Mature, engaging series for someone who's fed up with manga tropes

8 years ago
Posts: 21
The title pretty much says it all. I've been reading manga for 10 years now, and after discovering a gorgeous visual novel (Fata Morgana, which I definitely suggest to anyone reading), I realized I'd like something as engaging and original as that, but in manga form. So I'm looking for a mature (josei/seinen?) series that's overall well done. Let's say good characters, interesting plot and decent art, but if there's something the series really excel at then it's better. Throw at me your hidden gems! Any genre is okay as long as it's original and feels new!

8 years ago
Posts: 191
I'm not familiar with fata morgana tbh, but I've listed some seinen manga that I didn't see in your list perhaps you'll like one of them.
Vinland saga
black lagoon
natsu no zenjitsu
gunka no baltzar
If you've missed steins gate anime it was pretty original and based off of a visual novel as well

8 years ago
Posts: 149
8 years ago
Posts: 3
Off the top of my head, manga I've been impressed with for originality:
Houseki no Kuni
Otoyomegatari
Murcielago
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro

8 years ago
Posts: 85
I'm not very sure about Fate Morgana but these below are mangas that are original in my books; I've not come across other similar mangas like them so far.
Banana Fish
Ghost Hunt
Liar Game
20th Century Boys
Claymore
Homunculus
Elfen Lied The art is slightly questionable though
Inugami
Kaguya hime
Parasyte
Ichi the Killer
Petshop of Horrors
Shin Angyo Onshi
Shibatora
Ningyo no Mori
Mushi to Medama to Teddy Bear
Goblin Night
Noramimi
Chinese Translator Accepting translation requests if the manga interests me!

8 years ago
Posts: 2133
How about some mangaka who write unusual and original stories?
Matsumoto Taiyou
Urushibara Yuki
Urasawa Naoki
Ono Fuyumi
Igarashi Daisuke
Ichikawa Haruko
Yamashita Kazumi -- Especially Fushigi na Shounen
Kaitani Shinobu
Ono Natsume's non-BL works, like Saraiya Goyou and ACCA - 13-ku Kansatsuka.
Hagio Moto
Takahashi Tsutomu

8 years ago
Posts: 1029
Hoankan Evans no Uso
Onepunch-Man as if you don't know about it
Battle Angel Alita and Battle Angel Alita: Last Order haven't read Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle yet
Spirit Circle
8 years ago
Posts: 501
I find it funny when people whine about tropes. Everything is a trope and if you find something that's not, then it will eventually become a trope.

8 years ago
Posts: 21
Thanks everyone who's answered so far! I will check everything out (: And just to clarify- I'm not looking for something similar to Fata Morgana. But since it was what led me to look for original works I thought I might as well suggest it to others.
I find it funny when people whine about tropes. Everything is a trope and if you find something that's not, then it will eventually become a trope.
Since the concept of "trope" is an abstract one, I guess everyone can have their own opinion about it. In my opinion, definining "trope" something that's shared by just a few works and used in diversified ways is kind of useless.

8 years ago
Posts: 24
I can feel you, for a manga I like I might pick a few dozens that bore me to no end. And that's unfortunately not limited to shoujo/shounen in my experience
how about aku no hana, since you're basically asking for people's preferred mangas 🙂 .
btw fata morgana looks interesting, thx for the intel

8 years ago
Posts: 70

5 years ago
Posts: 22
If you enjoyed Fata Morgana (it's my favorite media of all time), you'll probably enjoy Please Save My Earth (PSME), a classic of shoujo manga. They have several tropes in common such as reincarnation, forgiveness, and sins of the past. PSME also has complex characterization, in-depth character study, morally gray characters, plot twists, and absolutely gorgeous artwork and layouts after 3-5 volumes (it starts out a little rough). One of the MCs was a war orphan, which is something you don't see very often in manga, much less shoujo manga. PSME was my all-time favorite for 10+years until Fata Morgana came along, but it's still a very close second.
Summary from Viz:
Are the woes of the present meant to be endured for the promise of a better future or to atone for past wrongs? In a captivating epic of love, fate, and faith, seven young people must struggle with this spiritual puzzle as their alien past lives threaten the future.
And some pages:
[img]https://i.ibb.co/HTkJ6zj/Please-Save-My-Earth-v05p228-229-copy.jpg[/img] [img]https://i.ibb.co/ZLYrP4S/Please-Save-My-Earth-v07-Please-Save-My-Earth-v07p122-copy.png[/img] [img]https://i.ibb.co/T8SBmms/Please-Save-My-Earth-v07-Please-Save-My-Earth-v07p298-copy.png[/img] [img]https://i.ibb.co/k4V6CF8/Please-Save-My-Earth-v08-Please-Save-My-Earth-v08p054-55-copy.png[/img] [img]https://i.ibb.co/VMnqP75/Please-Save-My-Earth-v08-Please-Save-My-Earth-v08p270-copy.png[/img]