CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I'm looking for some new manga. My ideal is drama, serious plots, philosophy and lots of character development.
I also don't want to read something that degrades the worth of life, e.g. that life is meaningless and it doesn't matter if we are good or bad. Nothing where the main characters are killed in the end, please!


Some titles I'm enjoying currently...
Can't Lose You
Shutter Box
Alichino


As far as content, no sex scenes and mild language [no swearing 5 times on every page -_-] Violance isn't that much of a problem.
If you could just list questional content, I may be willing to put up with somethings if it's a really good story/ and or art.
Thank you for reading this ^-^.

Here are the manga I've already read/own...

Dragon Knights 1-8
Under the Glass Moon 1,2
Pita-Ten 1-3
D.N.Angel 1-6
Fruits Basket 2-4
I.N.V.U. 1,2
The rising stars of manga #1
Naruto 1-3
Alice 19th 1
Immortal Rain 1
Bilingual Card Captor Sakura 1
Pet shop of Horrors 1,2
Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok 1
Planetes 1
Juvenile Orion 1-5
Planet Ladder 1-7
Shonen jump for April
The Wall Flower 1
Last Fantasy 1
Flower of the Deep Sleep 1,2
Qwan 1
Imadoki 1,2
XXX Holic 1
My Cat Loki 1
D.Gray Man 1,2
Jing: King of Bandits Twilight Tales 1-3
Alichino 1-3
Bizenghast 1,2
Shutter Box 1-3
Full Moon wo Sagashite 1,2
Directions of Destiny 1
Tactics 1,2
Tsubasa 1-9
Black Cat 1-4
Ghost Hunt 1-4
+Anima 1
Can't Lose You 1,2
Her Majesty's Dog 1-4

Deathnote,Deathnote,Deathnote,Deathnote and once again DEATHNOTE!!!

Rurouni Kenshin is decent.. it's pretty violent though

If I were you, I would stick with the series you have! Immortal Rain, FMWS, and Fruits Baskets ARE VERY GOOD TITLES

Except..Later in the FB series...

[spoiler] there is an implied sex scene between a couple of characters. [/spoiler]

If you want something philosophical and psychological. Serious drama and plot (And characters that look more like-like) check out Urasawa Naoki's Monster. They are currently at volume 5. Trust me. You do not want to miss out on Monster. Some sexual situations (Minor nudity) though it's shown in a realistic light (As in no fanservice) such as prostitution rings and human drama. (None that is glorified) No rampant swearing either.

Yes it's better than death note XD

I second DeathNote and Monster. I'd also recommend Diamon Head, but you can only get that online thru scanlations, so if you're looking for books to buy that's not an option. I'd definitely recommend DeathNote though. It's AMAZING. Although the end may not be what you're looking for.... the series is "genius" anyways.

In Deathnote the main character is evil right? it just sounded darker than I'd want to get into...

I don't like fruits basket, I really tried but I just can't stand Toru.

FMWS I liked, maybe I'll get more of it. It's just the art isn't really my taste.

Immortal Rain had allot of swearing in it, I also noticed pretty realistic nudity in the second volume so I don't know if I would want to read more.

Monster sounds interesting though.

One thing I have struggled with for a long time is depression, I felt horrible [and was crying] for weeks after I saw the end of Cowboy Bebop. Just to give you an idea...

Firefighter!: Diago of Fire Company M, by Masahito Soda.

I've read two non-consecutive volumes of this, and could not be more impressed. It's not a romance manga, but it's heartwarming, fast-paced, and divided into episodes with great action and emotional appeal.


P.S. It's not dirty at all, unless the other volumes change it a way lot.

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:If you want something philosophical and psychological. Serious drama and plot (And characters that look more like-like) check out Urasawa Naoki's Monster. They are currently at volume 5. Trust me. You do not want to miss out on Monster. Some sexual situations (Minor nudity) though it's shown in a realistic light (As in no fanservice) such as prostitution rings and human drama. (None that is glorified) No rampant swearing either.

Yes it's better than death note XD

i TOTALLY second that. (maybe that's because i'm actually an opposer of death note. it's not my type of manga) you should definitely read Monster. you could also try 20th century boys (nudity is around the same area as Monster cause it's the same author). here are some other suggestions:
hunter x hunter
eyeshield 21
fullmetal alchemist (the manga's way better than the anime. seriously. IMO.)
getbackers (quite a deal of fanservice here and also a lot of swearing so be warned. somehow, i still find this manga to be really interesting and i still enjoy the manga.)

Thanks for the sugestions ^-^ I'll have to go to the bookstore soon.
There were some titles I was interested in getting,
Dokebi Bride by Marley
AEGIS by Jinha Yoo
Real Lies by Si-Young Lee
Night of the Beasts by Chika Shiomi
ES by Fuyumi Soryo
Tokyopop has gotten a number of Mitsukazu Mihara's books so I was looking into those.
Has anyone read these?

Tennis No Ouiji-Sama (Prince of Tennis)
or Mega Man NT Warrior
Mega Man so far (Volume 9) is completely clean of Sex (Well they are Computer Programs after all) and clean of Swearing completely
Prince of Tennis from what I've read ('Bout 5-6 Volumes) is clean except for a little cursing) But I highly recommend the Mega Man Manga ^^

OHH! I remember that scene...^^; I forgot it because I took a pen and gaver her a swimsuit...>_<

I went to the bookstore and looked at some of the titles mentioned,
Firefighter!: Diago of Fire Company M, by Masahito Soda. [I couldn’t find it}
Hunter x hunter [The art was a little to simple, the characters didn't look appealing to me]
Eyeshield 21 [Similar to HxH}
Getbackers [to much fanservice -_- and the art didn't really impress me]
Urasawa Naoki's Monster [the story sounds interesting, art wasn't my favorite but I think I'll give it a try]

Sorry I'm so picky -_-; any other suggestions?

[quote="mai"]Hunter x hunter [The art was a little to simple, the characters didn't look appealing to me]
Eyeshield 21 [Similar to HxH}
Getbackers [to much fanservice -_- and the art didn't really impress me]
Urasawa Naoki's Monster [the story sounds interesting, art wasn't my favorite but I think I'll give it a try]

Sorry I'm so picky -_-]

wow. looks like art is a really big deal to you. allow me to return your reasons with some replies of my own.

hunter x hunter - the art gets better as the story progresses. if you don't think so, then simply forget that the art is simple and focus on the aspects the manga cool. the characters REALLY develop as the story progresses. the manga progresses at quite a rapid pace so it's essential to start on the first volume. the artist is actually a veteran artist, yoshiro togashi, author of yu yu hakusho. his art can be both simple at times, but at other times, extremely detailed. it all depends on the mood of the event. it would be wise to read from the first volume so you would notice the vast change of the art as the volumes progress.

eyeshield 21 - the art also gets better as the story progresses. WAY better. the characters become more interesting also as the story progresses. more characters get revealed later on in the series and the plot thickens dramatically later on. lots of character development with extremely original character designs and plot. keep reading the manga and you'll start to get hooked (unless football really isn't your thing). it would be wise here, also to start from the first volume and make your way up if you would want to play victim to the full change in the art from the first volume to the latest.

getbackers - not much to say here. true, lots of fanservice and language (i did warn you) but getbackers is sorta a personal pick of mine. i don't know many people who like this manga but the people who do like it a lot. a lot of this manga depends on your taste not only for action but also for characters. i really like the characters in this manga. the art is pretty scratchy or whatever but that doesn't really faze me. the battles however are spectacular and very well done.

monster - at least you're considering monster. it doesn't matter if the art's not your type. the story alone should make it a must read. the characters are actually more realistic and not as anime like. very, VERY well done setting design especially for a manga that doesn't take place in japan. urasawa definitely did his studying there. an amazing storyline and great characters/development should really make this manga enjoyable to you.

I personally enjoy books more than comics so if I don't like the art I probably wont spend my money on it, my favorite book is The Count of Monty Cristo [quite a big book too].
I'll take another look at Hunter x hunter and Eyeshield 21 I did look at the latest volume of each.

mai wrote:I'll take another look at Hunter x hunter and Eyeshield 21 I did look at the latest volume of each.

glad to hear that. guess my provacation took effect in the earlier post.

i just started + Anima. its about these people who are shunned because tehy are part animals. the main caracter is a boy who is part crow and how he gains friends like him on the way. its a really great manga so far. course i have only read the first book.

Fullmetal Alchemist is a pretty good one to read. There's not really any fanservice (a small bit, but it's not distracting). Some bloody parts, but overall there's nothing terribly offensive.

Finish Immortal Rain plz. It's finally concluding in November!

There's not a lot of swearing, and there's only one shot of nudity--it's not fanservice and I'm really not sure why it is there.

But it's really good aaaaaah!

I'll have to input for the Fullmetal Alchemist manga as well. It is a really good series, much better than the anime. A few scenes may seem a bit depressing, but there's usually something more lighthearted thrown in now-and-then to keep things balanced.

I would put in my usual One Piece plug, but I don't know if it would be your style. It is a good epic series, but more light-hearted than it is "philosophical" or anything (though it does have a few well-done dramatic scenes, if that's of any interest...).

mai wrote:I personally enjoy books more than comics so if I don't like the art I probably wont spend my money on it, my favorite book is The Count of Monty Cristo [quite a big book too].
I'll take another look at Hunter x hunter and Eyeshield 21 I did look at the latest volume of each.

If you perfer books over comics you would really like Monster even more. Despite being a manga, it's more "bookish" than "comic-ish".

SirThinks2Much wrote:Finish Immortal Rain plz. It's finally concluding in November!

There's not a lot of swearing, and there's only one shot of nudity--it's not fanservice and I'm really not sure why it is there.

But it's really good aaaaaah!

How is the over all feel, depressing or encouraging?

Every book has a philosophy behind it.

I'll get Monster ^-^

mai wrote:I'll get Monster ^-^

YES! monster is the BOMB! anyways, i already recommended fullmetal alchemist but i'll rerecommend it since it's really good.

Looking over your list, I suggest Rurouni Kenshin. Yeah, it's long, but it's really good. The language is scarce (and it's practically non-existent once you get into the Kyoto Arc), there's hardly any sexual content (there's a trans later on, but he's a "bad guy", is looked down upon, and doesn't have that big of a part anyways), and the art is quite good (vols. 1 and 2 *but 1, mostly* don't have the greatest art, and Kenshin basically has a fro, but the art makes GREAT improvements throughout the 28-volume series, and it's very good at the end). Since violence doesn't bother you, this one shouldn't be a problem. I suggest you check it out, if you're willing to invest X-number of dollars on 28 8 dollar volumes. XD And it's not depressing either, so you should enjoy it.

I'm also going to suggest that you keep reading Full Moon wo Sagashite. Faaaantastic manga. XD It gets really wonderful after vol. 2, although it does have some sad parts...the overall ending is quite happy, though.

Hope that helped!

Thanks ^-^
I'll look at FMA, Immortal Rain and Rurouni Kenshin.

Looks like Full Moon wo Sagashite and Monster are what I'll get ^-^

To answer your question about Death Note earlier, yes Light is evil. I could gush for a long time about the series, but what's so great about it is that it follows the villain. And it QUESTIONS. Is Kira/Light right to be killing the criminals? Is L right for trying to stop him? And above all that it's a highly intellectual comic merely in the way it's executed. The characters are also brilliant, so it's exciting to read their deductions and plans.

In a nutshell - yes, Death Note follows the "bad guy" but he's not portrayed as the good guy. The whole story is the conflict between him and L over who is truly justice, and it's very thought provoking. I've never made it all the way through monster, but I definitely got through Death Note. So... yeah... at least check it out. Do a sit and read at Barnes and Nobles or something and look through the first volume.

On a COMPLETELY seperate note, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books too.

mai wrote:How is the over all feel, depressing or encouraging?

Every book has a philosophy behind it.

I'll get Monster ^-^

Ahhh. It is both depressing and encouraging. Lots of psychological horror (well... sort of horror) A GREAT antagonist. He's like one of the best antagonist in existence. He would make Hannibal Lector cry with fear.

And there is a philosophy behind it, but I'm not saying a word =p

And btw, itll start off slow. The first 3/4ths of volume 1 seem kind of boring and pointless. Just you wait =D Juuuust you wait.

If you want, look in the anime reviews for monsters. I posted it up there. (And the manga and anime are 99.9999% identical)

Edit: I thought you were talking about Monster for a second there I'm refering to Monster, nor Immortal Rain.