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I like these manga because of the clean and spacious layouts, the character-based storylines, and the art (people look more real than most shonen and shojo manga I've seen, but are not as real looking as characters in most superhero comics created in the U.S.). Know of anything else I would enjoy?

edited Nov 12 at 22:35

asked Nov 12 at 21:45

Gene Ambaum♦♦
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Almost 24 hours later and no one can offer me any help? Looks like I'll be adding a bounty tomorrow night. – Gene Ambaum Nov 13 at 21:19

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That's because no one really likes manga. – Bill Barnes Nov 16 at 16:36

Gene Ambaum · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-22 17:30:36Z UTC

The art styles you mention liking are very different. Have you considered Manhwa? It's Korean comics, starting to trickle over here in smaller numbers than its Japanese counterparts, but the art style is a halfway point between American and Japanese styles.

For the sort of slice of life tales that you can find in Yotsuba&!, I'd suggest Yen Press's With The Light, a massive series about a family struggling to raise an autistic child in modern Japan. It provides interesting insights into family, work, and schooling issues in Japan, and is interesting to read for that alone. The information about Autism is presented with all imaginable viewpoints, and is a handy answer for when young teens are presented with a relative or a new classmate affected by the disorder.

For clean, sharp art with a heavy emphasis on American-style detail, Hikaru No Go, and Deathnote, by the same artist, are very different stories. The first is a boy who discovers a ghost in his grandfather's Go board, and learns the game. It's a battle manga at its core, with all the associated powering up and rivals, and for the equivalent of watching someone play a board game, surprisingly interesting. The second is a complicated moral story of a brilliant high school student who finds a way to rid the world of evil with the flick of his pen, and as you might imagine, it does not end up going well.

I'd also recommend Kekkaishi, about a boy charged with protecting his family's sacred ground from the hordes of monsters, spirits, and demons that would like to feed on the power there. Three problems: the girl next door is better at it than he is, he really would prefer to bake castle cakes, and someone went and built a high school on it.

Genshiken, about the lives and struggles of geeks and otaku in modern Japan, has a clean, sharp visual style and likable, human characters. It is heavy on the fanservice from time to time, and it's not for the younger crowd, but it is beloved by all my comic book reading friends for it's unflinching, and still kind, view of those who don't quite fit in.

Kiichi and the Magic Books is set in historical Japan, about a wandering librarian with the power to bring elements of books to life. As you might imagine, librarians in this series are both feared and respected, and it's a nice little ego boost. 8)

Additional content (in answer to Ambaum's comment): I haven't the reputation to answer directly, if possible, please edit this to reply to your reply.

Manhwa is, like all the comic forms, pretty fluid depending on the artist. Some are nearly identical, or very difficult to tell from manga, some lean more heavily towards American stuff. There are a couple of defining characteristics:

-Boy oriented stuff tends to have a more realistic musculature and body structure than its Japanese counterpart. The facial features are still exaggerated, and the eyes are accentuated, but whereas in most Japanese styles the body can be rendered in a handful of lines, manhwa places more emphasis on detail work. Clothing and backgrounds will be full of detail, and rendered in both screen tone and use of negative space. In manga, screen is used with less frequency in shonen comics.

-Girl stuff will have a very willowy structure, with very thin arms and legs, and an emphasis on height. Again, a lot of detail on clothing, a lot of emphasis on fashion and design, and a heavier use of exaggerated facial features, characters going from 'normal' to 'super deformed' and back again in the space of three panels.

-All Manhwa is written, and presented, right to left, the same as American books.

-Manhwa has lips. And defined teeth.

As with any other art style, creators will borrow liberally from the elements they like, and don't like, so telling one from another is sometimes easier said than done, but an experienced reader of Asian comics can usually pick out the differences.

Kathy · Answer 2 · 2009-11-17 20:40:00Z UTC

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The manga that I've traditionally heard recommended for people who don't like manga is Eyeshield 21, a school football story. But if you like clean lines and character-driven plots, you might be better off going for some older shojo titles, like They Were 11, found in the anthology Four Shojo Stories, or Basara. If you're just after visual realism, you could try something from Naoki Urasawa, author of Monster and a few other titles. You might also enjoy Oh My Goddess!, a sort of fantasy told in a realistic setting. What sort of stories do you like to read?

answered Nov 17 at 20:40

Kathy
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	I'll try Eyeshield 21. I like to read all kinds of stories (helpful, I know :) ), but I specifically wanted to focus on manga with this stype of look. I've read Monster (pretty good) and I'm enjoying Urasawa's Pluto. I've read Oh My Goddess! but it's not for me. I don't tend to like the androgynous character design in most shojo because I find it's too easy to confuse characters -- does They Were 11 use this type of art? – Gene Ambaum Nov 17 at 21:42
	They Were 11 has somewhat androgynous art, but the characters are very easy to tell apart since they're all from different planets. Unfortunately, most of the things I can recommend simply for realistic art are rated "M" for graphic violence, like Blade of the Immortal and Lone Wolf and Cub. I think, though, that you might enjoy Sanctuary, which shares an artist with Crying Freeman. It's the story of two young men who decide to change the world, so one goes into politics and the other joins the mob. Occasional graphic sex and violence - all in a day's work. – Kathy Nov 18 at 20:26
	Older titles, like "Fist of the North Star", or "Sprit of Wonder", sometimes have a more American-comic look, too. Have you read anything from CLAMP? Their style is realistic, with simplfied faces - if that style's OK, you could also try Shadow Star. Finally, I think I would be remiss if I didn't point you toward the ecological epic "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (the manga), from the acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. He's known for his detail-rich environments and tight storytelling. – Kathy Nov 18 at 20:26

Sarah The Anime Librarian · Answer 3 · 2009-12-30 20:54:45Z UTC

If I may add Mushishi to the list. The storytelling is quiet and mythological, with a sort of medevial x-files feel to it. It has a very wonderful otherworldy feel,the characters are interesting, and the stories are full of the human condition. The art carries the otherworldly feel, while staying realistic. Its sort of like walking in the woods in July and stepping into a clearing to find its snowing there. Beautiful, but erie and strange.

ding0036 · Answer 4 · 2009-11-19 06:37:36Z UTC

I'll second the recommendation for Azumanga Daioh - if you like Yotsuba&!, there's a good chance you'll like this as well.

If you like characters with a somewhat less "manga-ish" look to them, give Planetes a try. On top of that, it's a great sci-fi story with some enjoyable characters; it's basically about garbagemen (and -women) in space.

I'd also second the recommendation for Aria (and its predecessor, Aqua) - beautiful artwork, enjoyable characters, and a leisurely pace.

I think you might also enjoy Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - it's a horror series with a deft comedic touch and characters that aren't drawn in the typical shonen/shojo style.

Oishinbo is a food manga - it's about a food writer who's enlisted to create the "Ultimate Menu" in honor of his paper's 100th anniversary.

If you've been enjoying Pluto and Monster, you should try Urasawa's 20th Century Boys (group of childhood friends discover someone's using the club they created as kids to bring about the end of the world as we know it).

One more - there's a single-volume story called Sexy Voice and Robo. Kind of a collection of short detective stories featuring a "telephone dating operator".

Hope this helps!

143books · Answer 5 · 2009-11-16 06:14:53Z UTC

For the record...it's scary to attempt readers advisory to someone who is so respected & well read! Here goes nothing gulp.

by the same... You like Emma? Did you read Mori's Shirley? *it's not a new series, but collection of shorts written before Emma...Mori has currently not made up mind on whether to write beyond the first volume...

Azumanga Daioh (Azuma) - the omnibus (which has extras) is always checked out of my library - I haven't read it myself but have heard pretty good reports...okay so you've probably read this...

What a Wonderful World!, Vol. 1 & 2 (Asano) were released this October and are pretty great.

Others (you've also probably read) sigh:
Maison Ikkoku by Takahashi - romantic comedy, cute & very clear layouts
Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta - very well drawn!
Aria by Amano - don't judge this book by it's cover...it's truly a moment of Zen
and I have to plug Me and the Devil Blues by Hiramoto...amazing...I was going to put it in your Manga for Manga-Haters before you closed the topic.

Library Joy · Answer 6 · 2009-12-23 22:35:49Z UTC

You might also try +Anima by Natsumi Mukai. It's about 4 children who have the power to shift parts of themselves into animal shapes. It's cute, has characters of all ages that look more realistic than many (although the children are clearly traditional manga style) and much of the plot has to do with how the children deal with prejudice and traumatic events in their pasts.

BrightSideofDeath · Answer 7 · 2009-12-27 11:43:59Z UTC

Have you tried Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa? (It's becoming popular enough now that almost feels to me like saying, "Have you watched Star Wars?") It's set in a reality in which alchemy is a considered to be a science, but is something we'd consider to be magic born out of scientific knowledge. It takes place in the early 1900's in a country governed by a military dictatorship which enlists alchemists as human weapons. Two alchemist-prodigy brothers perform a taboo alchemical experiment which goes horribly wrong and the story follows their resulting journey.

I wouldn't call the art realistic, but it's certainly not androgynous and characters are usually realistically proportioned. The humor and resulting art can get a little goofy at times, though. Even if the art style puts you off, overall it's such an excellent story with such a wealth of great characters that it's worth the read. It quickly became one of my top 10, all-time favorite stories and the series is still being written. I've yet to meet someone who has given it a chance and hasn't ended up loving it.

Finny · Answer 8 · 2010-01-17 03:07:30Z UTC

I'd suggest To Terra..., a set of three manga (that have been turned into an anime movie, Toward the Terra, back in the early 80s, and a more recent TV series). Humanity has long since dispersed from Earth, and is run by a massive computer system. Come puberty, all the kids undergo an Adult Test (to weed out those with telepathy, MUs). The trilogy starts with the Adult Test of one such teen, Jomy (or Jommy? I can't recall off the top of my head), and branches off from there as the MU try to find a home of their own.

Manga like Yotsuba (Kiyohiko Azuma), Solanin (Inio Asano), and Emma (Kaoru Mori)

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