What manga should I be reading if I like ...

[Jeppe]

I know we have quite a few people on these boards who know a lot more about manga than I do. I keep wanting to read more titles, but every time I want to pick something up, I feel like playing roulette, and I find that a lot of what is out there is very far from my tastes (including the 'big ones' such as Bleach and Death Note).

So, in order to get to the really good parts, I would love your advice on titles I might like!

To give you an idea of what I like, I am currently reading Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and absolutely loving it. Besides that, I have read and enjoyed Uzumaki and Akira in the past, and I have seen the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime series. I have read about half of Gantz and find it entertaining if somewhat repetetive, and I thought that the first volume of Peepo Choo was hilarious. In general I tend to like horror, investigative stories, believable sci-fi, slice-of-life literary stuff, and black comedy.

At the other end of the spectrum, I am generally not a big fan of huge space robots, high school girls who practice martial arts, or cringe-worthy and giggling comedy.

Thanks in advance!  

[Kyle Latino]

Hey, Jeppe, I know what you mean.  It's hard to weed through all the series to find the gems, but I imagine that it's the same way for foreign readers to get into American comics. Haha. My suggestions are:

MUSHISHI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushishi It's like if Miyazaki did Ghostbusters.

BLACK JACK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Jack_(manga) Cartoon medical thriller.

MONSTER http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_(manga) A more grounded phychological thriller. It's like DEATH NOTE without the magic or deamons.

LONE WOLF AND CUB http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub For the KILL BILL/ KORUSAWA fan.

ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_and_the_Devil_Blues_(manga) Fictionalized account of the Blues musician Robert Johnson's life and death.

[GS:CKW01]

Case Closed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detective_Conan Interesting Detective fiction



_______________
Also I know this is not a manga, But, given what you listed, I would say check out an anime called Paranoia Agent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_agent. It's a very interesting Psychological horror/Thriller with some pretty dark humor.

[Doug!]

PLUTO!

[whirlwindx]

Plenty of good suggestions already.

Mail or MPD Psycho is from part of the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service creative team and has some the same investigative vibe.

Pluto has been talked about a lot on the show and on here. It's an investigative sci-fi story, like an ultimate modern version of one of Astro Boys story arcs.

20th Century Boys has the same author as Pluto and Monster that's a mystery that flashbacks to when the main characters were kids and where they are now and the strange similarities between them.

Solanin - More a slice of life literary manga.

Drifting Classroom and Dragonhead are good for some post apocalyptic horror stories. Drifting Classroom is a much older manga that's Lord of Flies like while Dragonhead is a modern take with teenagers.

Maybe dorohedoro or Biomega but that later read really fast but didn't have much plot than a zombie like drones from a virus.

[Jeppe]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, you're the best! I will definitely be checking some of these titles out.

And please keep them coming!

[chip]

Scott Pilgrim

Not a fan of the Manga. If Chris likes Pluto, I might have to try it.

[scoundrel3000]

I'd like to second the Lone Wolf and Cub also I've only read book 1 but Pluto is pretty good. 

[Jordan]

Battle Royale   I'm in the middle of the second ultimate edition and it is fuuuuuuuuucked up.  

Lone Wolf and Cub is pretty great as well, though I'm not entirely why yet.  

[The Questyen]

I remember I made a thread like this a while ago.

http://bullpenbulletinspodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=8451.0

Easy for me to remember because Chris made a fool of himself.

[Julian Lytle]

Scott Pilgrim

Not a fan of the Manga. If Chris likes Pluto, I might have to try it.

Pilgrim isn't Manga, it's made by a dude in Canada.

You know I like GTO-Great Teacher Onizuka
And Initial D-about drift racing

Also SLAM DUNK  is one of the best comics I ever read in my life. Period.

[jack239]

but slam dunk is more like bleach and one piece then ghost in the shell.

i love Eyeshield 21 but same problem.

gun smith cats might be up your alley but i don't know the rest seem like great suggestions

Monster is one of the best mangas i have ever read. 

[Lukeh]

Today I bought a load of random manga at a convention. All stuff I had noidea about but looked cool. Got home and I had left the bag somewhere. I sighed.

Anyways. I am just starting to dip my toes into it. So far:

Pluto was awesome, plus full story in 8 volumes is mad.

20th century boys is hands down the best story in any medium I have ever experienced.

Saturn apartments I have only read the first volume but I liked it. Was a slice of life type of thing with an interesting sci-fi setting. some of the backgrounds and earth from space shots are awesome.

I just ordered 3 volumes of this, just off the cover and amazon review

http://www.amazon.com/7-Billion-Needles-Nobuaki-Tadano/dp/1934287873

Stinging for it.
 

[Sampsa_G]

Interesting thread to which all I can say is


[size=108pt]PLUTO[/size]

[Dave A]

I really liked Mail, which is by the same artists as Kurosagi Corpse Delivery. It starts to get slightly repetitive, too, but it's only 3 volumes so I think it ran just the right length. Nearly every story in those 3 books gave me goosebumps at some point.

I second anything by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, particularly Lone Wolf and Cub. Samurai Executioner is another great one... it's a little more filled with history and facts than LW&C, and it's also 10 volumes instead of 28. Might be a good test primer before biting into the bigger apple. LW&C is a lot more poetic, though, I'll admit.

Junji Ito's Museum of Terror is great, especially the two Tomie volumes. Lots of creepy biological horror... the art's just fantastic.

Oldboy... 8 volumes, what a trip. Can't-put-it-down psychological thriller. It's Korean, dunno if that counts as manga, but it's formatted like manga (read right to left, etc). By Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi.

Also, don't pass up the alt side of manga... the Ax collection from Top Shelf is fantastic, as is Tatsumi's The Push Man and Other Stories (for starters).

And, of course, a manga masterpiece: Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa. You have to have a strong heart for that one. I'm only 2 volumes in because it tears me up every time. That one only went for 10 volumes.

Having fun looking at everyone else's recommendations! I'm taking notes. 

[wiezorek]

I'm pretty new to the world of manga as well, but I have really enjoyed 7 Billion Needles (discussed on EoC back in the fall I believe).

The AX Anthology that Top Shelf is releasing (Vol. 1 came out last year) is pretty thrilling. Lots of short stories from a huge range of art and story telling styles. I highly recommend this.

[nilcam]

Eden is a great series but it seems to get little love. It's the story of a future that is broken by a scientist's discovery and explores that world through his son. Its aesthetic is similar to Akira. The down side is that Dark Horse publishes 1 volume a year or so.

Tanpenshu is a single volume by Hiroki Endo, creator of Eden. It's a slice of life story set in modern Tokyo and will give you a good sense of his style. It's also a wonderful story.

[Rublev]

I second the AX recommendation. You said you liked "slice of life literary stuff." Ax should be a good read.

[Doug!]

Pilgrim isn't Manga, it's made by a dude in Canada.

You know I like GTO-Great Teacher Onizuka
And Initial D-about drift racing

Also SLAM DUNK  is one of the best comics I ever read in my life. Period.

If comics = manga and manga = comics then Scott Pilgrim is manga.  Especially since the word 'manga' is literally translated to 'whimsical drawings'.

Scott Pilgrim brings the whimsy.

[Jeffrey Smith]

The problem with manga is sooooooo many volumes.   


DAMN!!!