Manga Traders

Posted by Yukimura on 09/08/2009 11:21 am

Part 1 - Right Now
Yesterday I started performing some maintenance on the download servers.  This maintenance will take anywhere from five to eight hours per server so I'm only running it on one server at a time.  While the maintenance is taking place on a server it will be slower to respond, slower to transfer data, and more likely to timeout or drop connections.  dl1 and dl2 finished last night and as of the writing of this post dl3 is still undergoing maintenance.  When that is done dl4 and dl5 will have their turn.  Hopefully this will all be over by this time tomorrow.

EDIT: The maintenance is complete everything should be normal on all the download servers again.

Part 2 - News from a couple weeks ago
In other news It may have taken two and a half years for me to get around to it but the series recommendation system has been revived.  As you may or may not have noticed most series pages now have list of several other series that you may like if you like the series in question.  These recommendations are based on genre similarity between series though so don't put too much faith in them.  The series displayed are those that match the most closely and then they are ordered by MT rank.  This set up tends to give the best results when a series has several genres though.  For series with only one or two genres the list of similar series will look pretty similar since the MT ranking factor will dominate the genre closeness factor. (sorry Yaoi fans).

This system is not set in stone though so if anyone has any (well thought out) suggestions about how it might better recommend series that only have a few genres please let me know.  Please keep in mind that basing recommendations on direct user ratings or user behaviors is pretty much out of the question due to the complexity and quantity of calculations needed to work with that sort of data.

Part 3 - News from a month ago
It occurs to me that I never got around to detailing the new features I made last month (nice job on donations in August month by the way, thanks again to everyone donated).  To put it simply, I added functions to make browsing for series and oneshots much easier.

If you go to: http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/serieslistextended you will see several new options for sorting and pruning the default alphabetical list of series.  You'll also find  that there is more information displayed about each series than on the normal series list.  The preview image, author, MT Rating and rank, and the first part of the series summary are all displayed on the extended series list.  Using the new pruning features if you want to look only for series which contain certain genres, or are of a certain type, or are completely available on MT you can.  In addition, the pruning and filtering settings are all based on URL so you can bookmark a combination of sorting and pruning and check back to see what it's matched periodically.  Combining genre pruning with the ability to sort series and oneshots by date allows you to create something of a genre watch list for example.  I would recommend anyone who likes to browse randomly for series using the genre search system switch over to the extended series list instead.  The search system was designed to find very specific series.  The extended series list should be much better for browsing though series matching rougher criteria.

I have also made similar changes to the oneshot listings. If you go to http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/oneshots you'll see a similar set up to the Extended Series List.  You can now sort the one shots by their add date or by their and prune for the genres you want to see.

Part 4 - News from a possible future
I'll probably make some more features, since you all never seem satisfied.  Genre Filtering could conceivably make a limited appearance in places like the main latest uploads page or the extended series list.  I make no guarantees though.  There might also be other reasonable suggestions floating around in the Suggestions thread but I haven't had the chance to look for a while.

Posted by Morghus on 09/02/2009 3:37 pm

Manga of the Week: One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

This week, our manga spotlight has shined upon One Piece. If you are unfamiliar with this manga be sure to check it out!



Series summary:
A boy named Monkey D. Luffy, inspired by his childhood friend and hero "Red-Haired" Shanks, sets out on a journey to find the legendary One Piece, to become the new Pirate King, and to make a grand adventure. To accomplish this, he must reach the end of the most deadly and dangerous ocean: The Grand Line.

Luffy captains the Straw Hat Pirates first through the sea of East Blue and then through the Grand Line. He follows the path of the deceased Pirate King, Gold Roger, from island to island on his way to the great treasure One Piece.

During the course of the story, the crew contend with both other less moral pirate crews and the Navy. The latter are the subordinates of the World Government, who apparently seek justice by ending the Golden Age of Pirates. Many background story elements involve the delicate balance of power between the World Government and the world's most powerful pirate crews.

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Review by Morghus

I'm a fan of the series, but I need to get this off my chest immediately; the beginning of the manga will most likely be boring. There're quite a lot of people who liked the first 75 chapters of the manga, but in my experience they're surprisingly few. The anime might be a good choice for you.

The first chapter is nice enough, you get to know about Luffy's back story and dreams, as well as a glimpse of Shanks' mighty crew at an early stage. From chapter 2 and onwards it can get boring pretty fast, a major gripe for a lot of people. Perhaps the result of a young mangaka that hasn't found his footing yet. Thankfully the story becomes a lot deeper later. Actually, it will become engaging and, at times, agonizingly realistic, like chapter 502 (extended explanation, long read). You'll notice that One Piece dares to use serious topics like the abuse of humans, wraps them up in cliches and actually makes it work. The world and story of One Piece is a good example of amazing storytelling.

In the beginning you'll probably find the art just as odd and unappealing as I did when I started, but I suspect your opinion will change as time goes. After all these years, Oda's style is hailed as a bit of a revolution due to his combination of a simple style with incredibly complex details, and chances are I'm not the only one who thinks his art is among the best.

The cast of characters never stops growing, and as Luffy adds people to his crew the likelihood of finding a character you love beyond anyone else keeps increasing. The good part is that they're all adorable and unique, like Chopper and Franky. Or loathsome and ruthless, like Enel and Crocodile, who are both fantastic villains.

Fortunately it never seems to fall into the trap where it takes itself too seriously, or use serious moments like a gimmick the way a lot of other shounen mangas do. Characters are often portrayed in an intentionally stupid manner to make us laugh, but so far I have never seen them be portrayed stupidly in a manner that makes you groan inside. To the contrary, it allows us to take them even more seriously when the shit hits the fan.

Overall this manga is amazing. Fantastic and unique artwork that never gets messy, a story and cast that always feels fresh and a world and setting that feels increasingly inventive the further it develops. One Piece continues climbing with increasing sales in Japan, and an increasing following outside of Japan as well. However it's sadly marred by a beginning that can feel unimaginative and boring, and an art that can feel too alien at first, further decreasing the chance of new readers despite the quality of the manga later on.

Rating:

Storyline - 8/10 (a 10 for the story later on, a 6 for the boring beginning)
Characters - 9/10 (one of the best galleries of characters I've come across)
Artwork - 9/10 (simplistic, detailed, and original, simply superb)
Overall: 9/10

Choice example of art and humour (Ch. 461):

Posted by zraith on 08/27/2009 11:58 pm

This week, our manga spotlight has shined on Bloody Monday & Mousou Shoujo Otakukei! If you are unfamiliar with these manga be sure to check them out!

Bloody Monday

Series Summary:
A virus deal clinched in Russia on Christmas Eve.
Purpose: unknown.
Two clues:
1. A mysterious lady "Maya" (one of the gangsters)
2. "Bloody Monday", the keyword for the project.

An incident happened in the far-distant city of Tokyo. Fujimaru Takagi, a second grade student at Mishiro Gakuin high school, is commissioned to find out the truth for Public Security Investigation Bureau with his great ability as a super hacker. Now, however, Maya is approaching to Fujimaru as his high school teacher...

-

Mousou Shoujo Otakukei

Series Summary:
It's a shoujo-style romantic comedy about a quadrangle of two fujoshi (i.e. otome, female otaku) and two straight (though very bishounen) guys. The story is about a fangirl who tries to hide her otaku fetishes, while having lots of yaoi daydreams about the boys in her class.

Posted by ahpoke on 08/19/2009 10:00 am

Series of the Week: D. Gray Man by Katsura Hoshino

This week, our manga spotlight has shined upon D. Gray Man. If you are unfamiliar with this manga be sure to check it out!







Series Summary:
The plot revolves around Allen Walker, an exorcist, in the midst of the an imaginary 19th century Europe. Allen is a member of the Black Order, which contains exorcists, connected with the Vatican. The mission of the Black Order is to stop The Millennium Earl, an evil demon-like entity intending to cleanse the world by destroying all the human in it in the manner of Noah's great flood.

D. Gray Man by Katsura Hoshino

Review: - by ahpoke

D Gray Man, no one knows why the author named it this way but it's an intriguing title set in a post war era.  The deaths of so many has led to numerous grieving people.  These bereaved souls unwittingly fuel another secret war, the war between the organization known as the Black Order, and the akuma, mystical weapons powerd by the souls of the dead and led by the Millennium Earl.

The series focus on the exorcist Allen Walker, one of the rare individuals born destined to fight the akuma using Innocence, the only weapon the akuma fear.  Allen is exceptional even among those compatible with Innocence in that he was born with Innocence already residing in his cursed left arm.

We find Allen is an orphan who works for a circus along with his clown mentor, Mana Walker. However the death of his mentor, and the despair that it left him with, caused Allen to summon the Millennium Earl, who recalled Mana's soul in the form of an akuma.  Mana's soul then cursed Allen before his soul passed on a second time, to see all the pain and suffering of the souls bound to akuma.

Allen is then picked up by the worst influence available in the world, Cross Marian, a general of the Blaack Order. A general he may be, but he has run away from the Order to accomplish a secret mission, at the same time he manages to rack up enormous debts which Allen has to pay off.  Eventually Allen is sent away by the genreal and makes his way to the Order's headquarters.  There he joins up with Rinali, who is pretty much the main female exorcist and the sisterly figure of the Order. Inside the Order, he meets her brother, the eccentric supervisor, Komui Lee, who immediately starts to experiment on Allen as the form of his innocence is rare and the supervisor wants a peek inside.

The story revolves around the exorcists of the Order, depicting their battle against the Millennium Earl and his legions of Akuma and human allies alike.  Both groups vie or the legendary Heart Innocence that is said to be the key to victory in their battle. In this time period, as the number of akuma grows as the number of people grieving increasess, the exorcists are heavily outnumbered, desperate to find the key to their victory.

Throughout the storyline, Allen and the other exorcists slowly uncover the secrets of the Millennium Earl and his most dangerous minions, the Noah family. They must fight their enemies while having to fend off conflict amongst themselves as well as their own organizations sometimes questionable motives.  Still, there is humor within the series, as the characters all have their fun sides.

Overall this is a great series with a strong plotline, as well as good artwork. Proof of this being the almost fanatic following as proven when the artist put the manga on hiatus, where scores of fans ranted about it. Thus don't miss this chance to catch this series now, especially when the series has gone back to regular serialization.

Rating:

Storyline: 9/10
Artwork: 7+1 (at the request of fans)/10
Overall: 8+0.5 (at the request of fans)/10

Other Related Titles:
- ZONE

Related Photo of the Week:

Posted by zraith on 08/14/2009 1:40 am

This week, our manga spotlight has shined on Bakuman & Saint Young Men! If you are unfamiliar with these manga be sure to check them out!

Bakuman

Series Summary:
It's not easy to become and live as a mangaka; Mashiro knows that from his late uncle. At his 9th grade, while trying to keep up with reality, school and then normal job, he left his notebook with a sketch of a girl, Azuki, he likes. Takagi, a first-rate student found it and tried to convince Mashiro to draw a manga with his story. Mashiro doesn't like the idea and tries to decline. Takagi, however, tries to stick to dream and found out that Azuki also wants to be a voice actress and got a good reply from a production company. Takagi, then, brought Mashiro to her house and telling her his dream.... Mashiro tells her that he will write a manga with Takagi and will ask Azuki to voice their anime. Out of confusion, Mashiro asks her if the dreams become reality, will she marry him? She says yes, only if their dreams become true, and not otherwise!! And so life of wannabe mangakas begun!!!

-

Saint Young Men

Series Summary:
Saint Oniisan is slice-of-life or divine-life, tale of Jesus and Buddha as they try to experience the modern world, in this case, Japan. The manga places a funny twist on religion, attitudes, culture and customs in Japan through the eyes of Jesus and Buddha.

You see Jesus and Buddha experiencing Asakusa, public baths, theme parks, and the internet. Throughout the manga, we get a little history of their divine greatness only to see their apparent insignificance in modern Japanese society. Suffice to say, before people can recognize that they’re actually Jesus and Buddha, people think of them as someone who looks like Johnny Depp or a guy with a button on his forehead. For real.