漫画大好き ... I ❤ manga!

( ^ Domo arigato to my wonderful Sato for the Japanese translation! ^ )

Ever since a few weeks ago when I picked up Mars by Fuyumi Soryo at the village library, I've been completely in love with manga. Since then, I've read five more volumes of Mars, five more of One Piece by Eiichiro Oda, and my amazing friend Jess handed over a massive stack of her own collection for my perusal (including several volumes of Shaman King, some Naruto, The Good Witch of the West and various others – you rock, Jess!) I can't get enough of the stuff!

What I think I love about manga is the pure Japanese artistry and humour which, I know, is a given considering it is Japanese (I hear a lot of 'duh's!). But you know what I mean; it just has a certain charm that you can't find with any old comic book or graphic novel. As much as I would love to enjoy reading Spiderman, Batman or even Buffy (I've concluded that the Season 8 storyline is too out-there for my taste... even by Buffy's standards!), there's nothing that I find particularly appealing about them. It's also really interesting that a lot of anime series' have started out as manga (like One Piece, as you can see). So there's no shortage of opportunities to see your favourite characters both illustrated and animated. But, then again, there's not exactly a shortage of adaptations when it comes to western comic book characters, either! Though you guys see my point by now. Manga is just a completely different culture, and when I read it I feel like I'm visiting some exotic place. Now if only I could just read all of it in the original Japanese instead of translated English... that would make it even sweeter!

So you can expect a lot more manga reviews in this blog's future! I'm dying to read the next few installments of Mars, so hopefully I'll be able to find all the volumes at good prices. But if not, I have lots to read in the meantime! Will just have to try and tell myself that though, haha.

How about you guys; do you read manga? What are your favourites?

Review: Mars (volume 1) by Fuyumi Soryo [Manga]

Popular Rei and shy Kira are worlds apart, until one fateful day brings them together. Rei stumbles upon Kira in the harassing hands of her sleazy art teacher and saves the quiet girl from his clutches. And when the jock plants a kiss on a statue of Mars in the studio, Kira finds herself drawn in and even summons up the nerve to ask him to model for her but problems already lurk on the horizon. Vicious upperclassman Harumi has had her sights set on Rei for a long time, and is not about to let go now. One of the most popular teen girl manga series in Japan, Mars is a drama that will meet the demand of the growing female comic-reading market. (via Goodreads)

I'd never read any manga, so when I found Mars in my village library, I thought why not give it a try? I had my apprehensions about it at first – the boy in the cover looked completely unappealing, and I wasn't sure about the story. But, it was free, and so home it came!

After a very reluctant start, I couldn't help but get drawn in. Sure, it is definitely the most angsty, exaggerated teenage drama I ever remember reading, but something about it really appealed to me. Yup, the boy in the cover looks like he's going to be some kind of clean-cut boyband type, but in actual fact Rei's the 'rebel' of his school – he smokes cigarettes, races motorcycles after school, dates older girls, and lives alone in a rented apartment. Kira, on the other hand, is incredibly introverted and only ever speaks when completely necessary, choosing to focus her energy on her artwork. Eventually they grow increasingly intrigued and attracted to each other, much to the chagrin of their judgemental classmates. And as you can expect, jealously follows them causing drama of soap-opera proportions to ensue!

So although completely over-the-top, I really liked it. The illustrations are great, and I loved the whole inevitable Japanese cultural feel. I sure hope the library can get volume 2 for me, because I'd love to see what happens next! I'll definitely be reading more manga now.


Rating: 4 / 5