Talk about your recent reads here with your fellow community members!
Due to some interest from the community, we will be trying out this weekly recurring thread. Everyone is welcome to discuss and share ideas on what they’ve been reading this past week.
You can write a whole thesis or just a sentence. Ask for recommendations or give them. Whatever you feel like. The goal is to increase activity so the more the merrier. Just remember to be respectful because we’re all here to talk about what we love and have fun while doing so.
Finally picked up the Vinland Saga manga. As someone who is both a history buff and Scandinavian, the attraction to the manga was rather natural. That said, I’ve enjoyed the story and characters just as much. Definitely going to be one of my favs if it holds up through the chapters I’ve yet to read (which is like 140 more at the time of this comment).
I’m reading 風の谷のナウシカ (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) natively, six months after restarting my Japanese studies.
I haven’t read it in English before so I was stunned at how great the artwork is. It’s quite clear Miyazaki’s style is what Ghibli became known for, but here it’s 100% Miyazaki himself.
Tons of absurdly detailed planes, bugs and flora. The Japanese 7 volume set is close to A4 in size, which feels much better than usual manga volumes, if only because there are far more panels per page.
- Kaguya-sama - Love Is War. i enjoyed Oshi No Ko in anime form & this is the author’s earlier work. first three volumes are in color. it’s a romcom that’s more comedy than romance.
- Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie: teenage first-love, twist is that an early mistake means her parents think he’s a girl and not a date, and he just goes full into crossdressing when they’re together rather than come clean. whole thing’s in color and more visually impressive than the others on my list here.
- Gabriel Dropout: comedy/slice of life where both angels and devils visit earth undercover, and sort of all end up in a role reversal where the devils are super naive and eager to please while the angels are manipulative or lazy. i put down Nichijou in favor of this: it fills the same “light comedy” niche while being a little more varied and a lot less disjointed.
as always, recs welcome – especially for more stuff that’s in color.
Have you read Mousou Telepathy by any chance?
i hadn’t heard of it, but i see the connection! just peeked at the first few pages, bookmarked so i can come back to it in the evening :)
You’re in for a great time. It has one of my favourite side character glow-ups in any manga I’ve read, and you’ll know when the time comes. I’m hoping you’ll grow to love that character too!
hey, i finished Mousou Telepathy this morning, just wanted to come back here to thank you for the rec :) nobel sure knows how to draaaaag out a plot, but the character growth was worth it!
Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, it got frustrating at times watching Nakano and Toda fumble and agonize over a couple of silly things, but things worked out, and more importantly - Mana-chan! What a turnaround from what she was at the beginning! Hands down one of my favorite characters.
I picked up a new series yesterday, The Witch and the Knight will Survive (MAL). I finished the first volume today, and I’m pretty interested to see where it goes. The pacing is pretty even, and the worldbuilding seems well thought out with a healthy does of mystery. Plus Cetia’s reactions and expressions are always hilarious to see 😂
