(not all titles will be available in english)
Three titles by Inoue Takehiko:
SLAM DUNK is now serialized in Raijin comics I think, and has a good 32 volume run that's funny, engaging, and watching the artwork develop along the way is sheer joy. The final volume of workless picture-sequence storytelling remains one of the best manga I have ever read. Note: acceptance of 6-foot Japanese powerhouses is a prerequisite.
VAGABOND is the new ongoing manga right now, that chronicles the life of Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's most celebrated samurai(I think)who will be remembered as the one who invented the technique of fighting with two swords. On a completely different wavelength from Salm Dunk, Vagabond has a more sombre take to it, though spots strong characterization and light-hearted moments all the same. Strongly recommended.
REAL is another ongoing, albeit slow manga that's about three Japanese teenageers and how their life comes together through(wheelchair) wheelchair basketball. Volume three has only been released in Japan a week ago, so much of the story remains undeveloped. From what I've read it sports a funny Slam Dunk, pardon the pun, Real-life tone to it.
find more at www.itplanning.co.jp
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL’s probably been beaten to death on some thread somewhere, but still strongly recommended. Central at the story is the need for revenge and the morality attached to it(in feudal Japan, mind you), and while it lacks Vagabond’s storng characterization, it makes up for it with blood-bathing action. In heaps.
Now this has probably been mentioned, but the Batman two-volume story by Japanese Silent Mobius artist Kia Asamiya(BATMAN: CHILD OF DREAMS), while interesting in the visual sense, didn’t leave as strong an impression. But you might be interested in you’re a Batman fan.
Sanctuary and Crying Freeman I’ve actually not read, but intend to in the near future, anyone who’s seen it probably can tell you that the art’s pretty amazing, though I’m none to sure about the storyline.
CITY HUNTER by Hojo Tsukasa I grew up with, and it was pure fun during those (pubertal) years. The storyline gets very strong towards the end, and while a lot of the fashion trends in the comic may seem a bit early 90’s, it’s still very funny. Sequel to CITY HUNTER is ANGEL HEART, which introduces new cast members and a few of the old. I’ve been following this for a while, but dropped it recently for no particular reason other than the fact that I think I’ve probably outgrown that genre.
Other titles by Hojo Tsukasa is the short mini called RASH!!, and the 16 volume FAMILY COMPO about a teenager who moves in with his aunt, into a family that’s not really what it seems. In the series, issues of gender and family and heart are explored. Really funny stuff there.
Some of the best Hojo Tsukasa stories that I’ve read, however, have been his short story compilations(AMERICAN DREAN, MELODY OF JENNY, http://www.ex.org/5.2/33-manga_hojo.html , etc) and minis(best mini is the one about the girl connected to flowers and plants that everybody should learn Japanese or Mandarin to read, if it’s not available in English – I read it in Madarin, so have no idea what it’s called in English. If you go to http://www.hojo-tsukasa.com/portfolio/portfolio.html, it’s the one done in 93’).
DETECTIVE CONAN I actually like quite a bit, and read it whenever I get the chance. It’s a detective story by Gosho Aoyama, about an amazing teenage detective that gets shrunk down to a 9 year old’s body. A large chunk of the stody he’s trying to figure our who’s behind the whole thing, while solving other crimes along the way.
CAT, that stands for Confidential Assasination Troop, is a comic by a Taiwanese artist, Fung Jian Peng, that I picked up about a week ago. I guess that it doesn’t really qualify as manga in the purest sense, but with artwork that looks like Blade of the Immortal and a futuristic storyline with enhanced human killing machines, illustrated in pseudo Battle Angel Alita sequence, it deserves a mention. I’ve only seen volume 1 though, so.
Can’t find anything on it on the web, except for this fan page http://acidic_kink.pitas.com/ that has a good shot of the front cover of vol 1.
Sorry that I can’t give any pointers about finding all of this stuff. I think the stuff mentioned doesn’t really reflect the usual Bubblegum Crisis and other manga that a lot of people read, I’ve never touched the stuff for one reason or another, but if you’ve never read of them – it should be worth your time. There are a couple of others that I just don’t know the proper names to, so |
