Unsurprisingly, I’ve not read many of PW’s recommendations, though I do agree with one of their choices: MPD Psycho.
So … gritty (ok, it was downright violent) was the book that I thought for sure that it had been banned from Malaysia. But when I saw it in Kino, and with two volumes at a 30% discount, it made my Christmas!
Here are the best manga that I’ve discovered this year (not all are published this year):
Inubaka
Filled with cute doggies (even if they look rather soulless), and terribly educational for dog owners, this manga is pure fun, fluff and just fantastic. Ok, I’m biased cos I collect any dog book/comic/novel that comes my way, but trust me. I love it, even if it has an annoying female heroine (she catches dog poop with her hands and exclaims in delight while doing so!).
MPD Psycho
Generally, my taste veers towards the macabre and ghoulish, and MPD Psycho is right up my alley. Besides the gorgeous art, there’s this delicious premise: A detective with a split personality disorder. One personality is a detective another is a … serial killer. Conflict of interest, no? And I’ve not even mentioned the other personalities he has!
Mail
Mail reminds me of the old American comic, Tales from the Crypt, where there’s a good ol’ ghost story with every issue. Mail is the same, only, dare I say, creepier. Somehow, there’s something about ghost kids that freak me out. And Housui Yamazaki has a over fondness for tragic, murdered children. There is a ghost buster to save the day, however: A self-assured guy in a trench coat whose weapon of choice is a gun that fires ‘blessed’ bullets. The concept behind Mail is that ghosts can’t help being the vicious monsters that they are – they just need to be cleansed. Terrific fun, this, but I’d advise reading it while you’re alone in your apartment!
Emma
I never could understand why maids are such a thing in the anime/manga circles. Perhaps I’m not the right gender to appreciate the … er, aesthetic qualities of a girl dressed up in a black uniform and a frilly white apron. If I had not watched the anime first, I probably would’ve avoided the manga like a plague, but luckily, I realised that Emma was a simple Victorian love story between a gentleman and a maid. There are no fanservice, no icky lecherous old men or other usual anime/manga devices to spoil the fun. Instead, there is Kaoru Mori’s deliciously detailed depiction of Victorian England. A must-get for the art and the story.
My wife and I will have to get a copy of Inubaka since we’re dog fanatics