Hello, my reading list is going pretty slow and I'm wondering if I can get some recommendations. I've tried keywords on the site and forums, but am hoping for some human guidance. I tend to connect best with manga with all the qualities below, but am open to your hunches.

-Character development journeys (Hajime no ippo, Shana Oh)
-Dramatic tension in combination with practicality (Historie, Cesare) and absurd mysteries or gags (Rin, Billy Bat)
-Compelling, meaningful, or evoking overall (My lists are rated according to my personal tolerance of the messages perceived, or emotional energy evoked by each series)

Thank You ?

Last edited by grebeci at 12:57 am, Oct 2 2018

________________
The monkey is reaching for the moon in the water.
Until death overtakes him, he’ll never give up.
If he’d let go the branch and disappear in the deep pool,
The whole world would shine with dazzling pureness.

I would check out Oyasumi Punpun and Asano Inio's other works.

Hm... Mizukami Satoshi's works might interest you, if you haven't read them already. My personal favorite is Spirit Circle, though both Hoshi no Samidare and Sengoku Youko are pretty great.

Otherwise, I can name a lot of what would fit your criteria. Just Shounen Jump series alone, off the top of my head, I would rec Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Promised Neverland, and World Trigger. And if we expand out to seinen, there's even more, like Golden Kamuy, Dungeon Meshi, Mahoutsukai no Yome...

I think you might want to narrow your focus a bit. Maybe focus on a specific genre or trope you prefer? Anything you absolutely don't want to read in a manga? Webtoons: yay or nay?

Also, as a note, we can't see ratings on your lists unless you make them public!

Check out these titles to see if they're something you might like:

Character development journeys:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Donten ni Warau
Chang Ge Xing (unfortunately this is currently on hiatus, but there's plenty to read before you reach that point)

Emotional:
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (I watched the anime, would recommend)
My Girl (Sahara Mizu) (I see you've read several others of this mangaka's works, I particularly enjoyed this one)

Seconding - Mahoutsukai no Yome

________________
Drop by my fanfiction page! One Piece, Hetalia, Bleach, Harry Potter and more!
http://www.fanfiction.net/~stelraetnae

Dear hkanz, Suxinn, and Shonalula, thank you so much for the suggestions☺. Aside from a few, like Fullmetal Alchemist, Oyasumi, and My girl, which I believe once left impressions of being likely to have storylines or twists which wouldn't inspire or uplift, I haven't heard of the other titles and will be happy to.

Recently personally I started drawing a few one panel comics related to transformations that happen in thought and life (I guess all that manga fed into my ability to think in comic form). So I look for manga now with special awareness for such "transformative moments and storylines." That's a little context to my request and the non-tropey words like "thoughtful, spirited, character driven, transformative" !? I also noted to make my ratings public. I wished to dive deeper into the suggestions but have been unexpectedly short on bandwidth so sorry for the late reply and thank you so much for the insights!

Last edited by grebeci at 2:58 am, Oct 9 2018

________________
The monkey is reaching for the moon in the water.
Until death overtakes him, he’ll never give up.
If he’d let go the branch and disappear in the deep pool,
The whole world would shine with dazzling pureness.

Have you not read Monster or is it just not on your MU list? (I'm asking because you have Billy Bat, which I assume is much less known than Monster.) If you haven't read it, then you really should ?

Thanks waveswashwands ?
I finished it on a binge after your suggestion. You're right, like Billy Bat, both are compelling, and thought-provoking in that you can explore how want for power (Billy Bat), or the moral value of each life (Monster) are not so black and white. When people act toward these, there may be unseen contexts or ramifications.

Last edited by grebeci at 8:33 pm, Oct 22 2018

________________
The monkey is reaching for the moon in the water.
Until death overtakes him, he’ll never give up.
If he’d let go the branch and disappear in the deep pool,
The whole world would shine with dazzling pureness.