Has anyone ever read a manga that was SO good that you forgot it was a manga? If so, then share your favorite titles here!

For me, it was Uzumaki.

SWEET JESUS, HOW THE HELL DO YOU MAKE SOMETHING LIKE SPIRALS SO GROTESQUE AND HORRIFIC? Like I said in someone else's post, it made me forget that it was a manga and it became like a Grade A horror novel with pictures. Junji Ito is a genius...

Which reminds me, I gotta put up a request post about getting more of his works.

But anyway, Tell me which manga you've read that made you forget it was a manga because of its' sheer awesomeness.

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Shin Angyo Onshi

and Evangelion dj - Re-Take made me forget it was a Doujin (so that kind of counts right) ;)

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Um, no, not really.I'm always aware I'm reading a manga. But if you mean artistically speaking, I can name a few that make it seem you're reading a Western/European comic alright...

I dunno... to me, manga are manga. I've read amazing manga and amazing books, and seen amazing movies. I separate what each are in my head - I have no expectations of books supposed to be better than manga in my head. But Emma is quite good and different...

Ok, maybe I should've worded the beginning better.

I meant have you read a manga with a story that was so good that it didn't seem like it would belong in a manga, or art in a manga that was so well-drawn, that it doesn't seem like it would belong in a manga, or both.

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Yeah, this concept doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I love manga. I think it's an incredible medium for telling stories. I don't see it as having limitations as to the quality of the story or art that is appropriate. To me what is considered manga has always been very open ended. There isn't some specific level of story or art that is the limit of what manga can reach.

That said, for me, the manga that has pushed the envelope in terms of emotional storytelling would be Gunslinger Girl.



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Tree + Taco = Tree taco.

I think the subject would be better if it was like "A Manga So Good That It Could Be Turned Into A Book" kinda thing. And I saaaay GTO and Skip Beat. Actually I think a better subject would be a manga that the plot is so well writted, that the art isn't even needed. Er yah.

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Forever lurking...

Gotta agree on this one with you loosecannon504.
Uzumaki was totally awesome. I even forgot I was reading.

Okay, I don't want to sounds like an asshole here, but it sounds like you're implying manga generally doesn't have good artwork or story, and that good story and art can only be found in other types of media. And (hopefully) that's not what you're truly saying... right?
TBH, I don't understand the concept of this thread at all.

Goddamn it...

You don't sound like an asshole, Highway-STAR. I just didn't explain it well...again.

Hopefully this'll clear it up for people...

I wanted to know if anyone read a manga that was so awe-inspiring, that you forgot you were reading a manga. Now what I mean by "You forgot you were reading a manga" is that you're so lost into the characterization, the mood, the action, etc. of the story that you actually feel like you're IN the story's universe. Like you're literally behind the characters watching them doing the things they do, and you wanna tell them what to do, but then you HAVE to remind yourself that it's a manga. That's what I meant.

Now hopefully, the people that didn't understand it before will read this, understand what I'm taking about, and share some manga that made them feel the way that I just described.

And if someone STILL doesn't understand, I'm coming to your house to cut you, capiche?

P.S. Mamsmilk knows what I mean! That story was creepy as shit, but still awesome

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for me threads of time was like that, in fact it was so good i told the story to my mom and she was like what is this? i want to read it too! lol

and i second shin ango onshi

actually i think korean mangas are really good...do i dare say..almost better? lol

Not all of them, but they do stand out ;)

I just finished reading Thread of time (started today ) , and I have to agree, it feels like shin ango onshi

so add that one to my list

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I keep quoting you over and over.

Again, even to me this doesn't make much sense, but if I've to say something I'll probably say Gunslinger Girl. Not only for the story, but also for the art, because it's set in Italy (where I live) and you can't imagine how much detailed is the reproduction of the places drawn in the manga. Milan, Florence, Naples, Rome are all well detailed. But also for the small aspect, like the newspaper layout, the politics' faces, some italian sentences, etc.
So it looks more realistic for me than any other manga I've read.

Anyway I'm totally agree with this:



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What I like in Trivial Pursuit style. Pick your category:

I think what he wanted to say is that:

He completely forgot that he was reading a manga and couldn't stop reading until the very end...

Happened to me with THreads of Time, D-ASH, Bitter Virgin, Shin Angyo Onshi and a few more

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Okay, cheers for clearing it up a little there Loosecannon.
If I had to pick one, it'd definetely be Akira. It's really engaging, to a poiny that I was sad to see a particular building or character from the first volume die or get destroyed in the last. It'd epic on a scale that no other manga has ever reached.