Himizu

[Aion]

When I browsed through MAL looking for short manga worthy of reading, Himizu was one I added to my list. I haven't got around to reading it yet but I will do so at some point.

It isn't available to buy in English, is it? Stuff like this and Confidential Confessions (which was released in the US) don't tend to be popular enough to get released in English. Not a huge issue when it's short enough to be read onlin, though.

 

[Maltos]

I am very, very interested.

 

[Aion]

I actually picked up Confidential Confessions because only the first volume had been uploaded onto the net. I found it shocking that there was something I couldn't find on the net. I didn't expect it to be sold by any UK stores but I discovered that some (Amazon & TBD) had imported copies from America. I was lucky because most, if not all, volumes are now unavailable.

If you like your stories "twisted" and grounded in realism, you should look out for CC. It isn't rated highly on MAL but it's 100% worth your time. You'll probably like it even more than me, you being female and it having been created by a female, with all of the stories having young female leads.


Anyway, back on topic. Once I've caught up with Claymore and have nothing else I want to read out of my collection - which I really need to go through - I'll go and have a looksee for some scans. It can't hurt to read a chapter or two to see if I like it. Cheers for reminding me about it!

 

[fabio de lunatico]

Sounds interesting. Typically I don't read scans because I spend long enough staring at my PC monitor like a zombie as it is, and it's not the most comfortable or enjoyable way to read manga. But since it's only four volumes I might have a peek.

It's from the same manga-ka who did Ping Pong Club

Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Ping Pong Club is completely sick and twisted, the anime at least, although in a somewhat different way.

 

[Aion]

I've read all the chapters I can find online - 18. There has to be more out there because there are four volumes and chapter 18 seems to be halfway through the second volume. There are also way too many plot points left unresolved for it to end where the available chapters did.

I wasn't that taken with the series, in all honesty. I feel its MAL rating is pretty much on the money. The art is nice enough - I like that there aren't ant unnaturally beautiful characters in the story - but the way mouths turn into...beaks during 'comical' moments took away from my experience; it looked weird and didn't fit in with the realistic tone of the story. I also didn't like the supporting cast besides the girl as there was no need for some, such as the bullied mangaka wannabee (he added nothing and took up too much space), to even be in the series. I'd have liked the series more if the focus had been only on the lead and his 'girlfriend'.

Talking of which, I wasn't able to really understand the lead in the first 18 chapters...or at least, I wasn't able to understand the motivations behind some of his actions. Pushing away a hot girl who happens to be into him when he's bored to death didn't strike me as a very logical action, and the reasoning behind his actions wasn't fear of rejection or the like - he just seemed to want to keep a wall up between himself and her. And as for the murder, there didn't seem to be enough reason for him to do what he did to the guy who kept turning up looking for his mother, besides his own life being **** and him wanting to do something.

I need to read the full series before I'm able to judge it. However, based on what I read, 7-7.5/10 would be fair. Nothing too special or stunning; just darker than your average story. But a story being focused on the darker side of the human mind alone doesn't make it great.