Looking for something similar to one of two things

Iris Zero. I don't need powers or anything, but am not against it. It must have a protagonist like Toru though. I hate the typical shounen idiot hero. Anything shounen with a strong (mentally) male lead any any kind of romance. (seriously, this is quickly becoming my favorite manga in a long time.)

or

Angel Beats!- I know this is Anime. (don't know if there's a manga, well at least not the same, I've seen the prequel.) but anything like this. I honestly avoided this like the plague for it's gun's and religion stuff, just didn't feel right to me. But I finally watched it, and I don't think I've ever laughed and cried so much for the a series before. I would like something that has a kind of close comradeship feel of Haruka and Otonashi without it being yaoi. I love series like yu yu hakusho and HxH for that kind of unbreakable bonds of friendship and character's having someone who has their back (Like Toru and ... the butterfly guy... I forgot his name, from Iris Zero too)

Anything?

Last edited by montblanc512 at 9:27 pm, Feb 10 2011

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Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

I like both of those. Not exactly in the same vain, but, Hoshi no Samidare is a lot of fun

Thanks, but I've read it. Also, sorry for not including a list, but whenever I do, I've read so much that someone posts something I've forgotten I've read, defeating the purpose.

But yeah, he was a great protagonist too. Anything like that works too.

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Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

I really think GTO fits here. try it out and i'm sure you'll love it!!

For non-standard shounen protagonist, the following:

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge much yandere, somewhat weak lead, but still nonstandard

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia kind of kyon like lead, lots of ghost stuff but not very horror as a whole, nice slow character development

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai to me seems kind of like Iris Zero with no magic, could just as well be a 4 koma, no melodrama

Sora no Otoshimono very nonstandard lead. But, also kind of stupid. the plot on the other hand is kind of similar to Angel beats

Mahoutsukai (♂) to Deshi (♀) no Futekisetsu na Kankei somewhat like Iris, only read a few issues, female POV

both Nurarihyon no Mago and Beelzebub at least have more interesting casts of characters.

Dansai Bunri no Crime edge is okay protagonist wise, but only because of when he goes a little crazy, otherwise he's too weak minded. Tosagare Otome x Amnesia I don't like the protagonist at all. He's too easily played with. Like I said, strong minded, not just smart. I hate guys who are easily toyed with all the time. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai is a no. He looks different, but otherwise he seems like standard a shounen guy, just lonelier.

Sora no Otoshimono is hilarious, not exactly what I'm looking for at the moment though.

Mahoutsukai, is not really what I'm looking for either. I want a male protagonist. I can't associate mentally with a female lead, being male and all. Once in a while it's okay, but I have to be in a very rare mood for it.

Nurarihyon no Mago... I've read it... but I'm not sure if this fits... his non-demon form is exactly the type of protagonist I hate, but his demon side is the perfect protagonist. If only there was more romance in that form.

Beelzebub isn't exactly right either, considering he's borderline retarded. I like strong minded, not strong body, empty minded. Though I do enjoy this series for other reasons, and at least he's not weak willed.

Sorry for shooting down all the reccomendations, there just all not exactly right, like each one is a little bit off from what I was looking for.

Thanks a ton for the replies though.



________________
Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

For unbreakable bonds of friendship you should try Get Backers

Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai the main character is (mentally) strong

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Up to date on both of them. GB is one of my all time favorites.

Not a big fan of TWOGK. I mean, it's okay, but I don't like the different girls every time thing.

________________
Favorite Manga:
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mx0
Midori no Hibi
That is all.

well its kinda difficult to get a manga with inteligent characters without getting a little dark.

But as for inteligent one's and not dark I can think off, mostly are manhwa
Red Erewhon
Yureka - this one fits perfectly
Hoshi no Samidare
Zettai Joousei - Not quite right about this one...but give a try...actually the plot is better than it seem's...is somehow like suzumiya haruhi...
Noblesse - I know, vampires remember twilight...but give it a try. actually, latelly, im reading all of the online's manhwas...they are now a lot better than most of japanese manga...
Kuroko no Basuke - dont know about this one too =]
Kamen Teacher - Same writer as GTO, but more serious.

For dark one's and probably the best one's for you...cause Iris zero isnt the brightest of manga's =]
Zetman
Gamble Fish
Black Lagoon
Until Death Do Us Part <-- one of my fav's ever

I just looked over my list's...if u dont like any of this send me a PM...i will try looking on my HD too, because i'm lazy to put all my series on baka updates...
Trust me...it isnt easy work...just check my list and u will understand why...

I think people are mostly ignoring your call for romance, eh? Still, for some reason mangakas have difficulty making intelligent characters fit into romance manga... or into manga in general. I understand that they have to try and appeal to the lowest common denominator in order to get it to sell well, but it's just too much for me sometimes.

I second Zettai Joousei. He's not exactly brilliant, and he does get pushed around due to his gynophobia, but he has a certain power over the female lead that will hopefully make it so that she'll have to cool it down eventually. Either way, it's a charming little story so far, you might like it.

Anyway, in the mean time I'll try to wade through my completed list, which is ridiculously long, and see if I can grab something that fits your first request. I don't like dumb characters much myself. Its one of the reasons that I've always liked Bleach better than Naruto (the first two mangas I was introduced to, so they still hold a special place in my reading list). Ichigo is more prone to intelligent decisions than Naruto is... sorry for the rant.

*Edit*

I believe that you mentioned that you're occasionally okay with female protagonists, so give Superior a shot sometime. It's a little stereotypical, and the male lead only has the limelight some of the time, but it just appeals to me for some reason. None of the characters are outright stupid really, though Exa, the male protagonist, can be slow at times, but at least nobody really pushes him around, and Sheila, female protagonist, is somewhat unversed in the ways of the human world, but...

Last edited by TheShawn at 12:08 am, Feb 12 2011

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actually i think it would be better if he go pick some seinen ; ]

i remembered one...its a seinen..but it fits
Shin Angyo Onshi

and TheShawn, i know what u are talking about, but is really difficult to pick
and i sure showed some with romance, Yureka and Hoshi no Samidare, has the plot going around the romance.

Noblesse has romance, or parts of it...

And about any of the seinen...they all have romance.