bullados
<a href="http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?
I figure this is probably the best place to drop this, as it's generally most closely associated with anime than anything else...
I'm looking for some new manga titles to sink my teeth into. I'd like something that's currently being updated, but really anything will do in the short term. Please try and keep the descriptions spoiler-free! Also, please stick to stuff that's generally PG or PG-13 rated. I'll start by going through the series I've already read...
Ruroni Kenshin -- I LOVE this series! I wish the mangaka would have continued it further, but I kinda see why he decided to end it the way he did. Unreal sword fights that at least have some fundamental basis in reality with characters that are just human enough to care for. No Mary Sue characters here. I liked the shorter storylines in the beginning more than the longer arcs he put in towards the end, but it's all good. The one major event was done so perfectly that it makes up for some less-than-perfect stuff he threw in there. A fallen samurai with an oath of not killing must face off against the strongest swordsmen of the Meiji era.
Death Note -- I think that everything that needs to be said about this series has already been said. Fantastic series with one of the most unforgettable anti-heroes ever put to screen or paper. Some of the strategies used here I was completely surprised by, and the insanity of many of the situations was just enough to win me over. It's kinda a shame it had to end the way it did, cuz I wanted to see more of those mental battles between Light and whoever opposed him. Great series overall. A Death Note falls to earth, picked up by Light, who decides to rid the world of evil using it.
Prince of Tennis -- I have never felt so good about finishing a manga series as I did when I finished the first run of this one. Yet another manga filled with unique characters and just enough reality to make it believable, especially in the beginning. It kinda got away from the mangaka towards the end, with all of the new skills and names that each of the characters uses, but the soul stayed the same throughout, and I was quite happy with this series. Like I said, the ending is perfect in every possible way, and I've never felt so good after reading something as I did after reading this. The new series isn't quite as good as the old one, at least in part b/c it doesn't give us the time to really connect with the characters. Still, it's PoT, and I'm happy to see it continue. Middle school tennis players compete for the title of Best in Japan, but that's a VERY bad description of all the FUN in this thing!
Pokemon Special -- Yes, I'm reading it. The Red/Green and Gold/Silver arcs were atrocious, but everything else was pretty good. I still hate Emerald as a character and I wish they'd've used Wally a little bit more. I liked how they used Yellow during his arc, and the Ruby/Sapphire arc was tremendous. Excellent way of making the characters worthwhile even with all the Pokemon surrounding them. I would've liked to have seen some more Pokemon characters with actual character, but that's neither here nor there. The start of D/P is frankly embarrassing, but I'll work through that eventually...
Code Geass -- There are at least three of them out there, and they've all been fantastic so far. Nightmare of Nunnally is the only one that I've seen completed thus far, but I'm certain the other two have been finished and just haven't come across yet. This is Code Geass through and through. But not in any way you've seen it thus far. Powers are changed, plot points reworked, even technologies utilized or not or created or not based on the individual mangakas. Futuristic mecha (generally) that tries hard not to let the mechas take over the entire thing, and generally succeeds.
Zatch Bell (Gash Bell) -- I know, it sounds kiddy, but this was really a good supernatural shonen. All of the characters are really well thought out, the outrageous situations have self-contained sense, and the battles are SUPERB. It's always good to see a truly smart main character that doesn't rely solely upon his brawn and emotions and ISN'T an anti-hero like Light take the stage. Kiyomaru is a lot like Light in many ways, but without the sadism, and it's good to see a character like that. Not to mention he's not a Mary Sue most of the time. Good series. 100 demon kids are sent to the human world to duke it out to find the next king of the demon world using human partners as spellcasters.
Spice and Wolf -- I'm at a loss to say why I like this series so much. You hear the description (middle age economics with a wolf diety?), and you're instantly turned off. But this is smartly executed with just the right amount of action and enough explanation to make even the stoutest of statisticians satisfied. I know, this sounds VERY dry. It's not. The two leads are fantastic and compliment each other very well, the drawing style is understated but brilliant, and the tone alternates between delightfully lighthearted and heroically dark. Simply a pleasure to read.
Soul Eater -- When I saw the anime beginning to end, I was really disappointed. The first couple arcs were brilliant, but then it just descended into stupidity far too quickly for my taste. The manga is simply better in every possible way once you get past the second arc. Soul's descent and rebirth is brilliant, the death of Arachne is much better, and the Demon Tool is actually a halfway decent character this time around. Not to mention that it's still going and the story is taking a decidedly emo turn, which is always fun to see from these guys. A school of Weapons and Meisters working for a single Shinigami whose goal is to create Death Scythes to combat the Demon Tools in the world.
One Piece -- It's the anime without the filler, and without the atrocious animation. I call this the first of the Big Three Shonen Mangas of our time. Brilliantly drawn with fantastic characters and situations. It's not meant to be a serious anime or manga, and it doesn't take itself seriously. Too much fun ^_^.
Detective Conan -- That took a LOOOOONG time to get up to date on this one! Yet another semi-realistic manga I've gotten myself into. The overall situation is completely unreal. But the individual characters and cases are fantastically simple and down to earth. There is an explanation for everything, and everything has its place. Have fun sifting your way through 700+ chapters, though! Also, there are some really interesting cultural shifts that happen in the space of time that this thing's supposed to happen, and it's always fun to see how the style of the characters changes as the manga goes on. This one has been going now for almost 15 years, and shows no signs of slowing down. Good thing, too. The mangaka is VERY good at creating these puzzles, and then solving them for us. I just kinda wish that he'd put more detail in his drawings.
Bleach -- OK, this is brilliant. I love the anime, and I love the manga. I term this the second of the Big Three Shonen Mangas out currently. Each character is distinct both in style and substance, and it's just a great read through and through. Soul Reapers use gigantic swords with tremendous and varied powers to fight demons in the Human world.
Kekkaishi -- Yeah, it's kinda formulaic. But, hey. It doesn't take itself seriously at any point, the characters are well thought out and well executed, and the situations make a self-contained sort of sense. If only the manga idea itself wasn't so childish, it would be one of the best out there right now. Fighting with cube-shaped barriers against monsters on a school ground hundreds of years old. Yeah, childish. But fun.
Naruto -- The third of the Big Three Shonene Mangas currently in production. I don't think anybody needs to know much more about this. Well drawn with good characters, yadda yadda... One ninja fights to become the leader of his clan while striving for peace using his fists and the power his father sealed within him that saved the village when he was born.
Full Metal Alchemist -- This is good, and I'm not really sure why. The main characters are hopelessly weak and basically never win a battle on their own terms, the bad guys are almost Mary Sue type characters, and none of the heroes are actually heroes. Still, it's well written and well drawn, and the universe makes its own sort of sense. Alchemists use magic powers to manipulate everything they see around them using drawn Circles as their media.
Any other good Mangas out there? What kinds of stories have you found?
I'm looking for some new manga titles to sink my teeth into. I'd like something that's currently being updated, but really anything will do in the short term. Please try and keep the descriptions spoiler-free! Also, please stick to stuff that's generally PG or PG-13 rated. I'll start by going through the series I've already read...
Ruroni Kenshin -- I LOVE this series! I wish the mangaka would have continued it further, but I kinda see why he decided to end it the way he did. Unreal sword fights that at least have some fundamental basis in reality with characters that are just human enough to care for. No Mary Sue characters here. I liked the shorter storylines in the beginning more than the longer arcs he put in towards the end, but it's all good. The one major event was done so perfectly that it makes up for some less-than-perfect stuff he threw in there. A fallen samurai with an oath of not killing must face off against the strongest swordsmen of the Meiji era.
Death Note -- I think that everything that needs to be said about this series has already been said. Fantastic series with one of the most unforgettable anti-heroes ever put to screen or paper. Some of the strategies used here I was completely surprised by, and the insanity of many of the situations was just enough to win me over. It's kinda a shame it had to end the way it did, cuz I wanted to see more of those mental battles between Light and whoever opposed him. Great series overall. A Death Note falls to earth, picked up by Light, who decides to rid the world of evil using it.
Prince of Tennis -- I have never felt so good about finishing a manga series as I did when I finished the first run of this one. Yet another manga filled with unique characters and just enough reality to make it believable, especially in the beginning. It kinda got away from the mangaka towards the end, with all of the new skills and names that each of the characters uses, but the soul stayed the same throughout, and I was quite happy with this series. Like I said, the ending is perfect in every possible way, and I've never felt so good after reading something as I did after reading this. The new series isn't quite as good as the old one, at least in part b/c it doesn't give us the time to really connect with the characters. Still, it's PoT, and I'm happy to see it continue. Middle school tennis players compete for the title of Best in Japan, but that's a VERY bad description of all the FUN in this thing!
Pokemon Special -- Yes, I'm reading it. The Red/Green and Gold/Silver arcs were atrocious, but everything else was pretty good. I still hate Emerald as a character and I wish they'd've used Wally a little bit more. I liked how they used Yellow during his arc, and the Ruby/Sapphire arc was tremendous. Excellent way of making the characters worthwhile even with all the Pokemon surrounding them. I would've liked to have seen some more Pokemon characters with actual character, but that's neither here nor there. The start of D/P is frankly embarrassing, but I'll work through that eventually...
Code Geass -- There are at least three of them out there, and they've all been fantastic so far. Nightmare of Nunnally is the only one that I've seen completed thus far, but I'm certain the other two have been finished and just haven't come across yet. This is Code Geass through and through. But not in any way you've seen it thus far. Powers are changed, plot points reworked, even technologies utilized or not or created or not based on the individual mangakas. Futuristic mecha (generally) that tries hard not to let the mechas take over the entire thing, and generally succeeds.
Zatch Bell (Gash Bell) -- I know, it sounds kiddy, but this was really a good supernatural shonen. All of the characters are really well thought out, the outrageous situations have self-contained sense, and the battles are SUPERB. It's always good to see a truly smart main character that doesn't rely solely upon his brawn and emotions and ISN'T an anti-hero like Light take the stage. Kiyomaru is a lot like Light in many ways, but without the sadism, and it's good to see a character like that. Not to mention he's not a Mary Sue most of the time. Good series. 100 demon kids are sent to the human world to duke it out to find the next king of the demon world using human partners as spellcasters.
Spice and Wolf -- I'm at a loss to say why I like this series so much. You hear the description (middle age economics with a wolf diety?), and you're instantly turned off. But this is smartly executed with just the right amount of action and enough explanation to make even the stoutest of statisticians satisfied. I know, this sounds VERY dry. It's not. The two leads are fantastic and compliment each other very well, the drawing style is understated but brilliant, and the tone alternates between delightfully lighthearted and heroically dark. Simply a pleasure to read.
Soul Eater -- When I saw the anime beginning to end, I was really disappointed. The first couple arcs were brilliant, but then it just descended into stupidity far too quickly for my taste. The manga is simply better in every possible way once you get past the second arc. Soul's descent and rebirth is brilliant, the death of Arachne is much better, and the Demon Tool is actually a halfway decent character this time around. Not to mention that it's still going and the story is taking a decidedly emo turn, which is always fun to see from these guys. A school of Weapons and Meisters working for a single Shinigami whose goal is to create Death Scythes to combat the Demon Tools in the world.
One Piece -- It's the anime without the filler, and without the atrocious animation. I call this the first of the Big Three Shonen Mangas of our time. Brilliantly drawn with fantastic characters and situations. It's not meant to be a serious anime or manga, and it doesn't take itself seriously. Too much fun ^_^.
Detective Conan -- That took a LOOOOONG time to get up to date on this one! Yet another semi-realistic manga I've gotten myself into. The overall situation is completely unreal. But the individual characters and cases are fantastically simple and down to earth. There is an explanation for everything, and everything has its place. Have fun sifting your way through 700+ chapters, though! Also, there are some really interesting cultural shifts that happen in the space of time that this thing's supposed to happen, and it's always fun to see how the style of the characters changes as the manga goes on. This one has been going now for almost 15 years, and shows no signs of slowing down. Good thing, too. The mangaka is VERY good at creating these puzzles, and then solving them for us. I just kinda wish that he'd put more detail in his drawings.
Bleach -- OK, this is brilliant. I love the anime, and I love the manga. I term this the second of the Big Three Shonen Mangas out currently. Each character is distinct both in style and substance, and it's just a great read through and through. Soul Reapers use gigantic swords with tremendous and varied powers to fight demons in the Human world.
Kekkaishi -- Yeah, it's kinda formulaic. But, hey. It doesn't take itself seriously at any point, the characters are well thought out and well executed, and the situations make a self-contained sort of sense. If only the manga idea itself wasn't so childish, it would be one of the best out there right now. Fighting with cube-shaped barriers against monsters on a school ground hundreds of years old. Yeah, childish. But fun.
Naruto -- The third of the Big Three Shonene Mangas currently in production. I don't think anybody needs to know much more about this. Well drawn with good characters, yadda yadda... One ninja fights to become the leader of his clan while striving for peace using his fists and the power his father sealed within him that saved the village when he was born.
Full Metal Alchemist -- This is good, and I'm not really sure why. The main characters are hopelessly weak and basically never win a battle on their own terms, the bad guys are almost Mary Sue type characters, and none of the heroes are actually heroes. Still, it's well written and well drawn, and the universe makes its own sort of sense. Alchemists use magic powers to manipulate everything they see around them using drawn Circles as their media.
Any other good Mangas out there? What kinds of stories have you found?
