Every now again people in Japan draw sequential pictures separated by gutters to tell a story. However, these books are apparently not called comics. No, that would be too easy, that would be what they would expect. Rather, these tomes are known as manga, or manga if you care to pronounce correctly you uncouth gaijin.
These books are so distinct that you can be a comic fan without ever having dipped a toe in their island waters. YET DIPPED A TOE I HAVE. So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are some of the manga I’ve read, and WHY.
Eat up.
Project X Challengers: Cup Noodle
Story by NHK Project X Production Group
Art by Tadashi Katoh
Credit for this one goes straight to the iFanboys. Their praise of this book made its purchase a no-brainer. It’s a bunch of science-types treating Styrofoam cups and freeze-dried ramen with the intensity of NASA scientists during the Apollo era, and for that I love it. I’m not an engineer, but I was raised amongst their kind, so I totally relate to main characters and their obsessive need to get their particular aspect of the project to fit within assigned parameters. It’s a mundane quest that ended up influencing entire cultures, and I would have known nothing about the personalities involved if not for this manga. So thank you for that.
20th Century Boys
Story and art by Naoki Urasawa
I'm only up to Vol. 4, so no spoilers.
This series is very good. It scratches a few itches for me, but those itches all seem to center around Brian K. Vaughan. This realization is dawning on me as I right so let’s try to figure it out together. Before Saga we were all stuck in a bit of a Vaughan desert. I had no comic with a compelling mystery to keep me coming back book after book, until 20th Century Boys. This is one of the few series of late, manga or otherwise, that I’ve really wanted to know what happens next. Unfortunately, it’s also one of those books I can never remember which books I own so I have a hard time buying the next one in line. I promise I’ll figure it out soon enough, but suffice it to say this is clearly very good comics. I don’t have nearly enough experience to comment on the art of manga, but these pages seem to be top-notch, and the story is compelling as hell. It’s structured like LOST (a show BKV wrote for, BTW) with revealing flashbacks, continued mysteries, and tantalizing reveals. I must have more. I will have more. It exists, it’s already been translated, I just need to go and get it.
Sgt. Frog
by Mine Yoshizaki
It really is funny, I promise.
This is the kind of book that should by all accounts annoy me to no end. My friend Jesse knows this, and I suspect that’s why he bought it for me. Yet every aspect of this ridiculous story that should get under my skin only serves to endear me to it more. The plot is basically if E.T. wanted to conquer earth instead of touch children with his glowing finger. And instead of being a terrifying pig/vegetable monster was actually a cute robot frog thing. The bombastic adventures of Sgt. Frog and his cohort are adorable and quite a bit meta, as the mother of the siblings involved in Sgt. Frog’s capers runs a manga drawing studio. Ignoring the weird sexual overtones, which is frankly impossible, the plot of the book is good enough to make me want more than just the first volume, and the comedy is genuine enough that anyone looking for a book to fill their Scott Pilgrim hole could do a lot worse than Sgt. Frog.
Robots?
Pluto
by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka
This is a book that gets recommended from all angles, not just hardcore manga fans. This made it feel like required reading for any comic literate person, which is fine by me, so I gave it a shot. While I can recognize the consummate skill of the story-tellers involved I felt like I might lacking context for this particular tale. I have no experience with Astro Boy. As mentioned last week, I have a passing affinity for MegaMan and I liked this one Sega Genesis game called Pulseman, but that’s about it. In this regard I am tempted compare Pluto to Watchmen, in that they are both clearly great accomplishments of the form, but without knowing something about the history of manga/superhero comics the impact of the stories might miss the mark. So I read volume 1, enjoyed it, but think I might need to explore the history of the universe before snagging volume 2.
So that’s literally it. I’ve read Scott Pilgrim, Usagi Yjimbo, and I own a book about Japanese pub food from the Oishinbo series that I have yet to read, but I don’t think either of those count. So it’s up to you to a) comment on what I’ve read, and b) tell me what I out to read IN THE FUTURE. I’m happy to read more manga, so make some reasonable suggestions and maybe this column can return as a part deux.
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Ryan Haupt owns a bokken and sais, so disagree within him at your own peril. He can be heard speaking from left to right on the podcast Science… sort of.
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If I’m honest, I don’t think you need to know anything about the original Astro Boy to appreciate Pluto. It’s all there on the page.
I have to agree. Really the only thing you might miss out on is the impact of Atom’s reveal at the end of book 1. I had a passing familiarity with Astro/Atom when I started reading Pluto. And what page actually did was make me go out and pick up some Astro Boy trades (including The Great Robot in the World that Pluto is based on). And from there it lead me other the REST of Osamu Tezuka body of work.
And let me tell you, if you are a fan of the comic art-form AT ALL. Osamu Tezuka is necessary reading up there with Jack Kirby and Will Eisner and Mobius. Its that important.
Also, the comparison to BKV and 20th Century Boys is an interesting one I hadn’t considered.
As someone who has read almost all of Astro Boy (including the storyline that Pluto is mostly based, The Greatest Robot in the World), you don’t need to know anything about Astro Boy to enjoy Pluto. Pluto does follow the original storyline pretty closely, but Urasawa reimagines aspects to how things happened originally, adds some political intrigue, make the story more of a thriller/mystery instead of an action/adventure, etc. I don’t think most people would make the connection between Astro Boy and Pluto, unless they read the essays or writer/artist comments in the back. Even Astro is called by what he traditionally called in Japan, Atom (from “Tetsuwan Atomu” meaning “Mighty Atom” or “Iron Arm Atom”).
Also, I do have to echo TheAdventurer in that if you are a comic fan, you should check out the of work of Osamu Tezuka. He’s one of my favorite comic storytellers and I consider him one of the best. If anyone out there wants to check out his stuff I’d suggest Ode to Kirihito, Buddha, and Black Jack would be the best place to start. Phoenix, the series most people (including Tezuka himself) consider his magnum opus can be read in any order since there isn’t must continuity between books. Though, if you need someplace to start, I’d recommend the volumes Future, Sun, and Karma.
Vagabond is an excellent, must-read manga. It’s historical fiction following the rise of Musashi Miyamoto, Japan’s greatest samurai. The art is gorgeous, some of the best in any manga I’ve read, the action is well-choreographed, and the characters give the story a lot of heart. I’m on volume 6 or so of the VizBig editions and about twice that much are available, I think, and it’s still not finished. So yeah, it’s a commitment, but it’s well worth it.
I haven’t read Vagabond but for samurai-era manga I love to recommend Ruroni Kenshin before anything else. The story is admittedly mediocre and relies a bit too much on common manga tropes. But the pacing is so fast paced that you hardly notice it. And besides, the real reason you’ll wan’t to pick up Kenshin is the artwork. No one draws sword fights as well as the Japanese and Nobuhiro Watsuki is one of the country’s A+ premiere talents. It’s like a more dramatic version of Usagi Yojimbo drawn by one of the best action manga artists.
Based on what you have read so far, I would recommend Vinland Saga and Planetes.
If you are into psychological drama with genius protagonists I would recommend Death Note and Liar Game.
I was head over heels for Death Note when I read the first few volumes, but then it started getting SO repetitive and drawn out that I got bored and stopped reading. Does it pick up the pace again at some point?
Hetalia: Axis Powers is a great example of manga. It started as a web-comic written by Hidekazu Himaruya. It’s been collected in around 4 volumes. It plays out WWII with the countries personified and their traits and stereotypes shown as elements of their personalities. Funny and entertaining. Its also available as an anime series on Hulu.
I highly suggest Lone Wolf and Cub, which is possibly the seminal Manga of any great collector. I also love Tezuka’s Metropolis, but admit that the movie version of it is many times better than the manga itself. Also, if you’re a Gundam fan, or if you just like ‘behind the scenes dramatizations’ Gundam Sousei is pretty great.
“Samurai Executioner” is also great.
Dark Horse has been releasing Lone Wolf and Cub digitally and they are on the last handful of volumes now. I would highly suggest it. I will have to see if any of these are offered digitally.
Digital would be nice because the set I have from Dark Horse are Tiny. I hope DH flipped the art properly this time too because a samurai using his left hand when he has a perfectly good right one is just INSANE.
Every now and again I come by the large “First Comics” editions and place them in my collection because of the size. The story is very out of order in the “First Comics” but at least they flipped the art correctly. To this day Lone Wolf and Cub is my favorite “Comic” story even if it’s Manga.
If you’re not put off by gore and sex, try the Battle Royale manga.
Back in 2008, iFanboy #98 covered Manga. I’ve always wanted to give Deathnote a try and this blog post just may do it. Thanks!!
Also, you should check out the original Speed Racer and Akira.
Sorry I meant #89 https://ifanboy.com/podcasts/ifanboy-episode-89-discovering-manga/
Naoki Urasawa’s stuff certainly does rock, but Berserk, Dorohedoro are both pretty good dark, twisted & violent series.
Otherwise I do have a massive soft spot for the popular trio of Naruto, Bleach & One piece!
Good picks Ryan. I’d recommend Akira, Ghost in the Shell 1 and 1.5 (2 was awful!), Nausicaa (by Ghibli director Miazaki) and Akira.
“Pluto” is a spare kind of book that doesn’t spell a lot of things out, and it’s true that it does assume a cultural familiarity with Astro Boy. But I agree with Paul that any obscurity in the storytelling isn’t because you need to know more about the universe, it’s because Urasawa takes his sweet time laying things out. It’s a slow burn (and I’ll be honest that there are things in it I know I didn’t understand on first reading) but worth your time.
I have not read a whole lot of manga, but my go-to rec is “Fullmetal Alchemist,” which is a sort of fantasy-steampunk mashup that starts out as a boys’ adventure quest and gets way more complicated from there. Though it’s not an immediately obvious comparison, the story it actually reminds me of is “Firefly,” if they rode around in trains instead of spaceships and if some of the Alliance officers had a valid point of view. Quite a bit of gruesome (and visually imaginative) body horror. A lot of people know this from the anime that aired in the US in the early 2000s, but that’s only based off the first few volumes, and the manga storyline (which is completed in a relatively short for manga 27 volumes) diverges quite a bit.
Because I’ve enjoyed “Bakuman” (an extreme meta manga on two guys making manga!) I picked up the first volume of “Death Note”, done by the same writer/artist team. I read it in one sitting. Gorgeous, realistic art, and a well-constructed storyline. I cannot get my hands on the remaining 11 volumes quick enough. Highly recommended.
I’m also reading “High School of the Dead” for zany zombie apocalypse action.
Any suggestions for a fun manga that’s not too childish? I loved Scott Pilgrim, but I’ve never read “real” manga.
Not sure what specific criteria you’re thinking of, but I wouldn’t describe any of the manga mentioned in this post or the comments as “childish.”
try Eagle. it’s a manga about American Politics so its accessible to an American.
20th Century Boys
Pluto
Planetes
Biomega
Battle Royal
Gunsmith Cats
Blackjack
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
That should keep you busy.
Wow, I had never heard of “Eagle.” That looks amazing!
Eagle is good, but it’s been a while since I’ve read it. The story is set in a very thinly veiled version of the 2000 election, though it doesn’t have the same hanging chad ending. If you can find it, check it out.
If you like that try a more maturer angle with Sanctuary, really great series with awesome art by Ryoichi Ikegami (Crying Freeman, Mai The Psychic Girl, Strain)
I’ve certainly dabbled in manga and while I’ve enjoyed some, I often can’t help but feel that there is often a lot that is lost in translation. Many times dialogue is just far too simplistic and/or crammed with way too much information/emotions in one word balloon e.g. “whoa, that monster is scary! But wait, I’ve seen it before, haven’t I? Yes, that’s right, Mr.Okoni has one just like it in his master lab! I will go there now and confront him before the ceremony tonight! Ha, I almost forgot that the ceremony was tonight!” – all in one word balloon.
I’m really picky when it comes to manga. I’ll only read stuff from Urasawa and Tezuka. Akira is good as well. I’m sure there is other good stuff out there that I would like, but I have no idea what’s really out there.
I’d recommend:
Anything by Junji Ito especially Uzumaki
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
Death Note
Iron Wok Jan
Kindaichi Case Files
i’m really into manga so i would recommend :
bleach
ao no exorcist
fairy tail
death note
fullmetal alchemist
gamaran
One Piece
Fullmetal Alchemist
Rurouni Kenshin
Samurai Deeper Kyo
Black Cat
Gantz
Berserk
Hellsing
Vagabond
Love Hina
Ah My Goddess
Maison Ikkoku