Manga: Superior to Anime(In Most Cases)

[Anti-K']

I've read a few chapters of YKK. Great stuff, and as FCL said, anyone who likes Aria will definitely love it.

Then I'll try it.

[Perfect Stranger]

Read through the first 11 volumes of Claymore recently - pretty good, I'd have to say. I was kinda hesitant at first since Chibi K' and I seem to have different tastes with regards to anime/manga, but I really like the feel of the series so far. High fantasy + amazon society + a steady, measured pacing make for quite an interesting read. I especially liked the arc covering Claire's origins and the Smiling Teresa.

Definitely a recommended read.

[Anti-K']

Started reading Zombie Loan. Does it end as bad as the anime or should I keep reading?

[Perfect Stranger]

Newest manga series I'm reading that I'm liking enough to mention: Mirai Nikki (Literally: Future Diary). The easiest way to describe this is Battle Royale where everybody has a Death Note(in this case it's the titular Future Dairy). DEUS EX MACHINA (That's actually his name ), the god of all space and time, has decided to give 12 individuals a personalised version of a Future Dairy, in which events yet to happen are written. Each Future Dairy's ability is different: The lead character, for example, gets events that are about to happen around him written in his diary, whereas another character sees pictures of the future drawn in his own style. The kicker is that Deus Ex Machina has decided that the 12 individuals must seek out and hunt each other down in a survival game - the last person alive will succeed him as the ruler of all space and time.

Sounds like a pretty average setup so far but the execution is where this really shines. The manga-ka never stops pulling surprises on you, and you're pulled page after page in suspense to find out what happens next. The lead character is also pretty refreshing - he feels like a Ikari Shinji done right, in that he starts out really freaking annoying but as he gets pulled deeper and deeper in this crazy world he develops strength and resolve slowly and surely. You also see the manga-ka pull back the curtains to explain why the lead character was like that initially, and how at the heart of everything he really is a character worth rooting for.

The manga has proved popular enough that there's even side gaiden volumes explaining what happened to side characters in between chapters of the main plot, etc. Definitely give it a whirl if you're bored.

(Note: I've deliberately left out a lot of details as to why I feel this manga is so special to hopefully preserve the shock effect you get when reading it)

[BP]

Mostly been checking One Piece for my manga fix.

Other non-long running series manga I've read were Bitter Virgin and Hatsukoi Limited (both reccomended by P) - liked both, but I wish they didn't have a short run. At least Hatsukoi's ending was better than School Rumble's.

[PenPen]

Currently following:
One Piece - Made of awesome and win
Bleach - Used to be made of awesome and win, now I have no idea why I'm still reading this aside from those Bleach mangas I have
Eyeshield 21 - Used to be awesome but then quality dropped off (art has gotten very good), still actively following
Bamboo Blade - Awesome girls in awesome mango, waiting for the latest chapters
Psyren - Rather new shonen manga I liek, hopefully not canned in this year
Sket Dance - Fun parody manga which makes me lol at times
Bakuman - I like it for the fact it makes sense to me somehow, and introduces us to the industry (sorta)
Saint Seiya - Lost Canvas - Maybe, maybe it's even better than the original...and people are dying left and right, the pace is fast and the action scenes are nice, but it does feel a little predictable since you know how it ends. Okay, it's better than the original. There, I said it.
Hitman Reborn - The last arc was moderately awesome, but I'm just following for the sake of following atm
FMA - Itsh coming to an end!
Kekkaishi - Read up to a more recent chapter but stopped reading for no reason
Initial D - Hopefully finished in 2010

And the last one, the Ravages of Time is my mindfark manga of the year even though it's not really a manga, since it's drawn by a HK comic artist in the format of a manga. Based on the historical Romance of the Three Kingdoms in China the artist created hueg amount of plot twists that weirdly somehow still follows history well. Recommended if you have basic knowledge of ROTK.

[Branger]

Manga > Anime : Absolutely.

Right now, the only Manga I'm reading is the US release of Hellsing. I purchased Vol. 9 months ago, but haven't gotten around to reading it! LOL!

[Sheba]

Newest manga series I'm reading that I'm liking enough to mention: Mirai Nikki (Literally: Future Diary). The easiest way to describe this is Battle Royale where everybody has a Death Note(in this case it's the titular Future Dairy). DEUS EX MACHINA (That's actually his name ), the god of all space and time, has decided to give 12 individuals a personalised version of a Future Dairy, in which events yet to happen are written. Each Future Dairy's ability is different: The lead character, for example, gets events that are about to happen around him written in his diary, whereas another character sees pictures of the future drawn in his own style. The kicker is that Deus Ex Machina has decided that the 12 individuals must seek out and hunt each other down in a survival game - the last person alive will succeed him as the ruler of all space and time.

Sounds like a pretty average setup so far but the execution is where this really shines. The manga-ka never stops pulling surprises on you, and you're pulled page after page in suspense to find out what happens next. The lead character is also pretty refreshing - he feels like a Ikari Shinji done right, in that he starts out really freaking annoying but as he gets pulled deeper and deeper in this crazy world he develops strength and resolve slowly and surely. You also see the manga-ka pull back the curtains to explain why the lead character was like that initially, and how at the heart of everything he really is a character worth rooting for.

The manga has proved popular enough that there's even side gaiden volumes explaining what happened to side characters in between chapters of the main plot, etc. Definitely give it a whirl if you're bored.

(Note: I've deliberately left out a lot of details as to why I feel this manga is so special to hopefully preserve the shock effect you get when reading it)

I second this recommendation.

The yandere in the manga is <3

[Anti-K']

Started reading Fairy Tail and D. Gray Man. Thinking about Mirai Nikki.

[PenPen]

I'm currently following Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. Following is not the right word since I think it ended, but each chapter is so long that I'm going rather slowly in comparison.

The art starts off as pretty subpar but improves over time, and thus far the 5 characters in the band are rather likable. If only the main character can stop getting pushed around by everyone and screwing himself up at times.

[Anti-K']

I want to like Claymore a lot, but I have two problems with it:

1. I don't like seeing girls die
2. Raki

[Iori E]

Let's see what I'm currently following:

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Steel Ball Run)
Eyeshield 21
Rosario to Vampire
Nurarihyon no Mago
Fullmetal Alchemist
To Love-ru
Kurohime
Black Lagoon
One Piece
Fairy Tail
Yakitate!! Ja-pan
Kannagi
Record of Fallen Vampire
Hidamari Sketch
Mysterious Girlfriend X
Kitchen Princess
Shugo Chara!
Skip-Beat!
Vampire Knight
Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)

Yes, I have a weird variety of tastes. Shut up.

[Kyo-wa]

Re-reading Gravitation (cough), 3x3 Eyes, and Rose of Versailles.