I've been on a manga reading spree recently, having completed good manga like Helck (2014; Nanao Nanaki), Thermae Romae (2008; Yamazaki Mari) [and its IMO better ongoing spinoff Olympia Kyklos] or Boku dake ga Inai Machi (2012; Sanbe Kei)
Does anyone have some recommendations for something that's...
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Plot-driven (Romance is fine, as long as it's not one of those stories that moves at a snail's pace)
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At worst mildly horny
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Doesn't have awful politics
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Isn't half the length of One Piece
and of course
- good?
Obligatory Berserk. Not really horny but is sexuality graphic and general [content warning].
Land of the Lustrous follows a race of gem people who have to protect themselves from the people of the moon who abduct and harvest them. They're generally asexual and non-binary though there is a bit of a subversion of that later. Has a 12~episode anime you can start with that covers about 30 chapters of the 100 chapter manga that's wrapping up.
20th Century Boys has been a lot of fun, I can't say if the politics fall off because I haven't finished it yet but it's been a good thriller. If you liked Monster it's the same author.
Rurouni Kenshin especially if you liked the anime. The anime is competely different (and bad) after the Shishio arc, so if you want the proper ending read the manga. You can find fan made coloraled versions even.
Planetes is about the drudgery of space capitalism following people cleaning up orbiting space litter, but there's a revolution near the end, if resolved a bit lib-ly (I think editor intervention there though). I don't recall any big differences in the anime so I'd actually suggest that first for the great music.
Jojos Bizarre Adventure no politics just high fashion body horror fights. Can find colorized versions as well.
If you haven't used it before find the Tachiyomi app. It compiles a lot of fan sources for manga and comics in one app so finding anything is mostly hassle free. It's not on app stores so you have to get the .apk yourself (or whatever Apple equivalent). It can be a bit confusing so I can help if you decide to check it out.
Shit I'd competely spaced that. Definitely another instance where the art somehow transcends the artist even contradicting them, like Ender's Game. Well I did give the tools necessary to avoid financing the monster.
Much like Berserk, Chainsaw Man, and Fire Punch, I've learned I really enjoy a story where the MC is treated to endless misery, trauma, and solitude.
rurouni kenshin's mangaka was arrested for having so much child porn they believed he was a distributor
jojo's is largely apolitical, but it goes from being vaguely nazi apologia in part 2 to being pretty convincingly anti-imperialist in part 7
Parasyte.
And if you're okay with cute gay romance stuff, sasaki to miyano is the best in the BL genre. The anime misses out on the meta-comedy in the manga, which pokes fun at the genre and its clichés. Miyano is
(adorable :meow-melt:)a BL fan who introduces Sasaki to the genre, and it goes from there.One Piece is twice the length of half the length of One Piece you should consider it
No
spoiler
I actually read up to the 110th chapter of the manga. It was pretty good (but no masterpiece), but that being less than 10% of the whole thing (so far) made me put it aside and forget about it for a long time.
Chainsaw Man is pretty good (although it is sometimes way too horny for my tastes). It has an extremely brisk pace and little politics beyond "everything is fucked". Also, Soviet Union.
Oh yeah. I'm halfway through the anime and it's pretty good.
Anime is basically just a start of the insane rollercoaster that is the manga, it added some pretty cool scenes expanding on the characters, but had problems with adapting extreme mood changes in manga.
Also really recommend avoiding spoilers for manga, even if it is still very enjoyable (for a specific definition of enjoyable at least) even with spoilers.
Got up to date on Kaiju no. 8 a while back, it was pretty cool and fresh for a shonen wherein the protag is like, 35, and a working class kaiju mess cleaning guy until he gets special powers, naturally.
Suggested Reject Ranger a while back, think The Boys but with Power Rangers instead of super heros, and the protagonist is one of the putty guys who get killed by the hundreds. Has a really fun rebellious theme to it with Henchman D rejecting the hierarchical status quo of his life to strike back at those who have enslaved his peoples.
At worst mildly horny
I read Ghost in the Shell recently, and boy does it have a bizarre extremely horny chapter.
Girls Last Tour is two women who’d probably be dating if they weren’t focused on survival 24/7 trying to get to the top of a megacity made empty after a long ago apocalyptic war, really like it so far and the exact vibe is unlike anything else
Big big seconding Delicious in Dungeon!! One of my all time favourites. There's an anime by trigger coming soon and the manga's nearing the finale, so there's never been a better time to catch up!
Dungeon Meshi / Delicious In Dungeon - Fantasy adventurers facing hard times decide they'll eat the monsters they kill to survive, turning the manga into 30% cooking show. Surprising mix of serious and funny. The art is often very detailed, especially environmental art, especially once it's had a few chapters to warm up. I don't think the first chapter is very good, but it gets better immediately after that.
Ultimate Rock Paper Scissors - People with various special powers compete in a rock paper scissors tournament. Simultaneously very smart and dumb as hell. A very agreeable length. Not terribly well drawn.
eat the monsters they kill to survive, turning the manga into 30% cooking show
:what-the-hell:
oh i just recommended dungeon meshi
it's getting an anime adaptation by Trigger lol
I know!!!!! How the fuck is that even real. I'm sure they'll do a great job too, did you see the promo vid they did?
I actually think the ending stuff is kind of a mess lol. But it'll actually have an ending, which for a popular series is already a blessing, so I cannot complain.
i like how unsettling some stuff got on the ending as there has been some suggestion on the fucked nature of the dungeon, but i get it, it feels totally diferent when the stakes get as high as they do, like my favourite moment in the later parts of it was actually the big call back they did to the 3 RULES bit because it is just them being dummies in the most endearing way, which for me is the main attraction of the whole series
Angel Densetsu and Hinamatsuri are my two of favorite comedy manga series and they're both around 100 chapters.
Goodnight Punpun is still the best manga I've read, but it might be considered "problematic" in later chapters.
If you want something that has a lot of the charm and intrigue of Punpun, a really powerful political statement told through sci-fi allegory, and isn't quite as brutally heavy, check out Asano-sensei's latest series Dead Dead Demon's Dedededestruction.
It's not a super tight allegory, but the invaders are basically refugees and are treated similarly (perceived as a huge threat when they're just desperate for safety)
Looks like it's getting adapted into an anime too. I'll check this out this afternoon.
Punpun is a weird one, looking back I enjoyed it but I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone because it's so heavy
It's heavy, sure, but something like Berserk is so popular that it's almost a meme itself. I just haven't seen story telling devices like what's present in GNPP used anywhere else, which I think has merit.
