Serenity

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Serenity

Postby Sapphire225 » Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:00 pm

Not really a anime, but its a manga. I had just seen it and I know it was made months ago, but I haven't seen a topic on it (or there probably was but I didn't see it. Hopefully, I didn't miss it)

Anyway, I find it interesting on the first issue.
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Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
~Deuteronomy 31:6



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Postby dyzzispell » Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:32 pm

Yeah I got the Serenity manga. Not crazy about it really. I'm more interested in Shelter of Wings, coming out next month...
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Postby uc pseudonym » Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:27 pm

Unfortunately, there have indeed been other threads. None of them are particularly active, however, so I will not close them. Though I will move this to the manga forum.

I have no new comments regarding the series. Nothing that isn't thoroughly covered by my reviews, in any case.
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Postby USSRGirl » Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:05 pm

Is this the one I heard about being a Christian manga? But like written by an American or something? I was curious about it.
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Postby QtheQreater » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:28 pm

I read the first one...didn't think it was worth the time I spent. The plotline just wasn't all that interesting, and I disliked the character rather muchly. But I'm also not a fan of the more Americanized artwork, anyway.
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Postby USSRGirl » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:51 pm

Jeffori-chan, is it like Christian?

Hmm... I'd appreciate it someone could take the time to elaborate on the plot because I really have no clue what it is. Just vaguely heard of it.

A few questions (I'm considering searching for this thing at my library)-

1. Is it Christian manga as I heard? (not someone's webmanga but real honest to goodness manga)

2. Is it American or authentic Japanese?

3. Who's the author?

4. Any... um... obscene content (don't mind violence and cursing so much, but I don't exactly trust 'Christian' writers either.)
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Postby uc pseudonym » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:00 pm

Well, it appears I will be the one to provide this link again. If you want more information, the best place to go is the series website:
http://www.serenitybuzz.com

Note the 14 page preview. Not the best selection of pages, in my mind, but it is somewhat representative.

Or you could view the publisher's website, if you like:
http://www.realbuzzstudios.com/

As I've said at more length elsewhere, I'm hardly a fan of the series, but some people might like it and if so, go right ahead.

EDIT: To answer your questions...

1) It is Christian in philosophy and professionally published.

2) American

3) Buzz Dixon. The illustrator is Min Kwon

4) Not at all. They're aiming for a young audience.
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Postby USSRGirl » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:06 pm

Ooooh nevermind, I found the Serenitybuzz site right before you posted it UC. Looks ear-burningly cliche and sickening. Geez... why is that most Christian writers can't write good stuff? A tough somewhat bad girl who goes to a Bible study and blames God... yada yada yada... heard it all before. >.< I don't like the artwork either, although as you said I guess it's targetted at a younger audience.

Hmm... not gonna be payin' fifty cents to put a hold on this one I'm afraid.
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Postby dyzzispell » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:15 pm

Shelter of Wings, however, looks a little more interesting...
Yes, yes, it's American, but it looks way better, I think. Check out the preview... Story sounds more interesting too.
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Postby uc pseudonym » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:23 pm

Dyzzispell, I'm a pre-emptive fan of Shelter of Wings as well, I want to support it, and I work with some of the people employed by Brethren Entertainment. But keep plugs for it at a minimum, please. This thread is for discussion of Serenity, and though mentioning it is reasonable, more than once is overkill.

USSRGirl wrote:why is that most Christian writers can't write good stuff?

You could make an argument that the expectation for Christian literature is such that it is very difficult for anyone attempting to write aforementioned good stuff to gain a publisher. We, given the very fact that we are members of this forum, are somewhat outside the Christian mainstream, and it is easy to forget what is actually desired by many readers.
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Postby jon_jinn » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:56 pm

USSRGirl wrote:Ooooh nevermind, I found the Serenitybuzz site right before you posted it UC. Looks ear-burningly cliche and sickening. Geez... why is that most Christian writers can't write good stuff? A tough somewhat bad girl who goes to a Bible study and blames God... yada yada yada... heard it all before. >.< I don't like the artwork either, although as you said I guess it's targetted at a younger audience.

Hmm... not gonna be payin' fifty cents to put a hold on this one I'm afraid.


yeah. not that great of a manga but at least it's a start. hopefully, some experienced artists can get some good christian manga series going...
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- Abraham Kuyper

"God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy."
- Westminister Confession of Faith (Chapter 5, Section 1)

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- R.C. Sproul

"All of Christian life is ceaseless worship of God the Father, through the mediatorship of God the Son, by the indwelling power of God the Spirit, doing what God commands in Scripture, not doing what God forbids in Scripture, in culturally contextualized ways, for the furtherance of the Gospel, when both gathered for adoration, and scattered for action, in joyous response to God's glorious grace."
- Mark Driscoll

"Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things."
- Martin Luther

"I have to tell you first that I am ready to die. I have put my affairs in order. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying, because when you kill me, people all over Romania will read my books and believe on the God that I preach - even more than they do now."
- Dr. Joseph Ton, the exiled Romanian pastor (quoted by James Montgomery Boice)

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Postby dyzzispell » Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:29 pm

uc pseudonym wrote:Dyzzispell, I'm a pre-emptive fan of Shelter of Wings as well, I want to support it, and I work with some of the people employed by Brethren Entertainment. But keep plugs for it at a minimum, please. This thread is for discussion of Serenity, and though mentioning it is reasonable, more than once is overkill.


Sorry about that. Next time I'll pay more attention to myself.... :sweat:
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Postby QtheQreater » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:17 pm

USSRGirl wrote:Ooooh nevermind, I found the Serenitybuzz site right before you posted it UC. Looks ear-burningly cliche and sickening. Geez... why is that most Christian writers can't write good stuff? A tough somewhat bad girl who goes to a Bible study and blames God... yada yada yada... heard it all before. >.< I don't like the artwork either, although as you said I guess it's targetted at a younger audience.

Hmm... not gonna be payin' fifty cents to put a hold on this one I'm afraid.


Cliche is is right. As much as I'd like to support Christian manga projects, I definitely don't recommend Serenity, not only for the annoying artwork, but the whole story line, cliche though it is, has it's real failing due to the sporadicness of its writing. You can have a decent cliched story, but this isn't one. Put bluntly, it was boring. And really short(thank goodness).
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Postby uc pseudonym » Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:36 pm

I think they went for such short volumes in an effort to appeal to a younger audience with short attention spans. It must be working, given how commercially successful Serenity has been. But the entire series is going to be 20+ volumes, according to the writer, so the overall story will be somewhat longer.

jon_jinn wrote:yeah. not that great of a manga but at least it's a start. hopefully, some experienced artists can get some good christian manga series going...

That is how I try to view it. The gate has definitely been opened, and with every new volume that comes out the mainstream Christian population will become more accepting of manga. Eventually they might even support quality series enough for them to be successful.
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Postby USSRGirl » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:28 pm

I just don't get it though. Hayao Miyazaki is an atheist (and a former commie) last I checked... and his movies and manga are so beautiful and spiritual. Why can't Christian artists come up with something like that? It's always like... reduced to the lowest common denominator... punky, rebellios teen girl who loses faith in God and eventually gets it back. Nothing wrong with that story... I'm sure it's great for kids to read... just sorta... bleh. Been there heard that. Ya know?
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Postby Sapphire225 » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:59 pm

USSRGirl wrote:I just don't get it though. Hayao Miyazaki is an atheist (and a former commie) last I checked... and his movies and manga are so beautiful and spiritual. Why can't Christian artists come up with something like that? It's always like... reduced to the lowest common denominator... punky, rebellios teen girl who loses faith in God and eventually gets it back. Nothing wrong with that story... I'm sure it's great for kids to read... just sorta... bleh. Been there heard that. Ya know?


You have a point there. I was hoping for something which had some fighting and more seriousness. Something like Naruto or FMA, or inuyasha or something like that.
"Because the World isn't as cruel as you take it to be." ~ Celty, Durarara!!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
~Deuteronomy 31:6



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Postby jon_jinn » Thu Nov 16, 2006 4:08 pm

i think a manga based on a story from the Bible (with a little twist to it) would be pretty cool. you could modernize the situation and recreate the characters. the manga might not really be "appropriate for all ages" but it would be something different.
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"Sometimes we don't present the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to reject it."
- John MacArthur

"In the total expanse of the human life, there is not a single square inch of which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine'."
- Abraham Kuyper

"God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy."
- Westminister Confession of Faith (Chapter 5, Section 1)

"The wisdom of God has found a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God all the while upholding the righteousness of God!!"
- John Piper

"Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God!"
-John Piper

"The very One from Whom we need to be saved, is the One Who has saved us."
- R.C. Sproul

"All of Christian life is ceaseless worship of God the Father, through the mediatorship of God the Son, by the indwelling power of God the Spirit, doing what God commands in Scripture, not doing what God forbids in Scripture, in culturally contextualized ways, for the furtherance of the Gospel, when both gathered for adoration, and scattered for action, in joyous response to God's glorious grace."
- Mark Driscoll

"Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things."
- Martin Luther

"I have to tell you first that I am ready to die. I have put my affairs in order. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying, because when you kill me, people all over Romania will read my books and believe on the God that I preach - even more than they do now."
- Dr. Joseph Ton, the exiled Romanian pastor (quoted by James Montgomery Boice)

"The best prayer I ever prayed had enough sin in it to condemn the whole world."
- John Bunyan

"If the Christian has lost sight of Calvary, that shows that he has lost his way."
- J.I. Packer[/SIZE]
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Postby uc pseudonym » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:21 pm

Hm, two Serenity threads at once. Instead of closing one, because I think that would hurt discussion, I'm going to make a declaration: this thread is for discussion of Serenity in general or in theory. The other thread is for specific discussion of events within the series. If everyone would help this distinction remain I'd be much obliged.
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