Again, regarding the "classic" definition: Your library will have such a section for books, especially children´s books, as Moby-Dick, Treasure Island and so on. Pay them a visits to broaden your horizon and a true definition doesn´t exist.
Astro Boy would be my definition of the most worthy manga to bear that moniker, but only the 2 Seinen re-imagings ultimately pleased me.

Tintin or The Spirit are Western examples for comics, as they helped to invent the modern "comic language". Sailor Moon would be a modern manga classic.

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If re-reading counts I read parasyte again this week. I won't really like classic manga, though, mostly because of the art

classics are great but depends on genre too. usually shoujo ones are interesting (not all) compared to today's or the last decade (2000s; before 2012 i think). i like miriam and glass mask to name a couple

yes! though idk the names. i'm constantly reading new manga. and i mean new as in new to me. if it's a good story i don't care how long ago it was created ^^ unfortunately mostly classic shoujo manga i don't like, they're sooo dramatic they remind me of American shows from the 60s lolol

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I was just questioning the definition because in the case of novels, I wouldn't really consider a novel from 20 or 30 years ago to be a classic, even if it was really popular and influential. When I read the question, 'classic' to me meant the manga that initially made the medium popular. Something along the lines of Astro Boy. Anywho, I really don't know manga history (how the medium got popular, what were the most influential manga were, etc) so that's probably why I was confused

How about within the last month! I did a presentation on HAGIO Moto recently, so I read or re-read most of her works, at least the ones I could find in English. A, A', the anthology A Drunken Dream, Marginal, and finally finished A Cruel God Reigns.

Just yesterday I was at my local comic / manga shop, and he'd just gotten in a boatload of manga magazines from the first wave of English publishing. I found all five issues of the magazine "Manga Vizion" that contained the installments of A, A'.

Before my Hagio Moto binge, I was reading Ashita no Ou-sama from the 1990s. I don't consider that old enough to be classic, just a really good read.

I feel like the poll is kind of oddly skewed. Early 2000s isn't long ago enough for everything before that to be classic, and the breakdown of 'last year', '5 years', etc. is spaced out wrong. I wasn't even reading manga at all just 8-9 years ago!

In literature, a classic is a good book that has transcended time. And how much time? At least 20 years. That's what my teacher taught me when I was younger, and I think it could be said the same with comics, like:
- A "classic comic" should have a very good development of characters and story. Personally, I think a "classic" should also have an original story, not like today's japanese comics that involves resurrecting in another world, but there are always exceptions when the comic is very well done.
- A "classic comic" should transcend time. And that might implies that classics should impact our culture like Dragon Ball, Detective Conan, etc.

But of course, comics are not equal to books. So maybe we should have our own personal definition. Though is a good debate, anyway.

Comic are 100% equal to books in Germany and thus enjoy protection under the fixed book price agreement. (I actually oppose it.) Novel bestseller charts also cover them worldwide. It´s a separate medium, sure, but bound comic collections and manga are pretty much regarded as books with pictures inside the industry. They also get the same entry in a filing system as a pictorial encyclopedia with "pictures throughout".
Will Eisner´s Graphic Novel term now managed to become quite popular too, but i will stick with comics. Classics were covered as part of my eduction (i am state certified by the city of Cologne) and the teacher liked my 2 decades+ reasoning but no textbook definition exists. You either have an eye for such or you don´t.

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
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Agreed! And this adds a lot to the discussion. It follows from "transcending time" that a real classic of anything is generally only widely recognized by skipping a generation. Does it still move, enlighten, fascinate or exalt people who didn't grow up with it? Then maybe it's a classic. But let's still check with the next generation to see for sure. That's why literature studies exist in universities.

I also go back and read Princess Knight

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I've been reading Akira lately. It's definitely one of the best manga I've read, everyone should read through it once if they enjoy sci-fi, specifically cyberpunk.

I'd challenge anyone who said Glass Mask isn't a classic.

I will stick with the opinion that books are not equal to comics. But regarding the definition of "classic", if you really had studied the topic, then I can't argue with you about that. Still, I think there should be a definition, a reason to call a classic as such. It can't be just because it is.

Almost forgot: Thank you for the link in Wikipedia

The blood type thing has to do with personality. There's a notion some have that certain blood types are more prone to have certain qualities. For instance, a type AB will tend to be your aloof, cold hearted seeming individual who's actually a sweety and more adaptable to situations than they first seem due to their overly critical nature. Essentially, when used in things like a character bio, it helps quickly determine what type of character the creator is going for without being too descriptive.

That being said, the most recent classic I've read is Maison Ikkoku, but I stopped reading it about half way through so that I could watch the anime again. I'd say that's about 3 years ago, now.

Last edited by Jelise at 3:21 am, Aug 29 2016

Classic manga is the best, it makes up the majority of what I read, actually.

Edit: Also, I think some of you are missing the point of the poll. "Classic" in the sense it's used here, essentially just means "old".
The word "classic" can have a different connotation depending on how you use it. Sometimes it can refer to something that has transcended time and become a highly praised work that can be enjoyed in the future, not being dragged down by the time period it came out in.

However, if somebody says "I like classic manga." they aren't necessarily just talking about manga that are considered "classics", they're just saying "I like old manga."
This is different from if they said "These manga are classic!" or "This is a total classic!"

The distinction between "classic" being used to describe the quality of something mostly comes into play when you specifically clarify it as being a thing (or a collection of things) that stands out within a group. Otherwise, you're just lumping it into a larger category, and not describing it as exemplary.

English is weird, I know.

Last edited by vigorousjammer at 8:24 am, Aug 29 2016

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