Manga Recommendations Thread

[Maokun]

Glad I'm not the only one who read it. I've actually watched Boogiepop already, you can't go wrong with that! I have heard of Petshop of Horrors but never read them. I'll definately give it a shot then. I didn't know Rumiko Takahashi did horror. But I can see it in the violent overtone of Inuyasha.

Indeed, in fact there are two different anime adaptations of Mermaid's Forest: a Movie and a Tv series, and there's another TV series of short horror stories by her. Can't remember well the title, Rumiko's Theatre of something or other. Anyhow, I'm confident you'll enjoy Petshop of Horrors.

Question about Uzumaki: I've only read a few chapters, and while I liked them on their own, I didn't care much for the episodic, unrelated nature of the stories. Do they eventually tie somewhere to a plot that explains all the creepy spiral occurrences?

[Atria35]

Question about Uzumaki: I've only read a few chapters, and while I liked them on their own, I didn't care much for the episodic, unrelated nature of the stories. Do they eventually tie somewhere to a plot that explains all the creepy spiral occurrences?

Yes. They do. Starts somewhere around the beginning of the second volume where pieces start getting put together, and in the third volume everything most definitely does.

[Sapphire225]

Indeed, in fact there are two different anime adaptations of Mermaid's Forest: a Movie and a Tv series, and there's another TV series of short horror stories by her. Can't remember well the title, Rumiko's Theatre of something or other. Anyhow, I'm confident you'll enjoy Petshop of Horrors.

Question about Uzumaki: I've only read a few chapters, and while I liked them on their own, I didn't care much for the episodic, unrelated nature of the stories. Do they eventually tie somewhere to a plot that explains all the creepy spiral occurrences?

Yes. They do. Starts somewhere around the beginning of the second volume where pieces start getting put together, and in the third volume everything most definitely does.

Atria beat me to it. Yeah, you have to continue reading, it'll make sense in quite a horrifying way.

[Maokun]

Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to hear

[mysngoeshere56]

Hey everybody. So, I started reading Peach Girl today. I just finished volume 1... My feelings were mixed. I liked the art and thought the premise was strong. The characters are a bit annoying, but there are another 17 volumes for development and as of now they have the *potential* to become likable (except Sae - I can't stand her already, but she's the villain so I'm supposed to feel that way about her). Still, I didn't care much for the sexual aspect of it. It was a bit stronger than I would've preferred. Especially...

[spoiler]The part when Momo found a condom in Toji's possession.[/spoiler]

So, I'm just posting this to ask if it gets any better or worse. If it gets worse, I might just drop it... but it'd depend on just how bad it gets.

If you want to look through my MAL, here it is: http://myanimelist.net/profile/mysngoeshere56

If you look through the scores I've given other anime/manga titles I've read, you'll probably get a feel for the type of things I like and dislike. If you have questions on how I feel about a particular series and think it might help you draw a conclusion, just ask.

P.S. Even though I'm not asking for it, if you think of another title you think I'd like in the process of answering my question and want to recommend it, feel free to do so. I would like to put up this disclaimer, though: If I love a series, I'll want to buy it. However, I am trying to be careful about how much money I spend on things I don't really need. If it's over 30 volumes, I'm not even going to bother reading it.

[Atria35]

^ Sorry, Mysn, I have not read it, and I'm not a huge fan of shoujo. Looking through your list, though, I think you might enjoy..

1/2 Prince (not licensed, but you didn't specify whether you minded this...)
Dengei Daisy (is licensed, just started publishing)

[mysngoeshere56]

I've heard of 1/2 Prince but I've never read it. I thought it sounded interesting, though. I think it's technically manhua (manga made in China or Taiwan - I think Taiwan in this case), if memory serves me right? I've never read one of those before, so I think I should check this out. It'll be nice to read something Asian that comes from a country other than Japan. Don't get me wrong - I love my manga, but I'd like to see stuff from the other countries too (especially China).

I've never heard of the other one, though... I found it on MAL. The premise sounds interesting. It sounds like it's possible that I'd like it. Can't say for sure from the summary, but it does sound like it'd have potential.

I'll add both to my MAL for the sake of remembering them. I'll be sure to check them out more. Thanks! And if anybody else has an answer to my Peach Girl question, it still remains. ^_^

[Maokun]

I saw the anime of Peach Girl, but cannot vouch for the manga. However, if they are similar, I have to say that the series indeed deal with "adult themes" or at least as adult as they get normally in a high school. However, nothing is explicit nor gratuitous and I found it quite realistic to the kind of topics that normal (nonchristian) highschoolers deal with.

If you keep going on, I warn you that Sae is going to make you rage something fierce.

[mysngoeshere56]

Hmmm... All right, I think I can take that. I think I'll follow up on it for a little bit longer and see how it goes. Thank you for your help. If anybody else who's read the manga wants to state anything further he/she thinks I should know, he/she may do so.

And about Sae - I can totally believe it. I finished up volume 2 the other day (haven't read since) and I already can't stand her. I still have 16 more volumes to go (19 if you include Sae's Story), so I imagine she'll be getting A LOT nastier soon...

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Okay, kids. I'm back and better than ever. Or something. Anyways, I'm always looking to increase my list of completed manga but don't always have the money to do so. Here's my manga list so you can see what I think is good and what it total crap. Though, the only total piece of crap on there is The Legend of Chun Hyang. Anyways, because I'm poor and thus cannot sink large amounts of money into owning 20th Century Boys and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, I would really appreciate it if the recommendations were unlicensed. Also, I would like it if the manga were either completed or recently started up, so don't recommend some shonen property that has been running for eight years and will take me forever to catch up on only to realize it's terrible.

Anyways, thanks a lot guys!

[Atria35]

^ Nijigahara Holograph
Shin Angyo Onshi
Onani Master Kurosawa (this one I'm recommending is a bit sketchy, but it's recieved rather high praise from trusted sources)
Iris Zero
Dance Till Tomorrow
Kabu no Isaki
Tokyo ESP

[MangaRocks!]

Requesting some recommendations, please!

I'll take any type (manga/manhwa/manhua/OEL), any format (one shot/series), any category (shojo/shonen/seinen/josei), any genre, and (so long as it's available somewhere in English) licensed or unlicensed.


In terms of guidelines for content:

Violence... Anything up through, say, FMA or Rurouni Kenshin levels is perfectly alright; but visible innards are a definite no (unless it's *very* rare, short in duration and can be quickly skipped-- i.e. those 2 pages in Pandora Hearts' vol. 5).

Nudity... Views from behind, or the undetailed Barbie-doll type, are fine. However, if possible, I would like to avoid nudity that's detailed.

Language... Well, honestly, as long as it's not dropping constant F.'s everywhere, I really don't care.

Religion... Almost anything in this area is alright as well, so long as it's not openly bashing Christianity or something. Other than that, magic, supernatural stuff, other religions, & etc. are fine by me.

And finally, no yaoi/yuri/shonen-ai/shojo-ai/etc., please, if at all possible.


(Oh, and stuff that I've already read/plan to read/etc. can be found via the MAL links in my footer.)


Thanks!

[wildpurplechild]

How is Kaze no Hana? I just saw it on the Yen press website in the older teen section. Any idea on the content?

[Atria35]

Requesting some recommendations, please!

Okay, I'm gonna go with...

Bamboo Blade- funny slice-of-life comedy about girls in a kend club. The anime only went up to v. 7, so now that the remaining volumes are being published into English, I'm looking forward to some very exciting developments!
Darren Shan- a lot darker, this is about a boy who is chosen to be one of the vampires over his friend. Stuff happens, but it falls within the violence limits you have. It is based off of some novels, but I actually prefer the manga!
Gakuen Alice- Here my sadface goes on, since this was one of the ones Tokyopop published. They got up to v. 15 before going under. But it's about a girl that discovers she has magic powers- an 'Alice'- but doesn't manage to fit it with the other students that go there. There are also dark things happening at the school.
King of Thorn- This one toes the line at your violence standards- there is one panel where you do see a little more innard than one would like. Thankfully, it's not all violence. It tells the story of people who are infected with a virus that are put in stasis until a cure can be found.... but wake up to a changed world. As for nudity- A few instances where you get full-on cleavage is after a character transforms using the Medusa. However, this is about as fanservice-y as any classical painting. She has been acting as a mother to a young boy the entire time, nearly sacrificed herself for him once, and when she transforms it’s clear that her cleavage isn’t for kicks- it’s symbolic of her motherly instincts towards him, which is born out when she nearly dies protecting the boy. Any other possible nudity (which is virtually nonexistent), is Barbie-doll, or covered up by water/shadow/what-have-you.

Seizon -LifE- - about a father who's young girl went missing years ago. He has fallen into a depression and is about to kill himself when he recieves a phone call- his daughter's body has been found, and she was murdered. The man recieves a new lease on life as he searches out the killer.

[MangaRocks!]

Hmm... well, I'll probably pass on King Of Thorn for the moment, but I will definitely look into the others! Thanks very much!

[Cadence]

I've been reading way too much shounen manga of late, and have been feeling a hole in my heart that would be filled quite nicely by a slice-of-life manga; I was wondering if anyone knew of any exceptional titles they could recommend? I love stuff involving children (like Yotsuba&!, flat, Usagi Drop, or Barakamon), sweet and peaceful stuff (Aria, Saturn Apartments, or YKK), or just cute and fluffy nonsense (like Kimi to Boku or K-ON!). Thanks!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru

[Atria35]

[quote="Cadence (post: 1485680)"]I've been reading way too much shounen manga of late, and have been feeling a hole in my heart that would be filled quite nicely by a slice-of-life manga]

Ashita no Ousama might interest you- it's about a girl who dreams of being an actress, but only knows how to make curry. It's pretty sweet and funny, and only 10 volumes long.

Love so Life- about a girl who is hired by her uncle to raise his twins

Amanchu!- by the same mangaka who did Aria, about a girl who loves the sea

Kabu no Isaki -slice of life about a guy who does deliveries. It's better than it sounds.

[Cadence]

Thanks a bunch! I will give all of these a shot!

[wildpurplechild]

Can anyone recomend a good Manhwa(Korean Manga) for me? I like the art style of some, and enjoy the change of setting and culture from typical manga. I prefer one with a more shojo type appeal (will take shonen if it's good). I like fantasy, mystery, animal related and commedy.
Violence: I can deal with blood, but nothing gory.
Langauge: Some is ok, just nothing that has explicit langauge on every page.
Nudity:Please no fanservice or full nudity. Magical girl transformation nudity is okay as long as nothing is detailed.
Sexual content: Some kissing is ok, but no bed scenes please. Also if there is cross dressing, it must be minimal.
Bad Religion: Mythology is ok, I love fantasy and legends, but no outright blasphemy plotlines. If there is some mythology from a pagean religion, I can deal with it.

I have read: Moon Boy (Love this one a lot!), Kill Me Kiss Me (same autor as MB, but this one disapointed me), 11th Cat (I liked this one but it ended too abruptly) and Ark Angels (Had some interesting qualities, but did not hold my attention).

[Atria35]

Can anyone recomend a good Manhwa(Korean Manga) for me? I like the art style of some, and enjoy the change of setting and culture from typical manga. I prefer one with a more shojo type appeal (will take shonen if it's good). I like fantasy, mystery, animal related and commedy.
Violence: I can deal with blood, but nothing gory.
Langauge: Some is ok, just nothing that has explicit langauge on every page.
Nudity:Please no fanservice or full nudity. Magical girl transformation nudity is okay as long as nothing is detailed.
Sexual content: Some kissing is ok, but no bed scenes please. Also if there is cross dressing, it must be minimal.
Bad Religion: Mythology is ok, I love fantasy and legends, but no outright blasphemy plotlines. If there is some mythology from a pagean religion, I can deal with it.

I have read: Moon Boy (Love this one a lot!), Kill Me Kiss Me (same autor as MB, but this one disapointed me), 11th Cat (I liked this one but it ended too abruptly) and Ark Angels (Had some interesting qualities, but did not hold my attention).

Bride of the Water God- first one that comes to mind. It's the expanded story of a girl that is a sacrifice to a water god so that her village won't starve- a korean folktale that I remember having a copy of when I was a child. Total folklore. And it's very good.
Goong- I actually own the live-action drama for this one! It's a story of 'what-if's'- what if Korea still had royalty? In this, they do, and the royal family discovers that the late King had betrothed his grandson to the granddaughter of a commoner in exchange for a service he did. So the marriage is arranged, and they learn to live together and love eachother!

[wildpurplechild]

Thanks Atria! They both look and sound good!

[airichan623]

[quote="Cadence (post: 1485680)"]I've been reading way too much shounen manga of late, and have been feeling a hole in my heart that would be filled quite nicely by a slice-of-life manga]

How bout Kimi ni Todoke? It's just about the cutest shojo romance ever. And the Teen rating is completely unfounded; there is like nothing bad in this series!

[steenajack]

Could someone please tell me about the content of Fruits basket?

Violence? (From what I've read about Furuba, not much of a concern here. I do know that some of the stories deal with abuse...how is it handled? Is it tasteful, but not sugar coated and realistic? Or is it just...plain not sugar coated at all and graphic?)

Sexual Content/Nudity? (When the review says that you see a certain female character completely naked, is it detailed or undetailed? I don't wanna run into that situation I did with the Emma manga....>.<! Also, I remember reading something about this guy who tries to kiss another guy, but get's beaten up for it? Am I thinking of another manga, or did something like that happen? Cause I understand there is some homosexual joking and stuff, which I can handle if it stays in the mild/minor zone...it's just outright yaoi/yuri I can't take. I'm also aware of certain characters having sexual relations....I hear it's not shown, but how tastefully is it handled?)

Religion? (This doesn't really bother me...at all, unless they are doing something TOTALLY blaspheming God directly.)

Language? (I probably could take it if it's how the reviewers describe. Swearing doesn't really bother me so much unless it just becomes constant and pointless.)

[Atria35]

Could someone please tell me about the content of Fruits basket?

Violence? (From what I've read about Furuba, not much of a concern here. I do know that some of the stories deal with abuse...how is it handled? Is it tasteful, but not sugar coated and realistic? Or is it just...plain not sugar coated at all and graphic?)

Sexual Content/Nudity? (When the review says that you see a certain female character completely naked, is it detailed or undetailed? I don't wanna run into that situation I did with the Emma manga....>.<! Also, I remember reading something about this guy who tries to kiss another guy, but get's beaten up for it? Am I thinking of another manga, or did something like that happen? Cause I understand there is some homosexual joking and stuff, which I can handle if it stays in the mild/minor zone...it's just outright yaoi/yuri I can't take. I'm also aware of certain characters having sexual relations....I hear it's not shown, but how tastefully is it handled?)

Religion? (This doesn't really bother me...at all, unless they are doing something TOTALLY blaspheming God directly.)

Language? (I probably could take it if it's how the reviewers describe. Swearing doesn't really bother me so much unless it just becomes constant and pointless.)

Violence- they actually handle the abuse tastefully. Most of it happens offscreen. There's an occasional slap or punch, but I think there's worse stuff in Naruto. It's not sugar coated, and most of it is more mental and emotional.

Sexual Content/nudity- Barbie doll nudity from what I remember- I wasn't studying the picture, though, and it's easy enough to skim over since it is only one panel in the entire 23 volumes. There's no outright yaoi, some teasing (however, a decent amount of it comes from a guy that... Well, it would be spoiling it, but the guy who acts like a girl? Isn't that much of a guy....). Most of it is totally non-serious, totally joking stuff, and is barely there when that plot point is revealed because it accounts for half of it.

Religion- no blasphemy. I mean, there is some anger that they were cursed, but... No.

Language- surprisingly heavy for the first three volumes from Kyo (d-word), but as Tohru is around him, it gets lower and lower until it's once or twice a volume. Rarely the harsher words, mostly the d-word. It does get more when he is angry, like the reviewer said.

[MangaRocks!]

^ I can confirm the tastefulness of all of the aforementioned content, and the nudity was indeed just barbie-doll (no detail).

And like Atria said, to say more would be really spoiling it, but please just trust me that [spoiler]even in the one or two scenes where it looks like yaoi is happening, it's (thankfully!) not. [/spoiler]

[steenajack]

Thank you both! So much! I'm actually aware of the "yaoi-ness" that isn't really yaoi. Very aware of that actually. *reads too many spoilers* ^^; But thank you both so much! I feel very confident in trying this series. Right now I'm currently listening to this fanmade audio drama, and so far I'm really loving it.

[impact777]

Could someone please recommend me some manga? I'm going in a few day on a trip to Turkey, and I would like to read some "books" on the beach. I really like Yotsuba and Bakuman. Do you know some manga without "bad religion" and nudity? Perhaps with humour and/or suspense? Doumo arigatou!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Fullmetal Alchemist - Just read it.
Azumanga Daioh - Because you like Yotsuba&!, you'll probably like this. Same mangaka, and even though I don't like it quite as much as Yotsuba&!, it's still really great.
Tegami Bachi - A solid shonen adventure story with some excellent artwork.
A Bride's Story - A married couple are naked in it, but it's not for fanservice or anything. Definitely check this one out.

[Atria35]

Fullmetal Alchemist - Just read it.

Caveat- yes, the main does start out saying he's an aetheist and whatnot, but there is a God in the end.

+Anima
Hikaru no Go (there is a ghost in this one, but other than that...)
Bamboo Blade
School Rumble