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Friday Fun: Getting into some Manga!

By jdupuis on May 28, 2010.

I've been slowly dipping my toes into the manga universe, trying to expand my comics/graphic novel horizon. Moyasimon, for example -- the 1st volume was very good. Beyond that, I've only read a couple of titles here and there.

Of course, like any good librarian I've been looking for lists to help me in my explorations.

Here's a nice list from Robin Brenner via Jeff Vandermeer:

  1. Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga
  2. Clover by CLAMP
  3. Death Note by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba
  4. Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike
  5. Monster by Naoki Urasawa
  6. Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa
  7. Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
  8. Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma
  9. Ghost in the Shell by Shirow Masamune

And another, with handy genre hints:

  1. Rurouni Kenshin (chanbara) by Nobuhiro Watsuki
  2. Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind (fantasy) by Hayao Miyazaki
  3. Crying Freeman (crime) by Kazuo Koike
  4. Monster (thriller) by Naoki Urasawa
  5. Maison Ikkoku (comedy) by Rumiko Takahashi
  6. Berserk (fantasy) by Kentaro Miura
  7. Battle Angel Alita (cyberpunk) by Yukito Kishiro
  8. Blade Of The Immortal (chanbara) by Hiroaki Samura
  9. Nana (drama) by Ai Yazawa
  10. GTO (comedy) by Tohru Fujisawa

Some other lists are here, here, here and here

Of course, any reviews, suggestions and comments are more than welcome. In general, I like science fiction, horror and noir/hardboiled mystery so suggestions along those lines would be particularly helpful.

I already have some Nausicaa and Ooku lying around the house.

Tags
friday fun
Science Fiction

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You must add to your list Honey & Clover and Spice & Wolf.

Ehhh... Death Note and Rurouni Kenshin are shonen which means they are marketed towards teenagers. They are not the best representations of what Japan can offer. Surprisingly I never did like Ghost in the Shell. It was too technical and really obtuse for my liking. The novels based off of the television series are better but need the context of the series to make complete sense. Full Metal Alchemist is an excellent comic.

In general, I like science fiction, horror and noir/hardboiled mystery so suggestions along those lines would be particularly helpful.

2001 Nights
Akira
BLAME!
Battle Royale
Believers
Domu - a Child's Dream
Eden: It's an Endless World
GUNNM (Battle Angel Alita)
Ghost in the Shell
Homunculus
Hotel
Kiseijuu (a.k.a Parasyte)
Planetes

More manga recommendations from other genres:

Action(Fantasy & Sci-fi):
Berserk
Dominion Tank Police
Gantz
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Monster Collection

Misc:
Addicted to Curry
BECK
Bremen
Fuguruma Memories
Ouran High School Host Club

Samurai/Historical:
Blade of the Immortal
Bokko
Lone Wolf & Cub
Samurai Executioner
Samurai Legend
Vagabond
Vinland Saga

Sports:
Hajime No Ippo
REAL
Touch

Slice of Life:
Aruku Hito (The Walking Man)
Harukana Machi-E
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

A good resource to search for information about manga, search by genre etc.. is http://www.mangaupdates.com

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate the suggestions. There's enough to keep me going for a very long time...

What manga you'll end up liking really depends upon your reading tastes. I haven't read Moyasimon yet, although I just took a look at a description of it and I think it's going on my TBR list. Some manga are geared more towards teenagers or younger (which, in my opinion, does NOT mean they can't be enjoyed by older readers), while others are geared towards older readers. Although I'm in my late twenties, I tend to really enjoy shojo (geared towards teen girls) and shonen (geared towards teen boys) titles. Too much of the stuff I've read that's geared towards adults that has actually been made available in the US has either been too depressing, too dark, or too filled with techno terms for me.

I disagree with Adam_Y's comment - I really enjoyed Death Note (it's resulted in some great discussions with others about what they would do if Death Notes actually existed) and Rurouni Kenshin (great fun, even if the fight scenes get a bit "are you kidding?"). Of course, I'm not saying everyone would or should enjoy them, but I think the "best of what Japan can offer" is REALLY subjective.

Thanks.

Somehow I guess I was sorta hoping all this input was going to help me figure out what to read next...not so much. Now the problem is narrowing down all the great suggestions!