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God, I feel old. This is the third time for this thread. The other two are here: animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46466&highlight= and animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=31448&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

So anyway, as in year's past, I am interested in seeing what people have enjoyed reading most this past year. The manga in question does not need to have come out during 2008, as long as that was when you read it. I really have enjoyed the previous incarnations of these threads and I'm sure I've picked up titles because of them.

And now, after starting this thread...I'm not sure what to pick as mine. My two past picks, Nana and xxxHolic are still quite up there. But I think I'm going to give the honour to Saikano because it's such a beautiful series. I love the art and how the manga-ka can use panels without any dialogue/narration so well. And the story is just so heartbreaking and also quite unique, which is a rarity in the world where ever story has been told a hundred times at least.

Really, the only bad thing about Saikano that I've discovered is that the 7th and final volume seems to be unavailable right now so I haven't been able to finish the damn thing -_-

Special mention goes to Vampire Knight because it is my favourite guilty pleasure and because Zero is such an awesome character. Though I have to say that my enjoyment of this series is definitely heightened by the anime.

My favourite manga this year has been Skip Beat. I like had-working, stubborn and vengeful Kyoko (as you can see from my current avatar) and her devils. The fact I rarely like the main character from shojo speak for itself. I also like it that it is not focused only on romance in fact the relationship between Kyoko and Ren develops slowly, which may or may not be a good thing depending what one prefers. There is a lot of humour and some situations made me laugh out loud.

I still like Nodame Cantabile and Nana, my favourites from last year. It has not changed.

In 2007, I discovered a new-to-me shoujo mangaka named Nari Kusakawa through her 5 volume series The Recipe for Gertrude. In 2008, two more of her series rocketed to the top of my favorites list: Two Flower of the Dragon and The Palette of 12 Secret Colors. Nari Kusakawa creates stories that appeal to me for their humor, their storylines, and their characterizations. Her artwork doesn't qualify as pinup quality. At the first few glances of Gertrude, I thought it was an odd style. But as I read, I realized how perfectly her style conveys what her characters are thinking and feeling.

Add those to my ongoing love for Penguin Revolution, Dazzle, and Silver Diamond and you have the top of my 2008 favorite manga list.

My favorite and long standing obsession would have to be Hellsing. I'm still excited to finally get the 9th vol. (Now if only they would release Hellsing: The Dawn *sigh*.) I just love a vampire character that isn't weepy or conflicted about who he is. Plus being rather psychotic and twisted is just entertaining. That, and I love Integra. She is the most interesting female character I have ever seen.

Other titles that deserve mention would be Solanin and After School Nightmare. Solanin because it is an amazing one-shot work. The characters are extremely easy to identify with (in my case the first chapter with a dead end job spoke far too clearly) and the ending is extremely realistic. Everything doesn't end with everyone happy and getting everything they've ever dreamt about. After School Nightmare because (while I'm holding my breath for the final vol) it is just an engrossing read. I've always enjoyed the gender-bender genre (I believe Hana Kimi still holds as the most recognizable for this genre) and Nightmare give the genre an interesting twist. This has been one of those works that I debating picking up and once I did I was completely sucked in.

(All that said have to agree that Vampire Knight is also a guilty pleasure of mine. I love Zero too even if he is a weepy vampire.)

My pick this year would have to be the rollercoaster that was Tsubasa. Tsubasa had begun as basically a tournament series which added an interesting twist as the gang slowly became a very unconventional family. This year it neared Greek tragedy proportions as almost everyone was stretched to the breaking point as they showed what they were willing to do for either their foster child, best friend or foster parent. No one came out unscathed - including us, as watching the events unfold was almost physically painful at times - and as the mindblowing event which ended the last volume showed, it still isn't over yet. It was a beautiful study of different kinds of love as well as an emotional train wreck you couldn't take your eyes off.

Uh, this isn't going to be as detailed as I'd like, but whatever.

Favorite of the year is easily Solanin. It's about as good as comics get, period. Easily one of the best all-time manga releases in English, and it has thankfully garnered a substantial amount of praise and attention around here and the blogosphere. (Hopefully that translates to good sales for Viz, considering the current economic situation.) Easily the most brilliant down-to-earth slice-of-life title I've ever encountered: great sense of character and understated emotions, acute and observational humor, very moving and absolutely phenomenal art. (Really hope that more Asano titles make their way over here.)

Other excellent "new" manga would be:

Me and the Devil Blues -- Criminally underappreciated in general; aside from Casey's incredibly misleading review, I haven't seen a negative response to it yet. A pulp-ish story with an incredibly original setting for Japanese comics, the story is told with absolute confidence as we see RJ (fictionalized Robert Johnson) and his journey after selling his soul to the devil. Oh, and did I mention that it has some of the best goddamn gorgeous art you'll ever see in your life?

Red Colored Elegy - Not yet in the encyclopedia, sadly. Anyhow, this is the most grand example of experimental manga that we've seen in English that still retains a plot and characters (thus Yokoyama's material isn't included). Very elliptical, symbolic yet surprisingly emotional read that is quite rewarding for those who have the patience and interest in this kind of story. What really pushes this into excellence for me, though, is Hayashi's manipulation of decompression, sequencing and repeating imagery. A lot of people won't take to this, but those willing to chance something that's unlike anything else out there should treat themselves to this manga. Read this review for further details.

Black Jack - A sort-of re-release (Viz only released the first two volumes), but an important one. Black Jack is apparently viewed as Tezuka's definitive work in Japan -- the God of manga at the top of his game, covering a variety of subjects with the emotionally honesty and passion that attracts and keeps so many readers attached to his work. It is certainly an outstanding work, and is made slightly more readable than his other works for the sheer insanity of some of the plots. (The story concerning the futuristic, "damaged" computer that holds an entire hospital facility hostage in order to have Black Jack operate on it is a particularly gripping example.) Even when the melodrama threatens to overwhelm with some of the lesser stories, the sheer drive and ambition by Tezuka keeps you flipping the pages at lightning speed.

Good-Bye - A slight disappointment compared to Abandon the Old in Tokyo, which remains my favorite Tatsumi collection. Still, this is yet another great compilation of the pioneer of gekiga. No one can really capture misery and existential troubles in modern society like Tatsumi can.

Real - So, yeah, this is very good. Great drama by Takehiko Inoue, manga-ka of Vagabond and Slam Dunk (also started up again this year, this time by Viz and promised a far longer life than Raijin gave it). Considering the premise and the creator, what's more to say?

There's also on-going series from previous years. For my money, Parasyte is the best on-going manga series in English. Del Rey's release of it is simply fantastic. CMX also became truly credible with finishing the main series of Emma (the three shorts collections to be released next year, starting in March) and continuing their Gon. Viz became heroes for finishing The Drifting Classroom (it is [expletive] INSANE), and kept up with One Piece (goddamn slow schedule, though), Fullmetal Alchemist (same as One Piece) and Vagabond (no issues here, actually; they also supplied two fantastic Inoue art books). And Dark Horse rounds it off with Hellsing, Blade of the Immortal and Berserk (just keeps on getting better).

That about covers my favorites of 2008.

Oh dear, now I am regretting that I didn't pick up Solanin yesterday when I was at the bookstore. But I probably won't pick up anything new until after I finish off Sugar Sugar Rune, since it just ended and I'm only a few volumes away. I definitely need to check that one out.

Well 2008 is the current year where I have read a handful of series.

Here are my top faves series that I enjoyed. I have been addicted to each series after I've finished the last volume I have in hand.

(5)"The Good Witch of the West" It has a Fairytale like plot which I swear most of the dialogue weren't the thing you have in most manga and it had me wondering sometimes. The main characters are easy to like. I've enjoyed reading it and by the time I was done with the 5th volume I couldn't wait to get the last one. I like the deep relationship Firiel and Rune have. The plot is engaging as well.

(4)"Kimi ni Todoke" Very unusual plot but works for me. A touching tale of how to fit in. Sawako is not your typical heroine nor the main guy as well. Every bits of scene in here are heartfelt. For me it's a feel good series. Glad to hear Viz are planning to publish it and I'll be the first to get it for sure.

(3)"Basara" When I first learn about Basara I didn't even bother reading it cause the artwork is somewhat meadiocre. And was I wrong!? Glad I decided to give it a chance. Tanemura woved an intricate story and created a masterpiece. The story has everything! Great adventure series with a nice and awesome characters. Definitely worth checking out regardless of the art.

(2)"Wild Ones" Been keeping up with this series no matter what. I love Sachie and Rakuto's relationship. I also love their circumstances. I love Miss Fujiwara's clothing designs (mainly the Kimono and such). I like how she draws her characters alieny eyes. Man I am enjoying this series. At first I did think that I'd passed this series but I'm glad I didn't. Now it ranked as one of my top three. Hopefully it'll concludes well. Well this series have nothing groundbreaking or original it were all done before but one thing I know.... It's damn good shoujo! As a matter of fact I'll go get the latest volume after this.....

(1)Well... hence my username of course, and my fave from last year... "Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden" OMG for me Watase is a God! She have created yet another Masterpiece! The latest volume of FYGK is at its best. It's all here the drama, the loyalty, the love, the hope and well maybe the tragedy.... But anyways this series is getting better and better. The characters are all likeable. Oh and the priestess isn't as whiny as the original one (though I still love the original). Takiko is much more responsible and strong. The plot maybe cliche but it's much more engaging and intruiging I should say. Top one of 2008!

Well close all the books there are my top faves this year!

I forgot! This also ranked as one of my top faves.... Good thing I remembered..

"Penguin Brothers" This manga had me laughing hard. It's awesome and unique on its own. The characters were entertaining. The plot is ridiculous and outrageous but it's dead funny. Shiina Ayumi became one of my fave mangaka as well. Funny funny series.

This happens to be the year that I sorta finally started getting Osamu Tezuka manga, so I've been enjoying Phoenix and Astro Boy a lot this year. Seriously, they're Tezuka, I've probably read all of the Tezuka manga I've read so far this year. I enjoy how he manages to be philosophical with hidden messages everywhere, but never fails to be entertaining either. I rather wish Vertical would charge a bit less, otherwise I have to wait for TRSI sales. I also read Buddha and MW through the library. I enjoy both the things meant for younger audiences (Astro Boy) and the things blatantly intended for older audiences (MW and Ode to Kirihtio). Also got a hold of Dororo from the library, but only the first volume. During the Vertical Sale, I ordered 1-3, but I'm still waiting on them. After I read the first volume, I tracked down a copy of Blood Will Tell at a GameStop and picked that up. While it had some of the worst platforming ever (at least it wasn't key to survival) and they developers forgot to put people in their ridiculously oversized towns and made the whole thing feel like an empty ghost town, the story was just amazing (and combat was fun, so I still enjoyed the game a lot). Sure, its probably totally spoiled the whole manga story for me, but whatever. Now I just need to beg Treasure to make more Tezuka games, as Astro Boy: Omega Factor got me into Tezuka.

Other than that, I started reading Liar Game about 2 weeks ago and while I think that the girl is quite possibly one of the stupidest and most gullible characters I have ever seen, the guy is awesome.

I also started reading Parasyte when Del Rey started releasing it last year, but due to their initally horrible schedule of releasing a book every 8 months or something for the first couple of books and the current semi-bad one of every 3 months, I sorta read it online (although I've been getting the print versions too).

Also from the library (gotta love the library sometimes), I rented and read Eternal Sabbath. Ok, so the art was a bit...lacking, but I enjoy stores where children are completely evil forces. And not just temporary ones like they are in Digimon and so forth, but just all evil all the time. Its probably why I like Rock Holmes from the Tezukaverse so much, he's usually in his teens, but he is such a jerk.

I know I read some other things, but I don't think that they're really worth mentioning.

Last edited by Eeagle on Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

Wow, I think choosing my top 3 really puts me in a difficult position, no wait even top 10. OH well here is some of my most enjoyed manga of 2008.

One of the more promising manga was Double Arts which involved 1 boy and 1 girl that have to stay attached through hand contact for the girl to survive. As they live with each other 24/7 they face attacker that plan to take both of their lives. Later they get taught a new martial art soley for them which involved dancing. To me that was a original idea but sadly they had to cancel because of lackluster sales.

My next enjoyed manga would be Nurarihyon no Mago
which is a story about youkai which is a pretty common plot until you throw into the fact that the protagonist is the leader of all youkai and is 1/4 youkai and the rest human. This story has a really beautiful art style and has great characters as well.

Even though my next didn't come out in 2008 it is one the my top enjoyed manga out there. Alive - The Final Evolution this manga is about a virus that cause people to commit suicide and almost everyone who comes in contact with this virus do die but some survive. The ones who survive gain amazing powers at the cost of being less and less human. The main character is struggling with saving his friends, one of who has kidnapped their childhood friend and held her hostage. This story hooked me right after the falling suicidal girl hit the ground while smiling in front of the main character while smiling himself. Don't go calling me a sadist. Shocked

[/u]

I'm abosolutely in love with Neon Genesis Evangelion. The manga differs from the anime, as it's an adaptation, but it's still the beautiful piece of insanity, printed on paper. Everyone is so twisted, and the Angels are still as accurately depicted as they are in the anime. The psychological aspects are what drew me in to the series originally, and I am pleased to no end that the manga kept it from being some kind of Gundam mecha-like story, with the giant Evas and all. Ritsuko scares me a bunch in the manga, everytime I watch Evangelion, I'll probably never look at her the same way again. You get to see a little bit more of Shinji's past being deplored with his aunt and his uncle.

The artist is wonderful, everything drawn in absolute detail. You can see why each volume took so darn long to be released, but the effort put forth into creating it is truly worth it. (Although Asuka looks a bit anorexic in some pages).

All the characters follow the same path as the anime childhood-wise, with Asuka's being the one that was the most altered, but still close enough to what it was originally. Ryoji Toji's past struck at me the most, it was just so different when you read it instead of watching it.

CLAMP's xxxHolic. If you hate the story, hate the plotline, hate the characters' guts- At least stick around to see what Yuuko's wearing in each volume. And for Mokona. Definitely for Mokona. The Tsubasa crossover can make it or break it, it depends on whether you're a big fan of CLAMP's works or not. But hey, it makes it interesting seeing it from different perspectives, right?

I have to give kudos to Kiyohiko Azuma for Azumanga Daioh. Demented Sakaki biting cats, Yamamaya, Chiyo's dad? Boy, does that author does some strange things with cats. I see a part of myself deeply in Osaka and Yomi. The paneling reminds me of Lucky Star.

Last, but not least, Claymore. Stunning backgrounds, distinct characters, and twisted back stories coming from some of the characters that affect their psyche, along with the overall process of transformation that turns them into a "Claymore". My favorite characters of all time were Teresa (See Clare's childhood), and Ophelia. Ophelia was a major antagonist for a few volumes, but what attracted me was how demented and sadistic she was all while seeming like just another Claymore. Teresa is because of how much I loved the Clare's past arc (Would that count as an arc?). The fighting scenes are quite gruesome, yes, but you soon get used to it. Wonderful story execution; It's not just typical shounen fare. The story isn't all "I'm going to be the best!" or "I'll get this special item or power!", it's "I'm going to survive". As it breaks the mold, it creates something truly unique and beautiful.

I guess the top three manga I read this year would be Ouran High School Host Club, Higurashi When They Cry, and Soul Eater.

I loved Ouran because of the characters and it was just fun to read.

The last two were thanks to Yen Plus. I don't think I would have pick up either series if it wasn't for that magazine. Higurashi has beautiful art and a very gripping story. Soul Eater is interesting and the characters are awesome!

I'm going to echo a few others and also go with Solanin. Haven't had the chance to read much since school started, but I definitely had to pick this one up because of all the recommendations. And seriously, it's as good as they say! Great realistic and emotional story, simple yet appealing art... it's got pretty much all ya need, and I think someone of any age can appreciate it. The single-volume collection itself, cover design and everything, is rather pleasing to look at, too.

Now I'm going to go check out Asano's other manga. That, and Me and the Devil Blues.

For me, it was easily D. Gray-man. It had been ages since I'd gotten big into a manga fandom, and I was on a Kyo Kara Maoh (anime) kick when I introduced myself to DGM. I fell in love instantly, and DGM is my main fandom ATM, though I've barely prodded the anime. DGM feels to me like a breath of fresh air in the shonen genre. No tournaments, an interesting plot, realistic, likeable characters, etc etc. Thank you, Katsura Hoshino~

Tekkon Kinkreet -a creative art style, great setting and engaging dialogues. There were many instances I wanted to give Black and White a hug. I'm glad that Viz considered re-releasing it with including some decent extras.

Basara -one of the best shoujo series that money can buy. A detailed setting, intricate plot, a cool leading male and a relatable heroine that doesn't make you want to smack her like most of the shoujo heroines out there. I sincerely thank Viz for releasing this to the very last volume despite it not being of their more profitable series.

Solanin -I've been craving a slice-of-life of the same caliber as Honey and Clover, and this one didn't disappoint. The best reading choice for fresh graduates and the newly employed.

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