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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

July 14, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 4 Comments

Pick of the Week: The Anti-pick?

potwSEAN: Well… I was going to pick Terra Formars here, but after my Manga the Week of column, there has been a torrent of “Wait, wait, haven’t you heard about it?” that has made me reconsider. I shall see how it plays in my review, but am now reluctant to grant it a pick of the week. As such, I’ll grant my pick to a Seven Seas title, D-Frag!. I like goofy club comedies, and this one promises not to lean too heavily on the harem antics. Goofy girls being weird is pretty much just what I need in these hot months.

MICHELLE: I am totally in the same boat, Sean. I was completely unaware of the title’s unsavory reputation when I wrote of my interest in the title. So, instead I’ll recommend some more seinen from VIZ in the form of Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. This is a series that’s really at its best when consumed in large chunks, so I’m pleased to see it coming out in omnibus format. If you missed it the first time, now’s your chance!

ASH: I’m still interested in reading at least the first volume of Terra Formars to see what everyone is talking about for myself, but I’ll take an easy out and choose the third volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? for my pick this week. I like the series best when it focuses on the characters and their stories, but the food is pretty tasty, too.

ANNA: I was unaware of the issues with Terra Formars too, so I’m going to highlight Alice in the Country of Clover: Knight’s Knowledge, because I’m guessing that this reverse harem title featuring a murderous knight with no sense of direction will be much much much classier.

SEAN: Pick of the Week: We’re Not Running Away, We’re Advancing In Reverse!

MJ: I might sort of be running away. I’ll take a look at Terra Formars, but I admit I’m pretty wary now. Instead, I’ll join Ash in picking the latest volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, which I will undoubtedly love. Fumi Yoshinaga has never truly failed me, and this series has charmed me to bits so far. Fortunately, I have pretty much equal parts love for the characterization and the food, so I’m happy no matter what.

What looks good to you this week?

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Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Callum says

    July 15, 2014 at 5:22 am

    Please do not dismiss Terra Formars as “racist” so easily. The characters are based off homo erectus (look at pictures here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_erectus) but I can see why people may think it is racist upon seeing the characters for the first time.

    Reply
  2. JRB says

    July 15, 2014 at 10:29 am

    Wile I do think that the design of the cockroach people in Tierra Formars is unfortunate from a larger cultural perspective, I agree with Callum that appears to be based on reconstructions of the appearance of Homo Erectus (which are themselves somewhat problematic from a cultural perspective, in that at the current state of knowledge we can do little more than speculate on the skin color and amount and type of hair that they had). In particular, the design for the cockroach people bears a close resemblance to the reconstruction featured on the Wikipedia page.

    In any case, I’m saving all my love for Black Rose Alice, which should be coming out in a couple of weeks and which EVERYONE SHOULD READ because omg it is so good you guyz. :) Although I am also getting What Did You Eat Yesterday?.

    Reply
    • JRB says

      July 15, 2014 at 10:30 am

      Gack. Bungled the coding there. Sorry.

      Reply
    • Anna N says

      July 15, 2014 at 11:01 am

      Black Rose Alice is great!!!!!

      Reply


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