I usually pick them randomly but i only take manga already finished.

Unless the summary is especially interesting to me, I always go by the rating actually. In my experience, if there's already more than a chapter or three scanlated and the rating is hovering around 9.0, it usually isn't shit. Exceptions withstanding of course.

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Tokyo Illusion

Not shame to admit, the first thing I look for is art~ If the cover looks good, I don't really care for what's the story if about, even if it's clicheness is screaming, I don't mind and will add it to my list (keeping in mind that the series is of the type of genre I usually read)
Sometimes, if the art just look average, then I look at the rating and comments but I usually skim comments because they will make me bias both in the positive and negative way. I don't want to be bias because it will effect my opinion on a series. But comments are still welcome just to make me have the gist of the series though useless comments are... everybody gets it =.=
If the manga has great art, then I shall stalk the mangaka!
Yay Art! 8D

randomly
after 3 years reading manga I have come to the conclusion that art/cover can be deceptive. summary can be misleading. and comments of fanboys are not reliable.

also, I read series by favorite scanlator, not author.

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its cold down here fam ~

I do the same thing as Mewman, I go by scanlators. They might not scanlate stuff of the same genre but there is usually some sort of link or theme. I also find it easier to read if I understand their translating style. I do employ some of the other methods, if only to find new scanlators but I don't employ them particularly well. Sometimes I put the manga in alphabetical order pick a letter and page at random, then look until I find something that looks intriguing.

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Sorry for being incoherent

The summary then art then positive comment/review...but mostly i refer summary of the series, it get me right all the time

A month ago I would have, without hesitation, answered that I read series based on summary. However, a while ago my sister (or mom, I don't remember) asked me what kinds of stories the manga I had just checked out from the library were -- after wracking my brain a bit I realized I didn't have a clue about the plots of most of them (and not from forgetfulness).

Anyways, so I just decided to think about how I started reading some of the series I am reading or have read recently.

Bunny Drop: Cover Art -> Demographic
Ayako: Cover Art (can you tell I like minimalist covers?) -> Mangaka
Sundome: Publisher Website -> Summary
Dragon Ball: Popularity
Twin Spica: Critical Acclaim -> Art Style
Karakuri Odette: Friend's Recommendation

Pretty disparate reasons... but I think that's mostly due to the fact that I haven't even been reading manga for a year and I really want to try out all kinds of different stuff. I feel like overall about 1/3 of the manga I've read was primarily because of popularity, 1/3 was primarily critical acclaim, and 1/3 was a mix of genres/tags and art style. I tend to not read too many summaries because I don't want ANY of the plot progression spoiled for me before reading unless it's something I'm really on the fence about.

TL;DR - I voted cover art but probably should have voted "picked it randomly".

It must be because the summary looked interesting, the art looked gorgeous, and the cover looked good, sometimes someone recommended a manga to me which i've never known before then i read it.

I don't vote, it's difficult to pick one of them because i always do four of them...

Sometimes the mangaka also has big influence why i want to read a new series.



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i'm judging type of person. everything i come into, shapes up my judgement. from this pool's question, i can come up with multiple answers. but if you ask what's the usual cause, i say the review. they are like verdicts, are they not?

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grammar mistake is intentional, grammar nazis need their entertainment.

#1 I read Summary first then Ratings. Then I judge to read it or not.
#2 If i'm not sure to read it or not, I'll take the art as consideration.
#3 When I read manga that recommended to me by a friend I still check it first back with #1

so, its the summary of the story that important to me.

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ꉂꉂ(ᵔᗜᵔ*)笑

all the above isnt a good answer is it?

The summary. Ratings and comments tend to be love/hate far too often to really trust them. "It's just so-so, but I want more people to give it a try so I'll give it a 10!" seems common. I do tend to skim through the comments though, looking for ones that explain themselves rather than the above stated love/hate-rant. I hardly ever care about the art though.

I usually find new titles reading through the "Looking For" threads.

I usually read a series mainly because of the summary. But of course, I base it on other things, too.

This is the order I look at:

1) Summary. Almost everything depends on the summary. If I don't like what the story's about, then what's the point in reading it?

2) Genre tags, demographic, categories. I would never read anything that is smut, lolicon/shotacon, hentai, guro, ecchi, adult, yaoi/yuri, shoujo ai/shounen-ai, etc. But I don't really mind if the series is shoujo, shounen, josei, or seinen.

3) Art. I'm usually open to any type of art, but there are times when I can't stand it. For example, even though many people like the art in The Bride of the Water God, they all look so stiff to me. I couldn't get used to it.

4) Ratings. I would never not try a series because of ratings, but I'm just curious as to what people generally think of it.

5) Reviews, comments. This, I think, influences my decision almost as much as the summary does. There are times when the summary doesn't really give the series any justice, and I look at the comments (the ones that actually explain their opinions, giving examples from the story, etc.) to see what people say. I also take a look at the spoilers, just in case something happens in the manga that I know I won't like.

I never base my decision because of the title, but if it's something like Onani Master Kurosawa, I won't even bother to read the summary .

Of course, there are also times when I just pick it for a random, or no reason at all.

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If it's in yaoi genre, I read it.
...And it has to be completely scanlated also.