"Not LG" Manga Discussion Thread

[Cyrus]

Hah, I've been really impressed with the recent Gamble Fish chapters. I was fully expecting that entire chapter to just be exposition, and was really glad to see the game actually start. As for the strip poker... while I'd rather they just move the game along, I guess that stuff just comes with the territory and the style of manga it is. I mean, it's not even the first time they've used clothing as a penalty in the series, so.... Yeah.

[10k]

Believe it or not, strip poker caught me off-guard. Yes, even if it WAS Gamble Fish. I hope we get back to Abidani soon, though, watching that guy's antics is the main attraction.


Freih: like I might have said, mental effort is in the little details. Pretty sure staying alive as an enemy of the state still counts for something. For me, I say that the characters did more than enough to make up for the plot's slack. And although I've no problem with your assessment considering Friend #1's death, I don't think Friend #2 would have stopped ever without direct interference from Kenji. Remember, they're not just taking over the world to take over the world, they just want to one-up Kenji and went overboard.

Taking both of our analysis together, I think we could agree that this manga shines as "characters growing under harsh conditions" instead of a spectacular plot. Of course, I'm sure we could continue discussing whether characters did a good enough job making up any plot slack, but I'll just rest if we agree on that common ground.

Based on your analysis, I get the impression that your disputes arise from Kenji in the latter half, perhaps because I felt dubious at his presence. To me, he's not really the major protagonist for that part (so far as I can recall), so I guess I took the tendency to put him as a b-plot that needed better work.

Earlier, I recall saying the plot was in good hands. I think it's worth clarifying this statement: the manga isn't a trainwreck just because it's a world conspiracy plot. Perhaps time just aged the story well for my recollection when I said that.

As for me, my main gripe was that the story did a lot of jumping around in time enough that it even managed to disorient me for a bit. And Kenji, now that you reminded me, I suppose.

[10k]

I added a couple more manga to the OP list. They're pretty short.

Both are written by (or co-authored by) Fukumoto. Maybe I can just make a separate section or something for him, heh.

[Freih]

Now that we're adding to the list, here are some additions from me:

Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna - students fighting smatrly and having battle-of-wits 'games' (I've only seen the anime; got spoiled the manga ending and didn't like it)
LOST+BRAIN - similar to Death Note; but instead of a death note they have hypnosis
P.A. - about a genius actress who acts real life roles; sometimes she simply pretends to be somebody's dead relative to relieve their grief, but sometimes stands in for people who have received threats as a decoy...

[10k]

Alright, read and updated.

[Freih]

Not manga, but a very good recommendation!
Harry potter and the methods of rationality - a very well written fanfic where Harry is a very smart boy whose goal is to figure out the secrets behind magic. The fights with Draco are replaced by mind games; it's full of interesting, clever and funny situations; and while there are some flaws, it's an amazing read.

[10k]

I recently had the opportunity to watch the Death Note movies (Death Note, Death Note the Last Name).

I won't vouch whether or not it has plot holes, but it's definitely a tighter narrative than either the manga or anime. The ending is also much more satisfying, though I guess everyone will have their opinion.

The main cast also has a couple actors you might recognize: Tatsuya Fujiwara (Battle Royale, Kaiji) and Erika Toda (Liar Game).

For those who don't mind Death Note anime spoilers, a funny MAD.

[10k]

I recently read that and it reminded me about the ending of this chapter.

Are lies good or bad?

[Iain7]

I guess you could call dangan ronpa in this category? It's based on a video game, but the anime is a similar theme to some of the games we've played on here...

[10k]

Haven't seen you in a while.

I think there's room on the list for DR.

[Iain7]

Yeah, university got really busy and I also got into a very rough patch with my girlfriend. Had a very tough year
I ended up getting stuck on a train to one of my exams, and now I have to repeat the year. Harsh! Although it sucks, it's giving me a year to sort stuff out and enjoy myself. Which means more liar game time
BTW, been getting into all of the fukumoto mangas (like gin to kin etc, i wish somebody would scanlate the rest!) But it's pretty difficult to find Kaiji in the right order. I've gotten to chapter 23 but wherever I look for chapter 24 it's of a much later volume... any help? D:

EDIT: yeah no matter where I go, chapter 24 seems to be missing. I've heard there are two seasons of anime, so I guess I'll watch those and transition back into the manga. I hope there aren't more missing chapters!

[10k]

Usogui.

I can't help but suspect that the trick behind the current arc involves some sort of mirror imaging, but I'm really fuzzy on the specifics.

Edit: I decided to take another look at chapters 100 and prior to come up with my guess.

Yukiide's maze this time is weird in that it would make more sense for him to have switched the in/out; I'm guessing he'll call something like F6-E6-D6-C6-C5-B5-B6-A6-A5-A4-A3-A2-A1-B1-B2 when we see the next chapter. Going back to game 1 with Kaji, by the logic of a mirrored maze, I think Kaji's winning moves from the point he messed up would be E1-E2. I'm near certain that Yukiide had a weird maze too at that time.

The best I can think of for this mirroring being possible is by the ink bleeding/imprint (through the labyrinth notebook? Yukiide pressing down on it? He always adds his labyrinth second...). Maybe the bleed-thru becomes Yukiide's labyrinth, and Baku used the pencil to draw his real wall during his first game while making a scribble with the pen elsewhere. It's still fuzzy, but barring mirrors inside the table or a gimmick with the room (well, we've had a lot of panels looking at the ceiling, but...), there isn't really any other chance for Yukiide to learn the opponent's maze. And I'm not sure how the turn order would be important.

[10k]

Added another one. Has anyone else read something interesting? As for me, I've been reading Bartender.

[Cyrus]

Chapter 4 of Bartender: "I can't believe it." "Habeeb it." 10k, I'm nearly in tears over here. It's heartwarming stuff when the editor isn't a comedic genius.

[10k]

Cool, the next Usogui chapter came out.

Looks like I get half points for the trick set-up. I thought I added the bit where Yukiide had the opponent state the enter/exit to mirror at his convenience, but I must've deleted it at some point since I modded my guess a lot. However, I didn't think of paper reaction (well, I thought of bleed-thru paper like when you sign forms and get a duplicate), which is amazing because I thought the notebook was a trap, partly since the gambling materials were all prepared by Yukiide.

...of course, the question now is how will Usogui win without a mechanical pencil. Maybe be broke off a piece of the lead stick and kept it in secret? Or came prepared since he had the opportunity to watch Kaji beforehand? Flipped the Labyrinth page over and drew a dummy maze for Yukiide to copy by accident?

Edit As of ch102. How about using another paper sheet of the labyrinth set? The papers, being copies, would line up perfectly. The maze would copy the scrap that's covering the real labyrinth...but I didn't hear any tear sfx. Maybe Baku did some nice folding?