Well, I never thought I'd reach this point, but I'm - gasp!! - somewhat sick of shoujo now. I actually feel like reading something serious and interesting that's not limited to being all romantic! That and something that's at least slightly less terribly clichéd than most shounen series are. Don't get me wrong, I love my Bleach etc and all, but they're just not that psychologically stimulating.

So anyway, back to the point. I'm looking for some interesting, unique, preferably seinen manga that fall into the "psychological" category. I've read Monster and Eternal Sabbath and absolutely loved them, so something along those lines would be welcome. I'd prefer something complete, but I'm open to ongoing stuff as well. Romance isn't unwelcome, but I don't want the whole series to revolve around it (see above paragraph re: shoujo).

I'd also prefer for it to not be overly violent, though I'm not against it having violence in it. I do read Elfen Lied, so I'm obviously not totally against it. I'd just rather that violence not be the main theme of the series.

And - shocker! - I actually made my reading and complete lists public again, so you can check there if you want to see if I'd read something already. If you're going to recommend something, please, please, pretty please explain, if only briefly, why you think it's a good series/why you think I might like it, as I hate starting a series only to find out that it totally doesn't fit my tastes, and having a recommendation like that would help me avoid said situation.

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*poof* "SHOUJOMAN IS HERE!"
~Just Lynz, drop the -ajw~

20th Century Boys
Jiraishin
Houkago Hokenshitsu
Bokurano
Blue Heaven

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This week's favorites:

- Golden Kamui





ççççççç[Ô .Ô] tsutopodus© will eat your manga and steal your cats!

I think I overuse a lot of recommendations, but hey, whatever.

First on your list should be 20th Century Boys and its sequel, 21st Century Boys. They're by Urasawa Naoki, the author of Monster, and are every bit as well executed.

My next recommendation would be Nijigahara Holograph. It's a one volume piece that's a little bit on the brutal side(or at least intense), but it's really interesting and has deep characters for something so short. The description on the actual manga page probably will explain it better than I can, but you should enjoy it if you liked Monster (IMO).

You might have a little fun with Liar Game. It's not nearly as good as the two I mentioned earlier, but it has well thought-out psychological tricks.

Lastly, although it's a little bit different than the others, I like The Hour of the Mice a lot. It's kind of like a more Orwellian version of Battle Royale, and the characters are naturally very interesting. Once again, the description should probably tell you more than I can.

Hope one of them helps.

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Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
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Your awesome!!! - Cherelle_Ashley
NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

Good request!

Ehm, let's see.

Alive!
Dead End
Goth
Holyland
Homunculus
Hoozuki no Shima
Kiseijuu (Parasyte)
Kurosagi: The Black Swindler
Planetes
Shamo
Tajuujinkaku Tantei Psycho (MPD Psycho)

All good ones.

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Homunculus
Alive!
Line
Cat and bird <--- if you're okay with shoujo ai/hints of it
Liar Game

Edit: I know that not all of my recommendations are both seinen and psychological, but... give 'em a try

Last edited by Layhe at 3:54 pm, May 3 2008

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Current avatar features Badou from Dogs.

Anything by Takahashi Tsutomu.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni - Decent even though I'm not heavily into mysteries all like that.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - There's a sh1tload of them but they're all very interesting and a bit creepy, but in a good way.

Hohzuki Island - So far only 3 chaps have been released, but it's still pretty interesting.

Variante - Not sure if the group is still scanning this since it got licensed (damn companies trying make a living!).

DOGS: Bullets & Carnage - Uh not really psychological but Haine as well as most of the main cast has some pretty screwed up moments in their heads. Plus, I always gotta find a way to recommend this series.

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LOOK AT MY WITTY SIG!!11!!!!11

Liar Game gullible girl gets caught in a deception game where she has to con other players out of huge amounts of money without getting conned herself. Completely in over her head and panicky, she solicits the help of a ruthless con artist. The girl gets annoying but the guy is very clever ^_^

Doubt more of a horror/psychological. Six people are thrown into a warehouse, and told that they have to find the murderer among them before all of them are found dead. Conspiracy, planted evidence, lies and emotional breakdowns, this manga an excellent psychological manga ^_^

Kurosagi: The Black Swindler A former victim of a fraud that had a tragic outcome avenges his family by exposing other frauds when asked to by a victim. Psychological aspect is that he assumes another persona to swindle the con artist, and dupes with the criminals' mind into a false sense of security.

[m]Higurashi no Naku Koro ni[/m] don't be fooled by the cute art >_< This manga is warped and very psychological. (There's an anime if you prefer that). I really liked this manga because of it's unique format. You follow the protagonist for a certain amount of time, from his point of view, then you see it from another point of view. Really interesting and suspenseful

DOGS: Bullets & Carnage Seconded! I think dogs qualifies as a psychological. It's not purely psychological (like Eternal sabbath or monster). It does deal with a main character who is a misogynist (dislikes women) and has schizophrenia of sorts. There's also a guy who is addicted to narcotics, and a girl with amnesia. There's action elements to it, but the characters are flawed. My favvie manga because the character interactions feel natural

[m]Tajuujinkaku Tantei Psycho (MPD Psycho)[/m] seconded. Main character has multiple personalities, but helps find psychotic civilians as a wave of insanity spreads across japan, A gritty, not so predictable, and memorable manga. There is quite a bit of nudity and gore FYI.



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Image from Gangsta -> Full Image Link http://www.k4.dion.ne.jp/~babyrock/page030.html

Most of these suggestions will be repeats.

Holyland A pretty boy that was often bullied in school. Trains his body and takes to street fighting.

Homunculus It's a really strange story, the main character is a very strange man. Very interesting read.

Lament of the Lamb and Hatsukanezumi no Jikan by TOUME Kei He writes good Psych stories.

Let Dai Main character is a sociopath and his personality rubber bands between cruel and violent and completely normal and pleasant. Is shounen-ai though.

Himizu A guy that wants to be completely ordinary, despite how depressing is real his living situation actually is.
Also by the same author but not as dark Ciguatera.

Welcome to NHK! College dropout that wholes himself in his room rarely venturing outside. And a high school girl that makes him her personal project to correct.

Doubt (TONOGAI Yoshiki) <- a bit of a horror.
It's like battle royale, where they have to kill each other. =)

Freesia

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Seconding Nijigahara Holograph and Dead End.
Also, No. 5, though that's more psychedelic than psychological, but still a serious read.