Manga Rec Thread

Man, Jujutsu Kaisen is so good.

I've been rereading it and... Ok so the whole series is about curses, right? It's the magic-system of the setting.
But completely aside from the supernatural element, the way people talk about 'cursing' each other is grand.

I just read a chapter in which a man is slated to be executed for refusing to reveal a technique that he stumbled on that lets him do something that people thought wasn't possible. To creature what is basically a perpetual-motion device.

He was told (by a man who actually likes him) that if he shares the method that his execution can be avoided.
He refused and they fought.
He lost, and as he lay dying on the ground what does he do?
Start to explain the technique that they'd been hunting him for in the first place.

"Why are you telling me this now!?" demands his executioner, grief-stricken. "If you'd said that earlier then you could have avoided execution!"
"It's a curse." the dying man explains simply. "A curse from me to you."

I love the idea that a curse can be anything. Anything that causes misfortune to people.
It can be a supernatural magical effect, or it can just be knowledge. Or a person.
You can share knowledge that hurts them. You can force them to do something that makes them feel bad.
I love the idea that an person's presence itself can be a curse.

I remember seeing a long time ago, where a person claimed that he was cursing others with himself. As in, he himself was going to hang around them in a way that was detrimental to their wellbeing but impossible to get rid of.

It reminds me of a quote from Hellblazer.

Spoiler

John has seen some fucked up shit in London's magic scene. Lost a lot of friends over the years.
He's haunted by his experiences there, but London itself is haunted by him.
As though he were a ghost or apparition, rather than just a street magician.

Edit: About Jujutsu Kaisen though. I also love that the protaganist of the prequel manga goes from being drawn as

Spoiler: This

to

Spoiler: This

depending on who's looking at him.

I appreciate that the soft-boi is legitimately terrifying.

 

https://mangadex.org/title/31bdd11c-7a69-4c6c-97fb-a652d1d0840c/soukyuu-no-ariadne

This is a fun series.

Post-apocalyptic road trip, by a princess and a forgotten weapon of the last war, with a lot of of worldbuilding and some nice visuals.

And some of the dialog has me cackling.

 

I'll give my teacher a tickle.
tags: Suggestive, Romance, School Life

Spoiler: Smutty Cover Art

Zero chapters translated at the moment, so I can't guess what the plot might be. Yep, definitely a mystery.

But it's got the Romance tag so I guess she's down with being tied up.


This is not a Rec, strictly speaking, but more like nudging my head towards an impending traffic accident, so you can watch it happen too.

 

Manga rec. thread? I'm in.

The Unattainable Flower's Twisted Bloom:
Tags: Fetish, Risky, Romance, Lewd
Minezaki is the prettiest girl in class. Minezaki is also a masochist, as class nerd Sawada accidentally finds out. She sets out to then mould him into the kind of sadist she wants, because she's been needing an outlet for these feelings for a while. Yes, she's the brattiest of subs, and he's a drippy nerd, but... they're teenagers, and it doesn't forget it: they struggle with their insecurities even as they grow closer together, they take stupid risks and make mistakes in the name of horniness (mostly hers). It's very human, if that makes sense. I also have to commend the art, because I have never seen 'flyaway' hair done so well, nor such a grounded, yet lewd art-style.

Shishunki-chan no Shitsukekata (How to Discipline Shishunki-chan):
Tags: Romantic comedy, Lewd
Despite the title, this isn't S&M. We're smack-dab in the middle of a romantic comedy, as Kanon and Kousuke's parents remarry, then move in together. After shenanigans, Kanon declares to her new stepbrother that he's her 'house boyfriend'. Now, I'm always a fan of sex-positive comedy, and this delivers, but that's not the main reason I read it. I read it because Kanon's cuter than a litter of puppies, and the manga-ka is an undisputed booty genius. Each rear is distinct, yet plump and squeezable, and the thighs are holy in their plushness. He doesn't neglect the boobs either.

Kine-san no 1-ri de Cinema:
Tags: Hobby, Fandom, Comedy
There are many manga about this or that school club organised around a special interest. There aren't as many that cover the drawbacks of single-minded devotion to a niche topic. Still fewer follow a grown-up devoted to their interest, who wants to connect to people through it. Needless to say, I relate to Kine, who is a fan of Western movies. However, Kine is often her worst enemy, alienating a host of people when she was younger by pushing her taste for trashy action movies onto them. As a mature woman, she's learned to hide her interest in the office, but it slowly begins to change when she acquires a roommate who isn't interested in movies. How dare she. Each chapter is dedicated to the 'movie of the week'.

Akuyaku Reijou Tensei Oji-san:
Tags: Reincarnation, Gender Bender, Isekai, Comedy
A staid former otaku is reincarnated as a villainous princess at a magic academy. Point is, he's such a dad that he ends up helping people in the course of trying to act the villain. Just good clean fun.

 

Just remembered an old one that I really enjoyed. O-Parts Hunter/666 Satan. It's a manga by Seishi Kishimoto, Masashi Kishimoto's twin brother. Basically, there are a bunch of relics left behind by an ancient civilization, and people go around trying to get them. They vary between kitchen appliances and city-destroying weapons. There are also people with Angels and Demons sealed inside of them. Shonen hijinks ensue.

 

I've got some recs.

Shibito No Koe O Kiku Ga Yoi (You Will Hear the Voice of the Dead)
Jun is a highschooler who can see the dead. In particular he's followed by the ghost of a classmate who was recently murdered. She helps guide him through all the weird supernatural stuff he gets into, mostly against his will. This is a horror manga I really like. The art and atmosphere are really good as well as the stories in each chapter. There's kind of an overarching story, but each chapter is mostly self contained, following Jun and his friends and family through lots of different supernatural situations.

Joshikousei To Seishokusha-San
This manga is a little complicated. It starts off as a typical story of an overly serious teacher at an all girls school with three students in particular that put him in questionable or outright sexual situations. I'd almost be willing to compare the early chapters to Gal Gohan but more sexual. After a certain point it stops being fun and starts dealing with all the characters past trauma and it feels like a hard left turn. It's over at 30 chapters and I still enjoyed it even when it took that turn.

Konjiki No Moji Tsukai
Sort of standard Isekai. Hiro Okamura is summoned to a fantasy world along with 4 others, except he was brought along on accident. Instead of sticking it out and helping fight the demon lord he peaces out to do his own thing, which is mostly get into a lot of trouble he doesn't really want to be in while learning how to use his unique magic. I think the world does a good job explaining itself for the most part and I liked Hiro and his magic as well as the side characters.

Game of Familia
This one is a little hard to explain but it's also an isekai. Sasae Hatsushima is considered basic in comparison to his step mother and step sisters who are all extremely talented in leadership, athletics, and academics respectively. When they're taken to another world Sasae shows how far he's willing to go to make sure his family is safe and respected, opting to have them play the heroes while he deals with all the dirty work from the shadows. He's manipulative and kind of a bastard, but he channels that into making sure his family gets through everything alive and sane, so it's hard to hate his scheming. The magic system of the world requires equivalent exchange; the more important the part of yourself you give up the stronger you are. Most of the fighters are women who give up their wombs, while one of the stronger Earth Mages gave up her sense of taste. Typically there are 3 mages on a team: Fire (Attack), Earth (Defense), and Water (Healing/Support), along with a swordsman. Sasae decides to be the only mage on his team to keep his family from having to sacrifice anything and becomes the most OP mage in the setting, not because he has all 3 elements, but because of what he gives up.

Juujika No Rokunin
You saw Misu Misou earlier in the thread, right? Juujika is sort of like that but with a male protag. He's relentlessly, horrifically bullied by a group of kids in elementary school, the ring leader's goal being to push someone to the point of suicide. After those kids cause a car crash that kills his parents and severely disables his little brother Shin is raised by his WW2 vet Grandfather and taught a lot of ways to torture and murder people. Years later he starts his campaign of revenge. It's a really good series if you don't mind really dark topics or brutal murders. The artist doesn't really hold back on the blood and the villains definitely deserve what they get. There's only one target left with 64 chapters, so the story is likely to end soon.

Kyokou Suiri
This is a pretty interesting supernatural detective manga. It follows cane wielding 17 year old Kotoko Iwanagi and Kurou Sakuragawa. The former is loved by all things supernatural while the latter repulses them. I'm not very far into the manga having only finished the first arc, but I really enjoy the read. The chapters are extremely dense, some of them taking up the whole volume at 100+ pages, and it can be really technical with its talk of the supernatural, but over all I really enjoy reading it. There are some fights as far as I've read, but they aren't particular expansive, only lasting a dozen pages or so.

 

It's kind of trashy and relies a lot on 'The main character's woman is about to get raped!' to raise tension, but... I do like the party formation.

Specifically, that the [swordsman] wields a silver/mithril sword that is the only way to kill the perpetually regenerating zombies.
It adds a neat dynamic, and prevents the typically overpowered isekai protagonist from stepping outside of his 'role'.

You still need a melee fighter, because magicians can't wield the silver sword. You need a buffer because otherwise the swordsman will be immediately overwhelmed by the horde of zombies and you need a blaster-caster for crowd-control.

 

Dungeon Meshi is a really good one. It follows the travels of an adventuring party through a dungeon. It's not an action or adventure manga, though, it's more like slice-of-life comedy with some adventure thrown in. One of their party members was eaten by the Red Dragon, and they need to kill it and recover her body before she's digested, so they can revive her. They don't have enough money for supplies, though, because their party was wiped, so they need to survive off of eating monsters.

It starts getting a lot more serious in the second half, after they get back to the Red Dragon, but it's still just as good, if not better.

 

Delicious in Dungeon Is the English name for it, and it’s a pretty good series from what I’ve read of it. The warrior is clever but not the brightest but way too into eating monsters, the elf is fun and her reactions to what she has to eat is great, the thief/legally-not-a-halting is flabergasted at the party in general, and dwarf just goes with the flow and is up to cooking anything.

the world building is also pretty interesting and how it handles the monsters and ecology is pretty good as well.

 

Zannen Jokanbu Black General-san/Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General is pretty amazing. If you remember that short comic about the lewd elf that keeps trying to get an orc to sleep with her, that's the guy who made this manga. So, if you enjoyed that, you'll probably enjoy this. It's a comedy manga with a similar sense of humor, but instead of being set in a fantasy world, it's set in a superhero world.

 

Another new rec, this time for Tongari Boushi no Atorie/Witch Hat Atelier. It's got probably the most interesting magic system I've seen in a manga. Instead of normal spellcasting, everything is done through enchanting objects. It also has a pretty good story, ranging from really cute to surprisingly dark. It's only 55 chapters (plus a few side-chapters and artwork chapters) right now, so this is a good time to get started on it.

Seconding this rec. I started reading it, and it's really good so far (chapter 50).

 

The art on that one is particularly impressive.

 

The Human-Hating Demon Lord Has No Mercy for Little Girls is a nice cute manga where a demon lord adopts a human girl.

Speaking of it does anyone remember a manga with a similar vibe where the chosen heroine is a little girl and the demon lord and his army support her behind the scenes by making dungeons to let her get stronger and build up confidence and stuff?

 

No, but if you find it please post it here. That sounds very interesting.

 

That's some high-quality cuteness.

Maou Desu. Onna Yuusha no Hahaoya to Saikon Shita no de, Onna Yuusha ga Giri no Musume ni Narimashita.​

Maybe?

Demon Lord defeats the teen hero girl, takes her unconscious body home to recuperate, and falls in love with her mother while the hero is unconscious. Then they get married.

 

I think the closest I've seen is "Negative Hero and Demon King's General" which is a pretty short series.

 

So here’s one that I just finished after binge reading it all day:

Akumetsu

its really fucking good and it’s completed

 

I second this. I read Akumetsu back when I was a teen and it's a really great concept. I don't think I ever finished it, but the series has definitely stuck with me over the years.

 

Does anyone know any good recs for isekai (I'll also take fantasy) harem manga (and yes, I know that "good" in this case is relative) with female protagonists? I've started getting bored of the same bland guy-mc in every other story these days.

 

So I'm a spider, so what? -- no harem, good worldbuilding, distinct characters, MC is basically an incarnate shitpost.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! -- the seminal work in the Otome Villainess sub-genre, first two books were good, feel free to drop it when it feels like you've reached a good stopping point.

Villainess Level 99 -- might be painfully generic if it weren't so adorable.

May I please ask you just one last thing? -- fantasy with implied isekai elements but the MC is just a girl who kicks ass.

Tales of Reincarnation in Maydare: The World's Worst Witch -- cute isekai stuff with some fun worldbuilding and magic, might turn out good but not far enough to know if it self-destructs yet.

Witch Hat Atelier -- plausible characters doing magic things in a beautifully illustrated world. Fantasy, no isekai.

 

Endo and Kobayashi's Live Commentary On The Princess - the prince of the land wonders why his fiance is acting cold towards him, until! He hears the voices of the gods! ...coming from the boy and girl playing the otome game he's a character in. So they decide to help out and avoid a bad end. No harem, though.

 

I really liked The Witch's Servant and the Demon Lord's Horns, it's a gender-bender manga, very funny, very sweet. The relationship chart and shipping wars get complicated as more characters come in. As that happens, the story gets better and better.

Basically, the witch's master gets put into a cursed sleep, so her protector needs to keep raiding the Demon Lord's castle in attempts to snag said horns. He's then joined by other characters, etc.

Another rec is Machikado Mazoku, which just got its second anime season. Yuuko wakes up with a snazzy set of horns and a tail, sets out to defeat the local magical girl in an attempt to break the multiple curses on her own family. Does not have much luck with that. Probably yuri. Very funny, very cute, very sweet.

 

Yankee JK KuzaHana-san - Most times when I make recs, I try to give the best. This... isn't. But sometimes I'm in the mood for mindless, fluffy T&A harem, and on that front (hah) it delivers the biggest jiggle and the plushest behinds this side of a hentai. It also has the bare minimum of progression to keep me interested.

Yankee-kun to Hakujou Gaaru - Similar title, but a lot more classy and no harem, this is a romcom about a partially-sighted girl and a scarred delinquent growing together, along with their unconventional friend groups. Contains a rare male/male unrequited love that isn't played for laughs or ew, and a stark statement of how difficult it can be to be disabled in Japan.

Sakurai-san Wants To Be Noticed - You! Yes, you. Did you like Yui Yuigahama of Oregairu? You want an entire manga of her legally-distinct clone? Here you go.

 

Rosen Garten Saga: A perverted adventure comedy in a fantasy world, about young girl Linn going on a adventure armed with a magical sword that changes gender of ones it cuts to a female that's also possessed by a legendary hero and unapologetic rapist Siegfried. Along the way she meets other legendary heroes from other countries each having own perverted quirks. Think F/GO but every hero is a wierdo pervert. Like Artur is a trap idol, Beowulf is exhibitions fighting with 3 sword style were 3rd sword is his massive flong etc.

 

Sengoku Komachi Kurou Tan! Possibly one of the greatest time travel manga I've ever read.

 

Save & Load no Dekiru Yadoya-san - Take the concept of "the inn where you save and heal" then have it be the power of a former adventurer, who offers his training method to other new adventurers, and let the horror flow. For laughs.

 

Any new harem, Isekai, or MG manga with an original story?

 

Ayakashi Triangle is suprisingly good quality.
It's like a modern-day take on Ranma 1/2, I guess. With the gender-bending youkai-hunting ninja.

The main heroine is great too. She's got a lot more personality than most LI's in manga, and she's pretty lewd. Even more than the protagonist.
Although I guess it could be argued that she's the main protagonist herself.

 

Of course:

Keyman - The Hand of Judgement [—] released in 2011
An American noir styled manga that has a hard-boiled detective dinosaur serving the public of Rockville City, a place inhabited by both humans and animal people. They investigate the death of Keyman: a local caped hero who had the words "Dr. Necro" carved into his chest. The Dinosaur Detective meets Dr. Necro obviously.

A wacky manga that explores where few have before.

Kuutei Dragons - Drifting Dragons [—] released in 2016
A fantasy manga that follows a crew aboard the Queen Zaza. They hunt mysterious creatures known as dragons for food. It's the fantasy version of Whaling basically.

A manga with rare fantasy themes

Ajin - Demi Human [—] released in 2012
Only the most fucking action packed, well-drawn, escalating, packed full of references manga you'll ever fucking read. Ajin are humans that cannot die at all no matter the cause of death, and are hunted by the government due to their condition and rarity. They're able to summon a stand-like creature called an "IBM" or "Black Ghost"

Kei Nagai is the main character: A high-school student that finds out about his condition by... get hit by a truck. It only escalates from there.

A genuine 9/10. An action-masterpiece.

Groundless - Sekigan no Sogekihei [—] released in 2010
A manga with a World War aesthetic. In short, it's about a woman who works with her husband and takes care of her child in a small arms shop on an island. Later they receive a large order of rifles from the army. Later however, it turns out to be a ploy by the colonel who made the order. He uses his ties to the rebel army to have them ransack the shop.

In the end the ransacking had her lose an eye, her child and husband.

She later takes the last sniper rifle from her ransacked home and joins a militia, ready to take revenge.

A solid manga through and through.

Jigokuraku - Hell's Paradise. [—] released in 2018
A manga about a shinobi on death row who refuses to be executed out of love for his wife. In order to be pardoned by the shogun for his crimes, he and other criminals are sent to an island that's Paradise on Earth to pilfer the Elixir of Immortality. He's accompanied by a decapitator to makes sure he gets it and doesn't try to escape.

A manga with a unique aesthetic and well drawn art.

Koroshiya Ichi - Ichi The Killer. [—] released in 1998
A true grindhouse-tier manga. It has a wimpy coward main character who becomes a living weapon when he cries. It's obscene: featuring explicit scenes of sex, graphic violence and buckets of gore.

A staple in a genre of manga that prides itself in bearing content that is as blood-soaked as possible.

Lady Snowblood - Shura Yukihime [—] released in 1972
A classic among classics, right up there with Lone Wolf and Cub. It's explicit and full of violence. It had a film adaptation in 1973 that became a cult hit both in Japan and internationally. It was the film adaptation of Lady Snowblood that served as a key and vital inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

It's a story about a woman named Oyuki who was born in a prison and inherited her mother's grudge against the people who wronged her. Now she is an assassin, performing murderous miracles for the price of 1,000 yen.

Candy & Cigarettes [—] released in 2017
A pulp fiction manga about an old grizzled man in financial straits due to his grandsons hospital bills ends up applying for a job as a cleaner...

A cleaner for a hitman... and that hitman is a young school-girl. In short it's humorous and flows well. If you like wholesome family stories with a coating of blood and a toppings of gore, then here's to you.

 

Soul Anomaly

Genuine out-loud laughter at some of the BS this narrative pulls, it's in the so-bad-it's-great category for me (so far, not entirely caught up with the releases yet).

The art's not great, the characters are decent, but the story isn't insulting my intelligence* and the humor is on point (for me at least).


*) When the narrative does do something stupid, it feels deliberate since the characters point it out, much like in an Austin Powers film. For me this makes the tropes used feel much more tolerable.