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rheiders's Manga

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This section includes ongoing series that I am caught up on. I'll put number of volumes I've read for series I'm following the US release for, and number of chapters for series I'm reading online.

Read some▲▼ Rating▲▼ Comment▲▼
20th Century Boys (manga) Excellent 16 volumes. Naoki Urasawa, which means it's fantastic. Recommended.
Afterschool Charisma (manga) Good 4 volumes. Interesting premise, takes a while to get off the ground. Recommended.
Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit (manga) Decent 1 volume. I like Elliott, so I'm enjoying it well enough, but I don't think I would recommend this iteration of Alice in the Country of... to anyone who isn't an Elliott fan.
Alichino (manga) So-so 1 volume. Pretty art, but the story didn't really grab me. May pick it up again someday, but not in a hurry.
Andromeda Stories (manga) Decent 1 volume. Not as good as To Terra.
Animal Academy: Hakobune Hakusho (manga) Decent 1 volume. Cute and forgettable. Good for kids.
Antique Bakery (manga) Very good 4 volumes. Fumi Yoshinaga is a goddess. She is also a very funny person.
Arisa (manga) Very good 6 volumes. Very good shoujo mystery/suspense series, generic art. Keeps you guessing. Recommended.
Attack on Titan (manga)
Banana Fish (manga) Haven't read enough to rate.
Beck (manga) Very good 12 volumes. Very good, startlingly real slice-of-life story even if you don't care about rock music. Recommended.
Bitter Virgin (manga) Very good 12 chapters. Very depressing, but deals with the heavy issues it brings up in a mature and respectable way. Recommended, provided you can stomach it.
Black Jack (manga) Excellent Most volumes, read out of order. Some of the stories stretch suspension of disbelief too far. Pretty much a given that a Tezuka work will be sexist, but that doesn't make it okay. However, Black Jack is a fantastic character, and it is entirely due to him that this series remains a classic. Recommended.
Blue Exorcist (manga) Very good 8 volumes. Very enjoyable shounen. Good art, likeable characters. Rin in particular is incredibly likeable. The relationship between the Okumura twins is actually pretty fascinating and adds an extra sprinkling of depth one doesn't normally expect to find in a shounen manga. Recommended.
A Bride's Story (manga) Excellent 3 volumes. Strong art and an amazing eye for detail elevate this manga from Good to Excellent. Contains all of Kaoru Mori's strengths and very few of her weaknesses. Likeable characters that feel real and a completely impartial, non-condescending look at a fascinating culture. Recommended.
Case Closed (manga) Good About half of the volumes, out of order. This one is nostalgic for me. Good kids' mystery series with likeable characters and good whodunnit stories. Recommended, if you don't mind episodic stories.
Children of the Sea (manga) Very good 2 volumes. This one is worth reading solely for the amazing art and mysterious and involving atmosphere. I don't know where the story is going, but I'm eager to find out, if only to spend more time in this beautiful, ethereal world.
Dawn of the Arcana (manga) Good 2 volumes. So far it has potential but hasn't really reached that potential yet. It seems like the world could be really interesting with a bit more fleshing out, and I'm loving Nakaba as a heroine, so I look forward to reading more.
Demon Love Spell (manga) Decent Caught up. I'm kind of ashamed to like this one xD It's a fun, trashy series that isn't as problematic as I would have assumed. Take with that what you will.
Dengeki Daisy (manga) Very good The elements of mystery and suspense are more interesting than the main romance, but that romance is pretty cute and funny in its own right. Heroine has some spunk. Mystery becomes a bigger part of the manga later on. Recommended.
(The) Drifting Classroom (manga) Very good 1 volume. Pretty scary; I want to continue it if I get the chance.
Durarara!! (manga) Very good 3 volumes. Rare good manga adaptation to come after the anime adaptation. If you like anything DRRR!! then you owe it to yourself to read this. If you're new to the franchise, then you really owe it to yourself to read this. Recommended.
Eden - It's an Endless World! (manga, Hiroki Endo) So-so 1 volume. Didn't really hook me.
Faeries' Landing (manhwa) Don't remember enough to rate it.
From Far Away (manga) Don't remember enough to rate it.
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden (manga) Excellent 9 volumes. I'm not a big fan of the original FY, so I came into this with very low expectations and very reluctantly, feeling a little forced into it. So it has accomplished a pretty impressive feat in making me love it so much. I'm dying to know what happens next.
Gaba Kawa (manga) Decent I seem to remember that it was pretty cute.
Gakuen Alice (manga) Good 17 volumes. Takes a while to get going, but once it does, you certainly won't regret picking it up. I'll just point out that this mangaka also did the pitch-black comedy A Portrait of M & N and let you draw your own conclusions. Recommended.
Gin Tama (manga) Very good Random volumes. Really funny and unique. Drama isn't quite as good, but it's not bad or anything. Recommended.
.hack//Legend of the Twilight (manga) So-so 1 volume. Meh.
Hayate the Combat Butler (manga) Very good 1 volume. Hilarious. Too bad the rest of the series can't also be setting up the brilliant premise :(
Hetalia - Axis Powers (manga) Good 3 volumes + random webcomic strips. Personifies the countries of the world as human. Cute, funny, lots of historical in-jokes. They got America pretty spot-on xD Recommended, but it's really doofy.
Higurashi When They Cry: Abducted by Demons Arc (manga) Good Random first volumes of arcs. Good horror, generic art.
Honey Hunt (manga) Decent 2 volumes. Poor man's Skip Beat!. Sweet and harmless, at least so far. Though considering the mangaka's reputation, I'm not so sure...
House of Five Leaves (manga) Very good 1 volume. My first exposure to Natsume Ono. I love the atmosphere and the unique art.
Hunter × Hunter (manga) Very good 28 volumes. Everyone has that one shounen they just can't get enough of, right? Well, this is mine. Recommended if you like shounen, especially if you liked Yu Yu Hakusho.
Kare Kano (manga) Decent 3 volumes. Didn't really catch my interest.
Kids on the Slope (manga)
Kimi ni Todoke - From Me to You (manga) Very good 5 volumes. Cute romance, fantastic side characters. Sawako and Kazehaya are good role models. Recommended.
Kindaichi Case Files (manga) So-so Similar to Detective Conan, but the characters didn't interest me as much. I might read more later, but I'm not in a hurry.
Kobato. (manga) So-so 3 or so volumes. It's cute, I guess, but it's pretty mundane. The dog isn't as entertaining as, say, Kero. Kobato herself is pretty bland.
Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries (manhwa) Decent 1 volume. Seems like a decent enough mystery series but Lizzie herself is a bit bland and the volume was very talky, taking me twice as long as a normal volume would to read. Not sure if I'll continue with it, but if I do it's probably a library series.
Love*Com (manga) Good 3 volumes. Very adorable. The main couple have genuine chemistry and the comedy's great. So far, it's an above-average shoujo rom-com.
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (manga) Very good 4 volumes.
Maid-sama! (manga) Very good
(The) Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (light novel) Good I've read the first three. This is my favorite incarnation of the Haruhi story because there is more Kyon. Kyon is the best thing about this series, and if you agree, you should pick up these books, because he narrates them brilliantly xD
Midnight Secretary (manga) Weak About 4 volumes. I got in a weird mood one night and really wanted to read this one, and stayed up till four in the morning reading it before realizing it's really not my thing and quitting. I don't like how much of a jerk Touma is and the characters are pretty bland but then, character isn't really the focus of this series, is it?
Moyasimon (manga)
Natsume's Book of Friends (manga) Excellent 12 volumes. One of my favorite manga. Don't let the generic synopsis scare you away. The art is gorgeous and unique, the wispy, almost mystical style fitting the story perfectly. The designs for the humans are hard to tell apart at times, but it's never too much of an issue, and I feel like the creative designs for the youkai more than make up for it. Natsume is a very relatable character and the series makes me tear up almost every volume. Recommended.
Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga) Don't remember enough to rate it.
Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun (manga) Very good Good shoujo horror series. The art is great and the stories are, for the most part, very strong. The one about the boy with no expressions sticks in my mind the most.
Only Serious About You (manga) 1 volume. I'll rate it when I finish it. One of my first forays into BL.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (manga) Excellent 2 volumes. I've only recently been getting into Fumi Yoshinaga's work, and she's brilliant. This work is sweeping and ambitious, but still maintains a strong human element, especially in the second volume. The end of volume two was beautiful and complicated and tragic all at once. I can't wait to read more.
Otomen (manga) Good I don't even remember how far I read...Eight-ish volumes, I think. It was cute and I liked it a lot, but I dropped off for some reason. I want to start reading it again.
Pandora Hearts (manga) 7 volumes. I thought I had dropped this series for good, but people have convinced me to pick it back up since they apparently start answering some questions eventually. I love the art and characters, but it's just too convoluted.
Peace Maker Kurogane (manga) So-so 1 volume. Eh.
Phantom Dream (manga) Not really good 1 volume. Not that great. Takaya learned a lot from working on Fruits Basket; that much is clear.
Pluto (manga)
Princess Jellyfish (manga) Excellent 29 chapters. Working my way through this one and pretty much in love with it. It's a ton of fun and really relatable, and there's an infectious quirkiness to it that I haven't seen in any other series.
Rasetsu (manga) 1 volume. I remember thinking Rasetsu was really cool.
Read or Dream (manga) 3 volumes. Cute, but a trifle.
Red River (manga) Don't remember enough to rate it.
RG Veda (manga) 1 volume. It really confused me.
RIN-NE (manga) 3 volumes. Entertaining enough, but kinda blah.
(The) Rose of Versailles (manga)
Saint Young Men (manga) Very good
Sand Chronicles (manga)
A Silent Voice (manga) Very good
Silver Spoon (manga) 3 chapters. No FMA, but pretty damn good.
Skip Beat! (manga) Very good 7 volumes. Great heroine, entertaining villain, fun look into the world of show biz. Don't like the art. Recommended.
Someday's Dreamers (manga) 1 volume. Cute and forgettable.
Soul Eater (manga) 8 volumes. Good shounen with a very unique and interesting art style. Fascinating take on the idea of madness, treating it like an infectious disease. Promotes gender equality in a non-preachy way. Recommended.
St. Dragon Girl (manga) 1 volume. Eh.
(The) Story of Saiunkoku (manga) Very good 4 volumes. Shuurei is awesome, and it's rare to come across a true feminist manga. Recommended if you have a taste for political intrigue.
Tail of the Moon (manga) 1 volume. Eh.
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (manga) Excellent 7 volumes. Great art, unique and touching story. The crybaby protagonist Lag can get a little annoying, but he's also very sweet and honest. Gauche's conflict is fascinating. Recommended.
Time Stranger Kyoko (manga) Just 1 chapter. Eh.
Tokyo Ghoul (manga)
Toriko (manga by Shimabukuro) Random chapters. Really not my thing.
Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase (manga) 1 volume. Kind of entertaining, but not really my thing.
Twin Spica (manga) 1 volume. I really wanna read more :(
Twinkle Stars (manga) 2 chapters. Really want to read more, but haven't gotten around to it. Off to a good start, though.
Ultimo (manga) Random volumes. Reeeaaaallllyyyy not a good series. Confusing, weird art, weird morals. Seems to take all the worst aspects of both Western comics and manga and jams them together awkwardly. Avoid at all costs.
Ultra Maniac (manga) 1 volume. Cute and forgettable.
Vagabond (manga) 2 volumes. Some of the gender issues bothered me, but I might continue it eventually because of the awesome art.
Vampire Kiss (manga)
Video Girl Ai (manga) Random volumes. Really not my thing, some of the implications bother me.
Wandering Son (manga) 2 volumes. Fantastic series, really touching and genuine look at the touchy subject of transgender issues. Recommended.
Wanted (manga) 1 chapter. Eh.
We Were There (manga) 1 volume. I can tell I'm getting into something great, so I can't wait to continue. This is exactly the kind of shoujo I love.
Wild Ones (manga) 1 volume. Boring stack of shoujo cliches on top of unremarkable art.
X (manga) Random volumes. Confusing and obtuse. At least it's pretty...?
Yotsuba&! (manga) 8 volumes. Cute and honest. Really makes you feel like a small child again. Never fails to put a smile on my face. Recommended.

Read all▲▼ Rating▲▼ Comment▲▼
Absolute Boyfriend (manga) Decent As with other Yuu Watase series, the art is depressingly average. If you took off Satoshi's glasses and bleached his hair, he and Night would be twins. The ending comes a bit out of nowhere. Otherwise, it's a decent but ultimately forgettable series. Night's antics are cute, and Riiko is one of the more interesting Watase heroines.
After School Nightmare (manga) Excellent Dark, sinister, and strange, this is a wonderful horror series. The imagery is bizarre and surreal, and while some of the students' "Night Class" forms are a bit cliché, a good number of them are inventive and meaningful. Overall, the art is lush and beautiful, though some side characters are difficult to tell apart at times. Of course, the most interesting thing about this series is how it handles issues of adolescence and identity, particularly gender identity. Mashiro's conflict is unique, but also universally relatable. Highly recommended.
Alice 19th (manga) Bad
Alice in the Country of Hearts (manga) Good
+Anima (manga) Good My first manga along with Fruits Basket. It's cute and largely inconsequential. It has some good lessons about tolerance and being yourself. The characters are easy to tell apart and their +Anima forms are cool. I would recommend it to a younger child, perhaps eight or nine.
Aria (manga) Good
Azumanga Daioh (manga) Very good
Bakuman. (manga) Very good
Barefoot Gen (manga) Excellent
Beauty Pop (manga) Decent It's a cute series. If you're a fan of shoujo manga and you see it at the local library, go ahead and give it a try. The main character Kiri is likeable in her snark and apathy, and the hairdressing angle is fairly unique. The art is cute but kind of bland, and the main guy is one of those annoying tsunderes who complains all the time for no reason. The side characters are cute though, and even Narumi becomes kind of endearing after a while.
Black Butler (manga) Good
Black Cat (manga by K. Yabuki) Decent
Buddha (manga) Masterpiece
Buffalo 5 Girls (manga) Good
Cardcaptor Sakura (manga) Good
Ceres: Celestial Legend (manga) Excellent This one is almost a masterpiece. It has great twists, exciting action, some fantastic characters, and deals with the touchy subject of gender politics in a mature, intelligent, and interesting manner. It is by far Yuu Watase's best work. However, while it includes in full force many of Watase's strengths as a creator, the flaws common to her work are also here as well. The main couple's romance is mostly bland and uninteresting, and an ingenious twist at the end about Touya's true origin and purpose doesn't entirely remedy that. The art is bland and forgettable, with some characters being pretty difficult to tell apart at times. There is also Watase's tendency to use rape as an excuse for good drama, which mars the intelligence of the themes by occasionally treating men as though they are all rapists. However, though these flaws are major enough for me to knock this series down one letter grade, it is still a fantastic manga that I hope will be remembered for years to come. Kagami is a fantastic antagonist, and the Progenitor has a surprising amount of depth to him as well. The moral grey areas are handled well here as Ceres' murderous misandry is treated as just as harmful as the Progenitor's sexism. Many of the side characters, such as Shura and Chidori, have stuck with me long after I finished the series.
Chibi Vampire (manga by Y. Kagesaki) Decent
Chobits (manga) Very good
Cirque du Freak (manga) Good
Clover (manga, CLAMP) Decent A beautiful, beautiful mess. It's unfortunate that the story is completely incoherent, because the art is absolutely breathtaking.
Crescent Moon (manga) So-so Eh.
D.N.Angel (manga) So-so Eh.
Death Note (manga) Very good
A Drunken Dream (manga) Excellent
Emma (manga) Very good
Fairy Cube (manga) Decent
Fruits Basket (manga) Masterpiece My absolute favorite manga, and I could talk about it all day. I love every one of the characters, even the less-than-wonderful ones, more than any others. Their stories are so exquisitely crafted and so genuine that it's hard not to get teary-eyed at the more tragic parts. There is nary an out-of-character moment in the series. Takaya-sensei is remarkably honest with her creations, letting them run free within the narrative. The art is simple, especially later on (I know my friend had some serious trouble telling characters apart in later volumes, but I wasn't bothered by it), and not really anything to write home about. However, Takaya-sensei is very talented when it comes to drawing wonderfully subtle and nuanced expressions, and backing those up with body language that often says much more than the mere words on the page. She is also a master at using shading and panel layouts to convey complex tones and emotions, and as a result, many of the pages are truly beautiful to look at. Her layouts are creative and easy to read, with some lovely transitions. Highly recommended, though if you're a shoujo manga fan, you've probably already read it :)
Full Moon O Sagashite (manga) Good
Fullmetal Alchemist (manga) Masterpiece My second-favorite manga. If you're looking for a good long-running shounen series, you really can't do better than this one. The main characters have a complex backstory and are immediately likeable and easy to root for. The story is truly epic in scale, a difficult-to-achieve quality I can only ascribe to a couple of series, but always brings it back to the two brothers in the end. (And speaking of endings, this one is pretty incredible.) There is a surprising amount of moral ambiguity in this series, though it remains very optimistic in tone throughout (compare to the 2003 anime, which is much more cynical). I can't talk about this series without mentioning the women. The female characters in this manga are strong, diverse, and three-dimensional. Even some of the side characters, like Maes Hughes' wife Gracia, really stand out. The art is clean and coherent, and the characters easy to tell apart. The fights are exciting and inventive, often incorporating a scientific element.
Fushigi Yûgi (manga) So-so
Genkaku Picasso (manga) Decent
Genshiken (manga) Very good
(The) Gentlemen's Alliance Cross (manga) Not really good Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have pure, undiluted SHOUJO injected into your veins via IV? Read Gentlemen's Alliance Cross. It's Arina Tanemura at her most shoujo-y. Poor ex-yanki girl at a rich kid school? Check. Implausible uniforms, giant sparkly eyes, and ridiculously detailed hair? Of course. Crossdressing shota best friend? Yep. Secret twins? Naturally. Victorian wasting disease? Would it really be shoujo without it? I'll admit it's a bit of a guilty pleasure for a shoujo-lover like me, but even I can only take a couple of chapters at a time xD Unless you *LOVE* shoujo, stay the heck away from this one.
(The) Heart of Thomas (manga) Masterpiece
Heaven's Will (manga) Not really good Eh.
Hellsing (manga) Decent
High School Debut (manga) Excellent
Hikaru no Go (manga) Very good
Honey and Clover (manga) Excellent
Iguana Girl (manga) Excellent
Imadoki! Nowadays (manga) Decent
Inuyasha (manga) Weak
Karakuri Odette (manga) Very good
Kitchen Princess (manga) Excellent This one has kind of a Fruits Basket vibe, so it's really no surprise that I love it xD The first few volumes are nothing special, but I encourage you to read on. It really tugs on your heartstrings later on with really genuine characters and drama. There's a pretty serious tragedy that occurs at about the halfway point, and I think this is the point where the series goes from "Good" to "Excellent." Unfortunately, though, the art stays bland and unremarkable. Still, I highly recommend it.
Lychee Light Club (manga) Very good
Marmalade Boy (manga) Decent
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (manga) Bad
Monkey High! (manga) So-so Completely average, middle-of-the-road shoujo series with tedious characters and bland art. Also, Love*Com called--it wants its gimmick back.
Mr. Mini Mart (manga) Good
Mushishi (manga) Masterpiece
My Heavenly Hockey Club (manga) Decent
NANA (manga) Excellent
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days (manga) Awful Eh.
Not Simple (manga)
Ouran High School Host Club (manga) Good
Paradise Kiss (manga) Excellent
Peach Fuzz (OEL manga) Not really good I read it when I was pretty young. I don't think I even realized it was an OEL. It's pretty cute, but otherwise just kind of bland and inane. Might be good for a child.
Pet Shop of Horrors (manga) Good
Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo (manga) Good
Planetes (manga) Excellent
Princess Tutu (manga) Awful I'm pretty hard on bad adaptations of good anime, because this thing really doesn't need to exist. You could read an awful manga with terrible art, or you could watch a terrific and unmatched anime series. Your choice.
Rurouni Kenshin (manga) Good
Saiyuki (manga, K. Minekura) So-so
Saiyuki Reload (manga) So-so
Socrates in Love (manga) Decent Eh.
Stargazing Dog (manga) Good
Tekkonkinkreet (manga) Good
They Were Eleven (manga) Very good
To Terra (manga) Very good
Train Man: A Shojo Manga So-so Just watch the movie.
Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE (manga) Decent Up through about volume 21, this series is very good and I highly recommend it. It's a very fun shounen adventure series with great art, and the Acid Tokyo arc even has moments of greatness in it. However, the ending completely falls off the rails. I recommend reading through the Acid Tokyo arc and then making up your own ending. I guarantee whatever you come up with will be better than the actual ending.
Wish (manga) Very good Short and sweet tearjerker. The characters are really cute and I shed a tear at the ending. The art isn't the best I've seen from CLAMP, but even CLAMP at their worst is prettier than most other manga. Recommended.
With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child (manga) Excellent A touching and educational family drama. It gets a little sentimental at times, but it's actually a lot more evenhanded and honest than most stories of this type. Sachiko is a very strong character (I love stories focusing on parents!), and Hikaru is a very realistic portrayal of a severely autistic child. The one major downside is that, due to the mangaka's untimely passing, the story remains unfinished and the hurried conclusion in the final volume is mostly storyboards. However, this one is so good that the lack of an ending hardly drags it down at all. Highly recommended.
Wolf's Rain (manga) Awful I'm pretty hard on bad adaptations of good anime, because this thing really doesn't need to exist. You could read an awful manga with so-so art, or you could watch a terrific and unmatched anime series. Your choice. Also, they completely and thoughtlessly change the ending, so in essence this manga ends up meaning nothing.
xxxHOLiC (manga) Masterpiece By far my favorite CLAMP series. The artistry is excellent, probably my favorite out of any CLAMP work. They give it a unique high-contrast look that mimics ukiyo-e prints and creates a creepy, somewhat mystical tone that in any lesser series would be achieved by burying the artwork in oppressive screentone. Yuuko is probably one of my favorite female manga characters of all time. Watanuki's development from whiny, spastic teenager to wise shop owner is well-done and meaningful, and his relationships with Yuuko, his crush Himawari, and especially his classmate Doumeki are complex and multi-faceted. This series is bogged down a little in later volumes by its ties with its (lesser) crossover series Tsubasa, but the ending more than makes up for it. Despite its flaws, I couldn't bear to give it any rating besides "Masterpiece."
Yakitate!! Japan (manga) Excellent One of the funniest comedies I've had the pleasure of reading. A great parody of the shounen tournament formula with some very delicious-looking food. It drags itself out a little too long, but for the majority of its run it is hilarious, creative, and off-the-wall insane. The art is also very good. Recommended.
Yu-Gi-Oh! (manga) I can't rate it because it's too nostalgic. I was obsessed with this series when I was seven.
YuYu Hakusho (manga) Good This one's a fairly standard shounen tourney series, but I'm a fan of Togashi's style. The characters are likable and play off each other well, and the fight scenes are awesome. Recommended if you like shounen tourney, especially Hunter x Hunter.

Will not finish▲▼ Rating▲▼ Comment▲▼
Aku no Meshitsukai (manga) Bad I like the song (Servant of Evil by mothy and featuring Kagamine Len), but this is not a good adaptation. It's extremely confusing, even more-so than the song, and the art is pretty ugly as well.
Black Bird (manga) Awful Creepy and misogynistic. A great example of the worst kind of shoujo. Even the art is hardly better than average.
Bleach (manga) So-so Kubo ran out of ideas. I quit around the end of the Soul Society Arc, although I've read a few random chapters beyond that. I originally read it because I thought Rukia was badass. That opinion has not changed, but Kubo kind of forgot that she was a main character, so in return, I forgot to keep reading the series.
Bunny Drop (manga) Excellent I read the first four volumes, and I will judge only the first four volumes. I know the ending, and it bothers me, so I do not have any plans to read past the time skip. However, the first four volumes are fine on their own and tell a very sweet and unique little story about a man learning how to be a father. Recommended.
Captive Hearts (manga) So-so I used to be into Vampire Knight, so I tried out a couple other Matsuri Hino series. This one caught my eye because I was also into Black Butler at the time and I liked the master/servant angle. Overall...Meh. Not really worth wasting time on unless you're a HUGE Matsuri Hino fan.
Chrono Crusade (manga) So-so Bit too cheesy for me, and I don't like the art.
Crimson Hero (manga) So-so Characters are bland, art is boring.
Cromartie High School (manga) Not really good Unfunny.
D.Gray-man (manga) So-so Read 21 volumes. I loved the series for a while, when it focused more on horror and suspense than fighting. The akuma are very creepy monsters, and their ringleader the Millennium Earl is deeply disturbing in a very entertaining way. The first few Noah are also fascinating and disturbing. The main characters are likeable and attractive (even resident jerk Yuu Kanda) and the art is decadent and detailed. Hoshino-sensei draws backgrounds and monsters very well and manages to maintain an aura of mystery and unease without using an overwhelming amount of screen tone. However, while she does horror very well, the action elements do not fare nearly as well. Her fight scenes are completely incoherent and she often fails to explain her characters' abilities. The series becomes bogged down in confusing fight scenes and way too many underdeveloped side characters in later volumes and ceases to be fun to read. Volume 20 is a flashback volume to one of the main characters' backstories and is a very strong little horror vignette. However, volume 21 goes back to the boring, incoherent dreck of the late teens. Give it a try if you like gothic horror and pretty boys, but otherwise, go ahead and skip it.
Deltora Quest (manga) Bad Unremarkable kids' series.
Godchild (manga) Not really good Confusing and obtuse. All the characters look the same, and Yuki-sensei drowns her artwork in way too much screen tone, betraying a certain lack of confidence in her own artistic ability. If you want to read a Kaori Yuki series, I recommend the shorter, weirder, better Fairy Cube.
Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time (manga) Not really good Generic otome game adaptation is generic. Boring and the art isn't great.
Land of the Blindfolded (manga) Decent This one is fine, kind of sweet, cute art. Just didn't really strike my fancy enough to continue.
Library Wars: Love & War (manga) So-so I like the premise, but the series focuses more on bland romance than librarians fighting censorship.
(The) Lizard Prince (manga) Weak
Naruto (manga) Decent I got confused and the pacing got bad. The last member of the Akatsuki who I actually liked died, so I finally gave up after 44 volumes. I don't care at all about the Uchiha clan or Naruto himself. However, this series is actually quite good (if you like this sort of manga) through the Chuunin exams at least. Give it a shot and see how far you get, but if you're like me and you really could care less about Sasuke's family problems, then I'm afraid those never leave the story.
(The) Prince of Tennis (manga) Bad There are two reasons to read a sports manga: love for the sport and love for the characters. I don't love tennis, but I like it well enough, and if Chihayafuru can make me love an obscure foreign card game I've never heard of, a tennis manga should be able to turn my like into passion, at least while I'm reading it. Prince of Tennis taught me nothing about tennis and seems to have no respect for the sport at all. The characters are bland and insufferable, designed to be as attractive as possible but drawn in a style that does not lend itself to appealing character designs. The main character in particular is an arrogant dickhead.
S.A (manga)
Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (manga)
Shinobi Life (manga)
Translucent (manga) Not really good
Vampire Knight (manga) Awful So I thought I quit this series because of the incest. But I rewatched the anime (long story) recently, and realized that I was wrong. I was all interested until I reached a certain point, around the same point I dropped the manga way back when, and suddenly lost all interest I had in the series. I don't know what happened, but suddenly, I could muster nothing but apathy for the story and characters. Other reasons I dislike it...The art is pretty, but Hino-sensei has exactly one male model and one female model, so telling characters apart is impossible. Even their heights are the same! Yuuki is one of those fake action heroines who rushes blindly into dangerous situations (we're told she is strong because she does this, and because she can jump really high) precisely so she can be saved by one of her numerous hunky guy-friends. I will say that the series knows how to use it's love triangle--neither love interest is ideal (Kaname in particular needs to be drop-kicked into a dying sun), but there is real animosity and drama between them and it's impossible to tell who she will end up with at any given point. If you like vampires and don't mind incest, sure, give it a try. Otherwise, though, I would skip it.