What manga are you reading now?

Through this week I have read one piece vol 4-12 which means I've read all the volumes I currently own; I'll buy up too the present volume soon (this series is getting really awesome!).
 
Well I finally finished Black & White today. Great book. I felt the ending was a bit rushed but the story was brilliant. The art was also a very nice change!

Now what do I start on...probably MPD Psycho 3~ before I forget the whole of the previous 2 volumes.
 
I'm ******* STILL reading Love Hina.

First I read Vol. 1-5... Then I had to wait for Vol. 6-7... Then I re-read Vol. 1-5 to get back into it... Then I read Vol. 6-7... Then I had to wait for the remaining volumes... Then, after every volume apart from Vol. 10 arrived, I re-read Vol. 6-7... Then I read Vol. 7-9... Then I had to wait AGES to acquire Vol. 10... Now I'm re-reading Vol. 1-9 before reading Vol. 10-14...

So far, I've re-read Vol. 1-6 for the third time. I'll get Vol. 7 out of the way tomorrow.
 
Spiral 1

Randomly different to the anime, but I prefer the manga so far. I think. The translations of the sound effects in English AND Japanese is getting on my nerves a bit though.
 
After much re-reading over many days, I finally got through Vol. 1-9 and moved onto Vol. 10. I've just now finished reading Vol. 11.

I liked Vol. 10 as much most of what came before. It started out good, with Keitaro and Naru dancing around kissing each other after there had finally been some progress made in their relationship. Then, after the usual 'almost but not quite' comedy, the not-so-lucky couple went on a trip with Mutsumi to her parents house. Although this little trip slowed down the relationship progression, I didn't mind a great deal since the trip provided more information about the childhood of the three and the promise they made. The volume then ended (after a nice chapter showing that Naru plans to be a teacher) with Keitaro deciding, right when his relationship with Naru was getting good, that the best thing to do was to bugger off to America for 6 months...which made me want to a punch the fictional idiot for not thinking with the right body part.

Vol. 11 started with one of the best chapters in the manga so far. There was a confession from Naru, some moving words by Keitaro, a kiss and a semi-depressing separation. Although I wasn't happy that Keitaro abandoned Naru for half a year to pursue his dream (which would be relationsjip suicide in real life), it even got me a little watery-eyed. You know the author has done good when he/she gets that sort of emotional reaction; that sort of feeling for his/her characters.

Sadly, the rest of the volume failed to deliver for two reasons. The first reason is that, for the first time in the entire series, Keitaro only appeared in the first chapter and last page of the volume. A harem series just doesn't work without a male, and Love Hina is no exception. The second reason is a random new character who, out of nowhere, was introduced into the story. The character is Keitaro's 'sister', Kanako, who arrives to become the new landlord of Hinata House and remove any threats to her relationship with her 'brother'. With Keitaro out of the picture and the focus being on the comical goings on surrounding the new character, the whole volume (aside from the first chapter) was pure filler that, unlike the Keitaro chapters, developed NOTHING whatsoever.

After reading Vol. 11, I'm a little worried about the remaining 3 volumes. If Kanako is going to feature as much as she did in Vol. 11 then all she's going to do is further slowdown the relationship between Naru and Keitaro, which FINALLY seemed to be progressing with the end in sight. Since she wasn't mentioned at all in Vol. 1-10, I can only see her as a filler character the author came up with to extend the length of the story...and she's a bloody annoying character.

Talking of the remainder of the story, I wasn't impressed with Keitaro's enterance at the end of the volume. It looks like the author has lazily merged together Keitaro's character with Seta, giving Keitaro Seta's clothes and driving skills... I won't be pleased if that's the case. I'm hoping the old Keitaro will return and not a badly edited version.

Overall, as much as I love Love Hina, Vol. 11 disappointed me. The action was over the top, stretching the belivability factor too far, and nearly all the volume was filler. In every other volume there has been plently of space filling chapters, yes, but most (if not all) developed the characters at least a little, pushing the story to its conclusion. All Vol. 11 did was extend the story. Here's hoping the final 3 are better!
 
Finished reading Love Hina just now. I don't really feel like making a long post detailing all my thoughts, but what I will say is that I'm happy the final volume focused on Keitaro and Naru, without any of the insanity that had crept into the story during volumes 11-13. The dialogue was great, it even managed to get my watery-eyed a few times. The ending closed the story well, and it was nice to see Keitaro doing his thing (ripping Naru's dress off) right at the end.

Right now I'm feeling how I always feel when I've finished something really, really, REALLY good: depressed. The bad thing about experiencing something amazing is the knowledge that it'll have to end at some stage... I'm sure I'll feel normal after sleeping tonight. It's been a long time since something has made me feel this way, which says a lot good about the series. :)
 
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