So that's why people read manga

[exdeadman]

I didn't watch much anime or read any manga when I was a kid, at about 14 a friend of mine started talking about "Rurouni Kenshin" and after a while I understood he was talking about books. Eventually I read a couple of them, I loved it. I didn't get to read the whole series until I had my own car and knowledge of a nearby library with a lot of manga, but we found out that writer also had another series called Buso Renkin. Pretty amazing, both of those series.

Other manga that I have read, am reading, like, and would suggest, would be Claymore, Black Butler (it's REALLY frikkin weird tho), FullMetal Alchemist, Tsubasa (the 28 book series, there's another short manga of the same name that's not near as good), Dragonball and MAYBE Dragonball Z, D Gray Man, Inuyasha...
Mostly violent and story based manga, really. I'd like Anime if it was more consistent to the manga, and if they didn't write it at the same time as the manga (to avoid hundreds of filler episodes), but that's just this guys opinion.

 

[Ultra_Caboose]

I just started reading Claymore...

Anyway, I started with Rurouni Kenshin. It remains my favorite manga, and while the anime is excellent, they leave out the third and final story arc completely, leaving it to be told in OVA's. While I don't mind leaving the most dramatic arc to OVA's with higher production costs, the climax is rushed as all hell, leaving out all but the most absolutely essential plot points.

So... yeah, with Rurouni Kenshin, you can't go wrong either way, but the manga is still my preferred medium.

 

[Mr. Google]

That sounds...Berserk! Sorry terrible pun. I might try it out. I feel like Claymore has the perfect amount of gore and violence for me. But then again Gears of war is my favorite video game so....I can usually be numb to gore. The rape thing sounds....uhm well we will see wont we

The problem/cool thing about Berserk is that it's pretty much done by ONE GUY...and the art is just...well...this:
http://moetron.com/mystuff/ps2berserk_re42.jpg
(it's too big to be posting regular)

The problem is the chapters take FOREVER to come out.
The cool thing is...HAVE YOU SEEN THE DAMN PICTURE?

So, yeah.


-Edit-
Also, you might enjoy 'Bastard!!'
It's kind of perverted (and I think it's on Hiatus) but it's a pretty cool series with boobs, babes, bad-asses, and battles.

I mean i wont lie that looks awesome! But 1 guy! that must take forever to come out with any of them!

 

[Mr. Google]

I started reading manga because of the filler arcs in the anime versions of Naruto and Bleach. I got tired of wading through the crap to get to the intended story so I started reading manga scans.

I actually also watched Claymore recently on Netflix, the thing is I don't want to read the manga in hopes that they actually make a second season of the anime. I know the manga has the "real" story right now but some of the best things about Claymore were the voice acting and sound design(including music) of the whole thing as well as the great animation style. reading the manga would seem... dull in comparison.

Yeah thats what I thought but now I just fill in the english voices in my head when i read also you could do both. They would be so different that reading them and watching it wouldn't even have the same story. It all changes around the fight in the North. Instead of it going straight to Priscilla it well it just takes a huge turn.

 

[darksuccubus]

If you like Claymore, maybe you can stand Berserk.

It's like Claymore, if Claymore had balls, and rape, and mass murder, and was draw really really detailed and was at the level of Shakespeare.

I <3 Berserk.

Gotta warn you - NSFW and NOT safe for kids - (almost) EVERYONE in the series either gets raped, beaten, butchered, tortured, molested, or otherwise messed with.
It's a brutal series that can still manage to find humor and be very touching.

Weird, but true.

That sounds...Berserk! Sorry terrible pun. I might try it out. I feel like Claymore has the perfect amount of gore and violence for me. But then again Gears of war is my favorite video game so....I can usually be numb to gore. The rape thing sounds....uhm well we will see wont we

did someone say Berserk? >:3 I read Claymore too and 2 years ago I found Berserk. Someone said the exact same thing, that Claymore and Berserk are alike, Berserk was first though. The manga is awesome and I really recommend it too. There is one drawback - it's ongoing since 1988, so it will be a long reading but it's totally worth it. The level of awesomness is far higher than in Claymore, although I love Claymore too. And monsters in Berserk... you just have to see them. The story is really good too and I can't wait for a new chapter.
Answering your question - my first manga was Hellsing. When I watched the anime and found out that the ending was non canon I immediately started reading the manga. At that time it was still ongoing so waiting for a new chapter was torture T_T and btw, Hellsing is realy good, I suggest you check out the OVA's that follow manga and/or start the manga. It's full of gore too, also it has it's own humor, catholics, vampires and nazis And the main hero is the embodiment of badassness

 

[The Wykydtron]

My favourite manga would either be Death Note or Future Diary, with Liar Game as an honourable mention.

Favourite anime would be Code Geass without a doubt

I just love anything with awesome plans, betrayals, people swapping sides, people being overly dramatic and all that good stuff

I got into manga with Naruto, got bored of that around issue 500 and decided i liked the darker stuff

 

[Sandernista]

My favorite manga are Eye-shield 21, One Piece, Fairy Tail and Shaman King.

Of the big 3, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, OP is the only one that didn't stagnate. Its only gotten better and better, while I can't stand Bleach, and Naruto is barely bearable.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Just a quick question.

I've been watching the FLCL (Fooly Cooly) series on Netflix. I Loved it. I watched the entire series in one day. Today in fact. So i'm curious if it is a manga. I think i'll take a look if it is.

If there is, it's a Manga of just what you saw. Gainax is weird like that. They usually do big, epic, serious mecha anime. They do it really well, in fact. But every so often the creative team likes to goof off with a short series. FLCL was them 'blowing off steam' in their own words. Hence why it was so irreverent and fun. If you liked it (and you're of proper age to not be scarred by the content) you might try Panty and Stocking. It's also by Gainax and has that same kind of weirdness and humor that FLCL had. Except there's butt-load more cursing, sex, and...well...I think the only thing that there's NOT is large amounts of violence. Still, for adults it's pretty funny.

Agreed on the Hellsing OVAs. The original series was okay, and if you can't find anything else it's better than nothing. But the OVAs are really worthwhile. In fact most people I know who have watched both come back to me swearing that the OVAs are in an entirely different class than the originals.

The format keeps me out of it, too -- specifically, the fact that an individual volume runs between $7 and $15, and an average series runs between 10 and 50 volumes. This adds up to a ridiculously high price by the time you get to the end of the series. I'd rather spend that kind of money on novels -- they last longer, and individual series tend to be shorter.

I don't mind spending the money if it's on something that will actually advance the plot. Death Note, for the failings I see in it, actually did good on this one. Every volume had SOMETHING worth reading. I was never unhappy with what I bought. Irritated, maybe. But never particularly unhappy. Bleach on the other hand was a different story. Every time someone began to brawl with a Captain or an Espada, you'd end up with almost an entire volume dedicated to that fight, and at times I felt like I was cheated out of my cash just because I wanted to own the volume for completeness's sake, but there was so little reading matter inside that it was basically not worth it.

Thankfully I found the happy medium of Western comics. It may take a month, and for some titles that's annoying, but each issue actually GOES somewhere.

 

[Cheezeypoofs]

I started with Rurouni Kenshin after toonami cancelled the show, or the show ended, or something like that. That's probably still my favorite manga, but just discovered Berserk like 2 weeks ago, and have been on a real bender. It's definitely a close number 2, just can't wait for more chapters. Ubel Blatt is pretty good too, though it's been on hiatus for 2 years or so now.
I find manga to be more easily accessible than anime and the stories are usually vastly superior to the anime.

 

[SckizoBoy]

My first manga was probably Fruits Basket. Honestly though, I've outgrown a lot of the stupid Japanese tropes that litter both the anime and manga industries. Occasionally TRULY innovative series with striking animation or really good characters get me fired up again, but it's rare.

My thoughts exactly... though my first manga was... shit, I can't remember what my first manga was.

Anyway, I often got any title that amused or interested me, but then it became rather formulaic. These days, the only manga I thoroughly invest effort to obtain, read, analyse and appreciate is Gunslinger Girl, which is as untrope-y as you can get (FMA finished ages ago, as did Aria/Aqua, and I read le Chevalier D'Eon for teh lulz). Even xxxHolic/Tsubasa Chronicles/Ouran High School Host Club/Hayate no Gotoku (& a couple others) started getting at me after a while.

Anime, though, I'll still watch stock shit just to amuse myself for a couple hours, but then I delete them...

 

[Artina89]

My first manga series was Battle Royale after I had read the novel and I watched the film, then I moved onto Death Note which is one of my most favourite manga ever, and I still enjoy watching the anime, the same with FLCL but I haven't read that much manga since I was about 20. It just doesn't appeal to me like it did anymore, and the same with anime, I just watch my old favourites when the mood strikes me which is probably once every year.

 

[Tax_Document]

My first manga was probably Fruits Basket. Honestly though, I've outgrown a lot of the stupid Japanese tropes that litter both the anime and manga industries. Occasionally TRULY innovative series with striking animation or really good characters get me fired up again, but it's rare.

You are ME! Except much more attractive!

 

[CrazyGirl17]

My first manga was Cardcaptor Sakura, but I've branched out a bit since then, strongly preferring action/fantasy to prissy girly romances (except the magical girl ones, that is).

However, I hate how friking long these things get, as I have neither the time, attention span or money to buy all of the corresponding titles...

 

[Scarim Coral]

The reason why I read manga is the same reason why I read comic book, it's good to read and look at the illustrations (I don't mean like look at the pretty images, more like looking at the details and how much the artit put into details).
The first manga I read was this Gundam Wing side story manga (this was when Gundam Wing firt aired to the UK) so I stuck to Gundam related manga for a while until I branch out to differet types like e.g. S-Cry-ed.
My favourite manga would got to be Death Nte.

 

[Richardplex]

I did the same thing with Claymore, but I then felt that the anime ended well, as the manga IMO became terrible after that. I prefer the facial expressions, the art and seeing things beyond the bottom 2 inches of my screen of manga, but if the music is really good I'll go for the anime, ala Pandora Hearts. I don't read manga too much anymore, I keep up with The World God Only Knows, but that's the only 1 really keep up to date with. I'm also bored with the generic Manga/Anime tropes, and am waiting for more extraordinary anime/manga, like Puella Magi Madoka Magica was when it came out.

 

[Nemu]

My favorite manga is still, decades later, Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi. I started reading manga after seeing Akira in the theatre in Boston (and having connected that anime to my childhood love of Voltron and deciding that I needed to further explore anime and it's manga counterpart).

A close second is Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.

I've slowed down my purchasing in recent years, choosing to actively collect only my favorite authors (or groups, as in the case of CLAMP). While I prefer reading books on my Kindle, I'd rather purchase my manga because I consider it to be part of my "animation" collection.

 

[aba1]

Just a quick question.

I've been watching the FLCL (Fooly Cooly) series on Netflix. I Loved it. I watched the entire series in one day. Today in fact. So i'm curious if it is a manga. I think i'll take a look if it is.

It is a 2 book manga but the anime is much better the art for the manga is really stylized to say the least.

OT: I got into anime years and years ago before most people knew what it was what really made me enjoy it was the fact that they had a ongoing story while american cartoons tended to made so you can watch any eps at any time and that was that I liked the long ongoing arks and character deveopment that american series ohh so rarely provide.

 

[Theo Rob]

got into manga via bleach and naruto
now i read d.grayman , berserk, hajime no ippo and history's greatest desiple

as far as anime goes I'm a mecha guy and as such enjoy gundam and gurren lagann
if you like mecha i could recommend gundam 00 and code geass

as long as the actions cool ill read/watch it i don't really prefer on over the other

 

[commiedic]

Eh, I don't read manga cause I think I never got into comic books. I don't get books that tell their story through as many pictures as text if not more. I like to imagine what I am reading for myself with the help of very descriptive illustration. Comic Books or Manga just seem to close to a t.v. show for me to care about them.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

I first starting reading way back when my parents bought me a pair of yu-gi-oh tankoban which I thoroughly enjoyed; considering I was about...10 so it was very interesting to see something which used to be all about a children's card game...then turn into something with a kid with starfish hair be possessed by a spirit and did the following things: he made one extortionist go insane, incinerated one convict, blew up one bully, got one guy stung by a scorpion and also made one guy's vision go all pixelated. From there, it took a while but I discovered the dub of naruto *shudders* It sucked. So I went to watch the subbed version online. From there I discovered scanlations of manga and I've been hooked ever since.