Board 8 > Gimme some manga recommendations.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Every year or so a new Yotsuba volume comes out in English. I buy it, love it, realize that hey, I like manga, but this phase only lasts a month. That's long enough to check out one or two other manga before my interest dies off, but it's not enough to build a habit.

Anyway. Last month a new Yotsuba volume came out in English. I read it and loved it. Coincidentally, Viz just restructured how they offer digital manga, meaning I'm now paying them $2 a month for Shonen Jump back catalogue access. Maybe now that I'm paying money regularly into the hobby I can actually turn it into my hobby. Maybe? So I'm looking for series, finished or not, that I might enjoy. I don't know if there's anything specific I'm looking for, but you might get a sense for what I'll like based on what I've read.

Here's what I've read and enjoyed:
- Yotsuba&!
- many things by Junji Ito
- many things by Inio Asano
- A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
- Dragonball
- The first few volumes of Silver Spoon
- Nausicaa
- Monster
- JoJo

I guess an obvious thing to not recommend is anything in the WSJ vault, unless you think there's a series in there that I might overlook. I'm currently using it to read MHA and Haikyu!!
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tagging to read/suggest stuff after work.
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iiicon posted...

- Yotsuba&!
- many things by Junji Ito

Yeah that narrows it down <_<

My favorite manga is Bokurano, but that's basically depression porn. A more light recommendation which might potentially overtake it one day (it's ongoing) is Land of the Lustrous, which I just finished catching up to on physical volumes. Dorohedoro is another great one, more of a...violence comedy? That JUST ended at 23 volumes, and is getting an anime next year. Land of the Lustrous also has an EXCELLENT anime, though it doesn't cover everything. Bokurano has a terrible anime you should avoid.

Promised Neverland is in the WSJ vault, just gonna recommend you take a look at that one soon. Also getting an anime that starts in two weeks.
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Ah, also Vinland Saga, though I'm like 5 years behind on that one.
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LapisLazuli posted...

Yeah that narrows it down <_<

there were other series listed!!

LapisLazuli posted...

Land of the Lustrous also has an EXCELLENT anime, though it doesn't cover everything

Yeah, I watched it earlier in the year in one of my 'okay I'm gonna sub to CR for a couple months and watch a bunch of things I missed' binges. Is the anime coming back eventually to cover more material?

LapisLazuli posted...

Ah, also Vinland Saga, though I'm like 5 years behind on that one.

This, Kingdom, and Vagabond are long-running series I always think about (and mix up) but am intimidated by the huge number of volumes out there.
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iiicon posted...

Yeah, I watched it earlier in the year in one of my 'okay I'm gonna sub to CR for a couple months and watch a bunch of things I missed' binges. Is the anime coming back eventually to cover more material?

Ironically Lustrous is on most everything but Crunchy. No season 2 confirmed, but it's possible. We'll received in acclaim and decently received in sales.

iiicon posted...

This, Kingdom, and Vagabond are long-running series I always think about (and mix up) but am intimidated by the huge number of volumes out there.

Vinland Saga is getting an anime next year to, so maybe wait! 2019 is the year of LtM's favorite manga getting unexpected anime out of nowhere.
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Sounds like you favor shounen/long manga? I would probably recommend some but you might have heard of the popular ones already. Or maybe you like comedy?

LapisLazuli posted...

Ironically Lustrous is on most everything but Crunchy. No season 2 confirmed, but it's possible. We'll received in acclaim and decently received in sales.

tbf I didn't say I watched it there. but I wanted to give someone money!

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Sounds like you favor shounen/long manga? I would probably recommend some but you might have heard of the popular ones already. Or maybe you like comedy?

Do I? I dunno if things like Nijigahara Holograph, Monster or A Drifting Life qualify. I mean, I guess there's DB and JoJo.
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If you like Monster, I'd definitely recommend checking out 20th Century Boys and Pluto, both by the same author.
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iiicon posted...

Yotsuba&!

Azumanga Daioh (same author [and my all-time fave])
Non Non Biyori (same energy)
Aria (similar energy, probably long since out of print I bet)
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oh god. I read Azumanga Daioh so long ago I'd completely forgotten I started to read Yotsuba&! because it was from the author of Azumanga Daioh.
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iiicon posted...

tbf I didn't say I watched it there. but I wanted to give someone money!

Crunchy is certainly the largest library! HiDive is the up and coming platform that has a complete different library as well (including a large library of dubs and anime movies) and is cheaper. A good secondary! Alternatively, VRV gets you access to both Crunchy and HiDive in the same app for a discount. Only reason I don't use it is I have prerelease early access lricing for HiDive.
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Most anime services that aren't CR are kinda... not good in Canada, or aren't even available. IIRC HiDive didn't launch in Canada when the service came out last year.
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Does Jump's back catalogue include Rurouni Kenshin? Absolutely recommend that if so.

it does but also the author of rurouni kenshin traffics in child porn so fuck that guy and anything he's made
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iiicon posted...

I guess an obvious thing to not recommend is anything in the WSJ vault,

*looks at entire list of shonen titles and sweats profusely*
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I'll just throw it whatever I'm following or have read recently then, can't pinpoint your tastes

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai
A Silent Voice
Detective Conan

I have no idea if you can find them on Viz though, never used the service.

tfw you realize the reason i said not to recommend them is because the impetus of this topic was me giving viz money to read shonen jump manga
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iiicon posted...

it does but also the author of rurouni kenshin traffics in child porn so fuck that guy and anything he's made

^5s
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Spirit Circle - Multiple incarnations of the main characters meet again and again through different lives.

20th Century Boys - Kind of an IT-esque story that switches between two time periods, with the characters trying to solve a mystery as adults and children. From the author of Monster.

Cat Street - Story about a depressed girl getting back on her feet.

Innocent - Kinda based on the life of Charles-Henri Sanson, the executioner from the French revolution, but with a whole lot of embellishment and changes.

LifE (Nobuyuki Fukumoto) - Man with cancer tries to solve the mystery of his daughter's murder before he dies.
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best manga I've read:

aishiteruze baby; highschool boy raises his niece after his sister skips town

aku no hana; troubled teenagers struggle in a world where they feel no one else identifies with them

boku wa mari no naka; not your typical body swap manga

bokurano; children are forced to defend earth by fighting in a giant robot, only this time there's a twist...

death note; I think everyone knows what death note is. my appreciation for this series goes up every time I re-read it, until the point it became one of my 10/10 series

hana to hoshi; best short shoujo ai that I've read. if you're not into girl on girl romance, skip it


harem end; a twisted but very unique horror story from the master of gore. in my opinion, his best work. has really creative premises both in the main story and the included short stories -- pretty standard for shintaro kago -- but I think this is the one where he executed it flawlessly.

onani master kurosawa; honestly the premise of this sounds way more dumb than the story really is, so all I can say is just go read it.

shinigami no ballad; short stories about a god of death helping people in the world of the living reconcile with passings.

the top four are in bold

some other really good stuff that's worth checking out for its uniqueness or other factors, even if I don't consider it to be top tier on its own:

Alien Nine; great science fiction story which seems a bit cutesy on the surface but is a bit more twisted than it seems at first. notable because of the authors love for western sci-fi, and I think he does a good job of blending eastern and western styles together into a totally unique and masterful product.

Angel Densetsu; a very ugly character is judged harshly for his appearance, but truthfully has a heart of gold. this is about him finding his place in the world.

Fraction; the second best work by shintaro kago, mentioned above. all of what I said about Harem End applies here, but Fraction isn't quite as good.

Kon no Ki Konoha; a sad but cute short story, only one chapter long. used to be one of my favorites when I initially read it, and it has a very unique premise. as I read more and more manga there just wasn't enough room at the very top of the list for everything and it got pushed down.

out of these, I think only Death Note is in shounen jump

honorable mention:

Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) will almost certainly end up on that first list when it finishes, but since it's not a completed series I haven't moved it up there yet.
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also I'll second Mac's recommendation of Cat Street. it's not among my favorites anymore (pushed out of the top of the list by better materials), but it's probably my favorite pure shoujo manga that I've read.
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handsomeboy2012 posted...

A Silent Voice

oh, I watched this movie! I liked it quite a bit.

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Detective Conan

gonna be hard for this to live up to the Detective Conan/Conan O'Brian feud tbh
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Berserk
Berserk
Berserk

TheArkOfTurus posted...

If you like Monster, I'd definitely recommend checking out 20th Century Boys and Pluto, both by the same author.

This too
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Ok for non-WSJ, officially translated stuff

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

This is an easy first rec, and a top two ongoing thing right now imo

Kaiji is the other top two ongoing series for me, and the first part (out of six...) has an official release. It's the story of a loser who tries to reverse his fortunes via gambling.

One-Punch Man is fantastic as well, even if you've already seen it in anime form.

Komi-san komyushou desu - cute romcom/slice of life about a girl with a communication disorder trying to make friends. (Ongoing)

Jitsu wa Watasha wa - funny romcom about a human guy who is bad at lying and a girl who is secretly a vampire. (Finished)

Sengeko Youka - awesome shounen series about samurai and youkai. (Finished)

Ill try to think of some more later.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Innocent - Kinda based on the life of Charles-Henri Sanson, the executioner from the French revolution, but with a whole lot of embellishment and changes.

This sounds pretty great!

MariaTaylor posted...

aku no hana; troubled teenagers struggle in a world where they feel no one else identifies with them

oh crap, you said the magic words

KamikazePotato posted...

Berserk
Berserk
Berserk

Oh, I've read this too. For possibly the nerdiest reasons: it was being covered on a Dark Souls podcast.
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iiicon posted...

tfw you realize the reason i said not to recommend them is because the impetus of this topic was me giving viz money to read shonen jump manga

yeah I saw your vault comment but I wanted to make my joke anyway

I haven't actually checked it out myself yet.
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Reg posted...

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

This is an easy first rec, and a top two ongoing thing right now imo

Oh, this too.
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JackMan posted...

Reg posted...

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

This is an easy first rec, and a top two ongoing thing right now imo

Oh, this too.

Is it this?
https://www.amazon.com/Kaguya-sama-Love-War-Vol-1/dp/1974700305/
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iiicon posted...

JackMan posted...

Reg posted...

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

This is an easy first rec, and a top two ongoing thing right now imo

Oh, this too.

Is it this?
https://www.amazon.com/Kaguya-sama-Love-War-Vol-1/dp/1974700305/

Yes.

20th Century Boys is amazing

Also the Great Teacher Onizuka manga is really good, though it has some parts that are probably holding up worse and worse nowadays.
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$6 for a volume of manga

and Marvel/DC wonder why their audience left
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Bloom into you / Yagate kimi ni naru, coming of age lesbian romance where everyone looks pretty good until you realize they're a bit too #relatable for comfort

Dead Tube

If that's no good then

Man in the Window

if the above two don't work then

I am a Hero
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Will 2nd both Spirit Circle and LifE from Mac.

MariaTaylor posted...

bokurano; children are forced to defend earth by fighting in a giant robot, only this time there's a twist...

THAT'S ONE WAY TO PUT IT.
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yeah the general rule when looking at my list is that the more vague I am, the more the story heavily relies on some sort of twist or subversion that I'd rather not spoil for the reader in a 20 word summary.
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20th Century Boys

Super convoluted conspiracy story that spams 50 years and over 200 chapters and is also a homage to Rock and Roll.
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Wow someone beat me to it, and I thought I was being too niche.
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Shield Hero
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MariaTaylor posted...

aku no hana; troubled teenagers struggle in a world where they feel no one else identifies with them

wait a minute

i watched this

don't try to trick me with these "japanese names"!!
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I think I actually recommended you the anime in a similar topic in the past, now that you mention it. didn't know if you had watched it or not. anyway, um, the manga is definitely better and it actually covers a ton of material more (like I think the anime only covers around 1/3 or 1/2 of the story)
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Also the manga wasn't animated by two butts rubbing together.
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emperor and i is so good holy shit
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More recommendations

Fullmetal Alchemist
Angel Densetsu
One Punch Man
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By all dis you can't go wrong.

https://i.ibb.co/X5LTNH1/20181218-223937.jpg
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Might as well watch the anime of Re:Zero if he's going to get into it. I'm more of a manga guy but its an extremely good adaptation.
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That's actually the LN.
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iiicon posted...

emperor and i is so good holy shit

guys, the emperor is an emperor penguin

one day the penguin leaves the house to have a snack outside. he sees a cat for the first time ever, and surprised by this strange creature drops the fish he was holding. the cat quickly snatches up the fish and eats it. emperor, dejected, goes back inside. the cat feels bad for eating emperor's snack and catches a mouse, leaving it on emperor's doorstep.

that's it. that's the entire chapter. it's the greatest piece of literature i've ever read.
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iiicon posted...

handsomeboy2012 posted...

A Silent Voice

oh, I watched this movie! I liked it quite a bit.

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Detective Conan

gonna be hard for this to live up to the Detective Conan/Conan O'Brian feud tbh

I liked the Silent Voice movie but it ended rather abruptly and cut a lot of good stuff from the manga.

As for Conan O'Brien, funnily enough he got me to pick up the Conan manga again after stopping for a few months