Good, Bad, and Ugly
Manga
My top picks. Use list view, to see pros and cons for each entry.
A good starting list to cover all bases, or challenge yourself.
A good starting list to cover all bases, or challenge yourself.
Manga, 7 vol, 1982
Me:-
Author:10
Pros:
+Awesome worldbuilding
+Great anti-war piece
+Great character writing
+Grand scale
Cons:
+Awesome worldbuilding
+Great anti-war piece
+Great character writing
+Grand scale
Cons:
Manga, 5 vol, 1996
Me:-
Author:10
Pros:
+Stellar exploration of talent, hard work, and ambition
+Solid sports manga
+Unique art style
+Great for its length
Cons:
+Stellar exploration of talent, hard work, and ambition
+Solid sports manga
+Unique art style
+Great for its length
Cons:
Manga, 1 vol, 2022
Me:-
Author:10
Pros:
+Fantastic meta storytelling
+Innovative use of paneling
+Explores the theme of loss and coping well
Cons:
+Fantastic meta storytelling
+Innovative use of paneling
+Explores the theme of loss and coping well
Cons:
Manga, ? vol, 2014
Me:-
Author:10
Pros:
+Excellent Comedy
+Amazing art, especially facial expressions
+An entertaining and over the top cast
+Genuine heartfelt moments
Cons:
+Excellent Comedy
+Amazing art, especially facial expressions
+An entertaining and over the top cast
+Genuine heartfelt moments
Cons:
Manga, 8 vol, 2003
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Excellent character arc for the protagonist
+Great Worldbuilding
+Excellent Suspense and build up
+Solid mystery
Cons:
-Dialogue-heavy at points
-Lack-luster action sequences
+Excellent character arc for the protagonist
+Great Worldbuilding
+Excellent Suspense and build up
+Solid mystery
Cons:
-Dialogue-heavy at points
-Lack-luster action sequences
Manga, 23 vol, 2000
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Stellar worldbuilding
+Excellent, well-utilized cast
+Awesome artwork
Cons:
-Pacing gets thrown off in the middle
+Stellar worldbuilding
+Excellent, well-utilized cast
+Awesome artwork
Cons:
-Pacing gets thrown off in the middle
Manga, 45 vol, 2012
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Hype, intense matches
+A large and well-developed cast
+Makes the improvement of the characters feel very natural
Cons:
+Hype, intense matches
+A large and well-developed cast
+Makes the improvement of the characters feel very natural
Cons:
Manga, 31 vol, 1990
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Hype and realistic matches
+Good comedy
+Great character arc for the protagonist
Cons:
-Somewhat slow start
+Hype and realistic matches
+Good comedy
+Great character arc for the protagonist
Cons:
-Somewhat slow start
Manga, 5 vol, 2016
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Great, concise sci-fi adventure
+Awesome plot twist
Cons:
+Great, concise sci-fi adventure
+Awesome plot twist
Cons:
Manga, 13 vol, 2018
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Well developed characters
+Great brutal and intense action
Cons:
+Well developed characters
+Great brutal and intense action
Cons:
Manhwa, 12 vol, 2017
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Solid character arc for the protagonist
+Creative and well-executed enemies
+Stellar use of panel structure and heavy themes
Cons:
-Very intense themes, with depictions of humanities worst facets
+Solid character arc for the protagonist
+Creative and well-executed enemies
+Stellar use of panel structure and heavy themes
Cons:
-Very intense themes, with depictions of humanities worst facets
Manga, 27 vol, 2001
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Great Worldbuilding
+Utilizes a large cast very well
+Well written characters and story
Cons:
-Art is a bit flat at points
+Great Worldbuilding
+Utilizes a large cast very well
+Well written characters and story
Cons:
-Art is a bit flat at points
Manga, 8 vol, 2005
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Explores the moral dilemmas of mercenary work
+Beautiful art style
Cons:
-Lacks action for a samurai manga
+Explores the moral dilemmas of mercenary work
+Beautiful art style
Cons:
-Lacks action for a samurai manga
Manga, 17 vol, 2007
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Stellar art
+Excellent character growth for protagonist
+Great exploration of humanity's fascination with the unconquerable
Cons:
-Dialogue heavy at points
+Stellar art
+Excellent character growth for protagonist
+Great exploration of humanity's fascination with the unconquerable
Cons:
-Dialogue heavy at points
Manga, 18 vol, 1992
Me:-
Author:-
Pros:
+Art improves greatly over the course of the manga
+No small detail is overlooked and every loose end is tied
+Fantastic setting
+One of the best final antagonists in the franchise
Cons:
-Episodic nature of early chapters
+Art improves greatly over the course of the manga
+No small detail is overlooked and every loose end is tied
+Fantastic setting
+One of the best final antagonists in the franchise
Cons:
-Episodic nature of early chapters
Manga, 4 vol, 1999
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Very well-developed characters
+Realistic take on near future space travel
Cons:
-Side stories can overshadow the main plot
+Very well-developed characters
+Realistic take on near future space travel
Cons:
-Side stories can overshadow the main plot
Manga, 10 vol, 1989
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Fantastic, clean artwork
+Creative premise and action
Cons:
-Characters are a little flat for the first half
+Fantastic, clean artwork
+Creative premise and action
Cons:
-Characters are a little flat for the first half
Manga, ? vol, 1989
Me:-
Author:-
Pros:
+Stellar art
+Excellent action
+Well written characters
Cons:
-Quality dips in later arcs
-Very intense subject matter
+Stellar art
+Excellent action
+Well written characters
Cons:
-Quality dips in later arcs
-Very intense subject matter
Manga, 3 vol, 1998
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Stellar unsettling artwork
+Creative take on horror
Cons:
-Sometimes more strange than scary
+Stellar unsettling artwork
+Creative take on horror
Cons:
-Sometimes more strange than scary
Manga, 28 vol, 2015
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+First half is an entertaining parody of the romance genre
+A well developed cast of entertaining characters
+Explores its more mature themes very well
Cons:
-The final arc pales in comparison to the rest of the series
-Loses the parody element from the first half in the later chapters
-The anime is really, REALLY good
+First half is an entertaining parody of the romance genre
+A well developed cast of entertaining characters
+Explores its more mature themes very well
Cons:
-The final arc pales in comparison to the rest of the series
-Loses the parody element from the first half in the later chapters
-The anime is really, REALLY good
Manga, 2 vol, 2015
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Great character drama for its length
+Beautiful full colour chapters, with interesting recipes at the end
Cons:
+Great character drama for its length
+Beautiful full colour chapters, with interesting recipes at the end
Cons:
Manga, 7 vol, 2013
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+A solid feel-good story
+Endearing main character
Cons:
-A relatively simple art style
+A solid feel-good story
+Endearing main character
Cons:
-A relatively simple art style
Manga, 14 vol, 2014
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Stellar worldbuilding
+Well done episodic structure
+If the bestiary section of an RPG was a manga
Cons:
-The structure and focus on information isn't for everyone
+Stellar worldbuilding
+Well done episodic structure
+If the bestiary section of an RPG was a manga
Cons:
-The structure and focus on information isn't for everyone
Manhwa, ? vol, 2020
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Great artwork
+Interesting world
Cons:
-Exposition heavy
+Great artwork
+Interesting world
Cons:
-Exposition heavy
Manga, ? vol, 2012
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Stellar art
+Entertaining character dynamics
Cons:
-Begins to drag after the second major arc
-Repetitive structure
+Stellar art
+Entertaining character dynamics
Cons:
-Begins to drag after the second major arc
-Repetitive structure
Manga, 10 vol, 1997
Me:-
Author:9
Pros:
+Stellar art, especially the environments
+Forgoes text and favours soft world building
Cons:
-Very complicated story
-Frustratingly lacking explanation at times
+Stellar art, especially the environments
+Forgoes text and favours soft world building
Cons:
-Very complicated story
-Frustratingly lacking explanation at times
Manga, 18 vol, 2010
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Hype, high-stakes psychological battles
+Ties in the themes it wishes to explore well
Cons:
-Predictable at times
+Hype, high-stakes psychological battles
+Ties in the themes it wishes to explore well
Cons:
-Predictable at times
Manga, 72 vol, 1999
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Excellent worldbuilding
+Some of the best fight sequences in shounen
+Excellent antagonists
Cons:
-Under-utilized side characters
-Messy final arc
-Snubs one of its best antagonists
-Power scaling falls apart in the second half
+Excellent worldbuilding
+Some of the best fight sequences in shounen
+Excellent antagonists
Cons:
-Under-utilized side characters
-Messy final arc
-Snubs one of its best antagonists
-Power scaling falls apart in the second half
Manga, 12 vol, 2003
Me:-
Author:8
Pros:
+Excellent suspense and mystery
+Unique concept
+Interesting protagonist
+L
Cons:
-Weak second half
-Weak supporting cast
-Very dialogue heavy
+Excellent suspense and mystery
+Unique concept
+Interesting protagonist
+L
Cons:
-Weak second half
-Weak supporting cast
-Very dialogue heavy
Manhua, ? vol, 2021
Me:-
Author:7
Pros:
+Great visual gags and comedy
+Clean, full colour artwork
Cons:
-Quality varies between chapters
+Great visual gags and comedy
+Clean, full colour artwork
Cons:
-Quality varies between chapters