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The NZA

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Been readin a bit of Manga lately (Japanese comics), noticed a few interesting things: the art is obviously more fast-paced & anime-ish, theyre a lot less afraid of violence & sex, and their books are larger & cheaper on the whole (over there anyway; after we import em they can cost a bit).  

I recall Warren Ellis, Scott Mcloud & others stressing some important points about their graphical style: they taught us to use a "blur" effect insted of motion lines to illustrate moving objects, its becoming our standard these days.  In addition, Ellis points out that their books aren't envoleped by the superhero genre: there's plenty of drama, comedy, hentai (porn), etc.  So i've taken up readin a few of the more famous ones, here's what i think so far:

-Akira: Perhaps the most famous....Otomo's art is no less detailed here than in the anime, believe it or not.  This guy's really good, there's a reason i've heard so much of him & seen him ripped off as much, as well.  Much longer than the anime so far & has better characterization; ill say more on the plot when I finish it.  Living up to the hype so far, for me anyway.

(KOS - didnt your brother Jont mention another book by Otomo, think it was Domo or something?)

-Lone Wolf & Cub: I plan on dedication an entire thread to this one when i've read more.  Damn...no wonder KOS loves it so, this shit's great.  Visuals are stunning, translation is excellent, and the plot seems really interestin thus far, but im only on the 1st book of 30-somethin so more on that later.

-Blade of the Immortal: Another great Samurai book, also action-packed.  I've got 5 trades of it so far, and again I'm not done (argh so much to read must get offa board), but the story's interestin.  Also put out by Dark Horse comics, these guys are great.  

 

Anyway, short & sweet, with few plot details i know, but ill post more on em as i get further into these books; again, theyre huge.  

Feel free to post here on recommended manga series.  :wasabi:

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sidenote: Junker, other interested locals - I have the first 5 books of Lone Wolf & Cub here, as well as 5 of the 7 known Blade of the Immortal trades.  The Akira stuff is Alex's, ive only got the first 3 of 6 until i finish em but he should be bringing the others on by soon, along with some GTO.

KOS, MLB, etc - Any other recommendations?

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  • 2 weeks later...

*cricket, cricket* Very well! I shall continue.

GTO's a funny anime, good manga too tho much longer.  I shall soon start Bastard, more on that after ive read it.

Halfway through Akira now...again, as it goes on, you can see more & more why it influenced as much as it did; great storytelling & pace (especially with the action), extremely detailed art.  Might havta check out Domo (?) On KOS' brother Jont's recommendation, also by Otomo.

Lone Wolf & Cub books 2 & 3 were incredible...this thing starts as a clever hack-and-slash and turns into this scenic, elaborate, extremely well-told samurai tale, cant believe this thing's over 20 years old.  28 volumes or so in total, but i believe i'll see it through.

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Well just to get this thread started again I am just going to list all the manga I enjoy reading or enjoyed in the past.

As already Mentioned

Lone Wolf and Cub, GTO, Akira, Bastard! are all good series.

Some of my other favorites:

Berserk, Battle Angel Alita including Last Order, Ghost in the Shell 1, 1.5 and 2 plus the new Stand Alone Complex series. Record of Lodoss War, Blame! Biomega, Abara, Battle Royal, Gantz (I really love Gantz), Golden Boy, Highschool of the Dead, Inuyasha, Hellsing, Monster, Path of the Assassin, Rurouni Kenshin, Tenjou Tenge, Vagabond, and Yu Yu Hakusho.

 

Even if you have seen the anime for some of these and didn't like it, in almost every case I have come across, the manga is ALWAYS better than the Anime. I have found anime has a lot of filler crap in it to save money and artificially extend the length of the episode. Not that all anime does this or is bad, but if I had a choice between watching an anime or reading the manga, I would probably always choose to read the manga.

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Gantz is one of the few manga that is just as good in anime (or live action) form. It is a damn good series. Berserk would be the only manga that I think is better than Gantz.

 

As an aside, anyone else think Berserk is really just a love story wrapped in a whole lot of death and gore? He is doing everything for Casca, killing all these things, traveling to different places, everything is for Casca and his love for her. I didn't think it would be so romantically inclined but it is.

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