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What draws you to certain manga books?


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wanirose



Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 128
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:35 am Reply with quote
When you walk through a bookstore or surf online for manga, you usually tend to look at the books before you buy them. So I was wondering what draws you to certain manga books over others? Is it because it has a catchy title, or you like the author, or it is a continuation of the series? Or do you just buy the books that have been recommended to you by a friend or someone in the forums?

Whenever I go to the bookstore I always pick up manga by Clamp that I have not read yet and look through it. Or if a book does have a neat title or interesting cover I tend to look at them too. Also, I do look at the manga people recommend to me and usually end up buying it. The advertisment in the back of manga usually makes me look at the book in the store. Lastly, when previews for other manga on websites or in the back of the book, like in Bring It On and Chocolat, usually makes me want to see what is going to happen next.

So, what draws you to certain manga books???
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:10 am Reply with quote
For me, I stick with a few manga-ka primarily, Watase Yuu and CLAMP, so anything by them I will at least look at. Also, if I've seen an add about a manga and thought it looked interesting, I will usually check it out at least. Finally, I go off other opinions of people who I trust, if they've read something and liked it, I'll usually read it for myself.

Interesting titles also do capture my attention, even if it's something I've never heard of before, and the back descriptions of the books is always a good thing to read as well.
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MorwenLaicoriel



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1617
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:18 pm Reply with quote
If I've heard good things about a manga, or have seen the anime it's based on and am really interested, I'll normally pick it up and read at least the first chapter or so. I also get interested when manga has some nice-looking art, is part of a genre I like, and isn't rated for extreme amounts of violence or sexual content.

Most of the manga I read is because I've read good reviews or had a friend recommend it to me, though.
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Kev-La



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 14
Location: Stafford, England
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:38 pm Reply with quote
Cover art for me. If a book's got a decent cover and I like the character design, I'll flick through it once and if the art inside is not too inferior to the cover, I usually buy it. Unless its some really girly title, that is! Confused
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Monumension



Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Posts: 268
Location: Norway
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:37 pm Reply with quote
Gravity ceases to exist and I'm drawn to the specific titles like I was made of metal and the books were magnets.

Seriously though, unless it's by an author/artist I like (in which case I'll probably buy the titles right away) I usually flip trough the books to have a look at the artwork. If it catches my interest I'll read what it's about and if it looks good I'll buy it. For example; it took me a long time to get into Saikano since I've never really liked the art, but the story was simply too spectacular to ignore and today it's among my favourite series.

Short answer : art
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velocet



Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Posts: 240
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:25 pm Reply with quote
While I admit I am guilty of doing it in the past, these days I can't just pick up and buy a manga simply because the art is pretty. I've read too many stories with nice aesthetics that completely lack substance, and too many stories with seemingly terrible or odd artwork that have turned out to be something I've really enjoyed.

When it comes to picking titles to buy, 9 times out of 10 I know what I'm looking for, through having read it before it was licenced for English publication through scanslation, prior research, or recommendation from someone with similar tastes to my own. Though if I see a title I haven't heard of I'll have a flick through. I'm at the point now whereby I have a good enough idea of my own taste to assess something in-store without needing to dog-ear the book by reading most of it only to put it back.
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Nagisa
Moderator


Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Posts: 6128
Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:42 pm Reply with quote
Depends, really. If it's from a franchise or author I tend to have a history of liking (Gundam, Boogiepop, Lupin, Watase, Azuma, CLAMP...or rather, pre-1998 CLAMP), then I'll likely pick it up. Or, if I liked or was otherwise intrigued by the anime, I might give the manga a try (or, if I disliked the anime and was informed that the manga was superior, i.e. Hellsing). In the case of some longer anime, I might switch over to the manga due to the manga being easier to acquire/better paced/much further along in the story (hi, Naruto; Bleach, you're next). Other than that, though, it's usually just recommendations from friends whose tastes I tend to trust, curiosity over titles that generate a lot of buzz among the fandom, or a quick, three-second glance through the volume scanning it for artwork and general gist-of-story (and, usually, promptly putting it back upon seeing that it's just another generic-looking, generic-reading half-shoujo, pseudo-gay, demonic, love-angst romp).
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Aromatic Grass



Joined: 31 Dec 2003
Posts: 2424
Location: Raleigh, NC
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:11 pm Reply with quote
Most of the time, I'm pulled into a series by the art (and sometimes the author), but I don't buy it just because of that. I find out as much about it as I can, usually on this site or skimming pages in the store.
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Rolito



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 20
Location: Costa Rica
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:03 pm Reply with quote
I would say all of the above!
Sometimes I do it to see the next series sometimes I do it for recomendations.

_._:Rolo:_._
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Mawdryn



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 240
Location: St. Louis, MO. U.S.A.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:43 pm Reply with quote
For me, it's the cover art as well as the particular title of a book. You can pretty much tell what kind of manga you're going to get by its title alone, and if the interior art and subject matter appeals to me, I'm generally sold.
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LydiaDianne



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 5634
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:44 pm Reply with quote
I choose my manga by the manga-ka (Yuu Watase and CLAMP being my faves) but I'll also look at reviews in the magazines (Newtype & AnimeInsider).

I'm seriously considering trying Death Note because I've seen something written about it here and the manager at my anime store says it's good.

Good covers don't hurt either!


Last edited by LydiaDianne on Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:26 am; edited 1 time in total
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Yoshball



Joined: 31 Jul 2003
Posts: 99
Location: Portland, OR
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:23 am Reply with quote
When I get manga, I'm usually not "drawn" to anything. I like to research the titles I get or get titles from anime series that I've enjoyed and want to see another perspective of and/or see the full story.

I actually mostly research on these forums by checking out the recommendations of who I perceive to well read and have discerning tastes (Kagemusha, Cloe, dormcat, darkhunter, etc.) and also look to those rated well in the encyclopedia. I have yet to pick up a bad manga with this method.
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mydog8u2



Joined: 09 Oct 2005
Posts: 82
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:10 am Reply with quote
Love Hina manga covers really drew me towards 'em (I wonder why Laughing ). Most of the covers has a theme, and the theme is VERY frequently 'beach'. As in... girls in bikinis. Pretty anime girls do the trick for a simpleton like me. U-reshi~ Embarassed
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:46 pm Reply with quote
Typically a combination of things, though most of the time I always check a series out if I hear strong recommendations from people I trust or if it comes from certain magazines (Ikki, Afternoon.) There's also a core group of manga-ka who I'll seek out for as long as they produce matterial (Naoki Yamamoto, Taiyo Matsumoto, Osamu Tezuka to name just a few of the many). Of course I also sometimes just check things out to see if they live up to the hype (which is what unfortunatally drove me to read Ichigo 100% and a good deal of other pieces of crap). I'll look into anything that has interesting art too.
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Angelcake



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 74
Location: Just South of Heaven
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:53 pm Reply with quote
I myself usually pick up a manga on the merits of the author.

For example, if its a manga by Osamu Tezuka or Shotaro Ishinomroi, than I'm pretty much guaranteed an enjoyable read. However, if its by Kia Asamiya......well, its a real shot in the dark.

Also, the genre sometimes play into it. I love horror manga, so if its a good horror story, I'll buy it.

Also, I really do prefer retro manga. So if its an older series, I'll give it a look.
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