I started off reading manga first when I was in high school. I want to say sophomore year. I remember it like it was yesterday. One of my friends had a book in hand, and the colorful design caught my attention. Given how I have never had average, generally typical, or sane friends, I probably should have been at least a little suspicious. She had given me a smirk and for her, smirking meant she was going to find the outcome of my reaction highly amusing. I would not share the same sentiment. However, in this case, I was too curious to pay attention to the warning bells. She gave a clean summary of the book and said I could read it. I cheerfully took it with me and read it off and on during school that day. However, I was really able to get into it when in math class (nothing was going on since the Teacher wasn’t in). I was laughing, enjoying myself with the artwork, plot, characters, etc. I got a slight inkling at some point, but my radar hadn’t fully formed, so I wasn’t sure what the inkling was. I kept reading, turned a page, and BOOM taking up both pages was a full-on, in-your-face yaoi scene.
I lost my mind in math class that day, and it wasn’t even because of math.
I got my act together and found my mind enough to finish the book. That book was called “Gravitation.” I stared at the manga for a moment before rereading it. Safe to say that from then on, I was a lover of yaoi and enjoyed teasing the boys I hung around with my love. (They were utterly and wholly disgusted me and blamed my friend for “ruining” me.)
Now, I’m not sure how many people out there who read manga can say that the first manga they read was in the genre of yaoi, but it is amusing if it is. There are so many genres out there, like books, and often can be even more dramatic than books. However, for me, I kinda stopped reading manga heavily in my early twenties. My attention diverted and did not return until recently. Thankfully, it’s a lot easier to buy manga digitally. Still, I will always have regrets for those series I didn’t finish and are no longer in print. Or the ones that haven’t been put into a digital format. Now and days, I read the manga version of the light novels I currently read.
My first light novel, on the other hand, was not yaoi.
I had just finish binge-watching an anime called “Irregular at Magic High School” and needed more in my life. I can’t begin to tell you what about that anime hooked me, but it caught me. It wasn’t easy. This anime was like a sleeper, and no one was talking about it. I had to really go digging and hunting before I could get the light novels. After that, it was love… for light novels. I already loved the show; I naturally love the books. Oddly, I have not read the manga, though I have read the manga version told from the sister POV.
This brings in mind the question. Do I need to reread the same story again in different formats? Nope. I would be good just reading the series without ever watching the show. However, in most cases, I end up watching the anime, and I have learned that the anime tends to come from the manga. Not always, no, but it can be a close thing. Although, I will say I have to really like the series to go through the trouble of reading the light novel and manga, then watching the show (if they have released it). Guessing which series will be picked up and given more than a season (12 episodes) is always a fun game because… reasons.
Until next time!
