First one would be Cat Street. It's a really sweet slice of life manga revolving around the life of 4 friends who study at the El Liston free school. I admit the art took some time to get used to, but I fell in love with the story so it ceased to matter after some time.
Aoyama Keito was a child actress who, after embarassing herself during a stage performance, lives the life of a recluse for 7 years. Bizarre and a rather flimsy plot excuse because we've all embarassed ourselves and not wanted to face the world afterward yet we still do. Then again Keito's stubbornness and her lack of knowledge concerning social conventions, due to being busy working during her childhood, could make this poor excuse stretch.
Despite that, this story has got to be one of those stories that touch the heart. It is one of those slow, peaceful stories that really shows its characters growth, so its not for those searching for an action packed or even a romantic story. There is romance, it is a shoujo manga after all (by the author of Hana Yori Dango no less), but the highlight to me was Keito coming out of her shell. I was so invested in Keito's growth, in her change from that lifeless, anti-social girl into a confident , mature and talented actress. I was just touched...... and ridiculously happy to see her change. I cried tears of happiness here.
The other story was Anatolia Story/ Red River/ Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori. The truth is, I really have no patience with this story. Its your typical run of the mill, girl from the future ends up in the past/alternate world story and all the other tropes that you would associate with it, with added smut. Granted, I'm a bit biased since Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden upped the standard for me. My pace through it is laughably slow, 18 chapters in 3-4 days! That's longer than I took with Cat Street or even Sailor Moon. Its not a bad story per se, I like it more than Fushigi Yuugi (its redeeming point was bishies and nice art.....and being a pioneer of the reverse harem, you gotta give it credit for daring to do that), its just that it is a bit old and other people have copied most of its ideas. Also I have come to a stage in my life where romance stories are beginning to seem cliche.
To tell you the truth the only reason I'm sticking to it is to get to the Ramses part, whom the fandom seems to consider hot stuff (well I am in search of bishies) and the villains' love story. Somebody said it was the most poignant romance they'd read. Yes, Nakia is horrible, they are pure evulz but the way an author handles the bad guys is a mark of how good their storytelling ability is to me. Ok, I also can enjoy stories where the bad guys are evil just because they are such deprave individuals, so I can hate their guts out. Yul's mother in Goong is an example. I respect her cunning though.
Why did I cry over this? I cheated and jumped straight to Urhi's past. The poor guy has been through so much! I cried because of how much of a waste it was and well, I pitied them terribly. And Nakia, what was her story? The manga doesn't really address that I think, I don't know, I haven't finish. How was she raised? I'm intrigued by her background, I want to know her reasons. Was the Babylonian court as dangerous and deceitful as the Chinese court? If yes, then I can come up with dozens of theories and possible scenarios that can shape Nakia into who she became. For instance, did Nakia grow up among jealous court women who poisoned each other and caused miscarriages to prevent someone from gaining favour?
Last thing is a Narnia fanfiction about Susan. I'd wondered why she wasn't with the Pevensies at the end in Aslan's country just because of lipsticks and nylons. Then I realized that I'd been somewhat influenced by a publication I read and on closer inspection of the story I found out it wasn't solely because of that. This fanfic addresses that issue perfectly and is such a heartwarming story. Susan's redemption is done beautifully and I really recommend it for all those who had wished that Susan had gotten a better ending. The author deals with the Christian symbolism tastefully and it meshes well with the story without seeming too heavy handed. Don't believe me? Read it for yourself, yeah, its that good. http://honorh.livejournal.com/226358.html
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