[dakazu]

I apologize if there's a similar thread but what manga have you all been reading?

I've been reading a lot but my current favorites are

Kingdom


81 diver


Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji


Ahiru no sora


Suicide Island

[kenzo]

You should tell us a little about these and why you're reading them.

[dakazu]

Gonna revive this thread because I've been burning through a shit ton of different manga series. I'm hoping other forum members will contribute so we can eventually discuss it on /alltalk.



YOWAMUSHI PEDAL(Weakling Pedal)
I just red up to vol 22. It's a sports manga about cycling. The main character is one of those "has a secret talent for the sport but doesn't know it" types, kinda like Sena from Eyeshield 21 or Ippo from Hajime no Ippo. You've seen this type of story before in sports manga; The main character joins the team and develops quickly under his peers and seniors who fight together to try and get 1st place at Inter-high(National Tournament).

This one is a bit unique because it's about cycling and the only other manga I've read about the sport is Over Drive. The art has it's own unique style that makes it stand out. Pretty good and I plan to keep reading it but it's unfinished and I'll have to wait for more volumes to be released.



Terra Formas
Jebus, what a PIECE OF SHIT. Thank GOD there was only 1 volume to read. Plot is beyond stupid: Mankind has terraformed Mars by sending up moss and cockroaches is some cockamamie scheme to heat up the frozen CO2 and make an atmosphere. But the cockroaches evolved and became human-like and killed the astronauts who went to check it out so New NASA has to send up a new team of astronauts who have been biologically fused with insect DNA to have super insect powers(complete with transformations) to do battle with them!

It sucked. The art looked ok but the design of the evolved cockroaches was stupid and the insect powers were dumb. Generic plot points like the heroic captain sacrificing himself to save the rest of the crew and another character using to much insect power loses his human looks and dies while having a "dude-bro" hug with the main guy about how "you may look like a monster but you're human on the inside" or some shit. I really really fucking hate this manga.

[dakazu]

Coppelion

Just finished vol 14 and it's still really good. This manga is like a Japanese take on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or Metro 2033. A nuclear fallout turns Tokyo into the new Chernobyl and a team of genetically engineered Coppelions, who are high school girls, are sent there to rescue survivors.

That fact that the main cast of the manga are high schoolers feels very "Japanese" but luckily the author doesn't go for any MOE stuff. He focuses on the fact that they are teenagers and have to deal with being seen as freaks by normal humans. As other Coppelion are introduced in the story, it's interesting to see how each of them are coping with these issues. The art is good but I noticed that most characters(especially the females) look like they're laughing when they open their mouthes wide. All in all a great series that I will continue to follow.

You can read some translated chapters if you wish.

[LiQuid]

I still have the full run of GTO manga. Anybody want it? It's yellowing in a box.

[kenzo]

Oh Dakazu, it's like you know exactly what to write to make me disinterested in these manga. And you do it so efficiently too!

I just red up to vol 22. It's a sports manga about cycling. The main character is one of those "has a secret talent for the sport but doesn't know it" types, kinda like Sena from Eyeshield 21 or Ippo from Hajime no Ippo.

Nope nope nope

Jebus, what a PIECE OF SHIT. Thank GOD there was only 1 volume to read. Plot is beyond stupid: Mankind has terraformed Mars by sending up moss and cockroaches is some cockamamie scheme to heat up the frozen CO2 and make an atmosphere. But the cockroaches evolved and became human-like and killed the astronauts who went to check it out so New NASA has to send up a new team of astronauts who have been biologically fused with insect DNA to have super insect powers(complete with transformations) to do battle with them!

LULZ

Just finished vol 14 and it's still really good. This manga is like a Japanese take on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or Metro 2033. A nuclear fallout turns Tokyo into the new Chernobyl and a team of genetically engineered Coppelions...

Hey, this sounds kind of interesting!

...who are high school girls, are sent there to rescue survivors.

NOPEI'MOUT

[dakazu]

BLAME! (Blam!)

Finished rereading all 10 volumes today. I actually read the English translated scans before the original raws.

I really love the author(Tsutomu Nihei) for his art; giant explosions, fantastic landscape and environment designs. You can tell that he used to be an architect before becoming a manga artist. His only problem seems to be originality from his own work. All his other works take place in the same universe with the same type of story: Strong silent protagonist with gun that shoot gigantic lasers explores a world filled with gigantic buildings and fights silicone based cyborgs to try and access some kinda super internet.Definitely an example of telling a story through the art as some chapters don't even have dialogue.

You can read English scans here.

[kenzo]

...silicone based cyborgs...

Wait... so like this?


Dakazu, you should make a manga blog. The rate you devour manga, your extensive knowledge, and your bilingual proficiency would probably make for a better blog than the vast majority of narutard-blogs out there.

[dakazu]

Dakazu, you should make a manga blog. The rate you devour manga, your extensive knowledge, and your bilingual proficiency would probably make for a better blog than the vast majority of narutard-blogs out there.

I don't know because I read a lot of stuff that isn't translated. But I also read the standard SHONEN JUMP stuff so I'll run down the different series quickly.


Toriko- It's my favorite JUMP series right now. I like the world the author created and he has fun with his characters(he's known for his comedy work)


One Piece- Like Toriko, I like the world but it seems like it's gotten too big for it's own good. Each island arc is taking way too long IMO.


Bleach- After the horrible Fullbring saga, I'm glad they're moving toward ending the series with the Quincy. I continue to read it in hopes to learn about Ichigo's father.


Naruto- It's ok right now. I'm not sure if I like the way the author's art style has changed. It's moving toward the ending and that's a good thing.


Medaka Box- This is an off again on again series for me. I really like some of the characters and the joke they throw it there. They break the 4th wall A LOT which I also sometimes like. Basically sometimes it's great and other times not so much.(Current arc not so much) The anime by Gainax is pretty good.


Gintama- I like it but this is a series where I actually prefer the anime. Funny stuff is great, action is only ok because the artist isn't the best at drawing.


Katekyo Hitman Reborn- Please end this. It's overstayed it's welcome and turned into dumbass pretty boys bait for girls. It's the new Prince of Tennis.


Nurarihyon no Mago- This one is ok. I don't follow it regularly, I just wait for the volumes to come out so I can read it together. The art is busy sometimes.


Beelzebub- It's alright. The funny parts are great. The action parts are ok. Kinda reminds me of Gintama in that aspect.


Sket Dance- I don't follow it weekly but I remember liking the volume releases. I'll probably get back to it when it finishes.


Kuroko no Basket- Really like the main character for this. Interesting concept having a support guy as the main character of a sports manga. Works because he's paired with a partner who is strong.


Kurogane- I'm surprised I like this one. I like that they kept adding unique teammates to make it interesting. Reminds me of Prince of Tennis when it was still good.


Haikyu- Love the stylized art. It just started but I'm really enjoying it. I tend to like sports mangas.


Nisekoi- It's fucking stupid. Generic and typical shonen harlem love crap with mistaken identities thrown it to boot. It's done well but not for me. I still skim through the chapters to see if it's the same. It is.

I don't read the other stuff so don't ask me about it. Writing this made me realize how many sports and romance series are currently in JUMP.

[no51]

I still have the full run of GTO manga. Anybody want it? It's yellowing in a box.

maybe...

[no51]

Dakazu, you should make a manga blog. The rate you devour manga, your extensive knowledge, and your bilingual proficiency would probably make for a better blog than the vast majority of narutard-blogs out there.

I don't know because I read a lot of stuff that isn't translated. But I also read the standard SHONEN JUMP stuff so I'll run down the different series quickly.


Toriko- It's my favorite JUMP series right now. I like the world the author created and he has fun with his characters(he's known for his comedy work)


One Piece- Like Toriko, I like the world but it seems like it's gotten too big for it's own good. Each island arc is taking way too long IMO.


Bleach- After the horrible Fullbring saga, I'm glad they're moving toward ending the series with the Quincy. I continue to read it in hopes to learn about Ichigo's father.


Naruto- It's ok right now. I'm not sure if I like the way the author's art style has changed. It's moving toward the ending and that's a good thing.


Medaka Box- This is an off again on again series for me. I really like some of the characters and the joke they throw it there. They break the 4th wall A LOT which I also sometimes like. Basically sometimes it's great and other times not so much.(Current arc not so much) The anime by Gainax is pretty good.


Gintama- I like it but this is a series where I actually prefer the anime. Funny stuff is great, action is only ok because the artist isn't the best at drawing.


Katekyo Hitman Reborn- Please end this. It's overstayed it's welcome and turned into dumbass pretty boys bait for girls. It's the new Prince of Tennis.


Nurarihyon no Mago- This one is ok. I don't follow it regularly, I just wait for the volumes to come out so I can read it together. The art is busy sometimes.


Beelzebub- It's alright. The funny parts are great. The action parts are ok. Kinda reminds me of Gintama in that aspect.


Sket Dance- I don't follow it weekly but I remember liking the volume releases. I'll probably get back to it when it finishes.


Kuroko no Basket- Really like the main character for this. Interesting concept having a support guy as the main character of a sports manga. Works because he's paired with a partner who is strong.


Kurogane- I'm surprised I like this one. I like that they kept adding unique teammates to make it interesting. Reminds me of Prince of Tennis when it was still good.


Haikyu- Love the stylized art. It just started but I'm really enjoying it. I tend to like sports mangas.


Nisekoi- It's fucking stupid. Generic and typical shonen harlem love crap with mistaken identities thrown it to boot. It's done well but not for me. I still skim through the chapters to see if it's the same. It is.

I don't read the other stuff so don't ask me about it. Writing this made me realize how many sports and romance series are currently in JUMP.

you're a piece of shit cause you don't have magico in there.

[kenzo]

Ura piece of crap because you quoted THE WHOLE BODY OF TEXT.

[dakazu]

you're a piece of shit cause you don't have magico in there.

Magico is boring. There is literally nothing interesting about it. Even Nisekoi which I don't like still manages to do it's generic bullshit well. The main characters in Magico are uninteresting to me and the world is stupid.

Mind you these are MY opinions. You're welcome to disagree and I'm welcome to say you're wrong ya piece of shit

[dakazu]

Passport Blue

Finished all 12 volumes tonight. Pretty good series. Main character starts as in 3rd grade and is inspired to become an astronaut when watches the launch of a Japanese rocket his father helped to build. The artwork is OK, nothing too special to talk about. The story is pretty good as it's divided up into sections of the main character's life; grade school, middle school, high school, college and adult life. Plot points are neither totally generic or original. You can tell it was aimed at younger audiences which is understandable because it ran in SHONEN SUNDAY. . Glad I read it

Not my favorite manga about astronauts but entertaining. I think I'll reread some others and write them up next.

[Olympia]

I like me some Blackjack. Also All-Rounder, although I haven't caught up.

All-Rounder captured practicing or first learning BJJ/GJJ pretty solidly.

[darfox8]

Kinda feel bad for letting Dakazu almost all alone in the wind. Soooo Ima poop out a large manga post!

These are all mangas I've read. All of them!

Monster

Monster is a super thick series. It's thick with characters, atmosphere, and plotlines. It's one of the only comics I've read that puts large amount of attention to the page layout and panel order(I honestly haven't read too much comics/manga so this might be more common than I think). This attention to layout is critical for this series because the best part of this dudes books is the suspense in turning the pages. Although, because of this, sometimes the story is some what predictable. When the page is filled with various small panels where the person talking is "off-screen" you know that the next page is gonna be a full page reveal of something. It's either gonna be a new character, return of an old character, or a fucked up scene. Still this dude is awesome in basic terms of story telling.

Pluto

This is by the same dude that did Monster, his name is Naoki Urasawa by the way, so it has all the awesome story telling that he does. This one is actually a remake of an Astro Boy Story arc. It was called The World Strongest Robot and it was about a new rogue robot who was challenging all the worlds strongest robots to fights, Astro Boy is obviously one of these top tier robots so eventually they fight. In Pluto that plot is re-imagined as a Se7en style murder mystery. Basically all of the worlds most advanced AIs are getting assassinated. It's my favorite Urasawa manga and it might be my overall favorite. The reason I like this more than Monster is because it's alot shorter. It has all the awesome characters, twist, and art condensed into a more manageable length.

Angel Densetsu

This is a comedy manga I only started reading because I was reading Claymore and I wanted to see what other stuff the mangaka had done. At first the art is pretty terrible. It looked like shit really, but eventually it gets more and more professional and towards the end it looks great. This book is about a very kind boy who has a very scary and suspicious face. I forget how they break it down but they have a list they always go through, it's something like "He has no eye brows so he looks like a demon, his teeth are so sharp he looks like a shark, his skin is so pale he looks a heroin addict, his pupils are tiny so it looks like he's angry. " It doesn't help that he rarely changes his facial express and he's generally a weirdo. So everyone misjudges this kid and they assume he's a "Guardian", which is like a bully type deal in Japan. Through a series of coincidences and misunderstandings he becomes the leader of the schools bullies and he doesn't even realize it. So there's nothing really special about this book but I really enjoyed the wacky situations the characters would get into.

D.N.A.

I randomly saw the first episode of this anime and I though it was funny. A few years later I wanted to read a manga and I remembered this series and ended up reading it all. This isn't really a recommendation because it wasn't too great. It was fine and occasionally funny but in general it was kinda typical pervy jokes.

Trigun

My fav sho. The manga looses some of the simplicity of the show but gains alot of bad ass shit. Everything from the Angels to the Sand Worms are given more elaborate back stories. The biggest downside though, is the art style. Sometimes it's really hard to tell whats going on and other times the anatomy of the characters are all fucked.

PlanetES

This is fantastic. As with Trigun the manga looses some of the simplicity of the anime but there's some great arcs in the manga that don't appear at all. Mainly a later arc with Fee, the pilot of their ship. But yeah, this series is some hard-ass-sci-fi. It's fucking sexy!




Unfinished Manga

Naruto

Y'know... it's action manga for boys. I'm still pretty tuned in but I do hope it's actually going to end soon.

Billy Bat

I fell off this manga even though I was enjoying it. I have no idea where it's at, it might be cancelled for all I know. It's by Naoki Urasawa and it's by far the weirdest plot you can ever imagine. I have no idea where to fucking begin... so I wont.

20th Century Boys

I couldn't get into this. I liked the general feel... as usual Naoki Urasawa is awesome with the atmosphere and shit. But I wasn't very intrigued by the mystery. And I saw the first movie and I was like "Pssshh... is that where this all is going?"

Claymore

I like this series but I wonder how much more they can stretch this out. I mean, there's a whole other world(so to speak) left to explore but I don't know if it's worth going into that. I like the art even though sometimes the characters can look the same. I'm starting to dislike the monster designs because they started off very simply but little by little they added weird shit and now they're pretty ridiculous.

Ok I think that's all. I already had to edit this once to squeeze in a few more a forgot initially.

[Olympia]

Dude Pluto was the shit. Definitely one of my favorites.

[dakazu]

Kinda feel bad for letting Dakazu almost all alone in the wind. Soooo Ima poop out a large manga post!

These are all mangas I've read. All of them!

It's pretty scary but I've read about the same amount of manga in a week as you've ever read.

First off I found a bunch of stuff by Koyama Yuu(famous for Azumi) including...


Ganbare Genki(Do Your Best, Genki)-12 wide volumes= A sports manga about a boy named Genki who vows to defeat the boxer who killed his father.
This one seemed to be heavily influenced by Ashita no Joe(Tomorrow's Joe) as it focuses on themes such as the dangers of boxing injuries and the pains of weight loss. It's pretty good but nothing especially stands out.
Apparently it was also an anime.



Ai ga Yuku(Ai goes forward)-12 volumes= A crazy ass Sci-Fi story about a baby suddenly appearing on a snowy night in front of a dim blue collar working who decides to raises him as his own son. The kid grows up and has to fight off assassins from the future who claim he is a demon child of prophecy who is destined to destroy the world.
This was a fun read because of the interesting premise and because it was the first Sci-Fi work by Koyama Yuu I've ever read. I give it a thumbs up.


Sprinter-14 volumes= A sports manga about track and field running. An adopted son of a wealthy CEO is a naturally gifted sprinter who must decide if he wants to become a world class sprinter or jump into the family buisness.
A fairly standard sports manga. I had some LOLs because as the main character and his rivals are all trying to break the world record in the 100 meter dash, they all start suffering from some severe injuries and they refer to it as "crossing into god's realm" The ending is HORRIBLE because it just stops.

Spoiler: show

The last frame of the comic is the main character Hikaru as he runs into the light with his girlfriend yelling his name.(His name literally means "light" BTW)

O~i Ryoma!(Hey~ Ryoma!)- 14 wide volumes= A biographical manga about the life of Sakamoto Ryoma, a Japanese revolutionary during the Bakumatsu period.
Reread this one. This was the first work by Koyama Yu that I read(though he was the artist and another guy wrote the story.) Based on his other works you can tell that Koyama Yu excels at stories with social class differences, so that makes him perfect to illustrate the plight of Ryoma who was a lower ranking samurai. Very good series that obviously influenced Koyama's most recent and famous work, Azumi.

And finally 2 more I finished this week.


Hakaiou Noritaka(Destruction King Noritaka)- 18 volumes= A skinny guy with a funny face, Sawamura Noritaka soon discovers he has a natural talent in the martial art of Muay Thai and he must fight off different opponents. A comedy.
At first I thought "OH BOI! ANOTHER MARTIAL ARTS MANGA!" but I decided to keep reading this series because of the main character's distinct look and his crazy expressionsZ(reminds me a bit of Hyougemono in that regard) It was also refreshing to have a martial arts story not be about the main character trying to fight up the rankings, but instead has to use unorthodox training to beat enemies that use different martial arts like Jyudo, Sumo and Savate. You can read it translated here.


Gun Dragon Sigma- 1 volume= Agent Sigma of the elite task force "Gun Dragon" must hunt out the evils in a futuristic city.
HOLY FUCKING BALLS, this manga is so AWESOMELY BAD. It was a pet project by Buichi Terasawa(famous for Space Pirate Cobra) this manga is a blend of live action photos and late 90's 3D computer graphics. The girl on the cover is the model for agent Sigma. The author took thousands of digital photos and photo shopped them to make the different panels of the manga. It's crazy, completely stupid and amazing all at once. If you don't belive me, look at this!

Amazing!!!!

[dakazu]

Tetsuwan Birdy Evolution(Birdy the Mighty Evolution)
Birdy Cephon Altera is a Federation agent chasing interplanetary criminals to the planet Earth. While in pursuit of one such criminal, she accidentally kills a high school boy named Tsutomu Senkawa. Fortunately for Tsutomu, there is a way to keep him alive. He ends up being merged into Birdy's body and must remain so until the repair of his body is complete. (synopsis from wikapedia)

The author Masami Yuki is also the creator of Patlabor. He started working on Birdy since before Kyukyoku Chojin R and Patlabor but it's nice to see him finally work on this series. Making Birdy and Tsutomu share a body seems gimmicky at first but I think Yuki develops their relationship well as the series progresses. Also, I like how the plot advances with major changes to character dynamics.

With the newest volume 11, things are continuing to move since the shit hit the fan last volume.

Spoiler: show

(The aliens made their presence known to the general public)

I wish they focused more on Birdy and Tsutomu, but given the what happend I guess it can't be helped.

Highly recommend you read this manga. If you look around you can find an anime as well.

[kenzo]

Sounds like a cyber-3x3 Eyes. Also...

The author Masami Yuki is also the creator of Patlabor.

[dakazu]

Sounds like a cyber-3x3 Eyes. Also...

The author Masami Yuki is also the creator of Patlabor.

You could easily call this a superhero manga with Birdy being Superman and the Galactic Police Force being Green Lantern.

[kenzo]

God, I haven't read a manga (besides the usual Naruto/Bleach trash) in forever. I found a bunch of Eat-Man lately though, so I'm gonna start into that, but it's hard to find time for moar stuff to read when I'm already reading so many white-comics.

[Master Higgins]

God, I haven't read a manga (besides the usual Naruto/Bleach trash) in forever. I found a bunch of Eat-Man lately though, so I'm gonna start into that, but it's hard to find time for moar stuff to read when I'm already reading so many white-comics.

I hear that. Outside starting all the Urasawa comics and Blade of the Immortal, it's been a while since I've started a new series.

[Olympia]

white-comics.

[Konanda]

white-comics.

It's a kenzo thing. He does it with regards to pretty much any entertainment product that comes from North America or Europe. It's a somewhat boorish and wholely unnecessary habit.


Also on-topic I recently went to AN and while in the dealers room I bought xxxHolic volumes 17, 18 and 19 to complete my collection. Still a little backlogged on some other manga but I'm looking forward to reading them. Also bought volumes 1-3 of Skip Beat! as a 3 in 1. I enjoyed watching the show on Crunchyroll so I thought I would check out the manga as well.

It's a shojo manga with the main character being who begins the story being betrayed by and realising she's being used by her childhood friend/romantic interest and is right pissed about it. So she leaves him, get's a makeover and tries to make it in the Japanese entertainment industry as revenge. (he ex who betrayed her is a J-Pop star) The rest that follows is her trials and tribulations trying to make it as a star, dealing with a very handsome and popular co-worker who initially hates her but grows closer over time and dealing with her ex who wants her back/is pissed she's becoming successful and such.

Girl with red/orange hair is the protagonist, Guy in black hair is her co-worker and dude with blonde hair is her jerk-ass ex.

Not sure if I'll ever finish it though seeing as it's 30 volumes deep and still ongoing.

[LiQuid]

Is that actual, professional, commercially available manga art right there? There's no way, right?

[Konanda]

Is that actual, professional, commercially available manga art right there? There's no way, right?

Actually I'm not sure. However this is from page 51 and 52 of volume 1.



However like quite a few different manga the art style does change around some and this mangaka especially likes using sort of super deformed art for comedic purposes mostly.



from volume 4 page 67.

[kenzo]

It's a shojo manga with the main character being who begins the story being betrayed by and realising she's being used by her childhood friend/romantic interest and is right pissed about it. So she leaves him, get's a makeover and tries to make it in the Japanese entertainment industry as revenge. (he ex who betrayed her is a J-Pop star) The rest that follows is her trials and tribulations trying to make it as a star, dealing with a very handsome and popular co-worker who initially hates her but grows closer over time and dealing with her ex who wants her back/is pissed she's becoming successful and such.

Fuck, only yellow-comics could be so retarded. Getting used by a boyfriend? Obviously the only path to revenge is to enter an industry that's all about getting used.

[Konanda]

It's a shojo manga with the main character being who begins the story being betrayed by and realising she's being used by her childhood friend/romantic interest and is right pissed about it. So she leaves him, get's a makeover and tries to make it in the Japanese entertainment industry as revenge. (he ex who betrayed her is a J-Pop star) The rest that follows is her trials and tribulations trying to make it as a star, dealing with a very handsome and popular co-worker who initially hates her but grows closer over time and dealing with her ex who wants her back/is pissed she's becoming successful and such.

Fuck, only yellow-comics could be so retarded. Getting used by a boyfriend? Obviously the only path to revenge is to enter an industry that's all about getting used.

Yeah except it's fiction so although she doesn't seem that talented at first the president of the agency seems to think there is something more to her (which there is, of course) and after seeing how she does with some odd jobs (most involving being kind of a gofer/attendent for some actors/actresses with terrible personalities) and some bit parts realises she actually is quite talented but just needs a little guidance to figure it all out with the one big criticism being she does not seem to understand love (which according to the president is important to being a successful actor/idol), which according to word of god is because her heart is only filled with hatred and vengenace at it's core.

Oh and she also had a really tough and shitty upbringing with a dead father and a terrible mother.

Like I said I saw the anime before and liked it even though it was fairly cliche Kyoko's (the protagonist) aggressiveness, tenacity, strength of character and determination to not let anyone stand in the way of her goals just made it a fun series to watch and some of the comedic bits in the anime at least had me chuckle on occasion. So I thought I would see what the manga was like.

[dakazu]

Capeta

Just read the newest volume 28. This manga is about a boy named capeta who loves to race. The series follows his life as he starts out kart racing and eventually moves on to Forumla 3. The newest volume covers Capeta's entry into the WTCC Morocco Race(same one from Iron Man 2).

I enjoy thing manga a lot. Author Masahito Soda is very good at drawing expressive faces for dramatic moments of overtaking and passing.(something I find lacking in Intial D) There have been other mangas about racing but this one is unique because it focuses on the professional racing. An entertaining series to read, I recommend it.

There's also an anime.