Favorite manga
This is a list of manga that I'm particularly fond of. You'll have to figure out a way to read them yourself.
Anime VS manga
Many/all of these series have been adapted into an anime version. Generally speaking my opinion is that anime is worse than it's manga counterpart. That's not true for all anime universally, some anime is very well done and popular series tend to get a higher production budget and more skilled animation studios, some anime get produced by animators who have more passion towards the series which shows in the end result, but in the majority of cases:
- The anime has less detailed plot and dialogue
- The art is less detailed and lower quality, which especially stands out if the animation is low quality because all the movement is awkward
- The weird Japanese taste in character design colors feel more weird and distracting in the anime
- The story in the anime is less light hearted and taken more seriously, usually to it's detriment, sometimes ruining the whole story outright because it replaces fun with unironic edginess. For example:
- The main character in Maou Gakuin is exaggeratedly flashy and confident in his abilities, he has detailed dialogue and inner monologue regarding magic and what is going on, and there's some humorous parts in the story. He's depicted as a very charismatic and extremely reliable guy whose skills and knowledge is far above everyone else. In the anime he's a stoic tough guy with infinite power level.
- The main character of Tensei Kenja no Isekai Life in the manga has funny reactions to things, seems as if he's cluelessly stumbling from one thing to another without understanding the scale of his actions or what other people mean by their words, he's depicted as a kind of clueless and almost autistic guy who ends up traversing a heroic path by chance. The story is mostly light hearted and the main character's past (as an office worker in a bad company) is referenced to in a humorous manner to contrast with current events. In the anime he seems confident and as if he's very skilled and knows exactly what he's doing and is just a cool guy who's hiding his powers from others, the story has a serious tone and the main character's past is depicted as heavy and depressing.
Isekai / fantasy -like
Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime)
MC reincarnates as a slime and starts building a city for monsters.
I think this is one of, if not THE best isekai manga. Most isekai start out by dumping a bunch of tiresome tropes on you, and when the tropes run out the story becomes extremely boring. But this story has remained interesting and has retained the "cool" factor for over 90 chapters, which is unprecedented in the "isekai" genre. Most of the characters are very memorable and likeable in some way.
The story starts with MC building a city instead of going on adventures, and the story follows the city's development and the new people who move in. The conflicts are much more complex than just "omg dungeon is leaking enemies" and there's an actual story to them that is connected to other things.
Anime status: it's ok I guess, but I prefer the manga by a lot.
Honzuki no Gekokujou (Ascendance of a Bookworm)
A book loving girl gets reincarnated into a weak body in a poor family in a fantasy world where books are extremely expensive.
Although the story is completely different, this has some abstract similarities to the slime isekai. Many stories have some premise at the start, like some conflict or objective, which eventually gets solved and then the story starts doing something else and no longer retains the original premise. But that isn't the case in the slime isekai nor with this story. 60 chapters later the MC is still chasing the same original dream of being surrounded by books yet the story has managed to keep it interesting. She's slowly making progress towards that goal and learning more about the world and the sickness she has.
Anime status: good, I can't tell which one I'd recommend more.
Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita (I was a Sword when I Reincarnated)
MC becomes a magical sword, and gets picked up by a cat girl. The main character duo in this is very unique, I haven't seen anything like it. I mostly like this for that reason, and the art style too.
The story became pretty boring after chapter 27 or so. There's still parts of Fran that are left unexplored though that might improve it. One of the things that I like about this manga is that Fran has a very clear goal and the determination to reach it, and that the sword supports her in her goals instead of following his own.
Anime status: bad, the art quality and storytelling is significantly worse.
Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha (The Misfit of Demon King Academy)
Speaking of main characters that I like... A demon lord reincarnates himself 1000 years into the future for the sake of a peaceful life. I think this manga was cancelled.
The MC is the primary reason to like this. He's overpowered and knows it, has a very deep level of knowledge about magic, and has an extremely confident and flashy personality. It's overly exaggerated in a good way.
Anime status: terrible, has none of the qualities that I like about the manga.
Isekai Ojisan (My Uncle in Another World)
Main character(?)'s uncle was transported into a fantasy world, and returns to earth. The manga is about the uncle retelling stories about his time there, while MC and his friends react to it. Mostly humor, the uncle has a weird geeky personality.
Anime status: I only watched 1 episode and it seemed meh.
Humor / fun
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (Aharen-san is Unfathomable)
A humor / cute romance about a girl who's very quiet, and a guy who tries to interpret her actions. Both behave in silly ways, and the guy sometimes comes up with crazy theories about her behavior, which then turn out to be something simple and normal.
Anime status: I only watched 1 episode and didn't like it, there was something off about it like it's watered down and missing the punch that makes the manga appealing.
Maou-jou de Oyasumi (Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle)
A lazy princess gets kidnapped by demons, but she just wants to sleep. She's arguably more demonic than the demons, and the demons actually turn out to be quite kind.
Anime status: I only watched 1 episode, it seemed ok but didn't attract me to watch more.
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou (Ueno is Clumsy)
Girl makes strange inventions in an attempt allure an extremely dense boy.
Anime status: good. The anime is well acted and adds enough to it that it might be better than the manga. Both of them are very expressive though.
Romance
Ookami Shounen wa Kyou mo Uso o Kasaneru (The Boy Who Cried Wolf Also Told a Lie Today)
I'm not sure how to describe this without spoiling it, the male MC's target of affection is afraid of men, and he "accidentally" ends up crossdressing and hiding his identity from her while trying to help her overcome her fear. The crossdressing isn't related to why I like it though.
The story concluded at chapter 32 which is quite early for this kind of manga, the story actually ended when it needed to instead of being dragged to infinity just to milk money out of the series forever.
Anime status: there's no anime.
Otome Kaijuu Caramelize (Monster Maiden Caramelize)
A mostly humorous but occasionally serious shoujo romance about a girl who starts turning into godzilla (literally) when she gets flustered. I particularly like the art and the MC's design.
Anime status: there's no anime.
Drama
Jumyou o Kaitotte Moratta (Three Days of Happiness)
A guy literally sells his lifespan for money and is left with a few months to live.
Anime status: there's no anime.
Other
Ajin-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls)
MC is a teacher in a school with different fantasy races like dullahan and vampire, and deals with their unique problems. It's been a long time since I read this, but I recall liking how the different races are more than just flavor, instead it explores the unique qualities and problems that they have.
Anime status: I haven't watched it.
Hyakunichikan!! (100 Days!!)
A young guy has to take care of a relative's 5 year old daughter for 100 days. It's just a casual cute story where they learn to live together.
Anime status: there's no anime.