About

Who are you?

My name is Yerocha. I’m attending university in Canada for math and economics, but with an interest in art and english on the side. I’ve been an anime and manga fan for many years now. I decided to start this blog because there isn’t a whole lot of information about manga that I can rely on (aside from AnimeNewsNetwork, who seem to be far too opinionated for my taste). I suppose I could talk about anime, but there are so many of you already discussing recent shows, and you all seem to know more about anime than me. I felt I should go where the demand is.

Why “Shades of Grey”?

This was originally just a joke based on both the site focusing on manga and the attempt at a less-biased reviewing style. It wasn’t until sometime later that I got searches starting with 50 and realized what other meaning most people have for that kind of title. That was awkward, though not quite as awkward as the searches for 60 and 100 Shades.

What sort of things do you post here?

Shades of Grey is a blog where manga is reviewed, discussed and otherwise observed, both in essay and video format. Most of the material posted will fall into one of several varieties:

* Chapter Discussions

This is where I go into detail about a recently posted chapter and/or story arc of an ongoing series. The themes present  in the chapter, as well as how the series has dealt with them in the past, are explored.

As of October 22, the series up for potential Chapter Discussions are (sorted by genre and update schedule):

• One Piece, Bleach, Toriko, Nisekoi, Assassination Classroom
• Kenichi, Fairy Tail, Hayate The Combat Butler, The World God Only Knows, Gamaran, Liar Game
• Yotsuba&, Invasion! Squid Girl, Seitokai Yakuindomo, Yandere Kanojo, Silver Spoon, Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
• Soul Eater, Soul Eater Not, D. Grayman, A Certain Scientific Railgun, Blue Exorcist, Angel Beats Heavens Door
• Claymore, Rosario + Vampire, Billy Bat, Amanchu
• Kimi ni Todoke, Dengeki Daisy, Kuragehime, Sukitte Ii Na Yo, 14-sai no Koi, Chihayafuru, Natsume Yuujinchou
• Black Lagoon, Prism, Deadman Wonderland (Note: on hiatus)

* Manga Reviews

These are videos where I discuss an entire series, as well as who it would appeal to the most. I grew really sick of reviews where the reviewer is clearly only concerned with their own tastes and what they would like (with shows like X-Play being a major source of this), so I built my reviews so that I could avoid that kind of thing. Rather than a numbered score or a general “Read it/Burn it” mindset, the conclusion to the reviews is based on who should and should not be reading a series, in my opinion. It’s still not a perfect system, but it should be more accurate than the alternative, and it should mean a lot less hype over manga you wouldn’t care about.

These are intended to come out every two weeks, but that won’t be until after several are released.

Next Review: Idol no Akahon

Series Being Considered for Review: BARRAGE, Rosario + Vampire, Blue Exorcist vs Gamaran, Girl Friends, Fairy Tail, High School Debut

Wait, aren’t there a few series missing from the discussion list? What about Naruto? Or Berserk? Or REBORN? Or…

Okay, I get it.

First, no offense, but I’m not touching Naruto with a standard issue ten foot pole. I was a fan once, but not anymore. Besides, I’m sure there’s lots of people discussing it.

Second, there are only so many different series any one person can read, so I’ve obviously missed quite a few of the popular ones. If you think there’s something you’d really like me to discuss or review, feel free to leave a comment about it. Just know that I won’t read anything that’s too long, too generic, or too disturbing. Also, you may want to check this page to see if I’m already reading it.

What are your favourite anime/manga?

I actually have several lists written up about that.

Current Manga Rankings – 2011 – 30-16/15-1

2011 Anime Awards – Part 1/Part 2