Artist: Ryouma
Source: Pixiv
Well, actually, I normally do a fic roundup at the end of the year, but this year, in this fandom, I don’t have anything to round up, so I thought I might do a round up and review of some of the parts of the fandom that I could find. Starting with the fanfic … XD
It’s one of the things about being in a small fandom; it’s hard to find any kinds of work. Fanart is somewhat easier; I can hit up the pixiv tags under Toriko or in Tegaki pipa (though there are several different tags and well, I am still working out how to navigate EFFICIENTLY, but sooner or later I’ll catalog them all. I lost the Toriko AU tag though, which depresses me muchly.
But yeah, it’s still a small English fandom. The one place I knew where to look when I was first coming into Toriko was Fanfic.net. Say what you want about the place, it’s actually, for many fandoms, the only place people can go to find fics in one place.
It was really odd, though. For the longest time after I began reading the manga, I didn’t even know if I wanted to read Toriko fanfic (some fandoms I’m in, I’m never bit by the fanfic bug).
Then I became kinda curious (and a bit … erm … scared) about the kind of fanfic that really old school style shonen manga would produce. All the other fandoms I’ve been in (or am in currently) aren’t the Dragon-ball-esque kind of story with really bulky guys. They tend to have very involved storylines that go beyond getting the menu of the week. Besides, Toriko’s kinda already heavy and perverse in just the sheer over-the-top gluttony department. How could the writing ever top that? I’m still surprised there’s not more odd fics concerning eating things … and not just food. *blush*
Moreover, Toriko doesn’t have the traditional bishonen (and whatever you say about Sunny, he still doesn’t really count — he’s the prettiest, but he doesn’t have the willowy figure and there’s no mistakin’ him for a girl, not really) that tends to generate tons of romantic/angsty/pron fanfic among fans either — or at least, as far as I can tell.
Color me surprised when there I found that hey, there is fanfic, and it isn’t all bad food porn. 0_0 In fact, a good portion is pretty readable (if a bit porny) and some are very well thought out, and most integrates food in a manner that is fitting with the canon (though, again, somewhat porny). Wow.
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The Stats:
According to date stamps, the Toriko section at Fanfic.net actually began just a little more than a year ago, about October 2010. I wasn’t actually reading Toriko at the time, but it seems to be before Zebra makes his debut, for those needing in-manga continuity.
Toriko has 45 fanfics at last count on the ffnet (and 48 in total that I can find), written in 2 different languages so far. However, all of these are produced by 11 authors. At last count, there isn’t a kink meme or even a fic journal/community out there; it’ll be interesting to see when and if that develops.
The Ten (plus one on LJ) Authors on Fanfic.net are:
Amazona Verde (Spanish Writer :))
Rice Kracker used to post on there, but she took off her work. I kinda remembered her LJ vaguely (I don’t know how it got stored in my brain, but there you go) and you can find 3 fanfics there too.
Yep. Eleven authors. There are also three AU fics and one with OCs on FFNET, which I see as a good sign of growth. Works range from adventure stories to fluff stories to full on porn. There enough so there should be at least ONE story you like, I’d think, if you happen to like fanfic. If I missed an author, please let me know, because I think they all need our support.
Yes, we are a very small fandom. X3 But one that produces decent amount of writing, given the small pool, and well, some of it’s really good.
My Recs
Standard rec disclaimer: Okay these are my opinions. Again, just because it bears repeating because because I don’t want to make people upset, they are OPINIONS. As in I have them, and they are mine, and they may not match with yours.
Please don’t get upset if you don’t see your fic or a fic you like that’s not mentioned.
I have odd tastes, I have pointed preferences, and I sometimes will like stuff that doesn’t have good grammar because I like the story … and there are things I won’t read, no matter how well it’s written or how poignant the story because it hits some sort of “oogh, no!” trigger in me. *shrugs* For example, I don’t like underage fics. I know there are great underage fics out there; Shakespeare wrote some of the best.
But no. Still can’t do it. Even the implication of it makes me do a odd shiver and back away. The only way I can read KomatsuxAnyone is I know that he’s 25, despite how he looks. (At times, though, the fanart can make me shudder cause yeah. -_-. I’ve always loved the comic strip that has a cop car chasing the four kings who are chasing Komatsu … because dang, I’m sure that has happened more than once!)
Anyway, the writing above — well, it is an opinion and completely catered to my preferences. You may like underage fics. I’m not judging you. Do your thing. Don’t get upset if I do mine. Just rec what you want on a comment, in my askbox, or on your blog; that way all good fics get shared.
Anyways, my top four authors probably are Late Night Iridescence, Dreaming of Everything, Star Iceling, and Dancing Grimm.
It’s no secret; I love Late Night Iridescence’s stuff — I guess because her view of the Four Kings and Komatsu really match up with how I view them. She’s probably why I’m on tumblr at the moment. Her fic are generally very well thought through and most importantly, for me, in character. She takes the characters through the situations she places them in … and KEEPS them in character. That’s hard to do and a mark of a great writing, fanfic or otherwise. It also helps she writes very well and with a clear style.
My favorite of hers is probably: Second Partner which illustrates my points excellently. It’s a story that wouldn’t work with any other characters or with any other universe but Toriko’s. She takes a question about the canon — how do other people see Zebra … how is it different than the other three kings? And expands it out nicely to tell a story that has a great emotional payoff between Komatsu and Zebra. Mmmm.
All of her stuff is highly recommended. :) (Though I kinda really like Excessive Force, mainly because *coughisortaprompteditcough*).
I also like most of Star Iceling’s work because, again, it doesn’t have the Ikea like quality of one furniture fits all — the characters, again, match the ones in canon and the stories would not take place anywhere BUT in the Toriko canon. My favorite is probably Night at the Baron Archipelago, because it is a quiet, sweet, chapter-related fic that I can see happening. And some of the details are great … such as Toriko putting down a hand and splaying it like claws to protect his partner. It makes me feel warm fuzzies. Heee.
Dreaming of Everything also has that same grip on the characters and their world … and it helps that she ships all of them together. I really like how she writes Komatsu, in particular … though she has yet to write something solely from his pov, we get a good sense of who he is by the reactions of those around him.
My favorite fic of hers is Helping Hands — okay, confession — I do have a kinda soft spot for fuzzy hurt comfort every now and then — but what I really like is it is told from Coco’s POV … and it fits. And it’s through his interaction with Komatsu that she reveals more about that character … and about Toriko too. And I really like that it takes the KINGS out of their preferred element and into Komatsu’s quiet world of cooking — it was very well done. My favorite detail, I think, is the way she wrote a subtle backstory for Komatsu — thinking about where he could have learned cooking from, that he had parents perhaps, or people who wrote down his favorite recipes for him. Canon gives us so little about Komatsu’s past … hell, we know more about the four kings, really … but the one she gives him really fits, cozily, like a glove worn well. I really hope the author writes more!
Finally, last but not least, Dancing Grimm can be counted on for something a little risque with a sense of humor. I’ll be honest — I can be pretty prudish, so sometimes I’ll back away from fics that are too erm … well *blush* — but that’s just me and my tastes and not a reflection on the writer.
I did enjoy The Long Slow Process of Sunny Solving a Mystery because yes, I agree with her. Sunny isn’t by any means stupid, but he can be dense. (I mean, the guy forgot to knock out a huge frickin’ giant of a rockdrum because he was infatuated by the marble …) And I always like fics that can make me smile. :)
There are probably a lot more authors I’m missing, actually — but this post is getting long. Can you tell me what I should be reading too? Oh and btw: I don’t have anything against AUs, no matter how much I ramble about wanting in-character characters and universes. AUs, though are so hard to pull off. (mumblesortaamwritingonemyselfarrgh). The ones in the Toriko verse don’t have enough chapters for me to judge yet; I’m hoping that it’ll change.
Oh and I nearly forgot: PLEASE FEED THE WRITERS. WE ARE SUCH A SMALL FANDOM THAT WE CAN’T LET THE WRITERS STARVE TO DEATH. WE ONLY HAVE ELEVEN OF THEM! T___T
I have it from good sources that reviews are the best ways to feed writers. Just hit the review button of FFNET! If you’re on tumblr, maybe a quick comment in the ask box, if you can’t figure out how to reply, or don’t want to get any account?
Small fandoms are hard on writers. They don’t know if you like their fic, or if anyone is reading — they’re left to guess whether the lack of reviews is due to the lack of fandom or the fact that their fic isn’t great … it’s kinda nerve wracking.
SERIOUSLY. PLEASE FEED THE WRITERS. WE NEED MORE OF THEM.
I’m guilty too; I really need to get something set up on ffnet so I can review them. *is ashamed*
SO yup, I really hope this fandom gets more writers and artists, no matter what they write or how they write. It’s too much fun, really. X3
This has gotten really long. *boggles* But yeah. Maybe someone else can put up a post about good spots to find more fanart? I’m sure some good spoiler links would be appreciated as well. :) And of course, everyone knows the Hi wa mata noboru site, right? And the wiki site … huh.
Hehe, we should make a connected series of posts to help the newbies out, I think. (Since yeah, I’m a kinda newbie too. *Facepalm*) It’s a fun fandom. People should jump in! *waves enthusiastically*
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