Manga Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [Week 5]

This is a really tough question to answer. Manga (and Korean manhwa) do have a lot more volume and variety of series that are published in my experience compared to Western graphic novels and comics. However, because of that, every type of story that exists in fiction is represented in some way within the genre. So, if you decide to try out a manga, but don't connect with it in a couple chapters, I would just quickly move on. Don't get bogged down in a series that you don't click with very quickly as there are so many fish in the proverbial sea.

The easy place to start is if you have any anime that you have watched and liked, there are likely lots of manga that are similar to that. Usually, only the most popular manga/novels get an anime adaptation, but for every one that gets adapted, there are loads more that never make the leap off the page.

Below I have made some broad suggestions that I have liked over the years. I suggest reading synopses and picking out series that sound interesting to you. To help ease the barrier to entry, I only chose series which are available on mangadex. Many of them have anime adaptations as well if that seems like a simpler way to consume them.

Romcom

• Pseudo Harem
• Tomo-chan is a Girl
• Horimiya
• The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
• Sweat and Soap

Fantasy

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
• Delicious in Dungeon - I haven't personally read this, but it is universally recommended and I fully intend on reading it after the currently airing anime finishes

Harem (Yes, this is a whole separate genre from other romance)

• The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
• We Never Learn
• Quintissential Quintuplets

Slice of Life (Often some crossover with Romance)

• Assemble! Mysterious Research Club
• Invasion! Squid Girl
• Komi Can't Communicate

Action (I don't read too many of these tbh)

• One Punch Man
• Omniscient Reader
• Vinland Saga - I haven't read this, but my wife has and loves it.
• Blade of the Immortal - Another wife recommendation. The early volumes aren't on mangadex, so you would have to find them elsewhere, but she said it's worth it and I can't bring myself to disagree ¯(ツ)_/¯

Isekai (this is a very broad genre, here are just a couple different types)

• The Eminence in Shadow - basically the One Punch Man of isekai, parodies the entire genre the same way OPM does the superhero genre
• Campfire Cooking in Another World - a slow-paced, cooking focused isekai
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - This is pretty much a "by the book" isekai without the added controversy baggage that comes with Mushoku Tensei and a bit easier to follow story than Tsukimichi (which Slime was heavily inspired by).

Villianess/Otome

• My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
• Villainess Level 99
• Endo and Kobayashi's Live Commentary on the Villainess

There are many other types of series out there just like you would see in other mediums as well (mystery, drama, etc.). Feel free to lurk and check out series that people post and catch up if a synopsis catches your attention.

It is sometimes easy to forget that the people writing these stories we consume are humans with all the emotions that come with that. These works, despite the commercial nature of manga publication, are really outlets of creative expression for the authors. Sometimes the things they want to express can evolve over time, be very dark, or change suddenly on a whim. I have certainly come across series in the past in which there is a big narrative turn at some point deep into the story and it makes you wonder if something happened to the author irl.

As for the other two you list, I have seen both recommended before, so I will have to try to find some time to check them out. They certainly check all the boxes to get me interested: cats ✅, sci-fi slice of life ✅.