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Starting Collection For Libraries - Suggestions?


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smutchi



Joined: 16 Apr 2005
Posts: 189
PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2005 3:53 pm Reply with quote
Let's say you could start a manga collection for a library...

Question Which series, and why, would you suggest starting with?

I guess you know what I mean... Smile I'm looking for a good & classical mix... If there are just one or two series that are essential in your opinion, then I'd like to hear that too of course! Smile

I highly appreciate any suggestions (with explanations/reasons) !!! Very Happy


Last edited by smutchi on Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Arkard



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 677
Location: Poland
PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2005 5:09 pm Reply with quote
Well lets see...
You could start with Slayers. It is only 8 volumes total, it doesnt have any extreme violent or sex scenes and basically it is your typical fantasy story with hilarious characters. And I know it is available in Germany (some years ago I ordered it in German) and it appeals to a wide range of people. So think about that.
Also... why dont you try Tokyo Mew Mew for the younger readers? It is a great way to get into the whole magical girl gender. It has 7 volumes total (I THINK).
Moving on.
How bout something from CLAMP? Tokyo Babylon is a short series. But then again, it is based heavily on japanese culture. And there is also DNA2 by Katsura (a SF comedy) aaaaaand maybe some one-shots?

Ps
I am sure I have more but I am tired right now. If necessary, I will edit this later.
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2992
Location: Los Angelas
PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2005 6:07 pm Reply with quote
I think it's best to have 10 series with about 2 volume each:


Popular essential that that arn't complex and easy to read for beginners: Some of these are above 20 volumes, but I feel they will attract readers nevertheless.

Fruit Basket: Shojo for the young girls
Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist: Shonen for the young boys

Planetes: for the older teen (male)
Hot Gimmick: for the older teen (female)

One Piece: for all ages
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka: might be a bit echiii but still one of the best comedy
Qwan: an excellent fantasy adventure title set during the Han Dynasty
Prince of Tennis or Eyeshield 21 are good sports- based manga for all ages
Iron Wok Jan a manga about cooking
Rurouni Kenshin: - A popular "samurai" title for both male and female. It's also a historical fiction and should attract new readers or anime fanatic.

And if somehow you can extend your budget, get the award winning Buddha. If your library has a religion section, this could fit there too.


Last edited by darkhunter on Wed May 18, 2005 1:16 pm; edited 11 times in total
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Alchemist449



Joined: 04 Aug 2004
Posts: 341
Location: LED ZEPPELIN! nuf said
PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2005 8:25 pm Reply with quote
And If you want to get SciFi fans go for:

Planetes-
Plot Summary: Hachimaki Hoshino is a garbage man in space. Together with his friends Yuri, Fee and Tanabe he collects everything from satellites to screws, that has the power to, at high speeds punch large holes in innocent spaceships. But Hachi dreams of owning a spaceship and he sees an opportunity to earn a lot of money in becoming a part of the crew for the first manned trip to Jupiter, but in his way are armed terrorists, his own dark side and even the grim reaper.
It is 5 volumes.
(removed Akira after rereading the first post but I would still recomend it.)
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Dranxis



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 591
Location: Ohtori Academy
PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2005 9:45 pm Reply with quote
In terms of classical manga, here are some suggestions:

Classic Romance: Maison Ikkoku (15 volumes)

Classic Action: Cyborg 009 (10 volumes)

Classic Sci-Fi: Akira (6) (might be a bit too violent, check this one out first)

Classic Fantasy: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (7)

Classic Comedy: Urusei Yatsura/ Lum (stopped publication at 9 volumes)

Classic Historical Fiction: Lone Wolf and Cub (28) (also might be a little too violent)

Classic Horror: Uzumaki (3)

Includes ANYTHING by Osamu Tezuka.
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quincyarcher



Joined: 13 Oct 2004
Posts: 164
Location: Age of Paranoia
PostPosted: Wed May 18, 2005 6:17 am Reply with quote
Well, here's what I suggested to my librarian:

Dragonball - It's popular and there's a reason for that. Even if the general anime fandom tends to shove this under the carpet, your average joe will pick this up.

Sailor Moon - It is my opinion that nearly everyone in their early to late teens has caught part of an episode of this. It's classic.

Akira - Another classic, even if it's a tad violent. Also Domu, if there are concerns about Akira.

Also get *one* Rumiko Takaishi(either Inu-Yasha, Ranma, or Maison Ikkoku) and *one* Osamu Tezuka.

That's a good classical base, that's bound to be good reading for anyone.
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smutchi



Joined: 16 Apr 2005
Posts: 189
PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2005 6:05 pm Reply with quote
Arkard, darkhunter, Alchemist449, Dranxis, quincyarcher:
Thanks very much for your efforts!!! Very Happy

Everyone else: Please, write something! Wink
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Malroth



Joined: 12 Mar 2003
Posts: 24
PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2005 6:10 pm Reply with quote
I work at a public library in Minnesota..fairly rural, and our graphic novel section (primarily manga) has a very good rate of borrowing. It's definately a section that will be worth it's money.

Of course a wide variety of manga to select from is a good idea..here's what we have, and for the most part they're checked out quite often. Smile

Peach Girl
Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances)
Dragonball
Dragonball Z
Angelic Layer
Sailor Moon
Rurouni Kenshin
Trigun
Nausicaa
Dragon Knights

Just a quick sampling there..I'll try to get a more complete list for you later.
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YourNeighborTotoro



Joined: 17 May 2005
Posts: 90
Location: On this forum...No Duh
PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2005 8:36 pm Reply with quote
CLAMP manga is pretty popular and Angelic Layer was good, CLAMP is mostly Shojou.
SHONEN JUMP is awesome, tiles include DBZ, Yu-Gi-Oh, Prince of Tennis, Dr. Slump, Hikaru no Go, etc.
If you want some classics, try out ASTRO BOY, Osamu Tezuka's manga debut from the 1960's.
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2005 10:16 pm Reply with quote
Very interesting; having been to five of Boston's librarys including the massive central branch, I have yet to find any manga beyond Ranma, Akira and the occasional volume of Dragonball Z. But enough complaining:

Nausicaa-Brilliant, sweeping epic that ranks up there with the greats of fantasy litterature in my opinion. While it does deal with some mature themes (hatred, war) it never becomes too explicit in violence. It may not be the best choice for young kids, but it's a masterpiece that can turn even the most hardened litterary snob onto manga (at least it worked on the snobs I know Wink)

Buddha-I second darkhunter's recommendation. It's both a very thoughtful epic dealing with many principles behind Buddhism and life, as well as a swash-buckling adventure. I can't comment on it's availability in German, but soon a softcover English edition will be published for a mear $8 a volume. If not Buddha, then I'd still recommend something by Osamu "God" Tezuka, perhapse Astro Boy or Phoenix.

Barefoot Gen-It certainly is graphic, but I think that Gen is a manga that most people would be willing to make an exception for, as it deals with the A-bombing of Hiroshima. True, it's graphic and the art may not be pretty by todays standards, but Gen's heart and power is undeniable. I'd especially recommend it because it doesn't paint a simple, one-sided picture of war as people might expect it too.

Kodocha-Cute and fun to read, this is a great shojo manga that should appeal to young children and maybe a couple of older readers as well.

Oh My Goddess!-Great series that proves you don't mature themes to have an intellegent story. Usually very goofy and funny, OMG! has alot more substance behind the fluff than most people would think. The characters grow on you, the world they inhabit is facinating and it's just plain fun to read.

One Piece-Well, you need at least one traditional shonen series, and OP certainly is one of the better ones. Simple fun that kids will love.

Those would be my starting picks, with something to appeal to everyone. Depending on who you find frequenting the manga section, you may want to focus on a specific type of manga (I don't know if shojo is huge over there, but if alot of teenaged girls are coming to the library something by Yuu Watase or MARS may be a good pick).
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molloaggie



Joined: 30 Jun 2003
Posts: 578
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 2:51 pm Reply with quote
My public library has quite an investment in Japanese graphic novels and also in American comics. I'll tell you what the most popular are:

Kare Kano
Rurouni Kenshin
YuGiOh

We also carry:
Fushigi Yugi (18)
Nausicaa (4/7)
Kodocha (8)
.hack//Twilight (3)
Inuyasha
Shaman King
Yu Yu Hakusho
Fruits Basket
Astroboy
Peach Girl

And many more but those are definitely the most popular that everybody enjoys reading
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.Sy



Joined: 11 Mar 2005
Posts: 1266
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 2:55 pm Reply with quote
Gack! I just lost my long post I made. My page refreshed or something... Anyways, on to your question.

Without being specific, I'd say some Yuu Watase and CLAMP.

Specific:

Rurouni Kenshin: Some good sword fighting action as well as many historical references.

Naruto: Comedy, good story plot, charatcer development, it's all there.

Hikaru no Go: Different from other Shonen manga, but really good, plus it's very well drawn.

Nausicaa was also very well done, I reccommmend it. Takes a bit of time to get into , but it's a stellar job.

I'd also go for some sports titles. I' not sure if you have The Prince of Tennis, because I didn't see it on Amazon.de. It's a really good title though.

Definitely Fullmoon wo Sagashite, it's about a girl with throat cancer. She only has a year to live, but wants to pursue a singing carreer anyway.

Pick a classic, I can't help you here because I haven't read a lot of series. There's more, but just those above for starters.
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smutchi



Joined: 16 Apr 2005
Posts: 189
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:57 pm Reply with quote
Thanks again for all the suggestions!! I really appreciate it!! Very Happy

I checked all the titles that were mentioned and narrowed them down.

That's the provisional list:

Death Note
Fruits Basket
Kodocha
Maison Ikkoku
Planetes
Rurouni Kenshin
Slayers
from Clamp: Tokyo Babylon or X, Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales
from Yuu Watase: Alice 19th or Ayashi no Ceres

Lone Wolf & CUB sounds interesting, but is listed for adults in the encyclopedia... (how bad is it? Wink )


What do you think? Is there something from "every" genre and for all age groups (f.e. enough shonen?)...?
Do you think one of the series in the list is crap? Very Happy I didn't read reviews/opinions for everyone of them, I mainly checked if they're available and which genre(s) they represent...
Do you miss a very important one?
Which series from Clamp and Yuu Watase should I take best?
Just write down your thoughts, I don't have the patience to write down all the questions possible... Wink


Last edited by smutchi on Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
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.Sy



Joined: 11 Mar 2005
Posts: 1266
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:06 pm Reply with quote
Y'know, I haven't read that much manga myself, but I'd say that your list is pretty good for starters. It's an even balance, but if any sports title comes out your might be interested in getting it. Darn...you guys get Death Note already? Nu! Maybe you could just get some suggestions from people who are checking the titles out of the library sometime down the road, that wouldnt be too bad either.
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2992
Location: Los Angelas
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:49 pm Reply with quote
Well that's a good list to start with, hopefully your libraries will do well.

Death Note isn't really that good of a choice, you might as well get Bleach or Nausicaa instead. Also Imadoki (5 Volumes long) is a fun and down to earth Watase series because Ayashi no Ceres deals with some adult theme.

Lone wolf and cub is a classic, but it has some adult content: Sex, rape, tortore, genocide, head being slice off, and so on....but it isn't that bad because it's not as detail as something like Berserk or Tenjou Tenge. Also the manga retain a lot of the edo-period term like "hanshi" and "shima", so it really isn't for noobie manga reader. There is a glossy at the back of the book, but a lot of term arn't cover.

Also try to get the Shonen Jump or Shojo Beat magazine by Viz somehow (maybe on ebay if it's not available).
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