Are you contemplating rereading something? Your post isn’t very clear.
I second the request for more details.
- What was the issue that stopped you from reading?
- Are you looking for recommendations or just reasons to give it another go?
- Are you interested in something specific (theme, genre, art style)?
All in all, how can we help?
- The parts that made me cringe.
- I’m looking for both: what are some classic manga I can read on Hoopla and why should I read manga these days if it outsells comics?
- “Anything old and lively.” -John Kricfalusi Probably old and classic titles from years ago. Like, Osamu Tezuka old. And other mangaka.
Just as long as it’s not mainstream shonen or fetishbait or with fanservice or pushes anything.
- A little vague and hard to approach. Manga, just like western comics/books/movies/etc is such a broad medium you’ll always find something you won’t like. It’s pretty much a case of learning what to avoid.
- Following from above, why? Because like in other types of media you can find some fantastic stories that might resonate with you. Or to engage with topics approached from a different cultural point of view. Or maybe just to enjoy the art. There are many reasons people love manga (and yes, stupid and/or fetishistic series are what some people look for).
- I’d be lying if I said I’m knowledgeable enough to suggest some older classics. I’ll leave this one to the veterans.
Now onto suggestions…
I’m not familiar with Hoopla but here are two series found from a quick glance:
- A Silent Voice - story about bullying, repentance and healing. Can be pretty rough.
- Blame! - is a sci-fi series consisting of a lot of wordless walking through a deserted mega structure punctured by occasional fight scene. I don’t remember it being too edgy but it’s been a while since I touched it.
If you’re willing to check elsewhere, whether it would be on Mangadex or official apps, I could also suggest:
- Girls’ Last Tour - a post post post apocalyptic story about two girls traveling through ruins of a dying world. It’s a slower, contemplative series about existence and various mundane things humans don’t think about.
- Sousou no Frieren (Frieren at the Funeral) - one of the big ongoing series at the moment. A more… thoughtful (?) take on fantasy with focus on human relations. Limited action, big on joy of adventure and nostalgia.
- The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún - story about a young girl living with a wendigo-like caretaker. Pretty unique art style.
I think these should be relatively safe to try out.
Edit: I’ve seen you mention being a christian and disliking some themes because of that. Is there anything specific you’d like to avoid?
Thank you. I’d like to avoid manga that deals with immoral, explicit, or weird subject matter that the Bible probably prohibits depending on what it is.
To be fair, I do know some good manga already:
Astro Boy - Osamu Tezuka Black Jack - Osamu Tezuka Demon Slayer - Koyoharu Gotouge Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure - Hirohiko Araki Franken Fran - Katsuhisa Kigitsu Sankarea: Undying Love - Mitsuru Hattori
I’m heavily considering rereading Jojo and I at least respect Sankarea before it took a detour and I like Demon Slayer for being genuine.
Franken Fran is just another series I discovered and enjoy as a horror manga because it works.
Astro Boy and Black Jack are both definitely classics having been written by the Father of Manga himself before Dragon Ball developed.
I like old works for that matter because I personally believe they hold up better but there are some modern gems too that I respect.
Zombie Land Saga was the franchise that disrespected zombies in favor of ‘cute’ idol girls being conjured up by a maniacal mastermind who thinks he can ‘save’ Saga by tampering with the dead to appease his recently died classmate which I consider evil regardless if the girls learn to perform on stage as pop stars like Sakura and there are even characters investigating the case while the series focuses on just ‘cute’ idol girls.
It also shied me away from the two mediums because of my gut instinct of how wrong it is but I at least created my own zombie OC apart from the series who acts more like a zombie than even Tae Yamada who’s just supposed to be that.
But I understand you don’t know the classics.
Maybe you could suggest manga-reading apps?
I read Shonen Jump and Azuki for example…
OK, in that case I don’t think stuff from my post will be a problem - especially considering titles you mentioned (thanks for that btw, I’ll have more things to check out myself).
I forgot to ask but what phone system are we talking about? I use Mihon with this extension file (basically, content sources), but it’s Android only.
Most of the things I read aren’t licensed in English but the official apps I know about are:
- Manga Plus
- Viz
- Shonen Jump (already mentioned)
Can’t say too much about them unfortunately, as my main combo consists of Mihon + physical copies.
I’m iOS.
I’ve seen a question about iOS apps some time ago and if I remember correctly there’s no great choice beyond the official apps. The poster asking last time ended up using Mangadex website as PWA (“installing” site as an app from the browser menu). Depending on where you are this could be an option, though I think Apple decided to screw with that functionality in EU recently.
I’m actually in the USA, but I prefer to read and support the creators myself, or the library and/or bookstore in my opinion.
Are you referring to just manga websites where you read manga on your computer instead?
As a general rule I just try to work out if an activity adds more to my life than it takes away when deciding how to spend my time. Is there something you’d rather be doing? Is reading manga affecting your mental state?
If only some manga makes you feel bad, consider asking for recommendations and if something bothers you just stop. If you feel bad because of social pressure or something, another general rule for me is as long as you aren’t hurting yourself or others then do what makes you happy. In the interest of free speech, others can state their opinion if they want and piss off if they become bullies about it.
I want to read more comics but I’m heavily considering reading manga as well.
There might be manga to read, but I originally considered reading comics to keep it alive because anime and manga are getting bigger.
I want characters like Batman and Spider-Man to survive while I was trying to recover from anime.
Zombie Land Saga is what made me shy away from what it was pushing (minors, necromancy, zombification, transgenderism) as a Christian.
So now I’m just trying to recover from that.
Why would you start reading something called Zombie Land Saga where the main character becomes a zombie almost instantly if you weren’t into zombification? You had plenty of warning signs.
And why did you lump transgenderism in with minors? They aren’t remotely similar, and it’s worrying you seem to think they are.
No, wait…I’m perfectly alright with zombies.
Just not humans zombifying each other like they’re voodoo priests, whether dead or alive.
Zombies, I think, can come to life themselves.
I meant Kotaro conjured up a bunch of minors.
Transgenderism isn’t related to that, I meant.
That is probably a sensitive topic for us.
You said it was pushing minors and transgenderism, and you shy away from that as a christian. All too often, “pushing transgenderism” just means acknowledging the reality that they exist, and putting it in the same group as “pushing minors” creates a very disturbing equivelance. And I don’t know why you’d shy from trans representation as a christian, given how the bible doesn’t say a damn thing about trans people.
I probably didn’t say that right, then.
My apologies.
I sometimes choose the wrong words.
Manga is a broad medium. I would either scroll around and see what you like and drop it if it’s not good or ask for suggestions with some aspects you want. There’s lots of trash but when you find some good ones, it’s a great feeling.
