Poll: Manga, Ugh or Yay?

[MrSnugglesworth]

I dated one.


God help you...

 

[Yokai]

I enjoy it when it's well-drawn and unique. All the spiky-haired, giant-sworded shonen and irrational, fruity shojo is no better than Nickelodeon or some crap. So much of it is just processed and generic. Also, people who consider themselves "otaku", cosplaying all the time and writing fanfic, really bug me. It's possible to enjoy something without it becoming a creepy obsession.

I much prefer things like Akira, Shaman Warrior and King of Thorn that have logical, intelligent plotlines, realistic characters and incredible artistry(that also keeps the size of the eyes and the level of physics-defiance of the hair at a reasonable level).

OP, it's important to remember that not all manga is childish, in the same way that not all Western comics are childish--would you consider Watchmen at the same level of maturity as, I don't know, Superman? There are some quite intelligent pieces of work out there, though they may be hard to find, and if you can't appreciate the story, at least appreciate the artwork.

 

[Cilliandrew]

I just have never been able to get into them. I've tried watching Anime, too, like "Princess Mononoke", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Akira".. I always feel the exact same way about all of them.. It's interesting, and then it hits a point where things just rocket off into a dimension of utter confusion that completely loses me...

The only thing that i've ever really truly liked was the first generation of "Robotech" (which was, i believe, "Macross: Do you remember love?")

yea, i didnt get some of those eather, it was good then it got too philosophical.
Macross.....sigh, i loved those movies.

Exactly! I like to think of myself as a pretty sharp guy when it comes to interpreting the deeper stuff in most stories, but for some reason Manga/Anime always heads off in a direction that i just cannot wrap my mind around.. I KNOW there's something going on there, and the creators have a deeper message that they're trying to get across, but i'll be darned if i can sort it out!

 

[Lord Krunk]

Depends on the Manga, really. Like books, there are some terrible ones out there and there are some awesome ones.

Here's a list of the ones I've read:

READ

Death Note (definitely Death Note)
Naruto (Surprisingly, it's actually very intriguing and awesome, as opposed to the Anime. I haven't read the whole thing though.)
Yu-Gi-Oh (Again, surprisingly, in a completely different league from the anime, while good, doesn't contain as much of the atmosphere that the manga oozes).
Vampire Knight (This is merely a guilty pleasure of mine. Beats Twilight).

AVOID

Bleach (Seriously awful. It might be famous, but it's the worst manga I've ever read.)
Fruits Basket (No plot whatsoever, and gets boring vafter the first few pages)
D. N. Angel (The pilot had me hooked with potential for a brilliant Jekyll/Hyde romance story, which was lost by the rest of the series. It just disappointed me.)

This is just a small amount of what I've read, but from this list you can get a good idea of what's good and what's not. But seriously, read/watch/smoke Death Note. It's gud.

 

[Gigaguy64]

I just have never been able to get into them. I've tried watching Anime, too, like "Princess Mononoke", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Akira".. I always feel the exact same way about all of them.. It's interesting, and then it hits a point where things just rocket off into a dimension of utter confusion that completely loses me...

The only thing that i've ever really truly liked was the first generation of "Robotech" (which was, i believe, "Macross: Do you remember love?")

yea, i didnt get some of those eather, it was good then it got too philosophical.
Macross.....sigh, i loved those movies.

Exactly! I like to think of myself as a pretty sharp guy when it comes to interpreting the deeper stuff in most stories, but for some reason Manga/Anime always heads off in a direction that i just cannot wrap my mind around.. I KNOW there's something going on there, and the creators have a deeper message that they're trying to get across, but i'll be darned if i can sort it out!

you should read bleach if you havent already, its good with morals imbedded into it but, even a cat could figure it out so its not very confusing.

 

[Cylem]

I love manga a lot, more than anime, actually. I still read a lot of "normal" books for school and such, but I enjoy reading manga in my free time because they're easy reads. I usually pick them up for the art and then keep reading if the story's good.

I recently finished reading Eyeshield 21. It helped get me through my summer homework of The Tempest.

 

[wikicated]

are they wapanese hehe
umm but i dont mind manga but i prefer other books
although i have been thinkning about getting more into them
cept i dont have any money and i dont know which magnas to buy
and its so much easier to watch them on the internets
which side of a choco cornetto do you eat first?
=W=

 

[JediMB]

I love comics. Manga are comics.

Of course I don't love all of them, but I love the concept itself, and a lot of stories told thought it.

 

[UltimatheChosen]

I don't think they're bad. I personally don't read them because reading right to left gives me a headache.

 

[wewontdie11]

I don't really read manga but I see no reason why you should belittle it against traditional forms of literature. The different style of storytelling and concepts aren't any worse than books, just different.

Edit: Also the pwetty pictures would probably hold my attention better.

 

[Zyxzy]

Manga is just like any other medium. It's got some good, and it's got some bad.

 

[crudus]

No offense OP but it sounds like you are a little stuck up to enjoy a good Manga. A lot of them are in no way childish. Some of them have a lot of violence and serious concepts (ex. Hellsing and Deathnote, respectively) that aren't really meant for kids. I think you are missing out by reading your "proper books". Just like there are children and adult books, there are children and adult manga.

It should go left to right, it would make it easier to read

Why? It makes it no easier to read left to right than right to left. I have seen mangas both ways and I have the same problems reading left to right as right to left (mostly being unable to follow which is the next panel).

 

[NeutralDrow]

How exactly do you generalize a medium that contains Kashimashi, Hellsing, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, and Crayon Shin-chan? That's like trying to generalize TV based on Iron Chef, House, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Trading Spaces.

Of course, given my opinion of Negima, Fruits Basket, Full Metal Alchemist, Ai Yori Aoshi, Hayate the Combat Butler, Bleach, Azumanga Daioh, Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Absolute Boyfriend, Naruto, One Piece, School Rumble, Chibi Vampire, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, Higurashi, Aoi House, Ouran High School Host Club, Yotsuba&, and Rurouni Kenshin, I'd have to say I like manga a lot.

More than most anime, even. Hell, manga contains even broader appeal. The majority of anime is based on shounen manga (of which there are more than the big three, incidentally), but since manga is easier to produce, they have no problem aiming at older demographics. I mean, I know they've animated Nana, but have they done the same for Tramps Like Us or Pet Shop of Horrors?

 

[Abedeus]

It should go left to right, it would make it easier to read

It would lose it's appeal. I like reading my books from right to left, and it's not hard.

Also, I like manga. Usually (in 95% of the cases) a manga is better than the anime.

Bleach, Naruto, FMA. I think that only Death Note is equally good as an anime because of the great voice-overs. And GTO too, although anime is a bit shorter on plot.