Japanese manga and novels - General Discussion
Bernkastel
The Witch of Miracles
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I've been making my way through the rest of the Lesbian experience with Loneliness series, having not read past the first two volumes for ages. I'm on Alcoholic Escape From Reality. It's rough, what the author is going through at this point, enough to make me feel substantially better about my own position in life in comparison and I wouldn't say I'm good at adulting.
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Bernkastel
The Witch of Miracles
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I find myself suddenly craving the feeling of reading a volume of some ongoing manga with an ongoing english release. Just something that both feels engaging and has further releases to look forward to.
Since that's really vague and I'm not good at knowing much about ongoing releases or the manga scene generally, that's annoyingly hard to do anything about. So I'm just focusing on Call of the Night fir now. Still, craving something new that I coukd look forward to often.
Since that's really vague and I'm not good at knowing much about ongoing releases or the manga scene generally, that's annoyingly hard to do anything about. So I'm just focusing on Call of the Night fir now. Still, craving something new that I coukd look forward to often.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So I've now read and reread the first tankobon of Maison Ikkoku, it having recently been reprinted. Given how associated its anime is with the 80s, it's interesting to me how the manga feels like it could easily take place in any decade (other than the lack of Internet I guess). While still light-hearted overall and not really a satire, I do like how it's a more honest and down-to-earth portrayal of a retroactively glorified decade in Japan (if not without reason)
There are still parts that can be uncomfortable, like some of Godai's leerier antics (though I'm told these get less and less as the manga goes on), but I'd say it's held up better than many other 80s romcoms, Japanese or western. Kind of a shame it isn't a better-known Takahashi manga (though still more so than Mermaid Saga or RIN-NE), but I guess that's expected given it doesn't have a more obvious hook like aliens, gender-bending martial arts, or samurai era time-travel with demons
There are still parts that can be uncomfortable, like some of Godai's leerier antics (though I'm told these get less and less as the manga goes on), but I'd say it's held up better than many other 80s romcoms, Japanese or western. Kind of a shame it isn't a better-known Takahashi manga (though still more so than Mermaid Saga or RIN-NE), but I guess that's expected given it doesn't have a more obvious hook like aliens, gender-bending martial arts, or samurai era time-travel with demons
I used to read a lot of hobbyist light novel translations. The kind of translations that you might find hosted on a WordPress site called "Kei Translates", which is run by a single person who explicitly does it to practice their Japanese. I recently brought out my old laptop and rediscovered the dozens of browser bookmarks I used to keep track of them. On a whim, I decided to go through some of these old links.
Of course, by their nature these sorts of amateur efforts are prone to stalling out, coming to an abrupt end, or just disappearing altogether. Many of the people doing these sorts of things are teenagers, and of course as time passes life happens and these side projects fall to the wayside, regardless of the passion that often fueled them. Even so, It's been genuinely sad to revisit some of these old sites and find them deleted, or simply dead via inactivity. A deleted website or lapsed domain is bad, but there's a lack of closure to a last update posted 7 to 8 years ago that stays with me. That a post was made with he intent to continue as normal, but that all the effort the site represented came to an end without acknowledgement or intent.
Honestly, the novels themselves are the least of my concern. Many of them where picked up by other people, or have since received official translations. I admit it's somewhat parasocial, but what hurts ever so slightly is that this minuscule piece of my personal history has come to end. The people involved cared deeply about their work and the tiny communities they fostered, but they've since moved on. I did too, a long while ago, but I still hold a lingering nostalgia that makes these little trips down memory lane bittersweet.
These sorts of sites still exist of course, both for light novels and manga. A lot more of that media is getting localized nowadays, but certainly not all of it, and passionate enthusiasts exist regardless of the time and place. I still follow a good chunk of these efforts as well. Those aren't the people or communities I followed when I was a teenager though. That was a time and place that we've all left behind, and the person I was back then is no exception.
Of course, by their nature these sorts of amateur efforts are prone to stalling out, coming to an abrupt end, or just disappearing altogether. Many of the people doing these sorts of things are teenagers, and of course as time passes life happens and these side projects fall to the wayside, regardless of the passion that often fueled them. Even so, It's been genuinely sad to revisit some of these old sites and find them deleted, or simply dead via inactivity. A deleted website or lapsed domain is bad, but there's a lack of closure to a last update posted 7 to 8 years ago that stays with me. That a post was made with he intent to continue as normal, but that all the effort the site represented came to an end without acknowledgement or intent.
Honestly, the novels themselves are the least of my concern. Many of them where picked up by other people, or have since received official translations. I admit it's somewhat parasocial, but what hurts ever so slightly is that this minuscule piece of my personal history has come to end. The people involved cared deeply about their work and the tiny communities they fostered, but they've since moved on. I did too, a long while ago, but I still hold a lingering nostalgia that makes these little trips down memory lane bittersweet.
These sorts of sites still exist of course, both for light novels and manga. A lot more of that media is getting localized nowadays, but certainly not all of it, and passionate enthusiasts exist regardless of the time and place. I still follow a good chunk of these efforts as well. Those aren't the people or communities I followed when I was a teenager though. That was a time and place that we've all left behind, and the person I was back then is no exception.
Aurora Moon
Verfied Insomniac with too much time on her hands
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Been reading this manga called Peepo Choo and I can't decide if it's super-cringe or genius. It's a manga revolving around black people mostly.
It features two sides-- the young black otaku boy who thinks he knows Japanese but doesn't actually know real Japanese, he's only able to sprout random Japanese catchphrases from his favorite anime. and he just won a contest to Japan.
and then on the other side, you got this Japanese dude who loves what he thinks is black culture... but, like the black otaku boy, all he knows about black people is from violent movies, games, and tv shows... so, in other words, he likes the hardcore hood stuff but that's not all black people are and not how real black people are like. so you got two delusional people fetishizing what they think the other side is like. and also the whole thing has a very Boondocks vibe to it, so you can tell what was their inspiration.
Be warned though it's very NSFW as it does deal with themes of crime, nudity, and whatnot. despite the MC being a young black boy who might or may not be neurodivergent.
and I honestly can't tell if some parts are racist or if the manga is just parodying and exposing some of the more offensive views people sometimes have about black people, or if it's both. I mean, the Japanese do have a somewhat bad track record about that at times.... and people do sometimes need to learn that you don't have to do shock-value things to make a point. ya know? parts of it feel sus to me for this reason.
I need black people feedback on that part, lol. I wouldn't dare to presume to speak for black people on this. only they can really say what's offensive to them or not.
It features two sides-- the young black otaku boy who thinks he knows Japanese but doesn't actually know real Japanese, he's only able to sprout random Japanese catchphrases from his favorite anime. and he just won a contest to Japan.
and then on the other side, you got this Japanese dude who loves what he thinks is black culture... but, like the black otaku boy, all he knows about black people is from violent movies, games, and tv shows... so, in other words, he likes the hardcore hood stuff but that's not all black people are and not how real black people are like. so you got two delusional people fetishizing what they think the other side is like. and also the whole thing has a very Boondocks vibe to it, so you can tell what was their inspiration.
Be warned though it's very NSFW as it does deal with themes of crime, nudity, and whatnot. despite the MC being a young black boy who might or may not be neurodivergent.
and I honestly can't tell if some parts are racist or if the manga is just parodying and exposing some of the more offensive views people sometimes have about black people, or if it's both. I mean, the Japanese do have a somewhat bad track record about that at times.... and people do sometimes need to learn that you don't have to do shock-value things to make a point. ya know? parts of it feel sus to me for this reason.
I need black people feedback on that part, lol. I wouldn't dare to presume to speak for black people on this. only they can really say what's offensive to them or not.
Bernkastel
The Witch of Miracles
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- She/Her
My bouncing between different manga constantly currently has me on Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Akane-banashi, the later just having the first volume of its official english release come out.
Shanejayell
Yuri Fan without a Pause
- Pronouns
- He
Been reading 'My Sister and Giant' which is.... kinda yuri? Sorta? In a REALLY fucked up way. Had to describe too. A science fiction/fantasy/isekai with a really dark universe.
Rancorious
Continue? Yes or No.
Fate/Stay Night is awesome.
Feng Lengshun
Z-Program Researcher
- Location
- Indonesia
On the other hand, a lot of people in the VN community is just jaded about any projects nowadays. It's either the TL is out, or it might as well not exist. Even after a few different team changes and TEN YEARS, we're still waiting for Aiyoku no Eustia and Shin Koihime Musou full translation. And then some guy says they're translating the new SKM Eiyuutan games and I'm like "Yeah, sure thing buddy, I'll see you in 20 years when it's canceled."
Though speaking of the sentiment, I also still sorta have that with a few of the VN blogs I follow, a few of which still put out new blogpost either in the same wordpress site or a newer site like Substack. But when it comes to loss, it's stuff like Honya-chan and the many lyrics wordpress that I couldn't even remember anymore. Also, Shinnoden which isn't really alive anymore, but at least some of my other favorite CD sites are still alive. Piracy sites in general either dies in 3 years, or it just goes on forever, somehow.
Jemnite
CVN-69 Fella
- Location
- 清源书院
Holy shit Medalist is underrated. It's kind of criminal that nobody knows about it due to it only be available in English through Kodansha paperbacks. It's like Ballroom Youkoso but even better. The mentor-student relationship is amazing and the constant themes of playing catchup against dreams that you chose to pursue too late is extremely well done.
Aurora Moon
Verfied Insomniac with too much time on her hands
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
oh nice, I haven't read that one in a while. thanks for the reminder. 
The ending is quite pleasant too. I will read it again from the beginning in the future I think. To enjoy the story in full without any break.
I have read two things the last week :
Hard Boiled Cop and Dolphin : it's from the Beelzebub's author and if you have liked Beelzebub, you will not be disappointed by it and his humour. It's short (47 chapters) as the serie has been axed, the last fifteen chapters are very fast paced because the author clearly wants to close all the loose ends. And he does a honest job to it. If you need something fresh, a bit funny and not too long, it's worth the time.
Isekai bishoujo juniku ojisan to : I begin to read it because I was bored, and when I discover it was a isekai (didn't pay attention to the title at this time, the cover is enough to choose for me), I was thinking to drop it after few chapters as usual, and... It didn't happen ???
The cause is that the manga has a lot of humour but it doesn't forget to speak about the psychological issues of the main characters quite regularly and has put an interesting dynamic between them by playing with gender. An interesting point too, it's that I usually drop isekai because the main character is always too much powered, too smart, too everything. As we have two main characters here with different capacities, it gives a feeling that things are more balanced and that not everything is solved by one perfect human. The fact that they are both old (32 years old) give more possibilities about their past which is a plus. The other characters have their own agenda too, and the ennemies are not dumb and try to act a bit smart against these heroes. It's not a lot, but at least, there are more in fights than just "me strong, me special abilities, me beat you" as big boss fights are usually used to reveal the psychology and the complex of the heroes and to make them work on them and move forward mentally. It doesn't happen often though, on the 150 chapters, the manga has two big cases which happened. But it's nice to have big fights been mostly resolved because the heroes are dealing with their psychological problems, and not just because the hero can bruteforce the ennemy.
To be honest, the thing is dumb most of the time. But I will say it's good dumbassery. It's a bit borderline sometimes, but very far away from the usual creepy things you can find in a bunch of mangas, so, it's mostly okay ( I think but my brain has been rotten by too many mangas now, not sure that I have a good eye for borderline things).
A bunch of chapters are ten pages short too (because the author has some health issues sometimes), so, even if it has more than 150 chapters to read, it's less long to read that it seems to be.
So yeah, this thing has totally my seal of approval for now and I hope it will continue this way for a long time (and it seems they still have a bunch of things to tell btw).
I have read two things the last week :
Hard Boiled Cop and Dolphin : it's from the Beelzebub's author and if you have liked Beelzebub, you will not be disappointed by it and his humour. It's short (47 chapters) as the serie has been axed, the last fifteen chapters are very fast paced because the author clearly wants to close all the loose ends. And he does a honest job to it. If you need something fresh, a bit funny and not too long, it's worth the time.
Isekai bishoujo juniku ojisan to : I begin to read it because I was bored, and when I discover it was a isekai (didn't pay attention to the title at this time, the cover is enough to choose for me), I was thinking to drop it after few chapters as usual, and... It didn't happen ???
The cause is that the manga has a lot of humour but it doesn't forget to speak about the psychological issues of the main characters quite regularly and has put an interesting dynamic between them by playing with gender. An interesting point too, it's that I usually drop isekai because the main character is always too much powered, too smart, too everything. As we have two main characters here with different capacities, it gives a feeling that things are more balanced and that not everything is solved by one perfect human. The fact that they are both old (32 years old) give more possibilities about their past which is a plus. The other characters have their own agenda too, and the ennemies are not dumb and try to act a bit smart against these heroes. It's not a lot, but at least, there are more in fights than just "me strong, me special abilities, me beat you" as big boss fights are usually used to reveal the psychology and the complex of the heroes and to make them work on them and move forward mentally. It doesn't happen often though, on the 150 chapters, the manga has two big cases which happened. But it's nice to have big fights been mostly resolved because the heroes are dealing with their psychological problems, and not just because the hero can bruteforce the ennemy.
To be honest, the thing is dumb most of the time. But I will say it's good dumbassery. It's a bit borderline sometimes, but very far away from the usual creepy things you can find in a bunch of mangas, so, it's mostly okay ( I think but my brain has been rotten by too many mangas now, not sure that I have a good eye for borderline things).
A bunch of chapters are ten pages short too (because the author has some health issues sometimes), so, even if it has more than 150 chapters to read, it's less long to read that it seems to be.
So yeah, this thing has totally my seal of approval for now and I hope it will continue this way for a long time (and it seems they still have a bunch of things to tell btw).
Rancorious
Continue? Yes or No.
Jujutsu Kaisen Chaper 236....
Bros... I don't know what to say.
Except
Bros... I don't know what to say.
Except
GOJO GOT YAMAMOTO'D WHAT
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I borrowed the first volume of The Earl and the Fairy from the library. It's a shoujo manga adaptation of a fantasy novel series, set in Victorian times and about a 'fairy doctor' recruited to a find an heir's Fairy Sword.
It caught my attention as the mangaka (Ayuko) was credited with both the art and writing, as usually with adaptations into manga the mangaka's just credited with the art.
That said, it suffers from the main love interest guy being a dick who I never wanted the protagonist to get with, him only being made sympathetic due to a tragic backstory. Unfortunate, but sadly nothing out of the norm for shoujo manga.
No, what really got me however was him also being a white guy who was a slave in the Confederacy. Like, excuse me?! Even if there somehow were white slaves in the Deep South, it then has to trip up further by giving him a dark-skinned servant. While I highly doubt this was the author's intent and was hopefully just a research error, it gives the story this weird Lost Cause vibe.
Shame, 'cause the art's pretty good.
I also borrowed the first volume of Snow White with the Red Hair a little further back. Wasn't blown away, but I still found it fairly alright, and wouldn't mind reading more of it
It caught my attention as the mangaka (Ayuko) was credited with both the art and writing, as usually with adaptations into manga the mangaka's just credited with the art.
That said, it suffers from the main love interest guy being a dick who I never wanted the protagonist to get with, him only being made sympathetic due to a tragic backstory. Unfortunate, but sadly nothing out of the norm for shoujo manga.
No, what really got me however was him also being a white guy who was a slave in the Confederacy. Like, excuse me?! Even if there somehow were white slaves in the Deep South, it then has to trip up further by giving him a dark-skinned servant. While I highly doubt this was the author's intent and was hopefully just a research error, it gives the story this weird Lost Cause vibe.
Shame, 'cause the art's pretty good.
I also borrowed the first volume of Snow White with the Red Hair a little further back. Wasn't blown away, but I still found it fairly alright, and wouldn't mind reading more of it