How to Buy Manga Cheap
Manga is an expensive hobby in two ways. The first is in the way it consumes hours of your time but I view this as a good thing. I believe a day where all I did was read manga is a day well spent. The second way that manga is expensive is in the price tag. Yes, most manga is hosted online and you can read it for free. But what are you going to do when you want to read manga but you don’t have access to the internet? What if you like having a physical copy? If you think that you have no choice but to buy manga you would be correct in thinking so. Yet there is no need to grimace at the thought of an empty wallet. In part one of this two part series I will explain to you the wonders of used manga, together we will weigh the pros and cons of this idea and I will direct you to reliable ways to buy cheap, cost effective, manga.
MangaLog: Hotel
From the same mangaka that brought us Sun-ken Rock, Boichi, comes a collection of five oneshots.
In general these oneshots have amazingly detailed drawings. Seeing how most of these oneshots have a sci-fi theme to them pictures can become quite grand, to have such images as detailed, crisp, and clear as these is quite the accomplishment. The facial expressions on the people here are of the most expressive I have ever seen in a manga. Boichi-sensei also shows off his ability as a writer. Together, the drawing and the writing act as an efficient conductor of emotion. The emotion Boichi-sensei put in is the emotion you receive, no less but everything more.
Click the break to read a summery of each oneshot and my thoughts on them.
I started making a post about every chapter of manga chapter I read. I called it MangaLog and I started off strong with a collection of oneshots.
Manga Review: Kamisama Hajimemashita
I have a weakness for Japanese superstition and religion. Kamisama Hajimemashita fills my need for this and my need for romance. This fantastic romance, pun very much intended, follows Nanami Momozono as she grows into her job as a Land God and as a God of Marriage. A mortal god is rare but not unheard of, they are rarely acknowledged by immortal gods and often fall pray to yokai. Luckily, Nanami has Tomoe, her familiar and ex-yokai, to protect her and teacher her. This manga follows the adventures of Nanami as she tries to prove herself to other gods, does her duties as Land God, and gets involved with the affairs of yokai. The taboo relationship between yokai and human is also explored, even by just reading this paragraph it is quite obvious who the yokai and human in question are. If you still don’t know who the character in question are I will give you a hint: I only introduced two characters so far.
Manga Review: Tomehane!
Returnee Yukari Oe has been in school for a week now, he has no friends but isn’t bullied either. He yearns for something more. Fate answers his call, in a way Oe would never expect, by getting him threatened to join the calligraphy club. Still needing one more member, the club tricks Yuki Mochizuki into joining by playing the responsibility card as she accidentally broke Oe’s dominant hand. The addition of these two eager first years drives the tepid calligraphy club to new heights. This manga explores the many different types of Japanese calligraphy, how to draw it, its modern applications, and its history.
Manga Review: King of Thorns
People often ask: “If you could have one superpower what would it be?” One day I decided to sit down and plan out what would be the best superpower so that I would be prepared should someone ask. After brainstorming I came up with two superpowers that were tied for my favorite. One of them is turning what I imagine into reality. Just like any superpower this one has flaws. This manga explores what happens if someone tries to utilize this great power in order to take over the world. In this manga the so called, “Medusa virus,” has started to infect humans. The result? People slowly turn in stone. Huge power awaits those who can control the Medusa virus.
Manga and Kuma-chan Giveaway!
Hey, you! Yes you! Do you like manga? Do you do think Kuma-chan is cute? If you answered yes to either question then you should enter into my giveaway.
Sounds too good to be true right? I mean, getting manga or a cute key-chain for free? Sounds fishy? Well, you’re wrong. It sounds amazing. Just as amazing as you, our readers are.
In the spirit of Reader’s Appreciation Week, I will be giving away these four prizes. They include: one volume of Weekly Shounen Jump, one volume of Monthly Asuka, and two Kuma-chan (bear) key-chains. The best part is that everything is imported from Japan. This is authentic manga and authentic Japanese key-chains that we are talking about here.
For details on how to enter, hit the break!
So I am hosting a giveaway for my other blog, feel free to enter into it. But if you do I ask that you at least check out my other blog (populationgo) and think about whether or not you want to follow it.
Pop GO Celebrates “Reader Appreciation Week”!
In honor of all of the readers who has helped Pop GO surpass the 10,000 follower mark, we will be dedicating all of next week, starting Monday, Dec. 5th until Friday, Dec. 9th, to all of the wonderful geeks and otaku who have made it possible!
Compared to the more prominent blogs on Tumblr, 10,000 may not be that big of a number. But to a humble geek site like ours, it is beyond anything we have ever imagined. Pop GO wouldn’t be where it is today without the continued love and support that our readers have shown us the past year. Therefore, next week is all for YOU.
In addition to a few prize giveaways and contests, we will also be giving our readers the opportunity to be interviewed and featured in our Hi 5 segment.
Hit the break to find out how!
Attention followers: I will be having a Question and Answer type deal tomorrowtoday. Details are above, also feel free to ask me any questions that you may have.
Manga Review: Hajime no Ippo
Ippo is sixteen years old and most people think he is a wimp. Which isn’t really true. He works at his family’s fishing charter business and has a sailor’s build but he is simply too nice to fight back against bullies. But one day when he was being pick on by a group of bullies, Takamura, a professional boxer, saved him. This was the turning point in Ippo’s life. He now aspires to be a professional boxer and surprisingly, he has the talent for it.
Manga Review: Detroit Metal City
Soichi Negishi is a well-mannered and shy musician who left the countryside for Tokyo to pursue his dream to be a pop musician. However, things don’t go according to plan. He is a horrendous pop musician but as it turns out he is an amazing death metal musician. Now Negishi is the lead musician in the death metal band Detroit Metal City. Even though he hates it, Negishi dresses up and becomes Johannes Krauser II, a demon terrorist from hell who killed then raped his parents; often kills police officers; can and is willing to rape everything; and is basically the demonic version of Chuck Norris from hell as he can do impossible acts of vulgarity and evil simply because he is Krauser II. However, Krauser II is far more than an act. No, it is a part of Negishi. When he gets angry out comes Krauser II. Krauser II is basically Negishi’s alter ego. Does Krauser II actually do all these horrible acts that urban legends claim that he did? No, all of his fans simply misunderstand what Krauser II does and blow it up to outrageous proportions and since his fans worship him as a god, they are willing to believe their own lies. After every misunderstanding he becomes more popular, after every time he escapes to Krauser II in his personal life he relies on Krauser II more, and every time he returns to being Negishi he hates himself more. When Negishi tries to run away from this cycle something always brings him back, thus the story continues.
Manga Review: Dragon Warrior: Dai’s Great Adventure
A rather old manga, Dragon Warrior: Dai’s Great Adventure is based in the world of the video game series Dragon Quest. This story stays true to the game to such an extent that even the manga feels like a RPG (Role Playing Game); the characters level up, learn new spells, and change classes. As you can tell from the manga’s title the manga is about Dai, a Dragon Knight, who goes on an adventure with fellow Disciples of Avan and other friends to defeat the Great Demon King Vearn.
