What Are You Reading?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I second both Avaitor's and Desensitized's recommendations.

Also, while its not specifically the type of series you were looking for, I also recommend checking out Dragon Ball (the manga, of course) if you haven't already done so. Its a classic shounen series that's really a pretty damn entertaining comedy/adventure series for the first half of its run, and turns into a mostly awesome action series for the remainder of its run (with the Cell arc being the exception, IMO).

[Avaitor]

Kenshin and DB are other great calls! I'd say give the Akira manga a look if you get a chance to find them.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Mostly I said RK first because it is something anyone can read and enjoy and relate to in some way all at the same time. Really, I think it's the perfect first manga to read since it has about everything that people like about manga.

[Pharass]

I echo pretty much all of the above nominations and add some of my own:

Sanctuary by Sho Fumimura & Ryoichi Ikegami:
two ambitious young men; one a politician, the other a Yakuza boss, try to take control over Japan and change the country for the better. Lots of underhanded scheming and other hilarities ensue).

Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima:
What can I say? It's a classic and deservedly so. I'd also recommend Samurai Executioner by the same team.

Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki

I'll stop there, hopefully one of these titles will arouse your interests.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I'll probably start with Rurouni Kenshin since I've been meaning to look into that. I'll probably do 20th Century Boys after that, and I can use the Great Manga Series thread for more stuff to read.

But again, thanks for all the suggestions.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Just to be clear, is the latter half of the Dragon Ball manga is better then the anime adaption, right?

[Spark Of Spirit]

Just to be clear, is the latter half of the Dragon Ball manga is better then the anime adaption, right?

You mean the Z half? Yes, it's way better in the manga.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just to be clear, is the latter half of the Dragon Ball manga is better then the anime adaption, right?

Its hundreds of times better than the original anime adaptation, and its also even much better that the "recut" version (Dragon Ball Z Kai), though if you do want to see the best available anime adaptation of the latter half of DB (at least up to the Cell arc, which still sucks either way), then DBZ Kai is still overall a pretty entertaining piece (mostly thanks to a MUCH improved English dub).

Either way, though, the manga is the best way to go, and offers the most consistent quality and pacing.

As for Rurouni Kenshin, its my favorite manga ever, personally. That said, keep in mind that its not perfect, and the first few stories are kind of weak in some ways, but still good, overall. I think the real point that should suck you in, however, is the Kyoto arc, which comes about a third of the way into the series. Its one of the few shonen story arcs that are comparable in quality to Yu Yu Hakusho's Chapter Black arc, IMO.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Once Saito shows up, it pretty much gets great until the end.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Once Saito shows up, it pretty much gets great until the end.

I also want to add that Saito is the best example ever of how to do an anti-hero. He qualifies because he's certainly not a good guy, but he has strict principles he sticks by which keeps him from straying past the line and becoming a villain. Unlike Aoshi, Saito doesn't really change throughout the series, but this is one of those rare cases where I kind of admire that about him, since he's a guy who has easily had years of experience and wisdom to craft him into the person he is throughout the series, and as it stands he's just such an exciting yet intimidating character whenever he's around. It figures that just the mere introduction of his presence in the series automatically spices everything up to a new level of extremes.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Once Saito shows up, it pretty much gets great until the end.

I also want to add that Saito is the best example ever of how to do an anti-hero. He qualifies because he's certainly not a good guy, but he has strict principles he sticks by which keeps him from straying past the line and becoming a villain. Unlike Aoshi, Saito doesn't really change throughout the series, but this is one of those rare cases where I kind of admire that about him, since he's a guy who has easily had years of experience and wisdom to craft him into the person he is throughout the series, and as it stands he's just such an exciting yet intimidating character whenever he's around. It figures that just the mere introduction of his presence in the series automatically spices everything up to a new level of extremes.

I think he changes, but in subtle ways and attitude. The subtlety works for a character who is always on an off/on switch when it comes to his attitude. It's why the series is so good. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, yeah, he does have some subtle changes, but what I mainly meant to say is that the core of his character's resolve always remains the same throughout the entire series. He doesn't change his ways at all just because he allies himself with "the good guys" of the show. He's a character with his own moral code and his own sense of justice, and he sticks to those principles no matter what, which I admire. It becomes a case in which the other characters have to just deal with it, because they realize that at the end of the day, they'd rather have the dude on their side rather than against them, and that just shows you what a force he is to reckon with.

Spoiler

On that note, I like that even Kenshin never actually manages to outright beat him throughout the entirety of the series. Both of their battles were fought out to a draw, and the rivalry between the 2 characters is left at a complete stalemate right up to the very end, which is actually something I really like, since most other shonen series would just have the hero pointlessly fight their rival one more time before the series ended and have the hero win just to show that the main character is the strongest, which really pisses me off. I'm glad that Watsuki didn't do that with Saito, though.

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[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, yeah, he does have some subtle changes, but what I mainly meant to say is that the core of his character's resolve always remains the same throughout the entire series. He doesn't change his ways at all just because he allies himself with "the good guys" of the show. He's a character with his own moral code and his own sense of justice, and he sticks to those principles no matter what, which I admire. It becomes a case in which the other characters have to just deal with it, because they realize that at the end of the day, they'd rather have the dude on their side rather than against them, and that just shows you what a force he is to reckon with.

Spoiler

On that note, I like that even Kenshin never actually manages to outright beat him throughout the entirety of the series. Both of their battles were fought out to a draw, and the rivalry between the 2 characters is left at a complete stalemate right up to the very end, which is actually something I really like, since most other shonen series would just have the hero pointlessly fight their rival one more time before the series ended and have the hero win just to show that the main character is the strongest, which really pisses me off. I'm glad that Watsuki didn't do that with Saito, though.

[close]

Spoiler

Here's my interpretation, but I think the reason Saito didn't want to fight Kenshin in the end had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't the same person before because that never stopped him from fighting Kenshin before. I really believe the reason he didn't want to fight him was because he was unable to see him as an enemy any longer and knew that fighting him held no benefit for either of them any longer. By the end of the story he knew that their era had passed (which is what the whole Revenge arc was about) and with it he had to move on himself and let his pride go or be trapped like Einishi and Shishio. It felt like that was his whole angle in the story was that he could have been the next Shishio but what kept him from drifting over the line was that he was willing to deal with the hand he was dealt and they weren't.

I think that's probably why he doesn't change all that much on the surface, because of all the characters he is the one that is the least obsessed with 'correcting the wrongs of the past' of any of the characters outside of still seeing Kenshin as an object which he eventually is no longer able to do by the end of the story.

[close]

Though I'm sure most people think his first appearance means he'll be the big villain- he isn't exactly shy at that point. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I agree with the point that you made about Saito's character, but I wasn't arguing against that in the first place. What I was basically saying is that, even if he accepted the new era for what it was, he didn't let it change his principles or outlook on life, which is what I admire about his character. He dealt with it and was able to let go of the past, but at the same time, he didn't let go of who he was and what he stood for, if that makes any sense to you.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I agree with the point that you made about Saito's character, but I wasn't arguing against that in the first place. What I was basically saying is that, even if he accepted the new era for what it was, he didn't let it change his principles or outlook on life, which is what I admire about his character. He dealt with it and was able to let go of the past, but at the same time, he didn't let go of who he was and what he stood for, if that makes any sense to you.

I agree. I do feel he lost some of his lust for battle, but he does pretty much still seem like Saito otherwise. He probably just won't be walking up to people's places looking for fights no more. 

Rurouni Kenshin, huh? Always fun to discuss.