I need new manga to read.

[Queen Michael]

I just finished the latest Billy Bat book, so now I need some new seinen to read. What I need is something story-driven, that's cleverly written[footnote]That is, none of the usual obvious padding and a story that's made up as they go along[/footnote] and not an action series.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

*shrug*

I follow Black Butler but it is full of extra filler arcs so whatevs. I'm in the market to read a series like you've described so I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[PapaGreg096]

You should check out Hinomaru Zumou, a sumo manga where you learn about sumo and watching badass sumo fights

 

[Little Woodsman]

I'm going to guess that you've already read Fruits Basket.

Hmmm, have you tried Red River?

And from what you say in your OP, I'm guessing you don't like/want anything that's totally episodic.

 

[Hartland]

Manga is amazing in how it can cater to almost any interest depending on what you want to read. More details about what you'd want to read would help in finding something more specific. Billy Bat Psychological drama by Naoki Urasawa. Can I assume you've read his other works? Me myself, have only read Monster and 20th Century Boys (oh, and Pluto) and can recommend them if they are unfamiliar.

Not knowing exactly what you are looking for (more then a good story) I'll just recommend a few random things I've read:
Bokurano - Scifi psychological tragedy
Akumetsu - Action mostly
Angel Densetsu - Comedy
Molester Man - Slice of life drama/comedy
Zetman - Dark Action
Koe no Katachi - A bully's redemption
Vagabond / Vinland Saga - Warrior journey
Dorohedoro - weird action

Can pull a few more out of my hat if required but I think this will have to do for the moment.

 

[madwarper]

Two good short manga are Heads and Ketchup Ninja.

As for ongoing manga, there's Silver Spoon.
And, if you don't mind a manhwa, I really like Girls of the Wilds.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Ever tried The Gamer? Seems like a pretty decent read from what I've read so far

 

[Ikaruga33]

You're looking for seinen?
Have you ever read anything by Nobuyuki Fukomoto?
He's the guy who did Kaiji, which I would highly reccomend if you haven't already read it.
It's about extreme life or death gambling. There's hardly any action, and it mostly focuses on game theory.
I'd also reccomend Strongest Man Kurosawa. It's about a construction man who feels he has wasted his life, and wants to change things. It's very character driven. It has a fair bit of action, but it's all grounded in reality.

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

it depends on what kind of manga you like.. Iv'e never heard of Senin manga before but for comedy manga that's not too perverted I recommend Hyakko.Hyakko is funny, but also touching at times,strange at times but well written. For more perverted comedy manga, go with Haganai (which has 2 seasons of anime as well) which has a bit of nudity( including underaged females characters being naked a few times) and some general pervertedness, but it's got an interesting story that stands beyond the fanservice

 

[Fox12]

I just finished the latest Billy Bat book, so now I need some new seinen to read. What I need is something story-driven, that's cleverly written[footnote]That is, none of the usual obvious padding and a story that's made up as they go along[/footnote] and not an action series.

Well, it depends on how dark your willing to go.

Narutaru is a excellent manga, one of the finest I've ever read. It starts of as a kind of light hearted mon series and... becomes rather dark rather fast. I had a few issues with the plot, but it had, hands down, some of the best character development and character relationships I've seen in any manga, period. It also did a good job of balancing the humor and drama. The second half really took off, and I loved the finale. This is a series that really flew under the radar, which is too bad, given its immense quality. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Bakurano Ours. It's by the same guy, though I'd argue it's not as dramatic as Narutaru. A group of kids have to pilot a robot to defend the earth, but the catch is that the pilot dies after using it. It's a rather sober series, and the character development is, again, excellent. Unfortunately, because there are so many characters, and because there are so many casualties, you don't get to spend as much time with them as you do in Narutaru. You have to view the series as a metaphor for terminal illness to really appreciate it. It's not really about the plot. It's about how completely different people deal with death in completely different ways. This is the story that loosely inspired Puella Magica, if that tells you anything. Certainly not for everyone, but it is good.

Berserk gets a mandatory recommendation, as I don't recall whether you've read it yet. You probably have, but all the same, this is probably the best fantasy series I've ever read.

I will note that the above stories are all INCREDIBLY dark, and not for everyone. Unfortunately I'm not well versed in Manga. Vinland Saga reads like a poor mans Berserk. It's not nearly as dark, and it's a decent action series. Otherwise there's Akira, which is much better then the film.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Christ that's gonna be hard, seeing as you've read over 3.5k manga books. Here was I thinking you'd basically be a repository of infinite manga knowledge. And here you are asking for our advice. There goes my image of a Manga God. I feel almost betrayed...

*ahem* Anyway, I'd point at Monster, but you've probably already read that. Maybe Ikigami? Long story short, it's about people who get to hear they got only 24 hours to live and subsequently how they fill in those final hours. Really quite interesting.

I also quite like the Planetes anime, which is a hard sci-fi story about orbital waste disposal. Yes it sounds quite benign, but it's a cool enough character piece in a cool near-future sci-fi world. But I don't know if the manga is worse or better than the anime, might be worth a look.

There's also another manga that made me think of Monster as it also features a doctor. The main character tries to fight corruption and nepotism and all that (I think) in the medical system. But I forgot the title.

Edit:
That last manga was Say Hello To Black Jack by the way, might be interesting.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Yeah, at this point the problem isn't finding something you like, it's finding something you haven't already read.

 

[sanquin]

Try some (korean?) web comics. They're basically like manga, just in full colour. I'm currently following "The God of Highschool", "The Gamer", and "Tower of God". All three are action/adventure you could say. I'd give them a try.

 

[Galletea]

I'd also suggest Berserk, if you haven't read that yet. It is one of the best out there in terms of character development and sheer awesomeness. I also rather like Blade of the Immortal, but after about 15 books it gets a bit filler-ish.
That's it really, my collection is mostly small numbers of stuff I got bored of. I rather liked Battle Royale, though maybe that isn't something I should admit to...

 

[Queen Michael]

Christ that's gonna be hard, seeing as you've read over 3.5k manga books. Here was I thinking you'd basically be a repository of infinite manga knowledge. And here you are asking for our advice. There goes my image of a Manga God. I feel almost betrayed...

To repair your image of my divinity at least a bit, I should mention that I've read 51,51% of the manga series mentioned here, including every single one you mentioned except for Say Hello to Black Jack. I'm not done with the original Black Jack yet, see.

I'm going to guess that you've already read Fruits Basket.

Hmmm, have you tried Red River?

Yes, and yes, but thanks anyway!

Well, it depends on how dark your willing to go.

Dark enough to have read all the series you're recommending; thanks, though!

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

Have you read Until Death Do Us Part?
Really good Seinen series.
Here's the description:

The future is a great unknown. Throughout history, those who have been graced with the power to read it have been sought by many. In this day and age, the term "prophet" is outdated. "Precog," as in precognition, is the modern term.

Yet when the powers of precognition is graced upon a young girl named Tohyama Haruka, she is sought after by a powerful organization. Utilizing her powers, Haruka makes contact with Hijikata Mamoru, a blind swordsman. When cornered by her captors, Haruka proposes an outrageous condition to Mamoru. Haruka wants Mamoru to protect her until death do them apart.

EDIT:
Have you read Ichi The Killer?
It's a rather grotesque and dark seinen series.
It's gone under the radar of a lot of people.

 

[Queen Michael]

Have you read Until Death Do Us Part?
Really good Seinen series.
Here's the description:

The future is a great unknown. Throughout history, those who have been graced with the power to read it have been sought by many. In this day and age, the term "prophet" is outdated. "Precog," as in precognition, is the modern term.

Yet when the powers of precognition is graced upon a young girl named Tohyama Haruka, she is sought after by a powerful organization. Utilizing her powers, Haruka makes contact with Hijikata Mamoru, a blind swordsman. When cornered by her captors, Haruka proposes an outrageous condition to Mamoru. Haruka wants Mamoru to protect her until death do them apart.

EDIT:
Have you read Ichi The Killer?
It's a rather grotesque and dark seinen series.
It's gone under the radar of a lot of people.

I've read the first eight volumes (published in four omnibus editions in the US) of Until Death Do Us Part. Quality stuff, that. I haven't read Ichi the Killer, though.

 

[Redryhno]

My personal favorite at the moment is Zetman, there's only one group translating it though, which is a shame, since they're doing about six different series and Zetman gets about 10 chapters once every 3 months. Though you might get turned off by it since Katsura tends to like making a substantial portion of his villains sexual deviants of some sort or another. But it subverts alot of superhero tropes, and really beautifully drawn.

 

[BobblyDrink]

Have you read Tower of God? Not too sure if it counts as manga, but it's extremely well done.