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The 2011 Great Manga Holiday Gift Guide!
It’s that time of year once again. The season of giving. Time to find out who’s been naughty or nice. Thankfully, there are a variety of manga series that appeal to folks who’ve been good all year or just a bit bad. In collaboration with the 2011 Great Manga Gift Guides, it’s time to present Manga Therapy’s 2011 Great Manga Holiday Gift Guide!
Here are a few manga titles that I feel make great gifts for readers.
Blue Exorcist (Volume 1-5+) by Kazue Kato, VIZ Media
Does it make sense that I have to start off with one of the hottest shonen titles in 2011? Blue Exorcist is a manga that continues the dominance of female mangaka writing shonen manga. The characterization is very well-done and the plot is original. Also, girls will fall in love with Rin and Yukio Okumura.
Fullmetal Alchemist Complete Box Set (Volumes 1-27) by Hiromu Arakawa, VIZ Media
Hiromu Arakawa’s grand masterpiece in one box set. Do I really need to say anymore? FMA is arguably one of the most epic manga series ever written. This series has everything you want in a shonen manga. From start to finish, you will enjoy the journey of the Elric brothers as they show off the power & perseverance of humanity.
Drifters Volume 1 by Kohta Hirano, Dark Horse Comics
Time travel? Check. Historical figures? Check. Lots of violent fighting to stop evil? Check. Drifters is an interesting title that highlights how cruel people can be. Plus, it’s from the same guy who did Hellsing. The main villain also looks like a Nazgul from Lord of the Rings.
The Drops of God Volume 1 by Tadashi Agi & Shu Okimoto, Vertical Inc.
This is for those who want to read a manga title that doesn’t focus on violence & sex. This international phenomenon has impacted reality in many ways and has received much press attention from popular media outlets. If you’re a wine enthusiast, you will LOVE this manga. For anyone else, it’s a nice change of pace from the usual manga you see everyday.
‘A Bride’s Story’ Volumes 1-2 by Kaoru Mori, Yen Press
A title that has won critical acclaim in both Japan & America. The story focuses on a young lady named Amira, who marries a younger boy named Karluk in the Middle East. The artwork is gorgeous and realistic. This is a cute and fascinating title that takes a look at the structure of family and marriage.
20th Century Boys (Volumes 1-15+) by Naoki Urasawa, VIZ Media
One of the most suspenseful manga I have ever read, period. The Eisner Award-nominated 20th Century Boys is a title full of mystery and intrigue. If you want a title that throws crazy plot twists and you love crazy cult figures, then this is your book.
Sailor Moon (Volumes 1-2+) by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Comics
This is the female role model that all the little girls should look up to. All I can say is that it’s a good title to show to young teenage female readers interested in manga. It’s also a great history lesson for them as well as they get a chance to read one of the most influential shojou manga out there.
Princess Knight Volume 1 by Osamu Tezuka, Vertical Inc.
A gem that would help set the tone for shoujo manga. You can’t help but admire Princess Sapphire and her determination to be a hero to others. This is another influential title that I feel young female manga readers HAVE to read.
The Book of Human Insects by Osamu Tezuka, Vertical Inc.
An intense, thought-provoking story where you see how certain people can be very manipulative towards others. The main protagonist isn’t someone you can actually root for. This title is recommended for those who love complex characters in their stories.
This is just a small sample of what I would recommend. What other manga titles do you think would make great gifts for readers? Post in the comments section below and let me know what you would give!
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Hail To The Ice Queen! Olivier Mira Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist)
“You bastards are hopeless. Scum like you who observe the battlefield from a safe location…talk about ‘sacrifice’ as if it’s something sublime. You don’t even know the meaning of the word! By the time all of this is over, I might be a hero. But one thing’s certain, I’m not as soft as the ‘Hero of Ishbal’.” (From Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 22, Chapter 90)
Young teenage girls, if you need a anime/manga woman to look up to, look no further than Olivier Mira Armstrong from Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist. She is a headstrong individual and a female who holds a position of extremely high power in the military. What makes her amazing is her mental strength. Major General Armstrong (as she will be called throughout the entry)’s character is a combination of the best emotional & personality aspects of each gender. In essence, she’s the complete package as an individual.
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A Look Back At 2010 (Part II: April to June)
Did you enjoy Part I of the 2010 year-in-review? Here’s what noteworthy Japanese pop culture events occurred during April 2010 to June 2010!
April 2010
Japan decides to set a 10 billion yen fund to promote Japanese entertainment overseas (including anime & manga). Fans still don’t care as they still try to find ways to download anime & manga illegally. On a related note, Shueisha asks fans to stop reading manga scans online.
Lucky Star gets serialized in the Saitama Shimbun newspaper in Japan on a monthly basis. The champions of moe rejoice in having one of their hits featured in a real newspaper read by real people.
Author Manabu Miyazaki sues the Fukuoka police for removing yakuza-related material from convenience stores. Miyazki says the police are suppressing free speech. Police say they were trying to lower the influence of yakuza around the area. Legal matters get so complicated, don’t they?
Super Street Fighter IV & Monster Hunter Tri get unleashed in the States. Juri brings the evil, greedy, & psychotic Korean girl to video games. Horny male nerds drool while Asian stereotypes are reinforced. Monster Hunter Tri would cause people to actually use their Wii for more than 1.5-2 hours.
A group made a manga app for iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products to download manga scanlations to it. Cue “ASKING FOR IT” line.
R.I.P. Carl Macek, Amy Forsyth
May 2010
Japan decides to invest more money (about 214.5 billion yen) in training the next generation of animators. Honestly, do something about their wages & working conditions. If you care so much about anime now, you should be more empathetic towards animators’ needs. I know there’s a lot of factors & issues involved regarding the state of the industry, but the point is to provide a great sense of motivation & accomplishment.
Death Note makes the news again when a proposed ban of the manga in Albuquerque, New Mexico gets rejected. I actually posted my thoughts about this, which you can read here.
Sports manga rocked the 34th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards. Will sports manga ever take off in the West?
Construction of a giant, life-size Neon Genesis Evangelion bust began at a Mount Fuji theme park. The next step will be to have the most psychologically draining & religiously controversial wedding ever conducted underneath that EVA-01 Unit. This will be recorded as 20 times more epic than the Gundam wedding.
The first-ever “boys-love” bar opens up in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, under the name of “MiraclejumP”. I’m sure female otaku love the place & vibe, but the guys don’t seem to be that great-looking. Maybe it’s just me. At least, there won’t be any dirty diseases running around.
VIZ Media lays off 40% of their workforce & closes down their New York office, which only consisted of 5 people. Somewhere in a corner, I cry over the fact that I won’t have a chance to work for a manga publisher here in New York.
June 2010
The adventures of Edward & Alphonse Elric finally end as Fullmetal Alchemist had its last chapter published in the June issue of Shonen Gangan. FMA will always be one of my favorite series ever and I thought the ending was great (You can read my thoughts about FMA here). I never thought I would see the end of a major popular shonen series so soon. Looking forward to the North American releases of Volumes 24-27 from VIZ soon.
BLEACH gets simulcasted on Crunchyroll. Took them long enough to put it there.
U.S. & Japanese publishers form a coalition to stop manga scanlations. MangaHelpers would create OpenManga in response. Other sites would start legal online manga initiatives. One site full of scanlations, MangaFox, removes 350 of their titles (even though they eventually return). This generates a lot of debate regarding the future of manga. I think there should be a summit meeting to settle things properly.
Anime News Network starts streaming anime from their website. Good to see ANN get in on the act.
A 14-year old Japanese middle-school student is arrested for uploading manga through YouTube. The kid even made money off of his blog which promoted his activities. Even better, he announced his leaks on Twitter. I hate to say this, but you never know who is watching you when you’re using social media.
R.I.P. Robert O. Smith
———-
Part III is now up and can be read here.
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Video Response To Rebloggers of “Symbolism of Pride (Fullmetal Alchemist)” Entry.
Thank you, guys!
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Symbolism of “Pride” (Fullmetal Alchemist)
“A person’s pride never truly dies.”
Even after the ending of Fullmetal Alchemist, I keep coming back to it. I’m doing a look back at the only surviving antagonist from the series, Pride. Pride, the 2nd-in-command of the Homunculi & the most powerful of the group, was left alive after being spared by Edward Elric in their last battle. The significance of Pride still being alive is a reminder to us that out of the 7 deadly sins you can get rid of, pride is the one sin that sticks around while at the same time, pride is beneficial for our development as functional beings.
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The End of Fullmetal Alchemist
A major and popular shonen manga title ended this month. All of you manga readers and Fullmetal Alchemist fans have heard or read about the ending of the hit series this week with Chapter 108 - Journey’s End. The Elric brothers’ long and tumultuous journey has finally reached an end. All I can say is that Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most touching and emotionally powerful series I have ever read. (Massive spoilers after the break, so don’t read if you want to find out for yourself.)
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Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist) Character Analysis
Greed is probably one of the more unique characters in manga. He is a character who is heartless, but at the same time, very caring. After all, his possessions are his and his only. Greed truly lives up to his name as he seeks to possess everything in the world.
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I want to bring back the dead.”I want money.” “I want women.” “I want to protect this world.”. These thoughts all come from the same place - our id. In other words, they’re our truest desires. The way I see it, greed is no different from hope. You don’t see a problem with too much hope, do ya? The problem is, you humans are always trying to apply a hierarchy to greed - what’s noble to desire, what’s taboo. It’s ALL good!
Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 84: Shadow of the Pursuer)
Greed is the next character I’m doing on my list, because seriously greed and hope are pretty much the same.
