Real

[mow]

By the same author of Slamdunk! Inoue Takehiko. This is a wonderful manga. Her Artwork has gotten insanily better and the story is both powerful and profound in its depth. As with the previous basketball theme in mind, this one has a twist. It deals with handicapped basketball. The story and characters are well designed and unique, its certainly climbing the ranks of my fav mangas of all time. You can find it right here (http://omanga.net/?cid=b_real). Omanga has been EXCEPTIONALLY slow at its release, but they seem to be picking up. Give it a d/l and tell me what you think.

[Headhyuuga]

I actually read this a few days ago, I wasnt familar with slamdunk prior to reading it, but it seems like an intresting story. When I first saw the Wchair it reminded me of Bones Justice when he was in a wheel chair. BTW Bones Justice was from Mutant League.

[Code]

I thought Inoue Takehiko was a male... at least according to ann http://animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=5784

Anyways I read REAL a few months ago, was simply awesome as most of Inoue Takehiko's works is(all I've read so far). Wasn't too into the concept of weelchair basketball manga but I gave it a try and well was hooked. I've read up to all of volume 3.

[mpthread]

Damn you Moe getting me addicted to another series. Read 1 Vol so far great stuff, as expected from the genius behind Vagabound

[mow]

She's A He? XD sorry my fault, I always though he was a she.

And you are always welcomed mpthread :P, if you though vol 1 was good, wait till you read Vol 2

So what are your thoughs guys. It;s a very realistic manga and very touching. It's by far one of the most superor manga's I have read. The character development is rapid, yet doesnt throw you off track. And the artwork is simply grand, on a comletely different level than the rest of the titles nowadays. I hope omanga continues to scanlate it

[Crusifikz70]

Where can i find this manga?

[mow]

http://omanga.net/?cid=b_real =]

[kane_x]

I like Real. Started reading it few months ago, while omanga was still being dead, so I was really happy when they started realease new chapters.
Though I'm not really into sport mangas but this one just kinda appeals to me. The art is good, the characters in it are great and the story in general is quite interesting. Can't wait to get new chapters. :amuse

[jkingler]

^Read all that's out yesterday. Great story. Great pacing. Great chars (I wonder what Hisanobu will do next :blink)

[Atlas]

When I first saw the Wchair it reminded me of Bones Justice when he was in a wheel chair. BTW Bones Justice was from Mutant League.

bwahahaha, i remember that show (assuming thats what it was called). i think ill check out the manga just for mentioning this.

[mow]

Dont you just love the artwork? It's probabily the best in all the mangas have read. I love the special coloured pages. Her colouring style is so soft and unique.

[Code]

I just saw the the raw of chapter 27 on the Young Jump issue thingy(which is a weekly manga) and well the chapter was 36 pages. I know the manga was on a break(as with Vagabond) and just came back in today's issue. Does he plan to keep REAL weekly? I do think it would be kind of hard, as Vagabond is now weekly(was bi-weekly before I believe) and if REAL is weekly thne that makes 2 weely mangas...(both which are amazing). Just wondering what the release rate of REAL is since it appeared in a weekly magazine.

And I'm almost very sure that Inoue Takehiko is a male...

[mow]

Im still trying to find out his/her gender :P

I really dont know it's release dates. I only came upon the manga during Omanga's (extended) period of inactivity. But I do hope it become weekly, and that Omanga (or another group for that matter) will pick it up. It would be a real shame if such a superb title went unnoticed.

[I ARE 1031]

Inoue Takehiko is a man, trust me on this one. I told you this before moe. Hey does anybody know where I can download VAGABOND? I heard somebody mention it before so maybe somebody here actually knows.

[Code]

Inoue Takehiko is a man, trust me on this one. I told you this before moe. Hey does anybody know where I can download VAGABOND? I heard somebody mention it before so maybe somebody here actually knows.
Well before I was downloading it off a bot before it went down... ckmoney.net you can try to get it off an irc channel. Vagabond is awesome by the way...

[pek]

Ah, great manga. I found it a few days ago on my harddrive and started reading it. I was soo in to my reading i forgot to study for my test and got an F on it :I

but now everything is gone, my harddrive went berserk. 40 gig Manga, 70-100 gig anime ://

[mow]

Ah, great manga. I found it a few days ago on my harddrive and started reading it. I was soo in to my reading i forgot to study for my test and got an F on it :I

lol pek

but now everything is gone, my harddrive went berserk. 40 gig Manga, 70-100 gig anime ://

fak fak fak fak =/

[starsun]

Yeah I just started reading it, its kinda good!

[Beatnik]

Slam Dunk is one of my favourite manga ever, so I will be checking this out at some point, just waiting for more volumes to come out and will pace myself steadily.

[Code]

Yeah. Waiting for more volumes to come out too... but Takihiko is off his break now. So things should be looking good.

[Ishamael]

I was shocked to find no real discussion about REAL. So here goes!


http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1903/i441vr4.jpg
Title:REAL
Mangaka:Inoue Takehiko(made slamdunk/vagabond)
Genre: Sports,Basketball,drama
Scanalator:Omanga/Hawks

Plot:Real is a story about three teenagers who love basketball,Tomomi Nomiya, Kiyoharu Togawa and Takahashi Hisanobu. Each person holds a pain that they are trying to overcome. Nomiya is a basketball fanatic who has an accident and paralizes a girl on a joy ride. The accident forces him to dropout of school and quit playing basketball. Througout the story he is constantly
trying to atone and become a better person(and obviously play basketball).

Togawa is an ex-sprinter who lost his leg due to a tumor. He plays Wheelchair basketball and is trying to reach the nationals so that he could do what he failed to do as a sprinter. When we first meet Togawa he is playing basketball by himself, however Nomiya is able to revive the fire that was lost after the accident.

Hisanobu comes into the story as a real jerk who cares all about his popularity and being captian on the school basketball team. However do to a certain circumstance his life comes crashing around him. Nomiya is able to give him a new spirit and continue his life while all his old friends abandon him.

Summary: REAL is a manga which focus's on character development and the revival of life within someone. You watch Nomiya go from a low life to a person living to be a better person (of cource he retains his stupid personality). You watch Togawa go from a miserable person to someone with new dreams and aspirations. And ofcource you watch Hisanobu struggle through his best and worst times of his life.

This story is similar and different to slamdunk. It is funny but not as funny as slamdunk. However this story is absolutely beautifull. It is a joy to watch these people come together in onesport and fight together in heartache. It holds a different theme than slam dunk, sure its darker but its not like a constant depression. There are definately happy parts and for me it is more happy than it is sad.This story inspires me and makes me realize that my life is easy compared to others. If these people continue to fight under there circumstances, than so can us all.

All current chapters can be found here!http://www.omanga.net/?type=proj&cid=real

[Yakuza]

have you go nay links for download??? omanga isnt working for me...
it sound interesting...

[The Drunken Monkey]

mangatraders has the first four volumes.

I'm up to date with this manga and I can't wait to see more, it's a pretty good read since it's more emotional than Slam Dunk but the action not as good though but still decent.
This is probably a must read aswell.

[Ishamael]

whats wronge with manga traders

@siru: yeah i agree, but this manga isnt really based on action anyways

the manga sorta started slow but recently ive been hooked with all the plots

[Hangatýr]

INOUE NEEDS TO MAKE THIS SHIT MORE FREQUENT :D:

[~Shin~]

This manga wasn't meant to have "action" anyway. I think Inoue even said himself that he was going for a more realistic approach on basketball and the handicapped.

That said, this is one of the few mangas that had a lot of emotional impact on me. One of my favorites even though I've only read 5 volumes.

[Lusankya]

When the last release? A year ago? Dunno what happened to it.

[Niabingi]

The current scanlators dropped it as it got licensed there are a few groups willing to work on this but seinen translators are hard to find! Volume 7 came out some months ago though there are only crap raws available on the net. As for volume 8 that'll be out some time this autumn/fall.

[Hangatýr]

Fucking Viz picked it up. ._.

[Elijah Snow]

Read all 6 scanlated volumes and have browsed through 7. May just be my favorite of Inoue's work and easily one of the best manga's I have ever read.

[Lusankya]

Fucking Viz picked it up. ._.

Its such a pain for those who live in places where Viz doesn't release.

[Elijah Snow]

It really is, I plan to buy it once it comes out in my area.

[Scorpio3.14]

All right! It appears another group has finally decided to pick up Real from where Hawks & Omanga left off.

Illuminati-Manga & Chibisuke-Scans just released chapter 37 and I have to say, its about time!!

DDL: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zx2yrgnyrti

Good chapter, although its been so long since I read Real that I find myself forgetting a lot of the plot and characters. I think I'm gunna have to read through the first 6 volumes to get back into things again, but I don't mind when its a manga of such high quality as Real :P

[Niabingi]

I was waiting for this there are very few groups who do seinen that'll pick up a licensed series. I just hope it'll come out faster than the usual illuminati projects and I'm not even going to start on Chibisuke's Over Drive status. Still, glad to have the start of volume 7 and I look forward to more. I say this gets the October manga of the month spot.

[The Drunken Monkey]

Holy shit, I haven't read any Real in about a year and a half. I think I'll just wait until it finishes since I don't want to end up rereading it over and over.

[Lusankya]

Holy shit! Finally someone picked this up. Great job.

[Haohmaru]

I was waiting for this there are very few groups who do seinen that'll pick up a licensed series. I just hope it'll come out faster than the usual illuminati projects and I'm not even going to start on Chibisuke's Over Drive status. Still, glad to have the start of volume 7 and I look forward to more. I say this gets the October manga of the month spot.
It definitely has my vote. I've been voting REAL for a couple of months now. Didn't for next months MOTM though, since it's just me and a couple of others voting for REAL everytime. We really need more people to read this. I'm glad I recently started this. I don't have to reread everything.

[Hangatýr]

Good manga usually find it hard to win against the popular manga. But either Slam Dunk or REAL should definitely become MotM sometime, even though Slam Dunk is more likely.

In other news, I bought the first volume of REAL this week.

[Moridin]

Just got around to reading it, no idea why it took me so long since I've enjoyed all the other series I've read by Inoue and Pek recommended it to me ages back.

Anyway it's quite fantastic really, development of all the characters has been stunning, probably one of the most emotionally engaging series I've had the pleasure of reading.

[Elijah Snow]

I absolutely love this series and it's about time you picked it up. I can't wait to check out vol.8 when it comes out later in the year.

[ZexionAxel]

i just started this and i must say i'm impressed with inoue :zaru

[pek]

*Merged two REAL threads *

REAL was recently uploaded to Onemanga, it's not up to date afaik, so take this opportunity and read it. Give it a try.

http://www.onemanga.com/Real/1/

[Dream Brother]

I'm on volume four at the moment, and I can safely say that I love this.

When I read Slam Dunk, I was utterly addicted -- it was often hilarious, the feel of basketball games was wonderfully captured, and the characters were both diverse and (for the most part) interesting. The whole fiery hero/Byronic rival dynamic worked far better than in bloody Naruto. My only minor quibbles were that there was actually too much action sometimes, and that the ending felt too abrupt/incomplete. Overall, however, it was one hell of a ride -- very enjoyable series.

Real, however...is just on a completely different level.

It feels like a much darker, richer and more fulfilling work. I saw promising glints of Inoue's skill with characters and drama in Slam Dunk, but it always felt somehow restrained or fleeting. In this series those glints become fully realised gems, completely unearthed. Character development really shines brilliantly. I also like the fact that action has taken a back-seat to the more important 'fleshing out' scenes between characters, or isolated emotional struggles. There's genuine pathos here. Slam Dunk is like a deliciously simple burger -- Real is a steak dinner. They both aim for very different goals, and they both succeed wonderfully. Real just happens to hit the goals that interest me more.

Lovely stuff.

[Midus]

You can definitely see how he went from Slam Dunk to Vagabond when you read this manga. Kind of bridges the gap in a way.

[The Doctor]

Unfortunatelly, I have only read up to chapter 38 but I gotta say, I'm completely hooked. I already knew some of Inoue's works before hand (Vagabond being one of the best mangas I have ever read) and I was expecting a good manga but damn, he surpassed my expectations.

[Dream Brother]

Guess I'll check Vagabond out too, hmm.

[pek]

I am real glad you enjoyed it, Dream Brother and I always love to read your posts as you tend to put it so perfectly.

I personally prefer Slam Dunk! over REAL; as you said they have two different goals. Slam Dunk! is a shounen series and it is aimed to appeal the younger audience and the older ones, I don't think many young people would enjoy reading REAL on their Shounen Jump. He did Slam Dunk! excellently and last year , 10 years since it ended, it was declared Japan's favorite manga...so popular that many young japanese kids started playing basketball. Who dare say that they weren't affected by Sakuragi / Rukawa's hi5 at the end ?!

REAL is not a basketball manga, well at least not so far, it is a slice of life but the slice chosen just happen to be the most rotten and shitty part of life.

Inoue have his hands free on this manga as there is no final "destination" yet, there is no tournament to win, well there is but not one that could end the series at this point, no villain to kill ...so far we have only wounds that needs healing and few wounds heal fast so as said, he have more options with this manga than he did with Slam Dunk! .

REAL brought me to the brink of tears, few mangas have done so =x

Edit: Dream Brother: Vagabond is a also an incredibly good read, these three are all on my top 10 list but as said...different goals but he succeeds with Vagabond too.

Inoue Takehiko AND Naoki Urasawa mangas are all must read for any manga lover. Check out Naoki Urasawa's currently on going Pluto (http://www.onemanga.com/Pluto/)series. Discussion thread here (http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=28142&)

[Dream Brother]

He did Slam Dunk! excellently and last year , 10 years since it ended, it was declared Japan's favorite manga...so popular that many young japanese kids started playing basketball. Who dare say that they weren't affected by Sakuragi / Rukawa's hi5 at the end ?!

Haha, that was such a great scene.

I can definitely relate to those kids -- hell, I'm meeting with some friends for a basketball game soon purely because of that manga's influence upon me.

REAL is not a basketball manga, well at least not so far, it is a slice of life but the slice chosen just happen to be the most rotten and shitty part of life.

As I was reading the series, a quote on fiction writing (from Vonnegut) flashed through my head:

'Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.'

Edit: Dream Brother: Vagabond is a also an incredibly good read, these three are all on my top 10 list but as said...different goals but he succeeds with Vagabond too.

As soon as I catch up with Real, I'm gonna be checking this 'un out. Heard nothing but good things about it so far.

Inoue Takehiko AND Naoki Urasawa mangas are all must read for any manga lover. Check out Naoki Urasawa's currently on going Pluto (http://www.onemanga.com/Pluto/)series. Discussion thread here (http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=28142&)

Urasawa is pure <3

20th Century Boys is probably the greatest manga that I've ever read, and Monster isn't far behind.

I started Pluto a while ago, and I remember being very interested in the concept/execution so far. Really need to catch up with the latest chapters.

[mow]

haha, I just clicked this thread to pour love for REAL and Slam Dunk, and i find pekep and DB pouring love for it and urasawa. <3 you both

[halfhearted]

Guess I'll check Vagabond out too, hmm.

I definitely third second this. While I'm a huge Slam Dunk fan and a more recent REAL lover, I can't deny that Vagabond will always be my favorite out of Inoue's works (for rather subjective reasons).

There's a better than good possibility that it's because I began Vagabond with a firm interest in sword fighting, while I didn't truly love basketball until after I'd gotten into Slam Dunk. But, added to that, many of the panel layouts and the later artwork found within Vagabond are more artistically appealing to me, both in a tangible and an ephemeral sense. While the characters and their struggles hit me harder (although, possibly not as tragically as those found in REAL) due to how grave actions and consequences can be and just...the characters, in general, I guess. The personalities are attractive in a fashion that slightly differs from his other works in a way that increases my already overwhelming enjoyment of his manga.

Regardless of which series you end up liking best, there's little doubt that you will also find a great deal to love in the series should you try it out.

I am real glad you enjoyed it, Dream Brother and I always love to read your posts as you tend to put it so perfectly.

I have to agree with pek on that last bit <3

REAL brought me to the brink of tears, few mangas have done so =xOut of curiosity, which parts or storylines are you finding the most emotional during the course of the manga? At the moment, I'm stuck somewhere in between the raw, psychological wounds that are being bared as Takahashi begins a new life with his father (and tries to reconcile the old one that was left behind when their family broke apart) and lingering on the mixture of lamentation and willpower that were found in Togawa's backstory.

As I was reading the series, a quote on fiction writing (from Vonnegut) flashed through my head:

'Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.'I find that quote truly striking in conjunction with the character of Takahashi.

Similar to a few of the personalities in his other manga, I think that, in spite of his situation, it's difficult to like Takahashi. In other words, I enjoy how Inoue sort of turns the mentioned idea on its head by having bad things happen to people who aren't wonderful or terrible; they are just people. And, it may take you the entirety of the story to decide whether you'd hypothetically want to hang out with them for a day as buddies, but you will still be able to find things to identify with on almost any given page combined with a sense of true sorrow regarding their circumstances.


Urasawa is pure <3Truer words were never spoken <3

[Dream Brother]

Finally caught up with the current chapter.

I love it even more now.

haha, I just clicked this thread to pour love for REAL and Slam Dunk, and i find pekep and DB pouring love for it and urasawa. <3 you both

I think you were the one that actually introduced me to Urasawa (your praise in the MD got me to check out Monster out of sheer curiosity) so cheers matey.

I definitely third second this. While I'm a huge Slam Dunk fan and a more recent REAL lover, I can't deny that Vagabond will always be my favorite out of Inoue's works (for rather subjective reasons).

There's a better than good possibility that it's because I began Vagabond with a firm interest in sword fighting, while I didn't truly love basketball until after I'd gotten into Slam Dunk. But, added to that, many of the panel layouts and the later artwork found within Vagabond are more artistically appealing to me, both in a tangible and an ephemeral sense. While the characters and their struggles hit me harder (although, possibly not as tragically as those found in REAL) due to how grave actions and consequences can be and just...the characters, in general, I guess. The personalities are attractive in a fashion that slightly differs from his other works in a way that increases my already overwhelming enjoyment of his manga.

Regardless of which series you end up liking best, there's little doubt that you will also find a great deal to love in the series should you try it out.

I'm gonna start it today/tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know what I think. Definitely an interesting concept for a manga series -- I remember reading The Book of Five Rings and Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi novel back when I was in high school, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Inoue's take on the figure is like.

I have to agree with pek on that last bit <3

Haha, thanks -- to both of you, that is. I always type out these big chunks of text, and I always end up feeling self-indulgent and silly when I post 'em...so the fact that they hold some sort of merit for anyone else is honestly awesome to hear.

I find that quote truly striking in conjunction with the character of Takahashi.

Similar to a few of the personalities in his other manga, I think that, in spite of his situation, it's difficult to like Takahashi. In other words, I enjoy how Inoue sort of turns the mentioned idea on its head by having bad things happen to people who aren't wonderful or terrible; they are just people. And, it may take you the entirety of the story to decide whether you'd hypothetically want to hang out with them for a day as buddies, but you will still be able to find things to identify with on almost any given page combined with a sense of true sorrow regarding their circumstances.

Pretty much exactly what I was thinking when I read the chapters. It's a credit to Inoue that he introduces a character that I utterly hate, and then later starts to really strip him to the bone and reveal the wounds there. It's not, of course, as crude as introducing a bastard and then suddenly making him all nice and sweet later -- that would feel artificial and patronising, which would cause it to automatically backfire. Instead, I still see how much of a punk Takahashi is, but I also begin to see why this is the case, and how he's simply a human at the end of the day. That stinging sarcasm/casual malicious behaviour that once annoyed me so much now almost comes across as pitiable, as you see how it's all just a way of shielding his own vulnerability. It reminds me of Faye's advice in Cowboy Bebop: “You know the first rule of combat? Shoot them before they can shoot you.”

One of the latest chapters (where he confronts his father about leaving home) nearly brought tears to my eyes, especially on the last page.

And hell, I haven't even gushed about the other characters yet...

None of them are monsters or angels. Just humans. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[TalikX]

I've been reading this manga lately and I agree with all of you that is amazing, great art and well written but its just too depressing for me to keep reading.

[Dream Brother]

I've been reading this manga lately and I agree with all of you that is amazing, great art and well written but its just too depressing for me to keep reading.

It can get very bleak, definitely.

But I never get too depressed while reading it, because I interpret the message behind the work as ultimately being one of hope. It's about confronting some of the darker, hurtful aspects of life and still fighting your way through them until you reach that small crack of light. It seems to be about inner strength in the face of despair; suffering as fuel for rebirth.

I also find that it helps me to avoid taking my legs for granted, which I've always done.

[~Shin~]

I also find that it helps me to avoid taking my legs for granted, which I've always done.

My sentiments exactly.

After seeing the kind of stuff they go through, it really makes me feel grateful that I have two perfectly functioning legs.

But yeah, REAL is one of the few mangas to send a few chills down my spine (not because I was scared or anything but some of the things just connected with me).

I just found it spectacular how Inoue portrayed each character's struggles. I especially liked what Nomiya was going through. I can't even imagine how I would feel if I caused someone else to become crippled because of my stupidity.

[Dream Brother]

I especially liked what Nomiya was going through. I can't even imagine how I would feel if I caused someone else to become crippled because of my stupidity.

Yeah, I like that touch too.

Speaking of that, I'm interested to see how that girl develops as the series progresses -- and, of course, how her odd relationship with Nomiya matures.

[halfhearted]

Chapter 40 has been released by Chibisuke-Scans (http://www.mangaupdates.com/groups.html?id=1675) & Illuminati-Manga (http://www.mangaupdates.com/groups.html?id=501)! :3

DDL:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?qumadwmjmj0

[adee]

I just started reading this

Shitiing in the school gate naked.....:argh

I shivered all over.

[Dream Brother]

Poor guy just can't catch a break.

[adee]

That's a general poor guy statement I believe.

[Dream Brother]

I guess next time I'll write an elegy for him...

To be serious though, I'm wondering how he's going to develop now. I actually did think this job deal would be a stable part of the story for a while, at least.

[pek]

It is up to Ch 43 now.

I knew that they could not win but it is hurts to see them reach so close and now Togawa have to go over to the Dreams ;__; . It would probably mean that Tigers would have to split up unless the new guy can take on Togawa's role.
I just started reading this

Shitiing in the school gate naked.....:argh

I shivered all over.
I'm not really bothered if you drop this series because of this small scene, basically one page. I guess Inoue would want to weed out the true fans and with that scene kill off any lame people reading this. :pek

[adee]

Not liking watching people defecate is lame I guess. Why would I turn away from the series for one frame though.