Manga: Recommendations

[animus]

There's not really a thread, or a sticky that I can find through search.

But, anyways. I haven't been keeping up with new manga, just a couple of the ongoing ones. Has anyone started reading any that've just started recently that're good or show promise?

[Ryllharu]

Another recommendation thread to tempt me...

Here's a few that are somewhat recent I picked up:

Mushi to Medama to Teddybear - scanlated by SCX-Scans. This is a really strange series. It's pretty graphic, one of the characters kills one of the others in the first chapter by digging her eye out with a spoon (we see the aftermath, rather than the act itself). In many ways, it reminds me the most of Shakugan no Shana, but with a decent amount of Mirai Nikki (before than hit a downturn) mixed in.

Aiko Desho! - It's been around a little longer. One of those fairly standard molds, "kindergartner gets attached to an loves her teacher, who is a ronin." This is not another Kodomo no Jikan, but perhaps more of an Ai Baby, Yotsuba, and Maison Ikkoku.

Freezing - The art style is unmistakable, it is an Im Dal Young (of Unbalance x2) series. I suppose the closest thing would be Muv Luv Alternative, but ya know, without all the graphic, horrible deaths. Perhaps Psychic Academy is a more apt description. Aliens invade, kill lots of people, and our story begins with an Academy where girls are trained to become powerful warriors against them. But they require the assistance of a male partner, who is able to nullify the "freezing" affect the aliens have on anyone who opposes them. The story covers a young man who's sister is famous for sacrificing her life to give humanity a foothold against the invaders, and a cold and proud girl who is said to be the strongest of the class. While the artist is different this time, the art style can easily fool you into believing it was drawn by Lee Soo Hyun (artist of Unbalance x2). Which brings me to....

Onihime VS - Here is a series where both Lee Soo Hyun draws, and Im Dal Young authors. Here, Setsuna Kashiwagi is depressed enough to want to end his life. Right before he is about to do so, a man offers him a deal. 10 million yen, enough to alleviate the problems his sister (who cares for him) from loan sharks and to live happily the rest of her life. Setsuna takes the deal, and enters into a contract. He has to live for one more year, and then he will get the money, and the Oni Clan will claim his heart as payment. Two demon princesses of the Oni Clan come to visit him early, competing over who will claim the prize.

Saru Lock - Follows Saru, who dropped out of high school to run his parents locksmithing business, and claims to be the best locksmith (and therefore lockpicker) in the city. The series follows his exploits breaking into places for money and also the events that surround his two friends.

Nana to Kaoru - [description copied from mangaupdates] Kaoru is a 17-year old virgin who has a SM fetish. He always dreams about a SM relationship with his childhood friend Nana. One day Kaoru's mom decides to hide all his SM toys so he'll study for a change, by asking Nana to hide his toys. Nana finds the leather one-piece that Kaoru bought and tries it on but she accidentally locks it and doesn't have the key!
spacing!Of course the description leaves out that Nana is a very upright and studious class representative who has recently been slipping and was told by a school counselor to "relax". This series is written by a former hentai artist, so the content is very mature, much like his previous less-than-hentai work, Toshiue no Hito. The art is equally phenomenal. The series takes a strange look at the oddly romantic side of S&M. I had never thought there was a side like that to the fetish either.

----------------------------------------------------------
That's it for recent series that I picked up in the last month or so and are under 20 or so chapters. There are a few more series I started recently, but those are a little older or I haven't seen chapters of them in a while.

Toradora - anime coming in a week, so I don't really care there. Loli tsundere.
Shina Dark - another anime adaptation coming shortly. Two princesses (and a huge harem) who were "sacrificed" to the most laid back demon lord.
Change 123 - multiple personalities, one "Ultraman/Rider" otaku, and martial arts.
Shi Wah Mong - Three sisters separated when they were young and sent to three different cultures (America, Korean and Japan) reunited finally as teenagers.
Izo's Lover - Demonic ghost of an Oiran (like a geisha) returns to seduce "the reincarnation" of her long lost love. [single volume series]
My Barbaric Girlfriend - bodyswap series, where a brash masculine girl swaps bodies with the rather effeminate boy who had a crush on her. Lots of humor, doesn't really fit in the josei or seinen genre. Ecchi and Comedy and Romance?
My Girl (Sahara Mizu) - Author listed in the title in order that this series is not confused with a similar-named manhwa. A office worker discovers that he now has a daughter of his lost, and now deceased, love. A lot like Ai Baby.

[animus]

Thanks for the recommendations. Just read the few chapters scanlated that Onihime, and Freezing were out, and have the My Girl one's downloaded as well. Might pick up Aiko Deshou too, the girl looks like Yotsuba!

[masamuneehs]

Read Berserk

No. Seriously. Close this page and go read Berserk, right now. Read it. It's the one for you.

...maybe a fuller post here later...

[animus]

I've read it.

[Munsu]

I haven't read them, but I'm planning to give them a look... but they seem promising, maybe you'd like to take the plunge:

Bio-Meat
Franken Fran
Nephilim (Ares' mangaka)
Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge
Bloody Monday
Jack Frost
Little Jumper
Nurarihyon no Mago
Aflame Inferno
Kamen Teacher
Blazer Drive
Kurohime

See if any of those gets your interest, and if they're good...let me know.

[Dark Dragon]

I haven't read them, but I'm planning to give them a look... but they seem promising, maybe you'd like to take the plunge:

Bio-Meat
Franken Fran
Nephilim (Ares' mangaka)
Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge
Bloody Monday
Jack Frost
Little Jumper
Nurarihyon no Mago
Aflame Inferno
Kamen Teacher
Blazer Drive
Kurohime

See if any of those gets your interest, and if they're good...let me know.

Franken Fran remind me of the first part of Little Shop of Horror.

The story can get quite gory, most of the chapters usually involve Fran trying to help some fool. Fran doesn't have any ill intention toward the peoples she help but it usually just end badly due to her lack of common sense. I find it to be a pretty decent read if you are able to stomach the content.

Kurohime is one of the most repetitive manga I've ever read.

The story mainly revolve around Kurohime changing back to normal from her chibi-form thanks to the love of the main character. The problem however lies in the fact that she is such a selfish bitch that every single freaking time, she would change back to normal because of how badly she treat the main character. That pretty much sum up the plots of the 5 volume I've read with the only change being different enemies each time, i think you shouldn't waste your time with this one.

[Ryllharu]

Kurohime changes quite a bit after the first major arc in the story. Though you are dead-on about the first 5 volumes. The story takes a pretty dramatic shift afterwards though. While it certainly isn't anything brillant, the art is pretty good when they aren't playing around for comedic effect. It's a light series.

Franken Fran is borderline guro in some chapters.

[Dark Dragon]

Toriko

Have you ever wondered how the gourmet hunters in HxH live their lives? The first thing that pop into my head when i was reading this manga was "It would definitely be something like this". Both the story and Toriko behavior is outrageous, most of the logic that is presented in the manga is pretty ridiculous but none of that matter since Toriko is such a badass main character. The art is very reminiscent of old school manga style from the 90's, i was very surprised when i found out that this manga came out this year. Overall, a very fun read and full of awesome monsters that Toriko go hunting after.

[Archangel]

Can someone recommend a good action shonen manga with somewhat regular release schedules by the scanlation community?

[Dark Dragon]

Can someone recommend a good action shonen manga with somewhat regular release schedules by the scanlation community?

Well it really depend on your definition of "shonen" since my is a bit broad.

From the stuff i'm currently reading though.

Gamaran (http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php?t=17521): Samurai, Tournament style and great characters.
History Strongest Disciple Kenichi (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=183): Martial art with a heavy dose of comedy
Nurarihyon no Mago (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=11931): Youkai, Turf war, main char with 2 personalities.

[Munsu]

Veritas
The Breaker
Kekkaishi
Claymore
Beelzebub
Sengoku Youko
Until Death Do Us Part
Psyren
Deadman Wonderland
Übel Blatt

You got plenty there to entertain you for a while.

[Votkrath]

Van Von Hunter
A very unique amateur Manga that was first recognized when it won TokyoPop's Rising Stars of Manga award in 2005 I think, not 100% sure on the year tho but it's a 3 volume Manga. It's a Adventure/Parody/Comedy Manga with lots of jokes, especially about (MMO)RPGs - i.e. "Gloves of the Archer" etc. It's far from perfect and might not be the best Manga for you if you are interested in deep and engaging tales but if you just want something to read when you're bored then it might be something for you.

I recommend you checking out their web comic on their website: http://www.vanvonhunter.com/

[Ryllharu]

<Archangel> Can you recommend me a good action manga?

Battle Angel Alita - Cyborg combat, great storyline, and continues on in Last Order.
Break Blade - A great mecha series with a really amazing set of characters, very dynamic with a lot of complexity to them that usually isn't seen. The only downside is that that art (while good for characters) does make the mech combat a little hard to understand at times.
Flame of Recca - Classic tournament martial combat with some superpowers. If you watched/read MAR, you should check this one out. The art is bad at the beginning, but it gets better quickly. [complete]
Freezing - Girl on girl harsh training combat, girl on monster combat. Great art.
Gunsmith Cats - 1980s Chicago bounty hunters (both girls) and one badass getaway man. Lots of knowledge about cars and handguns. [complete]
Kurohime - Romance/action/comedy series. Starts slow, but gets really good toward the middle. The current chapters are a bit unfocused, but hopefully that is just temporary.
Shin Ango Onshi - Beautiful art, awesome story, well drawn action sequences that easily convey what is going on. [complete]
XBlade - Some mysticism and alternate history, but mostly people turning into swords and being used for slicing apart others. Detailed art, though the style of the faces and proportions might take some getting used to (unless you watched Daphne in the Brilliant Blue).

[animus]

Anyone happen to know any good action manga that happen to have a heavy use of guns? Great art is also a plus. Preferably something similar to a Black Lagoon or a Jormungand (for those of you that've read it). Something seinen would be another bonus. For reference I also enjoy something like Until Death Do Us Part. Reason is, I've been tired of the shounen super power types, or the martial arts type mangas.

[Ryllharu]

Heavy Use:
Gunsmith Cats and Kurohime (listed above). The latter is a mix of guns and magic, but guns are prominently used by the normal characters.

Lesser use:
Sunabozu primarily uses guns as well.

Triage X and High School of the Dead if you can get past the hentai influenced art style (I think it is well drawn, despite the odd proportions).

[Death BOO Z]

strain (http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/277)might be a good choice for you.

thugs, guns, mobs and crime.
complete with 5 volumes, and with good plot too.

[animus]

Yeah, I've already read Gunsmith Cats and Kurohime wasn't my cup of tea. I found the constant *love* -> transform moments unbearable.

Yeah, I finished the Sunabozu anime series, it was good. Triage X I'll have to try, and HSotD I'm currently following.

Finished Strain quite a while back, but if I hadn't that would've been a good suggestion.

[Sidnne]

The Legend of Maian (http://www.mangafox.com/manga/the_legend_of_maian/?no_warning=1) is one of my favorites that I follow. Good story, cool characters, nice comedy, and fun action. 34 chapters released so far.

[KrayZ33]

Yo!

Is anyone reading or has anyone read Ookiku Furikabutte (Oofuri/Big Windup!) and can tell me something about the manga?
The Anime is really, really good and I doubt the manga can keep up with it, but I'd like to give it a try
however I've read somewhere that the manga is more shounen-ai than shounen, is that true?
(that would ruin everything, especially because there are quite a few interesting girls)

The Anime has so many "bro-fist" moments that it's hard not to smile throughout every single episode
however there will hardly ever be a third season which is why I have to resort on the manga

[Sapphire]

7 Seeds. My brain cannot even. Wow. This is Jurassic Park, Battle Royale, Lost, Walking Dead, Swan Song, and pure fucking awesomeness. I haven't freaked out this much since I don't know when. I can't believe this is Josei and not Seinen. Completely unpredictable series. This is probably the best manga I've ever read, and probably one of the best works of fiction I've read PERIOD.

Warning: This manga is also terrifying at some points. I think there is a scene straight out of Izumi Kyouka's Kōya Hijiri, a work known for its horrific sublime imagery. The author of 7 Seeds is very thoughtful, and I think one of the genres here is Mystery because the whole story is a tumultuous journey of shocking reveals that just make sense. I think I might come out of reading this a little traumatized.

Silver/Gold. Two WTF series. Josei series. Smut. Emotional roller-coaster ride. Lots of sex and crazy twists. Unpredictable. Gripping. Best SMUT author I've read.

-

I am rendered utterly incoherent, nearly speechless because I've been on a week long manga bender and I'm in the middle of crying in flabbergasted, amazed and painful wonder at 7 Seeds which I'm on volume 7 of. When I'm coherent I might write a proper review. But then, I said that about Swan Song... Swan Song is good but 7 Seeds takes all the best elements from all of the above series I mentioned and turns it into one incomprehensible orgasm of literary fun.

In these works, there is very little of that despicable "Japanese Slapstick" obvious humor which tends to be so prevalent in mainstream manga.

As these works are all Josei, I daresay the characters are a bit more authentic and a bit less conventional than your average run of the mill manga. I suppose these would be called Josei rather than Shounen because there's no heartwarming give it your all and defeat evil as one last trumpcard bullshit. There's no happy-go-lucky believe in yourself and you'll win crap. The characters in these works climb the harsh mountain of success one step at a time and arrive with fingernails covered in blood and tear-soaked eyes. It gets to the nitty gritty and stays there and wrenches your heart with simultaneous emotions of compassion and fear all the while.

Don't spoil yourself with synopsis'. Just dive in.

[Deadlift]

Dogs: Bullets & Carnage by Shirow Miwa

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase

Dogs for the amazing art and comedy, and Ikigami for the satirical ideological discourse.

[Munsu]

Yo!

Is anyone reading or has anyone read Ookiku Furikabutte (Oofuri/Big Windup!) and can tell me something about the manga?
The Anime is really, really good and I doubt the manga can keep up with it, but I'd like to give it a try
however I've read somewhere that the manga is more shounen-ai than shounen, is that true?
(that would ruin everything, especially because there are quite a few interesting girls)

The Anime has so many "bro-fist" moments that it's hard not to smile throughout every single episode
however there will hardly ever be a third season which is why I have to resort on the manga

Shounen-ai? Hmm, I didn't get that vibe really. There's certainly a bromance thing going on, but it's nothing different than what was featured in the anime. Both seemed like the same to me, so if you liked the anime I don't see how you wouldn't enjoy the manga.


Anyways, haven't been following much manga for the last year, what's everyone reading, particularly new mangas from last year and on to recommend?

[Munsu]

So, it's that time of the year when I'm looking for more manga to read... series that at the very least have a little bit of action.

What have you guys been reading lately, and anything new that has piqued your interest?

The only new to me ones that I've begun reading are Akame ga Kill and Onepunch Man, two that were being discussed in this forum.

[NeoCybercoin]

Those two are great. Especially Onepunch Man. God-tier artwork right there.
There's also the korean mangwha or whatever you spell it. The Breaker and the sequel The Breaker New Waves. Pretty awesome.

[Munsu]

Those two are great. Especially Onepunch Man. God-tier artwork right there.
There's also the korean mangwha or whatever you spell it. The Breaker and the sequel The Breaker New Waves. Pretty awesome.

Yeah, I've been reading The Breaker since pretty much the beginning, really enjoy it, though this 2nd portion has been quite slow... but picking up as of late.

[Archangel]

- UQ! Holder, sequel to Negima

- Teppu, hiatus is over

- Shokugeki no Soma, cooking manga with shounen battle elements

- Assassination Classroom, i don't even know how to describe it but there's action and it's pretty interesting.

[Munsu]

- UQ! Holder, sequel to Negima

- Teppu, hiatus is over

- Shokugeki no Soma, cooking manga with shounen battle elements

- Assassination Classroom, i don't even know how to describe it but there's action and it's pretty interesting.

Do I need to read Negima to get into UQ? I should read Negima regardless, though now I don't recall if I had begun reading the manga a while back or not.

Thanks for Teppu, completely forgot to continue that one.

Was curious about Assassination Classroom a while back, but wasn't too sure on it.

[Archangel]

It's not strictly necessary to read Negima for UQ, at least not so far.

[Augury]

Kingdom and Kubera have been two series that I've been looking forward to lately. Are there any particular genres you're interested in?

[Munsu]

Kingdom and Kubera have been two series that I've been looking forward to lately. Are there any particular genres you're interested in?

I had those on my list, but didn't give them a second look... will get right on them, Kubera
in particular.

Genres... na', at the moment I just want something that at least has a spec of action.

[shinta|hikari]

Gokukoku no Brynhildr.

Kimi no Knife also ended recently. Definitely worth a read.

[Munsu]

Gokukoku no Brynhildr.

Kimi no Knife also ended recently. Definitely worth a read.

Will definitely try those to, Gokukoku from the same mangaka as Elfen Lied. Kimi no Knife is from a mangaka who has quite a few works I've wanted to give a try for a while now.

[Augury]

I just marathoned Kimi no Knife. It's quite good; I'll second the recommendation.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I just finished Alyosha!, it ended in May (36 monthly chapters), and would recommend it.
The quality I like most is that the main character just doesn't screw around. None of this talking to the badguys thing, just put the knife through their head and be done with it.
There is a good mix of comedy (super assassin trying to live a normal life) and serious plot elements (assassin organizations, etc).

[shinta|hikari]

I would support that recommendation if you really like comedy. The action and story is definitely secondary.

[Death BOO Z]

while randomly browsing through mangas, I came across Oni-dere:
http://www.mangareader.net/340/onidere.html

genre: highschool, romance, comedy.

and it's actually pretty good.
the story is about a young high school couple, the guy is normal, sensible 'nice guy', while the girl is the top delinquent of the the school (and surrounding area), and they can't let anyone find out about them!

good points about the story:
A. it begins when they're already a couple, so we are spared the horrible, tedious stage of "will they or will they not" drama that always seems to take the bigger portion of the story.
B. Almost zero echhi fanservice, which is a plus for me. no pantyshots, no "sorry, I fell down and what's this? I am groping you", and none of that "people seeing each other naked" bullshit. I know some people like that sort of thing, but I don't.
C. good characters, everybody has a shtick that actually works for them, so it doesn't really feel that the series gathers too much redundant characters. the core cast remains the core cast through most of the story.

140 chapters, which is readable in a day or two. I recommend.

[Archangel]

The art is kind of garbage and it's pretty unimpressive overall, unless that sort of humor does it for you i wouldn't recommend it.

[rockmanj]

With Bleach and Naturo ending (I can't believe I have been reading Naruto since I was a teen), I am going to need to find something to fill those holes (phrasing!). Any established or up and coming series out there that you all know of?

[Archangel]

Are you looking for more shit or something actually good in the shounen genre?