Manga Recommendations

If you’re anything like me trying to find new manga to read is like playing Russian roulette with a nine lived cat. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s decent and even more that stick to the confines of their genre without ever trying to be original. Shoujo manga is ok; Shounen manga is ok. I’ve dabbled in hundreds of manga over the last three years and would like to throw out a few names that I particularly enjoyed. I feel like reading a chapter of manga is a pretty small commitment compared to a half hour episode of anime, so I’m always looking cheap acomplia for good new stuff (if you have any recommendations of your own I would love to hear about them). I’ve already recommended a couple in previous posts but today we’ll start with:

Franken Fran

This series has been mentioned in a few places, but I don’t think I’ve ever made a formal recommendation. Franken Fran is just bizarre. The characters are quirky and the plot of each individual chapter plays off both the grotesque and arabesque aspects of horror. This series is probably closest to my actual “taste” for literature. It has more cerebral messages and requires you to think, and be disgusted by the content. In one of my favorite chapters a little girls dog dies only to have that dogs brain transferred into the body of a fat, old (disgusting) man (only after the little girl begs Fran to save the dog of course). What follows is perhaps the most typical of typical dog stories: It’s like watching Lassie, Air Bud, or any other dog movie you’ve watched. The only difference being instead of cute dog it’s a fat old (disgusting) man. It was at that moment I realized the package mattered. It was not okay for that dog story to take place in that body even though the content was exactly the same. Franken Fran quite literally forced me to evaluate something I normally take for granted and I love that about the series.

[What’s perhaps more hilarious is a later short chapter in which Fran and Veronica go to see the movie adaptation of the same story where instead of a fat old (disgusting) man, it’s a hot young guy. It’s crazy]

That said Franken Fran doesn’t really have any of your other typical draws. I think the draw it does have is unique, but I’m not necessarily connected with the characters (though I do like them). This series might make you laugh, it will definitely disgust you, it won’t make you cry, but you’ll probably be glad you read it. Anyways that’s my plug for Franken Fran: I think it’s great; you might agree.

This guy had some really interesting things to say about the series.

Medaka Box

I’m hesitant to recommend this series for a number of reasons. I definitely enjoyed it, but I have no lasting feelings for the series like I did for say Negima, One Piece, or Neuro. If you like the scientific mumbo jumbo of Index, Railgun, or any other super power series you’ll probably like the scientific mumbo jumbo here. I feel like the author presented original ideas and the characters are certainly likeable. All in all it cannibalizes a lot of things I liked about other series and presents them in the moral quandary of Medaka.

Unfortunately for Medaka box I’ve seen the gradual progression of tougher and tougher enemies a little too often. That’s the shounen aspect that almost killed it as something I would recommend. However, it does do some things with the characters that are pretty darn great. In the recent chapters we’ve been presented with a new main enigmatic bad guy who has the power of healing but uses it in completely twisted ways. His personality is also all over the place and I can’t help but admit it’s really interesting. Our main hero Zenkichi is a slightly abnormal hard working guy in a sea of abnormal human beings. Medaka is the most abnormal of them all.

It’s hard to say what makes this series so enjoyable, but I have to admit I did enjoy it. If you have the time you should give it a try. You’ll probably think of other anime/manga while you’re reading it but hopefully that feeling won’t last long.

One Piece

ampicillin online style=”border: 0px initial initial;” src=”http://imgboot.com/images/chaoticdust/onepiece2.jpg” order cheap pills border=”0″ alt=”Image hosting by IMGBoot.com” width=”595″ height=”436″ />

What can I say… Eiichiro Oda is a genius. I’ve heard Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece called the big three, and while I have read and liked the other two I just don’t think they can really stand up to One Piece. I’ve just never seen someone who is such a master of their craft like Oda is. I have seen the anime, but the pacing kind of throws off how great this series really is. After almost 500 chapters (with the next one) you really feel like you know all of the characters and the world is so gigantic (both in what we know and what we don’t) I actually feel the backdrop of the story in which our heroes are slugging their way through. As much as the other two try to imitate I always feel like their worlds aren’t all that big and more often than not they try to have everyone out there at once. The thing I love about One Piece is even during the gigantic war that happened recently it was obvious that there was so much more out there. It really makes the characters larger than life and the contributions of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates more memorable. One Piece also never throws away a character and that’s something admirable in my personal opinion. Death is so final and you waste a lot of that character development. One Piece’s world is so rich partially because there are so many characters we know that are simply further behind on their journey. Every once in a while they’ll show us the entire scope by going back over some of those important characters reaction and it brings back the entirety of the story. One Piece is an epic and I’m sure people who have suffered through the Lord of the Rings know what I mean by epic.

When you get away from how large the world is I also find that Oda is a master of small worlds. Character motivations might be simple (and often humorous) but he never stops creating unique and beautiful environments. Every island visited has its own color, feel, and form of life. I almost feel like I’m on an adventure when reading order online tabs it. I don’t think I’m the typical fan of anime or manga, but One Piece ends up being so much more than any of that. Before they reach the grand line it’s a little rocky, but I think anyone who has stayed away from this series on principal alone should attempt the journey. I’ve never regretted it for a second and I don’t think zithromax without prescription you will either.

Conclusion

There are a lot of good manga out there and many of the ones I’ve recommended might have been ones you’ve already heard about, but then again maybe not. This may sound a little selfish, but I’m also looking for interesting stuff to read so please: If you’re sitting on a manga you’ve really enjoyed reading (even if you don’t know why) drop me a comment and recommend it. I want to read it too!!

Happy Page Turning!