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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

March 10, 2014 by Ash Brown, Anna N, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ Leave a Comment

Pick of the Week: Shounen & Seinen

potw-3-10-14ASH: There’s a fair amount of manga being released this week, and quite a few titles that I’m particularly interested in. In the end though, I think my pick of the week will have to go to the third volume in Kohta Hirano’s Drifters. The last volume was released in 2012, so it’s been quite a while since I’ve read any of the series. However, I distinctly remember being highly entertained by Drifters. It doesn’t always make a lot of sense and it can be fairly over-the-top, but the battles are engaging and I do get a kick out of series as a whole. It does help to have at least some passing familiarity with the historical figures that Hirano borrows for his story, though.

ANNA: I’m going to have to go with the reissue of Ranma 1/2 as I have fond memories of the manga and anime way back in the 90s.

SEAN: Given I’ve already reviewed all three of Kodansha’s debuts this week, I feel safe in agreeing with Anna. Ranma 1/2 is ingrained deep into my bones, for good and for bad, and reading it again will no doubt fill me with memories, horror at how flat the characterization is, amusement at the amazing stupidity of every flat character, and pain as I remember all the shipping wars and Akane bashing. It’s 1996 all over again, folks!

MICHELLE: While I have a modicum of interest in My Little Monster and Arata: The Legend, add me to the Ranma 1/2 train. For some reason, I’ve never read this manga, despite ample opportunities to do so, so it’s kinda nice getting to do so from the start with unflipped art, which I was a bit too early to benefit from where Inu-Yasha was concerned. My expectations for it are pretty low; I’m just going in to enjoy a classic.

MJ: Though I have some interest in everything that’s been mentioned here so far, there’s nothing that compels me quite as strongly as the latest 3-in-1 edition of Fullmetal Alchemist. Volumes 19-21, which are contained in this omnibus, are particularly dramatic and revealing (and in the context of a series like Fullmetal Alchemist, that says a lot), and show off Arakawa’s skills as a storyteller extremely well. Fullmetal Alchemist is one of those series where I found myself continuously re-evaluating what I thought the story was about as Arakawa slowly revealed its core, and the experience was thrilling. If you haven’t yet treated yourself to this experience, I urge you to start now!

What looks good to you this week?

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