Chiba Days #29 - Manga Time

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale for another chapter of Chiba Days. Today, we will be talking about a topic I am sure many of you are familiar with, manga. Whether hard or soft copy, we have all come to love manga as a distinctive Japanese art form and culture that defines the otaku-culture. For me especially, my love for these comics started since I was young and has only recently gone into full bloom ever since I collected all 4 volumes of Mami's manga.

Those familiar with the blog would probably recognize that I am quite a big fan of Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil). Aside from several trinkets and a Nendoroid that I have pre-ordered, there really is not too much in terms of Youjo Senki merchandise that I have collected. Of course, you would have to discount the Mega Jumbo Nesoberi and several other smaller Tanya Nesoberi(s) too.

Aside from those, yes, I do not have a very large collection of Youjo Senki merchandise. But, that is besides the point. As I am currently unable to read the infinitely more complicated light novel, I decided on getting the manga version instead. 

Of course, this was not without careful consideration as each volume costs 580 Yen (before tax) and was fairly thin. Fortunately, prior research showed that Kadokawa was kind enough to included furigana for most of the kanji used in the manga. Translation: I am actually able to read all of the Japanese characters.

Although in actuality, there is much more to it than just being able to read the characters with grammar and vocabulary having to be taken into consideration too. Compared to shounen manga(s), Youjo Senki is definitely a step-up with many more complex terms encompassing military and diplomatic use. Despite all of that, Youjo Senki's first volume is certainly a welcome challenge as I slowly wade through the book page after page. 

While I have yet to finish the first volume, I must admit that I am enjoying this temporary fix of Tanya-goodness while eagerly awaiting for a second season of the anime. But, what if you do not read Japanese? Well good news for you as official translations for Youjo Senki has already been released and you should be able to find it in a local bookstore near yours. While Blu-Rays are the best way of supporting your favorite series, manga(s) too are an equally good way for those on a tighter budget such as yours truly.

With that, we come to an end of today's chapter about the joys of manga. How about you? Do you feel the same way about manga too? Let me know in the comments section below. Until the next time, thank you very much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!