Forum - View topicHow hard is it for you to find new manga series to read?
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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How hard is it for you to find new manga series to read?
I find it very difficult. This is rather strange to me though because I find it very easy to find new anime to watch or new US comics to read. I'd think if anything I would have trouble with all these things since in all cases I'm in largely the same situation. My friends aren't really into this stuff so I don't talk with many people in real life about it. I shop almost solely online so I don't really ever just browse around and find stuff at the store. My taste is at about the same level of obscurity in either case, not the super common Shounen/Superhero stuff but still relatively mainstream. In both cases I pretty much just find stuff by poking around online on sites like ANN or Wikipedia. This generally works fine for US comics or anime. For some reason though, when I'm searching for manga I might be interested in reading, I find very little. The odd things sounds interesting but very little jumps out as something I would like to read. How about everyone else though? How do you look for manga series you would like to read? Do you have a hard time finding something or does it come easily to you? |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7393 |
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I have an on/off difficulty time. I have some general rules though:
1) I'll try anything by an author I already like. So, I saw Monster, went for the manga, and immediatly went for Pluto. I'll also try anything Tezuka. 2) Try the things I least expect (in the store anyways). Never sure what I might end up liking. Example: Please Save My Earth sounds like some tree-huggers manga (clearly not because of its 21 volume length) and not at all like a sci-fi drama series (which it is). It's title told me no, it's cover was almost too cheery for my taste, but hey, I wasn't expecting it either. 3) Look for the books with the boring/plain covers. Several (if not most) of my favorite series have none to exciting covers or completely average ones that aren't bursting with color or cool on them, example: Maison Ikkoku, Banana Fish, MW, Parasyte, Monster, Uzumaki (heck, you have to tilt the thing at a certain angle to see that it even has a cover image), Cromartie High School (the first cover is, at the very least, very misleading), etc. For the most part, I look in those books first, then in the one with fun pictures of the main characters being in awesome poses and looking all cool and whatnot if I do at all anymore, it seems I'm not. I find the boring covered books have what I want on the inside more often than the interesting fun covers. 4) Do not pick up manga adaptations of anime. 5) I quite like Jason Thompson's book, it's given me some good things to look into. |
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Generic #757858
 Posts: 1354 |
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There are exceptions though, IMHO the Evangelion manga actually surpasses the anime. On the topic, can't say I've ever had much trouble finding interesting manga to read. If anything it's the opposite, after reading the Underground Manga-thread I had restrain myself from wasting all of my paycheck  . Just know what you like and try to keep an open mind, and there's more than enough series out there to last you a lifetime.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9903 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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You wouldn't if you've got this many to choose from.
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jetz
 Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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Does it make sense to say that the manga finds me?
 All the good ones I've read were either recommended to me, or ones that I happen to accidentally see in other sites (myanimelist.net, to be specific). I don't remember ever looking for manga that I would like to read on my own.
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kyokun703
 Posts: 2505 Location: Orgrimmar |
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Hahaha, I have the opposite problem, and wish there was LESS manga for me to read, because I really need to cut back. My friend saw my room and said I have more manga than the bookstore (not completely true, but almost).
Every time I think I'm almost done, another series is reviewed that sounds interesting, and I'm off again. Like, I'm almost done with Fruits Basket, and then Otomen came along, so I'm reading that. I'm actually almost relieved when a series ends, because that's money I'm not spending. I usually find new manga series from watching an anime I like, and then hunting down the original manga (I do not read "based on the hit anime" manga though), or from reading reviews or previews. |
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LKK
 Posts: 426 Location: Virginia, USA |
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Some publishers offer email newsletters that talk about their upcoming releases. Some retailers do as well. The Right Stuf's weekly newsletter contains a section that offers descriptions of upcoming manga and DVD releases. That's one of the newsletter's most useful sections to me.
Word of mouth through online communities introduces me to a lot of new manga as well. Also, if you see a forum avatar or signature picture that looks interesting, don't be afraid to PM the person and ask who's in the picture and what the picture's from. Even if you don't know the person, if you PM politely, you'll probably get a nice response that might lead you to a new series. Last edited by LKK on Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:49 am; edited 1 time in total |
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EricDent
 Posts: 997 Location: Georgetown, TX |
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Most manga versions of anime are longer, go into more detail, and usually are better (especially Negima) than the anime series. As for finding new stuff, don't be afraid to pick up something a bit off the beaten path. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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The ones you are think of are probably manga that were adapted into anime. What I think classicalzawa was referring to is when it goes the other way around and a manga is made after the anime. These tend to be really horrible. Anyway, I have the same problem as kyokun703, there are too many series out there I want to read and I don't have enough money to buy them all. I mainly blame reading Right Turn Only for this, because my tastes are very similar to Carlo's most of the time and so anything he likes I tend to make a note to read. |
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stuckinfresno
 Posts: 223 Location: Fresno, CA |
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Hmm, interesting question. I have an almost too easy of a time finding something new (I feel for you Kyokun 703!). Sometimes it is something suggested on a forum, Right Turn Only, Amazon recommends, or just a new release on the justmanga page. If the title catches my eye I'll look into it - both new and old. This isn't to say that I buy everything just that I'll check it out. Perhaps flip through a couple of pages in the bookstore or use justmanga's preview feature if it is available. I also have use Jason Thompson's book, but only as a reference on older titles that are available. In my opinion, I find that his rating system is skewed.
I'm not very picky about genre because I have a tendency to go through cycles. I'll be totally into all things shoujo one month and the next I'm craving a Bleach style fight. The next who knows? Perhaps horror or historical. The problem is I am also a completer. So once I start I have to finish. I can't tell you how many series I have running right now. As for content I prefer a decent art style. If the art is too weird or I simply do not like it I find it hard to enjoy the series. I end up being distracted. Stories are hard to predict especially if you based it off a few first chapters. Instead I look at the premise or that little summary that comes with every vol. If the premise sounds catchy I'm in. Lastly, I don't follow authors unless they really caught my eye. This is hard to do. However I do find that on occassion I have picked up many releases from the same author without realizing it. Overall, have fun with it. This is a hobby after all. Being the strange person that I am I enjoy researching new titles and hunting down volumes to preview - just as much as reading my favorite series. |
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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Not very hard. I'm never at a point where I have no manga to read and have to actively find a new series. This is due to the fact that I collect quite a few long-running shonen (Bleach, Reborn!, Hoshin Engi, Tsubasa), all of which have been around for a while, and will continue to be around for several years. So, for any other series, I just casually buy them as they come if they catch my interest. Usually, if there's a series I really want to read, chances are I've been well aware of it before the first volume is even released (in the US).
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Not a Jellyfish
 Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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The hardest part for me is only when I decide I want a new shoujo series. Other than that, I've got a list a mile long of titles I want to read and will either never be able to afford or can't find anywhere. Or even stuff I can just walk in and pick up off any bookstore shelf. But the only kind of series I'm really picky about is my shoujo. So, when I crave something girly and cheesy, I have to investigate to find the stuff that's actually girly and cheesy with substance. I also still have a backlog of stuff I've bought and not yet read . It's an ongoing process for me.
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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I usually pick a new series based on....
a) Do I like the artist/writer? If I've encountered something before I liked from them, I'll probably check out new works. I like Soul Rescue, so I picked up Otomen, both by Aya Kanno. I usually find it's a safe way to go. b) If I'm on a store, and browsing, did I like the artwork? This usually works out pretty well. c) Am I just randomly intrigued by it's cover and plot concept? Sometimes I will preorder a series based on this. Usually, it depends on if it's a genre I like, like Sword+Socery/Fantasy [which aren't super common in manga nowadays]. d) How long is it? If it's a one or two or sometimes three volume series, I can check out something/new series without much risk involved, then pick up longer works of the same artist later on. I pay a lot of attention to license announcements, and look up information whenever I can, so I can get an idea of what I'd like to blindly preorder, what I'll skip , and what I might pick up if the bookstores have it. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I don't find it hard at all to try and find a new series, because I work in a bookstore that has manga as a part of its inventory. Sometimes some of the series I choose are indeed random, sometimes that pays off, but I think that more than often enough it doesn't. However, I try to read through most series to get the feel of it, to try and get my money's worth out of it.
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zawa113
Posts: 7393 |
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That is indeed what I mean, things like the Princess Tutu manga, especially when the anime was so great. If it's anime first, I'll avoid the manga counterpart. Like, I went to a friend's house and watched PRincess Tutu with her, and her little sister and family watch anime too, so they joined in as well and enjoyed themselves (that'd be so cool if my parents and siblings all enjoyed anime with me, but alas! no), and anyway, her little sister said when something happened in a way that kinda annoyed me (like smug "I know better" sort of way) "That's not how it happened in the manga!" and it really annoyed me and I all I could really say was "The anime came first, the manga is an abomination of it made afterwards." I suppose the lessen here is that ignorance on what came first annoys me the most. |
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