What manga are you reading now?

Bunny Drop

An intriguing premise goes much further in influencing my manga purchasing decisions than the name of the writer/artist associated with the title. So a title revolving around a middle-aged man (Daikichi) adopting a little girl (Rin), amidst a sea of titles with almost interchangeable sci-fi/romantic/fantasy premises, will definitely stand out.

And all credit must be rendered unto Yumi Unita for parlaying the humdrum of raising a child into an absorbing reading experience. The writing errs towards the slow-paced, especially in the first four volumes, though it is no less enjoyable for this. Characters are portrayed in a sympathetic and understanding, if not likable, light. This light is best demonstrated on Rin’s biological mother, who never incurred my wrath even after her blasé attitude (“I had a baby, is all.”) and her –totally selfish – reasons for abandoning her daughter were laid bare.

And just like the characterisations, the storytelling must also be commended. Yumi Unita avoids caricaturising her characters, although she’s not above the occasional wild take for Daikichi or the less infrequent adorable face for Rin (AWWWWWW!!!). She avoids obvious territory in resolving the story, even if it means that one or two characters will be burnt in the process. She is kind enough to throw one of them a bone in the epilogue, perhaps as a peace offering.

So, Bunny Drop: It’s personal, it’s intimate, and it’s human. It’s a blind purchase that paid off. It’s an adorable 8/10.
 
Having watched the anime version recently, I have to admit I had very conflicted feelings re. Rin's mother. On one hand, you want to hate her because she's so unflinchingly selfish to a fault, and never backs down from that. But equally, if you put yourself in her place (and considering how young she is), it's hard not to sympathise with her either.
 
I haven't watched/read Usagi Drop yet but my position on selfishness is that I'm generally tolerant of it until it starts doing harm to people (not that I'll necessarily like selfish people but you have to work a bit harder to earn my dislike). That said, I do question my position on "harm" since something that seems harmful in the short term can often lead to a better outcome (which may be relevant here, I guess).

I've heard a lot of people say that the manga takes a controversial turn towards the end and may not be worth it for everyone. Even so, it's interesting that some people still seem to like it (or perhaps even prefer it). I think I might have to give this one a go at some point (it's just 10 volumes, right?), although I'm planning to watch the anime soon so I'll wait to see what I think of that first.
 
The anime really is pretty incredible - absolutely one of the best slice of life things I've ever seen, and short to get through too, at only 11 eps.

But yeah, the selfishness thing really surprised me, because usually when you get a character like that they're made to 'learn their lesson' and repent, or get their comeuppance within the space of a few episodes. But here, the person in question just holds their hands up and walks away, and we return to the status quo. It feels incredibly realistic, and leaves a very weird taste in the mouth.
 
Prison School v.9-10 - Having varied between challenging, hilarious, overtly sexy and occasionally simply brutal, this series really kicked things up a gear over the course of these two volumes. Looking back, it's almost "obviously" how Hiramoto would spin what is at its core a fairly time-honored plot direction into something befitting of Prison School, but that doesn't make it any less dramatic, or any less satisfying. Outside of wanting Kiyoshi to eventually be at the center of saving "our" Council girls from the newcomers, leading to him leaving Chiyo for Hana in some long, protracted, painful sequence of events I don't know what to expect and/or want to happen next, which can only be a good thing.
 
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ilmaestro said:
Prison School v.9-10 - Having varied between challenging, hilarious, overtly sexy and occasionally simply brutal, this series really kicked things up a gear over the course of these two volumes.
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Yes. Andrenomics. I died.
 
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Hahaha, Andre has definitely... gone places.

Carrying on with v.11-12, man the feels come on thick and fast. Gakuto is an indomitable slapstick presence, and I really struggle to choose my favorite characters from one chapter to the next.

I would almost say I'm enjoying this too much, but on reflection I actually think it's just that good. I appreciate that it might be a bit... full flavor... for some people, and certainly there is some "ambitious" framing in some scenes, but that really is their loss.
 
Love At Fourteen 1-2. This is so cute. Definitely captures the feeling of being an awkward teenager.
A Silent Voice 1. Almost on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, this was almost uncomfortable to read sometimes. Kids are horrible.
 
Prison School up to v.17 - OK. I guess I saw some of this coming. I did not guess how Mari would go about... resolving things.

I think overall sending Kiyoshi back into prison had a decent level of success as far as the plot is concerned. Breaking up the interactions and groups away from "the boys" and "the girls" to an even greater extent was needed, and opens up a lot more possibilities, even if some of the scenes it lead to were borderline too ridiculous.

I'm not quite sure what is going on with Andre now. He has become basically a living urban legend of sorts, which is hilarious but terrifying. Hopefully Underground Vice President is due a glorious return at some point in time, I think Risa should get her comeuppance eventually, and this would be a logical way to bring Andre back into focus.

Certainly the volume ends in a place I am very keen to read on from, Kiyoshi/Hana is the most interesting relationship I think. Gakuto/Mitsuko is by a long way the most amusing, however.
 
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UQ Holder - Ch. 1 - 87
Enjoyable fun, but why have a genderless character if, instead of using it to say anything meaningful or relevant, you're just going to make a series of gay/dick jokes about the character instead? Seems like such a good opportunity wasted on not very funny and quite frankly incredibly puerile jokes.

Inuyashiki - Vol. 1-3
Interesting to have an older lead, instead of annoying teenager, but the series goes through major tonal shifts such as the random introduction of fairly bloody violence, and then a lot of sexual assault/rape sequences in volume 3. The series didn't need them, they don't anything, and take what could have been a really interesting work and stunt it. I'm disappointed that after the series showing such promise Hiroya Oku resorted to such cack...
 
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Prison School (Near) End of v.17

Oh boy.

vzBXQwM.jpg


The resolution of Mari's 'escape plan' really shocked me at first, as I initially thought the implication was Mari had actually given up her virginity and slept with Kate to gain the upper hand. That struck me as so stone cold that I honestly thought they were pulling a complete 180 and, to continue the wrestling analogy, Mari was going to be the new heel.

Having stopped to think about it, however, I feel it's more likely that Mari only went as far as was needed to obtain the compromising photos. Aside from anything else being out of character, you'd need to account for Hana's lack of reaction, the fact that Mari seemed genuinely sympathetic to Kiyoshi for what he'd been through (which would have surely paled in comparison) and that all this follows so soon after Chiyo's misplaced horror at her sister being 'a slut'. Most of all, I think it's simply not in the series nature to describe actual sex.

Nevertheless, while I thought the departure into Mullholland Drive / Black Swan territory was a clever twist, it did disappoint me, if for no other reason than I didn't think it was funny. That original 'ourobouros' page is probably one of the series's comic highlights, so to reference it without the humour felt like kind of a let down.

ilmaestro said:
I think overall sending Kiyoshi back into prison had a decent level of success as far as the plot is concerned. Breaking up the interactions and groups away from "the boys" and "the girls" to an even greater extent was needed, and opens up a lot more possibilities, even if some of the scenes it lead to were borderline too ridiculous.
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Would definitely agree. It was nice to see the alliances become that much more complex and I'm equally curious to see where they'll go with the story next. Assuming we're not heading towards the endgame at this point, I would put a small amount of money on the ASC ending up in the jail in the not-so-distant future.
 
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Professor Irony said:
Prison School (Near) End of v.17

while I thought the departure into Mullholland Drive / Black Swan territory was a clever twist, it did disappoint me, if for no other reason than I didn't think it was funny. That original 'ourobouros' page is probably one of the series's comic highlights, so to reference it without the humour felt like kind of a let down.
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I think this also left me a little nonplussed at the time, and reading your comment finally made me understand why. As you say, at first it appears like that scene is not just not being played for laughs, but has actually drifted waaaaaay further down river than the series has shown itself to go so far (which is saying something). There's a certain Machiavellian brilliance to be admired in Mari's plan, and the stark presentation also engenders some much needed sympathy towards Kate, but the series is definitely at its best when it is undercutting these things with a touch of the absurdly humorous.

Assuming we're not heading towards the endgame at this point, I would put a small amount of money on the ASC ending up in the jail in the not-so-distant future.
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I would also like to think he has a few more ideas up his sleeve before the series approaches its conclusion. There's a good amount of logic behind your suggestion, but I wonder if something like simply making them subordinates in a new combined Student Council (led by, I dunno, probably Kiyoshi + Mari) is where they'll go. The more I think about that though, the more I like the idea of being able to continue escalating the ridiculousness of the prison break plans instead.
 
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