What's your favorite manga series?

[CrusherJ]

Been reading through the Appleseed books that I got about a year ago, but never read, and have really been enjoying the complexity of the story. Only have the first three volumes; need to get volume four and the hypernotes if they're still available. Kinda bummed that Shirow hasn't finished the series yet, but I'll enjoy rereading what I've got for now.

Anyway, this led me to think about other manga series I enjoy and thought I'd post the question here to see what everyone else is into. My favorite manga are:

Five Star Stories: probably the greatest mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and mythology I've read. Love the amount of detail and that the story isn't necessarily told in chronological order. This helps in fleshing out the massive cast of characters, allowing the story to jump from one point in time to another to focus on different events. Also, it has some of the most beautiful mechs I've ever seen in a manga series! Hopefully it'll be finished sometime this century....

Battle Angel Alita: first manga series I ever read back in high school. Got the first volume as a gift at a Christmas party. I remember looking at it, thinking I wouldn't like it at all, then read it through twice that night and a few more times the next day! Great coming of age/self discovery story in a cyberpunk setting. The more recent issues in the story (Last Order) have taken on a fight of the week formula and the author has put the series on indefinite hiatus, but still a very thought-provoking series (especially the first nine volumes) that will hopefully see completion someday.

Bleach: love this series because of it's unpredictability. When I think the series is going to go in one direction, it ends up going in one I hadn't anticipated. Has probably the greatest double cross ever!

So, what's your favorite manga?

[sketchley]

Currently:

Macross the First

In the past:

Evangalion

Ghost in the Shell (original, 1.5 & 2)

Gundam Legacy

Gunsmith Cats

You're Under Arrest!

Oh, and I do have fond memories of "Urusei Yatsura" and "Maison Ikoku".

Also, as it's been more than a decade +, I don't think that Masamune Shirow will ever finish Appleseed (especially since he's self-described as a manga-style artist, and not a manga-artist any more). Luckily, elements of Appleseed 5 appear in both of the Appleseed movies. If anything, the location that the 2nd Appleseed movie, if not the story itself, is the direction he indicated he was going with the series.

Edited December 21, 2010 by sketchley

[Vifam7]

So, what's your favorite manga?

Currently...

1. Anything written by Adachi Mitsuru. When it comes to subdued non-melodramatic high school romance plus sports (usually baseball), Adachi Mitsuru is a master.

2. Captain Alice by Takada Yuzo. About a female airline pilot who seems to have a knack for piloting out of the worst mechanical mishaps. Takada Yuzo seems to know a lot about piloting and the mechanical details of jet airliners but I can't tell for sure on the accuracy since I'm not a pilot or jet engineer.

3. Anything written by Ujiie Tozen. His 4-panel manga (like Seitokai Yakuindomo) never fails to give me a chuckle.

4. Working!!, K-On!, Minami-ke, Keroro Gunsou, etc. Manga with humor tends to be my current preference. Many have already become anime but I always favor the manga. Mainly because I read them long before the anime comes out.

Edited December 21, 2010 by Vifam7

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

Hmmmm right now:

1. Kenichi Histories Strongest Disciple
   
2. Air Gear
   
3. Negima
   
4. Kodomo No Jikan
   
5. G.T.O Shonen 14 Days
   
6. GirlSaurus DX
   
7. Pastel
   

[Warmaker]

I've read a bunch of manga over the years, but there's only 4 that have remained great to me.

Appleseed: My first manga that I ever got into. Just saw a copy on the way back from Jr.High in the late 80s. It was a later issue and I went to a comic store that thankfully let me buy the other issues to catch up. This is before the days of the great "Internetz" so catching up to anything required quite a bit of legwork. Anyways, I absolutely loved Masamune Shirow's style, mechanical designs, and attention to detail. As someone who loved to draw machinery, the details he shows for all sorts on that subject (mecha, guns, gear, etc) blew me away.

Ghost in the Shell: Bought the big volume by Dark Horse Comics here in the USA in the mid-90s. Loved it for the same reasons why I liked Shirow's work in Appleseed. Watching the GITS movies after reading the manga was a big disappointment. Felt nothing at all like the manga.

Blade of the Immortal: I first got into Hiroaki Samura's work when I was stationed on Okinawa in the late 90s. Found book 1 by Dark Horse over in the exchange at Camp Foster. I really loved his artstyle, the characters, and the basic story. Even though it's essentially all about revenge, it thankfully didn't just come down to "What Itto-Ryu Guy Dies This Issue." The manga is still going, and the waits between books kills me.

Ah! My Goddess!: Something that I catch up on here and there. First got into it in the mid-90s. If you start from the beginning and just go a few volumes, you've already seen what the series is all about, really. Right now, IMO, it's going in a circle that isn't getting anywhere anymore. What I liked most about it is Kosoke Fujishima's art style. Even better is that you can see his artstyle drastically as time went on. His style is the only reason why I pick the books up.

Edited December 21, 2010 by Warmaker

[CrusherJ]

Also, as it's been more than a decade +, I don't think that Masamune Shirow will ever finish Appleseed (especially since he's self-described as a manga-style artist, and not a manga-artist any more). Luckily, elements of Appleseed 5 appear in both of the Appleseed movies. If anything, the location that the 2nd Appleseed movie, if not the story itself, is the direction he indicated he was going with the series.

Ok, I'll have to read up on that and rewatch both movies to see if I can pick out the elements you mention, hopefully he will finish the manga one day.

Thanks for the responses. I may check out a few like Ghost in the Shell (always heard that it's different from the movies and the series) and K-On! (haven't seen the anime yet). May have to get back into Blade of the Immortal. Picked up the first few issues years ago and loved it, but got off of it for some reason; probably a good time to reread those books.

[Gubaba]

As I've mentioned elsewhere, Shirow abandoning Appleseed (which he announced in, IIRC, Ballistics) STILL pisses me off. Book 2 ends on a cliffhanger, which remains suspended throughout Books 3 and 4...and then, when it's supposed to get back to the main plot, he stops it? His other works are okay...but no substitute for Appleseed. His current career making pictures of naked girls in robots seems lazy and half-assed to me.

Anyway, fave manga...I have a preference for massive, epic storylines, so I agree with others that Five Star Stories is spectacular. (Too bad it'll never get finished either.)

My sentimental favorite, though, is Area 88, which was the first Japanese comic I ever bought in English, and the first comic that I ever read completely in Japanese. It seems a hell of a lot less gripping and vital to me now than it did when I was 13, but I still adore it to pieces.

And in no particular order:

Gundam the Origin

I'm a Living Gundam!

Macross the First

Lone Wolf and Cub

The Tale of Genji: Asaki Yume Mishi

Peach Girl

Phoenix

Akira

Barefoot Gen

There are many others, but these are the first that sprang to mind.

[Shaorin]

What's your favorite manga series?

several, actually.

but, when it comes down to it, i suppose "Mamotte Shugogetten"

as it is the series that features my very first fantasy girl crush,

Miss "Shaorin Shichiri"

[bob joe mac]

Berserk - masterpiece nuff said... if only Miura would pick up his pace and finish it in the next decade

Monster - Terrific manga and anime adapted perfectly from it

One Piece - Gone on forever and still only shonen to hold my attention every week.

[areaseven]

Most stuff drawn by Ryoichi Ikegami such as Crying Freeman, Mai the Psychic Girl and Sanctuary.

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

Macross the First

Oh I wish,I wish I could find some fan translations of this along with the MF manga and M7 Trash.

Edited December 22, 2010 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[Nicaragua]

Battle Angel Alita, both the original series and Last Order.

[JELEINEN]

Berserk, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Silent Möbius, and Vinland Saga are my favorite titles.

[Peabody]

Glad to see so much love for Appleseed here, was the first manga I read in the early 90s. Havent seen the movies, didn't realise they continue the story. I have no love for GITS so avoided the movies assuming they were lame effects fests.

[troyness]

Grey

Area 88

Macross the first

Tezuka,s - blackjack

Justy

Venus wars

cyborg 009.

[Twoducks]

Berserk - masterpiece nuff said... if only Miura would pick up his pace and finish it in the next decade

Monster - Terrific manga and anime adapted perfectly from it

One Piece - Gone on forever and still only shonen to hold my attention every week.

Love those. And I add:

"Full Metal Alchemist" - fantastic and fun series that just ended recently. Loved the characters. Blows the unfaithful first anime adaptation out of the water (the second one does follow the manga).

"Gantz" - was very intense until the new "extreme" arc started. Might drop it soon.

"Battle Angel Alita" has great artwork that IMO surpases Shirow's stuff in a lot of places. The Last Order part is dragging a bit now for me.

[CrusherJ]

"Battle Angel Alita" has great artwork that IMO surpases Shirow's stuff in a lot of places. The Last Order part is dragging a bit now for me.

Yeah, the story quality dropped a bit in Last Order, but I didn't really mind until vol. 13. That was a real let down for me. Vol. 14 comes out next month, hopefully it will be much better.

[Seto Kaiba]

Hm... presently, my favorites are Macross the First, B Gata H Kei, and Trinity Blood.