What are you Reading?

[karageko]

I've been reading through the Patlabor manga, and am past the VS storyline of the TV series adaptation. Overall it seems to be a lot more focused on an ongoing storyline whereas the TV series had much more of balance with one off episode hi-jinks. Still enjoying myself overall, 'though I'd say I'm more fond of the animated adaptations.

[karageko]

I just wrapped up the Patlabor manga. I don't want to go into too many details because maybe there'll be renewed interest in Patlabor when Patlabor EZY comes out. Perhaps that will convince Viz or whomever else to try their hand again at an English Patlabor manga release. If spoiler tags were supported on this forum, I'd share more detailed thoughts.

There were actually more elements incorporated than I had expected from the OVA/Movie timeline, although those stories are not depicted in the manga. There was a character from the animated storylines that I figured was just not going to be part of the manga universe at all. This character ends up appearing in the last quarter of the volumes though, and takes on a different role than in the animated adaptations.

For the most part, the manga is really a more fleshed out and extended portrayal of the Griffon storyline compared to the TV series. So if the resolution of that story in The New Files left you wanting, the manga has more of a conclusion. I'd say it's definitely worth the read for Patlabor fans, although I find myself more partial to the episodic hijinks of the animated material, as well as the movies.

[karageko]

I've been reading through the old WSJ tankobons of Cobra and just finished up (volume 8) where the TV series leaves off. I didn't track the changes too closely as it's been a while since I watched the TV series but the changes are mostly minor. The TV series by and large is fairly faithful. I think the most hilarious difference is the end reveal of Salamander who is obscured in the anime, but his identity is revealed in no uncertain terms in the manga.

I know Cobra was put out around 2015 in English in the Kindle store and I wonder how many people checked it out. I think these are based on the full color versions that Buichi Tersawa did just looking at the cover.

While I'll probably go through the full color versions as well at a later date, there is something pretty amazing in the WSJ tankobons. They are these two-page long impressions of Cobra from various people, of course all praising how great the Cobra manga is (they're not wrong). The first volume had impressions from Terasawa's mentor himself Tezuka. The next 7 volumes are all impressions from live action actresses, voice actresses, or female tarento and literally all of them talk about how awesome and great and dreamy Cobra is, and how they'd LOVE to meet a man like Cobra, oh and also how cool it is that there are sexy ladies everywhere. Reaching the end of a volume to read one of these is a consistent highlight, even though they're more or less the same thing every time. One of my favorites says something along the lines of how she feels that Buichi Terasawa himself must be kinda like Cobra. Personally, the only similarities I'm willing to believe are shared between the two are their preference in physique of women and the nonstop chain-smoking.

Just peeking at the end of the next couple of volumes, this trend of short impressions continues so I'll be looking forward to that.

[DKop]

Yea from what we were discussing on the IRC channel, I think Terasawa was just the equivelant of Ian Fleming of self insertion of who these writers wanted to be more of. Fleming was a womanizer so his trait made it to Bond being a ladies man, and im sure the same can be said for Terasawa using Cobra to be a reflection of him being more desirable to women. That to me is the easiest to point out in both of those authors, along with their characters being expert sharpshooters that love the taste of danger in every breath their given.

[usamimi]

I know Cobra was put out around 2015 in English in the Kindle store and I wonder how many people checked it out. I think these are based on the full color versions that Buichi Tersawa did just looking at the cover.

Yup, they're the full color ones, I have a few of them. They're OK but I really wish Viz had released more the original b&w version here (they never even did a proper graphic novel of the stuff they did release! ) I keep putting Cobra on request surveys from Seven Seas hoping they might pick it up...

[gaijinpunch]

ironically I started reading Cobra recently. Only on #3 so far, so I have a ways to go. I did watch the show in the Spring and really dug it. Nice to remember a time when Japan had masculine heroes.

[Char Aznable]

I've been reading the Devilman vs Hades manga and I'm almost finished with Volume 2. The concept of a Devilman/Mazinger crossover works surprisingly well, and I love that the entire story is told in just three volumes. Fantastic artwork too. Well worth checking out for Go Nagai fans.

[llj]

With less to do and more aimless free time in the past year (we all know why) I've had time to read a bunch of manga. I finished Again!! a few months ago (liked it) and I'm currently progressing through Bakuman and We Were There. Also started reading Kabi Nagata's manga work, and have tried out a few random manga series like Skull Faced Bookseller Honda-San. Anyone know why the anime changed the gender of Honda from female to male in the anime? Or did they just not notice Honda was referred to as female in the manga?

[usamimi]

With less to do and more aimless free time in the past year (we all know why) I've had time to read a bunch of manga. I finished Again!! a few months ago (liked it) and I'm currently progressing through Bakuman and We Were There. Also started reading Kabi Nagata's manga work, and have tried out a few random manga series like Skull Faced Bookseller Honda-San. Anyone know why the anime changed the gender of Honda from female to male in the anime? Or did they just not notice Honda was referred to as female in the manga?

I was wondering about this too, for Honda-san! I never got around to looking too much into it, since I keep forgetting...But that was def a surprise!

[Elytron Frass]

Read/inhaled the entirety of Suehiro Maruo's most recent work Tomino the Damned and it was marvelously bittersweet, lighter on the surrealism, erotics, and violence compared to his most notable works but just as exquisite with a fascinating narrative that often feels like classic french decadent literature. With this having been a four part series, Maruo takes more time and care into building the period setting and characters, while perhaps using some of his earlier works like Mr Arashi's Amazing Freak Show as an inspirational callback.