Sunday, February 8, 2009

On a Manga Journey

HELP!!!

Okay so I made the plea a little more dramatic than usual, but I like to cause panic every once in a while. I realize that many of the reviews that show up here at Manic About Manga are Boys Love titles. Believe me I love yaoi and read a lot of it. But I'm trying to expand my horizons beyond what I'm currently reading. There are so many wonderful titles out there that fall into different categories like shojo, shonen, and seinen titles. So readers here is my plea. Please send me recommendations of titles that I should be checking out but maybe I haven't thought about. There are some shojo and shonen titles that I've read I just haven't gotten to posting the reviews. Please leave your comments because I welcome all. I'll even accept yaoi titles as well. Also they can either be manga and/or manhwa titles. Please help a girl out!

10 comments:

Suzu said...

Let's see. I'd recommend everything by Naoki Urasawa if you like gripping thrillers. The drawings are fantastic, his characters are endearing and the pace of the Manga really is great. You just have to know how it's going to end!

I love Kazuya Minekura, especially Saiyuki, but Wild Adapter is great too. (don't know if you've read it already.) Saiyuki seems pretty cliché at first but it gradually gets better. I really like how they deal with the Yokais, they're not portrayed as completely evil, but rather as beings who have the same feelings and desires as humans. Ultimately it's a metaphor for racism.

You've already read Bokura ga ita, which is great btw, so how about Sand chronicles? I love the Manga.
basically it's about the complications of love, about losing someone, death etc It's dramatic but always believable. I'm sorry, I just can't seem to summarize the story without spoiling too much. ^^'
Then there's Emma which is a gorgeous classic love story between a maid and an aristocrat. Shirley by the same author is also very sweet and funny if you want a light read.

Genshiken is a great series about Otaku. You've probably read it but I'll mention it anyway. It's about a group of Otaku who are all in a club, The Genshiken (society for the study of modern visual culture) It's Slice of life about Otaku, Eroge, Doujinshi, Yaoi, etc. I just love the characters, it makes for a great read if you're familiar with the Otaku scene. There's always a glossary in the back though. ^^

Fujoshi Rumi, need I say more? It's hilarious!

I hope that helped you. ^^

siski481 said...

Hhmm, I agree with Suzu about Kazuya Minekura. I love all her works!! And then there's Furyumi Soryo. I have a love-hate relationshipe with her works. I mean, they're all good stories, but sometimes the ending makes me want to scream what the hell happened???

A light and comedic series that I enjoy is Kimi wa Pet (english title: Tramps Like Us). It's about the lives and loves of an adult woman with her "pet", a young man.

How about Kyoko Hikawa or Waki Yamato? Have you read their works? It's not your average shoujo. I can't describe it very well, but their stories usually manage to tug my heartstrings. I don't know whether their works have been published in the US or not, since I've read it on my country, where they were published quite a long time ago. And last but not least, Adachi Mitsuru. Need I say more?

Suzu said...

Kyoko Hikawa's Kanata kara was licensed by was as From far away, I always wanted to read that story but it seems that the first columes are out of print. -_-;

Suzu said...

Okay, let's try it again without typos:

Kyoko Hikawa's Kanata kara was licensed as "From far away", I've always wanted to read that story but it seems that the first volumes are out of print. -_-;

Sorry

Narutaki said...

CMX also has many good shojo titles that are constantly overlooked! Like Land of the Blindfolded, Penguin Revolution, Swan, Two Flowers for the Dragon, Key to the Kingdom, etc!

Oliver said...

Hey Kris!

I see you're looking for different pastures just as I did.

The above-mentioned titles, Genshiken and Swan are very different but good new titles to experiment on if you're interested. Don't overlook CMX's Emma, either, a ten-volume series about a maid in love with a wealthy man in Victorian England.

After Yaoi, I'd recommend the Josei series "Nodame Cantabile" which is hilarious, has charming characters, and an interesting plot (has a gay character, too).

Also, the major CLAMPers right now, the crossover Tsubasa and xxxHolic are a good choice and provide a new reading experience.

As mentioned above, rather than looking for Shojo from Viz or T-pop, look for a lot of great series from CMX. This publisher is not as flashy as the others but their manga has real character.

Alternatively, you can check out some amazing manhwa like Dark Horse's "Bride of the Water God" which won awards in Korea. Also Netcomics have a lot of great Manhwa to choose from, and they provide previews for the first chapter of every one of their titles, so check it out.

Hope this helped!!

Diana Dang said...

I suggest MeruPuri. It's an adorable shojo manga that'll move you, definitely. =)

Heuyie said...

Hello!
This is my first visit to your blog, but I hope that you look at my recommendations.

After reading your several post, I got impress that you would not like too much serious or sad comics, so I list some of comics by writers who you already reviewed on this blog. If you already know them, sorry!

Girls' comics

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne By Arina Tanemura

Hana-Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) by Hisaya Nakajo

Koucha Ouji by Nanpei Yamada


Boys' comics

Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki

Iggy said...

hmm... lately I've been reading mostly really mainstream manga but I really liked lovely complex by Aya Nakahara it's sweet but funny too. Hope that helped
Love your blog btw ;)

Kris said...

Hey y'all! Thanks for all the great suggestions. I've copied them all down and as soon as I get some cash I'll definitely splurge! Keep the titles coming. Thanks for everything!