Jesus Christ, man! That seems like one of the problems with manga -- how it inevitably ends up taking up all your space. I only really started buying (emphasis: buying) manga a few months ago, and I've already got like 50 books or something. Are you going to read all of that again? Ever consider just selling it?
I used to have a ton of manga. I still have a bunch, but last summer I sold my Naruto and Bleach, since I noticed it was going for decent amounts of money on ebay. All in all I'd recommend just keeping the manga. Down the line it'll be an awesome retro manga library and also down the line, odds are you'll want to read something again. When I say "down the line", I'd go with like 10-20+ years. Plus, you never really make much money selling manga. I got lucky to get 4-5$ per volume. Otherwise, especially on less popular series, I'd expect to get $1-2 per volume.
The only manga published here that I've wanted to read were Akira and Earthsea. I would read manga on my computer, but I tend to forget about it and never finish.
I have upwards of 200 manga. Most of them I got as dollar comics at the Book Off, and if I get sick of them that's where they shall return. I just can't justify spending the money on the 10 dollar American versions.
The only manga I'm reading right now are Blade of the Immortal and Buddha. I've been too busy trying to get up to date with all of Vertigo's good stuff to buy anything else. Hey Scott, does your reading Buddha mean an inevitable review?
I'm currently following Berserk, Claymore, and Gantz. All three are great series and you guys should check them out. As a general rule though, I usually dont read mangas with accurate anime adaptiations, I'd rather watch something than read it.
I'm reading Dororo, slowly. I'm really not liking it. I realize that it's old, and thus at the time it didn't really "copy" anything...but it's just really, really unoriginal. Find demon, kill demon, repeat. I'm definitely not getting the next 2 volumes.
After that, I have a shitload of unread manga on my shelf: Hunter x hunter 1 and 2, Fairy Tail 1 and 2, the rest of the Azumanga Omnibus, Monster 4, FMA 8, Phoenix 1, Mushishi 4, probably some other shit, too. Why do I have so much? Sales, and the fact that I have way more money than free time. Thank you school and work. Though the last few weeks this summer I've just been not around, not just because of work, though.
Berserk is awesome. However, I am trying to wait for it to end as I tend to read through manga series at breakneck pace and then whine and moan when I have to wait for more.
I have a metric shit-ton of manga. Literally. A picture will be posted when I get home. I re-sold about 250 manga this past year, all of which I did not feel merited an additional re-read. I have invested in IKEA Billy shelves as they tend to be a bit more versatile and high class in appearance than the Ivar series. Imagine that. And then imagine adding in a boyfriend who has a fair chunk of Shonen to add in all on his own. The house cries out for more space!
Monster is amazing (based on the first three volumes I read).
I have read the fifteen of them now and every time I finish a volume I look at some of the other stuff I buy and wonder why I bother with it at all because all my comics should be this good. I have found it to be absolutely incredible and unlike Death Note, which I didn't like much after Vol 7 or Vol 8, this one has stayed strong throughout. In fact the further it gets the more incredibly cool characters that appear.
Right now I am going through peoples lists with the help of wikipedia to see what they are about. This could be a costly thread.
I also recently started reading Monster and I find it absolutely amazing. However, I put myself on a bit of a budget and restrain myself to a volume per month (if a new one is available) per series I'm currently reading. Those are:
Monster Welcome to the NHK (waiting for the 8th and final volume) Yotsuba&! Black Lagoon One Piece Eyeshield 21 Hikaru no Go Hunter x Hunter Hayate the Combat Butler Shaman King Naruto Bleach Shonan Junai Gumi Hellsing My heavenly Hockey Club Midori no Hibi (also waiting for the final volume) GetBackers
Of those, Monster, Hayate and Shonan Junai Gumi only are the only ones I'm currently not up to date with. I'll also add Claymore which starts german publication next month and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei which will begin being published in english (and I doubt will ever be published in german) in February 2009 to this list.
Haven't really been reading much manga lately, but what I have been picking up at the store:
Lega no 13 (a "real" alchemist story, set in Venice during the Renaissance) Evangelion Manga (Kaoru makes out with Shinji? What-what?) Anime wa Oshigoto (A seinen manga story about fraternal twins who both work for the same animation studio) Emma (<3 real maids~!) Yotsuba& (of course.) Host-bu (because of the twins!) Genshiken (I was totally in the real life Genshiken) Lucky Star (yonkoma FTW!!) Maison Ikkoku (coming out in mini format, so I am rereading it in Japanese) Ppoi (Why are you so SLOW, Yamazaki-sensei?!)
Emily, are you talking about a japanese bookstore? Some of those I don't recognize at all and some I do recognize haven't been published in english, Lucky Star for example.
Yup. I go by both Book Off (second-hand Japanese Book store) and Kinokuniya (Kind of like the Barnes and Nobles of Japan). It's waaaaay cheaper to buy stuff in Japanese, so I don't usually buy translated manga. That's not to say I won't read it, though. I leech off my friends all the time.
I'm only actively collecting two manga at the moment: Claymore and Ouran. I also pick up more volumes of Monster whenever I'm in the mood for something more highbrow and serious. I'll sometimes pick up the odd volume or two of other things (most recently: Fruits Basket Ultimate Edition #1, Lady Snowblood #2), but there's nothing else out right now that I'm really chomping at the bit for, manga-wise. ...That and I don't have the money to collect a whole bunch of series at once. XD;;
Also, I think I'm one of the only females out there who doesn't like Ouran for the pretty boys, but instead for the comedy. It makes it very odd talking to other female fans of the series, because I can't really talk to people whose only conversations about their chosen fandom consist of (in essence) "SQUEEEEEEE TAMAKI-SAMAAAAAA TWINCEST HURR HURR KAWAII DAY-SU NAY?!!1!" I felt exactly the same way back when I was really into Fruits Basket.
I'll give it to you at Otakon. It's in Japanese, though.
Also, I think I'm one of the only females out there who doesn't like Ouran for the pretty boys, but instead for the comedy.
That's the reason I like it too. If it played it straight, it would be boring as hell like all the other gyaku-harem shows. I especially like the anime. The director's use of timing and staging made the jokes in manga 3 times funnier. On a serious note, I really like the twins as characters, and I think that their relationship with Haruhi and each other is easily the most complex in the show. Also...I like storylines with identical twins and clones and stuff, because they could have totally different personalities, but who they are and their "true self" is not immediately discernible through superficial observation.
That's the reason I like it too. If it played it straight, it would be boring as hell like all the other gyaku-harem shows. I especially like the anime. The director's use of timing and staging made the jokes in manga 3 times funnier. On a serious note, I really like the twins as characters, and I think that their relationship with Haruhi and each other is easily the most complex in the show. Also...I like storylines with identical twins and clones and stuff, because they could have totally different personalities, but who they are and their "true self" is not immediately discernible through superficial observation.
Hurrah, I figured you were probably in my camp too. I thought the timing and the voice acting added a lot to the animated version as well, although I'll admit still liking the manga a bit more (probably because I was already into the manga before the anime started).
I'll also admit to somewhat being a supporter of Haruhi/Hikaru as a pairing, hard as I try to resist my fangirl roots. XD;; The series really does have its share of genuinely sweet, sincere moments, especially when it comes to the twins and Haruhi, as you said.
Current List: VB Rose/Penguin Revolution SKIP BEAT - To be an anime in the fall! Basara (I think there is still one more to be released) - Shoujo Epic Red River (Anatolia Story) - Shoujo Epic Bride of the Water God (Technically manwha) Tail of the Moon - Ninjas! Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden - The prequel to Fushigi Yuugi, with far less "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" action. Kaze Hikaru - Believable Shoujo Gender-bender in the Kenshin era
Finished: Yurara - Spiritual Mayhem Night of the Beast - Same author as Yurara; high tragedy Hana Kimi - Gender-bending High School story Ranma/Inuyasha/Maison Ikkoku/Rumic Theater/One or Double - With the exception of IY, I have them all! Muhahahah!
I have never noticed anyone mention this before yet now that I am looking for information on it it seems to be very highly regarded. I am ordering the first volume right now, a completely impulse purchase because of this thread. Thanks
Comments
All in all I'd recommend just keeping the manga. Down the line it'll be an awesome retro manga library and also down the line, odds are you'll want to read something again. When I say "down the line", I'd go with like 10-20+ years.
Plus, you never really make much money selling manga. I got lucky to get 4-5$ per volume. Otherwise, especially on less popular series, I'd expect to get $1-2 per volume.
After that, I have a shitload of unread manga on my shelf: Hunter x hunter 1 and 2, Fairy Tail 1 and 2, the rest of the Azumanga Omnibus, Monster 4, FMA 8, Phoenix 1, Mushishi 4, probably some other shit, too.
Why do I have so much? Sales, and the fact that I have way more money than free time. Thank you school and work. Though the last few weeks this summer I've just been not around, not just because of work, though.
I have a metric shit-ton of manga. Literally. A picture will be posted when I get home. I re-sold about 250 manga this past year, all of which I did not feel merited an additional re-read. I have invested in IKEA Billy shelves as they tend to be a bit more versatile and high class in appearance than the Ivar series. Imagine that. And then imagine adding in a boyfriend who has a fair chunk of Shonen to add in all on his own. The house cries out for more space!
Right now I am going through peoples lists with the help of wikipedia to see what they are about. This could be a costly thread.
Monster
Welcome to the NHK (waiting for the 8th and final volume)
Yotsuba&!
Black Lagoon
One Piece
Eyeshield 21
Hikaru no Go
Hunter x Hunter
Hayate the Combat Butler
Shaman King
Naruto
Bleach
Shonan Junai Gumi
Hellsing
My heavenly Hockey Club
Midori no Hibi (also waiting for the final volume)
GetBackers
Of those, Monster, Hayate and Shonan Junai Gumi only are the only ones I'm currently not up to date with. I'll also add Claymore which starts german publication next month and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei which will begin being published in english (and I doubt will ever be published in german) in February 2009 to this list.
Oh, but I've read about 7-8 Volumes of Gravitation because of an ex-girlfriend.
Lega no 13 (a "real" alchemist story, set in Venice during the Renaissance)
Evangelion Manga (Kaoru makes out with Shinji? What-what?)
Anime wa Oshigoto (A seinen manga story about fraternal twins who both work for the same animation studio)
Emma (<3 real maids~!)
Yotsuba& (of course.)
Host-bu (because of the twins!)
Genshiken (I was totally in the real life Genshiken)
Lucky Star (yonkoma FTW!!)
Maison Ikkoku (coming out in mini format, so I am rereading it in Japanese)
Ppoi (Why are you so SLOW, Yamazaki-sensei?!)
Also, I think I'm one of the only females out there who doesn't like Ouran for the pretty boys, but instead for the comedy. It makes it very odd talking to other female fans of the series, because I can't really talk to people whose only conversations about their chosen fandom consist of (in essence) "SQUEEEEEEE TAMAKI-SAMAAAAAA TWINCEST HURR HURR KAWAII DAY-SU NAY?!!1!" I felt exactly the same way back when I was really into Fruits Basket.
I'll also admit to somewhat being a supporter of Haruhi/Hikaru as a pairing, hard as I try to resist my fangirl roots. XD;; The series really does have its share of genuinely sweet, sincere moments, especially when it comes to the twins and Haruhi, as you said.
*jumps for joy*
I'll get my friend Cyrus to read it to me all storytime like!
Current list:
Boys over Flowers (Hana yori dango)
The Wall Flower
Fruits Basket
Recently bought:
Nana
Ouran High
Plan on buying:
Yotsuba (I've tried searching all the local bookstores, but they are all out. I'm just going to buy it on Amazon)
VB Rose/Penguin Revolution
SKIP BEAT - To be an anime in the fall!
Basara (I think there is still one more to be released) - Shoujo Epic
Red River (Anatolia Story) - Shoujo Epic
Bride of the Water God (Technically manwha)
Tail of the Moon - Ninjas!
Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden - The prequel to Fushigi Yuugi, with far less "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" action.
Kaze Hikaru - Believable Shoujo Gender-bender in the Kenshin era
Finished:
Yurara - Spiritual Mayhem
Night of the Beast - Same author as Yurara; high tragedy
Hana Kimi - Gender-bending High School story
Ranma/Inuyasha/Maison Ikkoku/Rumic Theater/One or Double - With the exception of IY, I have them all! Muhahahah!
More to be added as I remember them. :P