Sorry, have you actually READ D.Gray-Man? That has a deeper and more intricate plot than most seinen/josei I've read. You must have meant "Narutos and Bleaches", which are pretty superficial.

And that's my point: just because something is 'mature' doesn't mean it's better. There are plenty of good shounen/shoujo manga with interesting and complex plots and plenty of seinen/josei that are just plain crap. If someone has never branched out into reading other genres, okay, it's a good thing to try that, but I think it's a bit of wishful thinking to assume that'll solve their problem.

I stopped reading (most) manga a few months back because I too found most series in ALL genres boring, so I sort of understand the threadstarter's feelings. I also agree; there are fewer 'great' series nowadays, or so it seems. Whenever you see a recommendation or ranking thread, the same series keep popping up, and few of them began very recently.

That's not to say that all manga is crap now, but what a discouraged person might just need is a break.

Lol it's already been published in North America although it's more or less comics than it reads like a manga.

But yeah, I see everyone's view on this, but like everyone else, I'll try to keep it as low as possible. But then again, there are some things I can't read because it's too dry or unentertaining.


Since originality has been gone and over with, I think nowadays it's how the cliches are put to better use, don't you agree?
Other series are out there with so many cliches, but then how the mangaka decides how to use that to his/her own advantage is what would make the manga series unique in its own, right?

For example Mx0 is one in which a ton of cliches are used but the portrayal of it can be refreshing and funny.

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TRULY EPIC

dunno.
the more mangas i read, the more i learn to see a pattern of duplication. Just like in book novels for example, there are historical novels, spy thrillers, romances, mystery/horror, etc etc. You read more and more of them and they become generic.

One way i look at it:

Granted there are not too many gems in manga compared to books. Maybe because manga is unique to japan, the creative well is limited to its own authors (japanese, korean for manwha). Contrast it to book novels, where it has the whole world's population to draw ideas from.

every time i think that a new one is put in front of my eyes and i find out i was wrong ^_^

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We are all more afraid than we are willing to believe but we are also more braver than we could have ever dreamed.

Look harder perhaps?

From reading so many manga, my standards have definitely gotten higher, which is a pain. Add to that the fact that I've always been a fan of the eccentric, genre-bending series that explore deeper and more serious themes, and it's hard to find a series that I truly love. It's such a great feeling when I do, though.



I'm not a reader of yaoi or shounen-ai... but Yaoi actually is, by definition, about graphic sex. If you're looking for boy x boy without the graphic stuff, you might want to instead search the "Shounen-ai" genre. Gravitation is shounen-ai.

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≡ Youtube ≡ DeviantART ≡ Roseille Scans

People love smut. People also love mindless sex.
There are lots of kids who read manga, so there are more things like naruto and bleach, VK for fangirls, etc...

There are many good reads, you just have to look harder for them.
There are many things I'd like to see in manga, which there aren't.
But maybe in the future there will be.

Great things aren't common, that's why they are great. If there were too many of them they would have been taken for granted.


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Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.

And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

@ NightSwan: Very well said. ^^ Those jewels wouldn't be so wonderful if they were commonplace.

o_o I think I'm in the minority when it comes to mindless smut/yaoi/shounen-ai, since I'm not really a fan of any of it. ^^;; I have to admit to being partial to violence and pretty art, but neither are mandatory. xD

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≡ Youtube ≡ DeviantART ≡ Roseille Scans

There are reasons for the repetition of certain patterns in manga, and they mostly boil down to money. Publishers have had generations of fans to study their likes and dislikes and learn what sells best. They know that fans of any particular genre look for certain elements which work well in the genre.

Some of the elements which work well in a particular genre just happen to be considered cliches by fans. The most obvious example for Shounen would probably be power-ups, but every genre has its own cliches. The reasons mangaka include such elements is because they know it's what the fans expect. Readers want to see character types and plots they are familiar and comfortable with.

When it comes down to it, mangaka, like artists in any medium, are somewhat constrained by the realm of human experience and how most people view their place in the universe. People aren't likely to develop affection for characters whom they cannot relate to, nor will they be convinced by stories that are completely detached from the reality they are familiar with.

It takes a very rare, and exceptional story teller to find ways to break out of these constraints in a way that most readers will accept without complaining. Most manga fans can easily suspend their disbelief enough to accept supernaturally powerful warriors, magical girls, death gods, and malevolent aliens, but even the most open minded readers' imaginations can only be stretched so far before they begin to reject. We all wish for something fresh and original, but what can mangaka do besides remix the stock elements that readers are already comfortable with?


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My lists on AnimeNFO
MyList on AniDB

Why do I get the impression that many of you seem to hold manga as something so radically different from anything else? It's comics, Japanese comics, there are comics around the world... comics are stories told with pictures and text. If they suck it's because the story sucks, this holds true for most other entertainment formats too (books, movies...). So the phrasing of the question should be more like "Have Japanese comic book story writers' story well run dry? (or have I actually acquired taste?)"

Yes markets change, target audiences change, the world changes and we all certainly change over time. Only the creepy fanatics clutch their old figurines and dvd box-sets long after everyone else found greener pastures and more fun either within the fandom, or a branch, or even outside.

raaant

I agree about the yaoi statement, lots of yaoi have hardly any character developments at all, and the doujinshis especially(i mean they have all that time to actually delve deeper into a character's true colours which the true mangaka might have failed or otherwise neglected and all they decide is to live out their wet dreams instead!), but then again if you want character developments in a gay storyline, focus on a shounen or shoujo ai type of story, they're more satisfying.
I don't think the manga well has run dry, I just think you might be reading the wrong type of manga for you or your interest has waned.

I find 'good' mangas are hard to get nowadays
most of the plot is similar to another or etc
I believe that older manga has more plot and is more interesting then current day manga
only few take my interest
sigh-my well has run dry well almost



I agree with Mx0
I really HATE manga that includes ecchi
I really dont like them BUT
this one was special I actually liked it
i found it refreshing it had potential..
sadly it's gone

Last edited by blakraven66 at 8:43 pm, May 4 2010

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I hear you say "Why?" Always "Why?" You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"

I suppose it matters how broad minded you are when it comes to genre. For instance I have a deep dislike of high school romance because I find it just irritating cliched but will happily read something fresh and interesting within the genre such as Skip Beat. The more specific you are about what you want to read the more you will find yourself reading the same story over and over. I don't see how manga can run dry any more than western novels can. Some stories are better than others no matter the format.

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The pen is mightier than the sword...and considerably easier to write with.

I am old. When I was in high school, I read an article about the future of rock music written by "experts." At least one of them said that rock was dead. "All the forms have been tried," he said. This was before disco, the New Romantics, New Wave, reggae, hip hop, techno, grunge, etc., etc.

When you first become a fan of something, everything is new and fresh. Then as you become more knowledgeable, you begin to see that some things are better than others. But, however experienced a fan you become, even 20 years down the road, you should still be able to appreciate a wonderfully played baseball game, a beautifully sung aria, an edgy or fun or sweet or sexy manga.

I don't think so. There's a ton of under-rated manga which few bother to read. And a lot of likely awesome stuff which isn't being scanlated or even published officially in English.