What manga are you reading now?
- Thread starter Red XIII
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D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro vol 6
The war of art.
The war of art.
Toritan: Birds of a Feather volume 2 (Complete) - A very nice ending to the story. It managed not to overstay its welcome and wrap most things up well.
Hitorijime My Hero volume 9
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom volume 6
In/Spectre volume 13
The Great Cleric volume 2 (LN)
The Unwanted Undead Adventurer volume 6
A Man and His Cat volume 3
Sasaki and Miyano volume 1 (JP read) - I'd been on the fence about picking this one up, but volume 1 was free to read on booklive for a bit so I decided to read it in Japanese. Not entirely sure I'll read more, I liked it well enough but it just doesn't compel me to want to see more of the characters. I'll probably dip into the anime when it airs and then make my mind up from there.
Hitorijime My Hero volume 9
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom volume 6
In/Spectre volume 13
The Great Cleric volume 2 (LN)
The Unwanted Undead Adventurer volume 6
A Man and His Cat volume 3
Sasaki and Miyano volume 1 (JP read) - I'd been on the fence about picking this one up, but volume 1 was free to read on booklive for a bit so I decided to read it in Japanese. Not entirely sure I'll read more, I liked it well enough but it just doesn't compel me to want to see more of the characters. I'll probably dip into the anime when it airs and then make my mind up from there.
@Demelza: I have to agree - but I'm sticking in there a little longer to read the second volume out of curiosity (and thinking the buzz about it must be for a reason but not seeing it yet). This first volume seems quite thin and underdeveloped as if the first fragments of material posted online were tidied up and shuffled together to make a tankoubon.
@Sarah Yeah now that you mention it was posted online to start with, the disjointedness of it does make more sense. Hopefully the later volumes flow better because as you say, there does seem to be quite a buzz around it for reasons that clearly aren’t reaching either of us in Volume 1. Interested to hear what you think of volume 2 in the future!
RadFemHedonist
Mad Scientist
I read the English translation of Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami (contains the original Stargazing Dog story and the second of the five total stories published in Japan which is called Sunflowers)... it was magical but has a significant likelihood of making you cry so be warned! Lovely art and story
Not manga but I also finally finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret which was great too
Not manga but I also finally finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret which was great too
So, after a long time putting it off, I finally finished the original Ghost in the Shell manga. It’s such a strange experience to go back to the original source material, having only previously seen the anime. The various adaptations are all far enough removed from the manga that it still feels fresh, but so many individual scenes and ideas have been lifted for the anime, that much of it is instantly familiar and it's quite hard to read it without mentally comparing the two all the time.
Shirow's art gives the manga a very distinctive flavour, however. While his characters can look a bit rough and ready, with many (particularly male) players looking clownishly off-model, even in serious scenes, his background work is exceptional. The world of GitS is extremely well realised, with its towering skyscrapers and dingy alleyways creating a real sense of time and place. It is hard to escape the 1980s trappings of the series at times, particularly with the Soviet Union being prominently mentioned, but I think the world is suitably separate from our own that it just feels quaintly anachronistic more than anything else.
It's notable that Kusanagi was a very different character in the manga though. Compared to her aloof and distant personality in the anime, here she is able to make jokes and pester Aramaki about when she'll get time off, making her seem much more human and likeable. Given that the ending is broadly similar to Oshii's film, yet doesn't hit with the same impact, however, it's not hard to see why they would change that to fit what elements the film is foregrounding.
By contrast, the story is largely episodic here, loosely spanning the time from Kusanagi's induction into Section 9 until the conclusion of the Puppeteer story seen in the film, but it does feel anchored by a sense of progression in the characters, as the familiar faces come into play and Kusanagi slowly begins to question her place in the world. The biggest surprise was probably how morally grey it feels by comparison to the anime. Perhaps it’s more befitting the dystopian ideas of cyberpunk that, while S9 are ostensibly still a force for good, their tactics and behaviour are often not so far removed from the terrorists, enemy agents and corrupt government actors they’re typically fighting. At times, they almost seem more like state sponsored thugs - perhaps a sign of the ‘might makes right’ ethos of the time, but coming to it in 2021, I felt it read like a hint of satire about the proceedings.
Overall, I think the first part of the manga is still very much worth reading for established fans, but I think the main point of interest is going to be in seeing where it all started. The central concepts are all here, but I think it‘s what later adaptations built upon this foundation that gave us the franchise’s real highlights.
Shirow's art gives the manga a very distinctive flavour, however. While his characters can look a bit rough and ready, with many (particularly male) players looking clownishly off-model, even in serious scenes, his background work is exceptional. The world of GitS is extremely well realised, with its towering skyscrapers and dingy alleyways creating a real sense of time and place. It is hard to escape the 1980s trappings of the series at times, particularly with the Soviet Union being prominently mentioned, but I think the world is suitably separate from our own that it just feels quaintly anachronistic more than anything else.
It's notable that Kusanagi was a very different character in the manga though. Compared to her aloof and distant personality in the anime, here she is able to make jokes and pester Aramaki about when she'll get time off, making her seem much more human and likeable. Given that the ending is broadly similar to Oshii's film, yet doesn't hit with the same impact, however, it's not hard to see why they would change that to fit what elements the film is foregrounding.
By contrast, the story is largely episodic here, loosely spanning the time from Kusanagi's induction into Section 9 until the conclusion of the Puppeteer story seen in the film, but it does feel anchored by a sense of progression in the characters, as the familiar faces come into play and Kusanagi slowly begins to question her place in the world. The biggest surprise was probably how morally grey it feels by comparison to the anime. Perhaps it’s more befitting the dystopian ideas of cyberpunk that, while S9 are ostensibly still a force for good, their tactics and behaviour are often not so far removed from the terrorists, enemy agents and corrupt government actors they’re typically fighting. At times, they almost seem more like state sponsored thugs - perhaps a sign of the ‘might makes right’ ethos of the time, but coming to it in 2021, I felt it read like a hint of satire about the proceedings.
Overall, I think the first part of the manga is still very much worth reading for established fans, but I think the main point of interest is going to be in seeing where it all started. The central concepts are all here, but I think it‘s what later adaptations built upon this foundation that gave us the franchise’s real highlights.
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D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Yeah I was shocked at the difference when I first read it. Needs a re-read at some point, and I still need to get 1.5 & 2.
WMD
Guild Member
I'm a big fan of the GitS manga. All 3 volumes are a lot of fun. Man Macine Interface is very different though but still worth it.
Also if you enjoyed the SAC series I defo reccomend the 3 associated light novels. Written by one of the shows writers from epsiode ideas that weren't made. They're really good and fit that version of the show and its characters really well.
Finally the Global Nueral Network manga written by non Japanese writers is a fun interpretation of the franchise. Its 4 stories. 2 are great 1 is good and 1 is so-so but it's a nice to see another set of interpretations.
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ayase
State Alchemist
I mean, Shirow is no stranger to cops-not-far-removed-from-criminals-themselves satire given that Dominion exists, so I’ve always presumed that was intentional.
Ah cool - I'd heard good things about the prose novels for SAC. Casting my mind back to the synopsis of one of them, I wondered if it might even have inspired some of the plotline for the sac_2045 series. I got digital copies of the main three manga volumes in a humble bundle a while back though, so planning to tackle those before branching out further.
I would have assumed that too, but I vaguely remember hearing it suggested that Appleseed came across as a lot more sincere in advocating rule by force, so I didn't like to make any premature judgments. I'd like to go through all of Shirow's manga properly, so I'll investigate that one for myself at some point down the line.
WMD
Guild Member
Tbh those SAC books are my fav "paper" version of GitS. Theres also a novel prequel to Innocence that follows Batou that's a good read (though not necessary) and another book of short stories set in the world.
I believe theres also a recent manga that's happened though I haven't read it yet.
For a franchise that's always felt like it has a limited amount of written work theres actually a fair bit out there.
Dragon Slayer
The Wildcard
Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest ch 78
In Another World With My Smartphone (Light Novel) vol 13
Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san ch 177
Miss Caretaker of Sunohara-sou ch 67 - 68
Special training in the Secret Dungeon ch 48 - 49
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ch 82
The Princess Knight is a Classmate! ch 36 - 39
In Another World With My Smartphone (Light Novel) vol 13
Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san ch 177
Miss Caretaker of Sunohara-sou ch 67 - 68
Special training in the Secret Dungeon ch 48 - 49
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ch 82
The Princess Knight is a Classmate! ch 36 - 39
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Mushishi vol 4
Dai
Death Scythe
Remina
Junji Ito stories often feel like nightmares and operate by dream logic, but by injecting science fiction into the usual horror proceedings, he gives himself permission to blow things up to a planetary scale. The results are completely bonkers, while still being chilling most of the time.
The story's main weakness is how much time is spent on the main character being chased around by a lynch mob. Compared to the more interesting SF and horror elements, that aspect drags on too much. That said, even the chase takes some bizarre and unique twists as the situation escalates.
Overall, it's no Uzumaki, but well worth a look.
7/10
Junji Ito stories often feel like nightmares and operate by dream logic, but by injecting science fiction into the usual horror proceedings, he gives himself permission to blow things up to a planetary scale. The results are completely bonkers, while still being chilling most of the time.
The story's main weakness is how much time is spent on the main character being chased around by a lynch mob. Compared to the more interesting SF and horror elements, that aspect drags on too much. That said, even the chase takes some bizarre and unique twists as the situation escalates.
Overall, it's no Uzumaki, but well worth a look.
7/10
Ghost in the Shell: Man-Machine Interface
Having heard a few times that Man-Machine Interface was a marked departure from the original GitS manga, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one, but it's certainly a bold attempt to move the franchise in a new direction. Picking up several years after the end of the Puppeteer storyline, MMI follows Motoko Aramaki, now a security consultant and an influential non-state actor heading up a medical corporation, as she finds herself and her interests targeted by an unseen rival.
Largely eschewing the police procedural elements of the first volume (Section 9 only appears in a brief cameo), this is an unusual and often thought provoking book, brimming with interesting ideas and high concepts, but its line of thought is often very abstract or otherwise hard to follow, and it will likely disappoint anyone looking for a conventional thriller.
As a narrative, I keep wanting to liken it to a Shadowrun game where the players have progressed to the highest level; it's like Motoko is now running the company she would previously have been trying to take down, and is tangling with others players on that level as an equal, albeit while also trying to deal with individual terrorists, and even low-level thugs. It feels really unusual to get that presented in this context and it's quite refreshing, but it's a lot to take in, and it's often hard to keep track of what is happening at any given time, especially as the story is not always forthcoming about what Motoko's goals or drive actually entail.
Artistically, MMI comes as a bit of a surprise, as it's nearly all in colour. Whether this was wise is up for debate, however. Shirow is well known for his use of computer colouring and CGI assets in his later work, but I think this is the only time he's ever done it so extensively for the purposes of narrative storytelling, and the results are quite mixed. At its best, it's undeniably impressive, with the CGI doing a lot of heavy lifting on complex structures or vehicles, but the effect is a little diminished by how much of the early chapters takes place at sea, with an awful lot of empty blue expanses going on, and I can't help feeling this was at least partly down to technological limitation, rather than artistic decision making. It's quite telling that only when things switch back to black and white, do we really get a flavour of the sprawling urban jungles Shirow used to do so well.
Although its influence on the anime is a lot less apparent than the original manga, it's also still notable how important MMI clearly was in defining the look of the net diving sequences in Stand Alone Complex. Cyberspace is bright and colourful in ways that doubtless wouldn't have been quite the same in monochrome, and I did get kind of a kick out of seeing the Major's online avatar Chroma make her first appearance here.
Arguably, the book is less like a direct follow up to the original story, than Shirow's response to Oshii's very philosophical interpretation of his material, ruminating much more heavily on how society might interact with future technology and how that would affect the way we perceive our own identities, particularly online vs. offline. Whereas the original mostly used the net for brief interactions, here there's a much greater emphasis on Motoko as a hacker. Working as a one woman team with her main 'shell' in a remote location, she sends drone bodies out for direct interactions and relies on her group of AI familiars in cyberspace (often all at the same time), but it's interesting to see that each of her bodies have a different purpose; they're like different facets of her personality given a physical form.
Unfortunately, I do think it lost me a little bit towards the end. It's something I would like to reread at a later date, but on first attempt, I didn't find the eventual reveal hit with any great impact. It's a fitting enough end to Motoko's character arc, but without giving anything away, the standard violent outcome I was perhaps secretly hoping for did not arrive, and as it disappears into complicated self-reflection, I don't think it really provides any great philosophical illumination either. I enjoyed the journey, but it seems to end with a polite bow, rather than a bang.
I would still absolutely recommend the book for anyone interested in the franchise though. I think it's very unlikely that we'll ever see a direct anime adaptation of Man Machine Interface, but I would love to see some mad bastard try it anyway. With a bit of work on extrapolating the interesting bits in the way Oshii did with the original, I think it could definitely be fashioned into something quite fascinating.
Having heard a few times that Man-Machine Interface was a marked departure from the original GitS manga, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one, but it's certainly a bold attempt to move the franchise in a new direction. Picking up several years after the end of the Puppeteer storyline, MMI follows Motoko Aramaki, now a security consultant and an influential non-state actor heading up a medical corporation, as she finds herself and her interests targeted by an unseen rival.
Largely eschewing the police procedural elements of the first volume (Section 9 only appears in a brief cameo), this is an unusual and often thought provoking book, brimming with interesting ideas and high concepts, but its line of thought is often very abstract or otherwise hard to follow, and it will likely disappoint anyone looking for a conventional thriller.
As a narrative, I keep wanting to liken it to a Shadowrun game where the players have progressed to the highest level; it's like Motoko is now running the company she would previously have been trying to take down, and is tangling with others players on that level as an equal, albeit while also trying to deal with individual terrorists, and even low-level thugs. It feels really unusual to get that presented in this context and it's quite refreshing, but it's a lot to take in, and it's often hard to keep track of what is happening at any given time, especially as the story is not always forthcoming about what Motoko's goals or drive actually entail.
Artistically, MMI comes as a bit of a surprise, as it's nearly all in colour. Whether this was wise is up for debate, however. Shirow is well known for his use of computer colouring and CGI assets in his later work, but I think this is the only time he's ever done it so extensively for the purposes of narrative storytelling, and the results are quite mixed. At its best, it's undeniably impressive, with the CGI doing a lot of heavy lifting on complex structures or vehicles, but the effect is a little diminished by how much of the early chapters takes place at sea, with an awful lot of empty blue expanses going on, and I can't help feeling this was at least partly down to technological limitation, rather than artistic decision making. It's quite telling that only when things switch back to black and white, do we really get a flavour of the sprawling urban jungles Shirow used to do so well.
Although its influence on the anime is a lot less apparent than the original manga, it's also still notable how important MMI clearly was in defining the look of the net diving sequences in Stand Alone Complex. Cyberspace is bright and colourful in ways that doubtless wouldn't have been quite the same in monochrome, and I did get kind of a kick out of seeing the Major's online avatar Chroma make her first appearance here.
Arguably, the book is less like a direct follow up to the original story, than Shirow's response to Oshii's very philosophical interpretation of his material, ruminating much more heavily on how society might interact with future technology and how that would affect the way we perceive our own identities, particularly online vs. offline. Whereas the original mostly used the net for brief interactions, here there's a much greater emphasis on Motoko as a hacker. Working as a one woman team with her main 'shell' in a remote location, she sends drone bodies out for direct interactions and relies on her group of AI familiars in cyberspace (often all at the same time), but it's interesting to see that each of her bodies have a different purpose; they're like different facets of her personality given a physical form.
Unfortunately, I do think it lost me a little bit towards the end. It's something I would like to reread at a later date, but on first attempt, I didn't find the eventual reveal hit with any great impact. It's a fitting enough end to Motoko's character arc, but without giving anything away, the standard violent outcome I was perhaps secretly hoping for did not arrive, and as it disappears into complicated self-reflection, I don't think it really provides any great philosophical illumination either. I enjoyed the journey, but it seems to end with a polite bow, rather than a bang.
I would still absolutely recommend the book for anyone interested in the franchise though. I think it's very unlikely that we'll ever see a direct anime adaptation of Man Machine Interface, but I would love to see some mad bastard try it anyway. With a bit of work on extrapolating the interesting bits in the way Oshii did with the original, I think it could definitely be fashioned into something quite fascinating.
BlazinWolf
Student Council President
End of last month and this month I have been reading:
Manga:
Fullmetal Alchemist Fullmetal edition Volume 1 -Rereading with the new editions.
Chrono Crusade Volumes 5-8(Complete)Really enjoyed this and liked it quite a bit more than the Anime adaptation which went down a different path. The feels in both though
.Manga 9/10 Anime 7/10
Yona Of The Dawn Volumes 25-28 via the library digitally, absolutely love the character dynamics.
Very cute. Decided to Pre-order Volume 29 digitally gonna follow the digital releases me thinks.
The Way Of The Househusband Volumes 1-2- Absolutely love the humour in this.
The Rising Of the Shield Hero Manga companion Volumes 5-7
That time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Volumes 1-2- Am reading the LN as well and have decided to read the Manga adaptation alongside it,really like the visuals of the Manga and the extras at the end.
Chi’s Sweet Home Volume 2- Cute fluff.
The Devil Is A Part-Timer!! Volumes 1-3
Light Novels:
The Rising Of The Shield Hero Volume 4
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Volume 1- Nice simple fantasy,enjoyed the humour and the characters.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Volumes 1-2- Enjoying it more than I thought I would.
Slayers Volume 1 The Slayers- Again another simple fantasy, nice and short.
Watched the Anime years ago and was surprised about how close the Anime was.The LN seems a bit more brutal and I thought one of the jokes was in rather bad taste(Changed in the Anime) was a bit uhhhh. Overall enjoyed it and Lina’s POV was hilarious.
Manga:
Fullmetal Alchemist Fullmetal edition Volume 1 -Rereading with the new editions.
Chrono Crusade Volumes 5-8(Complete)Really enjoyed this and liked it quite a bit more than the Anime adaptation which went down a different path. The feels in both though
.Manga 9/10 Anime 7/10Yona Of The Dawn Volumes 25-28 via the library digitally, absolutely love the character dynamics.
Very cute. Decided to Pre-order Volume 29 digitally gonna follow the digital releases me thinks.
The Way Of The Househusband Volumes 1-2- Absolutely love the humour in this.
The Rising Of the Shield Hero Manga companion Volumes 5-7
That time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Volumes 1-2- Am reading the LN as well and have decided to read the Manga adaptation alongside it,really like the visuals of the Manga and the extras at the end.
Chi’s Sweet Home Volume 2- Cute fluff.
The Devil Is A Part-Timer!! Volumes 1-3
Light Novels:
The Rising Of The Shield Hero Volume 4
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Volume 1- Nice simple fantasy,enjoyed the humour and the characters.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Volumes 1-2- Enjoying it more than I thought I would.
Slayers Volume 1 The Slayers- Again another simple fantasy, nice and short.
Watched the Anime years ago and was surprised about how close the Anime was.The LN seems a bit more brutal and I thought one of the jokes was in rather bad taste(Changed in the Anime) was a bit uhhhh. Overall enjoyed it and Lina’s POV was hilarious.
How Do You Do, Koharu? volume 2
BL Metamorphosis volume 4 - only one more volume left!
I Am Sherlock volume 1 (JP)
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected volume 4 (LN)
Piece volume 1 (JP)
Cooking with Wild Game volume 11 (LN)
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles volume 14 (LN)
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord volume 1 (LN)
Altina the Sword Princess: Loose Threads (LN, complete) - A short story collection for the series, some nice tales in this one including how our MC ended up being sent out to the boonies.
Altina the Sword Princess volume 9 (LN)
BL Metamorphosis volume 4 - only one more volume left!
I Am Sherlock volume 1 (JP)
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected volume 4 (LN)
Piece volume 1 (JP)
Cooking with Wild Game volume 11 (LN)
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles volume 14 (LN)
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord volume 1 (LN)
Altina the Sword Princess: Loose Threads (LN, complete) - A short story collection for the series, some nice tales in this one including how our MC ended up being sent out to the boonies.
Altina the Sword Princess volume 9 (LN)
Gemsy-chan
Shrine Maiden
vol 4 of Re:Zero EX (LN)