Top five anime/manga?

[waiting4morning.livejournal.com]

If you were to recommend anime/manga, what would be your top five choices (barring Naruto) and why?

Edit: To make it less spam-ish... do you find that the qualities you like about Naruto are echoed in the other manga series you enjoy?

Comments

[sanee-ftw.livejournal.com]

This is a bit of a spam-topic. It doesn't really belong here since it's not about Naruto.

However, I would recommend GetBackers, Nodame Cantabile (even though I haven't watched much), and Gintama (also haven't watched much).

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

BERSERK, MONSTER, BERSERK, MONSTER AND...BERSERK. *__________*

[libraire.livejournal.com]

AGREED ON MONSTER.

If you're looking for Naruto-type things, try Bleach or One Piece? I haven't been into One Piece yet, but it seems like something that can be enjoyed in parallel.

Otherwise, there's Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (anime) and Air Gear (manga) *__*

OH, and Nabari no Ou (I've only watched bits of the anime) is...has a lot of similarities to Naruto. XD

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

READ BERSERK WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH PERFUME Y/Y? :DDDD

[winterwing3000.livejournal.com]

Bleach, Nodame Cantabile (seconded), Skip Beat!, and probably Vampire Knight.

[leaf-kunoichi.livejournal.com]

Gintma - Funny and doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Very underrated.
Samurai Champloo - Beautifully done and amusing.
Golden Boy - Again, Funny and doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Not for kids though.
Minami-ke - Amusing characters
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Well, it is Haruhi and should be required watching both in original order and then in chronological order.

[xinue.livejournal.com]

D.Gray-man: Because it has an awesome plot, great action and also the art work looks just great and stunning.

Code Geass: What can I say it is a great mecha series, with alot of interesting characters.

Death Note: Just plain awesome, and the mind-fuck games played out within the series are awesome.

Nabari no Ou: Similiar to Naruto, also the main character Miharu is adorable.

Kyou Kara maou: This is just a plain funny series, and I also like the whole yaoi factor that comes with it. I mean the two male main characters are actually engaged.

[kumiriko.livejournal.com]

I was told about Kyou Kara maou by someone working in a anime store i frequent. the people who licensed it have gone belly up so is there a place to find it online yet?

[musagirl15.livejournal.com]

Yeah, check at veoh.com. My friend watched the whole series plus the OVAs.^_^

[jasmine-signet.livejournal.com]

Oh, yesyesyes for Death Note. *___________*

[jean-kun.livejournal.com]

-Code Geass (both seasons) - because it's just really good XD
-Gintama - hilariously awesome! The serious storylines are also very good :D For some people, the beginning of it all might be a little slow to get into, but give it time because it's worth it :D
-Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - EPIC for many :D

Uhhh, I don't have a top 5 apparently XDDD Of course, Naruto (and Shippuuden) is my most favorite :D

[mako-pretty.livejournal.com]

TTGL is Epic, amazingly so! I need to see Code Geass though.

[musagirl15.livejournal.com]

The mangas can be found at onemanga.com and mangafox.com, and the animes at veoh.com.^_^

Love Monster- It's cute and funny.^_^ (completed manga)
Shinshi Doumei Cross- A little bit of drama, but sweet with a bit of humor (especially near the end) ^_^ (completed manga)
Ouran Host Club- Very cute and funny (completed anime 24 eps)
Wallflower- Funny and a little sweet (completed anime 24 eps)
Skip Beat!- Cause who doesn't love a girl who wants revenge? Plus its cute and funny.^_^

[mako-pretty.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, interesting! Let me see, my top five?

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann; It's epic, seriously.
D. Gray Man; Beautiful characters, and a good plot.
Trinity Blood; I prefer the manga, but the anime is good as well.
Soul Eater; It's addictive, not something I thought I'd like, but I do.
Death Note; The story and characters were fascinating to me.

[musagirl15.livejournal.com]

Yeah, D. Gray Man is awesome.^_^

[mako-pretty.livejournal.com]

It is, totally. I almost didn't read/watch it, but a friend here convinced me to! I'm so glad she did!

[rainejoybringer.livejournal.com]

=_= Magical girl series. Anything's good. I can't live without them.

Arg, I'm so lame.

[aubreywitch.livejournal.com]

1. Full Metal Panic!
2. Kare Kano (oldie but an all time favorite)
3. Samurai Deeper Kyo
4. Air Gear
5. Samurai Champloo // Scrapped Princess // Scryed (lol these tie in my mind)

With the exception of Kare Kano all of those have some mixing of romance + action which is my fave genre. Bleach is probably the most similar to Naruto but eh, it just doesn't do it for me anymore. I'd also recommend Inuyasha to someone who enjoys Naruto.

[vescas.livejournal.com]

FMP!! FMP!!

[vescas.livejournal.com]

A&M - Rurouni Kenshin: hot redheaded samurai FTW!
A - Utawarerumono: ears and tails and war and peace
M - Angel Diary: just pretty to look at
M - Red River: strong story, time travelling, ancient worlds..
A&M: Fushigi Yugi: just because it is the awesome

Very Honorable mentions..
M - Ral Omega Grad: new from Viz, pretty to look at, interesting so far
M - Nabari no Ou: the anime was boring
A - School Days: Cause it kicks ass!
A - Kare Kano(H&H circumstances): Such a good job animating it...
M - Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba.. pure laughter in print
A - Dragonball Z: because you can't say no to super saiyan 11 yr old Gohan
A - Neon genesis evangelion: nothing more to say about that
A - Rahxephon: because music and robots and aliens and rainbows kick ass
M - Basara: get used to the art and enjoy the story, classic shoujo..
M - The Swan: gorgeous shojo ballet, older series.. but GORGEOUS

I can go on.... really...

And yeah, some of these series have really cute adults or side characters with the perfect characterizations or lack of characterizations taht enable me to slash them with their perfect mate. And all of these have a fun, endearing, strong, twisted, and many other adjective storylines.

I love good storylines XD

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Hey, fellow Basara fan! That one made me list as well.

[silhouette-68.livejournal.com]

I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE RECOMMENDED REBORN! yet D:

Anyway:
REBORN!, Gintama, D.Gray-man, Kuroshitsuji [Black Butler], DOGS.
[have more but you said top5]

I've heard people say TTGL is EPIC, but I have yet to watch it. Nabari no Ou goes the same for me. (:

[kalliel]

Godchild (Yuki Kaori; manga)
Fullmetal Alchemist (Arakawa Hiromu; anime for characters, manga for wordbuilding/plot)
Black and White/Tekkonkinkreet (Matsumoto Taiyou; manga/anime film)

None of these really have anything in common with Naruto, unless "beautiful characterization" is a valid option, however general that might be. Lovely siblingship and leader/helper relationships as well--much of which is in the same vein as things like Kabuto/Orochimaru, Naruto/Sasuke, Itachi/Sasuke (not Uchihacest), etc.

Exceptexcept--no one has read Godchild/Black and White. X_x Makes me sad.

[lovechild.livejournal.com]

Sugar Sugar Rune
ZOMBIE-LOAN
Shaman King (This series needs more love!)
ONE PIECE
Ranma 1/2

I'm a major JUMP fangirl even though three series on my list aren't JUMP titles. XP For anyone that's into NARUTO and looking for a similar series, I highly recommend Shaman King. Battles, toliet humor, prophecies, gender-confusing characters, brother issues, and more.

[yasahi.livejournal.com]

Vagabond by Inoue Takehiko (Slam Dunk's mangaka). It's an action seinen manga based on Musashi Miyamoto's history (a legendary swordsman in Japan). It's very realistic and one of the best manga that I've read in my entire life. Highly recommended. It's a manga yet, but... I wanted to say something completely new *blush*

[karehiro.livejournal.com]

Generally my top favorite manga aren't really similar to Naruto, though some similarities do exist such as importance of the rival relationship in regards to the story, or the fact that certain characters just grab my attention. My top 5 manga are (probably not in order since I can't tell which is better):

-Berserk- Probably the most morbid manga I've ever read and easily among the top 3 manga series of all time. I love Gutts, Griffith is absolutely mesmerizing, and I'm easily emotionally invested in Caska. This manga is dark but it's something special.
-Monster- This is probably the best written manga with the best story. Perfectly cohesive from beginning to end, very realistic characters and incredible antagonist (Johan). Seriously few can compare to this type of story; it's like a well-written novel.
-GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka)- The funniest manga, period. Awesome cast and especially awesome main character.
-Shamo (at least until chapter 200)-The darkest and among the best written/best illustrated martial arts manga out there. Deals with very mature themes and may be too hard bearing for some, but it's worth it.
-Death Note- Absolute brilliance, at least until the end. Light Yagami is among my favorite characters of anything.

Honorable mentions to Vagabond, Hajime no Ippo, and Ranma 1/2.

With the exception of Ranma 1/2 and GTO, my favorites usually run pretty dark or deal with more mature themes. Naruto's actually an anomaly in that it's among my top favorites.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I don't think Naruto is that good a quality manga, for various characterization, plotting, and pacing reasons.

As for manga that I would recommend...

1.) Black Cat (I've only read the first two volumes, but those have been excellent and people who's taste I trust tell me it only gets better.)

2.) Saiyuki - fantastic action with emotional gravitas. Shounan without annoying power-ups and epicly long training montages.

3.) Tramps Like Us - best shojo out there.

4.) Basara - classic shojo manga

5.) Her majesty's dog - fun, fluffy, supernatural shojo.

Bonus: The Fullmetal Alchemist anime, which, imho, pwns the manga so freaking hard.

[proudcockatrice.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of into Bildungsroman as a genre, so, topping my list are Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, and Devil Hunter Yohko, which, like Naruto, are typical "kid comes of age, discovers he has mysterious past and badass kung fu, saves world" type stories. Then, because I'm kind of old, I guess I'd have to go with Dirty Pair, for pure shenaniganery, and Voltron (the one with the lions, dammit!), for nostalgic giant robot value.

[proudcockatrice.livejournal.com]

*comes back to sneak in #6* Kimagure Orange Road, for more Bildungsroman and canon OT3.

[75marshy.livejournal.com]

Theme shared between all of the manga and Naruto? Hmm, the idea of everything is not in black and white, but grey. I like how in Naruto, the black and white theme is reflected in alot of chapters. The villains are not really evil, but there is another gentle/softer side to them, etc.

Full Metal Alchemist, the manga is set in industrial, post-war era. And well, the plot is awesome. One of the more brilliant manga in the Japanese industry, that everyone should read. And I love the concept of Alchemy. (which threads a thin line between Science)
Shaman King, I know this manga is relatively old. But it's good, not the good kind of good, but the mind blowing action packed kind of good. Oh, and I terribly advise any newcomers to read the manga first before you even attempt to watch the anime. FMA & Mankin shares a similarity, the manga is made up of all sorts of win, while the anime is made up of all sorts of fail.
Death Note, food for thought, a very thought-provoking anime/manga, and it questions the idea of justice, and that justice is not black/white but greygrey. Also, I find the conception of choosing who you think is the "hero", very refreshing.
One Piece, for anyone who likes a good adventure and holds a vivid imagination. One Piece is like the places you want to go in your childhood, but your parents tell you that they don't exist. So read this and watch your imagination comes alive.
XXXHOLiC, read this alongside Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, CLAMP puts a refreshing and new take by linking these two manga together. Both of the manga have different plot going on, but they are related to each other, as in they literally meet each other, in some chapters, you can see the characters from XXXHOLiC interacting with TRC's. And though the different plot allows the manga to act independently by itself, but reading both manga, makes it more interesting. Oh, XXXHOLiC is about supernatural and paranormal stuff, while TRC has more action and fighting scenes going on.

[pnkalchemy.livejournal.com]

Fullmetal Alchemist & X (manga, both).

[zelos22.livejournal.com]

Ginga Nagareboshi Gin ((anime and manga)) is my all-time favorite. Ginga Densetsu Weed ((the sequel)) is also really good. I think the only thing it has in common with Naruto is that it's shounen and has fighting in it. Densetsu Weed manga is really long, though: last I checked, it was at 50 volumes.

I also love Gungrave, Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water, and Mysterious Cities of Gold. They don't have much in common with Naruto, either...

Gungrave is probably the best anime I've ever seen in my life. The animation is extremely well-done and the story is tightly written and strongly character-driven. A better series can't possibly exist.

[psycho-freak77.livejournal.com]

I agree with FullMetal Alchemist, Monster, and Vampire Knight, though I would also reccomend Neon Genesis Evangelion, Key: the Metal Idol, Basilisk (i watched the anime and i cried tons of times during the series, so don't watch it if you don't like a lot of angst), Rurouni Kenshin, and Yu Yu Hakusho.

[rennii.livejournal.com]

My goodness~! NO ONE RECOMMENDED FAIRY TAIL (Manga)? xD *Sad*