A classmate of mine in Japanese class wanted to start off with some manga reading so that he could put his Japanese reading skills to practice, as well as to slightly improve his vocabulary.
Since I attend Japanese lessons twice a week and the main Kinokuniya Branch’s just down the road, I usually make my purchases just before lesson time, so as to save myself an extra trip. Sometimes, the Kinokuniya plastic bag’s just too bulky to be contained within my bag, especially when I buy monthly serialisations. Therefore, I carry them by hand, and it’s no surprise that the whole class knows that I read manga. But I always tell them it’s for practice purposes.
Anyway, since he was quite eager to start on Japanese manga, I figured that I might as well give him a hand when he asked if I could head over to Kinokuniya together with him. Who knows, he may turn out to be someone who loves manga.
I met up with him slightly earlier before lessons so we could browse around in Kinokuniya for a suitable manga series for him. It turned out that he wanted to look for a series that was between 3-5 volumes, and that criteria was somewhat difficult to satisfy. Most of the series that we saw were long-running popular ones, and even the shorter ones were around 10 volumes. The even shorter ones that met his length criteria failed too, since they didn’t manage to capture his interest.
For the first time, I’ve felt that searching for a new manga series to start on is a real tedious chore. He didn’t like gore or fanservice, so he rejected Highschool of the Dead, and pretty much 80% of whatever short series there are out there. Maybe I should have just told him to start with those primary school storybooks instead. After all, those have furigana too.
After about 30 minutes, he finally settled on a single volume, one which I’ve never seen before.
A shonen manga, Luck Stealer, currently at 1 volume
I’m not sure what this is, but it looks like the typical genius-punishes-evil-with-special-ability sort of manga. I think I’ll ask him about the plot the next time I see him. Hopefully, this series will encourage him to read more manga. I recommended your typical shonen fare to him, but everything I introduced was rejected because of the length, which was quite a pity. Eyeshield 21, One Piece, Dgrayman and the list goes on.
Since we’re on this topic, why not list the few manga series which you will introduce to get a newbie into manga? Also, include the reasons why. After all, we all serve the same purpose in the Otaku Instrumentality Project, so tips to convert the ordinary Joe into a manga fanatic are always welcomed.
Thinking back, the first manga I was ever exposed to was Viz’s Sneak Peek Summer 2003. I only saw it for the first time from my friend. It was pretty good because it had alot of different stories to tell. Boys over Flowers, Excel Saga, Tuxedo Gin, Battle Angel Alita…
Wait, in japanese right? How about some compilation books?
Why not Tsukihime. It’s only got a few volumes and is drop-dead interesting. Or Zero no Tsukaima?
How about Bitter Virigin? Its complete at a short 4 volumes, and doesn’t contain any gore or fanservice, so he might like it.
And if all else fails, Type-Moon works are always good, like C.I said. Ahaha.
Yotsuba& (Or Yotsubato). It’s a manga done by the author of Azumanga Daioh, so laughs are guaranteed there, and it also has furigana.
Alternatively, I believe Gintama has Furigana too.
And then, there’s always Aria, though I never did see the manga being stocked in Kinokuniya on my trips there.
Spiral, World Embryo, Vinland Saga, D.N.Angel or maybe Fullmetal Alchemist? None of them are really short, but they’re all pretty accessible and absorbing while no where near approaching lengths of SJ regulars.
I can’t say I know many short manga for people that don’t usually read any. I mentioned Eureka Seven a week or so ago and that’s only 6 volumes with a really fast pace. I’ve also heard good things about the Chrno Crusade manga which is just 8 volumes.
I read the first chapter or two of Luck Stealer and it was pretty bad. Hopefully it gets better or it might put the guy off. ;P
Why does it sound like reading manga is an incredibly strange thing over there?
I think I forgot to mention that many of the suggestions mentioned had either volume 1 missing, or totally nothing on the shelves. Darn Kinokuniya and the limited selections. We should have shelves like those in Animate and Toranoana!
Dorne > Compilation books? Any examples?
C.I > I don’t think Tsukihime was stocked. I actually wanted to introduce Fate/Stay Night, but volume 1 was missing from the shelves.
Stifler > Never heard of Bitter Virgin before, but since it’s a recommendation coming from you, I’ll check it out.
Sylon > Ah, I totally forgot about Yotsuba&! I’ll tell him the next time I see him.
Mark > Reading manga isn’t strange here, but reading it in Japanese is not very common. Most people read it in Chinese or English. One thing that irks me is the limited selection Kinokuniya has here. Most of the stuff I want has to be ordered, and waiting a month or 2 for some books isn’t something I would like. Also, many of the series stocked had the first few volumes missing, so I couldn’t possibly introduce them since it would be weird to start reading from the second or third volume.
I guess the problem here is the availability. Maybe I should introduce him to open-source raws.
Whenever i buy manga i also look for short volumes, easier to collect and i can grab a couple different series along the way, shouen type really is too long sometimes. Look at those popular ones, One piece, bleach and naruto has been running since forever.
There’s quite a number of 1 book manga but if he never open up his mindset to read i think it’ll be quite difficult to introduce. A lot of those “girly” manga is 1 book long or those “weird” theme.
@double: Shit, don’t tell me I bought the last of them out…There were quite a few when I last went…
Since he’s not a gore or fan service fan, maybe he might like stories with a shoujo, romantic to death plot. Try ぱられる or キスより早く
does lilim kiss count as fan-service?
Well I only could think in Lucky Star or Yotsubato because they are short mangas (I don know if its too complicated for a newbie, but I dont think so).
Im starting to get involved with kana but still nothing to hard to read long mangas. ^_^
when i was introduced to manga back in 2000, a long time ago
pp, Hynavian > I’m not sure if he’ll like Shoujo.
C.I > Maybe. Or I might not have thoroughly searched the bookshelves.
The P-Meister > I’ve yet to read that, so I don’t know.
phossil > Seems like Lucky Star and Yotsuba& are both popular choices for introductions.
otaku dan > Flashback to 2000, I was still watching Pokemon.
I second Bitter Virgin but it’s really not a beginner manga. 20th/21st Century Boys would be great but there’s that length issue. Hoshi wa Utau and Liar Game are decent. Otokomae Beads Club is short but complete. The World That Only God Knows could doubly serve to introduce your friend into the world of dating sims
@double: They usually restock around the times when they have their 10% discount sales (20% for members).
And I believe the waiting period was about two weeks.
Try Azumanga Daioh. A mere four volumes from start to finish, and it’s a yonkoma so it should be easily digestible.
You might also consider one-shots related to animated films (such as the one-volume manga versions of TokiKake and Hoshi no Koe). Sure, these things can suck quite badly, but they feature full stories within single volumes and have the added potential of getting the reader hooked on anime. (Or turning him away for life, if they’re really bad.) As always, it’s best to try out each title before recommending them.
double> I’m not sure of any kind of japanese manga compilations.
Doraemon!! what else!?
sure, it has like 45 volumes but the stories aren’t connected at all and you don’t need any explanation to get the plot!
Is the first picture taken from Books Off? I personally like their store for very very cheap manga. XD
give him hentai!!!