TTT: Manga to Read

This one took a bit of brainpower, no joke. I’ve also realized how very little of anime and manga I’ve watched and read lately, so I’m pretty sure half this list is something I need to remedy myself (like, seriouslah…I’m so behind on Attack on Titan right now it’s not even funny).

Ten Manga To Read If You Like These Popular Books

If you liked Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce…

Then you might like Claymore by Norihiro Yagi

Who doesn’t want to see small, feisty women with swords kicking ass? I haven’t read Claymore but from what I’ve seen of the anime, it’s set in a medieval world filled with demons (yoma) that are vanquished by women warriors named Claymores (or Silver-Eyed Witches). The Claymores are badass demon-slayers, and named so for the large swords they carry. Alanna could probably give them a run for their money, lady knight and powerful sorceress that she is by the end of the Song of the Lioness series.

If you liked Cinder by Marissa Meyer…

Then you might like Chobits by CLAMP

There’s a lot of interesting fiction where it asks the question of how far you can love someone who’s part-robot or full-robot. Cinder isn’t exactly full-blown android, but her cyborg-ness puts her at a lower rung to regular humans. Societal pressures in Cinder even go so far to say that there’s NO WAY Prince Kai can love someone like Cinder (BUT READERS KNOW BETTER, YES WE DO). In a similar vein, Chobits explores the relationship between Hideki and his personal computer, Chi, and whether androids can come to love a human and vice versa.

If you liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor…

Then you might like Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki

My sister and I pretty much amassed 18 volumes’ worth of Angel Sanctuary back when we used to collect manga, but I swear I’ve only read up to a certain point before I stop again. Not because I started getting bored, but because things get super convoluted past the Hell Arc. Anyway, both Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Angel Sanctuary deal with angel/demon-to-human reincarnation, angels and demons, a great war, and a forbidden love.

If you liked A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin…

Then you might like Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama

Is it bad that I mostly put these two books together because of so many character deaths that are amassed after a few chapters? Character deaths aside, both series deal with multiple characters struggling to survive a world where power and rank matter. If you cannot climb the ranks and play the game, you’re as good as dead. Well, in Attack on Titan, you’re as good as dead regardless, methinks.

If you liked Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar…

Then you might like Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori

Gossip Girl is all about high society, and all about how a few of the non-rich people struggle to be accepted into this world of constant cocktail dresses and Hampton parties. Bisco Hatori portrays a similar society in Ouran High School Host Club, though thankfully she doesn’t take any of it seriously, and what you get in the manga is a boat-load of rich-people-problem hilarity as well as several romances that make you squee.

If you liked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins…

Then you might like Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (writer) and Masayuki Taguchi (illustrator)

Oh, come on. If you’ve seen/read Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, how can you NOT make a connection? Both involve young people insensibly killing each other until a victor emerges among them. Both involve a government that’s found a way in instilling fear and demoralizing its people so as to prevent nation-wide rebellion. Both have weapons, bloodshed, and lots of running around in random places whilst being televised across the nation. The backbone is the same, even with divergent storytelling. I’ve yet to read the Battle Royale book and its manga, but I’ve watched the film. That shit was intense.

If you liked Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson…

Then you might like Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Sanderson’s Allomancy and Feruchemy are amazing in that they work within the rules set forth upon Scadrial. In the same manner, Amestris has Alchemy and Alkahestry which ultimately follow the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Both Mistborn and Fullmetal Alchemist follow the story of young prodigies (Vin, a Mistborn and Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist) with far-reaching goals. Both involve antagonists with dubious but not-directly-evil moral grounds. Both also set importance in team effort as opposed to hinging dependency on ONE SOLE PERSON to save the world.

If you liked The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger…

Then you might like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui (writer) and Ranmaru Kotone (illustrator)

Confession: I did not like The Time Traveler’s Wife. But I did like what I’d seen of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and I’ve really only watched the anime movie and the live-action sequel. Time travel is tricky business, and in both TTW and GWLTT, there’s a lot of romance gained and lost, and a lot of tears shed when you know exactly what’s coming–because hell, shit’s depressing. I’ve yet to read the book or the manga of GWLTT, but it’s on my TBR list.

If you liked Twilight by Stephenie Meyer…

Then you might like Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino

Love triangles, supernaturals with heightened abilities, sparkly beautiful emo vampires, human-turned-vampire girls who need protecting…yeah. Yep. I’m pretty much talking about both Twilight and Vampire Knight here. In fact, when I first read Twilight, I pretty much saw it in my head as an anime/manga. I even envisioned Edward Cullen as Kaname! I think this is why I actually enjoyed Twilight, because I had seen it as the book-version of Vampire Knight, which I loved.

If you liked World War Z by Max Brooks…

Then you might like Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida

Flesh-eating zombies! Oh yeah. There isn’t much other similarity between World War Z and Tokyo Ghoul other than there being flesh-eating monsters out to rule the world. I just thought it was fun to recommend Tokyo Ghoul because as far as anime goes, it’s still relatively new. And there are zombies involved. Well, ghouls. And there is a war between the ghouls and the humans, who’ve come up with technology and weaponry that enable them to fight back. So I guess WWZ and TG are a little similar in that, too.