Ah well, I'd say your "not equal to" view is more of a cultural bias.... many cultures consider "comics" to be "for kids" where many cultures don't. They consider them to be just another type of "literature", to be judged on a case by case basis, just like any other. There's no blanket "novels are "better" than novellas, and novellas are better than short stories, and short stories are better than poetry, and poetry is better than comics..." See where I'm coming from? Literature... i.e. something written with the serious intent of entertaining/appealing to others....yeah, it's all equal, it's to be judged on its own merit, "comic" or "book".

As far as wanting some strict, universally acknowledged "definition" for classic...are you serious? That's like saying there should be a definition for "greatest ever" this or that (think whatever, sports stars, actors/actresses, movies, whatevers).... right? It's never going to happen. Sure, there are going to be some amount of generally held bench marks/criteria by which to judge, but after that, yeah, it's just a matter of one's personal opinion

Last edited by svines85 at 10:19 am, Aug 29 2016

The discussion of a classic definition for "classic" is entertaining and informative, thank you all.

And by most people's definition (though not all, as it's a subjective quality), my classic manga (used here to mean Japanese comic book) is a shelf-load of Ranma 1/2 which I read any time I get frustrated with current new offerings, or if I just get too antsy to concentrate on anything else.
If by manga you mean comic books, then my classic of choice tends to be old Detective Comics Batman, and if you mean more the graphic novel/continuous plot then probably The Sandman - which only barely makes the 20 year mark this year - or back to Ranma 1/2

As some have said, the spacing of the options for this poll isn't the best. Nevertheless, it warms my heart to see a majority picking "within the last year".


Nicely stated.

As for those who want to discuss which individual series qualify as classics, the series that have - and which series deserve - the classic manga tag would be a good place to start.

I'd say Shin Takarazima is a glaring omission, given its importance to establishing the medium in Japan.

Recently finished Banana Fish, Kisshou Tennyo (both pretty good) and Golden Boy (rather disappointing) and a couple of one volume manga that were finished before the year 2000. Their way of dramaturgy and their art style sometimes is so special that I will continue to read quite a bunch of classic manga.

Cast an eye on stuff by Tatsumi Yoshihiro, Tezuka Osamu, Tamura Yumi and Otomo Katsuhiro at the moment.

Hayate no Gotoku, if this is considered classical mediocre, then i'm currently reading it previous week. Now continue on rundown appartment arch. XP

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XP

And you couldn´t apply appropriate tags why? I did it for you...
Dead community, MU entries don´t fill themselves out. Actual human beings have to do that. Chop Chop said Master Onion.

How something is being perceived by society doesn´t reflect how it is being produced and published. Manga and comics may also never be recognized as "true literature".
Manga is a hobby for children and young adults, inside even Japan, and Shakespeare fan´s won´t be accused of being an otaku any time soon. The industry frankly does it to itself at time... but the average US comics reader is now 30-something and look what it did to the sales. Shounen Jump readers also slightly aged up, but that had to happen due to the dwindling amount of new "hits".

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

For a really classic (old) manga try "Nononba" by Shigeru Mizuki. It dates from, probably, the '60s, and is a memoir of the creator's childhood in the 1930s, nicely fictionalized with youkai.

Drawn and Quarterly did a great translation and it's still available. It's very moving and also gives you a chance to escape all the standard tropes and genres of manga that grew up later and now have become virtually set in stone.

https://www.amazon.com/NonNonBa-Shigeru-Mizuki/dp/1770460721/ref=sr_1_1?s=books& ie=UTF8&qid=1472578504&sr=1-1

I chose within last year even though maybe I haven't read a classic this last year by the definition in the post (before I had read Black Jack too or Nausicca (and others) when they were already considered classic). I consider manga like Berserk, Hajime no Ippo or even One Piece classics at this stage even though they are ongoing and their authors art has evolved. Dragon Ball is mentioned as an example, but we're getting new material related to the franchise. I read Azumi which has this old feeling, and then coinciding with the first post ideas (pre-2000, complete) I recently read the old adaptation of the game Mother 2: Gyigas strikes back which was a nice one volume, but not known nor a proper classic.

Try Angel Densetsu. I laughed my head off.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=348

me too

Meanwhile, Journey to the West is sitting on a throne so big you think the edge of the throne is the edge of the world.

Broadening your horizon doesn't mean anything unless you plan on dedicating your life towards reading.

Guess who has read Journey to the West? Audiobooks are your friend too.

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb