Recently, I've been obsessing over Please Save My Earth. I'm up to volume 15, which blew my mind as far as my opinion of Mokuren was concerned. She's pretty annoyingly Mary-Sue until that volume, and then she still is, but in a different, more likeable way. Then I had to reread all the Mokuren flashbacks before then, but that still doesn't change my ambivalence to certain spoiler-heavy things that happened to her (and chiefly her reaction to them)

Angel Sanctuary will always be my favorite manga series.

Reading it all so close together, I can definately see how the resurrection could become a little much. I adored Kato (or Katou) with all my heart, but after the 7th time or so, I wished he would stay dead. But, I suppose when you have a story that moves from Earth to Hades to Hell to Heaven, it's not completely unusual to see a dead character pop up, since... well, since they're still not technically alive again. But his final death really touches me, so I let him off the hook. (As expected, I'm a Kira/Kato fan, but the pairing is awfully neglected. Kira/Setsuna seems much more popular, though I have a hard time seeing how any AS fan can pair Setsuna with someone other than Sara, considering that their relationship is a pretty vital point to the storyline. And that's coming from a yaoi fangirl.)

I also agree that I would have liked to see the tragic ending, but I'm pretty happy with the ending as is. I remember buying the very first volume once it was released here. Every few months, when a new volume finally appeared, I rushed out to buy it. I must have been collecting that series for about 4 years. So I guess I was pretty on edge, and in hindsight, had the ending not been a happy one, I probably would have freaked. They suffered enough throughout the 20 volumes for my taste, so I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for everyone.

If it's any consolation, nearly none of my favorite characters had a happy ending. Lailah, Belial, Arachne, Kato, Astaroth, Rosiel, Barbello... each had a fairly unfortunate end. Especially poor Lailah! My heart weeps for her.

Mylene wrote:

The characters that were too much one way or another just never really appealed to me.

Oh, I agree. I like to have a balance, generally. I can't help loving Rosiel, though. To be honest, even though he was beautiful and crazy (two traits I really can't resist, no matter how cliche they are), I didn't care that much for him until about half way into the series. It was refreshing to see someone who wasn't actually evil-crazy, but flat out insane to begin with. And his past is just so very sad to me.

I also wasn't a big fan of Sevothtarte to begin with, but when I found out he was really Lailah, I was in shock! She became my favorite character quickly, despite all the love I'd built up for other characters.

Ah, I also loved Doll, and Riru. They were just so sweet... actually, if it weren't for Riru, I would never have really liked Sara that much. I definately don't dislike her, but I could easily cast her aside. I was upset at her for throwing Riru into harm's way, but when she went back for her, I was overjoyed. Better late than never...

Mentioning Doll also reminds me, I really liked Kirie, despite the fact that most people didn't.

Mylene wrote:

I also really liked Sara's friend at the beginning of the series...

Ruri Saiki. She was a rather unfortunate character as well.

Ah, this is just turning into a post for me to gush over which characters I like. For me, SKU is to anime what Angel Sanctuary is to manga.

Edit:

Mylene wrote:

dollface wrote:

If it's any consolation, nearly none of my favorite characters had a happy ending. Lailah, Belial, Arachne, Kato, Astaroth, Rosiel, Barbello... each had a fairly unfortunate end. Especially poor Lailah! My heart weeps for her.

Kato had a happy ending though, in a sense.  I don't remember seeing anything happen to Belial though--that was the Mad Hatter, right?  I was always rather fond of him/her.

Yes, Belial was the Mad Hatter. What I meant was that none of my favorites really ended up happy, per se. In comparison to Sara and Setsuna's ending, most of my favorites got a little cheated. Kato does get a bittersweet ending, in my opinion, so I suppose he is an exception.

Editted again to add that Kato's life ended rather unfortunately. The boy was messed up on drugs, was possessed, got involved in a fight that wasn't even his own, and ended up dying at the age of 17. As far as his time actually living on Earth was concerned, Kato never seemed to have a moment of happiness. In later volumes, when you see his homelife, it was no wonder the boy ended up being such a punk.

Last edited by dollface (06-14-2008 06:49:06 PM)

has no one mentioned Clamp's Clover yet? 
Wish is rather good too, though i've only read the first three volumes.  on a much darker note, X seems to have the potential to be good...though after many years i've still only read the first four volumes.  i like Card Captor Sakura too.
currently reading Black Cat.  also some American comics (Sandman, Y: the last man, and Ex Machina)

...i foolishly forgot Rozen Maiden.  how could i?
also Bleach, Naruto, and Hikaru no Go <--

Hmm, I find the biggest problem with most manga is that the wirters don't know when to stop.

Take Kill Me, Kiss Me.  The first volume is great; the art is interesting, if a little like an over-decorated cake at times, and it was purely hilarious.  I actually liked Tae, I mean, she was a fangirl.  And the entire plot was done up nice, neat, and cute in one volume.

The four other volumes? *barf*  Basically, a new character is introduced, so randomly that she is damned-near OC-like in nature, and the story then pretty much makes her the main character, and gooey drama ensues for three more volumes, in which a bad guy is introduced, but then, oh, you find out that the bad guys weren't so bad after all and everyone is in love and some yaoi is thrown in there not as a hilarious anecdote like it was in the first volume, but more like a cheap and overzealous potshot.

That's why I'm nervous about reading more of Tramps Like Us.  It's one of my favorites, but I've only read the first volume, and now I find out that there are eleven more.  I'm worried that it will be consumed by unnescessary drama, characters, and love triangles, and the plot will move in annoying circles, and...well, damn.....romance plots really shouldn't be stretched.

LOOKING AT YOU, FRUITS BASKET.

Oh, and someone mentioned the Kingdom Hearts Manga? I've read the COM series and the first volume of Kingdom Hearts 2.  The art style is cute and bold, though some scratchy-looking parts make you wonder if the artist was simply too lazy to make certain panels/faces/parts look better.  The story is extrememly condensed and fast-moving, a good thing in most respects,since a few of the Disney-worlds I could care less about, except when it cuts out lovely time with character's such as the Castle Oblivion Crew, whom I love, and instead gives additonal face-time to the Sora-Donald-Goofy friendship thing.  Don't get me wrong, Donald and Goofy own HARD, but the Oblivion Nobodies own HARDER.

It's also neat to see the Organization in full-on manga style, and Marluxia in particular makes the transition quite nicely.  Shoujo rose-motif, anyone?

Axel not-so-much, even though the artist was kind enough to slip in the barest hint of yaoi-ness in there for the AkuRoku fangirls (IF YOU SQUINT).  Even a kind of sweet ZexLex moment that was rather sad. ;_;

And Vexen is turned into badly-drawn comic relief. STFU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Manga Hades rules, btw).

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (07-16-2008 09:29:44 PM)

oh, i Fruits Basket!  also currently into Mahou Sensei Negima.

I finished up Mars today.  I really enjoyed how Soryo didn't use the usual plot devices to drive the story.  I really enjoyed the darker nature of it all.  The ending felt a little flat for me, compared to the rest, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Except for the fact that volumes 10-14 all had at least one page torn out of them!   What the hell is up with that?  Who tears pages out of library books?

I've been reading DearS. I love the fanservice (being a perv explains it...) and I laughed a LOT. I've gotten to Volume 7 and it's not quite as funny, but it's getting quite good far as plot goes. Mitsuka-sensei is now my personal idol and I rather like Nia, but I have the feeling that most would call her a sterotypical neko girl (...which she is, but still...)

Has anyone here read Chibi Vampire (aka Karin)?  The YA librarian at my library knows I'm a manga fan, so she was asking me if it would be "safe" for the collection.  So, how tame or untame is it?  Our collection includes such series as MARS, Evangelion (and the Angelic Days retelling), Ah! My Goddess, and the typical Naruto and Bleach. 

Is there much (any?) nudity in it?  Clearly some is okay, given that we have MARS in the collection, but I think she's trying to avoid any upset parents.  I haven't read it yet myself, so I thought I'd get some input.

Also, how does she give blood to her victims?  Does it also involve the typical vampire bite, or is something else done?

Thanks for any help!

When I was in 8th grade, the second volume of Fruits Basket had just been released in America. I wish they would finish releasing it, already. There's only a few more left to go.

The plot really is incredible at this point in the series, so I no longer feel guilty about suddenly liking Akito in the manga when I didn't like him the series. Oh, poor Akito, you've been the victim of an anime created before the manga was finished, and thus, they came up with an ending that did your character no justice whatsoever.

Have I mentioned the other series I was reading yet? I finished Kashimashi, and while I loved it at first, the plot changed half way through the third book in such a way that I completely lost interest. I still like it, though. Voiceful was a very nice story, and what I love most is that it was only one book long. Mangas don't have to always be a 20+ books long to be good. Voiceful was just fine as it is.

I recently purchased the complete manga set ( 2 books ) of Oniisama e.
Vintage art is always beautifully nostalgic, and I can't get enough of Rei Asaka.

I read the first two volumes of Oh! My Goddess this weekend.  The art really surprised me, as I didn't realize the anime had varied so much from the manga in the character designs.  Belldandy looks kind of weird, and Keiichi looks kind of chunky.  Still, it's quite funny, and it seems Belldandy (at least currently) has a bit more spunk than she did in the OAV (can't remember the movie and haven't seen the television series yet.)

I'm also working on xxxHOLiC volume 11.  Can't wait to get more, I rather like this series.  Last night I curled up in bed in watched 4 straight episodes of the anime (DVD 3).  I haven't done that in quite awhile.