(do you like my new meme?)
I'm fairly new to manga and I don't know that I will ever read that much of it, but I do find it interesting and I've recently become obsessed with
Princess Jellyfish (review will be up this week), so I thought it'd be fun to talk about it a little here. My two younger sisters (15 & 16) are big manga and anime fans. I am in no way an expert, so I'm going to pick their brains a bit on why they like it so much and maybe get some recommendations for newbies like me and possibly you. And share your thoughts, comments, recs below!
First, let's start with some basics. Manga, pronounced "mahn-guh" if you want to be like the cool kids, is the book version. Anime, apparently pronounced "ah-nee-may" huh, is the tv/digital version. Don't be like me and call it the wrong thing and then say "whatever" when someone corrects you. ;)
Panels has a great post about beginners guide to reading manga, so you should definitely check that out. (Actually, they have lots of interesting articles to get you started on your manga journey.) Basically, manga are read backwards, right to left, including the panels on the page. It's super hard to wrap your head around at first, especially if you're a mega-reader like me. But it gets easier as you go.
(From Princess Jellyfish)
Manga and anime are almost always interchangeable. That's how B, my middle sister, started: she watched anime first and when they cut short or didn't finish the story, she started reading the manga version. Her first manga was
Ao Haru Ride (Blue Spring Ride in English), which I just started reading on the
Manga Rock app. M, who just turned 15, picked up
Naruto from our brother and then got into the anime more from there. She has watched a whopping 4500 episodes between
Kissanime,
Gogoanime, Netflix, & Hulu!
And now let's get some recommendations. Remember, these will go for either anime or manga. And if you have your own recs to add, comment below. I want to hear about them!
In general:
Ouran High School Host Club
Brief Description (pulled from Goodreads):
One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran
High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the 'Host Club', a
mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To
pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that
she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from
everybody else.
Sports:
Haikyu!!
Brief Description:
After losing his first and last volleyball match against
Tobio Kageyama, "the King of the Court," Shoyo Hinata swears to
become his rival after graduating middle school. But what happens when the guy
he wants to defeat ends up being his teammate?!
Tearjerker:
Your Lie in April
Brief Description:
Kosei Arima was a piano prodigy until his cruel taskmaster
of a mother died suddenly, changing his life forever. Driven by his pain to
abandon piano, Kosei now lives in a monotonous, colorless world. Having
resigned himself to a bland life, he is surprised when he meets Kaori Miyazono,
a violinist with an unorthodox style. Can she bring Kosei back to music, and
back to life?
Action:
Attack on Titan
Brief Description:
In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi story, humanity has been
devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known
about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly
unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see.
For the past century, what's left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled
city. People believe their 100-meter-high walls will protect them from the
Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change
everything.
Comedy:
Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun
(Somewhat) Brief Description:
To the eyes of classmate Chiyo Sakura, high school student
Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When
Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she
knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a mangaka's
assistant?! Never in a million years! As Chiyo quickly discovers, Nozaki-kun,
the boy of Chiyo's dreams, is a manga artist...a hugely popular shoujo manga
artist, that is! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances,
Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart
in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins!
Horror:
Ghost Hunt
Brief Description:
The decrepit building was condemned long ago, but every time
the owners try to tear it down, “accidents” start to happen–people get hurt,
sometimes even killed. Mai Taniyama and her classmates have heard the rumors
that the creepy old high school is haunted–possibly by ghosts from the Second
World War. So one rainy day they gather at the told school to tell ghost
stories, hoping to attract one of the suspected spirits.
Romance:
Kimi Ni Todoke
Brief Description:
Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine...for a horror movie.
With striking similarities to a haunting movie character--jet-black hair,
sinister smile and silent demeanor--she's mistakenly called Sadako by those
around her. But behind her scary façade is a very misunderstood teenager. Too
shy to fit in, all she wants to do is make some friends. But when the most
popular boy in class befriends her, she's sure to make more than just
that--she's about to make some enemies too!
