Whenever I need a break from writing all day, I walk to the local park with the best Wi-Fi connection, settle in a shady spot, and browse my Crunchyroll Manga app.
Manga always feels like a guilty pleasure to me, perfect for summer. And predictably, I’ve been reading a lot of it lately. Here’s what I’ve read and would recommend:
Scum’s Wish
This is the Harlequin Romance of manga: soft, gentle art with a junk food plot. Witness a tangled web of unrequited love, with two seemingly perfect teens at its center. Hanabi and Mugi are dating, but only so they can “use” each other physically and forget about the ones they really love. This manga is definitely not for anyone under 18.
Orange
A high school romance, complicated by time travel. Naho knows that in the future, her friend and crush, Kakeru, is going to commit suicide. She’s received a letter from her future self about how to keep that from happening. This bittersweet plot is complemented by art that’s all sweet, making me feel real emotion whenever Naho makes Kakeru smile.
My Wife is Wagatsuma-san
Another high school romance about time travel, but it couldn’t be more different. Aoshima timeslips into a future where he’s married to the prettiest girl in school, and does whatever he can to preserve that reality. The best parts of the manga star him and his geeky group of friends, whose over-the-top commitment to gags results in prime comedy.
Kiss Him, Not Me
A wish-fulfillment fantasy for fujoshi, this reverse harem manga has four guys (and one handsome girl) vying for Kae’s affections, but all she wants is to watch them enact her boy’s love fantasies! This manga is currently ongoing, and BL fans will recognize current fandoms like Touken Ranbu. I love this manga’s spot-on parody of fujoshi obsessions.
Princess Jellyfish
Tsukimi is a jellyfish-loving geek whose life gets spun into chaos when she meets outgoing, crossdresser Kuranosuke. With a cast of unique characters that don’t fit into standard anime “types,” well-timed joke delivery, and a professional-level translation into English, Princess Jellyfish is the highest quality out of all the manga I’ve listed.
I’m current on all the manga above, so now I’m looking for something else to read. Any recommendations?
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Just on CR Manga. A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi) and Inuyashiki. I have Inside Mari and Spacebrothers in my cue, but have yet to read them. I’ll have to add Wagatsuma-san to the list! Outside of CR…there’s ALWAYS room for Kare Kano if you have never read it. I’m contemplating going through Battle Angel again for the first time in 18 years. Wandering Son and Nijigahara Holograph both have excellent translations by Fantagraphics Press. The manga for Sasameki Koto was pretty good, but it started to add unneeded plot arcs in the end. Bunny Drop, it ends…interestingly, but the anime was only the first half of the story. Yotsuba&! for excellent slice of life sillyness. For ones that may be difficult to procure; Koizora, Blame!, Asatte no Houkou. I’m slowly working on translating 34-sei Mushoku-san for personal enjoyment. If you have never read it Akira is always worth it.
@disqus_kVvzChmZjW:disqus thanks so much for these recs. I loved Wandering Son as an anime so I’d like to try the manga. As for Bunny Drop, I’ve heard things, and uh, no =P
Heard “things?” I don’t like the sound of that. Loved the anime so naturally I want to read the manga at some point. Guess I better look into the story out past the anime section and see if I really want to read it.
The anime for Usagi Drop only covers the first half of the manga. The second half jumps ahead 10 years later. A lot of people were unsettled by the ending, but it should in no way stop you from reading it. Despite the controversy it is an excellent story!
Thanks, Steve!
Thank you! All added to my queue.
I think today I will find time to dive into one or two of them.
@zoeliddel:disqus Let me know what you think! Your email is what inspired me to make this post.
Re Inside Mari: It’s by the author of the manga Flowers of Evil; I suppose the conventional take on it would be that it’s a body-swapping tale that’s as creepy as Flowers of Evil and much more NSFW. However, as someone who has read the entire Flowers of Evil manga (not just watched the anime) as well as all of Inside Mari thus far, I think Inside Mari may end up transcending that description a bit. In its second half Flower of Evil the manga toned down the creepiness and evolved into more of a coming of age / portrait of the artist as a young man story. Inside Mari seems to be evolving into a story about dealing with mental illness and trying to rebuild one’s life. It is most definitely not for everyone, but if you liked Flowers of Evil at all then I think it’s worth your checking it out.
@hecker:disqus totally, thanks for this. Flowers of Evil wasn’t always easy to watch, but it was moving and provoking and I’m glad I did.
Totally forgot the reason I added Inside Mari to my cue was due to who wrote it…I keep hoping for more anime of Flowers of Evil.
Started Inside Mari and got caught up…interesting manga so far, worth the time!
Flowers of Evil was amazing. I couldn’t watch the anime, though.
I’ve completely forgotten that Crunchyroll has a manga section! I was thinking I’d like to get into reading manga again but am on a strict budget at the moment. Thanks for reminding me, will definitely check out the recommendations :D
[…] Journalist delivers a list of five titles worth reading, all available through Crunchyroll’s manga library. I have to second Princess Jellyfish. That series is just […]
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