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Post by henrythemorerecent on Oct 27, 2014 16:54:22 GMT -5
Literally just read my first Manga.
I've always been uninterested in manga and hesitant to read any that were recommended to me, just because there is so SO much of it and most people I know who read manga are only interested in manga and anime and aren't really interested in other comics so its hard to gauge taste. Plus with the design/look and art of manga books looking so similar, its hard to know which one is different from which in terms of tone.
I tried reading Lady Snowblood and Lone Wolf and Cub in the past because of the influences on Kill Bill, but I was thrown by how sexually graphic they were. It's not that I found it offensive, it was just such a large part of the stories and not what I like to read. And I kind of assumed this was just how it was with manga so didn't bother to read more. Also I've noticed that many of them have such large sprawling stories and are in volumes upon volumes upon volumes I just couldn't be bothered buying.
Then a friend bought me all 6 Black Edition vols of Death Note. Good move on his part as the regular volumes look very "manga" and would have put me off. But these volumes are beautiful just to look at. And I have not been able to put them down. So so amazing. I love it. The story, the characters. Everything. The right to left reading is eays to get used to. The one thing I will say is that the writing is VERY literal. Everything is explained a lot, but I assume that is the style of writing and just how it is translated to English. Plus once getting into the story it isn't even remotely a problem.
I know there's the Manga Monday blog on the TC website but I wasn't sure if that was aimed at new readers or old.
So I just wanted to take the opportunity to find out (again as somebody very, very new to this) what is worth reading. I know when somebody asks you "What should I read?" I myself get over excited and will hand them things that are clearly not for new readers (Final Crisis is NOT for new readers I've learned). SO maybe anyone else who is the same as me who has also just found something they loved, what else might I like? The first to always come up are Ghost in the Shell and Akira but the size of those stories intimidate me. Are they still worth reading?
Also anyone out there who just reads DC/Marvel/Image/etc books like me, pick up Death Note. If you're looking for something different, you won't be disappointed.
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Post by darthrabie on Nov 3, 2014 6:37:09 GMT -5
I have never read Deathnote but I watched the anime and as I have learned from reading Bleach, Naruto, and One Peice, the anime really sticks close to the source material so I never bothered with the manga. I may be wrong, perhaps I am mistaken. As for recomending manga, it is a different animal than American comics. The stories are long, and the pay off is worth it but it may take a while to get there. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is great and it is collected in four short books and I saw that it is in one big Omnibus formate as well. It is by Hayao Miyazaki who did Totoro and Sprited Away and what not. The first volume by Viz Graphic novel is almost word for word the same as the movie, with the exception of the last twenty minutes or so, but the other three volumes go in weird and awesome places. I stand by Akria as an awesome series but I read it when Marvel printed them and they colourized them. I don't think you can find those issues unless you go to every comic store you have ever been to. Finaly there is Osamu Tezuka. He created Astro boy. He is a cultural hero in Japan and for good reason. Anything that he wrote is fantastic. I heard that he wrote/illustrated three pages a day every day for his entire life. When looking at his body of work it is not entirely unreasonalble.
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Post by pacino on Nov 3, 2014 10:01:51 GMT -5
Ghost in the Shell is def worth reading. I actually never read Akira so I wouldn't know.
Have you tried Avatar??? It's very much able to be someone's first or second manga.
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Post by WiccanBeyond on Dec 7, 2014 22:27:22 GMT -5
I would definitely recommend the main Neon Genesis Evangelion series. It only has about 13 volumes currently out (maybe 1 volume has been coming out every year or so) and the first 12 volumes are collected in 3-in-1 editions. There is also an anime for the series and the manga is drawn and written by the co-creator and art director. I first read and watch the series when I was in middle school and as cliched as it might sound, it changed by life. Shinji Ikari is one of my favorite characters from fiction, because at the time, with what I was going through, I related to him a lot. It takes the giant robot genre and a lot of common tropes in anime and turns them on their head and particularly in the anime, it gives you your fan service and then it lingers there and lets the viewer sit in that moment and then things get uncomfortable. I love it. I would recommend that, and since DeathNote worked for you, this one might as well. I'll have to go through my collection and see whatever recommends I got... I mean over half of it is Yaoi and I am not sure if that's your thing.
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Post by Simon on Dec 7, 2014 23:37:35 GMT -5
I would definitely recommend the main Neon Genesis Evangelion series. It only has about 13 volumes currently out (maybe 1 volume has been coming out every year or so) and the first 12 volumes are collected in 3-in-1 editions. There is also an anime for the series and the manga is drawn and written by the co-creator and art director. I first read and watch the series when I was in middle school and as cliched as it might sound, it changed by life. Shinji Ikari is one of my favorite characters from fiction, because at the time, with what I was going through, I related to him a lot. It takes the giant robot genre and a lot of common tropes in anime and turns them on their head and particularly in the anime, it gives you your fan service and then it lingers there and lets the viewer sit in that moment and then things get uncomfortable. I love it. I would recommend that, and since DeathNote worked for you, this one might as well. I'll have to go through my collection and see whatever recommends I got... I mean over half of it is Yaoi and I am not sure if that's your thing. Yaoi..  But seriously Neon Genesis Evangelion is great, and recently the anime was redone as a series of movies. The first one more or less follows the first six episodes of the anime and the it quickly makes it's own path after that. Full Metal Alchemist is one I will always recommenced, it has also been released in a series of 3-in-1 volumes and I think it's collected all the way through |
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Post by BarefootRoot on Dec 8, 2014 11:44:13 GMT -5
I would have recommended Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo, but those 2 series owe so much to their music that I don't think the manga is as great as the anime. I have the 3 volumes of Bebop and I remember it being kind of "meh" without the music  |
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Post by TealProductions on Feb 25, 2015 13:46:35 GMT -5
I would recommend Attack on Titan, Terra Formars and Tokyo Ghoul to the list.
Cowboy Bebop will always hold up well although the Anime is superior in my estimation.
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Post by megamaramon on Mar 17, 2015 19:57:48 GMT -5
Literally just read my first Manga. I've always been uninterested in manga and hesitant to read any that were recommended to me, just because there is so SO much of it and most people I know who read manga are only interested in manga and anime and aren't really interested in other comics so its hard to gauge taste. Plus with the design/look and art of manga books looking so similar, its hard to know which one is different from which in terms of tone. I tried reading Lady Snowblood and Lone Wolf and Cub in the past because of the influences on Kill Bill, but I was thrown by how sexually graphic they were. It's not that I found it offensive, it was just such a large part of the stories and not what I like to read. And I kind of assumed this was just how it was with manga so didn't bother to read more. Also I've noticed that many of them have such large sprawling stories and are in volumes upon volumes upon volumes I just couldn't be bothered buying. Then a friend bought me all 6 Black Edition vols of Death Note. Good move on his part as the regular volumes look very "manga" and would have put me off. But these volumes are beautiful just to look at. And I have not been able to put them down. So so amazing. I love it. The story, the characters. Everything. The right to left reading is eays to get used to. The one thing I will say is that the writing is VERY literal. Everything is explained a lot, but I assume that is the style of writing and just how it is translated to English. Plus once getting into the story it isn't even remotely a problem. I know there's the Manga Monday blog on the TC website but I wasn't sure if that was aimed at new readers or old. So I just wanted to take the opportunity to find out (again as somebody very, very new to this) what is worth reading. I know when somebody asks you "What should I read?" I myself get over excited and will hand them things that are clearly not for new readers (Final Crisis is NOT for new readers I've learned). SO maybe anyone else who is the same as me who has also just found something they loved, what else might I like? The first to always come up are Ghost in the Shell and Akira but the size of those stories intimidate me. Are they still worth reading? Also anyone out there who just reads DC/Marvel/Image/etc books like me, pick up Death Note. If you're looking for something different, you won't be disappointed. Hi! I try to write Manga Monday primarily for new readers, ideally folks who have been into comics for awhile and want to check out a manga series. |
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milena
Fearless Defender
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Post by milena on Mar 20, 2015 7:12:30 GMT -5
I've been reading manga since I was 9 years old. I've only come to like US comic book recently.
What kind of genre are you interested in reading? What stories speak to you? I think it's really hard to say: go read this or that before getting some info as to what you genereally like.
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