Just a quick note in passing to mention that I finished Megatokyo book #5, which I got through Interlibrary Loan, and I loved it. I'm so happy for Piro and Kimiko, Largo and Erika. At the end, Kimiko hugs Piro and falls asleep in his arms, resting her head gently on his chest as they cuddle on the couch in Piro's apartment. If Piro had any doubts about how Kimiko feels about him, they should be gone, at least for now. More hilariously, Erika is falling in love with Largo, and Largo is completely out of his depth. Erika even shows some genuine tenderness to Largo.
What makes Megatokyo for me are the supporting cast; characters like Junko, Yuki, and of course Miss Miho.
I decided I wanted to toss a few dimes in Fred Gallagher's direction, so I sent a fax yesterday to my local Border's books, as I could not get through on their land line this close to Xmas. They called me back on my cellphone and asked if I wanted them to hold a new copy of Megatokyo book #6 for me, which I confirmed. They only had this latest volume, not the earlier back issues. I said that was fine. I dropped by the store this morning after my Weight Watchers meeting and picked it up for about $12.00 USD. I feel less guilty now about the prospect of picking up used editions of Books 1-5 on Amazon from used sellers, some copies of which are going for as low as $1.25 or so depending. Our library has books 1-4 but I want to own this original artwork, plus I love the characters and their story.
The pace of Megatokyo v e r y, v e r y s l o w. If you're looking for an action-packed Manga, enjoy Book #1 and then move on to something else. If you care about the character's inner emotional lives, their relationships, their hang-ups, etc, then stick around for books #2-6.
I for one LOVE the soap-opra-like aspects of this series. Because it reminds me a lot of the coming of age anime genres that I love as well.
I love the culture clash between the American and Japanese characters, and between the Japanese characters, i.e. the more tradition-minded versus the more cosmopolitan, bilingual and internationally-minded.
Amazingly, this OEM (Original English Manga) was actually exported to Japan and translated into Japanese and has done reportedly very well over there.
I have only just begun to crack the first few pages of Megatokyo #6, which picks up right where Megatokyo #5 left off...Kimiko wakes up in Piro's arms, realizing with a little embarassment that she spent the night with him. Largo is back, glaring at them both. Kimiko wonders if things went badly between him and Erika. Piro asks incredulously "do you even need to ask?" LOL.
Largo is so distraught, he can't express himself in words...he stomps off to build another computer so that he can tell Piro about it in a txt msg intead ;-)
That's as far as I've gotten so far, but I do look forward to finishing Megatokyo #6. I guess I will have to start reading the web-comic after that, or at least until Fred compiles and releases Megatokyo #7.
I know this series isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I for one love it.
