Recommended Anime/Manga?

A place where you can chat about anything that isn't to do with games!
User avatar
LUNardei
Posts: 1174
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:42 pm
Location: Italy
Contact:

Post by LUNardei »

@ Turrican: got 2001 Nights vol.3: couldn't agree more ^_^
Now I'm looking for vol.1 :wink:
User avatar
greg
Posts: 1851
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:10 am
Location: Gunma-ken, Japan
Contact:

Post by greg »

greg wrote:Seikai Trilogy: I just picked this one up at the used book store. Haven't read it yet, but it looks very interesting. Based off a popular Japanese SF novel trilogy.
I am now on volume 2 of this manga and I love it. I was instantly hooked as soon as I started reading volume 1. I bought volume 3 last night, and I've started collecting the anime series on DVD.

It's about time they made an anime/manga space opera series! There hasn't been much of that since the 80's. I haven't seen epic space fleet battles like this since Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

My only gripe is the constant usage of the alien words. I'm relieved that there is a glossary of terms in the back of the book. I've read Tolkein, but constantly flipping to the glossary and reading this manga is more like trying to translate what my wife's Furby doll is saying. Overuse of such words that can be easily replaced with common English words is a no-no according to Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy."
Undamned is the leading English-speaking expert on the consolized UD-CPS2 because he's the one who made it.
User avatar
tekneekz
Posts: 404
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:31 am

Post by tekneekz »

i just started watching samurai deeper kyo, its pretty darn good if your into kenshin, bleach etc.
User avatar
SAM
Posts: 1788
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:27 am
Location: A tiny nameless island in South China Sea

Post by SAM »

Twiddle wrote:
Icarus wrote:
Twiddle wrote:Heads up: Welcome to the NHK! is fucking hardcore.
Are you watching it or reading it?
Watching.

The manga has a much less likable Satou (but it's much more hilarious).
I had only read the manga... :o

Dosen't like it, simply say. :x

BTW, "Big Sword Claymore" is great. :)

Big Sword Claymore
Simply say it's Gunslinger Girls with grown up girls in a medivial world. Only the setting simliar, the story seems to develop in a different dirrection... The story always follow the main charater, in stead of switching from one girl to another (like in Gunslinger Girls). I am at book 10 right now.
Last edited by SAM on Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
*Meow* I am as serious as a cat could possible be. *Meow*
User avatar
SAM
Posts: 1788
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:27 am
Location: A tiny nameless island in South China Sea

Post by SAM »

greg wrote:Sgt. Frog (Keroro Gunsou): I love this series. Like Minzoku mentioned way earlier in this thread, it's a spoof manga. Frog-like alien invaders end up being adopted as pets to some Japanese school kids. Constantly plotting to take over the world and failing at the hands of these same kids. Lots of classic anime references: Gundam in heaps, Macross, Dirty Pair, Evangelion, Ultraman, on and on and on. Great, hilarious book. I hope they'll bring the TV series on DVD domestically. The anime is great, but the adult humor is toned way down and focuses on the cute factor for kids.
The anime is fun to watch, but I cann't get myself really into it. May be I watch too little of the animes they used for reference.
greg wrote:Record of the Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight: My introduction to Lodoss. The last part of the original anime OVA went in a different direction, and wasn't handled quite as well as it could have. This manga redoes this last part and focuses on a new generation of adventurers, some of them the children of the original characters. Excellent art by Masato Natsumoto.
My sister read the original novels, she find it fun, while I don't...

I had only watched the OVA and TV series. (So-so)
greg wrote:Di Gi Charat: The mascot from the Gamers chain store has her own manga. Only for lovers of cute stuff.
Only the charaters are cute, the story is actually not interesting at all.
*Meow* I am as serious as a cat could possible be. *Meow*
User avatar
SAM
Posts: 1788
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:27 am
Location: A tiny nameless island in South China Sea

Post by SAM »

greg wrote:
greg wrote:Seikai Trilogy: I just picked this one up at the used book store. Haven't read it yet, but it looks very interesting. Based off a popular Japanese SF novel trilogy.
I am now on volume 2 of this manga and I love it. I was instantly hooked as soon as I started reading volume 1. I bought volume 3 last night, and I've started collecting the anime series on DVD.

It's about time they made an anime/manga space opera series! There hasn't been much of that since the 80's. I haven't seen epic space fleet battles like this since Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

My only gripe is the constant usage of the alien words. I'm relieved that there is a glossary of terms in the back of the book. I've read Tolkein, but constantly flipping to the glossary and reading this manga is more like trying to translate what my wife's Furby doll is saying. Overuse of such words that can be easily replaced with common English words is a no-no according to Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy."
I love the Seikai Series too. After watching the Anime of Seikai no Monshou (星界の紋章), I quickly watch the others and bought all its novels.

The alien words/lanuages is actually modified from Japanese...

It's story is quite different from "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" since the series start with introducing the life and culture of the people in the story's world first. It makes the story comes into life and more interesting, even though the development of the war/battle is actually boring. Togeter with the characters with interesting personality, it becomes a very fun story.

In the "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", on the other hand, is actually trying to impress reader/watcher by the amusement development of the war/battle. But the down side of this series is the author just copy historical battles fight by Alexander, Hannibel & Scipio, replacing the fighting men with space ship. Not very interesting to read, if you are familar with history of classic battles.
*Meow* I am as serious as a cat could possible be. *Meow*
User avatar
greg
Posts: 1851
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:10 am
Location: Gunma-ken, Japan
Contact:

Post by greg »

I just finished volume 3 of the Seikai Trilogy manga! I will definitely be buying the second and third series of the anime as well as the novels. They are being released in English very soon.

This has quickly become one of my favorite series. Space opera seems to be so rare these days in anime/manga. The story is fantastic, and the designs of the space ships are awesome! I was hoping that there would be plastic models of the ships, but they only have expensive garage kits. I found the auctions for these here and here.

There is also a Playstation game.

I wish that they did not change artists for the third manga, because I liked the art of the first artist better. The characters looked less detailed, but they were more charming. The art in the third manga reminds me more of the manga for girls' comics.
SAM wrote: In the "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", on the other hand, is actually trying to impress reader/watcher by the amusement development of the war/battle. But the down side of this series is the author just copy historical battles fight by Alexander, Hannibel & Scipio, replacing the fighting men with space ship. Not very interesting to read, if you are familar with history of classic battles.
Yes, Seikai Trilogy and Legend of the Galactic Heroes are very different series, but I made the comparison because they are both space opera with epic fleet battles. LOGH is probably my most favorite anime ever. There isn't as much character development because the focus is on a historical record of a space war and its political events and battles. The unoffical motto for LOGH is Churchill's quote, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." Sometimes the anime is very obvious about how it copies historical events, like the Alliance's liberation campaign into the Empire is identical to Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

Both are great series for different reasons. Seikai Trilogy revolves around a love story between Jinto and Lafiel, and how their relationship will one day change the Abh Empire forever. The war against the United Mankind is more of a backdrop to the story of their relationship.

Unfortunately, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is too sophisticated of a show for an American audience. It's never been released here and it only has an underground following from the fansubs. It seems that people here would rather watch insipid shows like Naruto.
Undamned is the leading English-speaking expert on the consolized UD-CPS2 because he's the one who made it.
User avatar
Icarus
Posts: 7318
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:55 am
Location: England

Post by Icarus »

greg wrote:It seems that people here would rather watch insipid shows like Naruto.
Excuse me? ^_-

I prefer my anime at two seasons or shorter, and not filler crap like Bleach and Naruto. If it goes on for too long, I lose interest. ^_-

Unfortunately though, there isn't much on at the moment besides stuff thats has been recommended already - Utawarerumono, Higurashi, Ouran, NHK, Sharkteeth... I mean Muteki Kanban Musume - and most are drawing to a close soon. Suzumiya Haruhi and Negima are due for a second season soon, and Kanon '06 is coming as well from the same studio that produced the brilliant AIR anime adaptation, so the autumn season should be something to watch.

There isn't much being licensed thats worth reading over here. I hear that Shakugan no Shana, Aria and Aqua have been picked up though, but they'll take forever to arrive as most manga does. For now, I'm reading Lament of the Lamb again (Hitsuji no Uta is its Japanese name, for those interested).
Image
User avatar
SAM
Posts: 1788
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:27 am
Location: A tiny nameless island in South China Sea

Post by SAM »

For coming anime, I guess Fate, Blood+ and the new HIME series should worth watching. :o
*Meow* I am as serious as a cat could possible be. *Meow*
User avatar
CMoon
Posts: 6207
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:28 pm

Post by CMoon »

Image

Phoenix 2772 (aka Space Firebird 2772) available for the first time with English subtitles. Absolutely amazing and one of the rare chances we have to see Tezuka with no restraints on his creative ability. Really a sort of celebration of animation with a fine adaptation of the basic themes from the Phoenix stories. Highly recommended!
User avatar
Twiddle
Posts: 5012
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Twiddle »

greg wrote:It seems that people here would rather watch insipid shows like Naruto.
i can't find a naruto or bleach recommendation in this thread
so long and tanks for all the spacefish
unban shw
<Megalixir> now that i know garegga is faggot central i can disregard it entirely
<Megalixir> i'm stuck in a hobby with gays
User avatar
greg
Posts: 1851
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:10 am
Location: Gunma-ken, Japan
Contact:

Post by greg »

Twiddle wrote:
greg wrote:It seems that people here would rather watch insipid shows like Naruto.
i can't find a naruto or bleach recommendation in this thread
I wasn't talking about forum members here, I'm just talking about anime fans in general, at least in the US. I personally can't stand Naruto, Dragonball, or One Piece, yet that's what's on TV here, and apparently the fandom supports shows like that or else it wouldn't be on TV.
Undamned is the leading English-speaking expert on the consolized UD-CPS2 because he's the one who made it.
User avatar
UnscathedFlyingObject
Posts: 3636
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:59 am
Location: Uncanny Valley
Contact:

Post by UnscathedFlyingObject »

Bleach and Naruto are pretty good shows. The fillers are pretty average but the main stories have some cool fights. You guys aren't watching shows like these and looking for convoluted stories, right?

I don't think anyone has mentioned Ranma 1/2 yet. Pretty funny show, just don't look for anything too deeply inspirational.
"Sooo, what was it that you consider a 'good salary' for a man to make?"
"They should at least make 100K to have a good life"
...
User avatar
CMoon
Posts: 6207
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:28 pm

Post by CMoon »

I can't believe that I waited something like 6 years to see Neon Genesis Evangelicon only to find it rather meh.
Randorama wrote:ban CMoon for being a closet Jerry Falwell cockmonster/Ann Coulter fan, Nijska a bronie (ack! The horror!), and Ed Oscuro being unable to post 100-word arguments without writing 3-pages posts.
Eugenics: you know it's right!
SHMUP sale page.
User avatar
dai jou bu
Posts: 561
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:05 pm
Location: Where hands connect

Post by dai jou bu »

Icarus wrote:- School Rumble:
Quite predictable for a love comedy though.
I guess it's predictable in the way they intentionally drag on the series like a standard shounen series should. How they do it is brilliant though.
Icarus wrote:- Shakugan no Shana:
Absolute brilliant, definitely worth the price of admission. Just picked up Noizi Ito's Shana linework book ('Scarlet' from Comiket 69) off YAJ, love the line work of the characters.
The anime series had me up until episode 17 (18? 19? Don't remember). Then they started to not follow the manga, which 99% of the time, is always a bad thing. And last-minute fanservice for the final episode just made me dislike the series even more from that point on. Movie is supposed to be in the works, and I hope it won't suck as much as the last story arc.

And how much did you pay for that line art book anyway? I want to get a copy someday.

Let's see. Other random thoughts:

- Stellvia is still a very good sci-fi anime even after three years of improvents in CG graphics. This is a fine example of how story pacing should be done. I was sort of disappointed that they cancelled to plan another season after it first aired, but then again, I know how it'd all turn out anyway in the end.

- ADV sucks for licensing the Aria manga over here and then jumping ship after the release of the third volume.

- Kino no Tabi (Kino's Journey) is interesting in a sense that it shows us how various ideas have been executed or thought of throughout human history in a fictitional world. I also liked how they emulated the visual novel's art style for the anime adaptation.

- I only was able to continue watching Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu because of the ED credits dance animation. The series itself was rather average, even though the amount of detail the studio put into it was very meticulous and they played the episodes out of order intentionally.
User avatar
Sword
Posts: 168
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:29 am
Location: Netherlands

Post by Sword »

UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:Bleach and Naruto are pretty good shows. The fillers are pretty average but the main stories have some cool fights. You guys aren't watching shows like these and looking for convoluted stories, right?

I don't think anyone has mentioned Ranma 1/2 yet. Pretty funny show, just don't look for anything too deeply inspirational.
Still, I wouldn't recommend the Naruto anime to anyone anymore. It's had over 50 consecutive eps of filler. :evil:

Bleach is a bit better, but that has had some pretty mediocre filler lately too. The only filler i've enjoyed (sort of) lately has been in One Piece (around ep 130). It may be whacky, but at least it's fun.
User avatar
Sword
Posts: 168
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:29 am
Location: Netherlands

Post by Sword »

tekneekz wrote:i just started watching samurai deeper kyo, its pretty darn good if your into kenshin, bleach etc.
You know, SDK really set off my 'cheap kenshin ripoff'-alert when i first read it. I found out it's quite a bit better than that, and i like it even now that i've grown to hate kenshin.

I like the SDK manga better than the anime, tho.
User avatar
greg
Posts: 1851
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:10 am
Location: Gunma-ken, Japan
Contact:

Post by greg »

UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:I don't think anyone has mentioned Ranma 1/2 yet. Pretty funny show, just don't look for anything too deeply inspirational.
Ranma 1/2 is great fun, but I prefer the manga to the anime. The anime is pretty good, but I guess since I was exposed to the manga years before the anime was ever commercially available domestically, I didn't like a lot of the inaccuracies and liberties they took with the animated show. When the manga is serious and dramatic, it gets serious and dramatic. When the anime gets serious and dramatic, for some reason they feel the need to suddenly offset it with something wacky at the same time. I didn't like that. Then again, I realize I'm just a purist.
Undamned is the leading English-speaking expert on the consolized UD-CPS2 because he's the one who made it.
User avatar
The n00b
Posts: 1490
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:31 am

Post by The n00b »

I like gantz. It's really intellectual plus it has lots of violence and boobies. What more could you ask from an anime/manga?
Proud citizen of the American Empire!
User avatar
ahnslaught
Posts: 485
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 11:48 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

Post by ahnslaught »

I like gantz (the manga) as well, but I wouldn't quite call it intellectual :wink:

Very cool, but my God, the violence is just crazy. You think it'll ever come out in the US?
User avatar
tekneekz
Posts: 404
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:31 am

Post by tekneekz »

sword: hehe i dont really like kenshin either, SDK gets str8 to the point lots of fighting scenes barely any fillers
User avatar
Icarus
Posts: 7318
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:55 am
Location: England

Post by Icarus »

dai jou bu wrote:
Icarus wrote:- School Rumble:
Quite predictable for a love comedy though.
I guess it's predictable in the way they intentionally drag on the series like a standard shounen series should. How they do it is brilliant though.
Yeah, it is a good anime and I enjoy watching it. I just feel the romance bits are a little forced and go on forever. You'd think Harima would get over Tenma and maybe hook up with Yakumo (my fave) or Eri (my other fave) but he seems to worship some idealised version of Tenma and it doesn't look to be stopping soon.

It is a good, well made anime though, and the parodies and nods to other series' are well done and quite funny. Shame its not likely to be licensed, ever. -_-;;
dai jou bu wrote:And how much did you pay for that line art book anyway? I want to get a copy someday.
I picked it up off YAJ for about 6000Y, not bad for a lovely artbook with production sketches. Comes in a nice clear folder case too. You can find a bit of info on the character artist Noizi Ito's forthcoming works at her webpage http://www.fujitsubo-machine.jp/

(She did the character designs for Suzumiya Haruhi and peace@pieces, among others.)

She's releasing a second Shana linework book soon.
dai jou bu wrote:ADV sucks for licensing the Aria manga over here and then jumping ship after the release of the third volume.
I believe that both Aria and its two volume prequel Aqua have been acquired by Tokyopop. THE JOY! ^_^
dai jou bu wrote:I only was able to continue watching Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu because of the ED credits dance animation. The series itself was rather average, even though the amount of detail the studio put into it was very meticulous and they played the episodes out of order intentionally.
I found Suzumiya Haruhi quite entertaining, but opinion is divided over the anime across the whole of the internet. I recommend you get the translated novels though, far more character development and lots of interesting events not seen in the anime. ^_-
Image
User avatar
Twiddle
Posts: 5012
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Twiddle »

Noizi Ito is a man.
so long and tanks for all the spacefish
unban shw
<Megalixir> now that i know garegga is faggot central i can disregard it entirely
<Megalixir> i'm stuck in a hobby with gays
User avatar
Icarus
Posts: 7318
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:55 am
Location: England

Post by Icarus »

Twiddle wrote:Noizi Ito is a man.
Are you sure? ^_-
Image
User avatar
dai jou bu
Posts: 561
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:05 pm
Location: Where hands connect

Post by dai jou bu »

Icarus wrote: Shame its not likely to be licensed, ever. -_-;;
Del Rey is currently publishing it over here (thank god it wasn't Tokyopop that got ahold of it first), and based what I've seen from reading the Japanese version of the manga, the animation studio literally copied every single panel, picture by picture.
Icarus wrote:I picked it up off YAJ for about 6000Y, not bad for a lovely artbook with production sketches.
Ouch. That's a little over double the price than if you bought the thing at C69.
Icarus wrote:I believe that both Aria and its two volume prequel Aqua have been acquired by Tokyopop. THE JOY! ^_^
The horror! D:
Icarus wrote:I found Suzumiya Haruhi quite entertaining, but opinion is divided over the anime across the whole of the internet. I recommend you get the translated novels though, far more character development and lots of interesting events not seen in the anime. ^_-
Well, when I meant average, I meant, "entertaining, but nothing spectacular," and that's definitely not a bad thing at all. The series is honest for being what it is instead of trying to force itself into being something it truly isn't.

As for reading the novels, I don't know Japanese, unless that wiki for the novels has been consistently updated.

And when I pay $9.99 for manga, I should expect something like this.
User avatar
Icarus
Posts: 7318
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:55 am
Location: England

Post by Icarus »

dai jou bu wrote:Del Rey is currently publishing it over here (thank god it wasn't Tokyopop that got ahold of it first), and based what I've seen from reading the Japanese version of the manga, the animation studio literally copied every single panel, picture by picture.
Yeah, the manga is good, faithful and not mangled (unlike when Del Ray got Mahou Sensei Negima orignally and screwed up a few translations).

I was referring to the anime not likely to be licensed due to that thing that happened a while back with the animation studio sending 'cease and desist' letters to the fansubbers and fansub distro sites like Animesuki, and subsequently interest dropping like a brick. I'd love it to be licensed, but the way things look, its not likely.
dai jou bu wrote:Ouch. That's a little over double the price than if you bought the thing at C69.
Unfortunately you're not likely to get it from Comiket Service now since its sold out. ^_-
They are on YAJ at the moment though, both the first and the newly released second book. If you have YAJ purchasing capabilities (either direct or through a deputy service) then you can find the listings for Fujitsubo Machine here. I recommend FM-Blue and FM-Red as well. ^_-
dai jou bu wrote:
Icarus wrote:I believe that both Aria and its two volume prequel Aqua have been acquired by Tokyopop. THE JOY! ^_^
The horror! D:
Its not that bad, is it? I'd rather it be localised and completed than remain stagnant under ADV Manga. -_-;;
I just hope Tokyopop keep the design of the original manga like ADV did, and not destroy the look of the orignal manga by adding their ugly title bars all over it.

And Yotsubato! damnit! Its been stuck on Vol 3 for what seems like ages.
dai jou bu wrote:Well, when I meant average, I meant, "entertaining, but nothing spectacular," and that's definitely not a bad thing at all. The series is honest for being what it is instead of trying to force itself into being something it truly isn't.

As for reading the novels, I don't know Japanese, unless that wiki for the novels has been consistently updated.
I agree, Suzumiya Haruhi isn't too fancy, but it is a great watch. Its a lot better than some of the dross out at the moment, at least.

As for the novels, they seem to be making good progress. The last update was yesterday, with the author's notes for Vol. 3. They're up to Vol 4, Ch. 2 at the moment.

For those interested, the wiki and translations for the novels is here:
http://project.baka-tsuki.net//index.ph ... iya_Haruhi
Image
User avatar
Daigohji
Posts: 1292
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:09 pm
Location: England

Post by Daigohji »

CMoon wrote:Phoenix 2772 (aka Space Firebird 2772) available for the first time with English subtitles.
Thanks for the heads up. The film was released on a minor VHS lable here in the UK in the mid 90s, but I could never find a copy. Is that DVD an Australian one?
The n00b wrote:I like gantz. It's really intellectual plus it has lots of violence and boobies. What more could you ask from an anime/manga?
In the anime I'd ask for much faster pacing in the action episodes. Characters use ten lines of dialogue when they made their point with the first. Certain scenes drag on three times longer than they need to. I guess they must have been in danger of catching up to where the manga was and had to slow the pace of the anime to a crawl.
Image
User avatar
dai jou bu
Posts: 561
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:05 pm
Location: Where hands connect

Post by dai jou bu »

Icarus wrote: Unfortunately you're not likely to get it from Comiket Service now since its sold out. ^_-
I know this as well, and it still hurts. You know of any middlemen that'll be able to help me get these items in question?
Icarus wrote:I just hope Tokyopop keep the design of the original manga like ADV did, and not destroy the look of the orignal manga by adding their ugly title bars all over it.
This is the main reason as to why I do not want Tokyopop to handle anything of this quality, as they seem to only somewhat care for their CLAMP acquisitions. As I said before, a manga at $9.99 should look something like this.

ADV has also fallen from grace as their stand-alone release of Angel/Dust looked awful.
User avatar
CMoon
Posts: 6207
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:28 pm

Post by CMoon »

Daigohji wrote:
CMoon wrote:Phoenix 2772 (aka Space Firebird 2772) available for the first time with English subtitles.
Thanks for the heads up. The film was released on a minor VHS lable here in the UK in the mid 90s, but I could never find a copy. Is that DVD an Australian one?
Yes, that's the australian edition. I spoke with Rightstuf here in the US and got a pretty positive response, but of course, that isn't helpful to those in the UK.

It is a really incredible movie, but I'm saying that as a Tezuka fan.
Randorama wrote:ban CMoon for being a closet Jerry Falwell cockmonster/Ann Coulter fan, Nijska a bronie (ack! The horror!), and Ed Oscuro being unable to post 100-word arguments without writing 3-pages posts.
Eugenics: you know it's right!
SHMUP sale page.
User avatar
Icarus
Posts: 7318
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:55 am
Location: England

Post by Icarus »

dai jou bu wrote:I know this as well, and it still hurts. You know of any middlemen that'll be able to help me get these items in question?
As stated, the only place I know of (besides the rare occasions it pops up on evilBay) is straight off Yahoo Auctions Japan. You can use a deputy service to bid for the items, just like eBay, and the deputy service will take possession of the won items and sort out shipping straight to you whenever you decide to request them sent out.

Of course, they will charge a commission fee for the service on top of the item cost and shipping, but its a small niggle to bear if you want to get your stuff straight from Japan. You can pay for stuff using PayPal, among other methods.

Here's a few deputy services I know of, all reliable:
http://shoppingmalljapan.com/
http://rinkya.com/
http://www.crescent-shop.com/

I believe that Shopping Mall Japan has the lower of the commission fees between the three, and I've been with them for a few years now, with no problems. I recommend them, despite their site looking kinda amateurish. ^_-

Other than that, its a case of being able to search through Yahoo Auctions Japan for the stuff you want to buy.

Alternatively you can look for an online shop that has the items you want, but I don't know of any (besides Comiket Service) that will stock Comiket items and will ship outside of Japan.
dai jou bu wrote:This is the main reason as to why I do not want Tokyopop to handle anything of this quality, as they seem to only somewhat care for their CLAMP acquisitions. As I said before, a manga at $9.99 should look something like this.
I agree. One can only hope that the group of Aria/Aqua fans get on Tokyopop's backs and make them retain the design of the original tankoubon. The original designs by Kozue Amano was one of the reasons I was drawn to the manga in the first place, and became a fan of both the series and the artist.
Image
Post Reply