I don't see why you are so surprised. This site is very convienent and layed out well. Also with the filtering to block out unwanted genres, there is a good chance to find good ones. Also, when you find something on the release page here you know for sure it is available scanlated.

I can't say I'm surprised. Even way back in the days before release sites, people usually randomly found chapter of new series and downloaded it to see if they liked it. Hell, most people don't even realize who they're reading until it's pointed out to them.

I believe that good manga is made up of several different components that work well together - that's what makes it such a great art form. A manga is more than just nice art; a bunch of pinups bound together does not make a manga. It's not just plot - how the plot is executed is more important, and that means visual storytelling, words working seamlessly with the art. Characters are also important, both in the visual design and character development. So in the end I chose originality, because the combination of Art + Plot + Characters = Originality. Even all components by themselves aren't original they can be combined such that the whole is original.

I believe that good manga is made up of several different components that work well together - that's what makes it such a great art form. A manga is more than just nice art; a bunch of pinups bound together does not make a manga. It's not just plot - how the plot is executed is more important, and that means visual storytelling, words working seamlessly with the art. Characters are also important, both in the visual design and character development. So in the end I chose originality, because the combination of Art + Plot + Characters = Originality. Even all components by themselves aren't original they can be combined such that the whole is original.

I have to say characters. It doesn't matter how amazing the plot is, how beautiful the art is, or even how origional the story is, if I don't like the characters I'm not gonna read it.

hmm its hard to vote since i go for Plot & Art...*sigh
i guess i'll vote for plot since its not for both.

To me, it's the characters.

Dont get me wrong, Plot is good. It can draw you inside, suck you in and dont spit you out. PLot is good.
On other hand, a good plot without good characters is... shallow and unalive. Characters' depths and interactions are what give plot layers of meaning as well as tools to use.

Art is good but hardly necessary. WE have so many manga with good art and nothing else, I generally dropped them after one reading to see what they are all about. Sometimes not even that. A manga with mediocre to so-so art can still work wonderfully (Osamu Tezuka's works come to mind - mind you, his art is a bit too eccentric as well as old school that i should name it outdated rather than mediocre).

Originality is overrated. What is original in this medium is repeated many times before in other media. you can suck readers in the first time with it, but without other factors its' very hard to draw them again.

Why characters? Because a plotless, so-so art, but wonderfully crafted characters can still work very well. there are many examples like that, generally short stories, or 4-panel. Jinjya_no_Susume is a good example. Yotsubato is another.

To be frank, what make a great manga should be constituted of many factors. The first, of course, is characters, second is plot, half a step behind plot is art. Originality, I am afraid, is dead last.