Two non-hentai manga recommendations : Bakuman and Akumetsu
I know that non-hentai mangas are at a great disadvantage (it’s very hard to fap to most of them), but well, sometimes, they’re still worth discovering
Just in case you’re not familiar with those two mangas, well, you’ve got my recommendation to try them : Bakuman and Akumetsu (scroll down for more explanations !)
The first, Bakuman, is extremely interesting, telling the carreer beginnings of two young mangakas, you get a fascinating insight of the way the Japanese publishing market works, torn between artistic and commercial priorities, under the iron rules of magazine publications… This also applies to hentai mangas, doesn’t that make it a lot more interesting ?
You can read Bakuman HERE.
The second, Akumetsu, is one of the darkest mangas I’ve read in a long time, and it’s been toying with some of my darkest, most impossible fantasies.
You can read Akumetsu HERE.
If you wonder what are these fantasies of mine I’m mentioning, here’s the reply… Honestly : I’m from a country in which, 3 centuries ago, we’ve had a lot of fun hanging and beheading the rich and the noble people, and we’ve done it again on various occasions after this, it leaves traces… I sometimes dream the fuckers leading the planet to financial, political and environmental disaster (top bankers, inhuman leaders of giant firms, modern slavery third-world employers, lobbyists rotting the politicians, politicians doing everything for their own carreer and proffit not caring of the people, etcetera…) would be victims of a civil riot and would end up hung under light bulbs, or would fall victim to rampant one-shot terrorism like in the terrorist acts in the beginnings of the XXth century in Europe. And yet, I know, I know, this is insanity, this wouldn’t bring a solution, and no better persons would succeed to the lynched fuckers. This is just a fantasy I must be harboring in order to tolerate all the wrongdoings the so-called “elites” commit day after day.
And, well, Akumetsu directly plugs itself onto that fantasy and toys with it. Akumetsu is the story of a group of men punishing political and financial evil doers in the most definitive fashion : they publicly reveal their evil action, kill them and then commit suicide, one life in exchange of one life. On a massive scale, under spectacular spotlights. This is terrorism; this is justice; this may be the only solution to punish untouchable evil persons in power; democracy and social order would collapse if that happened… So many oppositions, is the Akumetsu group atrocious terrorists – or are they the last resort of the people aspiring for Justice, is it going to finish badly or very badly ?
Akumetsu is a nice catharsis, reading this brings some replies to my dark fantasies, that’s an interesting development.
I can’t tell if most of you guys feel the same resentment towards the fucked up elites bringing the world and society to a bloody mess, but if you do and sometimes dream they get their ass kicked real hard, I’d recommend reading Akumetsu, this is the first time I see a manga showing “someone” actually doing it and facing the consequences
Just be patient, the real beginning of Akumetsu is a bit slow, don’t give up after the first volume :o
Akumetsu was lame at the beginning so I just gave up reading (plus, the French editor for that series is known to have a fairly amount of crap among its titles). But you’re the second guy to tell me it’s worth reading so maybe I’ll take some time and give it another chance… But man, 18 tomes…
I actually stopped reading Akumetsu because it was taking me to a place (mentally) I sure as hell didn’t want to go.
With the health care debate here in America, watching these talking heads on TV and inbreed mentally disabled, misinformed racist town hall attendees with their false outrage, had me wishing that Shou was real.
by the way Bakuman is great, I absolutely love it.
Both are great, Akumetsu have a slow start but after that its pure carnage XD.
@Tyson
Can’t blame you.
YES! Bakuman and Akumetsu r good manga, at least for me. It’s true that Akumetsu gives a very dark aura but it’s worth your time. I also like this Shou character, one man one kill, haha, crazy shit but good…
on another note, bakuman is a good manga in a way it shows us (though maybe not entirely as it depicts) about the Japanese publishing market as you said Oli, at least for those who still read jump or any other publishers’ mangas can now stop whining about the author’s work (no offense to those who feel like it, i mean i too sometime whine about it but never bring it on the surface)
aah, anyway, good manga, good manga… =)
Yeah Akumetsu is SUPER awesome definitely worth reading
I already enjoyed these series, and on the same site you referred us to to read them ;-)
Sometimes Bakuman reads like it’ll be stereotypical, but just when you think it’s going to get predictable, it changes gears on you. As such, I reckon, is the life of mangakas in general. It probably manages to stay fresh because their inspiration is their work environment, all they have to do is look around.
Akumetsu can best be summarized by chapters 26 and 27. Easily 2 of my favorite chapters. Though they contain major spoilers, so if you want to try and pick it up I recommend from the beginning. If the beginning is too slow and you are going to stop reading, skip ahead to those chapters for a better idea of what the series will turn out to be.
Akumetsu is good but sometimes I can’t stand the shouting in almost every bloody page!
That manga about manga’s gets boring real fast, how he wrote Death Note is a mystery…
Now there’s manga about terrorist, manga about manga’s, cooking mangas, roller-skating manga’s, doctor mangas, dentist mangas, love manga, ghost manga, manga about dead people (more than 1), etc etc…
but try the swimming manga Umisho, funny and nice or fighting manga Historys Strongest Disciple Kenichi, I promise you won’t be dissapointed.
I just started reading Bakuman and its awesome. Its strange to see the Deathnote team do something this funny. Plus you learn a lot about how Jump works and what hurdles a mangaka has to go through.
I’m delighted that someone liked Akumetsu apparently as much as I do. Yes, it is eversive, it is brutal and it somehow offers terrorism and brutality as means to solve the problems of society, but especially because it offers such a content I think it’s amazing. It’s true that it begins slowly, but given the proper patience it will be a worthwile read.
Oh, and I must say, I am from Italy, and given the rise of waves of racism and intolerance borne out of sheer ignorance, plus an administration which is worse than that of Bush Jr. (no offense to you Republicans out there), I too would love if Shou could pop up and clean up the mess.
current on both~
You should really read Mx0 though, I really enjoyed that one~ :]
Utlimate!! Hentai Kamen was really hilarious too if you haven’t read it.
Ubel Blatt is a really good one too if you haven’t started in on it. At first I thought it was going to be another run of the mill fantasy rip offs, but I kept reading, and it’s one of my fav fantasy mangas now.
here’s onemanga links for EZPZ’s
http://www.onemanga.com/Mx0/
http://www.onemanga.com/Ultimate_Hentai_Kamen/
http://www.onemanga.com/Ubel_Blatt/
Bakuman is really nice. The best thing about it is that unlike say, Beck (similar in that they’re both about difficult creative pursuits with artistic vs commercial conflicts), there aren’t ridiculous obstacles in the way of the main characters, just realistic ones.
Enh, I really liked Akumetsu at first, but it started getting a bit repetitive. Maybe I’ll take another look at it when it’s further along.
there’s only one volume left of akumetsu apparently.
Said so a couple chapters ago with aametsu, “And so we reach the final climactic volume” or something similar.
Akumetsu rockz I mean it^^
agree, Akumetsu is higly recommend! its full of surprise and complex plot. and the main character is liek anons out there…
as for Bakuman, it’s a good story for those who wants to become a mangaka.
Akumetsu beats the hell out of Naruto.
They also did Wolf Guy, if I remember correctly. I’ll check out Bakuman.
Did you get my email about Gung Ho, Oliver?
Okay, just a few notes for those guys who didn’t know.
– Bakuman’s author is the same guy who made the epic manga Death Note.
– The manga Akumetsu, which some people billed as the next “Death Note”, was discontinued at about volume 18. Currently, the latest translated volume is at volume 17, so there’s only 1 volume left. If you think about it, it isn’t surprising that Akumetsu was cancelled because of the sensitive topics of the manga.
By the way, If you’re asking I read both. Though Akumetsu didn’t have a real ending, it’s a good series, fun to read and it makes you think.
I have to agree with Mike up there ^^, i’m a reclusive asshole on the best of days, reading stuff like Akumetsu, Elfen Lied, etc just gets my mind on topics i’d rather stay away from…
However Oliver, i spotted a gem of a manga that might spark some interest a while back, but sadly it’s suffering from a slow translation, this seems like a perfect opportunity to raise some awareness.
http://read.homeunix.com/onlinereading/Uploads/Koharu_no_Hibi_c001_nas.html
i present: Koharu no Hibi, the first chapter, translated by those good folks at Animexis.
It starts off fairly standard, at least… you expressed some interest in the “Yandere” genre a while back though…
Thanks, Oliver, but I can’t fap to this. I read through all the comments to see if I could use that joke.
Seriously, I’ll check it out because I’m always looking for new manga to read. Believe or not, there doesn’t have to be sex and nudity involved for me to look at it.
Mx0 is not as good as Pretty Face, and Pretty Face is funnier and contains more fanservice than Mx0.
If you want some damn good manga to read:
The Pokemon Special manga (trust me, it’s really good).
http://www.onemanga.com/20th_Century_Boys/
http://www.onemanga.com/Bitter_Virgin/
http://www.onemanga.com/Change_123/
http://www.onemanga.com/Dragon_Quest_Dai_no_Daiboken/
http://www.onemanga.com/Gacha_Gacha_-_Capsule/
http://www.onemanga.com/Historys_Strongest_Disciple_Kenichi/
http://www.onemanga.com/Monster/
http://www.onemanga.com/Mirai_Nikki/ (Best Yandere ever)
Slam Dunk is the best manga I have read so far.
I just got started on Akumetsu thanks to you, Oliver. Awesome. Still on chapter 4, tho. XD
On another note, in French since it’s relevant:
Je traduis Tajikarao ; la *scan group* (je sais pas quel nom je dois employer) s’appelle Null/Blackout, vouz devriez lire ce manga s’il vous intéresse.
Les raws que je traduis sont écrits en français, alors m raison pour vous parler en français.
akumetsu is a completely awesome manga i havent read bakuman though by the way Wolf Guy – Wolfen Crest is also an great manga same artist too.
http://www.onemanga.com/Wolf_Guy_-_Wolfen_Crest/
wolf guy is one of… no, probably the best action manga i've ever read
Eric -> groupe de scantrad, à l’instar de l’anglais où l’on dit “scanlation team”. Ceci dit, c’est pas un peu con de traduire en français un truc qui est édité par Delcourt ? (et donc en français…)
Wow, you think Akumetsu’s dark? You must not read very many truly depressing, dark mangas. It’s really good though, I love both of these very much.
Want dark? Read Gantz or Elfen Lied, those are really dark.
i dont like bakuman that much since its kinda a bit boring tbh i mean who wants to watch a story that is somewhat stagnant i dont kow i dont want to watch how they make manga
akumetsu is pretty good but its better reading in long streches and not each time it comes out because theres so much to explain and each chapter is too small to fit what is trying to be said its like one piece but more condensed
Gantz and Elfen Lied aren’t dark. Gorey, sure. Dark? Far from it. Hell, Elfen Lied doesn’t even have an interesting backstory for its gore, and is best thrown out before reading. Go read Berserk, or at least Mirai Nikki.
Akumetsu is a fantastic series all around, though it gets pretty speech-y in the later volumes. It manages to make enough crazy-yet-believable twists to keep itself interesting.
Bakuman was interesting until what’s-his-face ended up in the hospital. A manga about drawing manga is interesting, but it can only stay exciting for so long before pulling out absurd plot twists to keep it interesting.
I’ve read Mirrai Nikki, yes it’s dark, and I’ve read Berserk, but I don’t find that very dark despite everyone saying it’s so depressing etc., could be, but not to me.
Elfen Lied not dark? You on crack? Little girls getting raped by their father and then thrown on the street by their mother? Being raised as a test subject, locked away in darkness and tortured in labs? Having to kill your own daughter? Having your one and only hope and friend in the world (at the time a dog) beaten to death in front of you? Have your sister and father brutally killed with the last thing you say is I hate you to them? That’s not dark? That’s much darker than Mirrai Nikki, worst thing in that is that Yuno was caged up and starved, but isn’t that kinda what happened to everyone in Elfen Lied? You obviously just don’t understand it.
Gantz is dark because of how it views life and how it shows it. How fragile it is, and how anyone can be sucked away from you at any moment, and the hope and courage to keep fighting through hell to live. It’s actually quite dark, not just gory.
Anyone who argues Mirrai Nikki is darker than both of those I’m not going to listen to. Berserk maybe (though I don’t particularly think so), but Mirrai Nikki? Get off the crack.
Also, you know what the most depressing/darkest thing I’ve ever seen is? Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. If you come back and tell me that wasn’t depressing and dark then you go deal with it. That portrays the most realistic feelings and turmoils in young adults lives, and if my friendship ever ended up like that, I wouldn’t be able to survive.
Also, star shadow is pretty dark iirc
I’ve not read bakuman since ch10, but I decided to try out ch63, the most recent chapter, and it managed to get me to read to the last page, the series is not brilliant, but when you’ve got nothing else, its alright to pass the time.
lots of stuff happens in it though, in order to keep it interesting, maybe?
its depressing but not dark, and definitely worth a description read if you’ve not heard of it.
I’ve not read Dark works, but if you want love, try love hina… unfortunatly the best romance I’ve read… I’ve read a lot of romance.
I was already reading Bakuman, but thanks for leading me to Akumetsu. Instantly hit the nail on the head for me and has everything I like in the manga, plus quite a bit of mystery behind it
Wow. Akumetsu is such an amazing manga. It’s real-world problems and bad-ass solutions make this an incredibly amazing read. I wish there was a real Akumetsu to clean up the filth of the world.
Thanks so much for recommendation!! (Haven’t touched Bakuman yet…)