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[*THASF*]

I'm making a separate thread for the discussion of comic books. Let's start with a certain... awesome experience I had recently.

You see, I just finished Battle Angel Alita's(GUNNM's) first series, and I'll be starting on BAA: Last Order as soon as I get volume one.

I can't begin to describe how excellent it is, especially from an art standpoint. Too much manga nowadays fails to capture the feel of action, something that this series has plenty of. I'd heard of this manga series years ago, but never really thought much of it... until I got it.

It's amazing. Though it might start off on the wrong foot, with some corny characterizations and lack of depth... like all Japanese masterpieces, it ends up emotionally gripping you to the point where you can't help but read all 2000 pages in a single day. It just kept getting better and better all the way to the end. I'd say it's definitely in the Top-10 best manga of all time.

It might not suit certain tastes. I can see that it's designed to attract readers like myself, with excellent art, dramatic scenes, violence, war, science-fiction themes, etc.

However, that doesn't mean that even if you're a big "cutesy-manga" fan, you're going to instantaneously adore this. You have to already like the whole "main character who kicks everyone's ass" theme.

To understand what I mean by that, allow me to give you a comparison, starting with "Girly Crap" and ending with "Absolute Pwnage":

[Girl in maid's outfit, to similarly-clothed friend]: "So, what did you do today?"

[Girl in maid's outfit pours a cup of tea.]

[Friend]: "I think I'm in love with this boy at school, but I'm afraid to tell him!"

[Friend Blushes, covering her mouth with both hands.]

...

[Alita walks up to them, and everything changes. Suddenly, Girl in maid's outfit and Friend are drawing handguns and training them on her. Alita considers disarming them, but they start shooting at her before she can put such a plan into action. Instead, she pulls out her Butterfly sword and cuts their skulls in half, sending bits of brain everywhere. Their corpses slump to the ground, spewing forth pools of blood all the while.]

See what I mean? That's the level of contrast we're talking about here. This stuff totally trumps all that boring shoujo and school-girl shit they've been churning out nowadays. Yukito Kishiro definitely gets "*THASF*'s Awesome Mangaka Stamp of Approval!", that's for sure.

Check it out!

[Gopher]

THASF. Thank you. You have earned yourself a huge fucking bowl of flan.

Yea, I picked that series up not too long ago and I gotta say that was the best 170 bucks I ever spent! And yes, I did spend entire days reading those novels. Alita is a beautiful character with such unique depth and intelligence. She's well balanced and is good at more things than just fighting. I really got a feel for her and her lifestyle; Kishiro really makes you real bummed out when bad things happen to her. Like Zapan.

And he has my gratitude regarding his light use of stylistic exaggerations. They were there, but they weren't uncomfortably abundant (coughcoughFullMetalAlchemistcough).

It's like a "Fallout-ish-end-of-the-world-android-coming-of-age"....thing. I just love the fact that there can be such intricate characters who are good at fighting, but also have hobbies. Very believeable, for sure. It also has it's cute moments but it maintains a need to be taken seriously. I've never read anything like it; it is my favorite manga.

....

Regarding the Last Order series. Fucking brilliant! As good as the overall saga was, I didn't like the ending so I'm thankful for this. There are only 2 things that slightly bug me about this story.

1. The wait between novels are TOO FUCKING LONG! The local comic book guy says the next book won't be out for over 6 months. But hey, great stories take time, right?

And 2. Is Sechs a guy or a girl? I can't figure it out since (s)he changed bodies. Bitchin' blade though. For sure.

[*THASF*]

Gopher wrote: THASF. Thank you. You have earned yourself a huge fucking bowl of flan.

Hmm... The Flan of victory!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flan

That last line before the Trivia section seems rather interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav

I actually added something to the Trivia section of the article about the Schwerer Gustav, mentioning its use by "resistance forces" against Tiphares.

Gopher wrote: Is Sechs a guy or a girl? I can't figure it out since (s)he changed bodies. Bitchin' blade though. For sure.

[*THASF*]

*THASF* Uses Phoenix Down on Thread

There, all revived now. Thread's looking bright as ever, I must say! If you ignore all the maggots creeping out of its festering cheeks.

Anyhow, yeah... Berserk. Absolutely marvelous.

Guts kinda reminds me of Ash Williams. Even if they aren't exactly alike, they're both Maddoxian heroes, if such a thing can be said to exist.

One-liners? Guts don't need no stinkin' one-liners. His sole one-liner consists of one-lining his big friggin' sword through several torsos at once! To open the doors to some jerk-off count's throne room, he didn't even bother kicking them open directly like a civilized person would. No, that's not good enough. Instead, he simply kicked the guy standing in front of the door in the teeth to send 'em flying on through, incidentally swinging the doors open in the process.

But there's just one thing, and it's about his sworn enemy. You wanna know the first thing I thought when I saw Griffith? I was like... "Yeah, this guy's definitely taken it in the pooper at least a few times... a day."

Only an enormous poof like Griffith could provide us with a proper antagonist for the series. Yeah, I know he's kinda bi, but that's beside the point. Look at that face! What the hell? Kill it!

This series, along with GUNNM and a few others, constitutes another one of Seinen manga's utterly ballistic, gory triumphs over all the formulaic school comedies/dramas/whatsits. As for those, one is enough. We don't need over nine thousand.

Guts is awesome, and the rough-hewn, dynamic artistry of the series serves mainly to accentuate this fact. Making fun of cripples? Check. Laughing and sneering at men, women and children alike? Check. Dozens of people getting cleaved in half? Check. Prosthetic arm cannon? Check. Automatic crossbow? Check, and Check.

Yep, definitely a keeper.

EDIT 07/14/08: Yeah, baby. Listening to Judas Priest while reading Berserk... an experience best described as nothing less than Apocalyptic.

So, maybe Griffith ain't such a nancy-boy after all. He sure... did... well, I'm not so sure I should say such things aloud. Might scar some young, impressionable minds.

Speaking of which, there's one more thing I forgot to add. This series is definitely not for children. If you're not accustomed to such graphic imagery and/or have not yet come of age, I respectfully implore you not to read it. I'm not going to be a condescending ass about it, I really mean it; you should wait until you're old enough to enjoy it. That aside, I'm quite honestly astonished that something so well-drawn and vividly imagined cannot rise above cult classic status. Apparently, people actually like reading bland, formulaic tripe instead. If only childrens' series had such gritty detail, eh?

Not gonna name names, but I'm sure you all know exactly what I'm talking about.

There were a few exceptions to the rule, though. The Powerpuff Girls was - and still is - a show for children. However, it was also so much more than that. Moody colors, hidden innuendos and mature themes permeated the series, giving it a certain edge that its competitors lacked. And yes, it was at times quite violent. Nevertheless, it's the one thing we all have in common; we're all here because we're the kind who know quality when we see it. We've all been separating the wheat from the proverbial chaff for as long as we can remember.

Ultimately, we shall all reap a bounty of epic masterpieces from the world of entertainment media, casting aside all the worthless, generic drecks with aplomb!