What manga are you reading now?

Weakest tamer vvol 4-8: once again an isekai turns into a quest to recreate Japanese food in an alien land. Apart from that, iis progressing, with more nèw friends, enemies, action and mystery. The books are still quite long, but i yhimk yhats because it's dialogue heavy wiyh short sentences.
 
Wednesday

Dissolving Classroom - Chapter 1 - 7 (Complete)

The second of Junji Ito's works I've read now and I enjoyed this very much as well, not as much as Uzumaki but still a solid story. I wish it was a bit longer to be honest as I could've gone for a few more chapters with the concept he was working with here.
 
My daughter returned as an S-class adventurer vol5: nothing happened. winter came to an end and everyone made their way out of the city to Bel's home. Nicely descriptive but very lacking in action, plot, excitement.

As a reincarnated aristocrat, I'll use my appraisal skill ... v1: interesting isekai, where our protagonist Ars builds a team of advisers to help him run his estate. Good characters hut nothing really special so far. Oddly, there is Jo mention of his mum, apart fron a passing reference 3/4 of the way in. Yet we know she exists as he got two younger siblings about halfway through (who also disappeared after a couple of mentions).

All good holiday reading.
 
As a reincarnated aristocrat etc v2-4: continues to be a fast paced and well written story of young Ars' rise in the world. Good action sequences and character development. Couple more fleeting scenes with his siblings but still no mum, which is getting disturbing, especially considering the big climax at the end of v4. I also loved the romance scene, which was very believable. I'm really looking forward to checking out the anime of this one.

My quiet blacksmith life In another world: started out well, for an iseksi/harem series, but it's starting to drag a bit and in danger of becoming repetitive and somewhat predictable. My biggest gripe is, for a 40 year old reincarnated into a new world as a 30 year old, his constant references to himself as an old geezer who no lady would be romantically interested in. Do all the male protagonists of these harem series' have to be quite this stupid (and ageist?).

Oh well, on to something else, as I'm not buying new volumes until I get home and my tablet is still full.
 
RonJB said:
My biggest gripe is, for a 40 year old reincarnated into a new world as a 30 year old, his constant references to himself as an old geezer who no lady would be romantically interested in.
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I'm here to share your gripe! 'Old geezer' (or old fart) seems to have become a translation cliché - and a US one at that - as it seems ubiquitous in translated manga and LNs and is usually applied to any man 40-ish (as opposed to a much much older gentleman!). Is this because the target readers are expected to be no older than 20 (and shonen protagonists are usually eternally 15) so 30 is regarded as old and 40 beyond the pale? e.g. yesterday's Yen Press new title announcement for 'Magical Midlifer':
'Magical girls—guardians of the people, vanquishers of witches, and defenders of the innocent, all while putting smiles on the faces of children in a flashy spectacle of mass-marketable entertainment. However, things aren’t always so family friendly behind the scenes! When the villains get too gruesome for Saturday morning cartoons, these youthful protectors are, in turn, protected by…grizzled middle-aged men? They may be a bunch of old farts, but these geezers have one job: to use their wealth of experience (and some kick-ass magic) to support the mystical maidens from the shadows!'

Also wondering whether @Demelza and @Rui can shed some light on the original Japanese term that's constantly being translated for US editions as 'old geezer' and perpetuating the stereotype? 🤔
 
For Blacksmith specifically they’re using おっさん in the Japanese at times, which is a more derogatory way of referring to older male character. Which I suppose is why the English has followed suit with something similar.

In many ways it just feels like it’s born from the same societal tropes that plague female-oriented romance series, where once a woman is over the age of 20 (or god forbid approaching 30!), their lives are over and they’re no longer marriage material. Maybe because the writers are on the younger side themselves and just happen to buy into that nonsense or not, I’m not sure. But it is an unfortunate trend all the same!
 
Demelza said:
For Blacksmith specifically they’re using おっさん in the Japanese at times, which is a more derogatory way of referring to older male character. Which I suppose is why the English has followed suit with something similar.

In many ways it just feels like it’s born from the same societal tropes that plague female-oriented romance series, where once a woman is over the age of 20 (or god forbid approaching 30!), their lives are over and they’re no longer marriage material. Maybe because the writers are on the younger side themselves and just happen to buy into that nonsense or not, I’m not sure. But it is an unfortunate trend all the same!
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I feel like it's somewhat justified if the guy is 40 or so and the women are all 20 or thereabouts cuz like... that's a sexist trope all by itself that favours men who feel entitled to date women who are young enough to be their daughters. I'm not saying age-gap relationships are bad in every case, just objecting to the trope. But yes I agree with you in that 40 is hardly over the hill - I'm 36 I see guys my age or a lil older who are heccin gorgeous all the time! :)

Vampire Hunter D Novels Volumes 13-15 Dramatized Adaptation Audiobooks - Still very entertaining, I loved the whole "Dark D/Light D" thing XD
 
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Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody ch 109 - 120

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest ch 182 - 183

Hajimete no Gal ch 195

In Another World With My Smartphone ch 97

Monster Musume ch 90

Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World ch 95
 
Dawn of the witch v1: it was OK,but the plot did get very convoluted and over-the-top. Part of the grimoire of zero series, set later than the anime.

Reincarnated as a sword v1-v2: the anime followed v1 and half of v2 pretty faithfully, but at least with the novel you can have a leisurely perusal of all those stats. Fran is more bloodthirsty in the novel.
 
Reincarnated as a sword v3-v4: a bit of piracy and fishing followed by a food war and demonic mayhem, as Fran's journey encounters conspiracies everywhere. It's almost like the God's are getting her to clear up all the bad people in the world, one city at a time.
 


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