Personally-followed manga, under-the-radar for everyone else

... Now I'm wondering how Cells At Work would depict the anthropomorphized version of gametes and the fertilization process, and in a PG-13 manner (or the Japanese equivalent) to boot.

edited 25th Apr '17 5:35:44 AM by MarqFJA

These are the questions that need asking.

I'm not interested in reading Cells At Work myself, but it's a cute concept that makes the world just a little better by existing.

The equivalent of mankind sending out a settlers vessel into space?

You're trying to describe the process of insemination — i.e. delivering the sperm cells into the female body. I'm talking about the direct interaction between sperm cells and egg cells... which, in Hataraku Saibou terms, should involve both kinds of cells being anthropomorphized.

Oh, you mean like the nitty gritty of embryonic development itself? Huh, interesting writing prompt.

An alien invasion that sticks around for nine months and goes on its way?

"We are at war! The attacks are numerous, both in quantity and frequency. But we persevere because we know if even one gets through it could change everything!"

Or:

"Finally, after nine months, we finally found a way to elect the creature the Invaders were growing in our world. We can it out onto the great unknown!"

edited 25th Apr '17 7:04:43 AM by sgamer82

... Noooooo. I mean between that and the insemination, i.e. when the last few sperm cells finally come across the long-sought-after egg cell. I wonder... perhaps a Fusion Dance would be a decent PG-13 depiction of the formation of a zygote from a sperm and an ovum? Because the non-PG 13 version would be either vore or porn.

... Wait, now I'm wondering if anthropomorphized sperm cells would be all-male (which is AFAIK the traditional approach in anything that gives sperm cells any degree of anthropomorphism), or would have their sex determined by the sex chromosome they're carrying (which would make much more sense). And now that makes me imagine a female sperm and an ovum in a kouhai/senpai, small girl/tall girl lesbian relationship.

Goddamit, Hataraku Saibou! You're making me think weird things! XD

edited 25th Apr '17 7:08:47 AM by MarqFJA

I took a look. I didn't realize "personification" was in full effect (down to making the environment just Earth), and now I genuinely want to see more. I wonder if basophils would put the entire city in lockdown over the slightest dips in security like the hypochondriacs they are in real life.

My image of fertilization is perhaps a little more mundane - the two gametes are roving bands of settlers, with the eggs being settlements relatively close to mainland while sperms are pioneers looking for said settlements. And then said settlements grow into a small town, deplete resources, and altogether venture off for greener pastures.

I'm actually disappointed in how lacking in eroticism this description is.

My main gripe with that portrayal is that it violates the "one cell = one person" approach that's set by Hataraku Saibou.

and above: All of which reminds of an old French/Japanese cartoon Once Upon a Time... Life which had the same concept.

Moving on, there are two newish series I find interesting. Haru no Noroi: Natsumi's younger sister has just died of cancer, leaving her alone in a family that barely tolerates her, when Haru's fiancee asks her to go out with him... Four chapters out so far, somewhat simple artwork from Konishi Asuka, but with a nicely depressive story.

Kuuden Noise no Himegimi: Hosaka Mao is the daughter of a rock musician, one of those who never had much success and now works mostly as a session player. She herself is nothing special, friendless but likes to play the guitar as well. Hasekura Yokiko meanwhile is yer typical raven haired cool beauty transfer student who takes an interest in Mao. Two chapters so far, still very much setting up the story but I like the artwork and the way the author, Toume Kei, tells the story.

Your first summary is a bit confusing… Is that Haru a friend of Natsumi's or something? Or a complete stranger?

Meanwhile, Area 11 volume 11 continues to be the epitome of the gem that remains inexplicably obscure. =[ The magnificent artstyle and atmosphere and the diversity in the stories and the way they are told is something to behold. The one about the four old gods that try to go out with a bang despite being way past their prime shows that you can tell a beautiful story with pathetic characters. Also, the dynamic between Amaterasu and Tokuko just makes my yuri sense tingle, but that's probably just me.

Make an anime of this, goddammit.

Got a whole load for you guys (also, have you guys heard about the penguin with a anime-cutout waifu? Incredible.)

Goblin Is Very Strong: Just started out, and it's yet another JRPG-based comedy, so what's the catch? Well, the main character is actually a cute female goblin who managed to achieve the level cap 99 after an insane stroke of good luck, starting with encountering one dying hero after the other and finishing them off for exp until she can easily trounce the best and brightest with her simple dagger. Now, even the Demon Lord treats her with respect (because this tiny girl is likely the strongest being in the setting), and she only sticks around because she likes her job working as a mook. Basically, she's Saitama if he was a Punch-Clock Villain.

Boku no Kanojo ga Majime Sugiru Shojo Bitch na Ken (translation: My Girlfriend is a Faithful Virgin Bitch. What a title): The MC manages to confess to the Class Representative on the very first chapter (well done), to which she accepts (well done). However, the very first warning sign alarms when she assures him she'll remember the 48 Basic Sex Positions, followed by what fetishes should she fulfill for him. Add more characters to the insanity, and you get what people have described as "Seitokai Yakuindomo 2.0", although unfortunately for the MC, his tsukommi skills aren't always on par with Tsuda's (meaning things get out of hand more quickly).

Yakumo-san wa Edzuke ga Shitai: A 28-year-old widow tries to combat her loneliness by offering dinner to her next-door neighbor, a high-school baseball player who lives alone and sports a massive appetite, and reawakens her passion for cooking. They learn more and more about the other, and slowly grow to depend on each other through good and bad. It's really fucking cute, and she's really fucking cute. As a side note, the author freely admits in a character page a fetish for sweaters and jeans, which would already be very apparent by the time you reach that point. All in all, a real gem.

edited 1st May '17 9:43:06 PM by ChefFailure

Already read that second one, but Goblin Is Very Strong is rather amusing.

x3 Probably the deceased little sister.

correct.

Oh… Since you wrote "fiancée" with an e, I thought Haru was a guy. =.=" Sorry.

Another cute manga I found.

Doukyunin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue de. ("My housemate is sometimes on my lap, sometimes on my head")

Subaru is an antisocial young writer, preferring shut himself in his house and avoiding people. While visiting his parents' grave, he met a stray cat, and, on a whim, adopted her. Turned out caring for a cat is slightly harder than he thought, and thus he would need other people's help, aka starts socializing for her sake.

What makes it unique is that we get two versions of each chapter. One from Subaru's POV, and one from the cat's POV. It's cute how they, despite misunderstanding each other's actions, start to care for each other.

Kitty~!

EDIT:

Joshi Kausei: Some manga have extended segments where there is no spoken dialogue, especially in the Slice of Life genre. This one makes this style its hat by presenting the life of carefree high school girl and her two best friends who are taken along for the ride, Tonari No Seki Kun style. All with not a single text bubble whatsoever - an actual silent manga.

edited 4th May '17 3:09:00 PM by ChefFailure

Thank for recommendation it's hilarious and sweet story 5/5.

edited 5th May '17 10:09:34 AM by Tenzen12

Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi: Only two chapters so far. A salaryman is accidentally transplanted to yet another fantasy world with rpg mechanics, but he's not a high-school student, so no fighting skills or adventuring for him. Not that he wants the attention, anyway. Instead, all he has is a "Food Menu" skill, which is, well... basically just the ability to order groceries online. He's not too shabby as a cook, so that's all good to him. Still, trouble seems to find him anyway as one meal lures in a legendary wolf who demands to form a contract, and it won't no for an answer...

edited 6th May '17 6:32:23 PM by ChefFailure

I've been waiting for an isekai story with a premise like that! Only without the cooking manga twist. Gonna have to check that out.

Rokudou no Onna-tachi

Rokudou is a loser, and everyone knows it. He gets picked on at school, gets snide looks from passersby, and can only muster up the courage to complain in secret with his equally hapless friends. Looking to turn his life around, he desperately uses an ancestral artifact passed down in his family for generations: a scroll that is capable of subduing all demons. However, in the modern age it has a different effect—it makes all bad girls fall in love with him.

Seems a bit generic from the description, and truthfully it is nothing gound-breaking, but I still found it quite enjoyable. I like how the protagonist might have been a bully victim, but he doesn't solely rely on others to help him and he does have an impressive amount of courage. The way he reacts to his new found power plays also quite realistc imho, because he does have a fairly understandable reason why he is cautious about his situation (unlike many other protagonists who are simply indecisive for plot reasons).

And I laugh every time when he is mistaken by the only "normal" girl in his school for a delinquent by others because of his entourage.

I'm finding this description amusing, that he subdues the bad girls instead of demons, because I've been listening to a podcast lately that occasionally describes delinquent girls as "hellcats"

Sounds fun. Will look into it between study sessions.

EDIT: Not a fan of the art.

edited 7th May '17 5:06:31 PM by burnpsy

One Piece has inoculated me to odd art styles so it doesn't bug me. Personally I'm wondering if we'll see some twist like main delinquent girl Ranna actually isn't magically attracted to him and actually likes him in a Because You Were Nice to Me sense at their first meeting.