I'm actually a pretty big manga enthusiast, so I'm tempted to list a plethora of titles, but I'll try to keep it concise.
First of all, even though I had discovered Berserk recently (around 3 years ago, which is a short time compared to how many years people in this community have been around for), I quickly realized this would be the best manga I would probably ever read. I expect it to stay as my number one for a very long time to come.
That being said, currently holding the second spot would have to be Kokou no Hito (The Climber), although the Japanese title actually translates to "a solitary man". I had read it also very recently, about half a year ago and it left a fresh impact that has yet to be surpassed by something else. The manga is based on a novel with the same name, which in turn is based on a real life person by the name of Katō Buntarō who shares certain similarities with the main character. Because of this it tackles more literary themes, such as man vs self, man vs nature, adversity, self sacrifice, much like Berserk.
The story follows the life of Mori Buntarou and his heroic journey to become an exceptional mountain climber. I have to admit, the first 32 chapters don't give the best first impression. They focus on Buntarou's high school years and initiation into climbing, and they suffer from quite a couple of cliches. The artwork in the beginning is also inferior compared to the rest of the series. However, despite the somewhat misleading first quarter, it picks up abruptly for the remainder of the story.
It's a complicated story with striking art and visual symbolism, which I think is what the mangaka went for. It's a coming of age story, but not the slice of life type, it has a rather realistic/pessimistic tone to it. Even thought it's categorized as a sports series, I find it to be more of a psychological manga, but it offers a lot of insight into mountains and the sport of climbing. It does a great job at evoking powerful feelings out of the reader. I consider it to be a work of art, in the truest sense of the word.
It's a shame that it has no English publication. It was officially translated only in Italian and Chinese. I would love to have the whole physical collection in English but as of right now scans are probably the only way to read it in English.
Aside from that, other titles that I'm fond of are The Breaker and The Breaker: New Waves, which is actually a Korean manhwa series. It's one of the best Karate Kid type formulas that I have encountered. Great artwork, drama, martial arts, the whole package.
I think his defeat was to be expected considering how bold and unrealistical his goal was. What happened at the end was a combined effort from both Mello and Near to take him down, which makes sense if you think about it simplistically, 2 great minds are better than 1. I'm a bit foggy on the details because it's been a while, but I enjoyed the ending. Light Yagami is still one of my favourite characters ever.
First of all, even though I had discovered Berserk recently (around 3 years ago, which is a short time compared to how many years people in this community have been around for), I quickly realized this would be the best manga I would probably ever read. I expect it to stay as my number one for a very long time to come.
That being said, currently holding the second spot would have to be Kokou no Hito (The Climber), although the Japanese title actually translates to "a solitary man". I had read it also very recently, about half a year ago and it left a fresh impact that has yet to be surpassed by something else. The manga is based on a novel with the same name, which in turn is based on a real life person by the name of Katō Buntarō who shares certain similarities with the main character. Because of this it tackles more literary themes, such as man vs self, man vs nature, adversity, self sacrifice, much like Berserk.
The story follows the life of Mori Buntarou and his heroic journey to become an exceptional mountain climber. I have to admit, the first 32 chapters don't give the best first impression. They focus on Buntarou's high school years and initiation into climbing, and they suffer from quite a couple of cliches. The artwork in the beginning is also inferior compared to the rest of the series. However, despite the somewhat misleading first quarter, it picks up abruptly for the remainder of the story.
It's a complicated story with striking art and visual symbolism, which I think is what the mangaka went for. It's a coming of age story, but not the slice of life type, it has a rather realistic/pessimistic tone to it. Even thought it's categorized as a sports series, I find it to be more of a psychological manga, but it offers a lot of insight into mountains and the sport of climbing. It does a great job at evoking powerful feelings out of the reader. I consider it to be a work of art, in the truest sense of the word.
It's a shame that it has no English publication. It was officially translated only in Italian and Chinese. I would love to have the whole physical collection in English but as of right now scans are probably the only way to read it in English.
Aside from that, other titles that I'm fond of are The Breaker and The Breaker: New Waves, which is actually a Korean manhwa series. It's one of the best Karate Kid type formulas that I have encountered. Great artwork, drama, martial arts, the whole package.
Griffith said:
I think his defeat was to be expected considering how bold and unrealistical his goal was. What happened at the end was a combined effort from both Mello and Near to take him down, which makes sense if you think about it simplistically, 2 great minds are better than 1. I'm a bit foggy on the details because it's been a while, but I enjoyed the ending. Light Yagami is still one of my favourite characters ever.
Besides my personal sentimental connection they are objectively pillars of the medium and classics.
