Looking for a manga where the protagonist is into a really RARE line of work, like it would be almost impossible to find another manga with the same profession in it.

The manga should go into the technical details/mastery of this rare profession.

Example is Katana, where the guy is a sword sharpener. I don't think there's another manga out there like that...

Zipang is full of unusual professions e.g. sonar technician, navy XO. I mean all the main characters are on a wartime ship, incl. the protagonist.

In Eagle the protagonist is a Democratic party Presidential nominee... I just realized that after Obama's election, maybe one day the president of the USA might really be an an Asian-American? Wow!

Himitsu has a protagonist who is a brain-reader (of dead brains!). Pretty rare profession. Lol.

If you can easily think of two or three mangas with a profession, then it is NOT what I'm looking for. So no exorcists, actors, models, painters, pianists etc even though these professions are uncommon in real life... They're just too common in manga.

I'm not looking for: ECCHI, HENTAI. But yaoi or BL is ok.

Thanks and I look forward to your recs.

I'm not sure, but Spice and Wolf ? At least I can't remember another manga about merchants xD
Another mangas I thought of were Aria and Letter Bee , but I'm not certain if they go into "technical details" xD

Tokyo Toy Box - game creator
Oyayubi kara Romance - massage/shoujo, but goes into details on the massage part a lot, too
Shigeshoushi - takes care of people's dead bodies so that they're presentable...not sure if there's a lot of technical details, though
Glaucos - deep sea diving
Shibatora - policemen might've been done before but this one's exclusively about a police in the juvenile crimes department
Master of Sea - divers who handle wrecked ships/cargoes
Kunimitsu no Matsuri - I just remember it had a lot to do with politics...so not sure about this one
Jormungand - a maybe because it deals with weapon smuggling, but it's heavier on the action and adventure side

Wow thank you! These all seem pretty rare. And don't worry if it isn't OVERLY technical, I just wanted some mention of technicality, as in not a totally glossed-over profession. Really, thanks.

See Dosei Mansion (or Saturn Apartments) for an example of a window cleaner in "space".

You could of course make the case that it's little different from a normal window cleaner, but I can't remember any manga with those either (right now, anyway).

in mushi-shi the protagonist is a mushi master (which seemed like a kind of supernatural bug control man)

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Irish+French= Drunken painter?

I don't know about 'extremely' unusual, but these manga characters struck me as having rather interesting jobs;

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
Livingstone
Planetes
Futatsu no Spica - I don't know whether you'll like this though, since as of volume 4, the protagonist is still in training to be an astronaut.
Wild Life - It's about a vet. I don't know whether it's just because I haven't read enough manga, but I've never come across one about a vet before. It goes into quite a bit of technicalities as well. But if you don't love animals, you won't like it.
0 no Soukoushi - About a perfumist. But it's more like a detective story, so you might think it too common. Each case does revolve around perfumes though.
Ou Dorobou Jing and its sequel; King of Bandit Jing - The protagonist is a thief. Would you consider that a profession?
Undercurrent - The woman owns a bath-house.
Ningyou Kyuutei Gakudan - There's an orchestra in this one. But their main job is something like exorcism. Still, I thought it pretty unique.
Hanzai Koushounin Minegishi Eitarou - Main character is a negotiator.
Tsurebito - This is about those who escort the dead to the next world.
Ultrabaroque Deprogrammer - I wish this would be scanned. 'Brain-washing' is quite an unusual job!
Me and the Devil Blues - I'm not sure whether this goes into the specifics of being a bluesman or not, because I haven't read it. Still, you should give it a shot.

And last but not least; Mushishi (my favourite manga in the world lol). I know the description makes it sound like Ginko's just another exorcist, but I've never considered him one. You should try it- even if it doesn't fit this criterion, it's still an awesome manga!

Okay, there are a lot of recommendations here -hope you like at least a few of them!

Last edited by calstine at 7:44 am, Mar 3 2010

I second Shigeshoushi. It's a great manga with a great protagonist

Luck stealer, Those who chase Ageha - kinda, Full metal panic - his job is to be a high schooler (well the last two is in "maybe" category)

Just remembered two more.
Sommelière
D no Maou

- Unfortunately, neither of them are scanned.

Holey crepe! (As they say.) Wow calstine, thank you so much for so many awesome recs. Lots to sink my teeth into. LIKE THE CREPE. Can you tell that I haven't had breakfast yet? *pines*

Lol anyway... Thanks also to RIP131, Hanae, ktmeunier and pnyxtr-sama. *bows*

Yugo the negotiator - well the title says it all
Edens Bowy - if you consider "god slayer" as a profession
Sunabozu - but have ecchi, sorry about that but my jaw were going to fall of from laughter, when I watched the anime
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki - the protagonists job is to be a family
Outlawstar - anime but still worth watching
Get Backers - it has some ecchi but very little, they are in a retrieving bisyness

Last edited by RIP131 at 2:18 am, Mar 4 2010

Kurosagicould work. The guy is a professional swindler.
D-live, guy works as a driver, of any vehicle. (from jetskis to fighter planes)
Team medical dragon, surgeon is sorta rare. This manga is great though, lots of technical stuff.

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Do but despise reason and science,
The highest of all human gifts -
Then you have surrendered to the Devil
And must surely perish. - J.W. von Goethe

The Embalmer - embalmer
D-Live!! - vehicle expert (skis, trucks, fighter planes, helicopters, etc)
Tokkyuu!! - lifeguard
Shocking Pink-Sky - flight attendant (unscanlated)


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