Hello everyone!

I'm a Teacher and at my school, we have an anime club. We have just been given our budget of $5000 to buy new manga volume sets for the school library. I've been reading manga for over a decade but I'm biased towards shoujo and wanted objective suggestions from others.

As long as no one can accuse us of corrupting these kids, we are good. Also, completed sets are preferred. Below is the list of manga we already have in our collection:

Fullmetal Alchemist

Haikyu

Demon Slayer

MHA

Tokyo Ghoul

Yona of the Dawn

Promised Neverland

Wandering Witch (light novels)

Orange

Ouran HS Host Club

Princess Jellyfish

Attack on Titan

Fairy Tail

Black Butler

Another (on the way)

Fruits Basket

Naruto

Noragami

One Punch Man

A Silent Voice


Thank you in advance!

________________
It wasn't a phase, mom.

What type of material do you want to show them is perhaps the first question to ask?

Also, from what I've heard about in regards to experiences from other schools, don't you have to worry about the PTA and the administration breathing down your neck?

Edit: If you're worried about alienating the males involved, you can have some "manime" series like Dragon Ball, Shounan Junaigumi! and the sequel GTO, City Hunter, Hokuto no Ken, Rocky Joe, Yu Yu Hakusho, Akira, Golgo 13, and Lone Wolf and Cub.

Last edited by Transdude1996 at 5:46 pm, Aug 18 2021

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if it were me, i would be trying to

1. gather current titles that will bring in new kids who might just happen to learn about a series outside of school. series like kaguya-sama love is war, jujutsu kaisen, sword art online and jojo's bizarre adventure would probably be good for this purpose. sure, series' like this won't be complete, but if they're the sort of manga that would be easy to find at barnes and noble, students could discover these manga and venture out on their own from there !

2. pick up a few classics that most libraries probably wouldn't have. truly influential manga that students may not come across otherwise, such as osamu tezuka works, the currently-releasing rose of Versailles omnibuses, and the drifting classroom. for one thing, some books like these can be pretty costly, making students less likely to get a hold of them theirselves. secondly, i like to imagine that carrying some titles like these could help foster a more well-rounded understanding of japanese comics (and even history), and in turn make lifelong manga readers out of some students. students may get bored if all they have to choose from are the same old stuff that crunchyroll pushes on them. i know i didn't get into manga and anime until after high school, bc the only stuff i knew about was very uninteresting to me when i was younger.

in short, i strongly agree that bringing in a broad swathe of different stories will be in your students' best interest. I hope some of these recommendations help!!

Thank you for your suggestions! Luckily, our school principal is happy to just see kids reading and is progressive about trying new methods to achieve that goal. Our kids are below grade level so if they can feel a connection with any book, that's a win!

I'll check these out! As far as exposure goes, mainly good heartfelt stories that teach a lesson. Underdog type vibes haha.

________________
It wasn't a phase, mom.

Black Jack
Devil Devil
Durarara!!
Gurren Lagann
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Maou Kyoudai
Ookami to Koushinryou
Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou
Terra e...
Urusei Yatsura
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou


Have you ever considered throwing the "English curricula" out the window and just allowing students to read books? I don't know the circumstances happening at your school, but I know my experience in wanting to read was destroyed in middle and high school because of how my English classes emphasized overanalyzing the works read as well as trying to find "symbolism" in everything.

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Witch Hat Atelier
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End out in English in November
Flying Witch
Teasing Master Takagi-san

Ragna Crimson
Aphorism
Spirit Circle

as close to "middle school-esque" i could think of

You must get " Yotsubato! "
More Slice of life,comedy like Barakamon
Adventure Classic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Last edited by Yash_A at 6:49 am, Aug 19 2021

Basara https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=264

Kimi no todoke https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=3058

Hachimitsu to Clover https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=581

Antique Bakery https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1063



I will add more if I remember more.

I'll second Barakamon, Witch Hat Atelier, Flying Witch, and Spirit Circle (though Spirit Circle is unfortunately OOP, so you might have to buy used). Basara is also a great pick, but is 27 volumes and older, so I have no idea how easy it'd be to get now.

Also...

Astra Lost in Space
Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey
Blue Flag
Mob Psycho 100
One Week Friends
Our Dreams at Dusk
Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro
Sweetness and Lightning

I also want to recommend Saturn Apartments, but it's unfortunately OOP if I remember correctly...

Last edited by Suxinn at 9:46 pm, Aug 21 2021

I would highly recommend Slam Dunk, or even Eyeshield 21. As it is now I think your library mostly appeals to kids who already like manga and reading, but I personally think sports manga are a great way to get kids who would normally have no interest in reading to pick up a book.

Last edited by satue at 12:34 am, Aug 23 2021

The Fox and Little Tanuki
Kitaro (whichever collection they’re printing at the moment)
Kekkaishi
Natsume’s Book of Friends
Beauty Pop
Dororo
Blue Period
Bokurano
look into Yuhki Kamatani’s body of work
Sugar Princess
Kitchen Princess
Laon (Manhwa)
Land of the Lustrous
Chihayafuru
look up Naoki Urasawa’s works
Seven Little Sons of the Dragon
I’d suggest looking into whatever Moto Hagio works are in print at the moment
Cross Game
Oresama Teacher
Children of the Sea
Baron: The Cat Returns
Osomatsu-Kun
My Father Is a Unicorn
Taiyo Matsumoto’s Sunny, Ping Pong, & Cats of the Louvre
Yuzu the Pet Vet
Baby and Me
Hikaru no Go
My Neighbor Seki
The Girl From the Other Side
D. Grey-man
D.N. Angel
Saiyuki
Chi’s Sweet Home
Amazing Agent Luna (Canadian or US)
Phoenix
Kaze Hikaru
Baccano (light novel)
maybe look into whatever Rumiko Takahashi stories are in print
Knights of Sidonia
Satoko and Nada
The God’s Lie
Romeo X Juliet (adapted from anime original)
5 Centimeters Per Second & Voices of a Distant Star (both adapted from the same director’s anime original films)
Twin Spica
some of Leiji Matsumoto‘s works
The Box Man
Vinland Saga

MAYBE PILE
books in The Cain Saga
Claymore
Golden Kamuy
Barefoot Gen
Baccano (light novel)
Fist of the North Star
some of junji Ito’s works, like Sensor or Uzumaki
Battle Angel Alita
Blade of the Immortal
Red Flowers
some of Yoshiharu Tsuge‘s works
The Wallflower

I’ve recommended two Tezuka works, but if you want to look into other ones instead this is a great Osamu Tezuka resource http://tezukainenglish.com/wp/?page_id=377 http://tezukainenglish.com/wp/?page_id=488

Many of my initial recs I didn’t include simply because others already had or 1. they’re not in print at the moment or 2. they only have digital copies right now. I saw someone else recommended To Terra, it is out of print at the moment but I’d say if you ever see them somewhere’s than snatch’em up real quick.


@Suxinn
You’ve recommended and seconded a nice balance of genres, from 4-koma comedy to memoir.

@Yash_A
I second all of these


Last edited by Enuj at 4:23 am, Sep 1 2021

I never throw out a book so my hs (when i discovered manga) collection is:
(more recommended)
dears
A.I. love you
train man
chobits
ranma 1/2
love hina
ai yori aoshi
jing: king of bandits
yu yu hakusho
samurai deeper kyo
chibi vampire
hollow fields (oneshot)

+anima
elemental glade
negima!
hikaru no go
escaflone

Adding to my previous list.
If you like to give students a taste of different CULTURES around the world, Otoyomegatari is classic(BUT contains nudes),
So instead Tenju no Kuni. These types of manga can be eye-opener for students,and help build better understanding of the world.

Also, for SPORTS manga, short but amazing, Teppu. Great story and character development.
All are completely published works.
Hope this helps.

Make sure to go for smaller runs from series that are still in the discussion today as Death Note and going for works that go way over 30 volumes is about the worst thing you can do. Unless you have a magazine to store the overflow volumes. (A luxury most libraries can´t afford.) Shelf space is your biggest limit with manga, not money. Libraries aren´t archives so you can´t go too old either. Unless the IP lives on today. So ask the kids what they want too and not just random forum users. Or email publishers to find out what still sells today. A stock is built with the user in mind.

Try to cover big genre bases. Barefoot Gen easily works for a non-fiction book. Vagabond could be your samurai manga as it is tamer than your Tokou Ghoul or Attack on Titan but the shorter Rurouni Kenshin is finished. Bakuman is about the industry itself. Gundam: The Origin, well the original anime, gets direct anime spin-offs all the time so it can never age but Gundam Wing: Glory of the Losers is much more relevant for the US market. Neon Genesis Evangelion could also be your mech entry, well kinda, as this is another forever IP and it´s legit something else.
Find the genres you want to cover first and then branch out the rest of the budget you have. Male demographic works are proven to be read by all (its why stuff like Emma is Seinen) but females ones are a single-gender only ghetto so how much Shoujo can one go for? 1/3 of the stock sounds right to me and why has no one said Sailor Moon so far? It and Dragon Ball is more or less where one starts. Answers will then soon come. These are the decisions you have to make. Is Beck still relevant as your musical representation or do you have to go more modern. Are film adaptations as Your Name (SHINKAI) (or the LN) a good idea or are you allowed to get discs instead? If so, DVDs or Blu Rays only for the movies that round out your portfolio? The kids will have to answer that one. I wish I could get 5000 big ones for a single media project in my library. The shit I have to type up to get funding for the digitalization money next year...

Last edited by residentgrigo at 7:39 am, Oct 9 2021

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

Koukou debut - High School Debut

https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=542

Katana Kara - From Far Away

https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=4875