Hi Everyone!
Welcome back to my channel
In today's video I'm going to
show you five of my favourite manga
and tell you why I like them and why I recommend them
To give you a little bit of backstory
I've been reading manga for around...
I've been reading manga for around 14 years
I started reading manga like Naruto, One Piece & Bleach
Until now I read anything I can get my hands on
I've actually wanted to make this video for a while
but I moved houses recently
so when I moved I had to put
all my manga into plastic boxes
so I had to spend time going through the boxes
to find my favourites
and then I re-read them
so I could give you guys my fresh thoughts
Before we start the video
if you like the video please don't forget to press 'like'
press subscribe
and leave me a comment down below
if you've read any of the series I showed
or if there's any manga you'd like to recommend
Okay!
Let's get started!
The first manga I'm going to recommend is
this manga here
it's called 'Vagabond'
I'm sorry about some of the reflection
It's covered in plastic
So it's reflecting some of the light next to me
What is Vagabond all about?
Vagabond is a period manga
all about samurai
Vagabond is by Takahiko Inoue
and he is the mangaka who also made Slam Dunk
The main character of Vagabond is Musashi Miyamoto
and he is a very famous swordsman*
He actually existed in real life
But this manga is more of a fictional re-telling of his life
This manga follows his journey to become the world's strongest swordsman
Why do I like this manga?
First of all
It's one of the most beautifully drawn manga that I've ever read
Another thing I love about this manga is
all the action
If you're a fan of sword fights,
gory sword fights
or just fights in general
I highly recommend reading Vagabond
At time it can be
pretty gory
but I wouldn't say the gore is over the top
It's quite realistic
because most people are fighting with swords
So there's a lot of people losing digits,
a lot of people losing limbs
and possibly losing heads
Even the main character gets his fair share of wounds
Anytime he makes mistakes in battle
they have consequences that last for the rest of his journey
This manga also has really good character development
At the beginning the main character is really
stubborn and hot-headed
then as the story goes on
as well as being a journey about strength
it also becomes more philosophical
exploring themes of inner peace and the meaning of life
If you're looking for a samurai manga
with really good artwork
really good story and fight scenes
I highly recommend Vagabond
The next manga is...
Yotsubato!
Yotsubato! is by Azuma Kiyohiko
and this is the same mangaka he made
Azumanga Daioh
Which is a 4-panel comedy manga
But Yotsubato! might be even funnier
Yotsubato! follows our main character Yotsuba
This five year old green haired girl
She's extremely energetic and curious about the world
and you follow her throughout her daily life
This is a slice of life manga
Most chapters are self-contained stories
but some stories might span 2 or 3 chapters
For example some chapters she's at home with her Dad
and bothering him while he's working
Another chapter she's with the neighbours next door
Another chapter she goes camping
And another chapter she goes to buy her first teddy bear
When I explain it like this
it may not sound particularly interesting
But this manga is really hilarious
The jokes are really great
The facial expressions are really funny
The comedic timing is also really good
Another great thing about this manga is
it's great at capturing the innocence and
curiosity of being a kid
even though
I obviously didn't grow up in Japan
or have ever lived there
but there's a universal sense of nostalgia
that I think a lot of people can relate to
and will make you think back upon your childhood
If you're looking for a funny,
heartwarming manga
that will put a smile on your face
I highly recommend Yotsubato!
The next manga is...
Orange
This manga is a really nice love story
but it's not just a love story
it's also a story that explores dealing with
tragedy and loss
This story is about our main character 'Naho;
She wakes up one morning
to find a letter from herself
but 10 years in the future
Her future self explains about
some mistakes that she made and has always regretted
and the letter contains instructions
so the present day Naho doesn't make the same mistakes
I can't go into more detail without spoiling
so I'll stop the description there
So for those of you who didn't know
huge
fan of love stories
I love shojo manga
or anything with a good love story
I'm in!
Like I said before
It also explores themes of loss and tragedy
As well as it being a love story between two characters
It's also a story of friendship between these 3
and these 3 (6 altogether lol)
A group of 6 friends
It also strikes a good balance between
telling a love story and a story about friendship
because when you deal with tragedy and loss
It doesn't just affect the person closest to you
it also affects those around you
The plot of 'Orange' is also quite unique
Because there's two sets of characters
The characters from the present
And the characters from the future
Let's change the word
It shows the actions of the present
and how the consequences of those actions affected
those in the future
The artwork is also unique from other shojo manga I've read
If you're looking for a really good romance manga
That might make you shed a tear or two (or one hundred)
Then I highly recommend 'Orange'
The manga is also only 5 volumes long
It has a sixth volume
but it's optional
It's a nice, well paced
and relatively short story
The next manga is...
Pluto
by Naoki Urasawa
Who also wrote some other really famous manga
such as 'Monster'
and '20th Century Boys'
I wasn't planning to do this on purpose
I just realised when I was counting I did this with my hand so...
Pluto is a sci-fi mystery crime thriller
Our main character 'Gejihito'
That's how you say his name in Japanese
I don't know how to pronounce his name in English
Because his name's in German
It's the word that means 'face'
Actually I'll just search it up now
Gesicht
This follows detective
'Gesicht'
and he's a robot detective
He's hunting down a serial killer
who's trying to kill the world's strongest robots
and the killer's only calling card is
is leaving things lodged in the heads of it's victims
resembling horns
Pluto is actually a re-telling of
a story arc from Astro Boy
called 'The Greatest Robot on Earth'
Obviously there's no detectives or murders
So it's a loose re-telling
If you've read Naoki Urasawa's other works
then you know that he's a master of suspense
At the end of every chapter you're left on a cliffhanger
which makes this manga really hard to put down
Apart from being a really good sci-fi, detective, serial killer...
Like many sci-fi stories with robots
It also explores themes of 'what it means to be human'
what separates humans from robots
and feelings of hatred, prejudice
and the long lasting effects of war
This manga also has really great dialogue
and is also really well paced
by the end all the storylines are wrapped up well
No loose ends
If you're in the market for a
a sci-fi, detective crime thriller
then I highly recommend Pluto
The last manga is...
Machida-kun no Sekai
or 'The World of Machida-kun'
This is actually one of my favourite manga of all time
The other manga I showed in this video
are manga that I really like
But if I had to choose my top 3 manga
It would definitely include
'Machida-kun no Sekai'
It's all about our main character
Hajime Machida
Unlike other manga protagonists
He's not smart
He's not handsome
but I think he's pretty good looking
and he's not good at sport
but he's loved and adored by everyone around him
That's because he's the kindest person on Earth
Every chapter we follow Machida-kun living his life
As he meets people in need
For example in one chapter
it might be his kindergarten teacher going through a mid-life crisis
or another chapter he meets a child who can't find their parent
It's all about him spreading warmth and kindness
and taking care of those around him
Each chapter is pretty much a self contained story
but some stories might spread across 2 or 3 chapters
Machida-kun also has his own character arc
that spreads across all seven volumes
This manga also has a really, really, really nice love story
He's really kind and loving towards others
but he actually doesn't understand romantic love
He thinks romantic and platonic love are the same
Which he eventually comes to find out is different :)
One of the reasons why I love this manga so much is
it really touched me after I read it
After I read this manga
I felt more optimistic about life
and felt that I wanted to be like Machida-kun
Because the manga teaches you that
it doesn't take much to make someone's day
and spread kindness and warmth to those around you
After I read it
I felt I want to live my life the same way Machida-kun does.
Maybe if you're feeling down
or you're just looking for a kind, relaxing
and heart-warming manga
then I highly, highly, highly
truly, truly, truly
recommend
Machida-kun no Sekai
It really is an amazing manga
That's the end of my first manga recommendation video
I still have heaps of manga in boxes
So if you enjoyed the video
I'd be more than happy to give you some more recommendations
If you'd like more videos like that
Please let me know down below
and I'll see you in the next video
See ya!