MANGA RECOMMENDATIONS

K i see the animu boards have started to make their own animu rec list so for comics we cant fall behind awrite.
please rec your favourite comics/manga/artstuff here. if you have websites that showcase good art also post here!

also if you rec a comic/manga/artist please write down the reasons you think tt it's so awesome. plz dun say stuff like "the art is nice" or "the plot is good" but state why lar. like "detailed backgrounds, surroundings", "realistically proportioned bodies" and stuff. if you draw you'll prob know what to look out for yup.

for me i dont have anything to rec right now (haha sorry guys) cuz the stuff that i browse through are quite inadequate (good art, bad story, etc) and i dont think is worth your time haha.

esp for bleach. if you rec bleach i really want to know why (almost) everyone thinks it's so good. thx.

Ebtter ge this reccomendation thread going! I don't read alot of manga, so I can't make many reccomendations, so I'll stick to western comics.

I'd recommend the Flight series of comic anthologies. As a collection of stories done by many different indie comic artists, it is verily a melting pot of different and varied art styles ranging from painted stuff, to digital artwork, from manga influenced to a western styles and everything in between. The same goes for the stories within, most of them are either one shot stories or part of some series the artists is wroking on, in either case most of the stories are self contained. I find that for this collection, how well a person takes to each story featured is up to one's personal tatse, how much the story/art resonates with the reader, so it can be quite the mixed bag. In any case, it is good exposure to range and breadth the less mainstream, independent comic scene has to offer. Alternatively, you can also try the Liquid City anthology book, which is similar in scope, except that it focuses on the work of artists in the region.

Another good comic book series to follow is Fables (not related to the game). What drew me to this series is its excellent writing, which cleverly works around and builds upon the basic premise of the story, that fairy tale characters are real and live as a community in modern day New York while trying to keep their true nature a secret. Throw in a bit of war, politics, social commentary and even mystery thriller coupled with an interesting cast of characters makes for a great read. The art is pretty competent too, nothing too flashy, but good flourishes, like how the artist likes to play around witht he design and layout of the pages, having themed page borders to match what is going on in the page , giving it a very storybook look. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves: http://images.google.com/images?client=opera&rls=en&q=fables%20cover%20art&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi


That's it for now I guess.

i recommend (its a one-shot) HOTELhttp://kotonoha.monkey-pirate.com/one-shots/ by boichi (who i think is a korean dude but cant be too sure).

To sum it up, the story is about how global warming has killed off everything on the planet, leaving behind a facility managed by an AI that stores the DNA of every living organism as a testament to mankind's former existence. 40 pages about passing time while the earth goes to pot may not sound like an interesting read, but the manga has shown a good sense of pacing and writing, and each scene conveys the mood intended, about the struggle to adapt and survive, all against eternity.

its a pretty serious read (as you can tell) but if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic scenarios then this is most probably for you.

another one i recommend is BLAME by tsutomu nihei. i can't say much for this manga because it's a hit-and-miss kind of thing. though you should read it if you're a fan of surreal reads, huge, detailed architecture and travelling through them (and the occasional burst of violence). if you're looking for a plot you might be disappointed. there is one, but it's pretty hard to catch and sometimes whole chapters can go on without any dialogue at all.

Perfect Girl Evolution. coz im a girl, n im lovin' fan girl services ;-D hahaha. bishonen and nice artworks all the way!! also unique character . comical, very entertaining.



GANTZ. guys, im sure you love it. thrilling, nice artwork, many guys' services -.-'. warning: a bit of blood and explicit graphic (violence?)



Skip Beat. girls, you'd love this . i cant explain much, but just start reading the 1st chapter n decide if you wanna continue reading

Ahaha. Gantz and Skip Beat are great, I agree. Read them too myself.

Bitter Virgin is also another brilliant series. The author touches upon certain sensitive issues that I found to be very refreshing. Taboo topics such as rape, teenage childbirth, and stillbirths. A very touching romance story about a boy and a girl, and their struggles to reach out to each other and overcome things. You can really feel the emotion in the manga......Because the author herself has experienced the things that she is talking about. I've heard that she could not draw for days on end because she spent too much time crying over a particular scene.

More in the future~~

ohoh if you guys like horror check out Fuan No Tane (seeds of anxiety). it's centered around (japanese?) urban legends. each story is just a few pages long but sufficiently creepy if it hits you in the right spot (and there're lots of spots that it covers.)

oh oh mangaaaaa yeaps yeaps. bitter virgin was very nice! Very touching. hahahs and gantz- omigosh. i tried watching the anime and oh my gosh my eyes! XD but yeaa it's rather interesting hence though it's rather graphic, i can't help but watch it XD
& Perfect girl evolution XDDDD is super cute and nice! Totally agree with u jeanny~ fangirl service

nice manga i would recommend would be:

Bloody Monday
It's about this terrorist group who intends to annihilate Japan and take over. The protagonist is a young pro hacker. The story is very intriguing and complex and way cool! XD

Liar Game
If any of you watch the live action, the manga is a continuation and as cool as the live-action was. Basically is this game where you would have to lie and deceive people in order to win the game. Lose the round and you will find yourself $100mil in debt. The protagonist is a girl who is completely do not understand what deceit is yet found herself thrown into this game were you can trust no one. It's really a very good read - both live action and manga alike!

Katekyou Hitman Reborn
Ahahhaa, thought i include one of the mainstream anime. I think the manga is dannng nice - much better than the anime as just like all 100++ episodes anime, the anime is full of fillers (though not as bad as bleach or otherwise). It's about the mafia and hitman and lots of coolness! XD

Horror? Suspense? Gore? Got to be
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni.

Recently i'm reading Mirai Nikki too, which is not bad storywise, but the artwork is not that great.

oh wait, HOTEL is good. i read it before =D (the one by Boichi)

there is another work by Boichi also, about the girl that remain unconscious for 40 yrs(?) i forgot the tittle. anyone knows?

"present", isnt it?

Weiliang wrote:Horror? Suspense? Gore? Got to be
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni.

Recently i'm reading Mirai Nikki too, which is not bad storywise, but the artwork is not that great.

Yup yup, just gotta love Higurashi. Go get them, K1! Mii~~Nipa~

Be sure to check out Umineko no Naku Koro ni. The story's also done by Ryuukishi07, the same guy who wrote Higurashi. It's another tale of suspense and mystery, and riff with murder and magic. If you liked Higurashi, you should like this one too.

And Mirai Nikki isn't all that bad. I've seen worst artwork.

Skip Beat is generally a good series to read although the more recent chapters seem a bit of a dissappointment imho.

Mahou Sensei Negima
Is one of my favourite manga series to read, although a bit ecchi. what i like about the series is the magic battles that and not just blind fights on power, but have some lvl of tactic in them. Also the use of magic and martial arts together.

Fairy Tail
Another series by the same manga-ka as RAVE. While it is suppose to be a magic series, a lot of the battles seem like random brawl fights to see who can outlast the other, but entertaining nonetheless. An anime for this series is coming out this season

Medaka's Box
Something like Suzumiya Haruhi in a lot of ways but she is more Godly in a physical sense and her aim is to help everyone. Its quite an entertaining read, and as the subbers put it, "Kurokami Medaka, God-Moding the world one chapter at a time" Fun to see her in the more recent chapters in her "God-Mode".

Favourite quote from there "She's so smart, she passed it and went back into being stupid"


I tend to like series which have characters with "Pure Pwnage Power Put in Puny Packages". Which is y i kinda like Nanoha rather than Mecha series...not to say that i don't like series like FMP Vandread etc...Its just more entertaining to see the same level of destructive power coming from a relatively smaller source.

Because I love necro-ing dead/half-dead threads.

I highly highly highly recommend this webcomic
awesome comic with an unusual fantasy plot, in full color *_*

http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/

Lol, I read too much manga to remember them all. Shoujo, shounen, josei......yaoi and yuri EXCLUDED

Shoujo recommendations:

Kaichou was Maid-sama Where else can you find a totally unique heroine who actually welcomes the challenge instead of backing down? UsuiXMisaki FTW!!!

Seiyuu Ka~ - characters in a school section for seiyu wannabes. New series by the mangaka for Special A.

Kuroshitsuji - manga's WAY better than anime. Obviously. Screw that spiderman and beeyotch *squashes Claude flat*

Ludwig Revolution - fairytale twist that's reminiscent of the Grimm brothers' tales. And no Alice in Wonderland

Reverse harem (for those who like their bishies and beautiful art. Am lazy to give a proper summary since I bet few will take notice *smiles*):

S.L.H
Barajou no Kiss (Same mangaka as SLH)
Hana no Kishi
Ouji to Majou to Himegimi to - a fairytale twist one never expected
Akagami no Shirayukihime - has strong heroine as well
Heart no Kuni no Alice - based off the otome game whose title I can never remember.

Shounen:

Deadman Wonderland - Should be classified as horror, but oh well...it's good. Really good for people who love bloody scenes without feeling too repulsed.

Nurarihyon no Mago - don't bother watching the anime. The manga's WAY better

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo - Psychic Detective Yakumo. Anime coming in Fall 2010. Totally anticipating it

Code:Breaker - awesome scenes, though typical of shounen series. But I like the conflict in this series

GetBackers - lots and lots of bishies for the girls and pairings for the fujoushi, fighting scenes on a large scale, awesome plot...and someone tell me where can I find Holy Talker which is done by the same artist?

Zombie Loan - good series by Peach-Pit. Like it better than Shugo Chara, haha

Arcana anthology is good if you want to read oneshots centering around a given theme by various mangaka from Zero Sum magazine. Currently 16 volumes out there. Perhaps it'll inspire Coen folks to do the same some day?

I've read too many manga to filter out the interesting stories. And my brain's currently dead from all the labwork...

Wow, I thought this thread was dead. Anyway....

Tsukihime

One of Typemoon's best work. Anime is shit, but manga is downright awesome.

LOL, we from AnimeWorks tend to say anime is shit compared to the manga (most of the time), haha

Because it is true. Tsukihime's anime is so bad that people refuse to believe that it exists. Claymore was good all the way till episode 21 or so, where they deviated from the manga. Rarely do you have an anime that's better than its manga source material.

FMA:Brotherhood is one of those rare exceptions.

HELL YES. FMA. (and what were the people complaining about when Brotherhood first aired...?) Gotta pick up the manga where I left off though...when I can find the time, haha

hmmm wenzhen the link you provided has good art. i cant say much about the story since i'm at the start but it looks promising.

wwy wrote:hmmm wenzhen the link you provided has good art. i cant say much about the story since i'm at the start but it looks promising.

8DDDDD

it's very....dreamy. XD

and here's another webcomic recc (webcomics need more love!)
— shounen-ai, so the BL-adverse can stay away from this XD

Honeydew Syndrome
Quite well-known I would think?
Has snarky humor. I like 8D

WHAT!? YAOI STUFF ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!

Yuri is fine. The more the merrier.

@Gin: They are saying that it's following the manga too closely. I don't see the point behind it. There's just no pleasing some people.

our club has had a long and troubled past regarding this issue of yaoi. you'll know when you stay longer XD

Air Gear - Awesome drawings and action, battle on wheels, the mangaka is my idol.
Asu no Yoichi - Fanservice³ revolving around a samurai
Bakuman - Manga about mangakas, but this is really good. (By creators of Death Note)
Beelzebub - Yankee manga for the lols.
Bloody Monday I and II - Exciting progression of story every chapter, terrorist and counter terror action.
Blue Dragon - For the action and drawings. (Mangaka of Death Note)
Claymore - Classic, monsters, girls with big swords.
Deadman Wonderland - Somewhat shonen but bloody/gory. (It's getting an anime next season zomg)
Death Note - How can anyone miss one of the most brilliant story of all times.
Fairy Tail - Awesome shonen and lols, mages and guilds. (Mangaka of RAVE)
Gamble Fish - Tricksters and hustlers.
Hellsing - Vampires vs Werewolves vs Priests vs Nazies
Kiss X Sis - Full of wrong between a boy and his 2 elder sisters unrelated by blood.
Kongou Banchou - Epic Banchou action.
Liar Game - Tricks and tactics.
Mahou Tsukai Kurohime - Gunmage versus gods, monsters, demons.
Medaka Box - Somewhat shonen, student council, hard to describe. (Author of Bakemonogatari)
Mirai Nikki - Tactical battle to the death using short span clues of the future via a diary. Yandere alert!
MxO - Magical school, some battle tactics, full of lols.
Sankarea - Zombies.
Tasogare Otome - Ghosts.
Tegami Bachi - Couriers who risk their lives to send important messages/things/people.
The World God Only Knows - Gal game expert applying game knowledge in real life.
Until Death Do Us Part - Seinen, shady organizations, covert operations, assassins, blind swordsman.

wow, you werent kidding when you said you read alot of manga...

@wwy I foresee a fujoushi club within our club.......

@stif Now you're just being gender-biased. Yuri without yaoi?

I forgot to mention some other manga, both with supernatural themes

Arago
Ao no Exorcist