Manga/Comic Recommendation topic

[Rolina]

Just a topic to ask about and recommend various manga.  It'll work like this:

I'm looking for a gender bender manga that focuses on comedy.  I don't want it to be too particularly ecchi, though - something I could view in public and not get in trouble for.

I'd have to recommend you Pretty Face or Fudanshism.

Pretty Face is about a guy named Randoh.  He's a typical thug leader at his school, known for his strength.  However, after a bus accident, the doctor who saved his life 'accidentally' fixed his face - not to his own, but to that of the girl he liked, whom's photo was in his wallet at the time.  After escaping from the crazy doctor, he winds up getting mistaken for that girl's twin sister and somehow winds up living with her, while everyone else presumes he's dead.  Of course, while he's both finding out how people really viewed him, and trying to get the doctor to give him his old face back, many many antics are had.

It's more of a shounen friendly manga.  Read if you liked more action-y things.

Fudanshism is about a guy named Miyano Amata, called the 'perfect prince' by the girls in his school.  He seems to be widely adored, gets good grades, and has great looks.  Just one problem - the girl he likes never seems to notice him.  One day after school, his sister convinces him to cover for her at comiket for her doujin circle - as a costumed girl helping to sell yaoi doujinshi.  However, when the girl he likes winds up being one of the customers, he starts to try to understand their mindset and continue to help to sell the doujin in order to hopefully one day find a way to get her attention.

It's more of a shoujo friendly manga.  Read if you like more character driven things.

Okay, do you get the jist?  One person asks, and someone else delivers.  Even if someone else has answered, you can answer again, giving them more options.  You can even answer multiple people's requests at once if you like.  Don't be shy to ask for recommendations yourself, though.

Don't just say the name of the manga, though.  Make a summary of it (or what there is so far of it) so that they get a little bit of info as to what it's about.  If it gets too long, use the spoiler tags so they can turn the walls of text on or off. 

Edit:  If you have a preference for your request of Manga or Western Comic, be sure to say so.  Also, those whom are making recommendations to others, be sure to mark which is which!


Aaaand to start us off:

I'm looking for a comedy.  But I'm kinda picky this time - I don't want one joined with 'shounen action'.  I mean, a little is okay, but I'm sick of shounen battle manga.  Romantic comedies are okay, but I'm tired of harem comedies, and I want to keep fanservice kinda low.  Not picky about format, could be 4koma, traditional manga, or whatever, so long as it doesn't look like crap.  And nothing sappy, please.  The storyline actually matters to me, so I don't want anything that sacrifices story for the sake of comedy, it has to blend well.  It doesn't matter if it's fantasy, modern, historical, or sci-fi to me, so long as it meets these requirements.  Requesting Manga format.

[Charon]

Is it okay to include western works as well? Although often shadowed by the likes of the superhero comics *bleh*, there are many independent comics that should be considered as well. They're sometimes even published in books like manga (ex. Black Hole, The Crow). These kinds of comics are very similar to manga in both content, depth and story - usually the only difference is the art style.

[Rolina]

Well, manga is much easier to come by over the interwebs, but sure, I don't see why not.  If you want, you can suggest both an eastern and western answer to someone's request - I really don't see why not, so long as it comes in more than just 'individual chapter form'.  Otherwise it'll just be too hard to find a missing chapter (they can usually get a new volume of the series, though).

Make sure you mark whether it's Manga or Western, though, so that they know where to look.  Many places separate this stuff, after all.

[Charon]

Yeah, usually the independent stuff is one big book, which reads like a story from beginning to end. You usually can't find it online but it's easy to find them in bookstores or sometimes libraries. :3

[Luigisuperstar]

Aaaand to start us off:

I'm looking for a comedy.  But I'm kinda picky this time - I don't want one joined with 'shounen action'.  I mean, a little is okay, but I'm sick of shounen battle manga.  Romantic comedies are okay, but I'm tired of harem comedies, and I want to keep fanservice kinda low.  Not picky about format, could be 4koma, traditional manga, or whatever, so long as it doesn't look like crap.  And nothing sappy, please.  The storyline actually matters to me, so I don't want anything that sacrifices story for the sake of comedy, it has to blend well.  It doesn't matter if it's fantasy, modern, historical, or sci-fi to me, so long as it meets these requirements.  Requesting Manga format.

i would recommend Keroro Gunso and if you want a summary here's one from the site.
Summary:
Sergeant Keroro is the Captain of the Space Invasion Forces Special Advance Team of the 58th Planet of the Gamma Storm Cloud System, sent to the planet Pokopen (aka Earth) to collect intelligence for his planet's invasion force. He is also a frog. After his ship crash-lands in the planet earth, he takes shelter in the Hinata household, but the two kids, Fuyuki and Natsume, find him and take away his alien weapons. When his people discover that the Pokopenians are aware of him, Keroro is abandoned - left to fend for himself in this hostile world. But he's not alone - four other pre-invasion agents were are also lurking on Earth.

It's Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Shounen, Supernatural read at a site called MangaFox.

[Hoopa]

How about "The World God Only Knows"?

Summary: Katsuragi Keima is known on the net as the god of getting the girls while in real life he's known as otamegane and he hates all real girls. However he is approached by Erushii, a devil from hell, to help her in catching runaway spirits that hide in people. Apparently the spirits only hide in the hearts of girls and the only way to get the souls out is by making the girl fall in love so the spirit gets forced out. And he's not allowed to fail or he will lose his head.

I like it, but idk if you will.

[thenightsshadow]

I'll second the recommendation of TWGOK.
It's not your typical harem story, that's for sure.

[leaf]

I lol'd at the description of that. I will definitely be adding it to my list...

[RTGreece21]

Ooohhhh... this might be a good idea.

okay then!
i'm looking for a mature manga that has at least as much or more passion and playtime than Acid Flower of Okane Ga Nai. and dont say Ikoku Irokoi Romantan - it doesnt even come close, and ive read it more than 10 times. prefferably a japanese-style manga and no 4komas (because those just dont work for me)

also, a manga other than Tactics or Vassalord that deals with legends and stuff without getting unbearably boring or predictable.

by the way, when was the last time any of you actually saw a decent female character in a manga?

[Rolina]

The last time?  Hmm, well, there's one I'm reading right now.  Hibiki no Mahou/Hibiki's Magic.  The female characters in it are really well done for the most part.  However, to answer your request, I'm going to need more info.  I don't know the titles you asked for, so what are the genres?  What kind of things in them did you like?  I can help you out if I have more info.

[Salanewt]

Hm... Well, just because there happens to be an anime/manga store a few blocks away from where I live... Can anyone suggest something for someone who is not a regular anime fan to read? Basically, something which is light enough, yet can get me interested enough (and also if I must, use it as a discussion piece).

Have a nice day.

[RTGreece21]

uhm... well, for the first one, im thinking prefferably a yaoi with LOTS of sex in it, but not meaningless. im into the more passionate stuff that has reason, and lately ive been trying to find manga with good art to help me learn to draw bodies better.

as for the second one, i dont really know how to describe it. i guess i preffer stuff with lots of japanese legends and monsters and demons and whatnot. im okay with some vampire stuff, but they've gotten quite overrated... something that isnt to long too because then it cant get anywhere near as boring as a longer running manga would be

[RTGreece21]

Posted by: Salanewt 
Insert Quote
Hm... Well, just because there happens to be an anime/manga store a few blocks away from where I live... Can anyone suggest something for someone who is not a regular anime fan to read? Basically, something which is light enough, yet can get me interested enough (and also if I must, use it as a discussion piece).

Have a nice day.


(sorry, the quote button wont work for me)
Um... try Soul Rescue (by Aya Kanno) or Sengoku Nights (by Kaoru Ohashi and Kei Kusunoki).
in Soul Rescure, a violent angel is kicked out of heaven with one of god's assistants and is told he must save 10000 souls. unfortunately, the power to do is is sort of stuck in his lips XD its got a few good stories in it, and i enjoyed it.
In Sengoku Nights there was this girl that fell in love with a demon (or more, they fell in love with each other). the demon was sealed and all that crap, but the woman was reincarnated into a boy. unfortunately for her, she doesnt remember her past life at all and doesnt appreciate the demon who is in love with him, even though they are both guys now XD. more acurately, she sold her soul. in any case, she's doomed to fight off ghosts and demons and whatnot.  its rated 13+, so dont get any dirty ideas XD

[Salanewt]

Okay, thanks. I suppose I could take a look during the summer to see if the store has them (they also have cheap Yoshi plush dolls (but I like the Yoshis that I have better, as they are made of better materials)).

Have a nice day.

[RTGreece21]

oh yeah... i dont know it its really all that popular or not, but Tactics by Sakura Kinoshita and Hazuko Higashiyama is an alright manga too. its basically about this guy who was searching for the demon eating goblin. when monsters are named, they are forced to obey the person who named them, and although the guy seemed harmless at first, its a quickly learned fact that he's a manipulative little bastard. he ends up using a fox demon and the demon eating goblin, sometimes without them ever knowing. they always have money troubles, have a hard time finding good jobs, and fight... a lot. but its silly and funny and the characters are really good.

[Rolina]

@RTS:  Okay... first off, do try to keep this a PG-13 forum.  Try to avoid anything too mature, such as sex or gore intensive manga.  I'd have to do some digging in my collection for that japanese lore one, I know I've got something similar, I just can't remember what it was.  I'll post it here later.  And yeah, I agree with the vampires thing - they're pretty much done everything they can with that, the whole vampire subject is spend, and it's just starting to become tiresome now.

@Sala:  There's a lot I can recommend, since that's the kind of thing I'm into.  Do you have anything specific you're looking for, or would you like me to just recommend a variety?  RTS is spot on with Tactics, though.  It's pretty good.

[Salanewt]

Hm... Preferably a comedy, if possible. PG-13 is a given, and something that does not require me to start from the beginning of the series.

Have a nice day.

[Rolina]

Can't help you then.  Everything requires you to be able to start from the beginning.  I was going to recommend a nice variety, but if you're going to want a condition like that, then...  Yeah, I got nothing.

[Mastermind]

Hmm...It's fairly mature, but it doesn't have any sex or buckets of gore (and the story is amazing)... V for Vendetta by Alan Moore. The movie version is also very, very good.

It's not a comedy, it's a political statement. So you might not find it appealing....

[RTGreece21]

political statement? hmm... maybe i wont like it either then. not much of a politics person.