well it could be worse, or atleast moderately as bad
we could bring up ichigo 100%.....again

Back on topic!

I'd consider 3 things to be important: characters, plot, and storytelling.

Characters refers to the characters, and how well the reader connects with them and likes them. This can differ from person to person, of course, and more complex characters aren't always better than simple ones. I'd also include the development of characters under this, as how much a reader connects with the character is deeply tied to how the character is presented.

Plot refers to the story elements. Is it a coherent, compelling story? Does it make you want to read more to learn what happens?

And by storytelling, what I'm referring to is how the story is told. Think of Memento (the movie). The biggest thing about the movie wasn't the plot or the characters, but how the plot unfolded.
Even if a manga has a generic, cliché, or predictable plot, it can still be good if it is presented well. I consider that part to be the storytelling aspect.

imho, a good manga must consist of :

good storyline, morale points, comedy, less romance and gore (violence still excuseable, but gore ? none a chance for me), un-naive main hero/heroine

i found that i suck against cool looking, cold, and naive charas, like naruto/sasuke

i also found that i prefer reading a manga with bad looking, selfish and egoist, can use any situation for his/her own profit and not care about what happen to the world as long as he/she can get what he/she want

shortly, i like a villain type main hero/heroin, like onizuka/orphen/lina inverse

storyline, a good storyline is not always consist of a deep and confusing plot, like gantz (what the hell with onion alien and black sphere shitball in this manga ?) or naruto (a struggle to achieve the hokage title ? saving sasuke from orochi's hand ? silly idiot ... sasuke already he can be stronger if he stays with orochimaru, stays with naruto and friends only make him weaker and can never avenge itachi)

once again, great teacher onizuka gives a good storyline to follow without some deep and mysterious plot

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I feel like making an attempt at a reply, putting aside lesbians for now.

A good manga needs these things:
-Male characters that are not embarrassing.
-Females that are not raped, and not sluts.
-A lack of love triangles, or at least a lack of vacillating hearts.
-No manipulative or forced situations/relationships.
-A sense that the characters are moving through time, and none of the "everything is reset" plot device.
-Consistency - the "rules" of the world found in the manga cannot all of the sudden change, not even for one chapter.
-An interesting relationship between the main character and a female. (they cannot be separated for more than 2 consecutive chapters)
-An ending that doesn't leave you feeling like you just wasted 13 hours over the past two days reading this F****** Piece of S***

Well i believe that a good manga needs:
-believable characters, specially not retarded protagonists like some manga's
-a solid storyline that is consistent and not too predictable
-comedy(doesn't have to be a must)
-no excessive fan service ( I'm all for fan service but some take it over the line)
-art that doesn't look like a 6yr olds scribble
-and of course some level of originality

I'll try to stay basic, exspecially because i am pretty sure you and i don't really share the same taste. So here are some tips from me.

Good Manga and good Movies and Series have many parallels, try using them as a reference point.

damm, my boss came back, I'll write sometime later

one of the best things you can do for a new series is to not put the whole damn thing in the first chapter

dont rush the plot and leave some charactersto introduce later on


you want to strettttttttttttch the plot out so ppl have to buy close to a bazillion volumes to read the series....

that's more like good marketing...
but good story is always helpful in making mangas good.
Knowing how to pace the story is another, and not doing things like throwing random crap at the reader without previously hinted at them first. Don't randomly kill off any side and non-important characters out of the blue, you won't get much reactions when side characters just up and dies when they barely show up in the series anyways.

-Interesting characters that aren't clones of each other.
-don't repeat the story...
-be consistant with your characters, don't have them change stances everytime they encounter something new..

-try not to suck with the art, or at least intentionally have crappy art and keep it interesting for the rest of the manga...

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Wow...what a big question! I'm going to skip reading everybody else's answers (but the ones I looked at were full of useful info).

A manga tells a story. It tells it with both pictures and text. So what makes a great manga?

1) a good story. There's no way around this one. What makes a story good (interesting to readers)?
a) Characters who seem real to the reader (people are interested in people). examples: KareKano, Appleseed, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Karin
b) in an interesting situation (show me something I can't see at home) examples: Mahoraba, Planetes, Midori no Hibi, Gunslinger Girl, Fruits Basket
c) doing interesting things (because interesting people doing interesting things is interesting) examples: Ghost in the Shell, Yakitate!! Japan, Alice 19th, Crying Freeman
d) changing as a result (this follows from a) - real people change in response to experience) examples: Chobits, Ai-Ren, Ghost in the Shell
e) goes on just long enough to tell the story, then ends neatly. Examples: Midori no Hibi, Mahoraba, Ai-Ren, Ghost in the Shell, Alice 19th.

2) good art. Great art is not required, but is a bonus. But the art has to be good enough to help tell the story. What's good?
a) good page design. If I have to hunt to figure out which panel comes next I'm not going to be as involved in the story. Chobits and Midori no Hibi are good examples.
b) character designs that convey emotion well. In a novel you do this with text, in manga you do it with portraiture. Examples: KareKano, Midori no Hibi, and Karin.
c) distinguishable characters. Do something so I don't confuse the male lead and somebody's uncle. don't be like: Love Hina, Fruits Basket
d) consistent backgrounds - you have to give a feeling of place, and if the place is the same it should look the same every time. Chobits and Mahoraba for the win here.
e) good frame composition. Avoid clutter. Whitespace is the greater part of art. Don't be like: Love Hina, Fruits Basket (sometimes).

3) good text. Yes, even though it's pictures, the words tell a lot of the story. Reading manga in translation is hazardous because the scanslators may butcher good text. I scanslate Futari Ecchi and believe me - translations move meanings all over the map. What's good?
a) words that fit the character. If the character wouldn't say it that way, don't write it that way. Would he even say it at all? Should it just be a picture? Some of the most powerful moments in manga have little or no text. Examples: Midori no Hibi, Kare Kano, Planetes, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
b) Words that get to the point. Unless the character is supposed to be chatty, less is more. Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell are both bad examples.
c) extra points for a good turn of phrase, but remember - you're not writing a novel here.

Note that I'm not pointing out perfect examples of anything. There are better drawn mangas than the ones I mentioned, and there are better written ones as well. I think the big deal is that if the story and characters are good enough, the drawing and text need to not get in the way. That's all. So the art in Mahoraba, Midori no Hibi, and Ai-Ren for example, is good enough that it enables a good story to come through. Chobits actually tries a little too hard at art sometimes and hurts the story (I think, anyway).


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um...
-not smutty. ew
-heroines that don't act so blonde (not trying to offend blondes...)
-some aspect of comedy
-acceptable art
-an original, non-predictable plots.usually.

ehh I don't feel like creating a long list like some of you...

*shudders*
Like Inuyasha? No thanks. Short attention span FTW!

If you want a long manga, go for a sports manga. Sports manga tend to be quite popular as they already have a built in fan base. Most sports manga reach at least the thirty volume mark, with some going alot longer (Hajime no Ippo, as an example).

I've called this the Sports Manga Conundrum. Even I get sucked in, even if its a sport I don't really know or like, it just sucks you right in, like a black hole.

If I were to do a manga, it'd be a sports manga.

Of course, you also need a good plot, likeable characters, etc etc.

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o.o the art and the story plot D< of course!

well...it is hard to define a good manga. I guess when you read something and you continue reading it and tou want to read more of it, that manga can be rated good..

It's quite sibjective and of course the taste and preferences of people vary...well, past posts have already laid the basics--consider the characters, plot..let me add the drawing style as a factor for a manga to be considered good.

It's all about the storyline, it's characters and the story's progression.The length of the manga all depends for instance some manga should have wrapped up the story and not stretch it out so much like ichigo100% and some manga were cut short when there was so much more that could have been done like pretty face. As for art I would say it is secondary to storyline and characters. Yes a good looking manga is appealin to the eye and can be appreciated from an artistic point of view but if I had to choose between a good looking manga with an awful story line and a terribly drawn manga with an amazing story I would always pick the one with the better story. As for characters they should draw you into their world and make you feel what the feel wheather that is love or sadness or joy. Some good examples would me saikano for depression, video girl ai, hana yori dango,marmalade boy and i's just to name a few.

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