Hello, everyone!

I'm new to manga, pretty much barely started digging into the medium. I'm having a big problem, though - right from the very start I'm having an extremely hard time finding something I'd enjoy.

I've already asked around some other places and picked up a few random titles, but I honestly don't know if they're what I'm looking for anymore, since every time I tried reading a recommendation given to me by someone, stating it covers my criteria to a tee, after reading some of it, I always ended up scratching my head in bewilderment, wondering if that person just made all of this up in order to make me read their favourite manga, because almost none of the stuff I wanted was anywhere to be found.

What are those criteria? Here they are:

- Well-written, complex story, that's truly dark and mature and not just edgy, truly depressing and not just angsty, and truly dramatic and not just melodramatic. Bonus points if parts of it touch upon taboo themes.
- Characters with rich, flawed personalities (no Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters) and rich, preferably tragic, backstories.
- Gray morality. Nobody is clearly good or clearly evil, but rather everybody is just realising their own goals, no matter the means.
- If there's one present, an interesting conflict. I'm tired of villains dead set on conquering/destroying the world or wanting to become the most powerful being in the universe solely because the narrative told them to.
- Morbid, melancholic atmosphere.
- Good balance between action and story bits.
- Finished
- Fully translated to English
- Good art with more realistic character proportions. At least on par with Berserk or Hokuto no Ken. (This one I can look past a bit, as long as the writing is top notch, but I'd prefer the art to be visually appealing)

Genres/themes I like:

- Action
- Adventure
- Drama
- Thriller
- Seinen
- Psychological
- Dark Fantasy
- Post-apocalypse
- Dystopia
- Horror
- Historical Fiction (to a lesser extent than the rest)
- More imaginative forms of cyberpunk


Genres/themes I dislike:

- Shonen (especially battle shonen)
- Romance
- Harem
- Comedy
- School/School Life
- Slice of Life
- Western style cyberpunk (aka "it's just contemporary setting except everyone wears faggy trenchcoats and is an android pondering what it's like to be human")
- Space-oriented science fiction
- High/Epic Fantasy
- Isekai

I'd appreciate any recommendations, as well as feedback regarding the titles I already have on my list (whether or not they cover my criteria etc.). Also, if you want to know the reason I dropped a certain manga (there are currently three), feel free to ask.

I'm full of doubts and don't really know which direction to go from that point, so I'd appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks in advance.

Have you read either Annarasumanara or 3 Level Combination? They both would fill at least some of your criteria.

And I won't lie, I couldn't even maintain focus long enough to read all your criteria, so yeah, you might be expecting a little much.

It's kind of hard to read your mind on this issue because there is a fine line between edgy and mature, dramatic and melodramatic etc.

The only completed manga I have read that comes close to your criteria is Sekai Oni and maybe Saiteihen no Otoko

While not complete you might want to try your hand at manga like Ajin

Given your favorite genres and the unpleasant nature of the world you might also want to look into Kiba no Tabishounin - The Arms Peddler It isn't finished though.

I am guessing that you should probably stick to the horror genres for what you want and sort by the better reviewed ones.

It shows. Both of your suggestions are in genres I don't like.



Yeah, I can understand that. It's probably going to make it even more confusing, since it's a pretty subjective matter, but I'll try to explain. The way I differentiate between edgy and mature, dramatic and melodramatic etc. is by whether or not it has substance and is presented in an organic manner. If the drama or the darker stuff feels forced, hamfisted, and purely there for cheap shock value or tearjerker and nothing else, then it's edgy and melodramatic.



Sekai Oni sounds interesting. I'll add it to my list. Saitehen no Otoko, not so much. Thanks for the recommendation.



This would be my guess, too. Still, I'd like to have at least some variety. Reading only horror would get boring pretty quickly.

URASAWA Naoki may be right up your alley, so check out his works, if you haven't already. I recommend Monster and 20th Century Boys.

I second Sekai Oni!

Also saw Ayeshah's Secret in your wishlist so I'll second that as well.

It's a pity that you won't give Annarasumanara a chance, since it definitely has "substance" and a pretty interesting story.



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Kimi no Knife maybe ? It's a pretty good thriller about a teacher that became a hitman killing criminals.

Kiseijuu Maybe ? Although It does have a romantic subplot and a tiny bit of school life theme, it's a classical seinen manga.

Mother sarah is kinda a "space oriented Sci-fi" but it's more like a post apocalyptic world and they were force to live come back to earth. It's quite underrated and mature enough I think.

Monster and other Urasawa Naoki's works might fit your taste too.

Dorohedoro, it's almost finished I think and a

Eden - It's an Endless World! maybe, I haven't read it but From what I've heard it might fit your taste.

I've already seen Monster in anime form, but I'll check out 20th Century Boys.



Might be good. I'll give it a shot.




I'll consider it. I don't really like school as a setting, but it seems like Kiseijuu focuses on it too much, so it might be bearable.

Thanks for the recommedations as well as the feedback on the titles I already know about.

Hmmm... I'm more of a shoujo/josei fan, so that's not really dark and mature, but I've read a few really good ones that cover action, adventure, drama, and psychological that you might enjoy... Although all of them have romance so.... Here goes

Shoujos/Josei
Basara This is one of the classics of tragedy shoujos
Vitamin (SUENOBU Keiko) School life, so you might not like it
The Rain Leaves a Scar
Misu Misou This one was kinda silly in the way it was executed.
Meteor Methuselah This was just really good (towards the 20-ish chapters you could tell, the beginning chapters were a little... stereotypical). The side characters were so fleshed out. If nothing else in my recommendations fits, at least try this one.
Marie no Kanaderu Ongaku This one was weird... I don't even have much to say. It was strange... But like strangely good?? It's slice of life though, which is in your 'dislike' list....
Akuma no Ororon I don't remember much.. except that I was sad and I just kept getting sadder as the story progressed

Not shoujos/josei (More in your strike zone)
Vampire Juujikai Kinda a battle shounen, but like with more stuff??
Sugar Dark - Umerareta Yami to Shoujo
Subete ga Chotto Zutsu Yasahii Sekai This one is really random, but the themes are there. Might not be your thing though...
Good Night World Same author as Seika Oni. If you enjoyed Seika Oni, this would probably be on your hit list to check out
Ibara no Ou
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
Majime na Jikan
Hito Hitori Futari

I know you're looking for finished ones, but these are pretty good 'newer' titles
Uncompleted/Ongoing
7 Seeds Same author as Basara.
Beastars Kinda slice-of-lifey/school life.. But it's a different society so... (Ahem kinda of a 'furry' manga)
Houseki no Kuni
Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau

Sorry in advance if none of them are to your taste. And good luck, lol

@F_J


Thank you for the large and very varied list of recommendations you provided. I had a look at all of them and added Marie no Kanaderu Ongaku and Sugar Dark - Umerareta Yami to Shoujo to my list.

Vinland Saga might fit your taste, but it's an ongoing series.

and maybe Freesia?

Do you have any favorite manga that cover most of your criteria? It'll help to have some examples.

Well, maybe you'll like any of these (or not) :
- Akira, a classic.
- Blame! it's cyberpunk but... I like the atmosphere and I take my time to enjoy the pages.
- Dorohedoro, if I recall there's a little bit of gray morality there
- Sun Ken Rock, is mature, dark, taboo, and supposedly funny...I'm not too fond of it but who knows if you do?
- Claymore, beautiful art, too adult to be a shonen.
- FullMetal Alchemist, Death Note, I suppose these two are modern classic shonen, but it's a complex type of shonen and popular for a reason. Both are very different though, the latter is darker.
- I see Feng Shen Ji in your list, maybe Kingdom, Vagabond (samurai), The Ravages of Time, and any Romance of Three Kingdoms manga/manhua is great (there's no romance lol), it's an epic real historical war after all. Oops sorry I tend to talk too much about eastern themed war

I also agree with Urasawa Naoki's stuffs. Since you already know Monster and 20th Century Boys, maybe Pluto. I like those 3 works the most from him.

I was about to say Oyasumi Punpun but it's a really depressing slice of life

Some survival, post-apocalypse sci-fi, or just sci-fi:
- Gantz
- Kiseijuu (edit: oh someone already mentioned this)
Do you watch anime?
If yes maybe Lain,
or Ergo Proxy (idk if this is a western sci-fi to you).

It's kind of hard to list completed series, and my forgetful ass don't keep a list, for now those are the things that come up to mind.. Sorry if it doesn't fit your taste!

Last edited by felleccha at 12:12 pm, Feb 21 2018

Yeah, it sounds like something I'd wanna read. I'll add it to my list. Thanks.



Not really. I mentioned I'm new to manga in the OP and I really meant it. I have yet to finish my first one. However, despite that, I actually can give an example of a manga that covers my criteria more or less perfectly - Berserk. It's a weird case for me because I haven't read it personally, but I used to have a friend who was a huge fan of it and couldn't stop talking about it because its story and characters fascinated him so much. Bit by bit, he spoiled the entire story for me in great detail, up until the point it's in right now. I also watched the old anime and the movies, so the Golden Age Arc I pretty much know by heart.

EDIT: If that'd be of any help, I can also give some examples of my favourite stories in other media, like movies, videogames, TV shows etc.



I dunno. Reading its reviews both on here and on MAL, it sounds like I'd have similar problems with it that I had with Gunnm - too "adult" to be a typical shonen, but at the same time not mature enough to be a manga targeted at actual adults because of poorly developed, two-dimensional characters and story that slowly becomes more and more nonsensical.



I had it suggested to me on multiple occasions. Atmosphere-wise, it hits all the right spots for me, but I don't think I'd be able to handle its minimalistic approach to storytelling and dialogues. I prefer my stories more dialogue-heavy.



From the reviews it sounds more like an edgy action manga rather than a dark, story-driven drama. Definitely not for me.



If the anime is any sort of an indication of what the manga is like, then it's not something I'd wanna read. From what I've seen the art and atmosphere are fantastic, but the writing is pretty cringeworthy and definitely more on the shonen side.



Already seen both in anime form. FMA was alright for a shonen, but I wouldn't call its story anything outstanding. As for Death Note, it's one of the worst things I've ever seen when it comes to anime. It's story barely made any sense and fell apart almost instantly, and the characters were extremely poorly-written and overall unappealing.



That sounds more up my alley. I'll add it to my list.



From what I could read about it, Gantz is something you read purely for the action, gore, and nudity, and not the story. Definitely not for me.



I do watch anime, but mostly just cheesy action flicks and moe slice of life ones. Anime doesn't really have anything worth my time in terms of more ambitious stories. I'm hoping manga does, though, because it would suck if it doesn't as well.

I haven't seen Lain, but I've seen Texhnolyze, from the same author and it was pretty crappy. I've seen Ergo Proxy too, and I think it gives Evangelion a good run for its money in terms of pretentiousness.

Okay, I think I referred to anything that needed referring to. Thanks for replying and your recommendations, even though they were kind of hit-and-miss.

Last edited by ninja666 at 4:01 am, Feb 22 2018

Apart from what's already been suggested, you might like Ichi.

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Um, what about Pandora Hearts? It looks like just another manga based on Alice in Wonderland, but apart from some names it doesn't have anything to do with it. It has a lot of well executed drama, characters are, in my opinion, well developed and the art is nice to look at (it gets better in the later volumes).
Even so it's not a masterpiece, it's just very good and really entertaining. The plot is complicated but it is well done.
I think it doesn't go directly against any of your criteria... So maybe you'll enjoy it. Maybe not, haha, but oh well, it's worth a try.

Surprised no one has mentioned Bokurano. It's one of my favorites.

Other than that, since everyone is recommending Urasawa, I'll also throw in one for Billy Bat. I don't like it nearly as much as Pluto or Monster, but it has some fun conspiracy theory twists.

As for Claymore, while I haven't watched the anime, I heard it was very different from the manga. I enjoy most of the manga overall, and I do think it suits at least some of your criteria, though it's also clear that it kind of bit off more than it can chew, so its ending is kind of... messy?

Pandemonium - Majutsushi no Mura might be worth checking out too. It loosely fits most of your criteria, though it's a bit more forgettable than the other ones I mentioned. (And also very different narrative-wise.)

You could also try some of Takahashi Tsutomu's work. In particular, SkyHigh (and its sequels), which I think is his most accessible.