Your Manga Reccomendations

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I know nothing of Manga other then the names of like 2/3 series. Not sure I like it, cos i've never tried it. Could hate it. However, I am prepared to give it a chance, since as some people on here love it, and a few friends do too.

So, I was passing Forbidden Planet in town, and saw a 'SPECIAL OFFER - Any three Manga graphic Novels for £5' (may have been £6, bit what the hey).

I have decied to take advantage of this special offer (why not for £5????), which is where you guys come in. Please reccomend me some Manga Graphic novels, remembering I have no experince of them before - some good books for noobs, and one's that you reccomend. And ones you reckon Forbidden Planet would stock. Please

Many thanks.

Edited August 19, 2004 by timmayy

[Yitzy]

Well I reccomend Initial D, IMO it's much better in manga form, then TV anime form.

It's easy to get into since there isn't any MAGIC MISSLE AT DARKNESS!!@1212@!@!2122 Wizardy, fantasy crap in it.

[Herr Matzat]

20th Century Boys, don´t let annyone tell you different, 20th Century Boys > *

[gunnar hendershow]

I haven't read much Manga, but I've watched some of the Love Hina anime and its alright. The manga's supposedly much better so I'd suggest checking that out.

[GhostMachine]

Depends on what kind of manga you think you'd like.

I'm reading a few of the mangas put out by Tokyopop at the moment.

Gate Keepers is one I highly recommend. Its sort of a sci-fi type series, with the heroes being a teenage guy and a few teenage girls, and there is a giant robot, but so far it hasn't been used much, and only the guy pilots it, iirc. There have only been 2 volumes released so far, I think.

I'm also reading one called Pita-Ten, which is sort of a romantic comedy (it only says Romance on the back cover, but trust me, its comedic at times) about a teenage guy who is being....pursued by two girls. One claims to be an angel, and the other is.....well, not human, either. Its by the creator of Digi Charat, so its got cutesy type artwork. There are 5 volumes so far.

Also, if you're a fan of Cowboy Bebop, pick up the manga! Its a lot different than the anime (the way Ed joins the crew is different in the manga than it is in the anime, for one thing). There are two different series out right now: Cowboy Bebop and Cowboy Bebop Shooting Star. Not sure on the # of volumes, though.

In case you don't already know, true manga is read right to left, and the covers are reversed. (Ie, what is the back cover on a normal book or magazine is the front cover on manga, so it opens the opposite direction) And most manga is black and white.

Edited August 19, 2004 by GhostMachine

[Sweet Clyde]

If ya want to get into the movies, there are always the staples of Ghost in the Machine and Akira, while I haven't seen those I did like

Devil Man 1.

[Corizzle]

I'd recommend Love Hina, Yu Yu Hakusho & Initial D.

Also if you want to test a few, you could buy an issue of Shonen Jump(Don't know if they sell it in the UK or not). You get 1-3 chapters of Viz's main mangas(Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, Shaman King, Hikaru No-Go, Naruto Dragon Ball Z and sometimes more)

Edited August 19, 2004 by Corizzle

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Thanks so much for the reccomendations so far guys.

Keep em coming

I think I've seen Shonen Jump on Amazon, so they may well sell it in the UK. Cheers.

[The Kraig]

Chobits....(¬_¬)

What?

[Reflecto Is My Favorite Poster]

Hey, Chobits rocked..

Other than that, stuff I would suggest:

I'd reiterate on Pita Ten (very cool series) and Love Hina (one of my personal faves), would definitely suggest picking up some Shonen Jump if only for the sampler factor (though personally, the only series in Shonen Jump I'm into are One Piece, Hikaru no Go, and Naruto- [some of the non-magazine ones with the Jump label like Rurouni Kenshin and Prince of Tennis are fairly sweet as well]).

As for my personal faves (right now), the ones I'm currently buying regularly are Excel Saga, Comic Party, and To Heart (warning: Latter two SERIOUS acquired tastes- Reflecto has VERY squirrelly taste in anime/manga- your mileage may vary...)

[stokeriño]

Mangas That Fucking Own:

Love Hina (I love the manga to bits, all 14 of them. It owns the anime version's ass all across the shop, and that's saying a lot. Tell me that I can only keep one anime or manga series, and it would have to be this.)

Azumanga Daioh (packed with hilarity, and only 4 books to complete the set. How can you not??)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (again, the manga is just as good if not better than the anime)

Galaxy Angel (just pick one up and open it...the level of quality in both content and presentation is immense)

Trigun (VERY dense with action, you'll spend ages just making your way through each page)

Ranma 1/2 (it's frickin hilarious)

Megatokyo (yes, FP does stock the books)

Mangas That Fucking Own But I...Don't...Fucking...Own...Yet:

Excel Saga

Cowboy Bebop

Full Metal Panic!

Chobits

...and there'll be others, but I try not to look into them too closely yet because I'll only end up wanting them. I have the Galaxy Angel, Trigun, and Evangelion mangas to finish buying first. And the Full Metal Panic, Pretear, and Slayers anime releases as well.

However, all that aside, I think we're missing the most important question here...

WHICH FORBIDDEN PLANET STORE HAD THE OFFER? WAS IT THE LONDON ONE?!

*tries to stay calm*

Edit:

Comic Party, and To Heart (warning: Latter two SERIOUS acquired tastes- Reflecto has VERY squirrelly taste in anime/manga- your mileage may vary...)

I forgot about Comic Party, which also rocks the socks (*shrugs*). I saw the first episode of the anime, and the blonde haired guy (main guy's friend who originally drags him along to the manga convention) is one of the funniest characters I have seen in ages. He cracked me up constantly.

Never heard of To Heart though.

Edited August 19, 2004 by stokeriño

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Mangas That Fucking Own But I...Don't...Fucking...Own...Yet:

←

[Guest Crimson Nightmare]

IMO the english translations of Initial D, be it manga or anime, are god-fucking-awful. I'm a huge fanboy of the series in its untouched original Japanese format (the soundtrack, the actual intelligent dialogue, etc, I have the entire series + movies subtitled from www.discountanimedvd.com) Tokyopop really ruined it. Anywho..mangas I suggest:

Battle Royale

Chobits (I don't buy Chobits anymore due to my Tokyopop boycotting, the only product I still buy of theirs is Battle Royale.)

Fist of the Blue Sky

Hellsing

[Herr Matzat]

OMG i just got Hellsing 1 a few days ago and that thing sucks even more than the horrid anime.

How can it be that all western people only dig crap japanes stuff like NGE, Dragonball and Hellsing shit ?

All you need is 20th Century Boys

http://www.mangascreener.com/project.php?id=8

It´s even free sinc it only comes out in Germany and France, you can legaly leech it

this text sucks but i cannot talk about it with giving away annything

When Kenji was a child, he and his friends made up fantastic adventures, where a terrorist would wreak havoc upon the world and how they would stop them.

Fast forward to present day where Kenji's band failed and now he works at a convenience store. He takes care of his niece because his sister suddenly vanished after being involved in a peculiar cult.

Things change when one of his childhood friends supposedly commits suicide and when terrorist attacks begin to occur in exactly the way that Kenji and his friends imagined them to. It all somehow seems to be tied into this new cult.

The only explanation Kenji can think of is that one of his childhood friends is the mastermind behind the terrorism. Kenji feels responsible for the disasters though because the majority of the evil plans were originally his ideas. And what's the link to his missing sister? Can Kenji and his friends save the world for real?

20th Century Boys > annything Manga ore Anime wise that ever was translated into a language i understand.

[GoGo Yubari]

Okay, let's see here...

Ranma 1/2 above all others, though Maison Ikkoku and One Pound Gospel are both good too (haven't read enough Urusei Yatsura or Inu Yasha to judge, but both are likely good). If you haven't read the Shonen Jump books, which I'm guessing you haven't, Naruto, One Piece, and to a lesser extent Shaman King are all worthwhile. Battle Royale is pretty good. Cowboy Bebop's original manga thing is decent, but the best to come out from that franchise is Shooting Star, which is very cool, but was unfortunately cancelled after the second volume. Excel Saga has a very fun manga, though I prefer the anime, as does Trigun.

[Ace]

Yeah I've just finished reading the first Chapter of Battle Royale in Manga and wouldn't you know it...Neither my bookstore nor my library can get me anymore chapters . Can anyone from Australia help me get the novel so I can read Battle Royale.

Oh and yes the first chapter rules in manga.

[sirdavinator]

I saw the BR manga volume 1-5 somewhere, dunno whether it's legal or not, but I still downloaded it anyway. It rocks.

Oh, and go get Prince Of Tennis

[Guest Future Shock]

I'm an avid fan of the Shonen Jump stuff, but since most people already suggested most of the stuff I was going to, I'll recommend something else, the Harlem Beat series, and its sequel, Rebound. They're both quite good.

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh, and go get Prince Of Tennis

←

Okay, now that's just cruel. Don't make people read or watch Prince of Tennis. It's like someone tried the Hikaru no Go formula of glamorizing a sport or game that isn't all that popular with the younger set and not getting what makes Hikaru no Go good. One volume of Maison Ikkoku with tennis occasionally being involved since one character's a tennis instructor has done more for tennis in my eyes than Prince of Tennis ever managed.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I am such a fucking idiot!

It was three for £15 (which is still good)

*Hides behind wall of embarrasment)

I would have still gotten the three books, but they didn't have book one of anything apart from Megatokyo and Love Hina. (and Helsing, but I didn't want that anyway) Chobits started at book 2, Battle Royal at 2 Ranma 1/2 at book 16!!!!!

I'll keep checking to see if they have more in, and thanks for all the reccomendations that I will act on.

*One further embarrased look*