Seinen Until Death Do Us Part by Takashige Hiroshi & DOUBLE-S

[aeynera]

Re: [FEATURED SERIES] Until Death Do Us Part by Takashige Hiroshi & DOUBLE-S

They didn't use "lethal weapons," per se. If you'll recall from earlier chapters, India tells Genda that it's standard practice to use non-lethal weapons.

Wiseman mentioned that the grenade fired was a "rubber like non-lethal round."

 

[baboysai]

what do you guys think of the latest developments, with this new guy involved?

Seems like the action should step up a bit, what with that dynamic super-cool motorcycle and all. Also, I think it was a good idea for Mamoru to return to training and not rely on his special glasses. Haruka has also gotten a bit of training so at least Mamoru can worry less (as if that's gonna happen though).

Do you think this new group they have to take out has anything to do with Turus and the gang? Of course, I think so, but I just can't keep up with all the gang-gang things...

 

[ozzy23]

Dai has grown on me... even if it's an annoying younger brother role to mamoru... the new guy with the cain freaks me out... he has a 'Death-Note's Light' vibe... he practically blackmailed haruka in the latest chapters... asking her to practically keep mamoru on a leash, otherwise he'll have them separated... and we all know that keeping mamoru from killing people is a tough job to say the least... besides he's bound to suspect after a while (and I'm guessing he won't like her not telling him)... also don't like the fedora guy... I don't know why he just wiggs me out...

it's not a new group they're taking on... it's still kakuhoukai (komura, edge and wiseman are simply using their recources which is causing the other groups to struggle as far as I understood)... sorry if that's not what you meant...

also doubt that haruka is going to be doing any fighting... she can definitely avoid attacks, and use the enviornment to her advantige, but she lacks the actual physiclal predispositions to actually fight... she's tiny, and while she could outsmart her opponents, she can't see everything, so I doubt she could take a person of 150 kg by herself, especially in terms of strength... besides fighting is mamoru's deal... she could fight, but in a more passive way (just defending herself), until she grows up and gains some body mass, so she'll be able to really kick ass...

 

[aeynera]

In my experience Martial Artists are very rarely big, buff guys. Even Mamoru's very slim. So is Genda, for that matter.

It's not fair to generalize and say that because she's tiny, she can't do anything physical. I've seen people like her manage quite some feats.

Martial arts is NOT about being offensive. It's main purpose is to teach the user to defend themselves and use their environment to get themselves out of a sticky and potentially hazardous situation.

 

[ozzy23]

yes I get it... lately everything i say comes out wrong... true martial arts aren't about being offensive, but sometimes she'll have to be... and by the way she is now she probably could land a hit on a hypothetic 150kg person (not necessarily a martial artist... a random thug is more of what I had in mind... and I wasn't referring to her getting buffed, by 'gaining body mass'... just growing up, and gaining some muscle to put enough force behind her blows... I mean a person can look like sierra or juliet, but still not be able to do physical feats/or hit they can), but it wouldn't have much effect, also while she could succesfully dogde punches, were she to try and block one I don't think it'd end well... but then again she can always kick the person in the groin... that would turn the tables...

 

[aeynera]

When you say 'gaining body mass,' it doesn't mean growing up; it means gaining muscle and fat.

Look, when I was studying Judo, JuJitsu, and Karate and Tae Kwan Do a million years ago, I knew kids who were younger than me that hit harder than me-- hard enough to bruise or break without a second thought and I was twice their size. They could take me down without a thought.

So don't say that she needs to grow up to put some weight behind her punches.

Also, unless they're in competition, martial artists usually are NEVER on the offense. Pushed into a corner, they're still on the defense. That's the whole point of martial arts. It's not 'beat up the bad guys;' it's 'get yourself out of a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation with your body and the environment around you.'

As for blocking... it's all about training your body to take the recoil. Like I said, there were kids younger than me, smaller than me, and they could.

 

[ozzy23]

as far as we know she's had some training for a few weeks, while these kids probably trained over the span of years... I got side tracked and forgot to mention some things... I was referring to the way she is *now* a few weeeks of training won't/didn't change much.... nah sorry if I sounded rude....

 

[aeynera]

Now that's another story. The amount of time certainly does make a difference. But I'd say it made a small amount.

 

[ozzy23]

sorry if i was being vague... when I have a lot to write, I tend to overthink it and loose track of it, and I miss parts...

anyway... although haruka is/will be able to fight, it kinda clashes with her personality to be on the offensive, plus there's that thing where Japanese women, (at least as far as fictional character go, ignoring tsunderes for a while, since they're more of a comic relief...) tend to be calm and soft-spoken... but I really wish to see haruka grow up into a badass... maybe a mix of sierra and juliet (presuming they all keep in contact, those two would probably have the strongets influence as rolemodels on her, and of course there's mamoru...)

 

[baboysai]

It's quite curious as to the posters of this thread, we're all females. where are the guys? Maybe this is a hit to women because of the art and the subtle love story behind Mamoru and Haruka?

 

[Nihil]

For whatever reason (well, okay, almost definitely the Mamoru and Haruka thing), UDDUP seems to attract a significant number of female readers. I'm basing this off of the other forums I read, comments on our blog, the emails we get, etc. Actually, in terms of those who comment on/discuss UDDUP, there might even be more girls than guys reading it. Which is unusual, I think, for a seinen. Though, as I haven't studied the demographics of any other seinen, that's just baseless speculation on my part.

And just to note, my team (NSN, in case the connection wasn't clear) is made up of three guys. Slightly ironic.

 

[aeynera]

Guys are too cool to post here, that's all. =P

Sorry, sorry! I know a horrible generalization! The only thing I can think is that maybe it's Mamoru or maybe there's more emphasis on "romance" which is usually dubbed as a girl's thing?

Ne, Nihil-san (gosh I feel like I'm naming a verb class!), any good fanfics that are MamoruxHaruka?

 

[Dante Julius]

I think I can speak for Nihil in saying no, we don't know of any fanfics. While we watch forums and such, we're not into the fanfic side of it. You might have better luck asking over on Mangafox though.

Anyways, I don't really think there is all that much "romance"; I think it's more people are hooked on the potential for it. Also, Mamoru is pretty badass, which is, from what I've seen, considered "hawt" by a great deal of people. Either way, it's still very much a Seinen, even a little on the shounen side. I do think it's interesting how well it unintentionally captures the female demographic though.

 

[LNsu]

Anyways, I don't really think there is all that much "romance"; I think it's more people are hooked on the potential for it.

That's exactly what I was thinking about the matter. I must say though, that this manga really does touch on a far range of topics that draw in a potentially large demographic. I am quite interested in the kick ass part as much as the awkward pending relationship between Mamoru and Haruka.
On another note, it seems like DoubleS has been singling out still-frame mugshots of Haruka with an awkward facial expression. I praise DoubleS's recent sharp details but it just feels kind of weird.

 

[baboysai]

On another note, it seems like DoubleS has been singling out still-frame mugshots of Haruka with an awkward facial expression. I praise DoubleS's recent sharp details but it just feels kind of weird.

i don't get it. examples?

 

[MidnightReverie]

any good fanfics that are MamoruxHaruka?

The only ones that exist are the ones you and I both know of.

I could be wrong though it seems the only other female dominated seinen manga is XXXholic, but that's by Clamp who have an established fanbase. So mostly reasons are: the title is a trap. A lot girls started to read thinking it was a shoujo manga, and on the other hand the guys ignored it. For Mamoru and the other good looking/interesting characters. The unusual and slow-budding relationship that has been predicted. There is no ecchi. Attractive and pretty much excellent art.

Lastly, I made a pimp post/review on livejournal (mostly populated by females) many months ago. (Yes, I did my part. ) There was a very good reaction to my own surprise. I expected like 5 or 7 people liking it, but there were like more than 30 people getting back to me about how much they loved it.

I must say though, that this manga really does touch on a far range of topics that draw in a potentially large demographic.

Yep. It does have what it takes to become very popular. Give it a high budget anime adaption and it will explode in no time.

That aside, I'm really liking Tatsumi... A short while ago I found out he is the protagonist in Takashige's other manga "ALCBANE", but I'm unable to find anything readable...

 

[LNsu]

i don't get it. examples?

Spoiler

I added in Daiba for good measure.
This compilation gave me lulz.

I don't mean to say that they have the wrong expressions for the given situation, it just stuck out to me... really stuck out to me. You can kinda say that their sarcastic face sends a perfectly clear message... "wtf?"



scans are courtesy of NSN (raws by Finestela)

 

[baboysai]

well to be fair, for "wtf" faces, they are extremely good haha.

 

[Dante Julius]

That aside, I'm really liking Tatsumi... A short while ago I found out he is the protagonist in Takashige's other manga "ALCBANE", but I'm unable to find anything readable...

That's interesting. Only three volumes; I wonder if there are raws around. I wonder how similar the two are.

Edit: oh my, I was looking at the page and I've noticed something very, very interesting indeed. I'd rather not spoil it ahead of time, but when we get chapter 84 out, I'll tell you (even then it might be a spoiler).

 

[MidnightReverie]

That's interesting. Only three volumes; I wonder if there are raws around. I wonder how similar the two are.

Edit: oh my, I was looking at the page and I've noticed something very, very interesting indeed. I'd rather not spoil it ahead of time, but when we get chapter 84 out, I'll tell you (even then it might be a spoiler).

Well, you might find this interesting to read: ttp://hxlpedia.web.fc2.com/itiran/1998.html

I just wonder how much of it will connect to UDDUP. Perhaps more characters will cross over?

Spoiler: UDDUP ch84

OMG Now that you mention it... the mechanical bodyparts right? To think it was right under my nose all this time! I feel stupid for not connecting the dots earlier.