Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: February 27th, 2013, 1:45 pm
by Vael
One Piece:
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: March 21st, 2013, 1:07 pm
by doc.exe
Soul Eater:
Ok, so the tearjerker has not happened yet. But there was a really important revelation here that, in hindsight, was actually foreshadowed many times before (particularly by that often repeated phrase of “madness originating from order”).
The previous chapter almost spelled it given how similar were the faces of Asura and Kid … and that makes me wonder how Lord Death might look without the mask.
And well, Kid is obviously conflicted, Black Star keeps going beyond the impossible no matter how ill-advised that might be (it was awesome as usual, but this time he really pushed it), and Soul is making another deal with the devil (might be necessary given the circumstances, but it is obvious the little imp is up to something).
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: April 10th, 2013, 12:11 pm
by Farmer_10
Newest One Piece:
So that's who the old guy is.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: July 24th, 2013, 12:26 pm
by doc.exe
Well, the finale is approaching for Soul Eater. It’s nice to see how the author managed to get all the loose plot threads to converge at the final battle. And nice to see Maka and Soul kicking demonic ass again.
It has been a fun journey, so here’s hoping for a strong ending.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: July 31st, 2013, 10:00 pm
by Farmer_10
Taking recent events into consideration, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that Toriko is what Dragonball Z would have been like if everybody was a Saiyan. The Gourmet World is gonna be off the chain if this is the standard level you have to be at to survive there.
I like the idea of this. This needs to become a more recurring trope. An entire environment that's so hostile it blows everything before it out of the water and being the best of the best is just an entry requirement not a guarantee of success. And more importantly it also justifies the serial escalation. We need more Gourmet Worlds and New Worlds in fiction is what I'm saying.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: August 1st, 2013, 8:39 pm
by jgkitarel
Latest Ah! My Goddess, whoah. Keiichi's really laying it all on the line there, and Tyr (Belldandy's father) is an asshole.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: August 2nd, 2013, 12:28 am
by Tempest Kitsune
Huh, from what I know of the majority of the fanbase, everyone assumed that Odin was actually the father of all three of them.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: August 2nd, 2013, 6:20 pm
by jgkitarel
That got Jossed a couple of chapters back. He formally introduced himself as Daitenkaicho Tyr. Of course, he didn't appear in his real form and appeared in the form of a character they had met before, but Keiichi was the one who figured out that he wasn't who he appeared as.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: August 20th, 2013, 1:31 pm
by doc.exe
It seems that, like the ending of the anime, the ending of the Soul Eater manga is also causing controversy. I had some mixed feelings about it, but found it satisfying overall. Almost all of the plot threads got resolved, the future is bright for most of the characters and there were some nice callbacks to the beginning of the series.
That being said, the author did overstepped with the sexual jokes (“the madness of boobs”… seriously? ), and I’m not particularly thrilled about...
...Crona’s final fate. A fate worse than death chosen out of his/her own volition to atone for past misdeeds would be fitting, particularly considering s/he was never able to deal with the world. But when you consider the messed up state of his/her mind and that everything s/he did was due to Medusa being possibly the worst abusive mother in the story of fiction, it seems incredibly harsh.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
-Actually knowing what the hell Crona's gender was in the end would've been nice. This debate is gonna plague us forever. And what the hell happened to Ragnarok? I get that anything involving Crona stopped being lighthearted near the end, but not even a mention at all.
-Medusa not getting some grand sendoff was dissapointing. She was a major villain, she should've gotten a more major death than that. I mean seriously that was her actual plan B, an overcomplicated suicide?
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: August 20th, 2013, 11:54 pm
by MEKristian
Why is it that out of the three Nanoha mangas currently on-going, it's the one about a virtual card-battle game with no actual magic being present that's being the least terrible...
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Given the lengths to which the author went in order to obscure Crona’s gender, I honestly stopped expecting for the reveal at any point long ago. Nowadays, it only bothers me because of how difficult is to refer to him/her/hir? with pronouns. But yes, this will be another instigator of flame wars for posterity.
As to Medusa, I have mixed feelings. The scene itself was chilling and she proved to be devious and dangerously genre savvy, turning what she knew otherwise would have been her well-deserved karmic death into the final stroke of her plan. The thing about her is that she always cared more about SCIENCE! and Anarchy, and her primary objective was always about using her research, Crona, the Black Blood and the Kishin to destroy the “reign of Order” of the Shinigami. You could argue she would have ultimately succeeded if Maka hadn’t reach out to Crona one last time. But considering how important she was for the plot, yeah, a grander send-off would have been appropriate.
@ MEK:
FORCE, ViVid and INNOCENT, I presume. I have only read INNOCENT so far. I think it is, if not exactly very good, fun for fans of the series in the same sense that the Gurren Lagan Highschool AU was fun: Catching all the in-jokes and references and getting to see characters of the original series in a new context and with new interactions.
As to the other two, I had heard around the web that Nanoha Force suffered a sharp drop in quality compared to the rest of the franchise, but I was under the impression that ViVid was better received.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: August 23rd, 2013, 3:24 pm
by MEKristian
ViVid's problems stem from the fact that the protagonists are so low on the power scale that they're not allowed any victories. Whenever it seems like there's an actual goal for them to work towards, the series throws in an opponent who proceeds to curb-stomp them.
Realistic given the circumstances, to be sure... but it begs the question of "Why should we care when they're never going to succeed?"
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 11th, 2013, 11:37 pm
by jgkitarel
Eh, still looks like Einhart still has a chance, well a slight one, considering her opponent.
To be honest, I really wasn't surprised. For all her power, Vivio isn't nearly as serious about training as Nanoha was at the same age, something the latter is more than happy with. While she trains in Strike Arts under Nove, and seriously, she also doesn't have the same focused dedication to training that Einhart does.
If you look at it from a Dragonball perspective, it's much like Goku and Krillin getting eliminated in their first tournament without making it to the finals (more like Krillin).
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 12th, 2013, 12:01 am
by MEKristian
The problem isn't "Hey the kids should be more powerful than they are!" because from every logical reasoning, they should loose the tournament.
But none of them have had a single victory. Nove is beaten by Einhart in the first battle, but Nove had already strategically out-maneuvered her, so Einhart lost.
Vivio is beaten down by Einhart in both of their sparring sessions. Then we have the training camp which glorifies just how weak the kids are compared to the Veterans. And now we have them enter a tournament where every other competitor's power level is higher than their own, thus they're utterly doomed to fail.
So I ask, why should I side with these characters when all the story is going to do is show how outclassed they are, especially since the only thing on the line is their pride as fighters?
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 12th, 2013, 1:18 am
by jgkitarel
Not a single victory MEK? You must have a more stringent standard for victory than I do.
Vivio, Corona and Rio were knocked out of the tournament after three wins. Not bad for complete novices in their first tournament. Also, Einhart is facing against the current champion for her fifth match.
Also, this is a Nanoha series and still early enough for them to gain some valuable lessons and get tougher. It would be boring if they were winning from the start.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 12th, 2013, 1:26 am
by MEKristian
Not a single victory MEK? You must have a more stringent standard for victory than I do.
Vivio, Corona and Rio were knocked out of the tournament after three wins. Not bad for complete novices in their first tournament. Also, Einhart is facing against the current champion for her fifth match.
Also, this is a Nanoha series and still early enough for them to gain some valuable lessons and get tougher. It would be boring if they were winning from the start.
I don't count unnamed characters who we're not even really shown the fights for. And Einhart's fourth fight was against her own teammate, so that's kind of a nil on the win/loss scale.
And if chapter 40 is considered "still early", then their issues with decompression are rearing their head again. It would be boring if they just won everything from the start... but if they're never shown to be making noticeable progress, especially in a series like this where there's not really anything riding on success or defeat, isn't that equally as boring?
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 16th, 2013, 8:53 pm
by jgkitarel
Well, not really worth getting into an argument over.
Read INNOCENT as well, what I could find of it, and it is worth a good laugh. Not up to the quality of the main series, or even Force or Vivid, but it is definitely not really something that those unfamiliar with the original setting would entirely get. Levi is a laugh riot and Alicia is as cute as a button, though.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 16th, 2013, 9:09 pm
by MEKristian
And after all that, I'm say this about UQ Holder:
Ken Akamatsu, you magnificent...
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 17th, 2013, 1:44 am
by Farmer_10
Well played you deviant SOB. You brought it back.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: September 29th, 2013, 8:50 am
by jgkitarel
Well I'll be...
And Akamatsu, yeah, you are a magnificent SOB on this.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: October 6th, 2013, 2:55 pm
by Farmer_10
Attack on Titan Ch 50:
Holy Shit! That is one mother of a Gamechanger!
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: October 16th, 2013, 11:55 am
by Farmer_10
Newest One Piece:
A BREAK?! After that chapter end?! ODAAAA!
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: November 6th, 2013, 5:44 pm
by jgkitarel
AMG ch. 301. Hmm, nothing really exciting, though Tyr's plans just got derailed even more with the intervention of another goddess. Since Bell and K1 did something for her a few chapters ago and she owes them a big favor. Her interference and "doubts" that it is Tyr holding the challenge without solid proof allows her to rules lawyer her way around following his orders.
He was told to show his left hand, or, more accurately, the stump where it would be, as Tyr lost his hand according to Norse Mythology. Since he is hacking a sentient program to interface with Keiichi and Belldandy for the purpose of his test, he's not there physically to show his proof.
ODAAAA!
And people wonder why we think that manga-ka are trolls.
Re: Non-Naruto Manga Discussion (Topic may include spoilers)
Unread postPosted: December 1st, 2013, 1:47 am
by jgkitarel
Catching up on the various Nanoha Manga (well, Vivid and INNOCENT).
On Vivid: Einhardt's genetic memory is being seriously deconstructed in her match, showing just why having it is not a good thing at times. It doesn't help that her opponent had to deal with genetic memory issues and knows just what Einhard is going through.
INNOCENT: *snort* BWAHAHAHA!!!! Alicia is so adorable and Hayate is up to her usual manga and sound stage antics, minus the perversity (for now). Got a good introduction to Stern's character who is much like her Portable character, but less emotionless outside of a match (hilariously so, in a moe fashion).
), and I’m not particularly thrilled about...