Manga Progress
To date, I’ve completed 32 manga volumes this year.
This puts me at half of what I completed reading last year. This is below where I’d like to be for manga. I plan to increase my reading over the summer, using the summer read-every-day thread to post my progress.
名探偵コナン (8 volumes completed)
My top manga read this year has been 「名探偵コナン」. I honestly didn’t think I was ready for it yet, and here I’m more than halfway through volume 9.
Just keep reading, keep learning vocabulary, keep learning grammar, build your stamina, and you go from “there’s no way I can read this” to “this is actually pretty easy” before you know it.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I read these volumes in English several years ago.
I’m still waiting for the day I can read 「ハヤテのごとく！」 without being completely lost and worn out (even having seen the subtitled anime years ago). Who knows, after all these text-heavy pages of 「名探偵コナン」, maybe that day will come sooner than I think.
But my primary goal, for now, is to reach where I left off in reading Detective Conan in English (volume 61). If I can manage 15 volumes per year, that’s just four years!
好きな子がめがねを忘れた (5 volumes completed)
My progress on this series has really slowed, as I reached the end of the available series. I started 2022 at volume 4, and volume 9 just came out.
I’ve really been enjoying the series. The first two or three volumes are just kind of so-so (below average) as it seems to be disconnected episodes of situations based on the title (the girl the main character likes keeps forgetting her glasses, which she can barely see without).
However, a few volumes in the composition shifts more toward crafting a slow-moving story with the main characters and it became much more interesting and enjoyable from there.
Since I rate an “average” story (for me) as three out of five stars, I’d say this one started out as two stars and became a solid three stars.
からかい上手の(元)高木さん (3 volumes)
This is my “something easy to read” to take a break after reading a whole chapter of Detective Conan.
I learned recently that this series has a different artist from the main Takagi series. I didn’t even notice! But it does help explain how the author can have so many series running concurrently.
それでも歩は寄せてくる (3 volumes)
This is my “is it possible to read this in less than two sittings?” entry.
At least it gets a new release fairly often!
恋に恋するユカリちゃん (2 volumes)
As I worked my way through this series, I was unaware it ended at five volumes.
I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to see more events in the Takagi world. The story beats are quite different, so it’s always worth checking out the free previews of the five volumes before committing to buy.
現代魔女の就職事情 (2 volumes)
This series I felt was always on the edge of being something better, but just didn’t quite make it there.
I suppose it does at least weigh in as average for me. The series did do a good job of tying up all lose ends without being rushed in the final volume.
俺物語!! (2 volumes)
Start of 2021:
End of 2021:
I managed to stretch 「俺物語!!」 out quite a bit, but it was hard to put down the last volume, and I finally finished it today. That means I’m ready to start reading orange with the book club in a week!
(Of course, now I wish there was more of 「俺物語!!」 to read.)
キラキラ100％ (1 volume)
This series came out in the early 2000s and it shows. (Not meant as a complaint, just an observation.)
I think the main issue for me reading this series is that the art style sometimes leaves me confusing one character for another, which gets me confused with what’s going on. Then I figure I’ll read something less confusing for a bit, and I don’t get back to it for long stretches of time. I think the solution here would be to read at least one page every day (and if I read more, all the better).
It also doesn’t help that I’m not really one for the typical “high school romance” genre. I do want to at least complete volume 3 before I decide whether to continue the series.
ちいさな森のオオカミちゃん (1 volume)
My next ABBC nomination, but not until I’m running fewer book clubs.
Book Club Progress
- からかい上手の高木さん (3 volumes)
- おじさまと猫 (1 volume) [former book club]
- 幸色のワンルーム (1 volume) [former book club]
The former book club items I haven’t made much progress with, but it’s hard to say whether that’s because they aren’t keeping my attention enough, or if Detective Conan is keeping my attention too much.