Five Manga Recommendations for Comic Readers
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.พ. 2025
- Last week I made a video that discussed why manga readers often have a difficult time trying to read western comics. This week I explore the same topic from the opposite end of the spectrum to answer the question of why western comic readers may find it difficult to start reading manga, and of course I recommend five manga that I absolutely love that I hope will be intriguing to comic readers who haven't yet ventured into the wild world of manga! (or maybe some of you manga readers will be introduced to a new series or two as well!)
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- Inuyashiki
- Pluto
- Battle Angel Alita
- Uzamaki
- Full Metal Alchemist
YESS PLUTO IS AWESOME!
Thank you for list
To: TOC / You nailed it! At 7:03 - I’m that guy currently trying to navigate those waters of decades of “familiarity” with American comics, into what I thought was a B&W wasteland of Eastern comics (manga). Which after reading all 18-paperback Volumes of “Monster” by Naoki Urusawa, My EYES OPENED, as if it were a Spiritual REVELATION...to the potential of Manga.
Instead of a wasteland, I felt I’d peered through a dimensional portal into a comics storytelling PARADISE, of multiple types of genres...that had been in existence for many years - which I just barely discovered the entrance to, by way of Naoki Urusawa’s MONSTER. WoW!
Amazing stuff...!!
Those 18 individual scripts were sooo good, better than 3-yrs worth of monthly issues of ‘mainstream’ American comics.
(Ps) YES! Please!! More Recommendation Videos, for Comic Readers crossing through the Dimensional portal into the Universe(s) of Manga!! / Suggestions: Manga Type: Mysteries, SciFi, Police Procedural/Crime. Well written Action/Dramas.
Thank you.
Unique recommendation list, Riley! I finished the Yu Yu Hakusho anime a few months ago, and just recently pulled the trigger on the manga since a lot of volumes are OOP/going OOP. I've ordered all but Vol 5 (which I can hopefully find soon for a decent enough price). As for the manga recommendations, those Full Metal Alchemist hardcovers have definitely caught my eye, those and Battle Angel Alita. So whatever I choose next will likely be one of those. Since I'm early into manga collecting, I'll likely be sticking with completed series to keep my collectors' bug under control lol.
Pluto volumes have some nice shelf appeal with the spines.
As a primarily manga reader who is recently collecting western comics, I only had one deterrent. Western comics can have multiple writers and with that can run into inconsistencies in the character actions/development or plot as opposed to manga where it’s one writer all the way through the narrative. I decided to stop being a stickler and jump into what I’ve been missing 😅
That's why every different writer is in control of his or her own run, where although it is still tied to a greater story, you get a complete tale with it's own character development and actions within that one. So basically if you get in to a certain run, you can basically just forget about previous actions or development.
I love Battle Angel Alita. It was a favorite comic of mine back when I was a teen. I got some of the deluxe editions recently and was enthralled all over again. I need to finish collecting them. I'm also a fan of Uzumaki - some of the most freakish horror art I've ever seen in that series. Thanks for all the other recs, I plan to check them out some time.
I'm always a bit nonplussed by comic readers who won't touch manga. Yeah there's a lot of it, but in the end, getting into it isn't so different from getting into western comics: all you have to do is start somewhere.
A big problem for a lot of people is also resources. Not having enough money, space, or time can hold them back wanting to start something new. You can’t read everything. And I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that neither you or Riley read a lot of European comics. Probably for the same reason.
@@Emma-R Well, I certainly can't deny the problem of resources. I don't fault anyone for not trying something new because of limitations of time, space and money. I'm not questioning anyone who doesn't read manga, just the people who will never touch a single manga book but are happy to accumulate piles of western comics with resources they definitely have. They could be missing out and should consider putting a modicum of those resources into trying something new. They could be surprised by what they find.
You're right that I haven't read many European comics recently (though not never, to be sure), but European comics are on my radar. I know they're out there and I'm interested. I don't categorically overlook them.
Great video! Would love to see your recommendations for Shonen stories similar to dragon ball and such.
Even as a non-Manga reader, I actually really liked the first volume of Tokyo Ghoul. I'd say if you like stuff like Swamp Thing or that type of material, the monster and personal drama aspects are appealing in that series.
I bought shiver today 🔥
Uzumaki was adapted into the film "Spiral" in 2000. Haven't seen it myself. Fairly new to manga myself. The first one I read was The Enigma of Amigara Fault.
The movie isn't great at all.
Coming from comics I find manga had better readability and flow from page to page. Also reading right to left also adds an interesting twist to me.
all of these sounds amazing
Haha love the new intro!
As a comic reader who tries to get into manga I would say my biggest problem/concern is that manga competes against itself in other media. Personally if it is manga vs light novel I preffer manga but I think in most cases the manga has a high chance of being cancelled/unfinished (like Highschool DxD) so I will only buy the manga when the series is completed. When its manga vs anime I will almost always go for anime unless the story has many differences (like I hear Akame ga kill) or people say its a bad adaptation of the manga (like I hear the first anime of Full Metal Alchemist was) but this implies I have to do some research and there are good and explained reviews/comparissons to make my decision. Right now I will only go to manga in 3 cases: when there are no other adaptations (like Uzumaki which I havnt had the chance to buy), when the source is novels I will only buy manga if the series has been completed (like Spice & wolf) or when the source is manga but the anime was cancelled (like Rurouni Kenshin or Saint Seiya lost canvas).
Also I think being black and white only is a big drawback; as a weekly or monthly release sure there is no problem to skip the colors but by the time it is collected they surely could add some color and I bet that would boost the sales
You have great points. I agree with you on the “anime is cancelled but manga continues” part. It was extremely satisfying to watch Rurouni Kenshin as a teenager and then read the final arc as an adult!
frank miller is a big fan of wolf and cub. how many mangaka is a big fan of any comic books?
can you please do a kaiju no.8 review for everyone? please.
Can’t stop looking at the intro 10/10
10/10 comment
Excellent half hour
So I’m only about nine minutes in and I’m not sure if you’ve touched on this but I feel that the number of manga volumes in a series can be a bit daunting. I doubt I will ever buy many Shōnen jump series. I like the option American comics give you to hop on and off comic series. I will jump on and off based on hype or writer. Manga on the other hand, I pretty much complete a series unless I hate it. Another issue I have which is less prevalent with American comics is the anxiety buying that occurs due to frequent series going OOP. I just got into manga and I’m actually really loving it but I just have to check myself from buying too much.
superninjapirate19 I don’t mention the length aspect, but I did make sure to recommend titles that are all completed, and also are generally shorter. The longest title on my list is available in 9 3/1 Omnibus editions making it about the length of others on this list, and about as accessible price wise. I love One Piece and have been reading it for almost 20 years, but it wouldn’t appear on a recommendations list like this one purely based on the fact that there are 90+ volumes in English, and it is still ongoing.
The Omnibus Collector yeah, I thought your recommendations were all great ways to get into manga. I was just sort of vibing off your comparison in the beginning lol. Didn’t want it to come across as criticism of the video. Just the rants of a collector over here haha
No worries! Didn’t take it as criticism just wanted to assure you that I definitely took that into consideration, haha
Yes, more recommendations please
definitely will check them out 👍
Gantz has an omnibus 1-6 on Amazon also Giggant is a very good manga with some big tatas
GREAT VID
What shelves do you use? Thanks!
Billy shelves from ikea!
I recommend taiyo matsumoto, daisuke igarashi and jiro taniguchi mangas to comic fans
Thanks for recomendation.
Recommendation list starts at 10:20.
Good video but funny how you say Naruto, Bleach, and OP and then say that FMA is longer. Great video either way
I don’t mention any of those as recommendations here, and I mention FMA as being longer when compared to the other four recommendations on this list. I originally intended on only recommending series that are around 10 volumes, but I felt that FMA was a title that could be a really great first read for many people who have never read manga before since it’s a great mix of many different genres, and can act as a decent backdoor to reading more shonen titles (like the big three).
The Omnibus Collector You didn’t mention them as recommendations but you did mention them. But yeah I see, makes sense. I agree FMA is a phenomenal start
The original FMA anime is better than FMA Brotherhood though.
That’s a very unpopular opinion
@@jonazWC Not as unpopular as you think.
10:25 your welcome
Manga are comics
Liam Schulz I do state this in the video, but if there were no differences between the two at all there would be no hesitance for people who enjoy one to check out the other. As someone who has been reading both manga and comics for the great majority of their lives it’s easy to look at them both as one in the same, but there are a lot of readers of either manga or of western (or euro) comics who don’t have that same privilege, and to them there are differences to overcome if they wish to try to read that which isn’t already familiar to them.
Stating that manga are comics is absolutely true, but it dismisses any reasons why some comic readers find themselves having hard times getting into manga.