laceblade | Entries tagged with manga: wild ones

• What are you currently reading?
Unsounded - still love it. I really like the things Cope does with the frames and her websites in dramatic &/or magical moments. Ugh, it's so good. I'm in chapter 6.

• What did you recently finish reading?
Killjoys #1 - IT'S OKAY?! I liked this more than the free comic book day one-shot, although now I'd like to go back & reread both of them.

Avengers Assemble #16 - Meh. Not much to say about this.

Buffy #22, The Core, part 2 - Not much to say about this, either. Annoyed with the final line of the issue recycling a line from the TV show.

Wild Ones 6-10 - I decided to just push forward & finish this series, as it was only 10 volumes & I already had 6-8 in my apartment.
It's still terrible. About one panel of Sachie looking like a yakuza bamf-boss for every 50 pages of her completely lacking agency. I rated volume 6 three stars on Goodreads because a plot point progressed due to Sachie's choices & talents. After that, back to the same-old, same-old.
I finished this to be a completist. Rakuto's love for Sachie was something I didn't find romantic. He would say things like, "I wish I could lock you up," etc. to prove how ~protective he is toward her, which I found gross.
The final volume shows Sachie about to embrace the other female daughter of a DIFFERENT local yakuza boss - WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN THE ACTUAL ENDING?
Instead, the ending is predictable except by focusing on a previously unmentioned dramatic problem.
Anyway, with this, I'M FREE. I'M FREE.

Cold Magic by Kate Elliott - I didn't think I was going to get through this in time for book club, but I miraculously did.
As I mentioned last week, I read this in September but had forgotten all the details. This is why rereading books is super rewarding for me! My memory's weird. Certain things = steep trap. Books/etc., though, main plot points totally escape me & I'm usually only left with vague impressions.
Anyway, I like how important lies are in this book, both as part of the society in which Cat lives & also major plot point progressions.
I also still love how strong Cat is, even when so many things about her life are revealed to be lies. It's very much like the finale of Buffy season 2 - "Take away your friends, blah-blah, and what's left?" "Me." /kicks ass/
I'M SO READY TO READ THE ADVENTURES OF CAT AND BEE, BOOK 2 :) :) :)

• What do you think you’ll read next?
Well, I have a pile of manga I've been amassing from the library, so more of that. I'll be picking up Captain Marvel #13 and possibly other stuff at the comic book store tomorrow or soon.

Crossposts: http://mystickeeper.livejournal.com/650792.html

• What are you currently reading?
Cold Magic by Kate Elliott. I read this back in September or so & loved it. We're reading it for

beer_marmalade, & I wanted to reread to better remember & to be a better participant ^_^
The beginning part, with Cat & Bee just living life & going to school? I'd read that forever.

• What did you recently finish reading?
Batwoman #16-20 - Meh. They're setting up a new arc & idgaf what's happening, so I dropped Batwoman from my pull-list.
I'd be willing to read it in trade, when it comes in at the library.
It's hard to tell whether it's my own apathy or the comics themselves that's at fault. EITHER WAY, goodbye Batwoman.

Wild Ones volume 5 - I keep wanting to read manga & going with this one because I have it from the library but UGH. The once-per-volume shots of Sachie looking like a total badass aren't worth all of her agency being erased by Rakuto.
This volume's low-point was when another dude asked Rakuto why he didn't just tell Sachie he loved her, & he said, "If I did that, I wouldn't be able to stop."
Stop what, you wonder? Repeating over & over that he loves her? Or is that a creepy overtone of rape threat?
The answer's revealed a couple pages later when the words are repeated as he stumbles on Sachie lying asleep on a futon at the end of a chapter. That's the cliffhanger - WILL HE ABLE TO STOP HIMSELF?
Fuckin' gross.
AND YET. Volumes 6-8 were already in my library basket & I just want to see what happens, so. I'll likely continue.

Unsounded, volume 1 by Ashley Cope
Ashley Cope used to go by "GlassShard" on the Internet. I've been following her work basically since I started hanging out online - I loved her FF7 fanart & fic.
Unsounded is a webcomic; I bought the first physical volume from her Kickstarter. I'd been following this online, but because the chapters are sort of written to be read all at once, it was hard for me to read this when it updated (every M, W, F) & I fell off. This volume collected chapters 1-3, and I'm hoping I'll keep going with chapters 4 & on, & get all caught up :D
This is a fantasy series. The protagonists are Sette, a young thief with a tail who swears more than me, and her magic-casting friend Duane. Sette refers to him as her "attack zombie," and makes fun of him for having such a boring name.
Cope is one of the rare webcomic artists who's also a really strong writer. Her time management is professional, too. Her hiatuses last exactly as long as she says they're going to, which is much appreciated in the world of webcomics, where people sometimes disappear for years.
Unsounded is free online, for everyone. You should totally do it.

• What do you think you’ll read next?
In a fit of angst some point this week, I went through my Goodreads list from the past couple years & made a list of the manga series I'd stop reading. Even though I'd stopped reading some of them b/c I found them boring, I checked out the next volumes in various series (Bride's Story [love it], Cross Game, Soul Eater, rest of Wild Ones, Saturn Apartments, Shugo Chara!) & a couple novels (Parable of the Talents, Summer Prince). So. Expect some mass-reading of manga, I guess.

Current Music: No Church in the Wild - JAY-Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean
Crossposts: http://mystickeeper.livejournal.com/649674.html

• What are you currently reading?
Nothing, really? About to start Young Avengers #4

• What did you recently finish reading?
Killjoys comic preview from FCBD: This was really fast-paced, I think too much so?? mergh. Maybe I need to reread it :[

ATLA FCBD short: "Rebound," featuring Mai on the cover, :D after her breakup with Zuko, Mai's depressed & hanging out working in her aunt's flower shop, in the Fire Nation.
I am continually impressed by Gene Luen Yang's ability to write the ATLA characters true to form (here, in The Promise, & now in The Search), and also honestly look at how the political aftermath of the events would leave these kids, their families, & their societies. I see these comics as the true successor to the original show, rather than the slapped-together & sometimes irresponsible Legend of Korra.
(PS: Gene Luen Yang tweeted at me?!?!)

Saga #11 & #12 - lots of emotions in these two issues! I still love the dialogue, the art, ad the pacing. I'm sad this is going on hiatus for a while so they can build up a backlog. Does anyone know how long the hiatus is supposed to last?

Star Wars: The Assassination of Darth Vader, another short from FCBD. This was the flip side of the ATLA one about Mai. This takes place shortly before movie IV. Written by Brian Wood, basically a Vader monologue about what a badass he is, as we watch him kill his would-be assassins. Forgettable.

Willow: Wonderland, #5 (final) The end, by which I mean the final page, was great. I'm not sure I'll ever want to reread this, though.

Buffy Season 9, #19 (Welcome to the Team #4) - ( Spoilers )

Angel & Faith (& Spike) #20 - Working through some heavy shit in this issue. I still like it so much. I very much appreciate Spike's presence, & sort of wish he'd shown up earlier rather than having his own 5-issue spin-off. Buffy comics are pretty dialogue-heavy. It's a thing that irritates me a little when I compare them to other series.

Buffy Season 9, #20 (The Watcher) - a POV of Xander's manpain, but at least in the end I felt very justified by my disgust with him.

Angel & Faith #21 - I didn't think that the mission that started off the premise of this series would remain its focus, & now I'm just afraid to see what happens! We're now in the final arc. I'm scared/excited to keep reading, ;_; ( Spoilers ) With this, I'm now caught up on Buffyverse comics! \o/

Wild Ones, volume 2: There was a great triumphant moment at the end of this volume. So, obviously Sachie & Rakuto are working to keep their yakuza-ness a secret from their high school classmates. Due to some strange turns of events, this secret is basically threatened to be revealed. And in this AWESOME scene, Sachie is a total badass, and basically says, "Yeah, so I'm yakuza. What of it? You wanna go?" OMG THIS BAMF RN.
They walk it back a little by having Rakuto tell her classmates, "Oh, she was just acting for this school event, isn't she a great actress?! Hahaha."

Wild Ones, volume 3: More of the same. It's like...there's not a lot going on in this series that's special? Mostly the same shoujo. I'm a little creeped out by how much time Sachie's grandfather & Rakuto spend talking about who Sachie should/shouldn't be spending her time with, instead of allowing her to make those decisions herself. ("I don't want my granddaughter to grow up to be with someone in the yakuza...") Also some typical shoujo things, where a dude with strong feelings for a girl ends up in awkward body positions where he's directly over her body, etc., in images that look a little disturbingly like a prelude to sexual assault (but it never goes there).
There's a satisfying moment in this volume, too. Rakuto is asked to perform a pointless rescue mission of Sachie. He's being "tested" & there are a lot of arbitrary rules to follow. In the end, he's about to miss rescuing her by the certain time limit, but then Sachie stands up to her captor, says, "There's no rule saying that I have to wait to be rescued," & jumps out the window (into Rakuto's arms). Immediately afterward, the captor says something about Rakuto always saving her, and Sachie is defiant, saying, "No! We save each other."
MANGA, YOU ARE WORKING MY WAY INTO MY HEART.
Thus far, the series has not really addressed the seedy work performed by all of the men surrounding Sachie's life. I'd like to know way more about their ties to their community, whether they actually kill people, etc.

Wild Ones, volume 4: The feature of Sachie shooting a fake gun at a festival GIVES ME LIFE. STOP TEASING ME, MANGA. I want Sachie going on missions with her yakuza crew, pwning people.
Anyway, Sachie leaves her home to go to a festival WITH SOMEONE ELSE. Even though she'd rather be with Rakuto, SHE CAN'T SAY NO.
Back at her grandfather's place, all the men bemoan her absence, & remember how before she came to live with them, they ate instant meals every day. THANKS FOR ESTABLISHING THE ONLY GIRL IN THIS SERIES MAKES EVERYONE'S MEALS DESPITE GOING TO CLASS AT HIGH SCHOOL. Has anyone ever made a list of all manga in which girls provide food FOR EVERYONE?
This is a reason why I like xxxHolic - Watanuki is the one doing all domestic tasks (he's the dude protagonist).
It turns out that Sachie can't stay away for a single night. Rakuto shows up in Okinawa to essentially kidnap her home. (He literally picks her up and steps directly back on to the train he came from, sending both of them farther away from home instead of towards it.)
The end of the last chapter epitomizes what I both love & hate about this series. Sachie drops her wallet & then gets into an altercation when one dude tells her to step off because he's part of a yakuza clan.
Sachie's face turns angry & bamf-like, and she yells, "Turns out that we're part of the same world!" But then you turn the page & Rakuto shows up to say, "I told you so many times to go straight home. What am I going to do with you, Sachie?" UGH.

Venus Capriccio, volume 2: I'd forgotten that Akira is a little exoticised for his "beauty" (whenever the word "beautiful" is used, Takami, the narrator, makes sure to say "even though he's a guy"). He is beautiful in part BECAUSE he is part European, apparently.
Anyway, Takami gets a job at a restaurant, so Akira gets one there, too, to "watch her." Takami's grumpy about this. When she accidentally serves people the wrong salad, he intervenes to apologize on her behalf & also serve the correct food.
He arranges his schedule to match hers to walk her home & calls someone else to do it when he is unavailable.
One night, some hoodlums show up in the restaurant & hit on her. Takami is handling it, but there's no need because Akira shows up to spill water on their heads.
They leave, and he berates Takami. "You're still a girl, Takami. Wake up and recognize that. You're too vulnerable. It's dangerous for you to be walking the streets alone at night..."

It's so gross. I feel like Venus Capriccio and Wild Ones are both communicating the same message: It's romantic for a boy to step in & control a girl's life: Who she sees, where she goes. There isn't room for any men in a girl's life except for her romantic interest. And any misfortune she experiences for daring to [exist outside the shelter of home after sunset / talk to men / etc.] is absolutely her fault.

If anyone's wondering why I prefer series with just girls & no men lately (i.e., K-On!, AKB0048, etc.), this is a huge reason why.
The volume picked up a little after that - I still enjoy watching Akira and Takami play the pinao. I enjoy this series' art. I just still had some smoldering rage going on.

Some Glee fics:
drowning in your dizzy noise by

timorous_scribe - Santana and Rachel, three fail-starts and one take-off. Assumes events up to 4x17 'Guilty Pleasures.' (NSFW)

Mixed Media by

parsnips - Cooper Anderson lands a role on a show called White Collar, & so obviously the entire Glee Club becomes involved in the White Collar fandom. Blaine-centric, which I usually don't enjoy, but this fic is HILARIOUS & I loved every part of it.
He's a professional. He knows about pointing.

• What do you think you’ll read next?
idk. Likely more comics. I don't want to knock on comics b/c they can be super important & meaningful, but I'm still feeling not up to the emotional complexity of novels.
The Anna Karenina book club next meets during WisCon, & I had to return my copy to the library a while. I am not feeling compelled to finish it, especially as someone mentioned that more [redacted] happens.
I also stopped reading Kokoro for that reason, too.
I have more Wild Ones manga waiting for me at the library.

• What are you currently reading?
Wild Ones manga series by Kiyo Fujiwara (more below) and Glee fanfiction. It's been a weird week. I haven't been able to put my brain into "read" mode, really.

• What did you recently finish reading?
Wild Ones, volume 1, by Kiyo Fujiwara. I'm reading these thanks to the library. This series is about a 15-year-old high school girl named Sachie, whose mom has died, so she goes to live with her grandpa. Hilariously, her grandpa is the head of a yakuza gang, so Sachie's living with a house full of tough guys.
A boy her age named Rakuto lives there, & is assigned to protect Sachie. Thus far, this is a story about paternalism that makes me feel really yucky. Rakuto follows Sachie everywhere and intimidates all other men who try to talk to her/make friends with her. He repeats ad nauseum that it's his goal in life to protect her and to be "the only one by her side."
Why am I still reading it? 1) Sachie has expressed a few times that she wants people to like her for HER, & not for being the granddaughter of a member of the yakuza. 2) There have been a few flashes of total BAMF-like assertion from Sachie, where she takes control of a situation, sets her teeth, & shouts commands. LIKE A FUTURE YAKUZA BOSS?! idk. It's enough for me to flip through for now, anyway.

I still feel like I "miss" manga but mostly read crap manga lately. Maybe I need to do some rereads, or get through things on my shelves I haven't gone all the way through yet (Angel Sanctuary, Fruits Basket, etc).

Having it All (Bringing Love Together Remix) by

wintercreek - Rachel/Jesse/Quinn - The old Jesse St. James would have looked around himself and wondered who would believe, when the authorized biography and the many unauthorized biographies came out, that this was his beautiful life.

It Would Take an Eternity (to Break Us) by

nightshifted - AU for s4 and beyond. Kurt, Rachel, Finn, & Santana living in a loft in NYC together. I loved everyone's chapters, but especially Kurt's and Santana's because the things bothering them felt SO REAL. Spoiler that Kurt's chapter involves him actually calling out Santana for continuing to call him "Lady Hummel." Basically perfect. Santana's chapter is like my GPOYest of GPOYs ever experienced in fic ;____;

• What do you think you’ll read next?
idk. I bought A Stranger in Olondria Friday at Sofia's book launch (the author is in my book club & is awesome!). So possibly that. But the things causing my brain to not focus on books very well aren't changing soon, so it might just be more comics & fic for a while.