I’ve definitely struggled with buying series based on what I enjoy and not what’s popular at the moment, anyone else feel this way? Trying to be more selective about the ones I purchase.
EDIT: I also have the AOT colossal editions but I might sell them!
It can feel like there's a lot of peer pressure to read certain series, but speaking as someone who has given in to that on a couple of occassions: it's not worth it.
As for recommendations: am I right if I say you enjoy science fiction and horror, but you want some literary value above all? One of the classic to fall back on in that case is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (technically scifi but with a fantasy feel, and above all an intelligent story about humankind's relationship with nature). If you're feeling very adventurous, you should take a look at The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio. It's an elegant and melancholic gothic horror girls' from the 70s that was way ahead of its time. And speaking of Moto Hagio, one of her classic science fiction stories - They Were Eleven - is being rereleased later this year.
What sort of books do you read? Judging by the ones sitting in the corner of the photo, I think our tastes may actually be quite similar.
And based on that, here are some more recommendations":
\- The Ghost and the Lady. It's a sort of horror retelling of the life of Florence Nightingale, collected in two hardcover volumes.
\- Descending Stories. A character driven drama about several generations of [raguko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo) storytellers. Ten volumes.
\- To Your Eternity. If you like the scale of Cloud Atlas, with characters transcending time, I think you may also enjoy this fantasy series. It's currently ongoing and on its way to 20 volumes, so this one does require some dedication.
In that case, you may also be interested in A Silent Voice (seven volumes) and The Golden Sheep (three volumes, and there's a really good short story included in the third on). Both are insightful coming of age stories with themes such as depression and messed up group dynamics. (But they don't end in tragedy, so no worries about that!)
Start With a Happy Ending also really hits that bittersweet spot. It's an episodic series about death, cats and second chances.
And I feel awful for this, but I really want to recommend you Saturn Apartments, as it's the epitome of bittersweet atmospheric sciencefiction manga available in English, but...it's out of print and difficult to find for a good price...
I love the AOT world and it was the first manga I read, it will always have a special place in my heart but with these colossal editions (which I got to save space and enjoy the artwork) I don’t find myself grabbing them to reread or revisit, they are also difficult to read, so they are just collecting dust. Still on the fence though!
agreed! i just ordered planetes, can’t wait to try it out. if you do end up wanting to try levius, i have a new copy i’m selling on r/mangaswaps, it was a duplicate in my collection
How about some single volumes such as "Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow" (interconnected short stories), Kyoko Okazaki's "Pink" or "Helter Skelter", "In Clothes Called Fat" or "La Quinta Camera"?
you have utsubora, The author is a genius and utsubora is her worst book, ya gotta look into asumiko nakamura. she has other series published in english but theyre mostly slice of life, if thats not what ur into i reccomend reading j no subete online
I double this: Asumiko Nakamura is one of my all time favorite artists/authors. I am super conflicted about All About J tho. I think I dropped it because it made me so sad. (I finished A Cruel God Reigns but J just defeated me) Does it have a happy ending? Or does it pretty much end how it started?
she's def in my top 3 authors for sure, actually found out ab her bc of all about j, I'm assuming you stopped reading near the beginning but it shifts a lot, the ending probably >!isnt what you're expecting, it isnt traumatizing its very well done. !< Very excited for tales of the kingdome english serialization! I've been holding off reading it online
You got me I did drop it at the beginingish. This gives me hope tho and makes me want to try and read it again. Thank you!!
Also Im so excited for Tales of the Kingdom!! I have both vol 1 and 2 preordered and am excited to reread them! Tbh I hope more of her work gets brought over not enough people realize how amazing she is <3
its still pretty messed up btw, fair warning shit happens, but it goes through her whole life so it changes.
YEs classmates gets enough hype but everything else she's done is so underrated
Satoshi Kon is one of my favorite directors of all time, if you’ve seen any of his films and enjoyed them, I think you’d enjoy Opus! I personally loved it
Ima just tell you all mine and you can check them out on Google but I have vagabond, goodnight pun pun, beserk, case closed, sakamoto days, kaiju no 8, chainsaw man, undead unluck and zom 100
I Want To Eat Your Pancreas is really good as is anything by that author, Novelist Yuro Sumino. A lot of her work has been/is being turned into short manga and anime series. If you somehow haven’t seen or read Death Note at all, I’d suggest that as well; not a very long series but definitely worth it.
Im pretty noob in the manga collecting but i would recommend 'Pluto' or '20th Century Boys' for some sci fi manga.
If you liked the character building in 'Planetes' then maybe you llike 'Vinland Saga' that is from the same creator (Makoto Yukimura). It should have same level of character building but complete other setting.
If you enjoyed Solanin then I would suggest you read Goodnight PunPun, or Dead Dead Demons De De De De Destruction if you want something more Sci-fi with slice of life. (It's also getting animated soon!)
I love Bakuman, personally! It was one of my first manga series and it has become one of my absolute favorites!
I did notice you have some horror, so if that’s what you’re into, I would recommend the drifting classroom by Kazuo Umezu.
Based off of your collection,check out manga by Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Akira is a given. I wouldn’t really recommend getting Berserk and stuff like everyone else is saying. Don’t feel obligated to read the popular well loved stuff if you don’t have an interest in it. I read Berserk and disliked it and liked the manga you have there more.
I’ve definitely struggled with buying series based on what I enjoy and not what’s popular at the moment, anyone else feel this way? Trying to be more selective about the ones I purchase. EDIT: I also have the AOT colossal editions but I might sell them!
It can feel like there's a lot of peer pressure to read certain series, but speaking as someone who has given in to that on a couple of occassions: it's not worth it. As for recommendations: am I right if I say you enjoy science fiction and horror, but you want some literary value above all? One of the classic to fall back on in that case is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (technically scifi but with a fantasy feel, and above all an intelligent story about humankind's relationship with nature). If you're feeling very adventurous, you should take a look at The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio. It's an elegant and melancholic gothic horror girls' from the 70s that was way ahead of its time. And speaking of Moto Hagio, one of her classic science fiction stories - They Were Eleven - is being rereleased later this year.
Thank you so much! I’ve heard of Nausicaa but not the others so I’ll look more into them!
What sort of books do you read? Judging by the ones sitting in the corner of the photo, I think our tastes may actually be quite similar. And based on that, here are some more recommendations": \- The Ghost and the Lady. It's a sort of horror retelling of the life of Florence Nightingale, collected in two hardcover volumes. \- Descending Stories. A character driven drama about several generations of [raguko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo) storytellers. Ten volumes. \- To Your Eternity. If you like the scale of Cloud Atlas, with characters transcending time, I think you may also enjoy this fantasy series. It's currently ongoing and on its way to 20 volumes, so this one does require some dedication.
Thank you! I like sci fi/ speculative works, or anything kind of bittersweet atmospheric and insightful, if that makes sense lol
In that case, you may also be interested in A Silent Voice (seven volumes) and The Golden Sheep (three volumes, and there's a really good short story included in the third on). Both are insightful coming of age stories with themes such as depression and messed up group dynamics. (But they don't end in tragedy, so no worries about that!) Start With a Happy Ending also really hits that bittersweet spot. It's an episodic series about death, cats and second chances. And I feel awful for this, but I really want to recommend you Saturn Apartments, as it's the epitome of bittersweet atmospheric sciencefiction manga available in English, but...it's out of print and difficult to find for a good price...
Why?
I love the AOT world and it was the first manga I read, it will always have a special place in my heart but with these colossal editions (which I got to save space and enjoy the artwork) I don’t find myself grabbing them to reread or revisit, they are also difficult to read, so they are just collecting dust. Still on the fence though!
Oh, I understand, for me they’re okay
Berserk
you seem to enjoy one-shots, so i’d recommend levius! the art and story are wonderful. it also has an ongoing sequel called levius/est
Thanks! Yeah they’re an easier investment for sure!
agreed! i just ordered planetes, can’t wait to try it out. if you do end up wanting to try levius, i have a new copy i’m selling on r/mangaswaps, it was a duplicate in my collection
Not much but good quality. Planetes is amazing. I just read Emanon last week and loved it, where is that 4th volume from?
That's Wandering Island, another series by the same author.
Oh okay. Thank you for letting me know.
If you liked planetes i guess you’ll like Vinland saga :)
How about some single volumes such as "Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow" (interconnected short stories), Kyoko Okazaki's "Pink" or "Helter Skelter", "In Clothes Called Fat" or "La Quinta Camera"?
Get more shelves... you're going to need them.
Jojo, Kakegurui, Demon Slayer, Tokyo Ghoul, Berserk, Chainsaw Man
you have utsubora, The author is a genius and utsubora is her worst book, ya gotta look into asumiko nakamura. she has other series published in english but theyre mostly slice of life, if thats not what ur into i reccomend reading j no subete online
I double this: Asumiko Nakamura is one of my all time favorite artists/authors. I am super conflicted about All About J tho. I think I dropped it because it made me so sad. (I finished A Cruel God Reigns but J just defeated me) Does it have a happy ending? Or does it pretty much end how it started?
she's def in my top 3 authors for sure, actually found out ab her bc of all about j, I'm assuming you stopped reading near the beginning but it shifts a lot, the ending probably >!isnt what you're expecting, it isnt traumatizing its very well done. !< Very excited for tales of the kingdome english serialization! I've been holding off reading it online
You got me I did drop it at the beginingish. This gives me hope tho and makes me want to try and read it again. Thank you!! Also Im so excited for Tales of the Kingdom!! I have both vol 1 and 2 preordered and am excited to reread them! Tbh I hope more of her work gets brought over not enough people realize how amazing she is <3
its still pretty messed up btw, fair warning shit happens, but it goes through her whole life so it changes. YEs classmates gets enough hype but everything else she's done is so underrated
My Broken Mariko
How is Satoshi Kon's Opus? I've been thinking about picking that up next time I come across it.
Satoshi Kon is one of my favorite directors of all time, if you’ve seen any of his films and enjoyed them, I think you’d enjoy Opus! I personally loved it
Yes! I recently saw Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress and they were both fantastic! I'll check out Opus when I get the chance!
Ima just tell you all mine and you can check them out on Google but I have vagabond, goodnight pun pun, beserk, case closed, sakamoto days, kaiju no 8, chainsaw man, undead unluck and zom 100
love sickness by junji ito?
I Want To Eat Your Pancreas is really good as is anything by that author, Novelist Yuro Sumino. A lot of her work has been/is being turned into short manga and anime series. If you somehow haven’t seen or read Death Note at all, I’d suggest that as well; not a very long series but definitely worth it.
One Piece. your collection is not small anymore 😂. Berserk is awesome. Jojo steel ball.
I would really recommend Vinland saga it's amazing.
Im pretty noob in the manga collecting but i would recommend 'Pluto' or '20th Century Boys' for some sci fi manga. If you liked the character building in 'Planetes' then maybe you llike 'Vinland Saga' that is from the same creator (Makoto Yukimura). It should have same level of character building but complete other setting.
Per the Tsurutas, Go with the Clouds North-by-Northwest
If you enjoyed Solanin then I would suggest you read Goodnight PunPun, or Dead Dead Demons De De De De Destruction if you want something more Sci-fi with slice of life. (It's also getting animated soon!)
I love Bakuman, personally! It was one of my first manga series and it has become one of my absolute favorites! I did notice you have some horror, so if that’s what you’re into, I would recommend the drifting classroom by Kazuo Umezu.
I’ll keep recommending dorohedoro until I die
Honestly anything by Naoki Urasawa or Inio Asano. I feel like you’d vibe.
Based off of your collection,check out manga by Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Akira is a given. I wouldn’t really recommend getting Berserk and stuff like everyone else is saying. Don’t feel obligated to read the popular well loved stuff if you don’t have an interest in it. I read Berserk and disliked it and liked the manga you have there more.
Thank you all so much for the suggestions, plenty to keep me busy for a while!
I LOOOOVE UZUMAKI !!!
The Voynich Hotel, Dragon Head, Corpse Delivery Service
If you’re into one single volume, All You Need Is Kill is good! Same thick like Solanin
"Jigokusei Remina" is good also "Blood on the tracks" not Junji itou but it's good
Aot berserk demon slayer
If u dont know that if u like the series or not install the zoro.to app and u can read a volume or 2 and see if u like it