New Manga!
Feb. 11th, 2005 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
logicbuttonNew to me, anyway. :)
Fruits Basket vol. 7:
I haven't read my Fruits Basket manga or watched my DVDs in awhile, and had totally forgotten how adorable it is. And funny, too. My god, have all the volumes been this meta?
Anyway. I won't say too much on this volume, since I commented on most of the stuff that happened when I saw it in the anime. But Uo's story--so cool! I heart her, and would like to register my opinion that she is clearly the female reincarnation of Sanzo from Saiyuki, or at least his long-lost twin. Because, damn. Also, the younger girls were awesome. It seems to be Natsuki Takaya's MO to make major characters win over minor characters (or, if it's Tohru, everybody) almost to the point of worship, but somehow it doesn't get old. Actually, I could say that about most everything that happens in Fruits Basket.
Yami no Matsuei vol. 3:
As with the first two volumes, I asked myself after buying this just why I randomly decided to spend money on a series I know nothing about, especially since the first volume really wasn't all that good. Well, now I know a little more about it than I did at first, obviously, but still. And then I actually sat down and read the third one. So that's it, I'm hooked, and will happily continue buying it without regrets. (And that really means something--the only other two manga/anime series I consider worth spending money on are Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist.)
Now, to answer why I read this manga, let's get something out in the open. Tsuzuki's character is obviously meant to be thoroughly adorable, lovable, sexy, what have you. He's cuddly, he's funny, he has hidden angst, he's ambiguously bisexual. He is the most transparently shoujo character ever. And I totally eat it up. Just thought I should admit it right away, because I have enough shame involving Fruits Basket; I don't need any involving YnM. Tsuzuki is basically everything that made Shigure Sohma the standard to which I hold all fictional men, only amplified.
Anyway. This volume, even more than the first two, is basically CSI: Japan, except with a recurring villain and more dead, sexually ambiguous guys. Speaking of the recurring villain, I'm not as attracted to Muraki as other people seem to be, but I do appreciate him for bringing the sensuality. With Tsuzuki, anyway; with Hisoka it's just creepy, and for good cause. Although it's always fun to see the Cone of Light.Dude, even that pornographic FMA doujinshi had the real deal. Where are my Cones of Light, dammit?! But back to the plot--these are seriously getting better and better. Tighter and less obvious. I also love the kindasorta mystical elements--in volume 2 it was the Devil's Trill, in volume 3 it was tarot cards.
The art is gorgeous. Shamelessly shoujo--there are flowers everywhere--but gorgeous all the same. I seriously don't think most artists could pull off murder scenes like this. One guy was found sitting up in a chair, eyes wide open, heart ripped out and sitting on his lap, and I was fascinated. A woman was found in a box with her heart ripped out, and I was just glad she wasn't a dead bird (I totally thought she was going to be, and was all set to write an LJ post saying WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH EVERYBODY filling their stories with gratuitous dead birds). Another guy was found hanging from a rope around his neck, with his limbs lying on the ground and his mouth crudely stitched shut, and I just looked at it admiringly for about a minute before remembering that there was a story I had to finish reading. Or, you know, maybe I'm just weird like that.
Fruits Basket vol. 7:
I haven't read my Fruits Basket manga or watched my DVDs in awhile, and had totally forgotten how adorable it is. And funny, too. My god, have all the volumes been this meta?
Anyway. I won't say too much on this volume, since I commented on most of the stuff that happened when I saw it in the anime. But Uo's story--so cool! I heart her, and would like to register my opinion that she is clearly the female reincarnation of Sanzo from Saiyuki, or at least his long-lost twin. Because, damn. Also, the younger girls were awesome. It seems to be Natsuki Takaya's MO to make major characters win over minor characters (or, if it's Tohru, everybody) almost to the point of worship, but somehow it doesn't get old. Actually, I could say that about most everything that happens in Fruits Basket.
Yami no Matsuei vol. 3:
As with the first two volumes, I asked myself after buying this just why I randomly decided to spend money on a series I know nothing about, especially since the first volume really wasn't all that good. Well, now I know a little more about it than I did at first, obviously, but still. And then I actually sat down and read the third one. So that's it, I'm hooked, and will happily continue buying it without regrets. (And that really means something--the only other two manga/anime series I consider worth spending money on are Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist.)
Now, to answer why I read this manga, let's get something out in the open. Tsuzuki's character is obviously meant to be thoroughly adorable, lovable, sexy, what have you. He's cuddly, he's funny, he has hidden angst, he's ambiguously bisexual. He is the most transparently shoujo character ever. And I totally eat it up. Just thought I should admit it right away, because I have enough shame involving Fruits Basket; I don't need any involving YnM. Tsuzuki is basically everything that made Shigure Sohma the standard to which I hold all fictional men, only amplified.
Anyway. This volume, even more than the first two, is basically CSI: Japan, except with a recurring villain and more dead, sexually ambiguous guys. Speaking of the recurring villain, I'm not as attracted to Muraki as other people seem to be, but I do appreciate him for bringing the sensuality. With Tsuzuki, anyway; with Hisoka it's just creepy, and for good cause. Although it's always fun to see the Cone of Light.
The art is gorgeous. Shamelessly shoujo--there are flowers everywhere--but gorgeous all the same. I seriously don't think most artists could pull off murder scenes like this. One guy was found sitting up in a chair, eyes wide open, heart ripped out and sitting on his lap, and I was fascinated. A woman was found in a box with her heart ripped out, and I was just glad she wasn't a dead bird (I totally thought she was going to be, and was all set to write an LJ post saying WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH EVERYBODY filling their stories with gratuitous dead birds). Another guy was found hanging from a rope around his neck, with his limbs lying on the ground and his mouth crudely stitched shut, and I just looked at it admiringly for about a minute before remembering that there was a story I had to finish reading. Or, you know, maybe I'm just weird like that.
