I agree, Minekura is a great storyteller! I read Wild Adapter first, and then picked up Saiyuki. I was surprised at the difference in the two – most notably, how much Saiyuki makes me laugh. Maybe its totally juvenile, but I really enjoy the crass humor and name-calling. Although once again, Minekura takes us to very dark places and poses more interesting questions about monsters, demons, life, death, loyalty, and friendship. Gah. I like Saiyuki alot! Can you tell? Although I’ve tried watching the anime it just does not do justice to the manga!

I have Bus Gamer, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. And Stigma does not seem to be in print here. Or am I wrong?

Yeah, I’m also a huge fan of Minekura’s.
I started off reading Saiyuki, then got into her other stuff. (I can’t wait for volume 10 either!) She really is a master storyteller.
Have you read Busgamer or Stigma yet?

This comment totally made my day! You have no idea, but your comment could not have come at a better time! Its been so long since I wrote a guest post on Melinda’s blog, I was in danger of growing too timid and self-conscious to do another one. You have given me a much-needed boost!

And thanks too, for sharing the Wild Adapter love! It is always great to find another fan of the series. Kazuya Minekura has been rapidly climbing my list of favorite mangakas. I am now caught up on Saiyuki and Saiyuki Reload (cannot wait for volume 10 to come out!).

“Juxtaposing emotional revelations with mundane or even absurd trivialities to maintain the barriers he has set up around himself.”
You couldn’t have been more correct. Kubota’s characteristics are so contradictory, which makes such a great mess of a role in the dark city he resembles.

Wow. I’ve never in my life analyzed something so much. Guess the Virgo’s coming out in me!

Its nice to hear I’m not the only one who had such a strong reaction to the book!

Its even better to hear that chapters are still coming out. Yay! Are you reading the chapters online? If so, I would love to know where they can be found.

I know Tokyopop is not the only publisher who does not translate some or all of the sound effects. Dark Horse, publisher of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, leaves the katakana sound effects untranslated in the panels, but has them translated and indexed by page and panel number in the back of the book. And there is no way I’m going to flip to the back of the book every panel to find out that, oh, that’s the sound of cicadas chirping, or hmm, so the body went thunk as it hit the floor. This also really bothers me, but its still better than not translating them at all.

-Deanna

And it got even better after volume 6 (God, whenever will volume 7 get in print), it’s quite crazy. I’m highly anticipating the next Dice, can’t believe I have to wait every other month for a couple of pages, but it’s always worth it. We’re finally getting answers about Tokito, and more light into the relationship between the two.

I totally agree on the sfx — what gives, Tokyopop? They sometime translate a minor one, then don’t for the next 20 pages, and then start translating some again. The manga is packed with action scenes, we need to know what’s blowing up and what is being shot. It was also noted that (in the first volume, I think?) Kubota was serving tea, but then Tokyopop went and changed it to “coffee”. I’m not sure, maybe the thought it’s more manly to have coffee?

I have been looking everywhere for scanlations or news about new chapters of Wild Adapter and my google-fu has utterly failed me. Its a great series. I just hope the magazine that carries it does not go under and that it continues to be licensed here in the U.S.!