- Location
- secret base
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It's low-key amazing how Chiyoko is the winner of the latest popularity pool, while Yonagi is right behind her.
Japanese manga and novels - General Discussion
- Location
- Australia
Don't forget about the amazing art. In terms of striking expressions and just expressiveness in general the artist is the best in the industry imo. And there's a major character that's almost definitely on the spectrum to boot.
Also ChiyoKei is basically canon, and it would take a serious lack of reading comprehension to argue otherwise. It's great.
i thought that one was famous, have been hearing great things about it for years now
Some recs:
Sengoku Komachi Kurou Tan!
Sign me the fuck up.
Song of the Night Walkers
Sengoku Komachi Kurou Tan!
An Isekai style story that doesn't involve game mechanics bullshit, literal CHEAT powers, overpowered magic or harems? A main character who is a game breaker primarily because she is a history and agriculture nerd who studied various fields that ended up being very relevant for her after time traveling and who still has to do a lot of back breaking work to actually employ her knowledge? Oh, and who can't actually do everything by herself and needs the patronage of a local big whig who supplies her with workers and soldiers and who is in many ways better at employing her knowledge than she is because people in the past weren't dumb?
Sign me the fuck up.
Song of the Night Walkers
This has to be one of the cutest and most interesting vampire romances I've ever read. Highly recommended.
Jemnite
CVN-69 Fella
- Location
- 清源书院
Song of the Night Walkers is real nice because it focused on all the weirdoes, outcasts, drunks that don't end up fitting into the normal hours of the day. At it's core it's about saying "you're cool" to all the loiters who bum around the city at dead hours of the night. Besides the nice art by the same mangaka as Dagashi Kashi it's got a lot going for it.
Can't say the same about komachi which is pretty lax about its history despite being a history isekai.
Witch0Winter
Witch ❄️f Winter
- Location
- Colorado
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I don't read a ton of manga but have been working my way through one called Blue Period. It's really gorgeous and about a boy who drops his empty life in favor of learning art. And I've been trying to learn how to draw myself lately so it's kinda fit. Really liked it for being something more slice of life and simple.
- Location
- Singapore
- Pronouns
- Singular They
One of the interesting things I've noticed from reading a bunch of light novels is that for characters who are in/from the present day, they can make all sorts of mocking and snide references to countries like China and the US, including fairly disturbing nationalism. And they can refer to brands and companies with some mild censoring of names, usually making it clear what they're talking about to the reader.
But not once have I seen them refer to Disney and Disney properties (at least at the time of publication), except in the vaguest and most plausibly deniable manner, if at all.
Apparently light novel authors can say China should be destroyed and conquered by Japan with no worries, but even mentioning the Mouse has fearsome consequences.
But not once have I seen them refer to Disney and Disney properties (at least at the time of publication), except in the vaguest and most plausibly deniable manner, if at all.
Apparently light novel authors can say China should be destroyed and conquered by Japan with no worries, but even mentioning the Mouse has fearsome consequences.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The House of Mouse has a better legal team.
SoothingCoffee
Umumumu
- Location
- The Library
I mean, China and the US aren't gonna give a fuck. The Big M, though? Well, they still aren't give a fuck, but the risk feels closer/realer there - even if it's just based on feelings.
Another thing: been on-and-off reading Kusuriya no Hitorigoto. Maomao just gotta mao.
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- Location
- ⇙
Read Shiori Experience. Got it recommended by @Kei. It's great.
Shiori's a highschool teacher who gave up on her dream of being a musician after her older brother got scammed by his band manager and ran off leaving the family with a lot of debt. On her 27th birthday she's possessed by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix and learns that she has to become a legend while she's still 27 or she will die.
Shiori's a highschool teacher who gave up on her dream of being a musician after her older brother got scammed by his band manager and ran off leaving the family with a lot of debt. On her 27th birthday she's possessed by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix and learns that she has to become a legend while she's still 27 or she will die.
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Hijinks ensue.
BasileusKomnenos
Imperator Romanorum Βασιλεύς των Ρωμαίων
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
Have any of you guys finished the Attack on Titan Manga? I just finished watching the Anime, and I started reading the Manga, and wanted to know how it compared to it.
I am caught up on it, but it's not over yet.
Quality remains high. I think the anime's execution is often a bit better, the 'we're the second go and we can tweek things for max impact,' advantage, but they're pretty darn similar.
BasileusKomnenos
Imperator Romanorum Βασιλεύς των Ρωμαίων
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
I just got up to chapter 120. Though I know what happens in the later chapters as my friends spoiled if for me. If you're interested in reading an Attack on Titan fic I've started a new one called A Noble Son of Eldia if you're interested.
I'm really enjoying this manga, though I'm worried about how they'll fit everything in it for the final season.
Bokura no Kiseki continues to grip me for being a reverse Isekai.
Jemnite
CVN-69 Fella
- Location
- 清源书院
Bokura no Kiseki is coded more as a reincarnation fiction than an isekai, though it is both. It ends up playing into a specific subset of reincarnation themes a lot more- primarily how one deals with the circumstances of their own death and how relationships and bonds alter postmortem. Personally that's what I find most interesting about it, the list of works that I know engage with the first and second life of a reincarnated individual and treat their characters as continuations of another person rather than a new person but with a nebulous never really expanded upon first life are very few in number. Besides BnK the only ones I know if that so it are in order 1. A Chinese yaoi webnovel and 2. A Japanese romance light novel, neither is which have isekai elements.
- Location
- 委員長の牢獄
So I feel a bit like writing a "impressions on things I've been reading" post for a bit, now that I incidentally got reminded that this thread existed.
The standouts right now are 428 Shibuya Scramble (a VN) and Hitokui Magical (a Zaregoto series novel). Both are very good and quite interesting, however since Hitokui is untranslated I'll be merciful and brief
In short, as I read through Hitokui, I increasingly suspect that Zaregoto may in fact be better than Monogatari. These are not words I expected to use, but some of Zaregoto's plot threads and twists are extremely powerful, and particularly in Hitokui they're coming together in preparation for the final three-parter, and it has been shockingly harrowing and amazing.
428 Shibuya Scramble is available in English. I played it on PS4 but I see it's even on Steam. It's kinda old by now, from 2008, but BACK IN THE DAY it vaguely circulated VN circles as "this unusual VN that got 40/40 from Famitsu and where Nasu did an extra scenario that then got a sequel as the Canaan anime". I remember being curious about it ever since, but I sort of forgot about it until just recently, when I noticed it had gotten translated in '18.
Now, if you remember Canaan (the anime), 428 is honestly not very like that. The scenario by Nasu is much more strongly connected, but that one is practically parallel to the main story and barely intersects at all. I can't recommend it on that basis.
However what it is is very, very good. One of the classic issues with VNs is that their production values are poor, they overuse too-limited sprites and their CGs are boring. 428 doesn't have this problem because the whole damn thing is made with stills from what is practically a movie. The idea of live action-stills may seem off-putting, but it is actually incredible. They're used to amazing effect, and because they're stills, the exaggerated movement and expressions makes the CG pop instead of look overly goofy.
Make no mistake, it is still a very goofy VN - the main plot is pretty deadly serious, but at heart it is a very silly story, and right up to the end there are tons of absurd, silly events to keep the tone somewhat light. But being goofy and light-hearted doesn't mean it isn't earnest or even quite complex. Some of the character arcs are just inherently pretty strong, in particular Osawa Kenji's part of the story was something I found very compelling.
Also worth noting, it reads pretty fast and is quite snappy. I 100%ed it in about 36 hours, and you can probably shave 10 hours if you just go for the normal ending.
The standouts right now are 428 Shibuya Scramble (a VN) and Hitokui Magical (a Zaregoto series novel). Both are very good and quite interesting, however since Hitokui is untranslated I'll be merciful and brief
In short, as I read through Hitokui, I increasingly suspect that Zaregoto may in fact be better than Monogatari. These are not words I expected to use, but some of Zaregoto's plot threads and twists are extremely powerful, and particularly in Hitokui they're coming together in preparation for the final three-parter, and it has been shockingly harrowing and amazing.
428 Shibuya Scramble is available in English. I played it on PS4 but I see it's even on Steam. It's kinda old by now, from 2008, but BACK IN THE DAY it vaguely circulated VN circles as "this unusual VN that got 40/40 from Famitsu and where Nasu did an extra scenario that then got a sequel as the Canaan anime". I remember being curious about it ever since, but I sort of forgot about it until just recently, when I noticed it had gotten translated in '18.
Now, if you remember Canaan (the anime), 428 is honestly not very like that. The scenario by Nasu is much more strongly connected, but that one is practically parallel to the main story and barely intersects at all. I can't recommend it on that basis.
However what it is is very, very good. One of the classic issues with VNs is that their production values are poor, they overuse too-limited sprites and their CGs are boring. 428 doesn't have this problem because the whole damn thing is made with stills from what is practically a movie. The idea of live action-stills may seem off-putting, but it is actually incredible. They're used to amazing effect, and because they're stills, the exaggerated movement and expressions makes the CG pop instead of look overly goofy.
Make no mistake, it is still a very goofy VN - the main plot is pretty deadly serious, but at heart it is a very silly story, and right up to the end there are tons of absurd, silly events to keep the tone somewhat light. But being goofy and light-hearted doesn't mean it isn't earnest or even quite complex. Some of the character arcs are just inherently pretty strong, in particular Osawa Kenji's part of the story was something I found very compelling.
Also worth noting, it reads pretty fast and is quite snappy. I 100%ed it in about 36 hours, and you can probably shave 10 hours if you just go for the normal ending.
Shanejayell
Yuri Fan without a Pause
- Pronouns
- He
Hey, Star Wars manga are coming....
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- Location
- Singapore
- Pronouns
- Singular They
Another Cross Infinite World release: The Weakest Manga Villainess Wants Her Freedom, which is another title that kind of describes what the story is like.
Elle suddenly gets memories of her past life one day, where she was apparently a high school student who got Trucked on the way to buy the last volume of her favourite manga series. And of course, this manga series is the world she now finds herself in, where she is one of the Four Grand Magi in service to the Demon Lord, and also the first one who had gotten killed already in the volumes Elle had already read in her past life. So Elle knows that there's going to be a Saint heroine and her party bearing down on the Demon Lord's castle any day now, and she's going to die and be ridiculed by the other Four Grand Magi as being the "weakest of them". This is not a fate she is looking forward to.
An interesting aspect of this premise is that Elle didn't get the personality of her previous life, but just the knowledge of the manga plot. She doesn't even get any memories of her previous life outside of that, and a few vague "probably was a high school student, maybe?" circumstantial inferred memories. So Elle's major personality change is just her being scared straight from knowing of her near-future death, and for everything else, she's more or less the same, including her penchant for introducing herself with supreme arrogance and at least fifty words per speech like a good sentai villainess.
This being Cross Infinite World, we of course have the male love interest option, in this case the strongest of the Four Grand Magi, Julius. Who was the one who named Elle the "weakest of the Grand Magi" in the manga, which is why Elle here is less than enamoured of him, despite his Shoujo Male Lead handsomeness and the Demon Lord having ordered them to be engaged in order to advance the national interest.
As that last bit implies, there's actually an intriguing plot to this setting, and Elle has to try to piece together what the unread last volume of the series would have been like, since it was advertised to have Major Reveals. One of them actually gets revealed early on in the story, due to Elle taking another path, but the rest (and how that first major reveal affected the overall plot) is certainly worth the in-universe hype.
Overall, highly recommended for those who like fluffy isekai comedies, especially with a solid core of plot. Elle is also not a helpless shoujo protagonist either, since she is one of the Demon Lord's Four Grand Magi (despite being the weakest), and has the magical prowess to match her position.
Elle suddenly gets memories of her past life one day, where she was apparently a high school student who got Trucked on the way to buy the last volume of her favourite manga series. And of course, this manga series is the world she now finds herself in, where she is one of the Four Grand Magi in service to the Demon Lord, and also the first one who had gotten killed already in the volumes Elle had already read in her past life. So Elle knows that there's going to be a Saint heroine and her party bearing down on the Demon Lord's castle any day now, and she's going to die and be ridiculed by the other Four Grand Magi as being the "weakest of them". This is not a fate she is looking forward to.
An interesting aspect of this premise is that Elle didn't get the personality of her previous life, but just the knowledge of the manga plot. She doesn't even get any memories of her previous life outside of that, and a few vague "probably was a high school student, maybe?" circumstantial inferred memories. So Elle's major personality change is just her being scared straight from knowing of her near-future death, and for everything else, she's more or less the same, including her penchant for introducing herself with supreme arrogance and at least fifty words per speech like a good sentai villainess.
This being Cross Infinite World, we of course have the male love interest option, in this case the strongest of the Four Grand Magi, Julius. Who was the one who named Elle the "weakest of the Grand Magi" in the manga, which is why Elle here is less than enamoured of him, despite his Shoujo Male Lead handsomeness and the Demon Lord having ordered them to be engaged in order to advance the national interest.
As that last bit implies, there's actually an intriguing plot to this setting, and Elle has to try to piece together what the unread last volume of the series would have been like, since it was advertised to have Major Reveals. One of them actually gets revealed early on in the story, due to Elle taking another path, but the rest (and how that first major reveal affected the overall plot) is certainly worth the in-universe hype.
Overall, highly recommended for those who like fluffy isekai comedies, especially with a solid core of plot. Elle is also not a helpless shoujo protagonist either, since she is one of the Demon Lord's Four Grand Magi (despite being the weakest), and has the magical prowess to match her position.
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
*Fires up a lets play to see if the hype is real*
*reaches the first Osawa Chapter*
*Stares at Calendar*
*Staaaares at Usandru*
- Location
- 委員長の牢獄
Oh yeah, I should maybe have mentioned the virus thing.
But hey, if you got that far in, you must've gotten a little interested!
- Location
- Cardassia Prime
The Villainess Lives Twice is an interesting new read, about the sister of the new Emperor who has been his ruthless spymaster all her life, removing or killing any obstacle in his path to his ascenscion with no other wish or goal for herself as their mother made it clear from childhood she is nothing without her brother. And as a reward for her loyal service, the Emperor has her imprisoned, and her tongue and all four limbs removed now she has fullfilled her purpose and could only do him harm with what she knows.
After being rescued by a disgraced general turned rebel who desperately wants her help to overthrow the Emperor, she commits suicide by magic ritual hoping to undo the damage she's done, only to get thrown back into her body to when she was 18. She inmediatly uses her spymaster skills and future knowledge to undermine her brother's rise to power and aid the general.
After being rescued by a disgraced general turned rebel who desperately wants her help to overthrow the Emperor, she commits suicide by magic ritual hoping to undo the damage she's done, only to get thrown back into her body to when she was 18. She inmediatly uses her spymaster skills and future knowledge to undermine her brother's rise to power and aid the general.
Currently catching up on One Piece. I really liked Whole Cake Island. That last sequence that was basically a musical number where Big Mom eats a wedding cake and she and the animated objects sing about the magical paradise she's created juxtaposed by panels of the Strawhats' allies getting wrecked and the Strawhats themselves getting cornered was just brilliant.
And I'm digging Stormbloo-I mean Wano.
And I'm digging Stormbloo-I mean Wano.
