I was really conflicted about where to put this, here or Manga General, but in the end I decided to put it here as I'm looking for things to read and that's the reason I'm posting this..

I'm pretty much looking for things that are considered "must read", from let's say.... 2000 or older? Although with how things are going maybe I should move the year up..

Any how, manga that has had a significant impact in some way or another.. Or manga that illustrates common things that happen often now..

Like Dragonball/Dragonball Z.

1. It is often referenced as a joke or something, especially in fighting/action manga that include comedy
2. It demonstrates a few things which often occur in manga, such as a large time skip in the middle of the story, the main genre shifting (in this case from more comedy oriented towards action), and other things which I don't currently recall..

I would also count Akira among them, as the movie (and manga imo) really helped bring more recognition for manga/anime to the West, and it's a cult cyberpunk manga.

So anything you consider essential and why, preferably from before 2000, and preferably complete.

Honestly I don't have much in terms of criteria for what is essential or not, as long as it made a large impact in some way either to the industry.

Alternatively, you could possibly just suggest anything you think people should read and they shouldn't be skipped over because they're so good, maybe.. But idk..

Any how, thanks.. And sorry that this is such a mess, but I feel like quite a mess myself atm.. >.<;

Lastly, you are free to discuss it I suppose or debate or what have you, but honestly I'd rather just get recommendations and then judge for myself.. Especially as this isn't a forum for discussions, so much as recommendations.

P.S. I did try searching for a similar topic, but I didn't have much luck. I attribute it to my feeling like crap atm, or there really isn't one. If there is a similar post and you provide I link I will gladly look there also. Dx

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I strongly recommend to search for 'epic' in the forums. I believe there was some 'completd epics' topic as well.

Train Man I found a few mangas with references to this one, quite well known
Bitter Virgin pretty well known too and kind of unique premise
Hoshi no Samidare action seinen with plot and brains, a must read
Maison Ikkoku after reading this there aren't any possible misunderstandings left that could surprise you, classic, tedious at the end
Elfen Lied ecchi,gore sounds bad but is actually good (apart from the art), also well known

I could add even newer ones and I guess a few older ones but
a) you'll find a bunch when searching
b) the other guys will mention a bunch other stuff

in need of romance?
uncommon, sad, sweet

Vampire Juujikai is a must.

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Pretty much.
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I think the term you're looking for is "Classic" manga. Stuff that defined a genre.

I have never read these myself, however they have certainly impacted the industry.
Kamen Rider
http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_references_to_Kamen_Rider_in_popular_culture
Doraemon
Frequently, very very very frequently referenced manga. The only reason I haven't read it is because it is incomplete, the author died before it was finished.
Jungle Emperor
Jungle Emperor is the manga that led to the anime version which was then plagiarized by Disney and became the movie Lion King. This can easily be considered the original version of Lion King. Also, if you watch the anime version of Jungle Emperor, make sure it's actually Jungle Taitei (JP version) and not Kimba the White Lion (ENG version). The Kimba version cuts out a few scenes that were in Jungle Taitei that really deepen characters and the theme of the story as a whole.

Cardcaptor Sakura
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan
Nana
Basara
Mars
Paradise Kiss
Skip Beat!
Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori
Tokyo Crazy Paradise
Berserk
Ookami to Koushinryou
Dengeki Daisy

朝露の少女。

“The longer we live, the more weight we carry in our hearts.”

I like how you mentioned before 2000 and got so many after it, lol.

My 2 cents:

Anything by Tezuka Osamu
Monster it's one of the best mangaka's best work. And since I believe it had a strong impact on my favorite mangaka so it gets the first spot after the god of manga.
Kodomo no Omocha for many (like me) this was the first shoujo to deal with such delicate topics despite being portrayed as a manga for kids.
GTO It's just really insanely funny.
Anything by Adachi Mitsuru and Urusei Yatsura Lamu. I believe they kinda opened up the path for stuff like I's (probably the most famous ecchi/drama/romance work of the 90's/2000's) and Love Hina (probably the most famous ecchi/comedy/romance work of the 90's/2000's)
Kyou kara Ore wa!! I think GTO (and many more later) has been influenced by this one.
Berserk I don't think it needs an explanation
Hokuto no Ken same here
Captain Tsubasa because when I was a kid this was the sport manga

I probably forget many more but it's hard to keep track since when I was reading those stuff I didn't have internet and couldn't keep lists, I'm not even sure if some of them I read entirely or not, lol. For anything more recent, you can just look at my lists, they're public, and pick up stuff rated 9+ (there aren't many).

What I like in Trivial Pursuit style. Pick your category:[img]http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/Reid4891/Manga/trivia-1.jpg[/img]

the only 1 i can think of as a must read that hasn't been said yet is Angel Densetsu simply because its a master piece imo

stupid photobucket, wanting $400/yr just to display your images

Well, for a few historically relevant series from various genres (full disclosure - I haven't read all of these yet):

New Treasure Island - Tezuka's first best seller, and essentially the series that started the general popularity of manga in Japan. Also, as reid1 pointed out, there are numerous other Tezuka series that would qualify.

Sangokushi - A hugely popular series when it was released, regularly referenced in more recent manga series.

Heart of Thomas - Not quite the first BL manga, but one of the most critically acclaimed and influential.

Devilman - Go Nagai is another widely influential artist (he essentially created the ecchi genre with Harenchi Gakuen, which isn't available in English), and this is his earliest representative work available in English.

The Rose of Versailles - Hugely influential shoujo work from a member of the 24-Gumi, also featuring GL undertones.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Miyazaki's masterpiece, that (in conjunction with the film adaptation) paved the way for Studio Ghibli's formation.

Ashita no Joe - Just a classic, shounen sports epic.

Gegege no Kitarou and just about anything else by Mizuki Shigeru - he's the reason yokai are still regularly used in manga today, and his autobiographical works are well worth reading.