Ciguatera by Minoru Furuya

myanimelist profile · Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:42 pm

Wait till you guys see the credit page for the 6th volume.

Street Musician Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 402

obviously i'm the last person to read this manga, but i have just read the first 4 volumes straight, wow... this is just beautiful!

taniwaki, and takai... these 2 characters made my jaw drop! their look, the way they're drawn, how they flesh out, their dialog... wow, i dont think ive ever seen anything so real and natural in manga, ever.

i love the story, starting from high school and now dealing with adult concerns, but still everyone is facing issues and encountering problems daily which really shapes their character and the story like no other manga.

myanimelist profile · Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:59 am

Late to the party, but maybe that's best in this case. The endless troubles we've had trying to wrap this baby up are off the road; so expect the conclusion to be released fairly soon!

I really like Taniwaki; Takai not so much but his character is a very lifelike portrayal. As, like you say, are a lot of aspects to this manga. Furuya doesn't shy away from showing us the nastier sides to life/people. "Au contraire."

Also, boobs.

myanimelist profile · Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:01 pm

Also suddenly reminded of one of stephen's first posts:

Quote:

It's kind of too bad that all of (IMO) the most interesting things about Ciguatera can't really be discussed until you've read the entire manga and can compare it to Furuya's other works... so for now, all you can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

I'm still kind of eager to hear your thoughts on it when it's done, tastemaster.

Fan Boy Joined: 28 Jan 2010 Posts: 4 Location: Caliponia

Woah! more ciguatera releases?! amazing. I am so happy right now.

Fan Boy Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 37

Thanks a lot for reworking on this serie. Since the start it has been expect the unexpected...looked very bad for Nagumo for a short while but somehow everything`s fine now Smile

Fan Boy Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 2

Or so you think... Don't count on it just yet as everything in this manga is unexpected ~

myanimelist profile · Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:58 pm

it's done bitches

talk

Fan Boy Joined: 03 Apr 2010 Posts: 2

I thought the ending was shit. It seems like the mangaka just got bored and wanted to kill the series.

All that talk about "I can't live without you" in the chapters preceding the last was for naught. Maybe the author is trying to make a statement about life, that it doesn't turn out how you'd planned but things go on; but I just think the mangaka is a troll.

myanimelist profile · Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 1:22 pm

Kind of quoting what I said on irc but: I feel that a lot of people are overestimating the romantic angle of the series.
Ogino was always endlessly stressing about adolescent stuff resulting in him getting into trouble, but in the last few chapters he finally managed to just "let go" of the things he couldn't control (ie. Nagumo's ex boyfriend). Which was a huge step towards adulthood. And that's what this manga was about to me.

Fan Boy Joined: 03 Apr 2010 Posts: 2

Disregarding any specific interpretations of the ending or story as a whole, I feel that there was little in the way of precedent for the events in the 4-year time skip. After the many times where Ogino and Nagumo's relationship was put at risk, it always came back together. Then here comes the final chapter where the readers are presented with a situation where the couple had broken up, and the author just expects you to accept that with no explanation? Deus ex machina indeed.

myanimelist profile · Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 3:30 pm

Again, focusing too much on the "relationship" imo.

What kind of explanation would you need anyway; people break up. It's usually because of the same reasons.
It could have easily ended without that last chapter; I think that was more of a "give the readers a bone", so they can sleep tight knowing Ogino and Nagumo lived happily ever after. But, not. Which is an enjoyable kick in the face to those.

Street Musician Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 402

wow, i really loved the ending! Smile

thanks so much for doing this, MS!

this manga has been so cool throughout. for once, there is no hollywood style resolution to wrap things out. i love this ending as it is.

if you didn't like the final chapter, i guess you didn't like all the first 5 volumes either because it's been pretty consistent throughout (stuff happens, drama ensues, everyone claws along to the next new day)

for once, its not so much the destination but the journey that matters in this manga. sure, none of the characters ended up finding the meaning of life. but hey, there's always tomorrow. but, everything that happens along the way definitely becomes a part of them.

this somewhat reminds me of 'Blue', by Kiriko Nananan. nothing incredibly dramatic happens, but it's one of my favourite mangas.

just a bit of random trivia, for Believers fans. the river where they threw the gun in vol. 5 (Tama river) is same as mentioned in Believers ('a very wide river, like the Tama river. we were on a boat, you and I') Smile

PS: Great title for the update Smile

myanimelist profile · Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:26 am

I recently read Pumpkin & Mayonnaise by Nananan. That was a really good manga; I should check out Blue.

Fan Boy Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 37

Thanks a lot for completing the series. I liked it a lot.

I am not sure what the mangaka is up to. I think he recently completed a series in one of the "young" manga magazine, but I don t remember the exact title and didn t read about him since.