For this post, I decided I wanted to share five Manga series I have enjoyed. I think I first discovered Manga in the 1990s. I had seen a lot of Anime as a kid but the first Manga I read was Guyver or Bio Booster Armour Guyver to give it the full title. My best friend had picked it up somewhere. We had seen the over the top violent Anime and had really enjoyed it. It was pretty good but I can't say it made me a huge fan of Manga as a genre. Later on, the same friend got Priest as a gift (his friend thought it was Preacher). It fuses the Western with horror and dark fantasy. It also had a unique unusually angular art style that set it apart from other Manga (and possibly made it easier for me to get into). The film of the same name bears little resemblance to the book and is pretty bad. It was Karl Urban's last movie before Dredd.
Coming to my list... I think my next foray into Manga was Assassination Classroom, which was recommended by another friend. It was years after Priest and kind of opened my mind to how good (and weird) Manga could be. Monster was next, recommended by my husband, and it opened my mind even more. Devilman came from watching the Anime on Netflix. Way Of The Househusband I picked up based on the name and the cover. Dorohedoro was another I want based on an Anime on Netflix (I can NEVER remember the name). These five series are very different but they are all the weird kind of thing I enjoy. The list is ordered based on release date.
DEVILMAN
- Creator: Go Nagai (pen name of Kiyoshi Nagai)
- Original run: June 1972 - June 1973
- Volumes: 5 (I collected it in two beautiful hardcovers)
- Demographic: Shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
- Adaptation(s): Anime (July 1972 - April 1973, Netflix version January 2018), Novels (4 from May 1999 to August 1999), Live action film (2004)
- Premise: Akira Fudo's life is turned upside down by his friend Ryo Asuka when he reveals to him that the Earth is about to be invaded by demons, monstrous beings hibernating for centuries in the ice and are about to return to the surface. According to Ryo demons would have lived on Earth before the appearance of man, and now they would claim possession. The only way to defeat them is to take control of the powers of the demons themselves to fight them on equal terms.
- Opinion: I actually saw the Netflix show (which for some reason was called Devilman: Crybaby) first and, when I spotted the two hardbacks in a shop, I felt compelled to get the manga. Definitely consider this a horror book. The creator, Go Nagai, is credited with creating the super robot genre and for designing the first mecha robots piloted by a user from within a cockpit with Mazinger Z. No mechas in this but there was a 1973 film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman.
DOROHEDORO
- Creator: Q Hayashida
- Original run: November 2000 - September 2018
- Volumes: 23
- Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men), shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
- Adaptation(s): Anime (January 2020 - March 2020)
- Premise: The plot centers on a man named Caiman and his search for his real identity after a transformation by a sorcerer left him with a reptile's head and no memory of his former life. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, split in two separate dimensions; the Hole, a dismal cityscape where humans reside; and the Sorcerers' world, home of sorcerers. Sorcerers are capable of traveling to and from the Hole by summoning magical doors.
- Opinion: To be honest, I have only seen the first series on Netflix but is the kind of weird concept that I tend to enjoy. I will be getting the manga. The art style is a little different with a rougher look to it.
MONSTER
- Creator: Naoki Urasawa
- Original run: December 1994 - December 2001
- Volumes: 18 (I collected it in a 9 volume "Perfect Edtions")
- Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men)
- Adaptation(s): Anime (April 2004 - September 2005)
- Premise: The story revolves around Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese surgeon living in Germany whose life enters turmoil after getting himself involved with Johan Liebert, one of his former patients, who is revealed to be a dangerous serial killer.
- Opinion: A brilliant psychological thriller that really amazed me when I first starting reading it. I really enjoy how it slowly reveals the layers and how the story is told. Probably the one I'd recommend highest. It is crying out for a live action television version.
ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM
- Creator: Yūsei Matsui
- Original run: July 2012 - March 2016
- Volumes: 21
- Demographic: Shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
- Adaptation(s): Anime (January 2015 - June 2016), Anime film (2016), live action films (2015 and 2016)
- Premise: The series follows the daily lives of an extremely powerful octopus-like being working as a junior high homeroom teacher, and his students dedicated to the task of assassinating him to prevent Earth from being destroyed. (He has already destroyed 70% of the moon) The students are considered “misfits” in their school and are taught in a separate building; the class he teaches is called 3-E.
- Opinion: This one is quite bizarre (in a fun way). It just jumps into the story with teacher already in place and explains all the events pretty quickly. It is a comedy / action / sci-fi and the story covers the lives of the individual students and reveals more and more about their teacher. I love that is both out there and grounded too.
WAY OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND
- Creator: Kousuke Oono
- Original run: February 2018 -
- Volumes: 6 (Not all released yet)
- Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men)
- Adaptation: Television series (October 2020 - ), Anime (2021)
- Premise: An infamous and feared yakuza boss nicknamed "the Immortal Dragon", retires from crime to become a househusband so that he can support his wife.
- Opinion: Definitely a comedy. The humour comes from his intimidating personality versus his performing domestic chores. Also, how seriously he takes his performance of these chores. It is the one manga that makes me laugh the most. The cover kind of sums it up.
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