Im conflicted on a new manga, please help!

berserker88

The Raging Demon
Ok Im not shure which series to start buying; Blade of the Immortal or Vagabond?? they both seem so bad ass but I only have enough money at the moment to start only one of those 2 series, and I'm not shure what it should be? 


By the way I'm listing the manga I currenlty own so you get a taste of what I like in manga which could help you recommend which one of the above series I would like more and would start collecting.

Berserk(duh the best ever!), Hellsing, Akira, Ghost in the Shell(only ones by Shirow Masamune), and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
 

xbigvmanx

Gutz is a Bad azz
berserker88 said:
Ok Im not shure which series to start buying; Blade of the Immortal or Vagabond?? they both seem so bad ass but I only have enough money at the moment to start only one of those 2 series, and I'm not shure what it should be? 
Berserk(duh the best ever!), Hellsing, Akira, Ghost in the Shell(only ones by Shirow Masamune), and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

You know what my answer is...NEITHER! That's right they both suck. jking. I guess i'd be more partial to blade since i am more familiar with the character but seriously if you want a really good series to really wet your appetite for fantasy/samurai action get Bleach. Its the most popular manga that's out right now and I highly recommend it. Let me know if you want to know more about this series.
V
 

SaiyajinNoOuji

I'm still better than you
Vagabond is the manga version of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, one of the greatest swordsman in Japans history and maybe the world. I have never read Blade of the Immortal so I cant offer my opinion on that, regardless, flip a coin when in doubt!
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
xbigvmanx said:
I guess i'd be more partial to blade since i am more familiar with the character but seriously if you want a really good series to really wet your appetite for fantasy/samurai action get Bleach. Its the most popular manga that's out right now and I highly recommend it. Let me know if you want to know more about this series.
V

This is going to seem rude, but I don't see how anyone can recommend the sloppy, mindless drivel that is "Bleach". Its poorly drawn, repetitive drek that shouldn't really be compared with with Vagabond (or Blade of the Immortal - but admittedly I don't really read that).

I understand the kids out there like the cyclical train, powerup, train, powerup, train, powerup natured story (usually done with a catchy "protect one's friends" theme); but after a while even children grow up - and thus grow out of it.

So ultimately, read what you like. If the choices are Vagabond or Blade of the Immortal my personal recommendation would be Vagabond (as its extremely well drawn).

But remember, "Bleach is for kids!"
 

Uriel

This journey isn't ov--AARGH!
I think I'll quote myself to answer this...

  • Uriel said:
    Viz does a better job with Vagabond than Dark Horse does with Blade of the Immortal, thats how :badbone:

    Seriously though, I've been reading Blade of the Immortal about as long as I've been reading Berserk and I really enjoy it. I'm aware that the localisation took liberties with it, what with switching it from the traditional right to left Japanese style. But manga in the United States wasn't as big back then, so it's forgivable. Another thing I dislike about Dark Horse is the abuse of the "F word". It seems every other sentence Manji spits out has a variable of "fuck " in there. Outside of the minor complaints, Blade of the Immortal is an entertaining manga, with excellent, rememberable characters. The plot ebbs and flows, but it remains good throughout. Samura's artist capabilities are something to stand back and appreciate. Kojima Gōseki, Miura, Inoue and Samura are just about the cream of the crop when it comes to swordplay manga, in my opinion. That's pretty noteworthy.

    Yet, Vagabond has me hooked. It's probably because of the localisation and the speed in which it is being released (it has already passed Mugen no Jūnin in Japan and the West). Inoue has created a different, yet enticing take on Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi. The art is almost without equal, save for us Miura loyalists, and the story is exceptional. I have read the book quite a few times and I find Vagabond just as, if not more, enthralling. The characters are great, even those who aren't the main focus will ingrain themselves on your memory, even if their names don't. The well-timed humour is another factor, but most the time the story is pretty serious. If I were to sum Vagabond up in one word it would be... Epic.

    Highly recommended from this swordplay fan, and I'm sure the rest of the contributors of this thread will agree ;)
 

Dirty Dog

Avatar by CnC ^^
Haven't read a bit of the Bleach manga, but I've seen the show and it's decent, despite being a little corny and childish at times (as CnC said). However, since that wasn't what he asked about to begin with, why the hell does it matter?

I haven't read a bit of either of them, but a good friend of mine (who is a major fan of all the animes/mangas you listed) loves Vagabond, so I'd go with that.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
CnC said:
This is going to seem rude, but I don't see how anyone can recommend the sloppy, mindless drivel that is "Bleach". Its poorly drawn, repetitive drek that shouldn't really be compared with with Vagabond (or Blade of the Immortal - but admittedly I don't really read that).

I understand the kids out there like the cyclical train, powerup, train, powerup, train, powerup natured story (usually done with a catchy "protect one's friends" theme); but after a while even children grow up - and thus grow out of it.
But remember, "Bleach is for kids!"

Oh damn, sounds like CnC has a personal vendetta against this manga. You could have just said a simple "I don't enjoy it" or "its not for me" rather than bashing the hell out of it. Its entertaining to say the least, and while not comparable to Vagabond or Blade it is fun in its own DBZ-ish sort of way. Or maybe Handsome doesn't wanna grow up, maybe Handsome is a Toys R' Us kid?
xbigvmanx said:
You know what my answer is...NEITHER! That's right they both suck. jking. I guess i'd be more partial to blade since i am more familiar with the character but seriously if you want a really good series to really wet your appetite for fantasy/samurai action get Bleach. Its the most popular manga that's out right now and I highly recommend it. Let me know if you want to know more about this series.
V
There is no way in hell I would call Bleach a fantasy/samurai action manga. And just because it is very popular does not mean that it is good. But it is good, I love that shit. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. I have personally read the first few volumes of Blade and I can tell you it is a damn good manga. While I have not
read Vagabond myself, there is a small gang of people on this board who love it.
I'd say that either is a safe bet, why can't we do both?
 

berserker88

The Raging Demon
handsome rakshas said:
Oh damn, sounds like CnC has a personal vendetta against this manga. You could have just said a simple "I don't enjoy it" or "its not for me" rather than bashing the hell out of it. Its entertaining to say the least, and while not comparable to Vagabond or Blade it is fun in its own DBZ-ish sort of way. Or maybe Handsome doesn't wanna grow up, maybe Handsome is a Toys R' Us kid?There is no way in hell I would call Bleach a fantasy/samurai action manga. And just because it is very popular does not mean that it is good. But it is good, I love that shit. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. I have personally read the first few volumes of Blade and I can tell you it is a damn good manga. While I have not
read Vagabond myself, there is a small gang of people on this board who love it.
I'd say that either is a safe bet, why can't we do both?

Well the reason why it all seems DBZ-ish is because DB, Bleach, and Naruto are all shonen while Bleach and Naruto do suck and are intended for kids hence why there shonen............anyways lets please keep this on topic, strictly Blade and Vagobond please.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Dirty Dog said:
However, since that wasn't what he asked about to begin with, why the hell does it matter?
handsome rakshas said:
Oh damn, sounds like CnC has a personal vendetta against this manga. You could have just said a simple "I don't enjoy it" or "its not for me" rather than bashing the hell out of it.

Slow down there, people. I quoted what I was responding to. Maybe I was looking for an excuse to bash it, but basically I'm posting a couple of reasons (strongly worded reasons) why I wouldn't recommend Bleach.

If I had just said "Bleach is shit", I might be accused of trolling. :troll:

...moving on
 

berserker88

The Raging Demon
CnC said:
Slow down there, people.  I quoted what I was responding to.  Maybe I was looking for an excuse to bash it, but basically I'm posting a couple of reasons (strongly worded reasons) why I wouldn't recommend Bleach. 

If I had just said "Bleach is shit", I might be accused of trolling. :troll:

...moving on

Well when you bash a shonen kids are going to get pissed, anyways back to topic!
 
I demand that people start reading Bastard!!. If those posters who here get pissed and whine about getting on the boat and seeing more trolls read it, I can only imagine what they'd say about Hagiwara's slow, lazy ass. I mean, the man took about a year off to REDRAW the older volumes of the series, and sometimes it's like six months between chapters.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
berserker88 said:
Well the reason why it all seems DBZ-ish is because DB, Bleach, and Naruto are all shonen while Bleach and Naruto do suck and are intended for kids hence why there shonen............anyways lets please keep this on topic, strictly Blade and Vagobond please.

Oh no no no, let's continue on this subject shall we? I think saying that Bleach and Naruto "suck" is flat out crummy of you. Why is everyone so against a manga if its intended for a younger audience? Shonen manga may not have a serious theme but they are still very fun and entertaining to read. So go ahead berserker88, go on and tell me that One Piece sucks, too. :zodd:
 

berserker88

The Raging Demon
handsome rakshas said:
Oh no no no, let's continue on this subject shall we? I think saying that Bleach and Naruto "suck" is flat out crummy of you. Why is everyone so against a manga if its intended for a younger audience? Shonen manga may not have a serious theme but they are still very fun and entertaining to read. So go ahead berserker88, go on and tell me that One Piece sucks, too.  :zodd:

I dont realy like shonen because I grew out of it as did alot of people thats why there against it, im 19 Ive matured and I like to read mature things damn!, now please if your going to talk about some dumb ass shonen, leave this topic, I want to know whats better for me Blade or Vagabond.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Please keep to the topic at hand guys. Berserker88 asked for a choice between 2 manga, so give him that, no need to start debating the merits of whatever series is hip these days. Bleach isn't the most popular manga out there unlike what was said, and personally I can't say I find it very good, really. Neither can I say it of Bastard!! by the way.

Let's not make a big deal out of personal tastes and opinions...
 
You know, the only reason I recommended Bastard!! was because I don't keep up with manga anymore, and six years ago I started collecting Bastard!! and Berserk, due to my tastes in sword and sorcery manga, and they're the only two I still purchase aside from Hellsing and Trigun, which he's already reading. Bastard!! is only good for the artwork, these days, but it's plot was quite enjoyable when I was about 13 or so, and if you're just a fan of comic/manga art in general, it's worth the purchase IMHO. I guess what I'm saying is, just because I love Berserk, which IS art, doesn't mean that I can't enjoy juvenile drivel, which is what Bastard!! is. If I have a tendency to recommend it in somewhat unrelated threads, I guess it's because I'm the only one still reading it, I think.

The point is that I recommend Berserker88 read Vagabond. In all seriousness though, if I weren't broke I'd be buying it as well, and Blade of the Immortal is just kind of by the numbers, unless it has radically improved in quality from awhile back.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
bph said:
I guess what I'm saying is, just because I love Berserk, which IS art, doesn't mean that I can't enjoy juvenile drivel, which is what Bastard!! is. If I have a tendency to recommend it in somewhat unrelated threads, I guess it's because I'm the only one still reading it, I think.

You can enjoy what you want really, I just gave my opinion on it. And don't worry, there are still tons of fans of Bastard!!
 
Both Vagabond and Blade of the immortal are great reads. As much as I love Vagabond and I do love it, it can be really drawn out sometimes. I'll put it to you this way, if my bookshelf was on fire and I had only time to save one set of books, it'd be Blade of the Immortal...after Berserk of course. :schierke:
 

Membrax

Some beast eating its heart in the desert
Proj2501 said:
Both Vagabond and Blade of the immortal are great reads. As much as I love Vagabond and I do love it, it can be really drawn out sometimes. I'll put it to you this way, if my bookshelf was on fire and I had only time to save one set of books, it'd be Blade of the Immortal...after Berserk of course.  :schierke:

Same here. I really love both of them, and it is really a matter of personal tastes. In my case, I'm leaning more toward Blade of The Immortal, but honestly you can't go wrong with either one.
 

Oltobaz

Cancer no Deathmask
It's a matter of personal taste, all right. Blade of the Immortal is darker, and definitely holds a fantasy side while Vagabond is much more realistic, if you will.
 

berserker88

The Raging Demon
I think I might have to go with blade then, I mean I do appreciate realism expecially when it comes to fuedal JP times, but the art of blade and the story seem bad ass looks like I might as well spend a hour at borders and read the first volumes of both and make my desicion
 

March of Flames

Love Is Vengeance.
I love Vagabond because of the characters and the art is very beautiful to me. I think Blade of the Immortal is intresting but the price is too high for me, and the artwork (I've only read two volumes so far) isn't as good as Vagabond. I was able to get volumes 5,12,13,14 of Vagabond for 3.74 each at discountanimedvd.com but now they raised those to about 5.47. I think if you want more volumes for your money Vagabond is better. It's up to you though.
 
March of Flames said:
I love Vagabond because of the characters and the art is very beautiful to me. I think Blade of the Immortal is intresting but the price is too high for me, and the artwork (I've only read two volumes so far) isn't as good as Vagabond. I was able to get volumes 5,12,13,14 of Vagabond for 3.74 each at discountanimedvd.com but now they raised those to about 5.47. I think if you want more volumes for your money Vagabond is better. It's up to you though.

Vagabond's artwork is superior. But that doesn't mean Blade of the Immortal isn't just as pretty to look at it. As was said before, it boils down to a matter of taste. But don't be fooled, Blade of the Immortal's artwork gets better with time, just as Berserk's did. In fact, when I got my one friends to read Berserk (vol 1) he thought the art was mediocre :isidro: , it wasn't until i showed showed him a page from like 19 volumes ahead that he was like 'ok my bad'. So you gotta have faith with some series and give them a chance. Try to get both in the future and cover all your bases. :carcus:
 

March of Flames

Love Is Vengeance.
Proj2501 said:
Vagabond's artwork is superior. But that doesn't mean Blade of the Immortal isn't just as pretty to look at it. As was said before, it boils down to a matter of taste. But don't be fooled, Blade of the Immortal's artwork gets better with time, just as Berserk's did. In fact, when I got my one friends to read Berserk (vol 1) he thought the art was mediocre :isidro: , it wasn't until i showed showed him a page from like 19 volumes ahead that he was like 'ok my bad'. So you gotta have faith with some series and give them a chance. Try to get both in the future and cover all your bases. :carcus:

It is just a matter of taste. I said that I've read volumes one and two of BotI but that doesn't mean I've only seen artwork from those volumes. The artwork gets better but still doesn't compare to Vagabond in my opinion. So juding by just the art (and price) I think he should choose Vagabond but of course that's not the only reason people buy manga so it's possible he could like BotI's story better.
 

berserker88

The Raging Demon
Attention, attention.....................I decided the next manga will be................Vagabond, the art looks amazing and the fact that its based on a true story makes it more kick ass.
 
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