[manga recs! yeay!]

[reenka]

Man... I've come to a weird point in my lj existence. There's enough people reading that I feel awkward blurting just -anything- (...though I do anyway), mostly because I don't want to be too boring and/or spammy (has anyone noticed how most of lj-- and consequently the internet-- is really spam?) That's always been pretty much my only concern with lj; this is why this newest privacy wank is making me laugh. Maybe it's 'cause I don't know what's the big deal with 'trust'-- as in, either I trust someone implicitly or it doesn't even occur to me to say or withhold saying things to them, whether or not it's on lj. Perhaps I'm odd.

Anyway, the only reason I've ever worried about people I knew reading things was because I wasn't ready to tell them something yet, but that's where the implicit trust that I'm understood comes in-- as for strangers, I usually don't care what they think about me if they don't insist on telling me. Plus I think it cracks me up to imagine people I know and believe to like me thinking it's worth it to orchestrate some sort of elaborate maneuver to er, damage my, er-- reputation?? Say what? (...That word really makes me laugh.) No, seriously, how hilarious is that? (Yeah, alright, I know "they" are after me, but then, "they" are not on my flist... I think? Then again, I'm not a paranoid person as I think all this shows, and in the end, I don't -want- to understand paranoid people, 'cause it might be catchy, y'know. Or not.)

Basically, I think the concepts of internet privacy (...an oxymoron if I've ever heard one) and private trust aren't really comparable; that is to say, how is trust of people one knows dependent on the possession of privacy? I don't get that. Trust is a basis for behavior, not a contingency... am I thinking too much again?

Even if it's embarrassing, in the end I'm only trying to spare them from being too bored if I (rarely) flock and lj-cut instead. Er... yeah, that's just me, though.

Point is, I really kind of want to talk about semi-obscure manga, not silly wank, but I doubt anyone cares. I'm at a dillemma; should I friends-lock it? Should I start a new journal? Should I be afraid people will post my sekrit manga ramblings for all the world to see anyway?? (...bad joke, bad joke.)

Anyway, what the hell. So far, my yaoi manga favorites, in somewhat chronological order:


- I'm Not Your Stepping Stone - basically, seme insists on being the tutor to uke when uke proclaims he likes seme's sister. Seme says sister is off-limits to a Junior-High-only guy like him, and then (..."inexplicably") offers to help in exchange for uke's sexual favors. Mind you, seme is 18 year-old nerd and uke is 24-year-old construction worker. Not surprisingly, they don't really get along....

I love it, though, because they're both stubborn, uncommunicative immature bastards, the art is gorgeous, there's lots of sex, and the dark-haired one is a favorite type: aggressive, sulky, demanding, rude and sekritly a complete romantic. And the blond one is really high strung, slutty-in-spite-of-himself and pissy <3 Did I mention there's lots of sex and great humor? Because there is. Yeay.

- Under Grand Hotel - yeah, I've rambled about this before. It's set in a prison, and seme (Sword! hard to forget a name like that) is a drug lord and uke (Sen! loverrrrr-boi) is a Japanese exchange student imprisoned 'cause he shot the guy trying to rape him after he found out his wife had an affair with Sen. Um. It's... complicated. There's lots of angsty sex and violence and Sen offering himself to Sword to be protected from all the perverts, which surprisingly enough actually halfway works. The main premise is trying to live as a couple and be happy even though they're pretty much in hell and Sword is a violent possessive maniac at times. It's so touching! In a psychotically endearing sort of way. Mostly because the mangaka, Mika Sadahiro, has this way of inserting wacky humorous expressions at just the right time and making Sword look like a complete queen, which he so totally is anyway. And those dreads of his... it's worth reading just for Sword's gorgeous character design, nevermind the violence and melodrama. Mmm.

- Koi ga Bokura wo Yurusu Hani - okay, this one is really fucked up, which is why I love it. Basically, these two have been best friends (in love and denial, except not really, they just didn't mention it) since college, but both have girlfriends. Scary girlfriends that they claim (believe?) they love. Fujio, the seme, is basically a complete basketcase-- serious, honorable, stoic, the works: hyper-immature emotionally as only a twenty-something Japanese male can be. Kenji is the usual manipulative temperamental needy artist type (yeay!) with the scarier of the two girlfriends. They have a bantery, comfortable sort of relationship and sleep in the same bed until Kenji's girlfriend lies to him about being pregnant, which prompts Fujio to tell him he should marry her, and angsty weeping ensues. At this point, the girlfriends tell them they should sleep together... and they do.

This manga is utterly insane-- gorgeously inked in a really unique style, funny, urbane, sophisticated, intense and rather unpredictable. It makes me remember the hokey intensity of older yaoi like Kizuna and Bronze and laugh, because at some point the typical Japanese over-the-top drama (which I adore) -has- to get so intense it's ridiculous-- and a great work would use that absurdity in its favor, which Koiga definitely does. This is like, the ultimate culmination of all those forerunners, in a way. It's utterly and completely classic.

- Boku no Koe - probably the mangaka's, Youka Nitta's, best work, and it's also her most recent. Basically... the characters are actually not over-the-top and often act as you'd expect normal people who all know each other to act-- relaxed, casual, friendly as a bunch of guys on a vaguely equal footing would be. Two are charmingly laid-back and sunny and two are more reserved and somewhat intense-- but though that sounds cliched, the characterizations have the light touch necessary to make it seem real. Not as in, 'omg you're my SOULM8TE WHY DO YOU NOT LOOK AT ME, WOE!' but as in, 'hey man, wanna get a drink?' ...It takes reading a lot of yaoi before that becomes a wonderful reprieve.

The really light touch with the drama coupled with a sort of cozy, 'normal' humor makes for a relaxing read. It's nice to read about male friendships which feel real, not over-glorified or understated, and still with the obvious sexual tension included. The story is about four guys, all of whom are competing voice actors for anime and cd dramas. The first pair is some years older and have worked together for a long while and have become successful, while the second pair is just starting out. Only one couple has actually gotten together by the end of the first volume, and I'm actually enjoying the cute bantery friendship of the other two, which so rare as to be almost non-existent in out-and-out yaoi, though so much of it is -about- friends.

The main character is your typical nice guy starting out in the business-- but he has a freshness to him, and he's far from sickeningly nice. In fact, my favorite thing about this manga is how sympathetically & believably it portrays normal, nice guys-- a real rarity. My favorite is the older 'nice guy' type, who keeps putting off his best friend's semi-casual advances with a laugh and they remain friends even though he knows the other wants and says he loves him-- which makes for a unique dynamic too. There's just so much 'OMG HE DOESN'T WANT ME' stuff written that it's sickening after a while. There there's fascinating balance of semi-repressed tension and genuine ease between them that I find really refreshing. In fact, there's a surprising ease between all the characters inter-relationships-- a distinct lack of over-thinking and self-consciousness which I've really missed.

- The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale - I adore this and I've only started reading it. It's also the first fantasy-themed yaoi (or heck, shoujo) manga that has even remotely appealed to me so far-- there seems to be some sort of apparent desperate need for cliched plots and silly gimmicky premises like 'oooh vampires!' or 'oooh, werewolves!!' or 'ooh, PIRATES! WINGS! CUTE GUYS IN FUNKY COSTUMES!!1' which turns me way, way off. This is nothing like that, though.

Blood is definitely not your typical uber-lustful, cold-and-imposing seme, for a pale-haired demon, and Ishuca, the human, is definitely... unique. While he's really not aggressive or 'manly', neither is he whimpering or submissive in any way-- he's just kind and rather emotionally disconnected (frozen) in some ways, it seems. Of course, Blood, the demon, was literally frozen in the cave-- until Ishuca came.

He's not afraid of death or demons, which is why he comes to see him in the cave where he's been trapped. He was dying, so it was understandable, but Ishuca also has a certain type of innocence which is really refreshing-- he's not childish so much as the sort of person who sees through bullshit and appearances, like the children in fairy-tales. In fact, one of the things I love about this is that they've both got a different sort of innocence and wisdom, and they immediately realize they both have something to teach each other about the world. Blood has never met a human who wasn't afraid of him, it appears, and Ishuca has never figured out his reason for living. Oh, I love it so much.

They start traveling together and... and... there's an actual plot(!) and they have adventures(!) and so far, it goes neither too fast nor too slowly in the love-love dept-- the main attraction is just seeing the two of them interact and get to know each other better, 'cause they're so different and really the same, but basically they're both real. There's much zany humor everywhere and the art is really pretty, though it makes me wish the scans I had were better. I hadn't realized I was reading so much crap until I read this and thought, oh my god, this is actually a real story! There's all the subtlety and humor and strong characters I'm always looking for, and all of it with a light touch and a sense for adventure and pacing-- just a joy to read. Man, I should read basic, non-YA fantasy stuff again.

- Seinen 14 Sai - had to include this for the first truly fumbly realistic boysex I've found after reading yaoi manga after manga after manga... after manga. I think that's really part of the appeal of fanfic, for me, 'cause hopefully in the source, non-gay, material the boys act like boys and not like deeply emotionally scarred princesses. One hopes.

It's so sad, because my favorite type of story is still the High School story-- and while I enjoy most of them, man... it's cliche after cliche after cliche, eating a cliche riding a cliche fucking a cliche, everywhere. While there are -some- comics where both the men act 'normal', that only applies to twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings-- the High School dramas have virtually no sophisticated storytelling to speak of. At first, I was avoiding all over-18 characters in mangas ('cause of habit, I guess), but there's just no getting away with that if one wants well-written shounen ai. Even the very best mangas set in High School don't make me want to squee at any length, though they're pretty enjoyable to read. My favorite mangakas for teenagers are probably Tohjoh Asami & Kawai Touko, but it's nothing to -really- sink my teeth into. Woe. Lots of pretty sexin' though, you have to give credit where it's due.
~~

EDIT - Aaaaahhh, a Remus/Sirius fic has killed me dead.

*is dead*

Comments

[shatterglass.livejournal.com]

Stupid question. WHERE DO YOU BUY THESE? Are they in english, or do you have to find translations?

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

You have to find translations... and you can buy them at like, Japanese mail-order websites and such like jpqueen.com... mostly, uh... you have to find them fansubbed >.< There are various methods, like um, irc and streamload.com request boards and sometimes the websites have http downloads if you google it... and then there's bittorrent... :>

sticks nose in to offer some quick info

[cellia.livejournal.com]

I don't think any of these have been licensed for US release...but there's a staggering amount of stuff on the web fan-scanlated or translated (of course, it's all of the same iffy legality as fansubs and one should buy the orig at one of the various Japanese bookstores to support the artist etc etc).

Here's a handy link for searching for scanlations in general http://www.manganews.net/

(btw if you want the Ice Cold Demon's Tale, you'll need the Japanese title, which is Koori no mamono no monogatari)

^_^

[notrafficlights.livejournal.com]

has anyone noticed how most of lj-- and consequently the internet-- is really spam?

Spam and pr0n.

but that's where the implicit trust that I'm understood comes in

You are far more optimistic about the human race than I am.

Have you read Three Wolve's Mountain by Nanao Bohra? Eh, probably, but yeah, even though it's the "oohhh! Werewolves" thing, Tarou isn't exactly your average werewolf. And it's absolutely hilarious, which is a bonus. And the art is pretty! Which is even better.

But bleh, I can't stand Youka Nitta's stuff.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

...I forgot about the porn. How could I...??! I don't know :D :D Well, but even most porn is really spam 'cause it's so bad. *wins, clearly* Eh, I'm not optimistic about the human race (...though I am, I guess) so much as about people I know and like and have on my friends-list :D

Hee, Three Wolves Mountain is on my to-read list, and it does look good. I keep starting it and getting distracted ^^;; It's mostly the angel-mangas which make me snap-- all those demons! angels! fighting! oh, melodrama! stories which kind of make me want to bite things -.- -.- I keep thinking I should check out Nanao Bohra in general and not getting to it. It's... odd. But then, I've not gotten to a -lot- of good stuff yet :> Which is actually a good thing.

Hehehe this manga is much better than most of Youka Nitta's stuff, though admittedly I don't seriously dislike Haru wo Daite Ita either, and her arty-style has gotten more full-bodied & detailed with it, too. On the other hand, anything with smooth clean lines is a win in my book, even if the particular style isn't so good. It appears I've somehow become obsessed with inking techniques, ahahaha.

[balfrog.livejournal.com]

you do have the download links for TWM, right?

because toshirodragon been posting it for about a week now.
yay- fluffy tailed wolf love with a bite.

Nitta Youka, I was amazed by, when I first got into yaoi, but it's getting a bit boring.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't need the download links, I have all of it, unread ^^ I'm... er... going to get to it, along with many many other things. It's started to be that I don't really read long things in snippets 'cause I find it frustrating, so if I like the first bit I just find the whole manga.

It seems more than a few people have an issue with Nitta Youka and her ilk, like Yamane Ayano, say~:) I never really worshipped her or anything, but before Boku no Koe, admittedly her stuff was uniform, but then so is much of the mangakas' out there. Though Boku no Koe isn't -wildly- different, it's still different enough (for me) to be refreshingly pleasant, I thought.

[firstblush.livejournal.com]

Are you familiar at all with yaoi_daily? Just out of curiosity because it's a good place to read some yaoi scanlations or just to see raw manga.

Now while I've only read a small bit of Haru wo Idaite, I quite liked the beginning - though I'm more interested in couples getting together than prolongued relationship stories. Also, artist rec for someone with strong inking capabilities, Yoshinaga Fumi, just because she's got a very good handle of black and white, methinks. Though she falls into the trap of having less diversity in faces and such.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read yaoi_daily though usually I use it to go find the whole series myself and don't wait for the run to complete :> I wouldn't rec Haru wo Daiteita, and find it sort of amusing but frustrating that almost everyone zeroed in on Youka Nitta-- I guess she's just the most well-known? Boku no Koe was just a nice relaxing read, and I happen to enjoy her drawing style and besides, it's improved. Plus I think Boku no Koe has significant differences from her other works, and if it helps it's about a couple getting together (which I like better also).

Yoshinaga Fumi, huh. I'll check that out, thanks~:)

[firstblush.livejournal.com]

Yes, actually I use yaoi_daily for the same. I've got the patience of... something impatient.

Well, so you don't feel like I'm leaving out the other people you talked about, as for the first yaoi comic, I have read some of it and glanced at the art (on yaoi_daily) but it wasn't particularly interesting to me - or at least unmemorable to me. I think when it comes to jail settings, I like OZ, and that's about it. But I'll have to go look at it again to see what I think about the art. I don't remember it being particularly something I noticed though.


Oh and durr, wtf, I didn't notice you mention the stepping stone comic. I have to say the art I found to be standard (nothing special). But I had most issue with the story being very disconnected and chaotic. I actually had trouble getting into it due to the erraticness of the story. I felt, "what? Did I miss something?" very often, or issue as to who was talking. I feel now that I'm being overcritical about this story. I did read the whole thing, and it was quite fun at some points, but I also felt that the story needed some major editing. She left plot points hanging like no tomorrow.

As for the last one you mentioned, I want to check it out, if only to look at the artist's style, but haven't done so - therefore no commentary on that. And yes, Youko Nitta is by far the more well known, and I recall her particularly because a rommate of mine was such a fan. I don't think I'd rec Haru wo Daiteita just because of what I've read later on in the series. It feels very standard issue. But I liked the beginning, even if it was cliched a bit. Then again, it was the first thing I read by Youko Nitta.

As for Yoshinaga Fumi, I have no idea if you'll like her, but she has an art style that's grown on me (though I'm recognizing more and more of her faults as well because of it). But she's got an old school style that stands out to me more than some of these other artists. I think looking at different artists what I want to see is an individual style. I feel Youko Nitta at least has that down. I find... Yamane Ayano has a pretty style but I'm left uninterested in it. It feels reminiscient of You Higuri but with less personality. Kind of like a far more standard issue repetitive type style to me.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Haha, I think I've always got my bastard-and-melodrama-detecting angle for finding relationship stories I enjoy-- it's kind of sad how predictable I am. I really liked Stepping Stone not 'cause it was such a well-made story but because I really like grumpy bastards and the emotional range of her characters in general (lots of cute anger, possessiveness, aggression and so on, but on the uke & seme side). I also really like her art-style 'cause there's all that shading and she uses highlights a lot--and I think her use of perspective and innovativeness in sex is cool. Plus I like the longish faces.

As for Mika Sadahiro's art... I dunno if it's stunning or anything, I just really like her characters' expressions; the smirks are just so sexy to me, heheh. Plus I haven't watched Oz. But I really like Sword and Sen and their fucked up relationship, 'cause clearly I've got a thing for violent possessiveness and that manga has it in spades. But if I was just talking about what art-style I think is most memorable/pretty, I'd say Taishi Zaou, Motoni Modoru, Masara Minase, Nekota Yonezou and Asami Tohjoh. I also really like Higuri Yuu's colored work but not so much her actual manga. Stuff like Yamane Ayano's pretty standard, yeah-- but I really like the way Youka Nitta's developed in her last series, with the shading-- every part of the characters' bodies is so distinct and she has this way of drawing lips and kisses....

Ahhh, now that I've looked it up, I know who you're talking about with Yoshinaga Fumi; ahahah I think she's got like, one of the few art-styles I just can't stand, in Gerard and Jacques. I think it's the old-style thing but also I much prefer heavier, more precise inking... there's just something about the eyes and the roundedness... I don't know. While I like individual style, sometimes that individual style will rub me the wrong way, which doesn't happen often. It's really hard to say why I dig someone like Motoni Modoru so much, too. Probably it's something to do with the emotional range of the characters expressions and use of dramatic inking:>

[firstblush.livejournal.com]

I get your point about relationships, but it was hard for me to even get the gist of the relationship because I found the story so disconnected. But I agree - I'm heavily in love with strong relationships between two people and particular dynamics, and if you've got 90% of the cast written in a way to make me love them, I'm yours forever for any story.

Speaking of artistic styles, just trying to get a feel for you. Like I said wasn't sure if you'd like Yoshinaga, but when you mentioned inking styles, Ithought of her because I do find her inking style very solid. Actually I didn't like Yoshinaga Fumi at first, but she's grown on me. But yeah it's very retro in a way - style wise.

But since you like Motoni Modoru, have you checked out Masara Minase? (I do like Motoni Modoru myself. I love her stark black and whites, very pretty). For some reason Masara Minase always reminds me of the other MM. And just out of curiosity to see if we're completely out of touch with our artistic preferences (and I agree some people's styles are distinct but just don't end up being your thing). Any opinion on on Yukine Honami? She's more of a thin weight ink whispy type drawer. I don't care for her younger looking boys, but I think she does draw cutely. There's a cute story she's drawn called Kiss Scandel at mochi mochi, I think. Or what about Sakuragi Yaya. She's got slightly weird faces, but I find her style unique and bizarrely appealing in its own odd stretchiness.

Of the artists you brought up, interesting. I never really got into "stepping stone" art per se. I found it sometimes good, but I found the quality of the art like the story, somewhat sporadic, and I think I recall thinking her style "messy." Now looking at Sadahiro's work, I'm finding the opposite of it being almost too bare bones for me. Hahaha, I think we won't ever agree on what we like as far as art goes.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Yes! (As I said, heh)Masara Minase is love! Not as much love as Taishi Zaou, say, which is like, me breaking out in zillions of hearts and flowers, but solid 'oooh, shiny!!' sort of love. In regular comics I go for coloring and shading-heavy people (like David Mack, Michael Zulli, Chris Bachalo), but it's a precise sort of shading, I guess? But I like minimalism too, when it's stark and dramatic. Usually I either go for detail or heavy emotion (drama) in terms of art-style; in this sense, I guess I find Mika Sadahiro's art dramatic. I'm really not that picky unless I feel a style is too sloppy or inexpressive. Like, I really like Kano Shiuko's style 'cause it's so humorous and dramatic at various points. And also I've never had trouble following it, but maybe that's idiosyncratic :> I don't like sketchiness unless it's complex-- as in, high detail & resolution, with lots of little nooks and crannies, like in Alichino (though I've only seen bits of the art).

Heh, I've not memorized the names of most of the mangakas I've read, though after a quick look-up, I'd have to download Rin to see if I like Yukine Honami. The other one you mentioned did Koi Cha no Osahou, right-- which I remember glancing at and thinking 'pretty' but the tea-house thing made me put it on the back burner :> I'll check out Kiss Scandal (again avoided 'cause of plot-- eurgh, politicians) and see if I like it :>

[firstblush.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, no I'm the same way with mangaka names. I've memorized the people I wanted to buy comics from and that's about it. For most of the ones you mentioned, I've been like... Okay let's go to JPqueen and reference that quickly!

And yes <3 Masara Minase. I haven't seen quite enough of her work to be completely sure of it, but what I have seen I have really liked. I've only read one translated story of hers and I can't remember much about it, so I'm not sure how I feel about her writing. And <333 Chris bachalo, I knew I recognized that name. I used to love his art when he was doing Generation X for Marvel. He has got such a lovely cutesy-faced style. I always found it fascinating in regards to american comic art the difference in style though when you paired up an artist with certain inkers. Like the difference between Jim Lee inking his own stuff, verses someone else. It was always very interesting to see.

Now as for Taishi Zaou, I don't think I've seen too much of her work. I guess I've often seen covers she's done and been like "oh that's nice looking" but I think what turned me off from exploring her work is that I really hate her cover on "Electric Hands" so I've kind of been deterred from downloading anything she's done.

Okay now for the artists I mentioned, Yukine Honami doesn't write her own stuff so obviously the story quality you get varies, but in my opinion, the story of Rin has been very cute thus far. It is not spunky boy, but it is kind of highschool setting, so I'm not sure how you would like it. But I think Kiss Scandal is worth checking out. I avoided it for the same reason (politics, yuck!) but a friend said it was cute so I finally checked it out. It is about politicians, but not really about politics? I guess that is misleading because it does deal with politics, but it's mainly about the relationship between these two boys and it's quite short, so I think it's worth a read.

Now Sakuragi Yaya is the one who did Koi Cha. I have not read that however so I'm judging her entirely on her short stories work in Mizu no Kioku. The thing is I really enjoyed her shorts (no clue if you will, but I like her character dynamics). There is a story about swimmers, and the two boys make me go guhhhhhh in cuteness, and a story about a highschool boy after his father's death. They are very light hearted and "fun" type stories, but I think both available at hochuuami.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Oooh! Mizu no Kiuku! I'd read that and thought the stories were really cute and unique, though the art-style didn't stand out; I liked it but didn't omglove it or anything. Omg the swimmer story was my favorite!! heeeeeee!! SO CUTE! But not like, unbearably bouncy angel cute, which I can't stand.

Hahah I think I only notice the inking when it's really over-the-top and dominant or really elegant and spare, so that when I think of that artist I think 'inking'. This happens with Poison Elves and Courtney Crumrin, off the top of my head, and both are omg-mottled with ink, practically.

Masara Minase's best work so far is probably Empty Heart, which was scanslated by Nakama (...bastards). Her shorts sort of wet one's taste but I wasn't sure I liked her till I read Empty Heart... though her later work has improved in terms of precision of expression and such.

Ahhh! Taishi Zaou! *points to icon!* hee. Her expressions are to die for. And Koi wa Ina Mono Myouna Mono (at Peccatore Sanctuary) is really really cute. And her dialogue and stuff is insane, and there's much humor and adorableness and crack. She also collaborates with Eiki Eiki on doujinshis and Color, which is older. She has little evil teddy bears in her mangas as her representatives. So much love<3 I'd definitely recommend checking her out more before you make an opinion :D

[junkokurohoshi.livejournal.com]

I was woundering if you have chapter 3-what ever you have of boku no koe and if you do could you please send it to me if its not to much of a hassle. My computer crashed and i lost everything *crys* .I havent read all of boku no koe and i would like to. And the only place i know where to get it at is on nakama but they only have irc and i dont know how to use it nor does it want to work for me. so if you dont mind i would love it if you could send it to me.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Okay, I uploaded the files here (http://www.streamload.com/elfee) for a few days.
Enjoy ^^