I'm a rabid Mello fangirl, and my biggest complaint about the anime was how much his character got cut down. He had far less screen time than what he deserved. I'm not much for Near either, but I'm not one of the fans who simply disliked him because they were "loyal" to L. I just thought he was creepy, and not in an interesting way. Plus, the whole Mello thing put me at odds.

It seems that most of the fandom has a keen interest in L, but I've always been more of a Light fan. I think he's an extremely selective character, and I can understand why most people didn't much care for him.

And I'll also add in that I actually do like Misa, a rarity in the realm of female fans! I think people are just too hard on her, becuase honestly, we all have a friend who is like Misa. I also think that many people overlook the fact that her parents were murdered, and Light is the one who brought their killer to justice. Yes, she loves Light for more than his stance as Kira, but c'mon. If anything, her loyalty is admirable, if not just a tad credulous. I didn't like her to begin with, so it's not like I'm completely oblivious to why so many people didn't like her, but I still think she doesn't quite deserve all the negative fandom.

Maarika wrote:

Matt barely had any screen time, for instance.

Unfortunately, this doesn't change in the manga. He was in all of 10 panels.

I've been reading a lot of shoujo-ai manga. One of which is Strawberry Panic. I must admit that I was very happy that the manga was licensed. A lot of people understandably hate it, but it's good when you keep in mind that the whole thing is a parody. The drama isn't supposed to be sad. The anime was meant to be a parody off of the major shoujo-ai series. In Maria-sama ga Miteru, the statue of Maria is really looking at you. In Strawberry Panic, it's facing down, and so it isn't looking at anyone.

Not to mention that I would bet my life that Otori, (hmm,) and her reputation as a prince who really does ride white horses is a play off of the female princes in SKU. I also don't think that there's an SKU fan alive who wouldn't think that Nanami looks exactly like Momomi. (Hmmmm.)

Adrasteia wrote:

There aren't enough yuri/shoujo-ai mangas released in English...

Try Seven Seas' Strawberry line, which is dedicated to shoujo-ai/yuri.   I've got a couple of their releases, namely Voiceful and the first volume of First Love Sisters.  Actually, I think Strawberry Panic may have been their first release in that line...

I thought Voiceful was alright... it's a bit short being a one-off, so character development was on the lacking side, but I thought First Love Sisters was great, and can't wait for future volumes of it.

Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (03-23-2008 08:43:43 PM)

I started reading Evangelion manga. I don't know how it is going to be compared with the anime, but I like it so far. The art is very pretty, I love Sadamoto's drawing style.

And the scanlation team who's releasing HEN doesn't have a translator for the last volume. It's a great manga so it's sad to see it being delay for an indefinite time.

Razara wrote:

I've been reading a lot of shoujo-ai manga. One of which is Strawberry Panic. I must admit that I was very happy that the manga was licensed. A lot of people understandably hate it, but it's good when you keep in mind that the whole thing is a parody. The drama isn't supposed to be sad. The anime was meant to be a parody off of the major shoujo-ai series. In Maria-sama ga Miteru, the statue of Maria is really looking at you. In Strawberry Panic, it's facing down, and so it isn't looking at anyone.

Not to mention that I would bet my life that Otori, (hmm,) and her reputation as a prince who really does ride white horses is a play off of the female princes in SKU. I also don't think that there's an SKU fan alive who wouldn't think that Nanami looks exactly like Momomi. (Hmmmm.)

I just finished the Strawberry Panic anime (episodes are on Veoh) and saw lots of SKU "homages" in it from the French architecture of the buildings to the watering of the flowers in the greenhouse, etc. SP has some great moments and a satisfying ending so I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. I'll try the manga next.

I'm re-reading Someday's Dreamers: Spellbound (story Norie Yamada, artwork Kumichi Yoshizuki ( ) ) since I just received the final volume in the mail a couple of weeks ago.

And I just got the first half or so of Tsukuyomi, so that's probably next.  I've seen and enjoy the anime version of it very much, so now it's time to read it.

I also need to re-read School Rumble, as I am now watching the anime for the first time, and I have new volumes of the manga that I haven't read yet either...

I've started reading Buddha by Tezuka Osamu.  The art is definitely different, but it's definitely an enjoyable experience thus far.  (Oh, I should have punned and said it was an "enlightening experience" instead, but I'm just not that cruel.)

Last edited by Cerise (04-14-2008 07:52:11 PM)

YAY! TokyoPop has licensed Kannazuki no Miko manga! Both volumes will be released soon. (I'm too broke to buy anything right now, anyway)

I cannot wait for the Kannazuki manga! Kaishaku's artwork is great. As much as I loathed the Steel Angel Kurumi manga(which my brother bought me as a christmas gift, haha), I really do admire the detail he puts into his work.

I wish somebody would release the Oniisama E and Rose of Versailles manga.

Because I saw it mentioned in the anime thread, I thought I'd mention that Del Rey has licensed the Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei manga. It was announced at New York ComicCon.

I don't know much about the series myself (yet, anyway), but since a bunch of you seem to be fans I thought I'd give you all a heads up.

Haha, I was wondering what you'd think of the ending of that one. It is fairly old, so I guess understandable(you see the same thing with a lot of older gay superheroes).

And you're 100% right about those archetypes - the mature, darkhaired woman and innocent, fairhaired maiden are pretty popular. I can list off 4 or 5 shows, anime and non-anime alike, which follow this pattern, although animes like Oniisama E and Sailor Moon do not. Utena doesn't, either, but Utena doesn't follow many patterns.


There's an 80's yuri manga called The Sword of Paros which supposedly has a happy ending. I haven't been able to find it, though...

I love Eden~It's an Endless World! and I want to get the other volumes. Although I'll admit the second half of the volume I had was a little anti-climatic, I love, love, love the art and sheer detail put into every panel. Even the gray-scaled color panels look amazing.... and it is so disturbing and sad. I highly recommend it to all, but I warn that there is a lot of slamming of Religion.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/eden-gn-1-2