Top 10 Manga I Should Read

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Hello ladies and gentlemen!

Way back in high school, I used to voraciously devour all kinds of manga and anime. They were easy to get into, original, beautiful and addictive to the say the least. I steered away from them over the past years thinking that I wasn’t going to miss out on anything big and that I had probably seen the best of the best already.

Boy was I wrong.

Almost a decade later I have decided to dive back into this universe and have been recently enjoying some really amazing stuff. I’ve come to realize that I was far from having seen it all. There’s so much to check out!

Good thing it’s never too late to rekindle your love for past things, right?

In the same vein as my Top 10 Young Adult Books I Should Read, I wanted to share with everyone 10 manga (that are probably also anime), that I can’t wait to dive into.

Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo

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Did you know the movie is 30 years old this year? I’m a bit ashamed that I haven’t already dived into this one already. I’ll definitely be fixing this one pretty soon.

Psycho-Pass

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With Blade Runner vibes, how exactly can you go wrong with this one? I’m much more intrigued in the anime since it came out first and all the manga are spin-offs, but they still sound like a lot of fun!

My Hero Academia

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Anything related to superheroes will probably pique my curiosity instantly, but this series has me drooling from all the praise it has received!

Tokyo Ghoul

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The sequel to this one (Tokyo Ghoul: re) recently got turned into an anime, making this series a must-read! I honestly don’t know how I was oblivious to its existence. Then again, I could probably say that to a lot of things… 🤣

Assassination Classroom

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If you’ve never heard of this one, just take a moment to check out the blurb. It’s pure seduction! I’m dying to find out what goes on in this series! 😲

Sword Art Online

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I’ve mentioned in the past that I was secretly a gamer. There’s no surprise that I’m interested in this one when you’ve got a whole video game plot surrounding it! It’s one of the most popular series I’ve seen around lately too!

Mob Psycho 100

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I recently finished watching and reading (I’m up to date) with One-Punch Man. It is easily one of the best thing to have ever been released. And then to find out the writer of One-Punch Man is also behind Mob Psycho 100? Count me in.

Fate/Zero

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The inner past-me squealed at the whole action fantasy vibe this one has. It not only looks beautiful, it sounds brilliant! 😍

Steins;Gate 0

Steins;Gate 0 Volume 1 | Manga

I’m sort of cheating here since the manga isn’t actually released in paperback, but since I really enjoyed the original Steins;Gate and saw the OVA movie, this sequel is high priority for me! 😁

Attack on Titan

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Also cheating here since I recently started the manga and the anime. The first volume left a sour taste, but after consulting some friends regarding this series, I was convinced that the real deal is all in the anime. And they were not wrong. Beautiful adaptation! Can’t wait to complete this manga/anime now! 😁

I’ll probably share some of my favourite manga in the future, but I would love to hear what your thoughts are on these!

Do you also have any particular recommendations? I’m a sucker for those! 🤣

Till next time,

lashaansignature

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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

62 thoughts on “Top 10 Manga I Should Read”

    1. Oh yes, I do remember that beautiful collection you got your hands on. Clearly it was an indicator of your love for it. You never attempted to watch the movie though? That’s a bit shocking. Although something tells me you don’t have a huge interest in animations (based on an indirect comment you once said about the animated DC movie of Under the Red Hood). Any particular reason for having only seen half of the first season of AoT? Or just a question of time? And not something to do with the show?

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      1. I did watch the movie Akira. It was my first intro to the franchise and it didn’t give a very good impression. The movie is a mess of a storyline. It was produced well before the manga was finished too, so the plot points diverge widely. Now that I’ve read, and loved, the manga, I might appreciate the movie more. But that first impression still turns me away.

        I’ve been an anime fan since roughly 2000 and have several hundred dvd’s of various series. So attack on titan was just more of the same.
        In all honesty, my perspective on anime changed once I got married. I slowly stopped needing it and am glad to let another generation enjoy it. That, and my tv watching has dropped so much.

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      2. Ouuuh, that’s really interesting. I’ve always assumed fans of Akira all loved without any hesitation both movie and manga. I’ll be looking forward to it. Yeh, I sort of went through that phase as I finished high school. Here I am revisiting that world. Not sure if it’ll last forever now, but it’s nice to check it out occasionally. A break from every other genre/medium. 😂

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  2. Wow: you do realise that I loved this post right. Some of my favorite animes are gathered here together (Yes I know the post is about the mangas lol 😂). But still…
    I haven’t read the mangas (yet), but all of these are really great ones, so this is a nice selection. As far as recommendations go: I would recommend: I am a hero ( zombie apocalypse…but quite different than usual, and the art is gorgeous) and Monster ( am currently at volume 5 of this one and it’s amazing. Really enjoyed this post!! 😀Happy reading 😉

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    1. I had a feeling you’d love this post and would 100% vouch for these manga/anime. 😁 I’m definitely far behind though and will probably not catch up to all of these in a very long time, especially since I’m reading these sporadically. I haven’t heard of I am a Hero but I’ll definitely look into it. As for Monster, I might have mentioned already that I had seen it back in the day, but I definitely hope to check it out again with my more “mature” mindset! 😂 Thanks for sharing, my man! Happy reading to you too!

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      1. Yep, you mentioned that (I just love the manga so much, I keep promoting it any chance I get 😂😂).
        It’s okay, I am having a hard time keeping up with things too. I still haven’t completed Monster yet either. Take all the time you need 😊😊

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  3. I haven’t read any manga, don’t shoot me! But you’re tempting me, Lashaan. I did just get a novel for review based on Attack on Titan and I’m really curious about it. I hope you get to read all these!

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    1. Hahaha no worries! I already know how busy you are with novels already anyways! You really should give comic books/graphic novels/manga a shot someday. At least one per month! Just to see how you fair with them. Ouuuuuh, what’s the novel called? Definitely piqued my curiosity there!

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  4. Yaaaay!!! It’s so funny, I decided to do the same a few months ago! 😂 I used to read so many mangas in high school, then I forgot a bit about it and now I really want to get back on track! 😂😍
    So you have my full support for this initiative 😁
    I agree with your list since a lot of people recommended me the same mangas! 😊 Psycho-pass is the one I’m the most excited to read !
    I’ve started Tokyo Ghoul but was kind of disturbed with the fact that all the delicious food tastes bad when you’re a ghoul (yeah that’s a weird thing 😂) so I stopped but I intend to give it another try! Assassination Classroom is pretty funny but I think I haven’t finished it yet… And I had the highest expectations about sword art online (the plot sounded incredible) but I think I watched a short version of the anime so it was kind of weird, I should give it a second try as well!

    Anyway this comment is already way too long and now I want to watch an anime 😂 one of my personal favourite and super famous manga as well is Death Note, if you haven’t read it, give it a try! 😄

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    1. Haahhahah! Amazing how you’re on the exact same boat as me on that regard! 😱 I really did enjoy my time with manga and anime during high school, until all my friends started to steer towards those less known series, which sort of also got me to go discover other things. Sort of sad that I dropped them completely though. Especially now that I know there are some really good ones I’ve been missing out on! Hopefully we’ll both have a blast rekindling our passion for these. 😁😁 Hahahah your love for food really played a big role there, didn’t it 😂 Ohhh, I do wonder what exactly you saw of SOA. There’s a bunch of spin-offs for it if I stand correct too. No worries about the length of your comments hahahah I actually love when they’re long as hell. A true testament of uncontrolled passion for something. 😁😂 As for Death Note, it is one of my all-time favourite series too. 😂 It has everything I love in it. Clever and brilliant! The japanese movies were also pretty awesome. I’ve been avoiding the Netflix movie though… too much hate around it has me too scared to try it. Have you? 😂

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      1. Yes exactly! 😂 But I have to say that catching up with anime and manga is time consuming so not sure how long it will take 😂😂
        I watched SOA on Netflix but didn’t understand why it was so weird. Maybe it was a spin-off!

        Hahaha there are some things that you shouldn’t get me started on 😂
        Death Note is truly one of the best manga in my opinon! 😊 The japanese movies are great but the Netflix movie… I made the biggest mistake in my whole life when I decided to watch it… 😔 Trust me, I never had a stronger feeling of waisting my time than when I watched it 😂 and I do a lot of useless things 😂 that’s how bad it was! It was even worst than what I expexted 😂 Have you watched the trailer? I mean, you can try to watch it, but be prepared 😂
        Can’t wait to see your post about your favourites 😄

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      2. I saw the trailer. I was skeptic. And then I saw some characters being portrayed differently, and found myself curious of the show ONLY for Willem Defoe and his portrayal of Ryuk. It looked and sounded really nice! But it wasn’t enough for me to try the movie to this day. Who knows, maybe I’ll take on the challenge sooner rather than later 😂

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  7. Man , the way these people can draw is always jawdroppingly awsome. I believe the first anome I ever saw way back when was Giant Robo. I was hooked. Sadly manga in South Africa was never big untill marvel came out and any tipe of comic was being sold at a very high price.

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    1. You’re right! Same thing for comic books/graphic novels. Some people have insane talent! I’ve never heard of Giant Robo but based on what I just looked up, it seems pretty interesting! Aw man, accessibility is definitely an unfortunate problem. I guess everything becoming digital is a nice way to make it easier to get your hands on these nowadays. And yes. Comic books today are way more expensive than what they used to be. Not something easy to get into, unless you’re willing to spend a lot of money! 😂

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  8. I haven’t actually ever read any manga (I doubt I will either I’m afraid to say, I suppose never say never but at the moment it’s not a genre that really interests me) but when I was in high school there was this manga ‘trend’ that kind of went round where it seems like everyone in my year was reading and loving it. I hope you enjoy all these books on your list Lashaan, and even though it doesn’t apply to me when it comes to manga I definitely agree it’s never too late to rekindle your love of past things. 😀
    Great post as well, and happy reading. 🙂

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    1. Is there a reason why you almost believe you’ll never read any? I do recall you enjoyed some of the YA novel graphic novel adaptations though! They surely couldn’t have made you not want to pick up a manga or comic book in your life!

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    1. What! They’re quite easy to get into and usually very fast-paced too! Only thing is that you have to read left to right (unless you have some kind of special Americanized version of it). 😂 Glad to offer you a place to start then! I’m sure at least one of these will be to your taste!

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  10. Oh nice! i don’t really read manga, but love watching anime! I am watching ‘Yuri on Ice’ and ‘Dragon Ball Super’ atm 😀

    Tried out ‘Sword Art Online’ as well as ‘Attack on Titan’ but it was both not for me.

    ‘Fate/Zero’ looks cool! I put it on my list

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    1. I’m a huge fan of the origin DBZ! But like most manga/anime, I dropped that series. Dragon Ball Super is actually high on my priority list too, although it’s still a lot of catching up hahahah What didn’t work for you with SAO and AoT? 😱 If the anime of AoT didnt work for you, I definitely recommend NOT checking out the manga. 😂 Glad to add a new one to your list though! I’ve heard great things about the whole Fate/Zero world!

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  12. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read any of these mangas (I’M SORRY) but I did start watching SAO and Steins;Gate. I just have to finish them, and for some reason have forgotten to do it. There’s just not enough hours in the day T_T But thanks for this awesome list, Lashaan, I’ll be sure to check the other ones as well ^^ Glad to see you’ve come back to manga after ten years!

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    1. No worries, Sophie! 😉 I’m actually pretty glad to hear you’ve started both of those anime though! For Steins;Gate, I have to let you know that the anime truly has you hooked once you reach the halfway point (around ep. 12). That’s when you’ll have been fully immersed and connected to the characters. It is my pleasure to share this with everyone. It helps remind me that I’m way behind in a bunch of thing. Although I don’t really need a post to remind me of that on a daily basis hahahah 😂

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      1. I assumed so, considering it’s one of those animes on everyone and their mom’s lists! It’s definitely a slow start but I’m hoping to get hooked pretty soon 🙂 Will heed your advice and keep pushing forward!
        It’s great to read about something other than books every once in a while. After all, we’re not just bookish creatures – we are far more complex 😛

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      1. I loved the first arc, it was set up so well!! But i felt a bit cheated when mid-way through the series, the plot took a 180-turn. First the creator of the game traps all the players until someone completes all the levels and then he suddenly changes his mind and the story basically descends from there..and i didn’t care too much for the predictable tsundere romance ….(Sorry for the mini rant) 😊😅😅

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    1. An AoT fan?! 😁 Yep, the manga will always be way ahead, and since it’s an ongoing series, you can probably expect to always be ahead of the anime! I saw the first couple of episodes and can definitely say its pretty epic. Greatly improved the manga if you ask me! 😂

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  16. I have read very little manga, but I still working on Naruto. I have decided I won’t start another one until I actually finish that series or it will never happen, I just finished volume 12 today actually. Just another 60 togo haha.

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    1. I read Naruto back in the day and watched the anime (both the original run and shipuuden) but stopped at some point in the series. I got friends telling me how great it is towards the end and how awesome Boruto is nowadays. I’m contemplating the idea of rereading the series now. 😂 Good luck with your own personal challenge!

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  17. Your list had some I never heard of! Watched Mob Psych 100, the Japanese anime, season 1. It was filled with Japanese humor, sometimes dorky, but it was a lot of fun. Also watched Sword Art online anime, season 1&2. Fate/Zero looks intriguing. Always wanted to read Attack on Titan. Waiting for the next Tokyo Ghoul:re to come out. ♥️ So glad you decided to get back reading manga. Sometimes I find I like the anime better. Either way I love the art and stories.

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    1. Whaaat?! Anime that Dani don’t know of?! Glad to put some on your radar or at least let you know about their existence then! 😂 Jap humour sure can get quite dorky indeed hahaha Sort of got used to it over the years hahah So glad to hear you enjoyed many of them though. Got any recs as an expert in the genre?? 😏😍😂

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  18. So many amazing choices, I don’t even know what to say!! I have enjoyed most of these (Sword Art fell off a bit after a while in my opinion… I hope Raistlin doesn’t follow you, he’ll kill me and cry for saying that…) I haven’t got into MHA, but 90% of my staff at work SWEARS by it, so I’ll have to get to it eventually! The rest are SO GOOD!! 😁 I hope you enjoy them!

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    1. Michel does follow me and I wouldn’t be surprised if he has already killed you! 😱😱😱 Please let me know if you’re still alive. 😂 I’m getting the same kind of praise for MHA! I need to start that one ASAP! Hope you’ll enjoy those that you haven’t tried and plan on trying someday! 😁

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      1. Ha ha!! Well, Michel and I are stalkers in crime… Not partners because we stalk each other…. So, we don’t know what else to call each other…. If you look at his feed, it’s getting unhealthy… For everyone else. It suits us just fine!! 😂😂😂 Well, hopefully you and I will enjoy MHA together, then… It has to happen sometime! 😉

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  20. You’re definitely gonna love My Hero Academia. The series is a blast and has done a good job of fleshing out so many characters. The series does hit a bit of a slump with its latest arc, but it’ll likely be bouncing back any week now and in volume format it should really help make the pacing on point.

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  22. This is just one more set of interesting reads that will take a while for me to even look into, although as I had previously mentioned, I was going to attempt to come up with an anime character and story line. This was when I so badly wanted to do animation.

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