Best and Worst Manga

Hello! Keishi here. For no particular reason, I am going to make a list of the best and worst manga of each genre. This is all my humble opinion, of course, so feel free to disagree.

Shoujo

Shoujo is a genre I don’t read much of, for various reasons, but here’s my opinion.

Best

Kare Kano by Masami Tsuda.

Kare Kano (full title: Kareshi Kanojo no Jijo or His and Her Circumstances) is a slice of life shoujo manga by Masami Tsuda which follows the life of high school student Yukino Miyazawa, who, on the outside, seems like the perfect girl: she’s pretty, smart, athletic and popular. However, that is all just a facade, as the real Yukino is actually completely egotistical and only acts ‘perfect’ to get attention and praise.

However, her place as the most popular student is soon threatened by Soichiro Arima, who is the only person outside her family to realise her image is all a facade. Being a shoujo manga, romance ensues.

The story is very good, and the characters are explored and deepened and over all, it’s fun to read, as long as you don’t mind dark and edgy backstories. It’s a shoujo manga, after all.

Worst

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya.

Fruits Basket was the first shoujo manga I read, so it has a place in my heart, but it really gets on my nerves. A lot.

Basically, high school student Tohru Honda is living in a tent in a forest because she’s an orphan and her grandpa’s house is being renovated and she doesn’t want to burden her friends, even though they’d be perfectly happy to have her stay with them. So, as she’s walking to school one day, she stumbles upon the house of Yuki Sohma, who just happens to be the most popular boy in school. He even has his own fanclub, who aren’t too happy to see her walking to school with him.

Then, Yuki and his perverted cousin Shigure stumble upon her tent and insist she stays with them. Then their cousin Kyo decides to drop by (literally) and hilarity and coloured magical explosions ensue.

My main problem with this manga is that Tohru is a horrible, horrible Mary Sue. EVERYONE LIKES HER. Even the people who don’t like her like her. And, in everyone’s eyes, she can do no wrong. Except for her own, but you only find that out at the end of the manga and, to me, that felt like a last ditch effort to make her more human.

Also, the art evolves from the beginning to the end and it looks weird. Takaya should’ve stuck with the same style all the way through.

However, it’s a cute, humourous series that gets darker and edgier towards the end and I wouldn’t rule it out. It just bugs me, is all.

Please not that I don’t read much Shoujo. This is what I have to work with.

Shounen

This is also a genre I don’t read much of. But here we go.

Best

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa.

It has the added bonus of being philosophical and it makes you think.

In an attempt to bring their mother back from the dead, Alphonse Elric loses his body and his older brother, Edward, loses his leg. To seal his brother’s soul in a suit of armour, Ed sacrifices his arm (or is it the other way around? I forget). So then Ed gets hired as a state alchemist at the age of twelve (I think), and then goes on a quest with his brother in tow to find the philosopher’s stone to get Al’s body back. Dark stuff and explosions and blood and alchemy ensue.

It has action, it has interesting and deep characters, and it has a protagonist with a berserk button. What more do you want?

Worst

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto.

Before you flame me, hear me out. Naruto was the first anime (aside from Pokemon) that I watched, so, again, it has a special place in my heart. But, my beef with it is that it’s gone on for too long and main characters won’t die. I’m looking at you, Sasuke.

So, twelve-year-old trainee ninja Uzumaki Naruto is hated by everyone in his village (except for his teacher, Iruka,) because he has a nine-tailed demon fox sealed inside him, and he lives by himself for some reason. But then he graduated ninja school and joins a ninja team with the psychotic, intelligent, stuck up, fail ninja Haruno Sakura and the irritatingly angsty Uchiha Sasuke. This team is led by their fashionable late perv of a teacher, Hatake Kakashi. Fighting, ramen and hilarity ensues.

I hate this series because Sasuke should be dead. He should’ve died when he got hacked to pieces by Haku. He should’ve died when he got put in a box. He should’ve died when his brother went nuts and killed everyone (okay, that’s not entirely correct, but whatever). He should’ve died when he fought Naruto. The Akatsuki should’ve killed him. This stupid bugger should be dead. And he should’ve tried to reach out the people, dammit. Sasuke is the entire reason I hate this series. Ugh.

Please not that I don’t read much Shounen. This is what I have to work with.

Shounen Ai or Boys’ Love

This is a genre I will admit to reading. Because I can.

Best

Loveless by Kouga Yun.

Loveless is a manga where shounen ai actually isn’t the main theme, which is why I love it so much. It focuses on the nature of human relationships, perceptions of reality and how we shape that reality and psychology in general. It steps reeeeally close to shotacon, but does so tastefully. So, no, you will not be reaching for the brain bleach.

Okay, to sum up the mindscrew of a plot, twleve-year-old Aoyagi Ritsuka is all emo (this may turn you off it, among other things) due to the recent murder of his older brother Seimei, his amnesia and his mother’s abuse. And he has to start a new school, which is never fun. After his classmate Hawatari Yuiko manages to press his berserk button and runs off, he’s stopped by twenty-year-old Agatsuma Soubi, who claims to be a friend of Seimei, at which point Ritsuka instantly trusts him and runs off the take photos (which Ritsuka does because he’s terrified of forgetting people).

Soubi then freaks out Ritsuka by kissing him and proceeding to fight two kids using words (no, seriously). And the series continues like that, but with lots of plot build up and more characters are darker and edgierness. Oh, and virgins have cat ears and a tail. It’s a weird series, but it’s fantastic.

The art is amazing, the story is so complex that trying to explain it leaves the explainer confused and the themes are so deep that they’d make an English teacher squeal with delight. Read it. You will not regret it, even if you get a little creeped out, it’s okay. You’re supposed to feel that way.

Worst

Anything where the plot goes out the window and all the characters do is have sex, or sex is the plot. You’re wasting your time. Read something decent.

Shoujo Ai or Girls’ Love

Boys love but with girls. I also read it.

Best

Girl Friends by Morinaga Milk (or Miruku)

One day, happy-go-lucky Akiko “Akko” Oohashi decides to randomly befriend the shy, quiet Mariko “Mari” Kumakura. Mari comes out of her shell, gets a hair cut, nice clothes and, most importantly, a new group of friends. It’s like a shoujo manga but with fanservice.

But wait! Mari slowly finds herself falling in love with her best friend, and Akko doesn’t realise it, and Mari is freaked out by it. Gayngst and awkwardness ensue, along with copious amounts of Will They Or Won’t Day. This will probably irritate male (and female) readers who just want to see some action and make everyone who’s been in the same situation grimace. That’s what makes it so good.

Good characterisation, funny characters and schoolgirls. Why not?

Worst

Strawberry Panic! Written by Sakurako Kimino, illustrated by Takumi Namuchi.

I hate this series because a) it’s set in a Catholic school, b) everyone’s a lesbian. I go to an all girls’ school. Sorry, boys, but most of us are straight.

The plot… transfer student Aoi Nagisa gets lost on her first day at St. Miator Girls’ Academy, where she runs into her beautiful upperclassman, Hanazono Shizuma. Romance ensues.

The manga isn’t nearly as bad as the anime, and it’s based off the light novels. But, God, there are so many things wrong with it.

Adventure

Falls under Shounen, kinda, but yeah. I don’t have a worst, I just want to write a review on one =D

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP.

To save the life of Princess Sakura, Syaoran is sent to the Dimension Witch, Yuuko, to ask for help in recovering Sakura’s memories that went flying off to a bunch of other dimensions. Joining on their quest is the cheery mage Fai (or Fay or Fye) D. Fluorite (or Flowright) and the grumpy ninja, Kurogane. Fai wants to get as far away from his world as possible, and Kurogane wants to get back to his. So Yuuko sends them all off together, along with a white puff ball called Mokona, and hilarity ensues until the wonderfully screwed up plot twist where everything gets darker, edgier and angstier.

It’s basically a multi-dimensional crossover fic with CLAMP’s own characters recycled. A lot. Once you get to the plot twist, I’d suggest keeping notes just so you know what the fridge is going on. But it’s very good, so I’d suggest reading it.

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And, at 1652 words, I think that is all I shall do for now. I may have a part two if I haven’t invoked a flame war. Until later!

-Keishi

PS: Please tell me if you see any typos. This is four pages long. All I’m doing is a spell check. Yes, I’m lazy.