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I couldn't find the old thread here, so it must be still on the old Gamespy forum, therefore I thought I'd resurrect it, to see what people are reading at the moment.

Just got done with Hitsuji no Uta (Lament of the Lamb), really good "vampire" manga with many dark ideas, twists and turns, very engrossing. I love the artwork as well, curently hunting down the illustrations artbook that accompanies the manga.

Also in the middle of Mahou Sensei Negima. While this is Harry Potter meets Love Hina, I am really enjoying it. The characters are interesting and vibrant, action is pretty hot (currently reading Volume 6 localised, and about Volume 10 scanlated), the stories are pretty good, and I always like a bit of Ken Akamatsu art. Which is partly why I enjoyed Love Hina and AI Ga Tomaranai as well

And while it's not strictly manga per se, I also recently finished with Key's latest, Planetarian. Recommended if you like some deep, thoughtful story. And the character design is awesome as well.

Anyone got any good stuff to check out? And what are you reading at the mo?

EDIT: Added anime to the title, so we can see what people are watching as well. ^_-

I've been steadily working on GTO for a while now. I need to catch up and pick up a few at Otakon.

I've been reading my friend's Vagabon, which is a manga basically about a wandering samurai who has a sloppy style, but he's really strong.

Another friend left me some Blade of the Immortal before he left to teach in japan. He only had the first few, but that's one of my top mangas.

Monster is really good. It's about a brain surgeon who gets framed for several murders. It is long, it has a ton of characters along with an intricate plot. It is full of suspense!

I've been reading Bleach and Naruto. I like Bleach better since it has grim reaper samurais and all that good stuff (in contrast to Naruto which has kiddy "ninjas") Two good reads nonetheless if you don't mind the mainstreamness.

Sometime ago, I read some of Elfen Lied 'cause the anime freakin' rocks. The manga isn't so hot, unfortunately. The artwork is so... fan-made.

Get X-Day. It's only two books long and it hit really close to home, very depressing. GTO and Battle Angel Alita are really good too.

Not too up on the newer stuff, sooo... Akira, Battle Angel Alita, and the Ghost in the Shell books are probably my favorite. Berzerk is pretty good, too.

Anyone read the Battle Royale manga? How is it? Oh, and how about FLCL? I've heard that one's really good, but I just can't imagine how it could compare to the vibrancy of the anime.

Battle Royale - Don't get it near any kids. Way way way more violent and sexually explicit than the movie.

FLCL - Alot different feel than the anime. Interestin art style and the story makes much less sense than the anime does. I read the first volume but it didn't grab me.

I second Blade of the Immortal. Very Good.

I just read the first volume of Akira (found a weird hard cover edition dirt cheap), and I loved it. I've always been kinda ambivalent towards the film. There's just so much crap happening at breakneck speeds, and most of it doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you scrutinize it. Every time I watched it, I ended up being more confused. Anyway, the manga seems to have a much improved pace, and seems to be heading toward some much needed exposition on just what the fuck is happening.

I read shoujo stuff like Fruits Basket. I also like what I read of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and One Piece. I have been reading Kenshin manga too.

Berserk. I've read plenty of comics in my time, but not much can touch Berserk, especially not other manga. It rules in all ways. Dark Horse is publishing it stateside. Volume 8 just came out, but the manga is up to 29 in Japan. I feel sorry for the folks that can't read Japanese, because it's one of the best graphic stories there is and the US translation is taking forever. The anime covers up to vol 13, but it just gets better as it goes on. Essential reading.

uhm...

Anything by Leiji Matsumoto and Osamu Tezuka, even if Matsumoto is often too reactionary for my tastes. I would add various things by Masamune Shirow, more Appleseed than Ghost in the Shell, even.

I don't recall too much and i'm not for "light stuff", sorry.

I have really enjoyed two of Taiyo Matsumoto's works - Black & White and No. 5.

Otomo's Domo is short but sweet, Blood: The Last Vampire 2002 follows on from the anime and the manga adaptation of Nausicaa of the Valley of the valley of the Wind by Miyazaki is a great read.

dewclaw hit the nail on the head with Battle Royale. Keeps you in suspense nearly the whole time..still haven't finished the series though, because hey, I hate paying $13 for a f'n book. Albeit a good one.

If you can find it anymore, Parasyte is an awesome horror series. I also read

Club 9
Full Metal Alchemist
Hikaru no Go
Oh My Goddess!
Pokémon [don't laugh--Mato's art's adorable]
Sgt. Frog [at my brother's insistence that it's a humourous satire a la Excel Saga]
What's Michael? [Garfield, but FUNNY]
Yu-Gi-Oh! [yep]
and, if you count it, Usagi Yojimbo as I can usually only find it in book format around here.

About the Battle Royale manga, the book was WAY better. Then both the manga and the movie.

Recommended manga? Sorry, I don't read any all that much.

I know. What's it, one volume every four months or so? I just picked up 6', 7, 8 and now I have to wait another couple months for 9. Lazy bastards.

YES.

Astro Boy rocks!

Osamu Tezuka did Metropolis right? I really liked the anime version of that. Astro Boy does indeed rock as well.

I'll probably get some funny looks from you guys, but I really enjoyed Aria and Aqua by Kozue Amano. It's not action packed, there's no violence, plot twists, dark stories, mecha, ninjas, samurai, flying psychic teenagers and other typical stuff. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but for something that's laid back, relaxing, feel-good, and a break from the usual manga stuff, there is nothing better. I visited Venice because of it, and the manga artwork is great, really detailed

I'm just a little pissed that ADV Manga are taking so long to localise it (Same could be said about Dark Horse and Blade of the Immortal as well...)

Also:

Adolph
Buddha
Phoenix
and well, anything else you can get ahold of.

Why won't those bastards put out Jungle Emperor???

Soooooooo...

Anime:
Just finished Fate: Stay/Night, fun, but a predictable ending. Busy watching The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, which is extremely weird, but very funny as well. Finally, there's Aria: the Animation and the second season Aria: the Natural, really nice slice-of-life anime. No explosions, no mecha, no angst, no gore. Who cares? Great for relaxing with.

Manga:
Recommended if you can get them: Yotsubato!, from Kiyohiko Azuma (the creator of Azumanga Daioh), a really goofy story of a six year old's summer in a new city. Extremely funny. ^_-
Also, NHK ni Youkoso! Both the anime and the manga are very trippy and totally absorbing, and definitely one to get.

Who isn't watching Haruhi nowadays?

If you're still taking recommendations for manga, then I would suggest Trigun if you like action and/or Sgt.Frog for comedy, they are both among the best in their field.

Some Manga for mature tastes:

Naoki Yamamoto - Dance Till Tomorrow
Erotic hijinks of an independent theater troupe. Too bad it's the only of Yamamoto's works that has been translated so far.

Anything by Suehiro Maruo (Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show, Ultra-Gash Inferno), the master of 30s style erotic grotesque. Like George Bataille and JG Ballard mixed with German expressionism on speed. Lots of blood and shit, so not for everyone's taste. NTSC-J must dig him judging by his avatar.

Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix and Black Jack
His two great philosphical masterpieces.

Kiriko Nananan - Blue
First love, beautiful and minimalist.

Furuya Usumaru - Palepoli
4-panel meta-comics.


As for Anime, everything that can be expressed through the medium has been done by Evangelion. Post-Eva it's all just simulation and simulacra.

The best is still Galaxy Express 999, anyway.

Has anyone ever read the manga Beck? I have read a few things here and there about it and they have all been pretty positive. It sounds interesting to say the least.

I was also interested on anyones thoughts on the previously mentioned FLCL. The anime NOT the manga mind you. I have been so close to buying the volume one DVD so many times but have yet to take the plunge. I usually like the offbeat stuff but I am a little hesitant to purchase anime sight unseen.

Any thoughts\opinions on either of these?

On a related note I did just pick up the newly released Samurai Champloo complete box set. Hardly a little known anime that needs recommending but I wanted to mention it anyway. A little pricey but worth it if you like the series.

If the ambiguity of the ending was what annoyed you about the film, you'll definitely enjoy the manga more. The end of the film is only the halfway point of the manga.

Blade of the Immortal starts out strong, but fades into mediocrity after a while. About 70 issues in it becomes obvious that Samura is just milking the story for as long as it remains popular. I bought Dark Horse's single issues right into the 100s when it seemed to be building to a climax. Instead the critical confrontation was awkwardly sidestepped and the story started trundling back on its road to nowhere. I was so sickened by that point that I cancelled my subscription and sold my collection except for the first few story arcs.

I highly recommend most of Osamu Tezuka's works. Only two volumes of Black Jack have been translated, but they're great. Adolf is top notch. Phoenix and Buddha transcend manga's present day commercialism to become truly moving works of literature. If you don't want to spend a lot on a whole stack of book, then just get Phoenix volume 4: Karma (each volume stands alone); I rank that one alongside the great works of any writer.

I don't think it's been reprinted in recent years, but track down the nine volume Sanctuary series if you can. It's a mature and complex drama where the world of politics mixes with the underworld of the yakuza. Its only flaw is a slightly rushed ending.

Junji Ito's three volume Uzumaki is easily the best horror manga available in English. Forget the mediocre movie version; the original manga is one of the most original, disturbing and memorable horror concepts in any medium. If you like that then try the two volume Gyo manga. Not quite as great, but still good.

Maison Ikkoku is a long-standing favourite of mine. It has all the quality of Rumiko Takahashi's more commercial stories, but with a more mature tone and a story that actually goes somewhere instead of rolling around in circles.

The only anime I've ever seen is Appleseed.

Anybody recommend other anime along those lines?

^ If you like Shirow's hard-boiled SF style, you'll probably enjoy the Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex TV series. The first season box set is very reasonably priced and its a far superior show compared to Appleseed.

Agree with stand along complex, though I must say season 2 is even better than the first season. I would not recommend, however, the GitS movies - in particular the second one. Completely boring and...wait, what the heck was the story there anyway?

Daigohji - completely agree with Maison ikkoku! I finally got the last volume a couple of days ago, and what a great ending to an amazing show. And if you think about it, it's pretty reasonably priced - I paid only $27 for each volume, I think, and you get something like 12 episodes per volume.

Finally, because it's an anime/manga thread, I gotta recommend Mitsuru Adachi's works - Touch, H2, etc. in either manga and anime format. His stories and characters are some of my absolute favorites!

Interesting, in my opinion the complete opposite is the case. I found the series boring, overly wraught with pseudo techno-babble and very poorly animated.

The movies, however blew my mind. Stunningly beautiful. And it's not about the story anyway, but all about theme and atmosphere.