion, the brutal honesty...This is shojo done right!

Rereading Mushishi. This time in Japanese. Also, continuing Lovely Complex from where I left off a year ago.

I wish The Five Star Stories would get re-licensed. The new reboot editions look amazing.