Forum - View topicBest One-Shot Manga
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Not a Jellyfish
 Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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Everyone talks about all these wonderful long series...But what about the one-shots? The manga that are only one chapter or just one volume? What do you think are the best one-shots and why?
Personally, some of my favorites are: Legend of Chun Hyang- I'm a huge CLAMP fan, and I love their portrayal of Chun Hyang. The story is short and sweet, and actually made me want even more. The One I Love (Watashi no suki na hito) - Another great CLAMP one-shot. Several chapters combined into one short volume. Each story takes a different perspective on love and the emotions and situations around love. Shirahime-Syo - More CLAMP one-shotness. Heh. The hardcover edition was bound beautifully, and the stories were very memorable and well-drawn Domu - Katsuhiro Otomo (the creator of Akira) at one of his best. A really nitty-gritty get in your head thriller. Very unique and cool. Erica Sakurazawa - Almost anything by her is wonderful. Excellent reflections of humanity and love with beautiful artwork. Sexy Voice and Robo - Unique and fun. A truly different kind of manga story with unique characters. Memorable and lovable. |
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Mistress9
Exempt from Grammar Rules
 Posts: 226 |
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Only the ring finger knows- is the best Yaoi/ shouen ai story I have read. The art is brilliant and the characters struggles to be together is super sweet. I also found this one not to be filled with clitques and well I wish they would turn it into a series, I guess the novels will have to do.
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Asako
 Posts: 751 Location: Hawaii |
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Calling You - was such a wonderful manga, I think it out-shone most of Clamp's one shots to me. I was so lost in thought after reading that manga because of the possibilities.
Though I have to admit that watashi no sukina hito was very fun to read because of all the tiny stories of different types of loves. But the commentary on it was great. I also agree with Erica Sakurazawa works. They all seem to touch on a less comedic side and modern culture which is very refreshing. The characters don't quite stand out to me but the story is very memorable. |
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Not a Jellyfish
Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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I have been really tempted to pick this up. You just convinced me. I'm also really excited about the original novel coming stateside. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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For me, it has to be Misaki de basu wo orita hito ("The person who got off the bus at the cape") by Urushibara Yuki (better known as the mangaka of Mushishi).
This is a beautifully composed and executed short story of a person who finds herself inheriting a place that is located in a unique position, with the power to make a difference in people's lives. It was a one-shot, just 46 pages, published in Afternoon, 2004/9. I've read the original, and there's also a very well-made scanlation floating around. If ever something deserved to be published in some sort of translated-to-English "Best-of" anthology of manga, this is it. - abunai EDIT: Small terminology error corrected Last edited by abunai on Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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I love all of Rumiko Takahashi's 1-shot stories. My favorite is probably Fire Tripper (a.k.a. the proto-InuYasha), but all of the Rumic World/Theater stories were great. Takahashi seems to have a problem with settling into a rut on a lot of her longer-running series, but she knocks it out of the park every time when she's only got 40 pages or so to work with. So much more poignant and affecting that way.
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Asako
Posts: 751 Location: Hawaii |
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Oh yes! I forgot to mention Rumiko Takahashi's one shots!!!
Fire Tripper is definitely on top for me over all of her works! Her One or W also stood out for me. Especially the first story about the girl who wanted to fit in a dress to impress a guy. In defense of her long running works. When there's a significant storyline in those long runs (Like Herb and the very ending with the Bird People) it's very exciting to read. Ranma in itself is like the same character associated with a bunch of one shots. Sometimes it's not centered around his gender changing at all! I think that's why I really love Ranma. I can read it anywhere in the series and more likely than not it's like a short story/comic strip. |
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Momoko_Yumi
 Posts: 98 Location: Heidenheim, Germany |
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Goth (i don't know wether it is published in the USA).
This is an interessting horror-manga about a weird schoolboy. He becomes friend with a female schoolmate which once commited suicide, but survied it. Only the scars on her wrist shows what she had tried. The couple where then involved in some crimes. It's a really interessting, but weird and sometimes really horrible manga with many blood and shock-effects. |
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digitalkikka
 Posts: 462 Location: Chicago, Illinois |
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That's why I didn't like Chun Hyang, it felt too incomplete. I liked the characters and the setting but in the end it was just meh for me. And that last story was just too sappy and misplaced. As for my favorites, I don't have too many since I generally prefer a longer series but I'm starting to discover that there's some great one-shots out there so this list will grow in the future. Hoshi no Koe - The Voices of a Distant Star- Usually I hate manga that is based on an anime but this managed to convey the mood and emotions of its anime counterpart quite well. At first I thought the art was too 'sketchy' but as I read on it grew on me and by the end I loved the style. Ohikkoshi- Everything about this was just so damn good. If you haven't done so yet, check it out, it's really worth it. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I haven't read too many one-shots to be honest, really the only full volume one-shot that I've read was Erica Sakurazawa's Between the Sheets (I think that was the title) which was interesting though not something I would call amazing (I do want to look into other titles by her though, since I see her mentioned a lot here).
I did however greatly enjoy a one-chapter storyline by Fuyumi Soryo which was included in the Mars Gaiden volume. I forget the title of it but it was the second story in the book, after the Mars related one, about the spoiler[comatosed girl in the hospital who forms a friendship with this reckless guy and teaches him about life]. I was pretty amazed by what she was able to accomplish in just one chapter. I also do enjoy the one chapter stories I've read from Yuu Watase, though not quite as much as her longer series. The one about the girl who was afraid of germs was pretty cute though, and I also really enjoyed the tie-ins with both Alice 19th and Imadoki! |
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Otaku0013
 Posts: 19 Location: SC |
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I've read plenty of one shot manga in the past, and they are almost always disappointments. However I would say Sandland, Train Man [Del Rey] and Ohikkoshi are exceptions.
Sandland - Shounen Manga from Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball Train Man [Del Rey] - There are two other manga versions of this story that have been released in the US, but this version is the best. Ohikkoshi - Excellent manga from the creator of Blade of the Immortal. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6901 Location: Kazune City |
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dambuilder
 Posts: 42 |
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Kyoko Okazaki's "River's Edge" is fantastic. The art may be ugly but so are the characters she's writing about. It's a really fascinating venture into the depth of the human soul.
Moto Hagio also wrote several excellent short-stories, my favorite is "They were 11!". Again the art almost made me skip this title, but the story is so well written and thrilling, it must be easily one of the finest sci-fi stories I have read till now. Her later works are far (faaaar) more beautiful to look at and some of them feature quite unique topics. (Like "Hanshin" which is about siamese twins) Ah, yes, marie-antoinette pointed out Fuyumi Soryo. I don't really like her earlier short stories (lots of generic shojo fluff), but her more recent ones are usually very intelligently written and have a wonderful flow. I especially like the ones she based on her own experiences at art school. Soryo is one of the few artists capable to tell so much without having too much plot going on... Did that make sense? |
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godakame
 Posts: 112 Location: Disney World |
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Dirty Work - I'm never to eloquent with my words, nor am I adept at expressing why I like a particular work in words well enough, so I'll just quote Dirk Deppey from The Comics Journal (I would provide a link to the article, albeit it's from an article titled "A Comics Reader's Guide to Manga Scanlations", so yeah).
I just really like "Dirty Work". I'm also quite fond of Keep on Vibrating, from Jiro Matsumoto, a collection of squirting surreal pornographic short stories. Some immensely highly sexualized mind-bludgeoning scenes involving pigs, yakuza gangsters, empathetic prostitutes, and crazies abound throughout the manga. |
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jgreen
Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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I beg to differ. 
I just picked up a very neat one shot title that I had never even heard of before: Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms. Released just this past Wednesday by Last Gasp Publishing (never heard of this company, either), it's an attractively illustrated tale that takes place in Hiroshima, and studies the aftermath of the atomic bomb there a decade later. I must confess, I haven't read it yet, but it certainly LOOKS great. Anyone else check this book out? You can read more about it here. |
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