im confident enough to post FFAK, which has anal prolapse, but i dont post the true drama....... my opinions about manga. *dramatic music* sometimes i kinda want to do some reviews.. its mostly me complaining.. it makes me sound so bitter like "do you like anything kosmic!" and..yes ! i do!!! okay!! i like a lot of things. once in a while, i dip my toes into a popular series to try to see if we are a good fit. Series like: Beastars, Dorohedoro, Dungeon meshi,ect.. and i kind. well. I dont like any of them LMAO. I mean, Ok, i actually really was into Beastars for a time, but after the fight with the bear guy (its been a few years sorry) and that story arc concluded.. it just spiraled to laughable levels and did not recover. I was genuinely laughing at it at times bc it kind of felt like a desperate scramble with the like. loopholes and power upgrades.. But I was invested for a time, it had a charm to me! I also loved the art and im curious about the authors next series about santa (partly because i too, am writing a story about santa). Dorohedoro has a great visual style, fun characters, i enjoyed reading but it also kinda didnt ...land for me beyond that, which is a shame. I feel like it is a series that "should" have clicked with me. And its like, not offensive to me but.. I'll forget that ive read the whole thing. I like STUFF in it. but thats not enough for me anymore. If i had read it when i was younger tho, it might have been a diff story. idk. My most unpopular opinion of all is that... I hated Dungeon Meshi.. Sure its ..pretty! cute designs. but i found it SO painfully boring and it actually was a struggle to finish. in the end, it felt like a waste of time.. SHOCKING take i know. That is the darling of everyones heart and i like, understand WHY its popular. .. but for me, i was not fed by anything. i am unfed and starved and going to eat elsewhere oh, and i.. as a person who has read a lot of fighting mangas.. I have tried to read chainsaw man, but i dont know if I can. I did finish Fire Punch. I'm surprised to say: i kinda liked it but it took a long time to force myself to read thru it. I honestly hated many aspects of Fujimoto's storytelling/character acting that i didn't think my opinion on it would change, but I'm a little more open to it now. I dont think i could ever super be into it or whatever, but i did find genuine enjoyment in aspects of fire punch. I did not really like look back. I haven't read his other one shot(s)? Where am i going with all this..I guess im giving some unrequested reviews after all...oops... a lot of this is spurred by how houseki no kuni is one of my most fav series, not only visually/characters/story/ect.. but i cant lie.... the ending... was kind of a flop for me... gorgeous and poetic ig sure but.. AUGH! it isnt what i wanted. maybe it'll be one of those "it'll grow on me" endings but thats mostly me having to go thru the 5 stages of personal grief and gaslight myself into it, but as the like actual honest first-reaction feeling it kinda lost me. I think it did not work when i felt the confrontation btwn phos/cinnabar wasn't the one i wanted to see. i will say tho, while im dissapointed, its not like a DEEP one or anything. I know its a miracle to even get to an ending.. i guess my take away feeling from it was like "everything fit together too well, too planned" but didnt feel planned, emotionally. I wasn't sold on it. Anyway, im here to speak my truth and my hot takes which, i honestly dont even want to have that one about HnK but its the real feeling i have for it.. Once again Utena's ending just has made all these other issues i have with various stories more obvious LOL

Cause My Insides are Red

And Yours are Too

You guys really need to stop and consider the ways you're talking about Kabru I am dead fucking serious. Like I know that flattening characters is just what fandom does to a certain extent, but Kabru's actual personality is getting lost to the fandom hivemind insisting that he's aggressive/cruel/sociopathic/hateful, and these are particularly concerning takes to see leveled at the only brown character in the main cast day after day. "My poor sweet golden child Laios needs to be protected from this scary brown man" is not a good look! Like, it's very telling that the bulk of the hate and bad faith readings are reserved for Toshiro and Kabru. Everyone else's flaws get to be discussed and validated and forgiven (or erased), meanwhile people are straight making up things to be mad about with Toshiro and Kabru but patting themselves on the back for being smart.

The worst part is how undeserved it all is. I'm trying to lay off anime-onlys because we're still kind of in the red herring stage of getting to know Kabru, but I would still like to gently suggest that even if you think Kabru is up to something, you don't gave to get in the tags of every fan creator's post and bring up how you hate him or You Can Tell he's totally evil. Sometimes I think Kabru's blue eyes give people license to say things about his appearance that they know would sound completely racist otherwise, but referring to his blue eyes acts as a get-out-of-racism free card. The jokes about the dog with brown contacts are getting old, by the way.

For people who have read the manga, it's disappointing. Kabru is one of the most complex and important characters in the story, and if you base your interpretation of him and all your fandom interactions on shallow first impressions you are completely missing out.

I know part of this is because Dungeon Meshi is a comedy, but the story also wants to be taken seriously. For example, it's admittedly really funny when Chilchuck calls Laios "sick in the head", but that doesn't change the fact that the way Chilchuck casually belittles Laios caused him to hide the fact that he was "hallucinating" from his friends for weeks. Those feelings matter.

Like, this

is funny.

But this?

Is not. This is just a very clear example of a brown boy with PTSD. As someone else with PTSD, just looking at this fucking sucks, man.

The only reason why Kabru thinks about killing Laios is because he is in the middle of a flashback. He's struggling through a panic attack. If he truly wanted to kill Laios because he's violent or because he finds Laios inherently annoying, he wouldn't otherwise talk with Laios normally. Notice how he doesn't act this way at any other point in the story- it's just because he's triggered by monsters. Even when he's thinking about his plans to "deal with" Laios later, he's reluctant to actually kill him and only considers it to prevent another tragedy. Despite his deadly skills, Kabru relies far more on "soft" power- insight, persuasion, diplomacy. He's a rare example of a character who absolutely is, or at least can be, manipulative, but seems to use his abilities for good. He's not a pathological liar, he isn't looking down on everyone behind a smile. He's someone who is extremely emotionally intelligent, and he's willing to put aside all his own basic wants and needs to stop the cycle of dungeons devouring humans.

I'm going to cut a potential thesis on his character short and just give some examples of things that fandom should consider about his personality more:

Racism in fandom isn't just about whitewashing in fan art, or using racial slurs. The insidiousness of bad faith readings, reductions to racist tropes, lack of fan content for characters of color, and dismissal of a character's complexity are far more common. You can believe yourself to be completely neutral or even positive about a character and still churn out low-grade bile about them into fandom's collective unconscious. Fandom reflects real life.

And I have been around fandom long enough to see how these behaviors (mostly from my fellow white fans) affect fans of color, how it makes a fandom feel hostile and unwelcome to them. It's fun to make jokes and memes, I'm absolutely not saying that everything needs to be a deeply nuanced take, but we need to be careful that it doesn't veer into toxicity. Please think about how our contributions to fandom come across, and what sort of vibes they cultivate in this communal space.

Anon coming back!

Thanks for answering!

I'd say manga recs please, i used to be very into manga but life n stuff happened i even forgot what i was reading and most manga/anime recs are too mainstream.

I don't mean to be mean but bn/ha just doesn't scratch the itch for me.

I love me some slice of life or those kind of stories which seem calm but are full of interpersonal conflicts that push the characters to grow.

More seinen inclined than shonen, also love shojos and kodomos.

But good battles are also welcome.

Overall from what I've seen on your blog i think you have good taste or at least it aligns with mine so i trust you with whatever you throw my way.

:D

yeaaahhh i can see we have similar tastes :D hehe so excited i'll give you my finest recs 👍

for stories that are calm but have interpersonal conflicts that push the characters to grow, here are some of my favorites: heavenly eats (hope manhwa recs are ok!), hirayasumi (if you like sukirofa you're gonna love this one) and tokyo alien brothers by the same author, bl metamorphosis (also sukirofa's cousin), box of light (this one's also supernatural and has a little bit of action and drama), let's go karaoke!, zeikin de katta hon (about the ups and downs of working at a library), i think our son is gay + if you add romance to the formula: after school lessons for unripe apples, unlucky mansion and these three manhwa by omyo <3: when the day comes, the stories of those around me and salty studio (these are so perfect for the kind of story you described bc. that's omyo's whole deal).

most of those are slice of life manga but if you want some more wehre nothing happens but they're an absolute delight: mr. villain's day off, yotsuba&!, tsuki to suppin, captivated by you, country diary: spring to summer and country diary: autumn to winter.

and as always, my usual recs (bc they're the most perfect mangas/hwas and everyone should read them): akane banashi, dai dark, dungeon meshi, no home, gekkan shoujo nozaki kun, witch hat atelier, shimanami tasogare anddd i think that's all

i have a faves list in anilist which you can also check, most of the ones i just mentioned are there + other ones i might be forgetting

hope you enjoy them!!! :D

Exorcism Sorbet for the Soul

I’m a little late with this one, mostly because I've been kind of distracted with a ton of other life stuff, but i got some time before errands and wanted to throw some light on a manga i enjoy; Dungeon Mesh or Delicious In Dungeon here in the states. Dungeon Meshi is a high fantasy style, dungeon crawling focused, manga with an emphasis on cooking. Now, i was a little underwhelmed by that concept when i heard it but the saving grace, the thing that actually got me to open the book, was the art. This sh*t is gorgeous, man. I loved every line, every layout, every page. It quite stunning. The creator, Ryoko Kui, has a real flair and unique look to her art and it’s absolutely stunning. Seeing her lines made me feel like the first time i saw Kubo’s art and, from me, that’s very high praise. Even more than that, the world she’s constructed is crazy fascination.

Like i said before, this is a hard fantasy manga. Think Tolkien, not Martin. Kui has crafted a world with is it’s own class system, fantastic creatures, and a magic system that seems sound. There are rules to this world that are immutable and have to be addressed as the journey opens up and i adore that. Other countries are mentioned, making the political climate of certain nations paramount, though, those aspects take a backseat to the more, personal, narrative we’re being guided by. Indeed, this story has a rather compelling tale of familial bonds, a theme that runs through this narrative like a river to the sea. It informs everything about this adventure and really hammers home with the characters.

The strength of this book is the relationships and interactions with the main party. I love these guys, man. The leader and closest thing to a main character, Laios Thorden is this gung-ho, Lovable but oblivious, Tall-Man who adventures as a Knight. Next, and childhood friend to Laios, is Marcille. She’s a an Elf Mage who basically gets the plot started out of her own hubris. She is a pretty great mage, but often bites off more than she can chew. Next up, is the Chef in the group, a quiet and worldly Warrior Dwarf named Senshi. Dude knows everyone and can cook anything. It’s kind of hilarious. Chilchuck is an easily panicked, coward of a Half-Foot. It took a while for me to understand why the party puts up with his sh*t but, apparently, he’s one of the best Locksmiths around, something i figure would come in handy while exploring a magical dungeon. Lastly, we come to my favorite character of the main cast, Izutsumi. She is a Man-made Beast, cursed with the visage of a cat and trained in the art of Ninjitsu. She’s a nekomimi ninja, bro. And a tsundere at that. Izu started off as a foil but learned to accept, and be accepted into, the party Vegeta style. Like, I'm no furry but Izutsumi is definitely worth that squeeze, you know what i mean? I'm a sucker for that kind of character and immediately found myself endeared to her feminine-feline wiles. Izu is easily the most capable in the entire party, a fact she’s well aware of, and rarely goes without letting everyone know it. I think the Kui agrees because she couldn't wait to introduce Izu into the narrative.

Dungeon Meshi is an amazing manga that deserves all of the shine it can muster. It seems to be pretty popular in Japan as of now but it can always use a signal boost. This thing needs a proper anime adaption because the world is just that opulent. Trigger actually gave us a little tease of what could be, for a commercial selling ramen of all things, and it was amazing. Thirty seconds was all i needed to see, to absolutely know, we need a full length series animated by the Gainax progeny, with a generous budget. I would love to see Izu’s ambush or that time the party fished for a Kraken, in full motion. I need to know how the monsters and beasts would be animated or how a studio would visualize the magic used throughout the narrative. How does one capture the Canary Captain, Mithrun’s teleport ability? How would they articulate the symbiosis between dungeon and Lord of the Dungeon? I would love to see the party’s battle with chimera Falon and how epic those madmen over at Trigger would adapt everything. I need this to happen so I nee more people across the world, to support Meshi.

Even without an amazing anime adaption, Dungeon Meshi is a brilliant read. It’s full of amazing, endearing, characters who populate a deep, well visualized, integrated world, that feels real. It feels alive. You care about the party within the first few chapters because hey act like people. They're fallible and make mistakes. Some of it is played up for laughs but it stems organically from people being people, even if, technologically, there are no “people” as awe know them. The comradery among the party is genuine and almost palpable. You want them to succeed in their quest and when the narrative opens up to the grater mystery ahead, you lust for the next chapter. This thing will lure you in with outstanding art and land you with one of the best fantasy stories i have ever had the pleasure of reading. Dungeon Meshi is all of the dope and you should go read it right now.