I have only one recommendation: Witch Hat Atelier. Peak magic manga. Probably the best magic manga to be written at least in my opinion.
this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2024
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My favorite manga of all time is Dungeon Meshi. The anime adaptation of its first half has just finished airing, but both anime and manga are worth experiencing, and imo you can do so in either order.
It's about a group of adventurers who lose a comrade, and out of money resort to cooking and eating the monsters in the dungeon in order to get to their friend and revive her in time.
I also run a community over on !dungeonmeshi@ani.social, though the content is very spoilery up to halfway of the story if you're new.
Some other favorites of mine, and series that fit your your requests:
Claymore - mostly beefy women, art starts off rough but improves massively over the series, and I love the characters and story, anime is not worth watching
Akame ga Kill - "typical" battle manga, except there is no such thing as plot armor, fights are brutal, people die, anime is not worth watching imo
Voynich Hotel - slice of life set in a hotel staffed by immortal supernatural people, considered a must read by most manga fans
The Breaker - technically a manhua, but lots off buff dudes, hence worth mentioning, if you like it "New Waves" is the sequel
Helck - a comedy that turns serious, buff dude MC, anime is not worth watching if you read the manga
Demi-chan - slice of life set in a world where demi-humans exist, centers more on the adult teachers rather than the underage high-school girls, buff dude MC, anime is absolutely worth watching
Kengan Ashura - set in a world where corporate conflicts are settled by representatives in one on one mortal combat, tons and tons of buff dudes, anime is not worth watching
I highly recommend one piece.
Why am I not seeing "FullMetal Alchemist" being suggests? Absolutely fantastic story
Dorohedoro is an excellent manga, that has a beefy man (except for his head), plenty of challenges, in a very interesting setting.
The hero is trying to solve his curse, a reptile head, and to retrieve his memory, against magic users from a parallel world that use his world as a training ground.
Hellsing?
- Claymore
- The Promised Neverland
- Murcielago
- Black Lagoon
- Dandadan
- Gachiakuta
- Yakuza Reincarnation
- Shy
- Crazy Food Truck
My anime list has a great ranking list https://myanimelist.net/topmanga.php?type=manga
If you're into strong male characters my recommendations are (in no order):
- Vagabond
- Jojo's bizarre adventure
- Holyland
- Shamo
- Kingdom
- Hunter x Hunter (kid main characters but things get heavier themed abruptly. Heavy on intellectual technical fights)
- The breaker (good for a long time, but then falls off when wrapping up)
- Kengan Ashura (over the top martial arts with beefy likeable characters)
- Baki (the king of martial art manga)
Delicious in Dungeon, Vinland Saga, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and other classics.
If you baseline is "How will our protag overcome this" then the classic is probably "Dragonball", but basically any Shonen Jump series fits that bill (Bleach, Naruto, One Piece). However most of these are targeting younger audiences, with Bleach being the most "mature" of the ones I mentioned.
If you like the mystery element of Death Note, then Pyscho Pass could be an interesting one to look at.
Lastly, if you want a comedy inverse of "how will the protag overcome this", One Punch Man is a great series. The author One also did a series Mob Pyscho that's an action comedy.
Note: some of these I've read, while others I only watched the anime
Psycho-Pass wasn't an adaptation. The manga came after and is a rare anime>manga adaptation, and not a version of the story that's worth considering over the anime, IMO.
Oh I wasn't aware it was an original series. While it's definitely not a smart assumption, i generally just assume any popular anime was a magna first.
It's a safe assumption, as most of the time a manga doesn't exist at all if the anime is original.
But there are exceptions.
As for anime being original, happens more than you'd think. And a lot are novel adaptations.
Not really like anything you mentioned, but Hinamatsuri is one of the funniest I've read and I think everyone should read it.
Edit: also Def One Punch Man, Murata's redraw
The Promised Neverland
Nauiscaa of the Valley of the Wind
I got nearly to the end of The Promised Neverland and it just dragged on and on. I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
I'm surprised to see Nausicaa have a suddenly boost in popularity. It seems to be everywhere lately. I actually read through it in the late 90s but didn't quite grasp the concepts. I think I'll give it another shot. I still have my first edition paperbacks.
The Promised Neverland does drag a bit, but it does finally end.
Nauiscaa is one of my all time favorites, both the manga and the movie. My dad had the comic book store special order Nauiscaa for him as it came out translated into English. He finally let me read the whole thing back around 2000/2001. I think it just had it's 40th anniversary, so that may be why it's popping up again.
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Rurouni Kenshin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rurouni_Kenshin
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Also why not try classic Dragonball.
Akira is a classic
Dorohedoro
Grand Blue
Oshi no ko
Angel Densetsu
Dungeon Meshi
Vinland Saga
D.Gray-man
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure?
Tomodachi Game, the whole way, with "how will our protagonist(s) overcome it this time?" and "THERE'S A PLOT TWIST COMING, BUT I still don't know what it IIIIISSS" and no one is safe.
I think it just finished this month? Binge to your heart's content.
If you aren't looking for anything specific, imdb has a decent list of top classics. https://m.imdb.com/list/ls564681584/
Check out "Lonewolf and Cub" and "Golgo 13."
Monster, Chainsaw Man, JoJo's, maybe Beastars, maybe Houseki no Kuni, and honestly Prison School.
Gantz
The Fable.
Recommend reading Monster, its a great drama piece and it feels like an adult manga.
Heavenly Delusion! Its soo good i watched the (amazing) first season of the anime and then had to binge the manga