| Read all▲▼ | Rating▲▼ | Comment▲▼ |
| A.I. Love You (manga) | Good | |
| Abenobashi: Magical Shopping Arcade (manga) | So-so | At first these are funny stories, but after some time, it's getting predictable. Although I haven't seen it (yet), I'm convinced that this format works better in the anime. |
| Ai Yori Aoshi (manga) | Very good | Not the typical harem story where the protagonist is surrounded by beautiful women with big boobies (which is of course also the case here), and doesn't know which one to choose. Here his choice is clear, but the mutual love between Aoi and Kaoru is hampered by the bunch of obsessed women around them. Very funny and very cute. |
| Apollo's Song (manga) | Very good | Again a high standard for Osamu Tezuka. Luckily, Vertical doesn't edit the drawings for the sake of political correctness (as VIZ does, for example). Sometimes it needs thinking to find out if it's a dream or reality, but that shouldn't be a negative point. |
| Ayako (manga) | Excellent | Tezuka does it again (I begin to understand why he is called the god of manga). The "good" people are facing bad fate, and the "bad" people get away with it. Tezuka again puts a moral in his story without becoming moralistic. It just makes you reason about the bad in human beings. Just far enough. |
| Barbara (manga by Tezuka) | Good | |
| Chrono Crusade (manga) | Excellent | One sad thing about this manga. You can't read the whole story in one time (eat, sleep, work, etc. you know). It's intriguing from the beginning to the end, there are no deus ex machina to stretch the story for ten more volumes. Besides this, the art is very good and detailed, but not overwhelming or annoying. A joy to read. (volume 1-6 read in September 2006 and October 2008; completely reread in August 2009) |
| Cowboy Bebop Shooting Star (manga) | | |
| (The) Crater (manga) | Good | A collection with the rather bizarre short stories by Osamu Tezuka. Not all stories are as good, but overall, it shows that Tezuka can tell a story in al kinds of settings. Well worth reading. (read in September 2007) |
| Crest of the Stars (manga) | Decent | The start was difficult, having all the special terminology, but once I got into it, it was fun to read... until I reached volume 3. The change of art into a style that doesn't appeal me at all... difficult distinction between personae... declining ratings ! (read 10/2007) |
| Dragon Ball (manga) | Decent | Basically, it's junk. The story is getting more and more improbable, but the drawings make it up for me. Not high literature, but a funny intermezzo when your mind's not focused on serious stuff. (last volume read on 1/5/2008) |
| Figure 17 (manga) | | |
| Himiko-Den (manga) | Weak | A weak story, difficult drawings, disturbing, not very clear. Difficult to read and not memorable. |
| I''s (manga) | Very good | Katsura's longest manga until now (that's what he says himself), but not boring or long-winded (a problem that appears with longer manga that continue tot stretch the story). Basically, it's the same old story of boy-meets-girl-but-doesn't-dare-to-approach, but the last part (3-4 volumes) is just as interesting as it tells how difficult it is to keep an early love. |
| Infinite Ryvius (manga) | | |
| Itsudatte My Santa (manga) | Good | For fans of Ken Akamatsu. Love Hina meets Jingle Belle. A short gimmick packed as a funny christmas story. (read on 1/12/2006) |
| Juline (manga) | | |
| Junk Force (manga) | | |
| Legend of Lemnear (manga) | | |
| Line (manga) | Decent | It might be a bit underrated, since the story is compelling and the art is very good. However, I found the characters quite stereotypical, and the story repeating on some moments. The end is surprising, but not as worked out as I would have preferred (why did he do it ?). Not bad, but not my favorite.
(read on 15/9/2008) |
| Lone Wolf and Cub (manga, Kazuo Koike) | Excellent | The epic storyline may last 28 volumes, you never get the feeling that it's too long. You wish life would be easier for Ogami and Daigoro, but fate is not predictable. Every volume made me want to read the next, an that is NOT because I wanted it to be finished. |
| Love Hina (manga) | Very good | Towards the end, it's getting a bit too tedious, but it's always fun to read. The quest(ion) for the long-forgotten childhood friend is the red tread in this story, and that makes you want to read 'till the end. |
| Lythtis (manga) | So-so | The problems with this manga is that it is not finished. I can't find if the final part is not translated in French, or just never made, but the end is missing, and that's a big miss for the story, which is overall quite good (only implausible at some moments). The art is also OK (lots of fanservice, as we're used to with Utatane), but sometimes difficult to read. Overall a manga with many questions left open and (as it is unfinished) not very memorable.
(read on 16/9/2008) |
| M (manga) | Good | The story is to short to appeal, but the drawings are again top standard. Especially the color drawings will please many fans. Story 5/10, drawings 10/10. (read on 3/12/2006) |
| Macross II (manga) | Decent | The drawings are OK, but the anti-war moral of the story is too clear from the beginning. If it didn't take so much time to tell the thin plot, I would've rated it a bit higher.
(read on 1-3/5/2008) |
| Maico 2010 (manga) | | |
| Maison Ikkoku (manga) | | |
| Maxion (manga) | | |
| Mermaid Saga (manga) | Very good | |
| Mermaid's Gaze (manga) | Very good | |
| Mermaid's Scar (manga) | Very good | |
| Miyuki-chan in Wonderland (manga) | Decent | Variations on a theme, or variations on a dream. In the end, nothing is what it looked like, but the same pattern get a bit long-winded in the end. |
| Najica Blitz Tactics (manga) | | |
| Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga) | Masterpiece | Unlike the anime movie, which describes just a part of the manga, this was grabbing my attention from the first to the last page. For starters, it might be a bit hard to start with, but the moment that you learn to know the different personae, with all their positive and negative aspects, it's a wonderful story to read.
The fact thas this was my first manga ever, and it made me being hooked to manga now, should say everything. Still my #1 comics (including US comics and European comic strips !) ever.
(last volume read in April 1997) |
| Ode to Kirihito (manga) | Very good | An intriguing tale on how human nature will affect behavior in a sense that man tries to lie and cheat to secure his position in society. One of Tezuka's better stories. (read on 10-15/12/2006) |
| Onegai Teacher (manga) | Very good | The background of the protagonists are more important than the love-story of a (beautiful) alien with a human. The story is touching, but might have developed a bit further. I suppose I'll have to watch the anime for that. Nevertheless a very good manga. |
| Plastic Little (manga) | Good | |
| Red Prowling Devil (manga) | Decent | The art is a bit so-so. I'm still in doubt if the artist couldn't do better, or if that's his style. Given the better art for Maico 2010, I fear it's the first.
Secondly, the abrupt ending is a real disappointment. A better final would have merited a higher rating for the whole series. Pity. |
| Sand Land (manga) | Good | Not only for fans of Akira Toriyama.
The theme is clearly anti-war and oppression, but Toriyama manages to wrap it in a visual appealing style with lots of humor and comedy. (read on 28/3/2008) |
| Shadow Lady (manga) | Good (Eng), Very good (Fre) | Supergirl gets what she wants - just not always the way she wants it. Hilarious action assured.
The french version being just a bit better than the english where the puns have been edited (as with the fanservice, I suppose). |
| Shaolin Sisters (manga) | | |
| Spirit of Wonder (manga) | Very good | |
| Time Traveler Ai (manga) | Good | |
| Umizuru (manga) | Very good | Not being a fan over realistic manga, there are exceptions for everything. Not only is is beautifully drawn, but I leaned a lot of the historical context of 16th century naval Japan. (read on 1-11/12/2007) |
| (The) Vampire Dahlia (manga) | | |
