Top 10 Manga *updated 17/04/2011*

I was gonna start this with something that reflects my current state of mind, but meh..that's no fun, so...

Well time for this week's list! Continuing on a similar theme as last week, it is now time to list my favorite manga. A very hard top 10 to make yet again, as even today I switched two series in my top 5... whoops. Oh yeah, and I won't add duplicates with my anime list, which means that if the series was on my anime list it will not be on this list even if the manga is really amazing too, like for example, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Except, I do have to include BECK in both. Can't be helped. :x Oh yeah, and I was actually tempted to put Naruto here (quite unbelievable coming from me, I know), but since it doesn't have a definite end (yet), I did not. Very good manga though I have to say.

Top 10 Manga



10. Elfen Lied

Again a story of which a lot is left unexplained in the anime. The manga is quite weird though, I mean, it makes the story make more sense but at the same time there's some really weird shit happening and you'll be like "woot?" from time to time. Quite a sad story in this, and I can't really decide if I liked the anime ending or the ending of this more.. both are good in their own way. The one thing that was really awesome in this manga was the fact that they reveal Lucy's real name in the end. Awh. :)

9. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

I read this manga long before I watched the movie and I have to say the movie disappointed me quite a lot. The depth I had encountered in the manga was missing, and quite many of the key events were not even in it. This was quite surprising, since I usually don't pay much heed to manga versions of Miyazaki movies. But yes,  this manga is just really amazing and very touching. It's been too long since I read it, so I don't remember much detail, so I think a re-read is in order in the summer! This and Sailor Moon have been read by my brother and sister too. :D

8. Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Holy hell this manga is the most hilarious thing ever! Plus I really love the drawing style in this, definitely makes Ash quite a good-looking young man. But yeah anyway, this is a version of the Pokémon story made with a twinkle in the eye. It is such a pleasure to read that I've even lost count of how many times I've re-read it. This is definitely Pokémon at its best. It is a shame that no more than 4 volumes of this were made. Oh and this was also the first manga I ever read. Now, quoting Brock, rubber duckie you're so fine lalalala~!

7. Tsukihime

The anime left me a bit confused as many important things were not mentioned, but thank god the manga explains everything in detail. The characters are more deep in the manga as well, the most noticeable difference being Tohno Shiki, who comes across quite wimpy in the anime even  though he is quite a determined and headstrong guy in the manga. There are a lot of hilarious scenes in this, of which my favorite has to be the succubus Arcueid sends to Shiki as her thanks. x'D Ah good times... But yes, really good story albeit quite a sad one in the end. Arcueid is definitely one of my top favorite vampires!

6. Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Really love this manga. The story is very interesting and the concept of using characters from other CLAMP series is ingenious. It builds quite a nice world in which you are likely to encounter your favorite characters (if you have favorite characters in CLAMP series) at some point. The idea in the plot is very deep and can get confusing if there are months between the time you read a volume and the next. But yeah, this is very touching and beautiful and filled with difficult choices. 

5. Rurouni Kenshin

I seem to have some thing for stories that have main characters who have vowed never to kill.  Anyways, this is definitely my favorite samurai anime/manga. The story is nicely woven around historical events + people and fiction. The balance between the two is just perfect in my opinion. All the main characters are really lovable as well and the bad guys are very creative. A very good coherent story from start to finish with much character development. In fact, just writing this makes me want to read it again... I also need to watch the anime for this (even though the story is a bit different I hear), as I have not seen it yet!

 

4. Trigun / Trigun Maximum

So why did I include both of these? Well, because it's the same series - they just decided to tweak the name after the third volume. This is one of the deepest manga I have ever read, touching upon quite many moral dilemmas which really make you think. The main character Vash the Stampede is a very lovable figure, being a very silly man who has vowed never to kill. The atmosphere of the story has been done very skillfully, smoothly changing between the hilariousness and very tragic events and you can't help but feel really bad for most of the characters. Sadly the anime of this is very shallow and definitely does not give the story enough credit.

3. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

One of the first manga I ever read. The story is a very cute one which is nearly guaranteed to make you smile with all of it's love conquers all themes. Surprisingly enough, it is full of very tragic things as well and some quite unusually strange things such as spontaneous combustion (ah how I love that term <3). Even if you've seen the anime and thought it was nothing special, I do recommend you give this a read - the manga is just so much better and more mature. Also this definitely has one of the strongest endings I have ever seen. The last line of the manga could not have been better than what it is. It has quite a huge impact on you and really blows me away every time I read this.

2. Darker than BLACK: Shikkoku no Hana

Manga with Kirihara Misaki in it? HELL YEAH! Even that fact alone already makes it one of the best manga around. This manga really takes a nice approach on the franchise, as it gives us access to Misaki's (and sometimes Hei's) thoughts, and I at least felt like I learned a lot more about them as people from this. Seeing her reasoning really made me love her more as a character and the thing I thought impossible happened - she surpassed Aozaki Touko on my favorite characters. The storyline was quite good as well, it definitely had a better grasp on the atmosphere you were able to feel in the first season than what the second season did. This felt like it was closer to the true essence of DtB. Plus hey, what could beat Misaki making a car fly?

1. BECK

This was such an amazing reading experience.  The character development in this is extremely well done and you get to accompany the characters through the most important and meaningful times of their lives. All the silly mistakes they make will get you right in the heart and all their triumphs make you feel triumphant as well. Also, the journey of forming and getting famous along with all the obstacles on the way is depicted really well in this. Best band manga ever. The anime is amazing too, just sadly doesn't go even halfway through the whole story and most of the character development happens in the half they did not include. Tut tut!