Shounen Silver Spoon by Arakawa Hiromu

[BakaHaze]

Sally...It's not just the toungue, it's the tail, the head, the ears, the brain...Ok, I'll stop.

At least in Chinese culture, we believe that if you eat that sticky fatty skin and drink the soup you stewed the pork with, it'll help keep your own skin smooth and silky...

And I think that perhaps running to the agricultural school is in itself his way of giving up on trying to do better and just accepting what he has?

 

[saladesu]

Sally...It's not just the toungue, it's the tail, the head, the ears, the brain...Ok, I'll stop.

At least in Chinese culture, we believe that if you eat that sticky fatty skin and drink the soup you stewed the pork with, it'll help keep your own skin smooth and silky...

You forget that I am Chinese I don't like some of those parts though, so I didn't mention them, though I'm aware they are edible. Tongue is awesome, though, as are the innards

And I think that perhaps running to the agricultural school is in itself his way of giving up on trying to do better and just accepting what he has?

Yeah, that's probably it... Plus running away from home and whatever pressures he had there or whatever. After all if he was just going to accept what he had, he could just go to some second or third rate college, or go straight to work instead of ending up at agricultural school in Hokkaido of all places. They way he was totally unaware of what he was getting himself into tells me he just went into this head first without thinking or considering, really like it were an escape hatch he made a go for out of desperation. I really want to know more about what motivated him to do that.

 

[alphabeta]

Curse me, but i still don't get neither what's this manga's plot supposed to be and why the he** i am reading it?

There are 4 things that can make me read a manga

Plot (DN, Bakuman, Soul Eater, FMA etc)

Art (Dn, Bakuman, Air Gear)

good humour (OP, Bleach, Naruto, the usual stuff)

and...

Echi (Air Gear, FT, )

Silver spoon still doesn't have any of it... well, maybe some panel can go to the art section, but that's all

Well, i guess, it's because of the change of format, and rather original setting that Arakawa choose, why we'll just have to wait and see where it goes.

 

[BakaHaze]

Lol Sally, I met you in the Chinese Hangout thread first, I know you're Chinese.
The Chinese culture is for anyone else reading.

And Aphabeta, what do you mean, Art? The art is quite nice. And Good Humour? Are you serious? Silver Spoon is heaps funny.

And as for ecchi, you clearly missed out on those sexy cows

 

[saladesu]

Art has never been Arakawa's selling point. Since you've read FMA you ought to already be familiar with her art style. She's not Obata Takeshi or Inoue Takehiko, so don't expect awesome artwork. Also not saying she's a horrible artist, but her style just may not sit well with a lot of people. It's the same reason why some people can't get into FMA (well, same artist...) or One Piece - the art style.

The humour has been pretty good and I like it, though I guess it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Ecchi? Arakawa has never been known to provide much ecchi fanservice. Perhaps because she's female herself. Again, this should be obvious after reading FMA. Though yeah, cows are sexy too exy

As for plot, I agree it's nothing compared to FMA etc right now, but it's only chapter 7. Like you said, wait and see. As it is, the plot seems to be getting a little more interesting as we find out more about Hachiken.

 

[earthforge]

I think this manga has good humor, and very informative. Pork is pork, it's important to remember where it comes from. I don't find pigs at all cute, but if I see anything dying, I feel really terrible (minus a very select few, but that's offtopic).

I definitely think that Hachiken is a classic burnout. He seemed to be aiming towards the top until he just couldn't handle it, and ran far away from his parents and anything that might be hard. The result? Him being stuck at an agricultural school he is completely unsuited to, but he might find a way.

Voice of the silly American: Pig broth to smooth the skin? Uhhh... (I like beef liver, but that's because it's cheap.) Well, only in China are there funded research teams trying to find a way to eat Horseshoe Crabs... XD

 

[ZayCon]

Chapter 8 is out.

Spoiler

Pretty funny chapter. The tractor sequence was actually a little badass x)
The ending of this chapter was very interesting. I hope Silver Spoon will turn into a humorous series with a dash of mystery.

 

[saladesu]

It's strange though, that if he's just the classic burnout, why is he still so concerned about grades now, when he's supposed to have 'run away' from that? He still seems to be the typical competitive student wanting to top the class, and not quite even being satisfied when he placed overall first place but wasn't top for any individual subject. He's completely unsuited to agricultural school indeed, but with his brains and studying prowess, doing well (never mind not topping the class in any subject) actually seems to be a piece of cake.

I wonder what that thing under all the garbage was, and how it'll be related to anything (or will it be something unrelated and random?). I was expecting Hachiken's middle school teacher to appear, but it seems he hasn't yet. I was hoping the teacher's appearance would herald more discoveries about Hachiken, but I guess first we'll be shown what that thing under the garbage is. Too bad the manga is on break next week.

 

[BakaHaze]

That was a hilarious chapter. 'Only about 1 hectar per person' WTF
If you look closely, colonel sanders get's dressed in all the rubbish that Hachiken picks up as he's dumped.

I don't think he's a classic burnout, I think he's more like a guy who's lost his way. All he knows is that he can top his school by studying hard, but he doesn't know what he wants to do with those brains and those marks that he gets. And maybe in his old school he was surrounded by people who had their own ideas, and despite beating them in all his subjects it left him feeling empty and instead inferior to them.

Well whatever, can't wait for next release. By why does it have to take a break so often?

 

[earthforge]

Chapter 9's out!

Nice chapter, I love the set up. So Hachiken is in essence a manager of the diverse specialists in the school in order create a pizza. Question is, who has the skills to cook the pizza? Maybe Hachiken's counselor? XD

 

[saladesu]

Haha, I loved the part where everyone was like, "I live outside the delivery radius!" and "I don't even get phone signals at my house!" Ah, the pains of living far away from civilization. It's pretty funny that Hachiken's having to make pizza practically for the whole school. Since he was going to put pork on it... Maybe his beloved pork bowl might get used

But finally, it seems like that teacher of his is here. I wonder what will happen next.

 

[ErosVp]

It was really a hilarious chapter! Everyone was jealous of Hachiken! XD

Bacon will come from Pork Bowl!!!!! And the teacher arrived, next chapter will be some development of Hachiken's history I think...

 

[Crude]

Haha, I loved the part where everyone was like, "I live outside the delivery radius!" and "I don't even get phone signals at my house!" Ah, the pains of living far away from civilization. It's pretty funny that Hachiken's having to make pizza practically for the whole school. Since he was going to put pork on it... Maybe his beloved pork bowl might get used

But finally, it seems like that teacher of his is here. I wonder what will happen next.

This so reminded me of my situation. I don't live far away from civilization, but I do live outside the delivery radius. Sometimes I just wish I could order in rather than have to cook . Actually, I wish I could make my own pizzas. I'm betting that there's not going to be enough pizza for Hachiken, because that's just the way the universe rolls xD

 

[Googlez_kun]

What a wonderful chapter!!I agree with salad,the scene with the delivery radius was hilarious!Fortunatly, i live in the radius of awesomeness,so i can't imagine how it has to be without it.

On another note,Hachiken is really growing on me.I loved how determined he was to make those pizzas for everybody,even though they kinda forced him to do so.He seems to have found something that challenges him.I guess after making the pizza for everyone he will feel far more satisfied than getting first in the overall exam results.After getting this feeling from it,he might even get a step closer to his dream.His old teacher will probably influence this development ,but i have a feeling in my guts that tells me it will be a negative one.

 

[k-dom]

I'm so afraid for Hachiken. Nonetheless it must not be that easy to make a pizza pastry when it's your first time, but cooking it in a completely obsolete oven. If you add to that the expectation of all the school students. I wonder how many try he will needs untill he is successful.

And I agree the clash culture was hilarious. It's true that I didn't eat that many pizzas when I was myself a child . The ones my mum made were more quiches with tomato sauce. But I have yet to taste an as good tomato sauce as the one made with the tomatoes from her garden.

 

[BakaHaze]

Yeah, my mum tried to create a "Pizza Chinese. Ver"

I laughed so hard when Mr Bhudda's face was like full raging at them for blackmailing him.

 

[saladesu]

Hm, so the actual appearance of Shirashi-sensei was pretty bland, though we did find out that Hachiken always wanted to be the best. The way the teacher said that he "sent" Hachiken to Yezo seemed to suggest it wasn't exactly Hachiken's decision either? I dunno. In previous chapters Hachiken had said that he chose Yezo to get as far away from home as possible and all that. Maybe his obsession for being the best was really because of his parents, or like others had suggested before, a desire to be as good as or better than his siblings. So what was it that Hachiken might have figured out through the whole pizza thing, anyway? That being the best isn't really all that important and having fun with people who matter, etc, is the true key to happiness?

It was good to see everyone having fun making pizza together, enjoying the pizza together! As it turned out, the whole school really did turn up Mr Buddha had a really funny face whenever the cheese was mentioned And it was funny that Tamako was trying to make some sort of business proposal to get the locals to come in to try the pizza!

I wonder what will happen next in this series~

 

[BakaHaze]

lol Sally, somehow you're always the first to see the chapters come out...:P

Anyways, that was a great chapter, pretty hilarious when he's about to speak, and everyone;'s just like, hurry up with making the pizza!

In terms of Hachiken's past...it's all very vague...and his middle school teacher's pretty much there just to observe, didn't really explain anything. Sort of a pointless visit. Oh well, at least Hachiken's changing for the better...

Anyways, pity there's a 2 week break >.>

 

[saladesu]

lol Sally, somehow you're always the first to see the chapters come out...:P

And even so I was a few days late I use MangaUpdates to keep up with when the manga I read come out I was away for the week so I just marathon read the new chapters for all the series I read.

In terms of Hachiken's past...it's all very vague...and his middle school teacher's pretty much there just to observe, didn't really explain anything. Sort of a pointless visit. Oh well, at least Hachiken's changing for the better...

Yeah, I was disappointed that there wasn't more to the visit by the middle school teacher. It was kinda hyped up a little and we waited with bated breath for, what, 3 or so weeks? And then he appears and this is all there is to it? Well, perhaps not. Perhaps in the next chapter the teacher will still be around? Or, the teacher could well be reappearing in subsequent chapters as well as in flashbacks, if any.

 

[Airget]

I think the whole point of the middle school teacher was just to show concern for Hachiken. He showed his concern by conversing with the Principal but upon arriving he realized that his concerns may have been exaggerated in a sense. For this reason he's said nothing to him and hopefully he won't.

As a teacher the most responsible action to take is to keep ones own concerns to themselves unless they see a noticeable change in the person's behavior. Well maybe not "noticeable" but a reason to be concerned. When he saw how hachiken had prepared and readied the pizza for the students and Teachers with their help he was glad to see that he seemed to be fitting in well.

Now had he seen hachiken looking miserable and out of place with no one by his side then he would've gone to him and said something like "are you sure this is where you want to be". Though as it stands now if he were to go up to him and say something to the point of "Are you happy where you are now?" It would take away the sense of enjoyment he is feeling now and make him think that he should consider what he's doing now because his old teacher came up to him and brought up this concern. At least that's my take on it. Hopefully the teacher doesn't say anything to Haci to make him feel out of place but I truly think he was concerned at first cause he was aware of the kind of school he was going to but upon seeing how he's doing he realized that he has no need to be concerned.