Recommend a Manga (Read the first post!)

[sparxwonders]

Title: Card Captor Sakura
Rating: PG
Author: CLAMP
Genre: Shoujo, Fantasy, Romance.
Chapters: 50
Status: Complete

Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Kinomoto Sakura is your average 4th grader until she discovers the Clow Book, a book containing mysterious cards with amazing powers. When Sakura scattered the cards across her hometown, she must capture them once again so they will no longer cause chaos.

Your Rating for the Artwork: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: Typical CLAMP style. Very cute though. Especially the clothing.

Your Rating for the Story: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: Another magical girl story, but the characters are very realistic. The plot's well planned out and no fillers are found. Magical and Enchanting.

Suggested for people who like: Other CLAMP works. Tsubasa Chronicles Fans should check it out for a better understanding of the characters. (Though I think most would have already read it first.) Those who like magical girl series would enjoy this as well. (Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew, etc...) Quite cute and sappy.

[Teiflin]

Title: Ludwig Kakumei
Author: Kaori Yuuki
Volumes: 4, so far
Rating: PG-13 (for blood, violence and some sexual implications)
Genre: Mystery, Horror, Fantasy
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: In this wonderfully illustrated manga, watch familiar childhood fairytales turn into dark and twisted tales of murder, deceit and supernatural events. Journey through the land with narcissistic and sometimes-comical Prince Louie as he searches for the perfect princess bride.

Your Rating for the Artwork: Definitely A.
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: That's Kaori Yuuki! What more can I say...? Beautifully drawn, uber detailed and elegantly dark.

Your Rating for the Story: A+!
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: If you love shocking plot twists and intriguing mysteries, definitely read this manga.

Suggested for people who like: Dark-themed or gothic manga. Deep tales of intrigue. Murder mysteries.

[nix-wolfwood]

Title: Hot Gimmick (COMPLETE...with an alternate ending novel)
Rating: Definately for older teens. No less than 16+
Genre: Romance
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Hatsumi Narita, a somewhat indecisive coed, must navigate the choppy waters of company housing life and try to keep her love life on track too. Her relationships are complicated and confusing. The series gets "darker" as the story progresses. (Rape, "slavery" wink

Your Rating for the Artwork: [A through F] It's about a A-
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: I like it, most of the time. There are some of those CUTESY pictures that are a little unrealistic, but hardly ever. The characters can be a little unbelievable, sometimes. But all in all it's not bad.

Your Rating for the Story: [A through F] B
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: It gets a little darker than I like to read. There are also a ton of complications with relationships, which make the story a little confusing. Some characters are too fickle, others are just too hard to understand. But as you progress through the series it makes more sense.

Suggested for people who like: Shojo. Love triangles. Angst. High School Romance. Family Issues.

[Arroquinine My Love]

Title: FAKE (7 book series, complete)
Rating: 16 (although final is a 18+)
Genre: Drama
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Cops Dee and Ryo work together. Dee *likes* ryo, ryo isn't sure about Dee. They work as cops throughout the series, tracking down murderers, drug smugglers, people with bombs etc.
Available n English from Tokyopop :]]

Your Rating for the Artwork: B
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: It's not the artwork style I like personally, but it is good, you can always tell what's going on, even when you kinda don't want to, in the more... graphic scenes.
Your Rating for the Story: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: It's a good story, full of action and romance. Althought it's a yaoi. xD
Suggested for people who like: Yaoi (obviously), Action.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Title: Return to Labyrinth
Rating: T+
Genre: Fantasy
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: IN the 1986 film, Labyrinth, Sarah saves her brother (Toby) from the Goblin King, Jareth. Now, Jareth wants an heir to the throne, and calls in Toby, against his will. Toby doesn't know where he is, but finds some friends to help him along the way.
Your Rating for the Artwork: C
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: It's not very good manga style, mainly because it's not Japanese.
Your Rating for the Story: B
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: A good story, especially if you know the film well. It has a lot of returning characters from the film.
Suggested for people who like: Labyrinth, Adventures.

[trapped_galaxy]

Title:Gin Tama (23 books and continuing, but only 7 have been printed in English so far)
Rating:Older Teen (probably for some dirty humor, and a little blood)
Genre: Comedy, action, sci-fi
Author: Hideaki Sorachi
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Set in Edo, (current day Tokyo), aliens called Amanto have taken over. They have outlawed swords and samuri. Gin, who is a samuri but refused to give up his sword, has a Odd-jobs buisness that never pays the rent. The story is about all the wild adventures that Gin, Kagura and Shinpachi (who also help with the "work" ) get into while trying to make a buck.

Your Rating for the Artwork: B+
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: It's good art, adn the expressions are dead on, but I have seen a few panels used more than once. It's also kind of different than a lot of mangas out there, but not in a bad way.

Your Rating for the Story: B-
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: The plot is thin, mostly because the main character is a free-lancer and doesn't know really where he's going. But there is a lot going on and it will make you laugh out loud. The way the characters interact with eachother, and how they react to everyday sitiations is brilliant. It has also refrenced other mangas/animes (though more often in the anime)

Suggested for people who like: Action, Comedy and Sci-fi. Not a fighting manga, though you will get some bizzare duels. Also good if you like aliens. For both girls and boys, because it's not really shonen (though I did discover it through Shonen Jump smile ) It's good if you read Naruto and Bleach maybe, but there's not as much fighting. (It is a good break from all the action.)

In closing, It's a really enjoyable manga that can't be entirely captured in a descripton. The anime's enoumously fun too, and hasn't been dubbed yet, and it's easy to find on the internet. Everyone I know who reads/watches it loves it, and you should give it a try.

[Crysantema]

Title: Jack Frost
Author: Go Jin-Ho
Rating: T+ (violence, blood and gore, a little pervertedness)
Genre: Seinen / horror / action / ecchi
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: When Junoa transfered to Amityville High School, she didn't expect to die on the first day. However, caught in an interschool war between Vampires, Monsters and other things that go bump in the night, she must quickly learn what her new role is, as the "mirror image," and how to handle the mysterious Jack Frost.

Your Rating for the Artwork: A-
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: It's not very stylized, but it's certainly straightforward, which is a relief sometimes.

Your Rating for the Story: B+
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: It's hard to understand so far, because there isn't much written, but it looks promising.

Suggested for people who like: Horror stories, and a little bit of a puzzle to solve. I compare this manga rather closely with Hellsing.

[MistBlueFlowers]

Title:Koukou Debut{Alternate Title: Highschool Debut}
Mangaka: Kawahara Kazune
Rating: T
Genre: Shoujo
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Haruna used to play softball in middle school, as a result she's a muscular tomboy whose never had a boyfriend. Now that she's entered high school she's determined to change all that by becoming feminine, get her first boyfriend and fall in love. There she meets handsome and popular Yoh, who reluctantly agrees to coach her in the ways of men and dating, under one condition: Haruna cannot fall in love with HIM.

Your Rating for the Artwork: B+
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: The art is mostly good though sometimes it gets a little ruff and inconsistent.

Your Rating for the Story: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: Good story line and character development even though at times it can get confusing if you don't have a grasp of whats going on in the chapter.

Suggested for people who like: People who like shoujo comedy like Absolute Boyfriend and Beauty Pop

[AnimeRoxsDude]

Title: Skip Beat!
Author: Yoshiki Nakamura
Publisher: Viz Media and Shojo Beat
Serialized in: Hana to Yume
Language: Japanese and English
Number of Volumes: 21- ongoing
Rating: T for suggestive topics
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Shojo

Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Kyoko is a 16 year old girl who has devoted her life to helping her childhood friend and
crush, Sho Fuwa, debute as a singer, only to find out that he's using her. Heart broken and outraged, Kyoko vows to
get her revenge by beating him in showbiz.

Your Rating for the Artwork: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: I think the detail and emotions are very good. However,the chins are unusually long on the guys. o.O But besides that, I think the art is good.

Your Rating for the Story: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: It has a great story. It's hilarious, afflicting, and gets your heart racing.
There are a couple scenes that seem like they go on forever and you have to go reread it to fully understand it.

Suggested for people who like:
Love triangles, fairy tale topics, moody characters, cartoon violence, showbiz related topics, and sob stories.

[mpfff]

Zgraymansfan

negima

Didn't read the first post did you...

Anyway -

Title: Homunculus
Author: Hideo Yamamoto (He da man! did Koroshiya Ichi too! check out all his work)
Rating: Late Teen/Adult
Genre: Psychological/Fantasy
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: Manabu Ito, 22, a rich medical student tows Susumu Nakoshi's, 34, car in order to convince him to undergo trepanation. Nakoshi is an actuary on an extended vacation who decided to take time off and live inside his car between a park where the homeless reside and a tall affluent hotel he used to frequent. He later hands in his letter of resignation from being an actuary at a life insurance company. Susumu is a misanthrope who does not believe in the supernatural, just the physical reality in front of him. Manabu is a medical student who is interested in human behavior, from the psychological, medical, to even the occult. As Susumu's sixth sense begins to be activated by the trepanation, he begins to confront his own past while at the same time becoming entangled in the lives of others.

Your Rating for the Artwork: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: I personally like the style of the manga, the character artwork is great with each one having a unique look, but that aside it is clear we are viewing the work of a talented manga-ka; someone that can really draw. It is very detailed and there are lots of nice little details and touches in every panel.

Your Rating for the Story: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: Unique, interesting, involving... Just check it out, Scans are available online. It is really so unique that you need to sample it for yourself.

Suggested for people who like: Doesn't matter as I feel everyone should check this series out. It is a little slow to begin with but once it gets going: freaking aweeeesome.

[tortilla bandit]

Title: Claymore
Author: Yagi Norihiro
Rating: Teen, I think (gore, language, mature subjects like rape)
Genre: Adventure, Shonen, Fantasy
Basic Premise/Basic Plot: The story takes place in a medieval era, where Yoma, fearsome man-eating monsters roam free. The only ones who can stop the Yoma are the female warriors of a secretive organization, half-human, half-monster, who the people of the land have dubbed "Claymores" after the huge swords they carry everywhere. Claire, the weakest of the Claymores reluctantly takes a human boy under her wing after saving his life and the two of them travel about the land slaying Yoma as Claire readies herself to take revenge on an old enemy. The boy, Raki forms a bond with Claire, which keeps her strong as she challenges the Yoma, other Claymores, and the most terrifying adversary of them all: the "Awakened Ones".


Your Rating for the Artwork: B+
Your Opinion/Review of the Art: No chibi, shojo-y nonsense here, folks. This is sharp, cutting art. And it ain't always pretty. What I love so much about the character designs is that the numerous Claymores all stand out to me as being different: While some artists keep the same face for EVERY SINGLE FEMALE while just changing hair styles, each of the Claymore has noticeably different features.

Your Rating for the Story: A
Your Opinion/Review of the Story: Incredible. Yes, there are a few plotholes, but they are few and far between. It is a dark, epic tale, that mature readers can easily follow and enjoy, despite the numerous subplots that occur during the course of the main story. Also, Claire isn't a typical heroine. She turns into a ******** monster for goodness sake. And unlike most manga female protagonists, her character is dynamic, which makes her a refreshing change from all the other manga girls out there who are only focused on all the panty shots they're getting in their schoolgirl outfits.

Suggested for people who like: [here you can suggest other titles that are similar or just the type of person who would like it] Shonen, long, epic adventure series, hot girls wielding big badass swords.

Image from opening of anime (don't watch the anime, by episode 20 it splits off from the original story line and goes off into some bullshit that isn't as cool as what happens in the manga)

[TheMothAssassin]

Title: Strawberry Marshmallow (or Ichigo Mashimaro in Japan and the Internet)
Author: Barasui
Rating: PG - There's some alcohol and tobacco use, as well as occasional jokes about breast size, but overall this is something you could let your kids read.
Demographic: Seinen (grown men), though really anyone could enjoy it.
Genre: Situational slice-of-life comedy (some would say lolicon as well, but... no.)

Basic Premise/Basic Plot: This series presents the activities and antics of five girls:
Nobue Itou, age 16, is a lazy, nonchalant, and possibly ***** high school girl. Nobue smokes and also drank early in the series.
Chika Itou, 12, is Nobue's younger sister. She enjoys baking.
Miu Matsuoka, 12, is the 'breakout character', an eccentric girl who always says and does crazy things to get attention.
Matsuri Sakuragi, 11, is a timid girl who often carries her pet ferret, John with her.
Ana Coppola, 11, is originally from Cornwall, England, and her family is shown to be quite wealthy.

The manga consists of self contained chapters, each about a particular theme or activity, like going to the beach or playing sports.

Rating for the Artwork: A+
Opinion/Review of the Art: The artwork is very high in quality and the style of drawing is very cute. The art alone is arguably enough incentive to read this manga.

Rating for the Story: B
Opinion/Review of the Story: There's not much of a story to the series as a whole, but within each chapter events progress smoothly and the characters are believable.

Rating for the Humor: B-
Opinion/Review of the Humor: This manga uses character interaction and mild slapstick as sources of humor. It relies more on its deadpan delivery than actual jokes. It's difficult to describe more precisely than that, but you'll see it when you read it.

As for intensity, it's funny but not quite hilarious. It will make you smile and giggle, but the appeal seems to be somewhat more in the art and cuteness.

Suggested for people who like:
* The art style and the way everything's set up make this the most adorable manga I've ever seen. Definitely read it if you like cute things.
* If you enjoy conversational comedy like Home Movies you should check it out.

If epic tales, wild romances, and deep philosophical scenarios are why you read manga, this probably isn't your type, but if you just want some light, cute, relaxing reading then I recommend Strawberry Marshmallow to you.