Hello!

Hello.

My name is Jiji. I am a she. I am a freelance writer/journalist, but honestly I am so suck at my job I would rather call myself a NEET.

And I celebrated my 30^th birthday last November.

Yeah, I know, I know. Some may argue I am too beyond my age to still be into manga. But it’s not easy to grow up, and it is even harder to admit that you are old and need to face reality. And the wondrous life of youths is so hard to resist.

But as most manga readers know, manga is not just for children. The world of manga is rich and I guess no matter how old or how experienced you are, there will always be manga that match your preference.

Shounen. Seinen. Shoujo. Josei. I am not keen in segregating genders. I believe that what one should like and one should not like are oftentimes dictate by the market. But the thing is, those divisions also exist because there are certain demographics in the market that still stick to them.

I am into josei and seinen, mostly. I am indulging myself to Korean Webtoon too lately. A bit too much actually, so perhaps Korean Webtoons will be what I talk about mostly.

Honestly, I am still looking for my kindred spirit.

I am making this blog because… I don’t have people to talk with about manga (T_T). I did make a few manga friends when I was little. But as I outgrew a few titles/genres, they all seem to outgrow manga altogether as a hobby. Cannot blame them. Adult life is a busy one.

Some decided to agree with society that books with pictures are for kids — even though they are aware that there are manga with mature contents available in the market. The kind of manga they will never allow their own children to read.

So here I am. A lonely manga reader, 30 and still love having my imagination guided from one panel to another.

But, I was far from being an otaku.

I have no obsession toward a genre, a title, a character. I don’t do fangirling because when I do, I tend to move on way too quick. I don’t even watch anime. I am not familiar with Japanese or Korean terms. I no longer read popular titles like Naruto or One Piece because, I don’t know, I grew up passed them, maybe?  I try to surf from one manga blog to another but I haven’t yet found a site that is dedicated for mature manga readers.

In turn, manga that I read is too bland and too meh for others. I am also not that hipster because when I talked to this friend who likes non-mainstream titles, there are a lot of his choices that way too eccentric for me.

Because of these reasons, joining a manga community online perplexes me since I only know very few titles being discussed there.

Yeah I know, I know. I am too picky. I am complaining too much. I am too half-assed. I am too… yada yada. But all I know is I like what I like. I read what I read. I like realistic manga. I like those that are whimsical, too. I outgrew shounen and shoujo, but I still occasionally read some titles from the two genres that I find interesting. Romance manga is never my cup of tea, but I can still find myself binge-reading cheesiest love stories ever. I hate how women are pictured in ecchi manga… but I still read them anyway.

All of these make me a lonely manga reader. Yeah I know I am exaggerating. But I do long for someone to talk with, or at the very least, a platform to have a monologue. And that is why I decided to create this blog: as a platform, a personal journal on manga I read.

Through a journal I hope to keep track of my read manga and my personal impression on it, a very personal one instead of generic reviews in manga/anime site. I think it is going to be fun to read the entry and look back, and think to myself, “Oh, so I used to view the manga like this.”

I tend to forget what manga I have read and what I have not. It’s such a shame to re-read a manga I don’t like without realizing I have read it before, or to skip a gem because I thought I have read it.  I made a read list in mangaupdates,com but honestly, the site’s appearance really cuts the fun out of it.

If, by chance, anyone who has the same taste as me stumble into this blog, I hope my posts could serve as a reference for them. Or if you notice that we might have the same taste in manga, please recommend me anything. I am excited to know what kind of manga you have in your shelves 🙂