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Old 2009-10-21, 08:31   Link #61
frubam
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Spoiler for chp 78:
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Old 2009-10-22, 00:42   Link #62
The Rumblefish
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Chapter 78:

I think Shimura's intention is to show that Shû is getting more and more conscious and depressed about his puberty, and angry at the whole school situation. That is why she hints he is hating himself as much as he hates Doi. Doi seems like a very interesting, complex character.

Not so surprised about Mako's feelings, given that he openly mentioned before that he felt attraction for men. The target of his affection is not only a cute guy but also the closest person to him in many ways. I am actually more surprised that he went to Yoshino to discuss this issue.

I never intervened on this topic before but I love Takako Shimura's works, especially this manga. It's very tough to have to wait around a month per update.

Last edited by The Rumblefish; 2009-10-22 at 02:34. Reason: typo
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Old 2009-10-22, 08:13   Link #63
frubam
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rumblefish View Post
Chapter 78:

I think Shimura's intention is to show that Shû is getting more and more conscious and depressed about his puberty, and angry at the whole school situation. That is why she hints he is hating himself as much as he hates Doi. Doi seems like a very interesting, complex character.
Maybe it's just because I don't like the guy, but he's not interesting at all, at least, in comparison to the other chars(except Sasha and Momo). To me, Doi seems like he likes these guys when they're dressed up like girls, but is too much of a coward to say so in front of his peers, which is why he acts like such an asshole and selfish. Ok, it's too harsh to call him a coward, but his complete hypocrisy on the subject is totally unacceptable! It makes him annoying more than anything. Now if he were to slightly change because of Shuu's words, it would indeed be interesting as to how he would change.

Quote:
Not so surprised about Mako's feelings, given that he openly mentioned before that he felt attraction for men. The target of his affection is not only a cute guy but also the closest person to him in many ways. I am actually more surprised that he went to Yoshino to discuss this issue.
Well, I think she's experienced firsthand the trials and tribulations of a confesser/confessee relationship, I'd say that's the best person to turn to, esp since they've been kinda close recently.
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Old 2009-10-22, 16:38   Link #64
The Rumblefish
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Well, I certainly don't appreciate Doi, but he strikes me as interesting for a few reasons.

The first is Shimura's ever impressive skill to create what seems like a minor character that will only serve for one peculiar arc, then make the most out of this character throughout the story. From a dramatic standpoint, I thought it was a genius move to make Doi Shû's only familiar face in the new class.

Besides that, I think the character is interesting because he seems to struggle with the mere existences of people like Shû and Hiroyuki, at an age when sexual attraction is usually popping up in ways which you don't control or fully understand yet. The youth element is especially important here, as compared to when an adult bigot falls in love with a girl who happens to be a tranvestite or transexual. Doi is conflicted between his instincts (he is attracted to two beautiful women) and the moral and social conventions he has been brought up with, which make up for his inexperience of real life. The fact that he is an asshole specifically makes him more complex than a nice guy like Riku (Maho's boyfriend), for example.

A good story needs interesting bad guys. I think the two bullies have proven to be much more interesting than in most mangas and more subtle/useful characters than I would have ever imagined.

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Well, I think she's experienced firsthand the trials and tribulations of a confesser/confessee relationship
Good point; I had not thought of that.
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Old 2009-11-09, 06:50   Link #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rumblefish View Post
A good story needs interesting bad guys. I think the two bullies have proven to be much more interesting than in most mangas and more subtle/useful characters than I would have ever imagined.
I totally agree with you. I used to hate their guts, Doi and that other guy, back in 6th grade and the whole diary incident, but now, I'm actually interested in what's going to happen with them.

I really love Hourou Musuko, it's very refreshing to follow up young kids and their troubles. Also, the author's style of subtlity and "jumping around" is amazing! I' m used to 10 pages of characters exchaning looks and flash backs and all over one conversation. But here, days passes by withing few panels.

Also, I like how realistic it is. Not the cross dressing part (not here anyway LOL), but the interaction between the characters.

*siiighs*... It brings back school memories.
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Old 2009-11-17, 05:54   Link #66
The Rumblefish
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The newest chapter is "out there".

I thought the final page of last month was an excuse to switch back to Yoshino, but we stick with Shû and Doi's complex relationship. Doi remains as interesting as ever. I have no idea how intentional it is but it becomes harder and harder to distinguish Shû from his sister.

I also thought the conversation betwen Maho and Seya was a bit hard to follow because of the strange framing. It took me a few readthroughs to fully understand who was talking at which point.
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Old 2009-11-30, 22:34   Link #67
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So I just sat down and read all 79 currently available chapters today, and I was just blown away. I've never been so engrossed in a manga to read so many chapters in one day like this before. The wait for chapter 80 is going to kill me now.
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Old 2009-12-01, 17:00   Link #68
The Rumblefish
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I am glad someone else gave this manga a chance. Please spread the praise around you !

Each new chapter usually arrives slightly after the 15th of the month.
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Old 2009-12-01, 19:40   Link #69
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GOSHDAMMIT how does Shimura-sensei DO IT?!?!? Managing to take such an annoying char, and turn him good in just the contents of a single chapter. I gotta admit, she had me grinning ear to ear on this one. As you said Rumble, I guess there WAS more to him than I thought, though that still didn't make him any more likable before now. Kinda makes me think that this entire time, Doi was either jealous and/or unsure how to deal with someone like Shuu(their personalities are different) which eventually led to him being a 'bully' toward him.

On some side note, i always thought Shuu was good at writing stories, so i'm kinda disappointed that it could be made better by their[the students] standards.
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Old 2009-12-19, 09:40   Link #70
The Rumblefish
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Chapter 80 is out.

Spoiler for HM ch80:


I'd love to say more but work and New Mario Wii are melting my brain.
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Old 2010-01-06, 08:21   Link #71
upiro
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Although it took me forever to get past Volume 1, I raced through the rest of the chapters and I'm really enjoying the story. My favourite scene is when Yoshino has a dream where she thinks everyone's laughing at her before realising that they were all laughing at Shu instead and that his problems just might dwarf her own. Beautifully done and that whole chapter stayed in my mind for a long time.

I do wish the pace was just a bit faster though. The plot's picked up but it's still meandering around and I wonder what sort of resolution Takako Shimura has in mind. Will she show Yoshino and Shu as adults where their challenges will only get inevitably harder or will she reach some sort of touching resolution before then? Will they conform to the expectations of society or will they officially decide to become trans-sexuals?

Or will she take a different route? The last few chapters seem to hint at a path that lies between these 2 poles but then Shimura has so far really confounded my expectations which makes me all the more interested in following this subtle, nuanced story to the very end.
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Old 2010-01-15, 07:17   Link #72
The Rumblefish
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I am always glad to see another person enjoy this series.

The next chapter will come out in a few hours / days.

Quote:
Will she show Yoshino and Shu as adults where their challenges will only get inevitably harder or will she reach some sort of touching resolution before then?
I think she will end the series at graduation and hint at how they decide their future (unless she goes for some out-of-left-field idea like a double suicide pact or something).
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Old 2010-01-20, 21:33   Link #73
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Spoiler for Chapter 81:
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Old 2010-01-22, 07:34   Link #74
The Rumblefish
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Very interesting chapter, featuring a lot of characters I had not expected to re-appear. It's funny because I was so caught up in the Doi / Mako events that I had not realized the bunkasai was such a great opportunity to gather so many pivotal characters in one spot simultaneously. Even though this was obviously where Shimura was going all along. Quite exciting!

I am especially interested in seeing how the dark-haired bully developped. He seemed at least as complex as Doi. Given what we last saw of him before he "disappeared", I am convinced he became a rather nice and mature teenager. It is also quite well-played that the target of his affection is Saorin because, unlike him, she seems to have matured rather poorly. Furthermore, given her nature, she probably won't forgive him for his past actions. It will make for an interesting interaction.
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Old 2010-01-24, 10:00   Link #75
upiro
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Yeah, I liked the way the last chapter brought all the characters together too. It feels like there are 2 plays taking place: one on the drama stage and a larger one with the school itself as the setting and all the main characters of the manga involved. I'll be interesting to see if the 2 plays converge. Shimura often uses her stage dramas to make some subtle comment on the state of the characters in the story (especially in Aoi Hana).

One thing that surprises me is that while Shu received a lot of flak and teasing for cross-dressing at school, his classmates blithely continue with a cross-dressing theme for their play. You'd think they would be much more sensitive and shy away from the whole topic after the way they reacted to Shu's behaviour.
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Old 2010-02-26, 10:17   Link #76
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Spoiler for Chapter 82:
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Old 2010-03-01, 06:33   Link #77
Hagimorpey
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Spoiler for chapter 82:

Last edited by Hagimorpey; 2010-03-01 at 18:19.
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Old 2010-03-06, 18:54   Link #78
Dop
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ANN: The Amazon online retailer is listing the first book of Takako Shimura's Wandering Son as a December 22 release from Fantagraphics Books in the United States. Amazon's listings do not necessarily indicate definite release plans or dates.

Interesting! I'm crossing my fingers waiting for an actual announcement to confirm this but if this is true I'm buying. But December is so far away...!
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Old 2010-03-07, 10:23   Link #79
The Rumblefish
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Interesting that someone is giving this manga a try in the struggling US market.

I know Aoi Hana is published in some European countries (France and Italy, I believe?) but I believe HM is still exclusive to its home market.

Regarding the most recent chapter (#82), I also found Chibi's interaction with Takatsuki very interesting.
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Old 2010-03-07, 12:26   Link #80
Hagimorpey
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Great news, but I'm surprised that it's published by Fantagraphics of all people. I mean, HM fits in well with what they usually put out but I think their only foray into manga territory was one volume of Tori Miki's silent strips a few years ago.
At least, it'll probably make for a very lavish edition. Plus, somehow, HM might have a better chance of finding an audience with Fantagraphics' target demographic than with the usual manga publishers'.
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