So I recently got my little brother (12 years old) into manga and he loves it. He's seen some of Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece with me, we've watched some of Fullmetal Alchemist but there was a bit much violence for him, and he loved Sword Art Online because he is into video vames. He's also been watching Trigun, it's fantastic. He's read Blazer Drive and Fairy Tail as well as the anime on my suggestions. He's looking for more now, but I'm not sure what else to recommend him. Most of what I read is shoujo or a little too mature for him. He's mature for his age, so I'd say just something under 16+ level will work for him. I'm looking for a more shounen type he might like. It should also be completed, he doesn't have an account to keep track of reading lists and such so I'd appreciate something he can finish completely with low violence, swearing, and fanservice (no ecchi, yaoi, yuri, hentai).

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll add a private list on my lists for him and put all your suggestions on it. We have more access to manga than anime, but feel free to suggest some anime for him too if something in particular came to mind. ^^

Very soon this child shall become one of us...

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"Everything is okay in the end. If it's not ok, then it's not the end."

"I'm tired of all the nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What else do you want; an adorable pancreas?" - Jean Kerr

When I said 'death' before 'dishonor', I meant alphabetically.

Imagine what would happen if there were no more hypothetical situations.

Has he tried shoujo and disliked it, or have you not shown him any?

Ohh, definitely try Dragon Ball! The manga is so awesome compared to the anime.

Noblesse - it's not very violent, but it gives off a...contemplative feel? Not sure if younger audiences would find it boring.

Assassination Classroom - it says it's licensed, but I dunno if any volumes are out yet. Either way, it has a great balance of having weapons and fighting and yet very little blood.

How about Kuroshitsuji? I think it's a little less bloody than FMA.

Can't remember the violence level in D.Gray-Man, but I started reading it when I was 14.

I noticed Doubutsu no Kuni recently got licensed. There's blood and deaths, but they're the "circle of life" kind...I don't know where that falls under.

I've asked him if he'd read shoujo, but he wants something with action rather than some high school romance. He's not against some romance, though, as long as it's not the main focus. I wouldn't let him read Kuroshitsuji from what I've seen of the anime, but the others look great, thank you. ^^ I'd still prefer something complete though as he doesn't have a way to keep track of his reading lists and chapter progress besides good old-fashioned paper.

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"Everything is okay in the end. If it's not ok, then it's not the end."

"I'm tired of all the nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What else do you want; an adorable pancreas?" - Jean Kerr

When I said 'death' before 'dishonor', I meant alphabetically.

Imagine what would happen if there were no more hypothetical situations.

Friendly action Shounen then?

Onepunch-Man: gorgeous art and lots of humor.

The Gamer: your brother likes video-games, so he should like this one.

1/2 Prince starts off awesome (RPG-based too), but progressively becomes more of a Shoujo harem manga, so I'm not sure whether to recommend this one. What I usually recommend is to read the beginning and to bail as soon as it starts to feel iffy...

Anyway, seconding Assassination Classroom and maybe Noblesse (Noblesse does get more violent, not more so than Naruto and Bleach though).

If he liked Trigun, he might like Immortal Rain which has a lot of similarities to that series.

I would also recommend Hoshi no Samidare (though I don't remember how 12 year old friendly the series was).

Both are complete and have plenty of action.

I would say 12 yr old safe
Busou Renkin
Reborn!
MAR
Witch Hunter
Shaman King

Prob safe
Nanatsu no Taizai a little ecchi
Beelzebub crude humor


I definitely would say NO to Kuroshitsuji, the violence is so-so but there are some other issues.

D.Gray-Man is also a bit violent and it's already a really dark story. Good read but wait a few years for that one.

Doubutsu no Kuni I don't think this would really appeal to younger readers as much.

I'd say 20 Seiki Shounen. That was an awesome series, and it features 12 year old kids as well ^^



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I'm probably not the best person to decide what's okay for a 12 year old but anyway.
Kekkaishi
Psyren?
Hoshi no Samidare maybe.

And these are both ongoing. But they're licensed in English, if that makes any difference. Oh and they both have animes.
Magi - Labyrinth of Magic
Ao no Futsumashi

Angel Densetsu
Konjiki no Gash!!
... Yeah that's all that I've got to suggest. Other than those two ... not sure if anything else I've read is 12 year old friendly ... I may think it is, but others would probably tell me I'm crazy or something.

I really want to say Love Hina, since I read that went I was 14 and you said he has the maturity of a 16 year old .... but obviously not for a 12 year old... See, crazy. *jazz hands*

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You should let him try Meitantei Conan (ongoing), it's usually appreciated by younger people.

GTO might be ok, not sure though... Some themes might be a bit mature (bullying, suicide, etc...), but overall it's very light hearted and a lot of fun. Read it first to get a feel of it if you don't know but I think it should be fine.

Classic shounen titles like Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter (still ongoing), Black Cat, Rave, Flame of Recca should fit too, but some can be a bit violent or dark at times (HxH especially); although no more than Naruto and co.

Sport mangas should be fine : Slam Dunk, Eyeshield 21, Hikaru No Go, Kuroko no Basuke (ongoing), Hajime no Ippo (ongoing), Capeta, Major.

I'm quite sure the amount of mature content in GTO is a bit too high for a 12 year old kid.

Humm... Sure maybe... I remember watching heads/bodies explode in Fist of the North Star, and a protagonist openly pervert and going after every female in sight in City Hunter at that age. So I guess I'm jaded now, lol.

Strange how violence in all its forms is acceptable for kids (thinking about TV but also games) but things that really might affect them and interest them (bullying for example), is out of bounds.... Sigh

you could give Kongou Banchou a shot. nothing out of the ordinary for shounen, but i remember really enjoying it anyway. it's been a while since i've read it though, so maybe give it a once over or something before he tries it out.

I dont know if some of these are already suggested but :
-Get backers ->has a lot of fighting
-Lessa
- Worst / Crows (fighting manga but he may like it)
-Arago
-Eat man (i think thats pretty good)
-Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (long manga/finished 400+ chapters)
-Needless (but fanservice, if i remember correctly :/ )
-Hareluya 2 boy
-Majeh
-God of highschool (this one is pretty good)
-One punch man
-ID (i really recommend this one, i loved it .. but i think it got abonded at about 180 chapters .. : / )
-Magican
-Shounan Junai Gumi (the story of Onizuka (GTO) in his highschool years)
-Tower of god
-Clover
-Hayate no Gotoku!
-Beelzebub

i think all of them should be suited (well its been some time since i read them so ^^)

Soul Eater or Rurouni Kenshin? I started watching Kenshin when I was around 10+ years old, and still enjoy it until now, so I think your brother will like it.