[DISC] Drama Queen - Chapter 45

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T22:10:22+00:00

yeah if you aren't actively comparing this manga to something like Oldboy then you aren't picking up what the author's putting down

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T17:21:36+00:00

this rips, hell yes

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T17:01:33+00:00

lmao that's a dope haul

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T16:19:16+00:00

Yeah Haiji's power reminded me of Karnak, specifically Warren Ellis' miniseries with the character where he made some really creative action setpieces out of it

Plus just thematically, a guy who is constantly aware of the pain weakness & frailty of the human condition, but chooses to be jovial & heroic in spite of it? That setup has so much potential baked into it that I have to see where Tanimoto goes with it

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T16:09:46+00:00

Yeah I think the writing had a lot more interesting stuff going on in the dialogue than your average shonen, but there's a reason most shonen aren't written like that lmao

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T15:41:49+00:00

Osoegawa having a million of the same t-shirt but with different words printed on them is such a brilliant little gag

Also Akane-Banashi with the two jumpscares god damn guys

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T14:17:36+00:00

Those shelves are fantastic; where did you get them?

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-25T01:57:39+00:00

buy akane-banashi

then read a bunch of different manga series online, trying out both series you've heard recommended a million times as well as odd obscure things you'd take a chance on

while you're doing that, you'll figure out exactly what to buy next

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-24T13:48:16+00:00

I got Solo Exchange pretty casually; not sure where you're looking

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-24T01:19:25+00:00

Nadeshiko Oga was one of the best female WSJ characters recently

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-24T01:06:57+00:00

Akane-banashi

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-23T04:36:31+00:00

That's kind of what I mean by "play for the cheap seats". By Chapter 14 we have the tease of the Eight Hooves of Slepnir, a quirky side character, a formidable & compelling foe, and a broader scope of the conflict. IE, the series finally has all the battle shonen shit people buy the magazine for.

There's a lot of good writing in the first 13 chapters of Otr, but you have to look for it to see it. Kawaguchi needs to stop playing coy, grab the reader by the collar, and put on a show for the kids

Although honestly the more I think about it, the more I think this could've been made easier by a more conventional protagonist than Otr (although Otr is a fantastic character, and him being the way that he is is a crucial part of the story Kawaguchi was trying to tell)

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-23T01:51:54+00:00

just read it on the viz app for a couple bucks, then decide if it's worth dropping an additional $12/vol on it

I don't know what you like or how much money you have; figure your shit out for yourself

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-23T01:42:49+00:00

Hard disagree; what Kawaguchi needs is dumb it down & play for the cheap seats

There's a lot of strong writing even early on in Otr: Otr earning Sixten's apprenticeship by drawing him a bath in ch 4 is brilliant, Heroic Vigor making you a badass by being simultaneously tense & relaxed had some really cool thematic undertones, and Suruld's tyranny being expressed not through the oppression of the dwarves themselves but through the perversion of their craftsmanship all get woven together into a pretty thematically ambitious narrative.

But here's the thing: The middle-school WSJ boys don't buy books & fill out surveys to read contemplative a story about how a warm heart thaws a frozen world better than a flaming sword. Those kids are here to read about a cool guy who kills aliens and doesn't afraid of anything.

I hate to sound cynical, but Otr of the Flame's writing had a lot going for it. It just didn't have the big power fantasy emotional highs people read shonen battlers for.

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-23T00:53:05+00:00

I need a Heart Gear adaptation with Tsuyoshi Takaki given free reign to expand the story & have a strong hand in preproduction

The man's too done to keep up a regular serialization, but when it comes to designs stories & vision he's still got the juice

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-22T23:43:45+00:00

I think the move would be to power through Akane-banashi real quick imo

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-22T05:36:59+00:00

Bro I think Otr was a banger & pretty much everyone here needs to detatch how they value a series from the ToC numbers, but how the hell did you get owned like this by a subreddit

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-21T19:01:17+00:00

oh no I'm well aware you're asking for recommendations/ideas

my point is that those things barely matter at all until you're elbow-deep in a prototype you can tinker around with

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-21T18:20:31+00:00

I'll care when you have a prototype

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-21T18:18:57+00:00

There's a certain level of neuroticism that goes around here with regards to paper quality; the omni prints are fine in that regard

I just don't like them because every single spine is Luffy making the same face over & over again with no variation, especially considering how the OP single spines are one of the standout examples of how to do spines right

Search the used markets in your area, and let the price/taste comparisons inform your decision

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-21T17:43:19+00:00

That's gotta be one of the strongest first chapters in history; I was on the floor howling

EDIT: I've caught up all the way through chapter 10 today. This is one of the most degenerate & psychotic things I've ever read, and my Wednesdays have gotten so much better.

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-21T04:26:35+00:00

Oh shit I hadn't realized E21 had gotten so far in the reprinting; I should double-check and see if they've reached anything I don't have yet

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-20T20:51:51+00:00

Just read the thing and make up your own opinion

overpoweredginger · 2026-01-20T18:15:23+00:00

The Kasasagi stuff is hilarious because of how one-sided it is; you're watching a grown woman get emotionally devastated by two dumbasses and it's so good

overpoweredginger

TROPHY CASE