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Ask Manga Recommendation thread
In the mood for a manga with certain themes but don't know where to look? Just finish a good one and need more like it? Want to know if a manga is worth reading? Looking for new manga to read can be challenging so if you don't feel like making a full post, here's a thread for everyone to ask each others for recommendations.
If there's any manga that you think everyone should read, feel free to recommend anyway. Don't let the lack of question stop you!
Edit: You can also ask for anime recommendation here or share about your current watch/read here.
Only manga I've ever really owned is Berserk, and once the new deluxe volume 14 comes out this fall, I will be caught up with a veeery long time before the next volume. I've heard people say that Vagabond has a similar vibe to Berserk, but are there any others? Not sure how far I want to go into this hobby since it can be pretty expensive, not to mention volumes take up a lot of shelf space.
As for my personal ask, I'm looking for more manga with a vibe that's similar to these:
Sorry that this is a bit vague haha, I don't know how to describe it with words so hopefully the few examples help to highlight the common elements somewhat.
Have you read Yokohama Shopping Trip? It's about an android who runs a coffee shop in a world that's post-apocalyptic, with the possible end of humanity in sight - but despite the potentially grim future, people instead respond by banding together and settling down. It's similar to Girls' Last Tour in wrestling some of the same existential questions in the face of the void via an optimistic, more innocent viewpoint, but where Girls' setting's default tone is the cold, snowy, mechanical cities they walk through, Yokohama's is the warm, humid, serene countryside and it kind of comes to its own conclusions. I found it absolutely beautiful, it's my favorite manga.
I haven't! Your description does seem to fit the mood I was looking so I'll check this one for sure. Thanks.
Yokohama shopping trip is probably my favourite manga of all time, and I also love girls last tour. Mushi-shi might also fit the slightly melancholy, reflective feel.
I'm searching for German-translated manga with "easy" language.
To give some context, I've been practicing my German by reading (German) manga. This works pretty well sometimes, but other times the material can be surprisingly difficult. I haven't really found a good predictor for this, but to give some examples of work I've found "easy":
But on the other hand, there's Konosuba, which is somehow significantly more challenging in both its vocabulary and grammar employed.
I'm hoping that someone can recommend some interesting manga with simple language. I'm not set on any particular genre -- I haven't read much manga besides the ones I've listed, and I'm also interested in exploring the medium more generally. But most importantly, they should have a German translation! You can check for German availability on Anisearch.
Plus one for Witch Hat Atelier! I feel like it captures the somewhat grimy Harry Potter feel of wizardry with a really enchanting magic system that has thought and depth applied to it.
Does anyone have any good horror recommendations outside of Junji ito? I especially love a good psychological horror, but I'm open to anything!
Yay thanks for this thread!
I'd love to get recommendations for completed manga/manhwa/webtoons. I usually read romance (I'm a total sucker for the "reincarnated as a villainess" isekai trope / reverse harems) and there's a ton of these but so many of them are unfinished and I'm so impatient š I'm currently enjoying the webtoons "Remarried Empress", "Men Of The Harem", and "Your Throne" but they are unfinished. I particularly enjoy when comedy is included, and/or when there's interesting politicking involved. I'm ok with NSFW content as long as it's for the female gaze.
Still open to other genres though! Some completed webtoons I enjoyed that weren't romance:
Love Advice From The Great Duke Of Hell (comedy)
Moon You (sci fi / dark comedy)
How about Annarasumanara? An impoverished girl in high school is taking care of her little sister on basically no income when she runs into a magician that changes her life by performing a trick on her. As their relationship unfolds, her wealthy rival classmate becomes gradually more entwined in MC's life despite being financial classes apart. The plot is engrossing and the characters develop wonderfully, but what sells it is an astounding awareness of the medium - its story is rooted in the brilliant illustrations and format of its long-form scrolling website panel style, and the magical realism sells every major event. Absolutely wonderful story.
If you're looking for something from the female perspective that can get a little gorey and is completed, I really liked Drip Drip / Botabota, by the same author as BeastStars. OCD MC gets nose bleeds from 'filth' and is a pretty short read (only nine chapters).
Another series I loved that might be up your alley is 'MAOYU: Archenemy and Hero "Become mine, Hero" "I refuse!"' - The Hero reaches the Demon Lord Villainess, and she gives him the economic and societal reasoning behind her actions and convinces him to go along with her plans to improve the world for all. Completed after 18 volumes.
If you want completed/villainess/romance/webtoon, then Beware the Villainess! is a solid pick for you.
For a general ask, which manga can I introduce to someone who isn't familiar with manga/anime? Of course there are the classics like Naruto or One Piece but they tends to be really long lol, which can be intimidating for people who just wants to dip their toe in so to speak. Any good beginner that's not too long?
Probably hard to go wrong with Death Note. 12 volumes is fairly short for a manga, and with how popular the anime got it's obviously very popular even with people who normally don't watch anime.
Really depends on what you're into. I also have a problem with the legacy Shonen mangas that are decades deep (though at least those are often available in box sets). Here's a little bit of a variety that you can check out depending on your tastes.
I Want To Eat Your Pancreas - If you're into High School Romance this one is a short 2 volume tear jerker.
All You Need is Kill - If you liked Edge of Tomorrow this 2 volume manga is what it's based on.
Way of the House Husband - This one is 12 volumes on going but it's also a Slice of Life comedy based on a former Yakuza turned house husband. It's funny and almost all the stories are one ofs especially early on.
Dandadan - Momo Ayase is a high school girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens, while her classmate Okarun believes in aliens but not ghosts. It turns out that they were half-right, both aliens and ghosts do exist. Okarun loses his genitals and is possesed by a ghost that grants him some super powers, Momo has supernatural abilities as well. It's funny. There are 11 volumes but only 5 translated so far, so you can basically get in on the ground floor
Chainsaw man - This is personally what got me into reading mangas, I saw the first episode of the anime and needed more, so I consumed the first 11 volumes in about 3 days. I later bought them as well. It's on the 12th volume but I would consider the first 11 Volumes a "complete" set and Vol 12 on as a sequel.
Didn't expect that title to be a romance at first, but the description actually sounds wholesome.
I forgot part 1 is already a self contained story. That'd make for a natural stopping point true.
The art of this one is insane, people say this all the time but it's true, I don't know how the author can keep up that level of details every week.
Yea the absolute hell mangaka like Yukinobu Tatsu must put themselves through pumping out stuff like this at the cadence they do is mind boggling.
I personally think Fullmetal Alchemist is a perfect manga in almost every way. The anime is great too, but I think the manga gets slept on a bit. About 100 chapters of consistently amazing quality.
FMA is one of the most perfect stories I've seen in any medium. It only really hit me at the credits of the second-to-last episode of Brotherhood, which is directly adapted from the manga (so basically, my second time reading the story). During the montage of a certain character's entire life up until their death, it just clicked how incredible the whole series was.
From start to finish it's just perfection, the emotional beats are on-point and none of the adversity ever felt contrived or over the top. The stakes felt real compared to a lot of other series by having some hard-hitting deaths early on, so the tension is genuinely real throughout the story. And it balances super serious and disturbing content with other more humorous scenes so that it's not just constant dread, remembering first and foremost that manga should be entertaining.
It's just a fantastic story, one of my few 10/10s. Highly seconding this recommendation. It's truly something you can only experience once.
Monster by Naoki Urasawa is my first thought. It's 162 chapters, so not exactly super short, but it's a great series that's more grounded in reality than a lot of other works. It's a thriller with all sorts of twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. It also has an anime adaptation, which I need to finish watching already.
Aria is another good one for a slice of life feeling. It's about a girl become an undine (gondolier) on terraformed Mars. It's just very serene and peaceful, with a bit of light sci-fi thrown in since it's set in the future.
Aria sounds neat, and I haven't read so I'll check it out for myself too thanks.
This list from the NY Public Library of manga with 10 or fewer volumes covers a variety of genres and everything I've read that's on there I've enjoyed.
Oh nice I found that list too, and most of it I haven't read so thank you for the positive recommendation.
NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind is excellent and only 7 volumes.
NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind was a manga I was so glad to have picked up. The characterization, building on themes, and maturation of NausicaƤ wrap up into a sobering and wonderful conclusion that feels like a thorough exploration rather than naive assertion from ignorance of the world.
Mashle just ended at 162 chapters. It's funny, but also is a decent introduction to a lot of shonen battle manga tropes. One knock against it is the humor is subversive, so it may not be as funny if you haven't consumed anime/manga before.
If the story is solid on its own term then it's fine I think. I remember Madoka Magica was my first magical girl show and I still enjoyed it even though I probably missed all the tropes they referenced.
Anyone know manga similar to Kumo desu ga, nani ka? (I'm a spider, so what?). Slow power build up, becoming OP, and kind of doing what you think is right. Just nothing like shield hero, that kind of stuff bores and annoys me. I just want to kind of zone out and not think about current events and feel good, you know?
I've only just started reading some manga. I've read a one shot, currently reading one about depression, and another about sexuality and mental health. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me some other mental health focused ones?
A Silent Voice might fit. It's about a boy who formerly bullied a girl who was Deaf, and got ostracized for it. It delves a lot into the long-term psychological effects of bullying, particularly social anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
I haven't read/seen it, but I know Your Lie In April follows similar themes in exploring a main character dealing with something at least similar to depression. So that might be enjoyable too.
If you're willing to try Webtoons (Korean webcomics), look up Dr. Frost. It's about a psychology professor at a university who focuses on clinical psychology, and does a great job at depicting various mental health issues.
Out of curiosity, what manga are you reading?
Oooh, thank you for all the suggestions. Silent Voice definitely sounds like one that will be interesting, so I'll give that a go.
I've never heard of Webtoons, but Dr. Frost looks interesting, especially if it's from the side of a professor.
The manga I'm reading right now is Suicide Boy, wasn't sure if it was something I'd be allowed to share due to the name. I also read through "My Lesbian experience with Loneliness" which I found thought provoking, as some of the loneliness themes in there I connected with.
I really like "Call of the Night", is there another manga with similar vibe ? not looking for romance (it's fine if its a subplot but shouldn't be the main focus.)
Depends on what elements of Call of the Night you're enjoying. If you like the chill slice of life elements, where they're just hanging together, something like Insomniacs After School may be your jam (the romance isn't really the main focus, but it is a focus--similar to how it is in Call of the Night, tbh).
You may enjoy the author's previous work as well, Dagashi Kashi. Though it is not nearly as serious in tone as Call of the Night is.
yes I like the slice of life elements of it, I'll check them out, Thanks