First discussion thread of the new year! I hope everybody has had a good holiday season. As this is a general discussion thread, feel free to post any manga-related topics of discussion, updates, or questions that you may have. Some example comments could include:
- I was promised more Ruridragon in 2024, where is it?!
- Where can I find all the fanbox-bait 1-4 page series? That is pretty much all I am interested in reading.
- Is there an abridged version of One Piece? I am interested in it, but there is too much content.
Like normal, please be careful with spoilers. I wrote a guide about spoilers in case you need a refresher on how to handle them (also linked in the sidebar).
Over the past week, my wife has been quite ill. So, since we live in a pretty small, old, creaky house, I have tried to do as little as I can to avoid making noise and preventing her from trying to get rest. That has meant that I have had lots of time to read manga since it is something I can do virtually silently. Thanks to the people in this community, I have binged and caught up with a couple of series and thought I would collect my thoughts on some of them here.
- The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses - This one is really cute and wholesome. The biggest suspension of disbelief I have is that it is possible to so consistently forget your glasses (as a fellow spectacle wearer). Kanji are hard to read even with good eyesight for me, I can’t imagine trying without my glasses.
- Kyuuseishu ≪MESHIA≫~Isekai wo Sukutta Moto Yuusha ga Mamono no Afureru Genjitsu Sekai wo Musou Suru~ - This one has a bit of a complicated setup, but once you get past that it is enjoyable as a reverse isekai, but in a future Japan that now has magic, demons, etc. The MC tries to hide his powers from others, but consistently fails at doing so and draws too much attention to himself.
- Kono Healer, Mendokusai - This series reads like a manzai comedy routine transcribed and illustrated into a manga. Top tier banter between the two leads. As a sarcastic person, Karla’s messing with Alvin is great. Don’t go into this one expecting anything other than setup -> joke.
- Yowaki MAX Reijou nanoni, Ratsuwan Konyakusha-sama no Kake ni Notte Shimatta - The MC is a paleontology grad student that gets iskeaied as a villainess in an otome game. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this series is that her passion for paleontology is plot-relevant and she maintains/nurtures that passion even after being isekai’ed.
- Osananajimi to wa Romcom ni Naranai - Not fully caught up on this one yet, but it has been fun. At first, this one felt like a bit of a slog as the main cast experienced more and more contrived ways to prevent any romantic relationship from happening. However, as I have read more, I have come to realize that those elaborate contrivances/misunderstandings are part of the charm of this series. In some ways, this is like an anti-romcom series in that the main cast will comedically find some way to prevent any romance from progressing.
- Samurai in Another World - Just caught up with this series and it is entertaining. I was initially thrown for a loop as the first chapter or two were quite dark. However, as the story has gone it has become lighter in tone and sillier. There is a lot of fluidity in the character designs depending on what is happening (think of how Saitama changes in appearance in One Punch Man). Interested to see where this one goes.
- My Dear Aster - I wrote about this one last week. Great story, but extra meaningful for me right now.
Kind of like that 6 out of 7 are my suggestions. 😅
Been reading mostly Korean manhwa lately. Other than a couple of pure fantasy ones, the majority are josei/shōjo with villainess themes. Now I just need to wait for truck-nim to be reincarnated as a princess/villainess myself.
With my luck, I’d end up dead within two days because I am too dense.Other than those, I recently found The Housekeeper in the Dungeon (very ads heavy, use Tachiyomi if possible) and I have been loving it.