Manga that you read that you're pretty sure no one else here reads

[blkmage]

The picture's from Nijigahara Holograph.

[Fish and Chips]

The easiest, of course, is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which at last count was being read by exactly five members on this site, including myself.

Six, actually, not including people who've picked up a single volume just to shut me and Eric up.

Also, more Manga.

The Lives of Eccentrics by Hirohiko Araki - 1 volume

More Araki. This time in historical context, exactly what it says on the side of the packaging. I really don't know what else to say about this, except that I almost almost bought a copy at a convention one year. Don't read this if you have an aversion to baseball players pulling guns on each other over ref calls and women attempting to hook up romantically with monkeys. Yeah, it's...yeah...

Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima - 28 volumes, 10 volumes*

Something that's not a collection of short stories or a short-lived serial, though I'm aware UC at least has read Lone Wolf. Practically the grandfather of all current samurai Manga, or at least that which takes itself seriously, and Lone Wolf (and Samurai Executioner) is very serious. And very wordy - you'll need to set some time aside. Former vassal of the Shogun, Ogami Itto is framed by a rival samurai household, losing his position, wealth, authority, and family. Left only with his young son, Daigoro, the two walk the road to revenge and kill a bunch of joes with a freaking sweet baby carriage, including a dude named Yamada Asaemon who got his own story serialized in Samurai Executioner. Good reading for long nights.

Toto! The Wonderful Adventure by Yuko Osada - 5 volumes

Your standard meandering Shounen, but it's pretty good for what it managed to fit in its short run. The first volume in particular is awesome, and the final has one of the best Here Comes the Calvary moments in all of Manga (all of Manga!). Lots of references to the Wizard of Oz, but you probably knew that.

Dororo by Osamu Tezuka - 4 volumes**

I should probably open by saying that Dororo is the only thing by Tezuka I've ever read, and it's very weird. An ambitious noble makes a pact with 48 demons in order to rule the world, offering in compensation the life of his expected son. When the child is born, he's malformed and hideous, the demons having each stolen one body part from him. So abandoned by the World's Best Dad, the boy is saved by a wandering medicine man who builds him fully-functioning prosthetic parts to replace everything he lost despite the fact that this is in the Sengoku Period I swear I am not making this up.

Anyway, shortly the kid grows up and decides to wander Japan looking for the 48 demons who stole his life, and possibly settle the score with his father somewhere in there. Unfortunately, Tezuka never finished this one, so your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not he meets his dad again.

[SIZE="1"]*Respectably.[/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]**Condensed in the American print to 3 volumes.[/SIZE]

[Atria35]

Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima - 28 volumes, 10 volumes*

Something that's not a collection of short stories or a short-lived serial, though I'm aware UC at least has read Lone Wolf. Practically the grandfather of all current samurai Manga, or at least that which takes itself seriously, and Lone Wolf (and Samurai Executioner) is very serious. And very wordy - you'll need to set some time aside. Former vassal of the Shogun, Ogami Itto is framed by a rival samurai household, losing his position, wealth, authority, and family. Left only with his young son, Daigoro, the two walk the road to revenge and kill a bunch of joes with a freaking sweet baby carriage, including a dude named Yamada Asaemon who got his own story serialized in Samurai Executioner. Good reading for long nights.

Toto! The Wonderful Adventure by Yuko Osada - 5 volumes

Your standard meandering Shounen, but it's pretty good for what it managed to fit in its short run. The first volume in particular is awesome, and the final has one of the best Here Comes the Calvary moments in all of Manga (all of Manga!). Lots of references to the Wizard of Oz, but you probably knew that.

Gah! Toto has been on my list for months, but I can't find it ANYWHERE! Same for Lone Wolf and Cub! They both sound so good.....

Oh, and one that I've finished recently, that I hope no one else hear reads is Tail of the Moon , an aweful shoujo with lots of questionable (sexual) content, stupid characters, and a plot that had potential.... but went off a cliff with it ><"

[Cloud500]

Toto! The Wonderful Adventure by Yuko Osada - 5 volumes

Your standard meandering Shounen, but it's pretty good for what it managed to fit in its short run. The first volume in particular is awesome, and the final has one of the best Here Comes the Calvary moments in all of Manga (all of Manga!). Lots of references to the Wizard of Oz, but you probably knew that.

I've seen this in bookstores before, but wasn't sure if it was any good or not. I might have to try it out now.

[Tamachan319]

[

Mixed Vegetables- yeah, it's shoujo... but it has FOOD! A story about a girl and a boy who are in the same cooking class, but she wants to do sushi (even though her family owns a bakery) and he wants to do sweets (though his family owns a sushi shop). It's more for a younger age set, but it's very sweet.

!

Read it!! Love it!! The whole thing with having FOOD in it is why I read it too!!! Unfortunately, I've only read the first two volumes, because I have to buy it to read it. Maybe I'll try to get my library to get it.......

[airichan623]

I Am A Piano- an 8-page one-shot about a piano and what it goes through during its life. It stylizes the piano as a person, and 'playing' becomes a dance. And as time goes on she gets more worn, until coming back to someone who loves the piano, as old and worn as it (she) is.

I just read it... I love that whispy looking art style!

[Atria35]

I just read it... I love that whispy looking art style!

I know! And it only seems to add to the atmosphere of the story. I love it!

[airichan623]

Toto! The Wonderful Adventure by Yuko Osada - 5 volumes

Your standard meandering Shounen, but it's pretty good for what it managed to fit in its short run. The first volume in particular is awesome, and the final has one of the best Here Comes the Calvary moments in all of Manga (all of Manga!). Lots of references to the Wizard of Oz, but you probably knew that.

[SIZE="1"]**Condensed in the American print to 3 volumes.[/SIZE]

Read the first three via library... i didnt know volumes 4 and 5 were out yet! I thought it was great, personally.

[ST. Attidude]

This book I'm mentioning was something I found at my library one day, and while it may not be legit manga, its certainly a unique work and (hopefully) worth your time to find...(I think my library unfortunately stopped carrying it, that hard to find I suppose)

But I probably will buy it off Amazon since its that good;
Its called The Courageous Princess from an artist originally from the Philippines named Rod Espinosa.

Its a fairy tale of a princess who's of a typical role like Cinderella and is kidnapped by a dragon for ransom but the story as a whole is far from ordinary. The cast of characters are especially unconventional and give a nice visual sense of energy to the plot, although the plot itself can be hard to follow, the art is truly grand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Courageous_Princess

[Cadence]

Komi Naoshi's Island was mentioned a while back in this thread, but I haven't seen any of his other one shots mentioned here. Though Island is probably my favorite of his works, I also really enjoyed Apple, Personant, and Williams.

[Blacklight]

Out of the titles that I saw in this thread, I read Imadoki (a ways back),
all available(from the library, at least) volumes of Wallflower,
I've heard of a few mentioned titles while not having actuallly read them... save for volume 1 of Wild Ones a while back.

And does anyone on here other than the reviewer of the manga read Petshop of Horrors? because I haven't heard it mentioned by anyone, and I'm almost finished with the series... two volumes left, and even though it gets to be somewhat frustrating, I'm looking forward to finally finishing it. (Can't make any promises about liking it overall, but I want to finish it.)

[KBMaster]

Penguin Brothers.

It wasn't released in America, I don't think, but I read this a few years back and LOVED IT. I've never heard anyone say they've read it, so I'm not sure how popular it is.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Well, I went to the library today, and decided to read a new manga that I'd seen a bit of advertising from Viz for, which is Library Wars: Love and War. From the first two chapters, it's nothing fantastic, but it isn't terrible either. The premise is unique, even if it seems a bit farfetched at times.

[blkmage]

Well, I went to the library today, and decided to read a new manga that I'd seen a bit of advertising from Viz for, which is Library Wars: Love and War. From the first two chapters, it's nothing fantastic, but it isn't terrible either. The premise is unique, even if it seems a bit farfetched at times.

Library Wars actually has two manga adaptations. Love and War is the shoujo adaptation, while Toshokan Sensou Spitfire is the more action-oriented shounen manga (which, I guess according to Wikipedia, isn't available here). The entire thing is based on a series of light novels (Toshokan Sensou) and it got an anime two years ago. The anime's pretty good with a nice mix of romantic comedy shenanigans and Counter-Strike-ish combat.

[ScalpelFactory]

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service- This, I'm pretty sure that no one else here reads. It's not for the faint of heart. Full of dark humor and an interesting cast of characters, this is about a bunch of college kids trying to make a living off of their skills... which means that since they graduated from a Buddhist college with indifferent sgrades but have interesting skills (learned outside of class), it involves trying to fulfill the last wishes of the dead. Three have supernatural abilities- one can address the soul of the dead for a certain time after death, one can dowse for the bodies, and one is a channeler who happens to be eternally channeling the spirit of a foul-mouthed alien. The other two are girls, one an embalmer who's constantly out of work because they cremate in Japan, and another a web genious. The dead walk, talk, and other creepy stuff happens. There's also graphic depictions of the dead.

Yes! I have definitely read this, and although it was creepy at times, it definitely made me laugh in others! I guess being a Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei fan, this brand of humor really amuses me.

Wallflower: I know people have heard of this, at least, but I'm not sure how many have actually read more than a few pages or chapters. Once you get used to the art style and the rather morbid humor, the series is actually quite interesting. It's about five guys who have to turn a horror loving girl into a lady or else they will be thrown out on the street to starve (because they are too beautiful to work? I dunno. Manga doesn't have to make sense XD)

I have read like, at least 10 volumes of this. I need to catch up to all that's been released [I believe 17 volumes or so?], but I reeeeally enjoyed this~! The manga style is very lazy, but very pretty when she puts in the effort xD And the side stories about the manga-ka's cat always made me chuckle.

Vampire Doll Guilt-na-Zan by Erika Kari - Hilarious manga about a vampire Lord whose soul is captured in the body of a wax doll by a maniacal [and often silly] exorcist. The only way for him to transform back into his original form is to drink the tiniest drop of blood from the exorcist's little sister... Except he won't allow it. Filled with situations and side characters who will make you bust a gut with their antics, this is definitely a series worth checking out! [example: a local demon feeds on negative energy and hangs out near a local high school to get his fill of teenage angst xD]

[Htom Sirveaux]

I've not seen anyone else on CAA mention Tsutomu Nihei's ten-volume cyberpunk series, BLAME! or its single-volume prequel, NOiSE. It's good stuff, if you prefer to keep your manga series short. Very sparsely dialogued though, wich can make it confusing at times for lack of information.
I may sometime check out one of Nihei's other titles, Biomega. It's loosely tied to BLAME! in that it's set in a familiar location (Toha Heavy Industries), though at a different time.

Also, I've read the first volume of Hitoshi Iwaaki's Parasyte, though I wasn't terribly impressed. However I would be willing to reread it and pick up volume 2 sometime. Maybe the story'll get better.

[Atria35]

I've not seen anyone else on CAA mention Tsutomu Nihei's ten-volume cyberpunk series, BLAME! or its single-volume prequel, NOiSE. It's good stuff, if you prefer to keep your manga series short. Very sparsely dialogued though, wich can make it confusing at times for lack of information.
I may sometime check out one of Nihei's other titles, Biomega. It's loosely tied to BLAME! in that it's set in a familiar location (Toha Heavy Industries), though at a different time.

Also, I've read the first volume of Hitoshi Iwaaki's Parasyte, though I wasn't terribly impressed. However I would be willing to reread it and pick up volume 2 sometime. Maybe the story'll get better.

... heh, heh Those are all on my to-read list right now. I feel so knowledgeable!

[wildpurplechild]

Moon Boy- Manhwa, the plot is hard to explain but basically there are people on earth that are not really human. There are 'rabbits' and there are 'foxes'. The main girl is a rabbit who is chasing after a child hood friend who is also a rabbit, but claims not to remember her.

Inubaka- Suguri works at a petshop called Woofles caring for dogs and meeting new breeds. It's very enteraining for animal lovers like me, but it does have some fanservice.

Hollow Fields-This one is not Japanese, but I still like it. A girl accidently goes to a school for mad scientists! The courses include grave digging, monster making, and all sorts of fun stuff.

[Atria35]

Hollow Fields-This one is not Japanese, but I still like it. A girl accidently goes to a school for mad scientists! The courses include grave digging, monster making, and all sorts of fun stuff.

Own it! It's so cute! I just with that the ending was less abrupt- I'd like to see more of the 'after'.

The Dreaming- twin girls must lie about being twins to be able to go to a boarding school in Australia. Stuff happened long ago at the school- and it starts reoccuring! Not the happiest of manga to read, but if you like horror, a good read.

[wildpurplechild]

Own it! It's so cute! I just with that the ending was less abrupt- I'd like to see more of the 'after'.

The Dreaming- twin girls must lie about being twins to be able to go to a boarding school in Australia. Stuff happened long ago at the school- and it starts reoccuring! Not the happiest of manga to read, but if you like horror, a good read.

Oh I've read part of that! I found it in a desk I sat at in study hall, but I returned it before I finished it.

[animewarrior]

Re to the Wallflower fans:
I've read up to volume 12 (that's all the library system has) .... the series is good for those days when you want to laugh. ^^

Re to the person who mentioned Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack.. I own that title because it came with my special edition of one of the volumes of the anime. Interesting story but I don't care for spinoffs/alternate possibilties.

Now for my titles:

After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro
About a transgender highschool student. A commentary on gender identity, and how people get past their issues. Also deals with family dynamics, romance, the view of one's self. Highly recommended for mature readers. I'm tempted to buy it. Not for everyone (has some tastefully dealt sex scenes, and the nightmare sequences can be violent with blood) oh DON'T READ THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE!!! You'll spoil the story for yourself (no fun). Complete in 10 volumes.

Land of the Blindfolded by Tsukuba Sakura
Kanade Otsuka is a high school girl who sometimes sees the future when she touches someone or something. Though she is uncomfortable being touched, she refuses to live her life in fear and uses her powers to help those she sees in trouble. One day, she meets Arou Naitou, a school mate who can see the past but does not feel he can do anything with his knowledge. They also meets Namiki Masahiro, another student who can also see the future but has more control over his power than Kanade and uses it purely for selfish reasons.

Kanade, Arou, and Namiki must in a world where society might not accept them if their secret is ever known other than by their friends. On several occasions, people learn about their secret (the school doctor, people from Arou's middle school, family members), with varying results. For example, Arou's classmates from middle school react negatively, distressing him, while another classmate tries to use Arou's talent for the benefit of society. (plot synopsis stolen from Wikipedia)

I've only read the first 3 volumes out of the 9 but it's good so far.

[Atria35]

^ I thought Land of the Blindfolded was a pretty popular shoujo manga.... Huh.... And I've also got Afer School Nightmare on my plan-to-read list. Sounds great!

Beijing Opera House- a three-volume manga about a boy who wants to be in the Beijing Opera. He manages to travel to the past to meet and join a training school, but also gets mixed up in the politics of the time, which affects the Beijing Opera. It is a bit bloody, and a bit too short for the story it was trying to tell, but pretty darn good. Because some things aren't explained and wrapped up neatly, I'd give it a 7/10, but for overall story and enjoyment, more like an 8/10.

[ScalpelFactory]

Now for my titles:

After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro
About a transgender highschool student. A commentary on gender identity, and how people get past their issues. Also deals with family dynamics, romance, the view of one's self. Highly recommended for mature readers. I'm tempted to buy it. Not for everyone (has some tastefully dealt sex scenes, and the nightmare sequences can be violent with blood) oh DON'T READ THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE!!! You'll spoil the story for yourself (no fun). Complete in 10 volumes.

Okay, seriously, I've read a good portion of this, and I've loved it. Gender identity is one of my favorite things to play with [and get hilariously confused by], plus the beautiful art style really drew me in! Need to read the rest now that you say it's complete! : D

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura
I know Fish has read this(much more than I have), but I haven't seen any mention of it since I joined. An immortal warrior who wishes to die makes a contract with the one responsible for his immortality that he will cease being immortal after he kills 100 evil men for every good person he has killed, thus, he has to kill a thousand evil men. A girl named Rin comes up to him, asking that he help her get revenge on the people who killed her father and raped and killed her mother. Basically super awesome and my favorite art I've seen from a manga. Content level is pretty high though.

[Lynna]

The Only one I see here that I've Read Before is 1/2 Prince, Though I've heard of others.
Minto Na Bokura (sometimes translated as We Are Mint) I don't think this has been licenced in English yet, though I think it has been in Spanish. It is by The Same author as Marmalade Boy and is about a fraternal twins. The female twin, Maria, falls in love with a young basketball coach from a private boarding school, and transfers there without consulting her twin brother, Noeru. Noel is furious and vows to do anything to bring her back home. Unfortunately, this means dressing as a girl, because there's only one space left in the school dorms, and it's for a girl.
This is a romantic comedy, and I loved it. Despite the situations in the story, there is no fanservice, and although some girls are shown in their bras, they cover up almost more than a bikini.

[ich1990]

Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura
I know Fish has read this(much more than I have), but I haven't seen any mention of it since I joined. An immortal warrior who wishes to die makes a contract with the one responsible for his immortality that he will cease being immortal after he kills 100 evil men for every good person he has killed, thus, he has to kill a thousand evil men. A girl named Rin comes up to him, asking that he help her get revenge on the people who killed her father and raped and killed her mother. Basically super awesome and my favorite art I've seen from a manga. Content level is pretty high though.

There was actually a thread about Blade of the Immortal a while back, but it has been dead for a long, long time.

I personally love the fights and super awesome art, but dropped it for content reasons. Seriously, you see the insides of people so often that it could work as an anatomy and physiology textbook.

[Atria35]

There was actually a thread about Blade of the Immortal a while back, but it has been dead for a long, long time.

I personally love the fights and super awesome art, but dropped it for content reasons. Seriously, you see the insides of people so often that it could work as an anatomy and physiology textbook.

As a biology student, I appreciate that level of realism XD But seriously, I've been innurred from the dissections I've done. As long as they're anatomically correct, it doesn't bother me if it's on the page.

[ich1990]

As a biology student, I appreciate that level of realism XD But seriously, I've been innurred from the dissections I've done. As long as they're anatomically correct, it doesn't bother me if it's on the page.

Well if that is the case, then I recommend it. It has a solid plot, excellent characterization, relatively little nudity and sexual content (when compared with its peers such as Berserk, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Vagabond), and volumes upon volumes of gory and stylish samurai fights with cool looking weapons.

My only real dislike is that it is flopped, so you have to read it left to right. As someone conditioned to read manga right to left, I found it hard to break myself of the habit and start to read it the correct way.

[Cadence]

Amatsuki: A high-school student, Tokidoki, is seemingly transported to a fantasy version of Edo-period Japan after being attacked by a monster at a virtual-reality history museum. He befriends several others including a fellow schoolmate who was transported around the same time but arrived several years before, and a swordswoman with a demon dog living inside her. Meanwhile, the story occasionally cuts to a subplot back in the real world involving a group of detectives investigating the shady corporation who created the virtual museum.

I was just about to post this...good thing I read the rest of the thread first. =) So yeah, I've obviously read this...it's pretty much my favorite thing. The anime adaption wasn't bad, but they cut off right before my favorite arc in the story. So if you watched the anime and enjoyed it even a little, I would suggest picking up the manga. Because it gets a lot better.

Okay, here is one a lot of you have probably heard of, but has anyone here actually read it?

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: My very favorite manga! It is about a humanoid robot who runs a cafe in a post-apocalyptic Japan. It is by far the best manga I have ever read--it made me think, it made me cry, it made me live a little better. After finishing it, I couldn't read any other manga for a long time afterward, because nothing measured up to it. =)

[Cadence]

Btw you might want to check out a oneshot series called Omoide Emanon. Its about this mysterious girl who holds a 3-billion memory dating back to the first life on Earth, pretty interesting.

Oh, fabulous! Someone told me about this manga a while back, and I had forgotten the title. Thanks a bunch, I'm going to read this as soon as possible!