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Thread: Manga: Recommendations

  1. #1

    Manga: Recommendations

    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?

  2. #2
    Procacious Polymath Ryllharu's Avatar
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    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.
    Last edited by Ryllharu; Wed, 10-01-2008 at 12:19 PM. Reason: spelling and formatting

  3. #3
    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!

  4. #4
    Moderator Emeritus masamuneehs's Avatar
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    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...

    Humans are different from animals. We must die for a reason. Now is the time for us to regulate ourselves and reclaim our dignity. The one who holds endless potential and displays his strength and kindness to the world. Only mankind has God, a power that allows us to go above and beyond what we are now, a God that we call "possibility".

  5. #5
    I've read it.

  6. #6
    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.

  7. #7
    The Dark Dragon. Dark Dragon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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.
    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.

  8. #8
    Procacious Polymath Ryllharu's Avatar
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    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.

  9. #9
    The Dark Dragon. Dark Dragon's Avatar
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    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.

  10. #10
    It wasn't much Archangel's Avatar
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    Can someone recommend a good action shonen manga with somewhat regular release schedules by the scanlation community?

  11. #11
    The Dark Dragon. Dark Dragon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Archangel
    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: Samurai, Tournament style and great characters.
    History Strongest Disciple Kenichi: Martial art with a heavy dose of comedy
    Nurarihyon no Mago: Youkai, Turf war, main char with 2 personalities.

  12. #12
    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.

  13. #13
    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/

  14. #14
    Procacious Polymath Ryllharu's Avatar
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    <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).
    Last edited by Ryllharu; Fri, 04-09-2010 at 03:46 AM. Reason: forgot completed series

  15. #15
    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.

  16. #16
    Procacious Polymath Ryllharu's Avatar
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    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).

  17. #17
    not over yet Death BOO Z's Avatar
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    strain might be a good choice for you.

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

    sig made by Itachi-y2k5, thanks, dude!
    Currently Watching: probably a show directed at 9 years old girls, lets be honest.

    You know the important distinction between Batman and me? Batman is fictional. In real life, there isn't always an alternative.

  18. #18
    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.

  19. #19
    The Legend of Maian is one of my favorites that I follow. Good story, cool characters, nice comedy, and fun action. 34 chapters released so far.

  20. #20
    Awesome user with default custom title KrayZ33's Avatar
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    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

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