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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Reading Manga: By Chapter versus Completed

Hello readers,

So for this post, I want to address the difference between reading mangas chapter by chapter as they come out compared to reading mangas that have a lot of chapters that are completed.

I've had this on my mind for awhile now...

To read mangas that are scanlated chapter by chapter at a time is an experience that many manga readers take for granted. At least this is what I think.With a completed manga, you’ll never feel the happiness of a manga that’s been updated after waiting for a period of time, of waiting for the continuation of a story.

Here is what I think people lose out on when they wait for a manga to be completed then to read it:

1) You’ll never feel the frustration, the excitement, and/or (of course) the cliff hanging feeling of when you suddenly meet the end of a chapter of an ongoing project. 
2) You’ll never feel the need to discover, to theorize, to question how and why because you’ll be able to read it to the end with no interference. (I suppose you can question at the end but it's not the same)
3) You’ll never feel the rediscovering of why you loved a manga after having the urge to reread the story over from the beginning as you wait for an update because you can just read it all in one go with a completed manga. 

Now this may be just myself but that's what I think when reading completed mangas or when I stop waiting for updates and wait for a manga to be completed. 

I myself indulge in forum discussion. I like the whole "latest chapter threads" where people post their emotions and maybe their theories about what will happen next if there isn't a thread for that. That may be one of the things I enjoy the most about read mangas that are updated chapter by chapter. 

Of course there is a benefit to completed mangas:

1) it's completed so you don't have to wait nor pester the scanlators for when it'll be updated (a benefit to both reader and scanlator)
2) you don't waste any time on the huffing and puffing anger and frustration of characters because you can quickly figure out why this and that are happening. 
3) you are less invested in the mangas that are completed (this is similar to #2 I guess) 

That's what I can think of for completed mangas but it seems lacking...if anyone can think of better reasons, speak thy mind. 

I think it's great for a manga to be completed but at the same time, the experience is completely different from chapter by chapter. I think the latter gives a bigger sense of community since people can discuss (at length) about what is going on. It's a journey to the end together =)

Ok so...I’m not very eloquent so I couldn't put it in better words but this is the best I can do for now.  Simply put, don’t take for granted the experience of waiting for a manga to update. It’s an experience in which you are forced to be patient but in the end it is gratifying especially when you fall in love with a manga all over again. I guess you can say "happiness in waiting"? Though I suppose the ending can be messed up sometimes in which there is no happiness, only "wtf"

Thanks for reading,
tohukyo

About Me

Hi, I'm tohukyo.

Tohukyo has been my long time internet pseudonym. I now use other internet pseudonyms as well but this name is where I began.
The origin of my name is (from my mangafox profile):tohukyo-this username is a combination of names manga i was reading at the time i started playing an online game called RF(stopped playing a long time ago) It was a combination of the three main characters in Fruits Basket --TOHru--YUki--KYO. Ever since I created the name, it's been a sort of signature pseudonym for my internet accounts so if you ever see my name on the net somewhere, it's me =)

I created this blog just to get an outlet on some thoughts I have about reading manga and watching anime in general as well as maybe a somewhat of a review blog on stuff I read and watch I guess...

This won't be limited to manga and anime. I may include stuff on dramas I watch(ed) and/or books I read.


Also, about the layout of my blog...I don't feel like doing anything fancy. Just simple like this default setting is good enough I guess. It's not because I'm lazy (well maybe a little) but I don't think I need to personalize this blog in any way since the point of it is the words I publish on this blog. Nothing else.


For more info on myself go to:
http://forums.mangafox.me/members/8783-tohukyo
http://www.batoto.net/forums/user/4467-tohukyo/?tab=friends

Old sites I used to visit more avidly:

http://www.crunchyroll.com/user/tohukyo
http://www.shelfari.com/anaw2522000

Thanks for reading,
tohukyo

PS I don't consider myself the most interesting person in the world and I do ramble. So if I'm boring, just move on. I won't ask you to forgive me for wasting your time since it's not my responsibility if you happen upon my blog.