I only started reading manga a little over a year ago. It was a decision prompted by wanting to avoid spoilers by well-meaning friends who just want to share what they read. At that point, I was mostly just watching anime, which of course was usually more than one story arc behind than their printed counterpart.
I started with One Manga, but at that time Japanese publishers were already making a stance against fan scanlations, which the site's management decided to respect and stopped posting scanlations for most mainstream manga titles. After trying out different sites, I settled on Mangafox and Manga Stream, the latter only archiving the last few chapters of select manga titles.
So far, I have only read a few manga titles, since I decided to read each from the beginning. Considering that my choices are usually the most popular and long-running, it's an understatement to say that it took a lot of time
My current manga list are composed of the following (plot summaries and images courtesy of Mangafox and Wikipedia):
Naruto by Masashi Kinimoto. Currently at 546 chapters.
Twelve years before the events at the focus of the series, the nine-tailed demon fox attacked Konohagakure. It was a powerful demon fox; a single swing of one of its nine tails would raise tsunamis and flatten mountains. It raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until the leader of the Leaf Village - the Fourth Hokage - defeated it by sacrificing his own life to seal the demon inside a newly-born child. That child's name was Naruto Uzumaki.
The series follows the unimaginable adventures and quests of this young boy's life.
Bleach by Kubo Tite. Currently at 455 chapters.
Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Shinigami and member of the mysterious Soul Society.
While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy.
Now a full-fledged Shinigami himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits and, along with Rukia, it's Ichigo's job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace.
One Piece by Echiro Oda. Currently at 631 chapters.
Monkey D. Luffy, inspired by his childhood hero "Red-Haired" Shanks, sets out on a journey to find the legendary treasure One Piece, to become the new Pirate King, and after eating the devil's fruit gains the power to do so. To accomplish this, he must reach the end of the most deadly and dangerous ocean: The Grand Line. But first he must find a crew.
During the course of the story, the crew contend with both other less moral pirate crews and the Marines. The latter are the subordinates of the World Government, who seek justice by ending the Golden Age of Pirates.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! by Amano Akira. Currently at 344 chapters.
Tsunayoshi Sawada, or No-Good Tsuna, fails at almost everything- ball
sports, tests, quizzes, even crushes. But when he gets a home tutor,
this is where Tsuna's life begins to take a different course. His home
tutor is Reborn, an infant hitman from the Mafia from Italy who uses
spartan ways of teaching Tsuna various things. Later told by Reborn that Tsuna is the 10th Generation heir of the
strongest Mafia family in Italy, the Vongola Family, he must now find
the rightful Guardians, defeat the enemies while coping up with school,
seeing his crush and surviving Reborn's deadly teaching methods and
bullets.
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima. Currently at 242 chapters.
A young 17-year-old celestial spirit mage, Lucy Heartfilia, runs away from home and travels to the land of Fiore to join the magical Fairy Tail Guild. Along the way, she meets Natsu Dragneel, a teenage boy looking for his foster parent, a dragon named Igneel, with his best friend, Happy, a cat. Shortly after their meeting, Lucy is abducted by Bora the Prominence, who was posing as Salamander of Fairy Tail, to be sold as a slave. Natsu rescues her and reveals that he is the real Salamander of Fairy Tail and has the skills of a Dragon Slayer, an ancient magic. He offers her membership into the guild, which she gladly accepts. They, along with Happy become a team and perform various missions offered by the Fairy Tail guild.
History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi by Matsuena Syun. Currently at 437 chapters.
The story focuses on Kenichi Shirahama, an average 16-year-old high school student who has been picked on his whole life. However, on the first day of class, he meets and befriends the mysterious transfer student, Miu Fūrinji. Driven by his desire to become stronger and to protect those around him, he follows her to Ryōzanpaku, a dojo where those who are truly strong and have mastered their arts gather. He becomes a student of Ryōzanpaku, where he undergoes hellish training under the six masters.
The World God Only Knows by Wakaki Tamiki. Currently at 149 chapters.
Katsuragi Keima is known on the net as the "Capturing God" because of his ability to capture the hearts of girls in virtual dating sims. But in real life he’s known as 'Otamegane' and hates all '3D' girls, believing them inferior to girls of the game world. After unknowingly signing a contract from hell, Elsee, a devil from Hell who has heard of his legendary girl-capturing skills, comes into Keima's world and tells him about the contract he had made with hell, which is to capture the loose souls who escaped to earth. These spirits only hide in the crevices in women's hearts, and the only way to get them out is to make the host fall in love so that the gap in the heart will be filled. Keima unwillingly accepts the challenge, because if he doesn't, he will lose his head.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles by Clamp. Finished with 130 chapters.
This is the story of four travelers, bound by fate and by prophesied future. Sakura is the princess of Clow Country, and possessor of a strange power that promises to change the world. Syaoran is an aspiring archaeologist and her childhood friend. When Sakura is endangered by the plan a certain man has for the future, the princess' memories are scattered across dimensions in the form of feathers, and Syaoran is forced to go on a desperate journey to retrieve them. They are accompanied by Fay D. Flourite, a magician running from the horrible truth of his past, and Kurogane, a rough-mannered ninja trying to get back to his world. However, the ability to cross worlds demands a great price, and each of them must pay the Space-Time Witch with what he or she values most. In order to save his princess, Syaoran must give up his relationship with her. Even if he gathers all of Sakura's memories, she will never remember him...
At this time, only Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles is finished. The rest are still ongoing, and some looks like they could run for ten more years (hello, One Piece). I decided to wait until at least one of the manga titles above run its course before choosing the next manga to read. I have limited access to the internet and I still have a ton of anime to watch.
If you notice, I'm reading mostly battle mangas. And if you're thinking of reading manga, this may not suit your particular tastes, but I suggest checking out other titles and genres. Because there are a lot. I suggest visiting Mangafox or Manga Reader.
Happy reading!Labels: Bleach, Fairy Tail, HSDK, Manga, Naruto, One Piece, Reading List, Reborn, Tsubasa Chronicle, TWGOK
