OMG! Have you read Loveless Volume 8, yet? Well, you better. My manga arrived Tuesday, September 16. I was really busy with work and other errands all day so by 3:00 am I was completely exhausted. But there, sitting on my bookshelf was volume 8. I couldn’t let it just sit there while I slept (it’s unthinkable!) I was only going to read a few chapters but of course it was too good to put down. I mean how could I. I was finally getting answers (I thought) but by the end of the manga I had more questions then answers.
I also had a huge dislike for Seimei. I mean the guy is so MEAN! How can he hurt Ritsuka and Soubi like that or anyone for that matter? What’s he really up to anyway? Questions like that and more kept playing over and over in my head as I turned one page after the next. It was sad, yet funny, yet great! I can’t say anything bad about it because I love the characters so much. Ritsuka has matured, I feel, in this volume. He’s starting to see things about Seimei and Soubi (whether he really understands it all remains to be seen but my love for him continues to grow). I honestly don’t understand it yet. So, I guess when he understands I’ll understand it.
In this volume we learn about Soubi and how he became a fighter unit, in particularly how he became Seimei’s fighter unit. Agh! That Seimei, he has some serious issues. Things are revealed and there are things that we only get a glimpse at and have to wait to see how it all develops but overall it’s another volume I just love!
I’ll have my “summary” of this volume 8 as soon as I can.
I was hanging out with Samantha checking out her manga collection (she has 2 walls, covered from top to bottom with bookshelves). I think she’s totally obsessed with manga but who can blame her!
Anyway, I was looking at her bookshelf and came across one entitled Cain. It sounded interesting so I grabbed it from the shelf. She told me it was a Yaoi. I told here “I know what a Yaoi is. It’s like a Shonen-Ai, right?”
“Well, not really.” she replies. Well, I was confused. I’ve look into both shonen-ai and yaoi and according to the net they seemed very similar.
But Samantha quickly helped me determined which manga books were shonen-ai and which manga were yaoi (and they are different).
Check out Sex, Violence and Pretty Men: All About Yaoi and learn what makes a Yaoi a Yaoi.
Also, read my summary of Cain (my first yaoi). There’s probably better yaoi to start with but I gotta start somewhere, right?
So, have you pre-ordered your manga, yet? Or are you one to race out the day it is release to purchase the book? Oh, it doesn’t matter which way you get a copy . . . . just be sure to get this manga. I’m totally looking forward to this volume. It’s been so long. I’m ready!
In the mean time I’ve been reading other manga. Some great, some not so great. I’ll have my summaries/reviews in the next coming months. A few of the books I have been reading are KashiMashi by Satoru Akahori and I just recently purchased Vassalord. I read a preview of it in the Anime Insider magazine I borrowed from Samantha. It seems really good so I went out that day and bought it.
I recently completed volume 6 but I couldn’t stop to write a review. I had to move on to volume 7 because it is so FREAKIN good! No, not good, great, outstanding! The more volumes I read the better the story gets. I just want to read more and more. But for now, Loveless volume 6 is finished and you can check out the summary on the left side. And Volume 7 of Loveless will also be up and available for reading later this week (that’s the goal anyway).
It was really difficult to find a nice place to stop so that I can get some sleep (I tend to read really late at night. No, it’s more like early morning). I don’t like things that are difficult or making decision “sleep vs staying up” so I had no choice but to read the manga all the way through. It was totally worth the lack of sleep the next day. Volume 6 is so captivating. There is no way you can take a break. It’s just not possible. It’s that good!
Oh, but then there is volume 7. The heat is very high in this volume. All these pieces are starting to fall into place but there’s still many more new pieces being discovered but not yet revealed. Ah, it’s the best kind of story. You just crave more and more until you burst with excitement!
Check out the two remaining volume summaries. You’ll love it just as much as I do.
So my friend Samantha said I must check out the manga Loveless. She went on and on about how great it is and how emotional and deep the characters are. On and on she went until I told her I would read the book. Who am I to turn down a friend’s request?
She did warn however that I should keep an open mind and to not get caught up in the age differences and how people/relationships appear on the outside. I was a little scared to pick up the manga (Samantha, is brave and can read anything with no problem. Me on the other hand . . . I get shocked pretty easily but I’m usually fine after the first initial shock).
I did purchase a copy of Loveless Volume 1 for myself. And to my surprise I LOVED IT! It’s just something enduring about these characters. I couldn’t put the book down (I didn’t). I instantly fell in love with the characters. How can I not?! Ritsuka is so adorable and Soubi is so cool and there is so much there within both of them. And then the whole thing about the cat ears and tails (funny stuff). I am looking forward to getting the next volume and seeing how the two and the storyline progress and get more involved.
Check out the review of Loveless 1. It may contain spoilers so beware!
Let’s take a look at the genre of graphic novels called Shonen-ai. I have seen several Shonen-ai anime series and have read a couple of manga in this category. And what can I say – I love this genre. Now, I am more of a shonen manga kind of girl but this genre is not far behind for me. The ones I have read so far have been so cute and adorable. I instantaneously fall in love with the characters. I know when I read these book I am always blushing because the characters do the cutest, most romantic things (they are subtle at times yet not subtle. Okay that probably made no sense at all but . . . oh well). It’s just a genre of love and I love it!
Learn more about this romantic genre. If you allow yourself to go with the storyline you will get wrapped up inside and won’t want to leave.
Yes, I have been away for some time now but all is not lost. During that time I was able to put together the next 2. That’s right 2 pages about manga genres. They will be up and ready for viewing in the coming days. I will also have some pages of one of the manga I have been reading posted as well.
My thing now is trying to read the manga and then write about them. I’m so use to reading a manga and then jumping to the next manga. I can’t really do that anymore because I have committed myself to writing summaries/reviews about the graphic novels I read so . . . .yeah.
Anyway, stay tune for the next post.
I’ve covered the genre aimed at boys, Shonen. Next up is the manga aimed at the girls, Shojo. Of course, these stories tend to be more emotional and less action-packed but that doesn’t mean they aren’t intense and won’t keep your attention.
Shojo manga grab the readers’ attention in a slightly different way and it is kind of nice to come down off the adrenaline rush of Shonen (in your face) stories to a compiling story that takes you on an emotional, yet exciting journey.
Grab a copy of a Shojo graphic novel and you’ll “read” what I mean. You won’t be disappointed.
There many different genres of manga. It’s like what my best friend says: picking a favorite manga genre is like picking a fav movie genre. Each genre has something different and unique about it that it’s unfair to have to pick only one as your favorite category. So, to help you and myself to decide which manga genre (I really mean genres) we like best I will try to explain the different types to choose from. Some will speak to you immediately and other may take you a while to warm up to and then there are some that, well, no matter how hard you try you just want get it (and that’s okay, trust me).
So the first manga genre I am going to discuss is one of my favorites. It may not be specially aimed at me but boy do I love this type of graphic novel. It’s the Shonen category. Find out why these types of books are the best and why you can’t help but to get caught-up in the thrilling storylines.
Sorry, I haven’t been writing as much as I originally had hoped. My job has kept me very busy and exhausted, unfortunately. I have a stack of manga I had purchase earlier this month that I have not had a chance to read. I am very upset but I can’t quit my job. If I did quit, I won’t have any money at all for my books. Seems like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I was told that things would slow do, a bit. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m ready to start reading again. The latest manga that I just received is Loveless Volume 1. A friend of mine recommended it to me so, I bought it. I’m curious to see what it’s about.
Until then,
P.S. I’ll try to get over here to post more. I’ll find a rhythm to balancing work and reading my fav manga. (to bad I can’t read while at work but I can’t. Trust me, I tried and was severely warned. What meanies!)
I created this site as a tribute to Japanese manga. I am a huge fan who loves to read graphic novels. There are so many to choose from that it has become a challenge to decide which one to buy and read. It maybe sad to say but a large portion of my pay check goes to buying manga every week. I just can’t control myself. It’s like my little secret obsession. Okay, it’s not really a secret. I always have a book on me. (I guess you’ll say, I’m always packing . . ., graphic novel that is) Some people like shopping for games, shoes, clothes, etc I love shopping for that great manga. I’ve got quite a collection going and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.
So, I hope you will join me on my exciting journey of Japanese manga review.
