I was kinda supposed to have written this long ago, right after I read a certain chapter of a popular manga, so I could be writing it amidst the striking emotions I was under. But I am glad I'm doing it now, reloaded with my usual rhetoric. Make an effort and read through til the end: you may not have experienced exactly the same, but I'm sure you were, at least once, asking to feel it again!
How to start, though? I guess it should be from the very beginning: one day, I decided to read the Naruto manga. I had to check why it reached such international multimedia impact. I wasn't very optimistic, the few anime episodes I watched being, well, lame. So, I headed to onemanga.com, and started reading it. After a few chapters, I was hooked. And I still had almost 400 chapters to go.
And so, I read on. As I read on, I was pleased to see a rich universe shaping up. It's a very nice feeling. To my surprise, it was solid work, and you couldn't help but fall in love with the many characters. Page after page, getting closer to the latest chapters, I had the impression Naruto's author Masashi Kishimoto was actually going to accomplish something. And by something, I mean something. Unfortunately, as I got to the second half, the manga went quite tasteless. I won't give the details (as in spoilers), but it was a shame, since it was building up to be full of win.
Still, I had to keep reading. It's not like it was totally worthless and, all in all, I had to know what would happen next. And I reached chapter 382. That is the OMFGBBQ chapter 382. If you read Naruto, you know OMFGBBQ is actually not enough for chapter 382.
Hm, but if you don't read Naruto, you may be wondering "what the hell is this Wintry_Flutist talking about? What is OMFGBBQ about what?". Well, I can't spoil it - maybe someday, just like me, you'll check Naruto. But a major character dies. And not just he died for good - there's no wish granting Dragon Balls in Naruto -, but it was beautiful. The kind of happy sadness you don't feel everyday. I just couldn't believe such pages were written. I don't want to boast, but I've read Racine, Mann, Nietzsche, Perec, Rousseau... but friggin chapter 382 of Naruto skyrocketed through it and got a special place in my heart.
I wondered when was the last time I was so happily sad. It was also reading a manga, this time Dragon Ball. There is that sequence very close to the end, when Goku is making his last Genki Dama and characters that hadn't been seen since the beginning of Dragon Ball show up to help. That was some obvious fan service and quite an easy way to play with the reader's emotions, but hell, it works wonderfully. It had that nice warm feeling needed for a perfect ending. However, that was it. Once I've read it, it was read, and no matter how many times I read it again, the feeling isn't the same. When was I going to feel it again?
A few years later, and that's a few weeks ago, I would read Naruto's chapter 382 and feel it again. But now, it was read and it was felt. It was totally worth it though, I'd recommend Naruto (the manga, please, do it right and ignore the anime) despite its downhill failure after a few arcs just because of that goddamn chapter. I wish I had spent more words trying to describe this sensation, but that's beyond the point, because now, I'm left wondering:
When will I feel that again?
Comments
It was nice.
Sure, some will say Naruto isnt the greatest thing out there, but any manga that can move me like that must be doing something right.
and if you want to feel something like that again watch One Piece and/or read it's Manga.
Also, mangas are always straightforward. They're the original work, how can they have fillers?
Both of them are also on onemanga.com
P.S. 20th century boy becomes 21 century boy for the 16 last chapters.
About the "when will I feel that again", don't worry it'll happen soon. You know I had that same thought when playing Ocarina of Time, I was just amazed at the greatness of that game, I had the idea that I would hardly experience a game as great as OoT. But since then I played such a lot of great ones.
I'd really like to recommend you some titles to help you get that OMFGBBQ feeling again:
Death Note - This is one of the most innovative and interesting manga ever. It is a shonen but the themes are way mature: crime/violence/murder, the manga question the very morality of our society and the way we deal with criminality and justice.
Bleach - Your average shonen manga about fighting but with a twist about ghosts. The good: it has big plot twists, some of the best plot twists ever in a manga. Really. It has $tyle, from the way it is drawn to the stuff the characters wear, to the titles of the chapters taken mostly from rock songs and albums. The bad: fights drag for chapters, where there's nothing but slashes and movements, no words spoken (think Kimimaro vs drunken Lee), it gets kind of dull sometimes, the fights aren't about strategy like In Naruto, they are more about simple power.
One Piece - But you read it already.
Monster / Pluto / 20th Century Boys - Some of the most amazing piece of works I've ever read. You've got deep emotions, good action, lots of mysteries, lovable characters that really feel HUMAN. Read them.
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind - Think a Miyazaki movie but on paper and way more epic. BTW Miyazaki is the God of Japanese animation movies if you didn't know.
Rurouni Kenshin - Shonen that starts slow but gets better in the long run IMO. It's about a samurai without a master (Ronin) who decided not to kill anyone ever again, it takes place in ancient Japan.
Eyeshield 21 - It's about an American football team, it's very funny and the characters are great. The art is very good, especially when depicting the raging emotions on the characters's faces.
Berserk - Most gory manga out there as far as I know. But the story is GREAT. There's some serious character development in there. The art is just perfect later on (but the first 4-5 volumes aren't that great). Too bad it's been 17 years since it started and it has an horrible pacing...
Blade of the Immortal / Vagabond / Basilisk - Three valid mature manga with an historical Japanese setting, the order is based on my personal preference. BotI and Vagabond have better art and story, but Basilisk is a quick read and you shouldn't miss on it if you're into more mature reads.
Battle Royale - Sick. Seriously sick. See it like the Manhunt of manga. But a good read either way. It's about students forced to kill each other on an island by a crazy reality show.
Love Hina / School Rumble - Only if you're into the romantic comedy stuff. SR is more about comedy, while LH is closer to the romance part.
Other good titles that come to mind are Zetman, Hunter x Hunter, Claymore, Konjiki no Gash, xxxHolic, D.Gray-man, Saiyuki, Hikaru no Go, Yu Yu Hakusho, Gantz, Hellsing, Trigun.
Also there are some great anime you should check out if you ever have the time: Eureka Seven, Fullmetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Full Metal Panic, FLCL, Gurren Lagann, Death Note (as good as the manga), Mai HiME, any Miyazaki movie.
By the way, I'm _Winter_ at narutoforums.com
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