Talk about your recent reads here with your fellow community members!
Everyone is welcome to discuss and share ideas on what they’ve been reading this past week. This is where you can get suggestions for new manga while also exchanging thoughts with those reading the same series.
You can write a whole thesis or just a sentence. Ask for recommendations or give them. Comment whatever you feel. The goal is to get users talking 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.
Started in on Delicious in Dungeon today, after seeing someone recommend it here a couple weeks back. I was bit put off by the simplistic art style at first, but it’s grown on me, and the colorful characters are an absolute riot! I’ve already gone out for the second volume, and I’m sure I’ll be putting more in my B&N cart soon.
I also started reading Shy last week. I’ve only read the first volume so far, but I’m enjoying it. It’s about a super shy, unconfident girl who moonlights as an equally shy, unconfident super hero, among a few other heroes scattered across the world. Based on the cover art and some of the story elements (plus I think the author stated they were really into Power Rangers as a kid), it’s got a kinda super sentai-ish vibe, which I’m not normally into, but I’m enjoying the ride so far.
Other honorable mentions include Goblin Slayer vol 12 (finally!), and Chained Soldier (haven’t gotten to it yet but I’ve heard good things).
just finished reading yofukashi no uta, now waiting for new chapters to release. started binging chainsaw man in the meantime and it’s going great!
edit: binged chainsaw man
How was yofukashi? I remember wanting to start it but never got into it.
i really liked it! it manages to capture what it’s like to be awake at when the whole world is asleep and the freedom that comes with it. it has some interesting points about love as well, highly recommend giving it a shot.
Caught up with one I just stumbled across - Himegasaki Sakurako wa Kyoumo Fubin Kawaii! (Sakurako Himegasaki is Still Pitiably Cute Today).
It’s basically a deconstruction of every romcom/harem trope in existence, all mashed together into one great big ball of stupidly funny craziness, and lots of fun.
And of course a bunch of updates to ongoing things, most notably the final chapter of Tugeneko’s glorious Ueno-san wa Bukiyou.
I’ve started reading Sensei wa Koi wo Oshierarenai again. It’s been a pleasant read so far and I don’t really know what else to say.
Have a great day everyone!
Downloaded Tachiyomi since Mahoro-chan isn’t managing to pick up all the SJ titles and I’m not going back to reddit. Discovered Tokyo Underworld and Kuchi ga Saketemo.
Good on downloading tachiyomi, that app has completely changed how much manga Im able to read on my phone due to how easy it is to download it all and just how easy it is to change sources when one goes bad and doesnt update anymore.
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Read the first volume of Secrets of the silent witch, which is based on a LN (4th volume is out today, check it out). Mainly read it because I like novels, but it is well-drawn too. The artist quite likes moka pots for some reason. There are more moka pots per volume than in most cooking manga.
Anyway, the plot. First of all, the official description:
THE SHIEST WITCH YOU’LL EVER MEET! Monica Everett, the Silent Witch, is the only mage in the world who can use unchanted magecraft, a true hero who singlehandedly defeated a legendary black dragon. However, this young genius is actually…super-duper shy! That’s right: She learned to cast spells silently just to avoid speaking in public, and despite her power, she has zero self-confidence. Now Monica has been tasked with secretly guarding the second prince. Can she keep it together as she faces both the evil forces targeting the prince and the terrors of social interaction?
It’s a fantasy shoujo and not an isekai, but it takes a lot of tropes from otome isekai (primarily villainesses, which is a popular fad in-universe). Overall it’s a heartwarming story with some comedy, and MC working on her social anxiety and befriending people in general.
Read Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?. Its about a jk that gets isekai’d as a spider. Normally I hate isekai stuff but this one is really good
For me it was the opposite lol, Im a fan of manga isekai, even progression rpg based isekai like this one are usually fun, but this one in particular felt tedious, like I should be reading the light novel instead since it was just boxes and boxes of text explaining the skills and level ups and such.
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Started a few new series:
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Of Course, I’ll Claim Palimony! - this is a Villainess manga but not isekai or reincarnation. Which makes it surprisingly refreshing
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Shindou Sefiria no Gekokujou Program - another isekai OP baby manga. Nothing too special about it. Caught up and dropped, since the story gotten kinda weird/lame
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Suki na Ko ga Megane wo Wasureta - SoL light romcom. Very similar to Komi-san, Expressionless Kashiwada, etc. Only at chapter 20 but liking it so far
Just read the synopsis since I havent read it but the Palimony one looks like an interesting twist on the villainess manga, hope its really good.
The first arc finished and I think that’s pretty solid. But for me, the real test is what comes after. Not sure how I feel about the second arc yet lol
Ok I just read the first arc
spoiler
I was really enjoying it all, but the finale was so dumb it killed a lot of my enjoyment, I mean, this kind of finale could have worked in theory, but too many elements worked against it to kill my suspension of disbelief. First, the king being there was an absolute overkill, there is no way a marquis son, regardless of how stupid he is, would simply interrupt the king. Then there is how little respect he showed towards the king, there were zero gestures towards them, and his breaking of the engagement was too sloppy, like him asking the king to condemn the protagonist for adultery… that she supposedly did with the prince. He said that with a smile on his face but he was essentially accusing the prince of adultery. I feel the finale would have worked better if it was handled between students with the prince as a witness or something, if it was going to involve the king no matter how stupid Romeo is he should have some kind of education, at least an ounce, there is no way he can just treat a king that way?
That’s about the arc finale specifically, but I did like the rest a lot, the protagonist attitude towards money, her plans, her being so proficient with handling business, etc.
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Nothing right now, but trying to get into mangas. Without knowing much about what’s good (or knowing anything about latest anime), have ordered couple of volumes of Jujutsu Kaisen, and see how it goes.
Also looking at Attack on Titan, but couldn’t find the first volume, may get that too.
Edit: BTW why not pin this thread. Should give it more visibility.
What other media do you consume? Books, movies? Any genres you enjoy? Any favourite piece of literature? I think I speak on behalf of most manga enthusiasts when I say we’d be more than happy to help you add more manga to that to-read list!
Thanks for your help. I am not watching much TV and movies these days, but I do read books. In general, I am huge fantasy and sci-fi fan, more fantasy then sci-fi, but love both. Though I do read anything that is well written, irrespective of the genre.
In anime, liked Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note (though liked the first half more than the second half). Liked the start of Bleach, which I watched long time ago. Thinking about getting it’s manga, not sure yet.
In comics, I am subscribed to Marvel Unlimited, and read most of what they produce.
I guess that’s most of it.
The notification didn’t appear on my Lemmy app so I didn’t see your reply! I would have gotten back to you a lot earlier had I seen this! Whoops.
No better time than now to dive into Bleach, with the new anime season currently airing. There’s a lot to critique about the story and how frustrating the pacing and power scaling can get towards the end, but Kubo is unparalleled when it comes to style, whether it be in storytelling or in character designs. I think it’s worth reading just to see illustrations of some the characters and their powers.
I’m not sure what your appetite for explicit material (violence, sexual content etc.) is like, but I’ll throw out a couple of titles I think might interest you:
I can’t resist recommending Spice and Wolf to anyone who mentions fantasy. Originally a light novel adapted into manga and anime form, this story set in medieval times follows the journey of a travelling merchant, Lawrence, and his encounter with a wolf deity, Holo, that takes the form of a girl. I admit that this series is first and foremost a romance, but I think the writer also does a great job immersing the reader into a world set in the middle ages but where folklore were real. It’s also a story that revolves around macroeconomics, and manages to make the subject digestable and even appealing to understand. One of my favourite series.
Another one in the same vein is The Ancient Magus’ Bride, this time with a little less focus on the romance and a little more on fantasy. Chise, a teenage girl with a strong affinity to magic that brings her nothing but exclusion and sadness, finds herself up for bid at an auction. There, she is bought at a high price by a sorcerer named Elias and is told she is to become his apprentice. And also his bride. It’s a more Harry Potter-esque story especially towards the more recent arcs, but it goes HARD on the Celtic and Nordic folklore. I know barely anything about European cultures and beliefs, but I loved this series and every new chapter and creature it introduced for a long, long time. Not to mention the art is gorgeous.
I’ll end with Made in Abyss. I don’t know if you’ve heard about this series, but it’s a controversial one for sure. The city of Orth surrounds a vast pit which has been aptly named the Abyss. The citizens of this city make a living as Cave Raiders - people that explore the Abyss and dig up valuable treasures and relics left over from ancient times. Riko, a young orphan girl who dreams of becoming a great Cave Raider, meets Reg, a mysterious boy who has no memories of his past but has some strange abilities. Together, they descend into the Abyss and adventure together, and find out just how cruel and unforgiving the Abyss truly is. There’s no denying some of the author’s decision to make the characters children is very questionable, and that it’d be strange to read this without feeling uncomfortable at times. That said, Made in Abyss is a modern day classic. The art is breathtaking. It is a masterclass in storytelling, and there’s no other series quite like it being written right now. And it has been adapted into anime (which is debatably even better than the source material) so you’ve got options!
I apologize, I didn’t mean to write an essay, but these are manga that I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing so I couldn’t help but write in a little more detail. I hope these descriptions made you a little curious!
Marriage toxin
I just finished Nisekoi and need emotional support for the ending. I have no problem with the way everything concluded, but I cannot accept that last panel to do justice to what we had been anticipating for in the series this whole time. I feel this wasn’t enough.
Please, I need someone to talk this over with. I cannot sleep without thinking of how it could have been better had the author added a few chapters of the aftermath. No, the epilogue and the bonus chapters couldn’t do it for me. This series has left a deep hole in my heart which I intend to fill but don’t know how.
Who was your best girl and why was it Tsugumi?
Sanda by Paru Itagaki (author of Beastars)
I loove the designs and characters. It is heartwarmingly bizzare and dystopian. Very recommend.
I have been reading through Blue Lock and it has been great. I think I left off around chapter 80. I don’t actually know much about high level football, but find it hilarious when sports manga in general add “special moves.” Prince of Tennis was one of my favorite for this reason.
So for the past week (and be advised since sometimes I rant a little bit, I try not to spoil anything important just in case someone is looking into this as recommendations, there are short introductions of what each manga is in case you are interested):
I kind of tried reading but dropped a few chapters in; She Gets Girls Everyday. (it just wasnt my kind of yuri, nor particularly funny) and also The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You.
As for the completed series:
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Read Isekai Walking up to chapter 32. This is another story of someone being transported into another world but has a useless skill and gets kicked out of the Hero party but then it turns out the skill was really OP, here the skill being that he gains xp for every single step he takes. It was mid, there were some interesting ideas i did like, like the parallel thinking ability being used to sleep like a dolphin or ingredients like a butterfly that was actually a honey plant, but it felt generic and it didn’t manage to shake out that feeling.
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Read Villager A Wants to Save the Villainess No Matter What!, read up to chapter 17. Its a villainess story where someone gets transported into another world, the twist here is that the protagonist is reincarnated as a commoner but he has to save the heroine else the political turmoil will end his and his mothers life. There were a few things to highlight, for example how much time the protagonist spends preparing before the events of the game he was transported into come. I also liked the surrounding cast, especially the adventurers that are all a likeable bunch. But this manga constantly made me irritated, it is a typical villainess story where the protagonist gets sent into a game where he needs to save the “villainess” so that the country doesnt enter a civil war, but here lies the whole problem I have with this series. The game it is supposedly based on is barely a game at all and would be incredibly shitty and boring if it existed, its supposed to be a romance but the main path gets innocent people killed for the whims of the protagonist, you get the villainess killed by “bandits” when she didnt really harass you and also she has 0 support by anyone before she dies, starts a civil war due to you as a commoner dating a prince, which gets another country to take advantage of that and invade… and that is supposed to be the desirable ending??? I like the villainess genre specifically because it is usually intelligent in its usage of tropes and a lot of the time manages to turn situations that seemed justified into seriously messed up just by shining a different perspective into the story, but that is not the case here since the story that is behind all this, im referring to the game of course, is bad for badness sake, just so that the protagonist can complain. Its like a cheap imitation of what makes villainess great since instead of taking actual common situations and flipping them here it just creates artificial obvious problems that a 4 year old could understand are wrong so that the protagonist can complain about them and be justified in attacking the princes later… Its a shame because I was hyped for this one.
Im currrently reading:
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My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World!, currently up to 19 of 59 current chapters. Its about this corporate drone who dies and gets transported to another world, he has the class of a tamer which is considered pretty useless but makes friend of some slimes and upon reaching a cabin in the woods encounters a lot of books that give him a lot of power, making him into a sage. He is unaware of how powerful he has become and the story kind of starts from then (this is like half of the first chapter) For now its another ultra OP isekai chapter, although his dispassionate attitude towards this new world has annoyed me a lot. But the Slime personality are cute and likeable and there are a lot of things going on in the background. Here and there it has showed a few interesting ideas so I will probably try to finish it by tomorrow.
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I’m Really Not the Devil’s Lackey, currently up to 41 of 93 released chapters. Its a misunderstandings based comedy where a guy makes a wish to a demon to own all the books in the world, he gets transported to another world with London-esque post industrial revolution aesthetics where there are mutants and some crazy magical entities. He is oblivious to all of this and sees the visitors as normal people, to whom he always tries to help by recommending books to them. The setting was incredible although the story itself has made me a bit disappointed in terms of the comedy aspect of it all, and I also feel it really doesn explain anything well about the world.
I also dropped 100 Girlfriends and Isekai Walking not long after starting.
I think 100 Girlfriends had a lot of potential but the author didn’t capitalize on it at all. And it got a bit too complicated for me to casually read.
Agree with Isekai Walking. I didn’t get as far as you, but it quickly turned into another generic OP hero story. Based on the manga title, I thought it would be more like a light adventurer, similar to Sousou no Frieren. Was pretty disappointed
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