I use some Japanese/fandom terms here (in italic) --
put your mouse pointer over the word to read the explanation.
Alternatively, glossary is given at the bottom.
On-going series are usually being serialized in weekly comic magazines over in Japan,
one chapter per week.
I do the count based on published volumes (tankoubons).
Hikaru no Go
Yumi Hotta (story) & Takeshi Obata (art)
Game/Drama
Complete - 23 volumes
Story:
Go, or Weiqi in Chinese, is a territorial board game.
The story begins with Hikaru, a grade-school boy, encountering the ghost of an ancient Go player, named Sai.
Sai, having died before achieving the ultimate move he obsessed over,
insisted that Hikaru be a mediator for him to continue playing Go in this era.
Sai's expertise coming from Hikaru's inexperience shocked many professional players,
including a young Go prodigy, Touya Akira, whose persistent chase
eventually led Hikaru to seriously learn the game himself.
Artwork:
Volume 1 looks a little sketchy, but the rest is very good. A "smooth" style.
Recommended because:
This is perhaps my favourite of all times -- the plot and character development are really good.
Those who are interested in Go will find it informative and exciting;
those who aren't will find the drama captivating nevertheless.
Anime:
Complete; 75 episodes on "The Sai Saga".
The anime follows the manga closely in terms of content, there are only a few differences in details.
At the end of each episode there's a short session teaching the basics of Go.
I know of a New Year Special episode and a VCD/DVD edition on the Hokuto Cup (second part of the manga),
there may be other special editions.
H2
Mitsuru Adachi
Sport/Comedy/Romance
Complete - 34 volumes
Story:
The title, speculatively, refers to the names of the four main characters that all start with 'H'.
Hiro and Hideo were two highly-talented baseball players.
Together with Noda, they formed a strong pitcher-batter-catcher trio in junior high.
The three were also very good friends.
Due to an incident, Hiro and Noda ended up in a different high school than Hideo.
Thus began their journey towards Koshien (the famed venue for national baseball competition in Japan),
with the aces Hiro and Hideo now on opposite teams.
The undercurrent romance features Hikari, Hiro's childhood friend, also Hideo's girlfriend.
It had been Hiro who introduced Hideo to Hikari,
without realizing the feelings Hikari had for him (and he had for her).
Hiro had his own share of romance with Haruka, the manager of his baseball team,
but neither he nor Hikari seemed to have gotten over each other.
Artwork:
Simple, carefree kind of style.
Recommended because:
I simply like Adachi's sense of humor -- light, fresh, to-the point.
I would recommend a lot of his works really, like Rough (on swimming),
Katsu (on boxing), Hiatari Ryoukou (romance),
and the on-going Cross Game (also on baseball).
The drawing style in his earlier works (such as Hiatari Ryoukou
and the popular Touch) is not as nice, but the stories are still pretty good.
Warnings:
A bit on the
fan-service side...
Adachi likes to insert sexy girl poses ^^; which I take as humor, anyway.
He makes fun of himself a lot (in author-inserts) about ogling girls, missing his editor's deadlines, etc.
The sport itself is not really explained, so it may be confusing to those who don't know baseball --
I am one such person, and I don't understand most of what happens in the games ^^;
so it's really saying something that I still like the manga a lot. =D
Saiyuki
Kazuya Minekura
Action/Adventure
Gensoumaden Saiyuki: Complete - 9 volumes
Saiyuki Reload [sequel]: On-going - 4 volumes so far
Saiyuki Gaiden [prequel]: On-going - 1 volume so far
Story:
This is a twist of the Chinese legend Xi You Ji (Journey to the West).
A bit of a parody, as the characters' personalities are almost total opposites
(and swap-arounds) of the ones they are based on.
The story is different, however -- much less magic and a lot more angst.
In this story, Genjyo Sanzo -- the priest,
with a well-practiced gun, a bad smoking habit, and an even worse temper --
was given the task to subdue the chaos arising in the West due to an attempt to resurrect the demon king,
which upset the peaceful balance existing between human and youkai (loosely means "monster").
He took with him three youkais with incredible fighting abilities and dark pasts:
Son Goku, a childish nature-born creature whom Sanzo freed from Heaven's imprisonment,
Cho Hakkai, an ever-smiling human-turned-youkai, and Sha Gojyo, a lecherous half-blood.
Gensoumaden Saiyuki (just Saiyuki for short)
and Saiyuki Reload tell of their comical, violence-ridden adventures along this journey.
The plot of Reload simply follows from Saiyuki;
no major boundary as far as I can tell. (They still haven't reached the West...)
Saiyuki Gaiden tells of their previous lives as heavenly gods,
which Saiyuki has been dropping hints about.
I've come to like Gaiden best,
but unfortunately it seems to be on hiatus after the first volume.
Artwork:
Angular-ish style. It takes some getting used to, I guess.
Don't get discouraged if you don't like the artwork in the first few chapters -- it gets better over the series.
Recommended because:
Bishounens... Angst... =D
But seriously, the character development is good and their interactions are highly entertaining.
Warning:
Killings and violence, certainly. These guys are rather promoting it, actually. ^_^;
The act-cool stuff gets overbearing at times...
A few dirty jokes, some of the homosexual kind, and mentions of incest.
Anime:
There are 50 episodes of Gensoumaden Saiyuki,
followed by 25 episodes of Saiyuki Reload
and the on-going Saiyuki Reload Gunlock.
I've not watched Saiyuki;
from what I've watched of the rest, the stories in Reload
are from Saiyuki manga, and those in Gunlock
are from Reload manga. Plus a number of fillers.
On the whole the anime is quite entertaining,
though I found the flow between scenes not smooth/fast enough
(like, the character will finish talking/thinking first before he shoots the enemy... -_-0)
so I sort of prefer reading the manga.
Also, some gruesome details in the manga (like incest) are not revealed the anime.
The part I love best about the anime is the humorous extra scenes
"Urasai" ("Behind the Scenes of Saiyuki") at the end of each Reload episode.
Pity they don't have those in Gunlock anymore.
X
(a.k.a. X/1999)
CLAMP
Supernatural/Action/Tragedy
On-going - 18 volumes so far
Story:
The battle to determine the fate of Earth was taking place in Tokyo, year 1999.
The Seven Dragons of Heaven (a bunch of pretty people with incredible psychic powers) fought to protect humanity
against the Seven Dragons of Earth (yet another bunch of pretty people with incredible psychic powers),
who sought to destroy it for the sake of a new future for the Earth, long abused by humans.
Everyone involved had their own purposes and reasons to fight, most with a tragic past backing them.
Artwork:
It's CLAMP. Pretty boys, beautiful girls, slender figures, big sparkly eyes, unbelievably long flowy hair.
Amazing details and lots of beautiful two-page splashes.
A lot of dreamlike settings with wings and feathers which get cliche at times.
Action scenes are fantastic, and I'll say that even the blood and gore are aesthetic. ^^;
Recommended because:
Great plot twists, extensive character development, and, depending on your taste, the CLAMP-trademarked beautiful things.
Warnings:
Again, it's CLAMP. ^^; Shounen-ai,
both suggestive and blatant, consensual and not. Several scenes warrant strong caution.
Shoujo-ai is also present.
Violence of course, blood and gore and scattered body parts, and angst, angst, angst.
Characters died horrible deaths and the ending is very unlikely to be anything near nice and happy.
Other notes:
X incorporates characters from CLAMP's other works:
Subaru and Seishirou
from Tokyo Babylon,
and the grown-up Nokoru-Suoh-Akira trio
from CLAMP Campus Detectives
(Akira is also a character from 20-Mensou ni Onegai).
X gives a conclusion to the romance started in Tokyo Babylon -- do read TB before X to enhance the angst. ^^
Also, there's a spoiler for TB's ending in X, obviously.
Anime:
Complete in 24 episodes.
There's also "X The Movie" with plot development barely touching that of the series,
and is generally hated by X fans. =P
I watched it and I felt like blood and gore just flew past leaving me in a total confusion as to what was going on.
I haven't watched the full anime series, but I suppose the ending either is hanging or deviates from the manga,
seeing as the manga itself is not finished yet.
The drawing is different -- there's a cartoonish feel as opposed to the artistic feel of the manga,
but plot-wise it should be quite good.
The dark atmosphere is certainly there, and the background music is mostly mystical and depressing.
Tokyo Crazy Paradise
Yoshiki Nakamura
Action/Humor/Romance
Complete - 19 volumes
Story:
Set in 2020 AD, Tokyo was a city of crime where violence happened everywhere and no one cared to help another.
Tsukasa was a daughter of a police couple, raised as a boy for protection.
She had a strong sense of justice and incredible fighting skills.
After her parents' death, she and her brothers fell into debt to Ryuji, Tsukasa's stoic classmate,
who was also the young (yet very capable) chief of the largest Yakuza (Japanese gangster) organization in the area.
To pay off the debt, she reluctantly took up the job as Ryuji's bodyguard while constantly fighting with him
and fending off his advances on her.
Artwork:
A lot of hilarious chibi moments. Actions are very well drawn.
Recommended because:
The topmost reason is the ability of this manga to combine the elements of action, romance, and humor into a very entertaining read.
The humor is highly hilarious; the fight scenes are pretty cool (by shoujo standards),
though sometimes a bit too fantastic; the emotional side is touching without being overly sweet. Another reason is that I like tough heroines ^^
and Tsukasa is definitely one interesting character. Ryuji is quite a drool-worthy guy, too. =D~
Fullmetal Alchemist
(Hagane no Renkinjutsushi)
Hiromu Arakawa
Action/Sci-Fi/Adventure
On-going - 15 volumes so far
Story:
Two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, skilled in alchemistry -- manipulation of chemical structures of objects --
in a failed attempt to resurrect their mother through the forbidden human transmutation,
had to pay the price with their physical bodies.
Fixed with artificial limbs, they set off to search for The Philosopher's Stone,
a material that would supposedly enable them to perform transmutations defying natural principles, to regain their bodies.
In order to access the necessary resources, Ed joined the military as one of the State Alchemists,
who would become human weapons in times of war.
Their research led them to discover terrible truths about the stone and its connection to the military.
Artwork:
Typical shounen manga -- simplistic, expressive strokes.
Not the beautiful type, but it just takes some getting used to.
Recommended because:
Great plot where things connect amazingly well, great actions,
good humour, occasional wisdom bits, and touching character interactions.
Warning:
Violence, rather dark theme.
Anime:
Complete; 51 episodes plus one movie "The Conqueror of Shambala"
which continues the story at the end of the series.
Most if not all cases in the manga are featured in the series,
but with significant differences in setting, background story, etc.
Halfway through, the plot deviates from the unfinished manga and develops an ending of its own.
As with most shounen-manga-turned-animes,
the artwork is prettier in the anime.
There are also more (subtly) romantic moments in the anime, which is a nice thing to see. =)
Death Note
Tsugumi Ooba (story) & Takeshi Obata (art)
Detective/Thriller
Complete - 12 volumes
Story:
Death Note-s are notebooks used by shinigami-s (gods of death) --
humans whose names are written in it will die.
A bored shinigami dropped his notebook in the human world,
and it ended up in the hands of Yagami Light,
a genius high-schooler who'd been long disgusted by "this rotten world".
He made full use of it, killing off criminals in a grand plan to create his idealistic world.
The figure "Kira" was born, whom some admired, some despised, and most feared.
International police forces were employed to disclose Kira's identity and capture him,
led by another mysterious genius going by the codename "L".
Artwork:
Same artist as Hikaru no Go -- nice, detailed art, and really good expressions.
Recommended because:
The suspense is extraordinary, and the plot is captivating and well thought of.
The controversial issue of judging good and bad is definitely interesting, and I like it that
this story doesn't hesitate to expose the ugly sides of human natures.
Kodomo no Omocha
Miho Obana
Drama/Romance
Complete - 10 volumes
Story:
Sana was a cheerful little girl mature beyond her age, the only one brave enough to challenge Hayama,
the trouble-maker in class. He became attracted to her, just as she discovered the reason behind the boy's delinquency.
The story follows these children as they struggled against the problems in their lives, which were by no means light
(the title, meaning "kid's toy", seems to be a deliberate irony).
It questions the role of adults and the consequences of the way they treated the children.
Artwork:
Typical shoujo -- a sweet kind of style.
Recommended because:
The moral messages, and the ironically humorous way these were presented.
There are actually some crazy stuff inside, which is very refreshing.
Garasu no Kamen
(a.k.a. Glass no Kamen, Glass Mask)
Suzue Miuchi
Acting/Drama
On-going - 41 volumes so far
Story:
Maya Kitajima was a poor, generally incompetent girl with amazing talent and passion for acting.
Her talent caught the attention of former actress Tsukikage Chigusa,
the holder of the rights to the highly acclaimed play "Crimson Goddess"
(in this story, qualifying for this play is regarded as the ultimate achievement for an actress).
She then trained Maya and made her compete against Ayumi Himekawa,
a young actress with equally astounding talent and determination,
yet in contrast to Maya was beautiful, rich and popular.
Along the way there was also the love-hate relationship between Maya and Masumi Hayami,
the cold, ruthless director of Japan's number one theatre.
Artwork:
Mostly simple with occasional pretty close-ups.
Recommended because:
Captivating story; the parts on acting are very interesting.
Warning:
The length -- this is a really long-running manga, and it is apparently on hiatus now.
Seito Shokun
(a.k.a. Pop Corn)
Yoko Shoji
Drama
Complete - 26 volumes
Story:
The drama revolves around Nakki, a cheerful, no-nonsense tomboy and her group of friends:
typical junior-schooler guy Iwasaki, cool and responsible Mai, fragile Hatsune,
stoic captain Tamura, and delinquent Okita; as they grew together through life's trial,
love triangles, and deaths of beloved ones.
Artwork:
Nice; it appropriately "grew" with the characters as they matured in the story.
Recommended because:
The true-to-life conflicts and the way they are maturely handled; this manga has very good moral messages.
Love and relationships are explored in depth and in breadth: friends, siblings, parent-child, teacher-student, man-woman.
Miriam
Kyoko Hikawa
Adventure/Romance
Kouya no Tenshidomo: Complete - 3 volumes
Jikan wo Tomete Matte Ite: Complete - 3 volumes
Sorenari ni Romantic: Complete - 1 volume
Story:
In this western cowboy setting, seventeen-year-olds Douglas, Card and Joel
stumbled into an incredibly brave eight-year-old tomboy Miriam,
and they ended up working together to capture criminals despite personality clashes.
The second and third part of the series deal with the budding romance between Douglas and Miriam a few years later,
sprinkled with a fair amount of fights and denials and another crime solved.
Artwork:
Cute, expressive.
Recommended because:
The refreshing humor, and romantic sweetness to make you swoon.
Glossary
- chibi
- lit. small; a style where a character is drawn in mini, cute form, usually to exaggerate expressions
bishounen
- lit. pretty boy; loosely used to mean a handsome guy
shounen
- boy (in this context, means a genre intended for boys)
shoujo
- girl (in this context, means a genre intended for girls)
shounen-ai
- male-male romance
shoujo-ai
- female-female romance
fan-service
- (often flirty) inserts of no significance to the plot, intended to please the readers
