I’m in dire need of some new entertainment to read and I’ve been on a comic kick recently. I’ve read some manga and I’d like to get some more, rather than just stumble into things once in a while.

I think I enjoy action manga, though I get bored with the fights pretty quick. I’m interested in every genre I suppose, as long as it’s interesting. I’ll list what I’ve read and enjoyed here, moreso you’ll have an idea of what I’d be into, not to tie me down to that genre. Really I’d love to broaden my horizon, but this is slop I’m looking for - easy reading.

  • Fullmetal Alchemist
  • Mieruko
  • Berserk
  • Detective Conan
  • One Piece (though since dressrosa I’ve not been as into it. Mainly reading out of habit these days)
  • Early Naruto (In general I feel like Shonen start off with an interesting premise and then it does a timeskip and it becomes all about power levels. I don’t understand why they do that.)
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!
  • Shaman King
  • Junji Itos stuff
  • Dragon Ball (should have stopped after the cell games tbh)
  • Delicious in Dungeon
  • Death note
  • solo levelling.

And recently I read solo leveling which was some nice enough isekai slop. I wouldn’t mind getting a good isekai recommended.
I dislike fanservice though, so that eliminates all isekai more or less.

  • WhyEssEff [she/her]@hexbear.netM
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    13 days ago

    My reading list, at the moment (all ongoing):

    • Dandadan (I’m a sucker for the urban-supernatural romcom shit it’s got going on, currently my favorite ongoing serial)
    • Chainsaw Man (of course—probably going to be the seminal shonen of the decade. technically not originating in this decade, but it is in lock-step with the zeitgeist of the 20s. it’s going to be looked back on very fondly—if it continues cooking—and as a major influence on the forthcoming eras of shonen. you can genuinely already pinpoint some of that influence in the newgens if you know what you’re looking for)
    • Akane-banashi (it’s hard to describe assuming zero knowledge of rakugo but it’s might be easier to conceive it framed essentially as a girl’s quest to become the next George Carlin)
    • Kagurabachi (I hope by this point the idea of endorsing this being purely a meme has washed away because it’s absolutely GOATed John Wick Samurai Meathead-Shonen)
    • Ichi the Witch (newcomer collaboration between the Act-Age artist who got fucked by the writer being a sex-pest and Iruma-kun’s mangaka, shaping up to be a banger at just 21 chapters with great worldbuilding, outstanding character designs, and notably-compelling characterization for such a new work)
    • Girl meets Rock! (left ear Bocchi the Rock right ear whatever Death Note machinations Rin is up to)
    • Hunter X Hunter (has one of the all-time best arcs in shonen, worth reading even though it’s in and out of purgatory)
    • One Piece (I have to catch up, petered out after Egghead due to finals)
    • Spy x Family (Pretty good recently)
    • 100 Girlfriends (rather absurd parody of harem manga that essentially functions as a gag manga about both romcoms, haremslop, and archetypeslop in general. we’re about a third of the way to the promised quantity and I genuinely do not know how the author or the artist can still make chapters that feature every single character, but they do. its like a fever dream every single chapter. fanservicey but in a, and I cannot believe I am saying this in a self-convincing manner, genuinely ironic and parodic way)

    Recommendations otherwise based on your list:

    • Early Bleach (very weird-fun beginning and extremely locked-in all the way to the end of the Soul Society Arc. Personally, up to that point, a genuine 10/10 shonen. Kinda gradually declines afterwards, but not in a way that ruins it retrospectively for me. very well drawn. has a genuine variety of intricate and well-executed character designs, as well as standout paneling and use of negative space)
    • Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (if you even ambiently enjoy Solo Leveling, I’m full-send on this rec. this essentially takes the Korean LitRPG urban power-fantasy setting as a hook and delivers a story with some actual depth that I still think about every now and then. Intricately explores its more metafictional themes that I have trouble encapsulating in their entire scope in a way that does not spoil the completed web novel. Genuinely felt the ending for like a day after I finished it. Has an ongoing manhwa adaptation and an incoming anime adaptation. I cannot shill this enough. It is the outstanding entry in its genre. even comparing it to Solo Leveling feels like handing Undertale to someone who’s just played Pokémon, not to rag on Solo Leveling besides it kinda petering out and not ending in a way that really satisfied me, but it’s hard to describe the finer details in almost the exact sense it is to Undertale without giving the bits away and losing some of the magic and craft to it, so I have to push it with a ‘trust me on this’)
    • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]@hexbear.net
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      13 days ago

      Kagurabachi’s latest issue chefs-kiss

      Kagurabachi (I hope by this point the idea of endorsing this being purely a meme has washed away because it’s absolutely GOATed John Wick Samurai Meathead-Shonen)

      I loved entering it thinking it was a meme manga, and it has been an amazing read.

      • WhyEssEff [she/her]@hexbear.netM
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        13 days ago

        GGWP is GOATed, have the scanlations updated recently? I think I’m caught up. I think I was at the end of the tournament. I binged it a few months ago. I generally didn’t include my smorgasbord of rom-coms in my RSS feed as it didn’t seem pertinent to OP’s presented palate (besides the absurdist 100 Kano, which I recommend to anyone who has enough knowledge of harem manga to groan about them)

        witch hat atelier just a week away, witch hat atelier in a week, wow, I am so excited about this information, witch hat atelier, a week! (It has been wasting away in my backlog I really want to get to it but I have been otherwise reading other things kitty-cri)

        • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]@hexbear.net
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          13 days ago

          witch hat atelier just a week away, witch hat atelier in a week, wow, I am so excited about this information, witch hat atelier, a week! (It has been wasting away in my backlog I really want to get to it but I have been otherwise reading other thing

          Oh hell yeah, I have been watching Solo Leveling, DB Daima and Zenshu; so glad it’s coming out. Sakamoto Day’s anime has been crappy so far. Feels like OPM S2. I’m excited for Kagurabachi’s when it comes out.

          • WhyEssEff [she/her]@hexbear.netM
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            13 days ago

            dropped off the Sakamoto manga when they essentially sidelined the fem deuteragonist. didn’t fuck with that move. kinda petty but just didn’t vibe with me and I didn’t care to continue after it

        • KobaCumTribute [she/her]@hexbear.net
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          13 days ago

          The witch hat atelier anime is almost here? That’s actually pretty exciting. The studio doing it is the same one that did ZOM100 last year and absolutely knocked that out of the park, and I’m very interested to see if they manage the same level of quality with witch hat atelier.

    • REgon [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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      13 days ago

      I forgot to add solo levelling as some slop I’ve read, so your Omniscient Reader recommendation sounds like exactly the thing I’ve been looking for! And I love urban/super natural, so Dandadan is definitely also something I must look into. And all the others too, but wow there’s a lot of good stuff out there. Bleach I watched a bit of as an anime, loved his hero song. Number one or something.
      Thank youf for all of your recommendations, I’ll make sure to have a look at as many of them as I can

    • ChestRockwell [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.net
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      13 days ago

      100 Girlfriends

      The manga is so peak. If you watched the first season of the anime, you aren’t getting the full effect – only after GF 10 does the series really start to pick up in its absurdity (of particular note for greatness are 13, 14, 18, 20-23 – a run of really hilarious/absurd characters), and 29). The real joy of the series is actually the interactions between the members of Rentarou’s family – it is, fundamentally, a gag manga. It also helps the protagonist is like, the most wholesome guy to ever live and also decidedly NOT a piece of shit. Also, even tho there’s a silly magic premise, the fact is, the reason he’s great is just that he’s made it his mission to better himself, so he’s not some power fantasy/self-insert/cringe character.

      This season will be a taste though, especially now that 9, 10, and 11 are joining. All three are great.

      • VitoRobles
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        13 days ago

        This is the strangest endorsement I have ever read out of context.

        Well, looks like I have to read it.