ingenuo
01-17-2007, 11:22 PM
Well, i got a few manga that i like and would like to recommend to you guys. Not sure whether they can be found in english version or not, i read them in chinese.
1. Red River (aka Anatolia Story)
summary (taken from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_(manga))): Red River is about a fifteen-year old Japanese girl named Yuri Suzuki, who is magically transported to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the heart of ancient Turkey. She was summoned by Queen Nakia who means to use Yuri as a human sacrifice. Yuri's blood is the key element needed in placing a curse upon the princes of the land so that they will perish, leaving Nakia's son as the sole heir to the throne.
The story takes place during the reign of King Suppiluliuma I, at a time when the Hittite Empire was near its peak of power, rivaled only by Egypt, which was then ruled by the young Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Many of the people and events in the story are drawn from actual history, from Princes Kail Mursili, Sari Arnuwanda, and Zannanza, to battles with the neighboring Mitanni kingdom around the town of Kizzuwatna.
-Some people compare this to Ouke no Monshou(daughter of the Nile), personally i prefer Anatolia story because the artwork is better and the story is more organised than Ouke no Monshou. I also recommend other manga by the same mangaka - Chie Shinohara
2. Glass Mask (aka Garasu no Kamen)
summary : (taken from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_Mask))Glass Mask is a saga depicting the devotion of Maya Kitajima (北島マヤ Kitajima Maya) to the performing arts as a professional stage actress, and her competition with her skilled rival, Ayumi Himekawa (姫川亜弓 Himekawa Ayumi). They are both pursuing the degree of acting proficiency and career success required to play the lead role of the legendary stage play "The Crimson Goddess". As the story unfolds it encompasses the tangled human relationships of many characters, including Maya's mentor, Chigusa Tsukikage (月影千草 Tsukikage Chigusa), who discovered Maya's tremendous talent for acting during her search for a successor capable of performing the role of the Crimson Goddess, and Masumi Hayami (速水真澄 Hayami Masumi), the young president of a large production company, who often interacts with Maya as a crafty and cold-hearted entrepreneur, while giving her faithful support and warm encouragement in the disguise of an anonymous fan ('The Purple Rose Person', or "murasaki no bara no hito" as Maya calls him for his trademark gift of purple roses) Though there is an age difference of eleven years, Masumi falls in love with Maya and gives her encouragement in subtle ways.
-This is a classic. Too bad the story never end.
3. Hitomi Genki Kingdom
summary : (take from mangaupdates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=28))
5 year old Imai Hibiki suffers from androphobia (fear of men). She was invited by the head of the Student Union, Kousaka Giou to live with him due to Hibiki's apartment having been burnt down and Hibiki asked to move out. Giou had fallen in love with Hibiki at first sight which prompted him to invite her as well as find out why Hibiki gained a fear of men in recent times. From the time they met until the present, Hibiki had fallen into an untrustful and depressed state. What had happened to Hibiki and will she be able to trust another person again?
4. Seito Shokun!
summary : Seito Shokun follows the life of Kitashiro Naoko, nicknamed Nakki, as she plows through life with her friends and family. Faced with hardships and struggle, happiness, sadness, love and tragedy...
read review from S-Cafe (http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/6603/shokun.html))
- I was touched by this story. I almots cried towards the end.
5. Skip Beat!
summary : (taken from animenewsnetwork (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=1863))
Kyoko has devoted her life to Shotaro. When Shotaro came to Tokyo to debut as a singer, she followed him and worked to provide for him. But one day, Kyoko overhears Shota telling his manager that Kyoko means nothing to him. She's just convenient, a housekeeper. This makes Kyoko furious, and she vows revenge on Shotaro. But Shotaro just laughs at her, saying she won't be able to touch him because he's now a popular singer and she's a nobody. So Kyoko decides to get into showbiz and become even more popular than Shotaro to humiliate him. Unfortunately, Shotaro has destroyed Kyoko's ability to love, and she discovers that it is a prerequisite for her to debut from her chosen company, LME. The president of LME puts her into a new section made for those who caught his eye but have something missing. It's name... Section Love Me.
- My latest addiction :D Kyoko is very funny
6. From Far Away (kanata Kara)
summary: (from animenewsnetwork (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=3101))
Noriko Takichi is just an ordinary high school student. One day on her way home from school with her friends, she was hit by bomb blast and she was thrown into another world. In there, when she's nearly being attacked by monster, Izaku suddenly appear and help her. It turns out that Noriko is "The Light" which all the kingdoms in this world have been looking for, and also the one that Izaku trying to kill so Izaku can change his fate for not becoming "The Darkness" that every fortune tellers told him since his childhood. Noriko believes that she been thrown to this world because there is a purpose, so she try to do her very best. Izaku didn't want to kill Noriko because he starts to like her. The romance starts to grow between them. When Noriko find out that Izaku is "The Darkness" who tries to kill her when they first met, they vow to find a way to change their destiny and be together forever. The battle between Good and Evil and battle within Izaku himself start from now.
- i just love the story where heroine travels to another world/time.
1. Red River (aka Anatolia Story)
summary (taken from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_(manga))): Red River is about a fifteen-year old Japanese girl named Yuri Suzuki, who is magically transported to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the heart of ancient Turkey. She was summoned by Queen Nakia who means to use Yuri as a human sacrifice. Yuri's blood is the key element needed in placing a curse upon the princes of the land so that they will perish, leaving Nakia's son as the sole heir to the throne.
The story takes place during the reign of King Suppiluliuma I, at a time when the Hittite Empire was near its peak of power, rivaled only by Egypt, which was then ruled by the young Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Many of the people and events in the story are drawn from actual history, from Princes Kail Mursili, Sari Arnuwanda, and Zannanza, to battles with the neighboring Mitanni kingdom around the town of Kizzuwatna.
-Some people compare this to Ouke no Monshou(daughter of the Nile), personally i prefer Anatolia story because the artwork is better and the story is more organised than Ouke no Monshou. I also recommend other manga by the same mangaka - Chie Shinohara
2. Glass Mask (aka Garasu no Kamen)
summary : (taken from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_Mask))Glass Mask is a saga depicting the devotion of Maya Kitajima (北島マヤ Kitajima Maya) to the performing arts as a professional stage actress, and her competition with her skilled rival, Ayumi Himekawa (姫川亜弓 Himekawa Ayumi). They are both pursuing the degree of acting proficiency and career success required to play the lead role of the legendary stage play "The Crimson Goddess". As the story unfolds it encompasses the tangled human relationships of many characters, including Maya's mentor, Chigusa Tsukikage (月影千草 Tsukikage Chigusa), who discovered Maya's tremendous talent for acting during her search for a successor capable of performing the role of the Crimson Goddess, and Masumi Hayami (速水真澄 Hayami Masumi), the young president of a large production company, who often interacts with Maya as a crafty and cold-hearted entrepreneur, while giving her faithful support and warm encouragement in the disguise of an anonymous fan ('The Purple Rose Person', or "murasaki no bara no hito" as Maya calls him for his trademark gift of purple roses) Though there is an age difference of eleven years, Masumi falls in love with Maya and gives her encouragement in subtle ways.
-This is a classic. Too bad the story never end.
3. Hitomi Genki Kingdom
summary : (take from mangaupdates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=28))
5 year old Imai Hibiki suffers from androphobia (fear of men). She was invited by the head of the Student Union, Kousaka Giou to live with him due to Hibiki's apartment having been burnt down and Hibiki asked to move out. Giou had fallen in love with Hibiki at first sight which prompted him to invite her as well as find out why Hibiki gained a fear of men in recent times. From the time they met until the present, Hibiki had fallen into an untrustful and depressed state. What had happened to Hibiki and will she be able to trust another person again?
4. Seito Shokun!
summary : Seito Shokun follows the life of Kitashiro Naoko, nicknamed Nakki, as she plows through life with her friends and family. Faced with hardships and struggle, happiness, sadness, love and tragedy...
read review from S-Cafe (http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/6603/shokun.html))
- I was touched by this story. I almots cried towards the end.
5. Skip Beat!
summary : (taken from animenewsnetwork (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=1863))
Kyoko has devoted her life to Shotaro. When Shotaro came to Tokyo to debut as a singer, she followed him and worked to provide for him. But one day, Kyoko overhears Shota telling his manager that Kyoko means nothing to him. She's just convenient, a housekeeper. This makes Kyoko furious, and she vows revenge on Shotaro. But Shotaro just laughs at her, saying she won't be able to touch him because he's now a popular singer and she's a nobody. So Kyoko decides to get into showbiz and become even more popular than Shotaro to humiliate him. Unfortunately, Shotaro has destroyed Kyoko's ability to love, and she discovers that it is a prerequisite for her to debut from her chosen company, LME. The president of LME puts her into a new section made for those who caught his eye but have something missing. It's name... Section Love Me.
- My latest addiction :D Kyoko is very funny
6. From Far Away (kanata Kara)
summary: (from animenewsnetwork (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=3101))
Noriko Takichi is just an ordinary high school student. One day on her way home from school with her friends, she was hit by bomb blast and she was thrown into another world. In there, when she's nearly being attacked by monster, Izaku suddenly appear and help her. It turns out that Noriko is "The Light" which all the kingdoms in this world have been looking for, and also the one that Izaku trying to kill so Izaku can change his fate for not becoming "The Darkness" that every fortune tellers told him since his childhood. Noriko believes that she been thrown to this world because there is a purpose, so she try to do her very best. Izaku didn't want to kill Noriko because he starts to like her. The romance starts to grow between them. When Noriko find out that Izaku is "The Darkness" who tries to kill her when they first met, they vow to find a way to change their destiny and be together forever. The battle between Good and Evil and battle within Izaku himself start from now.
- i just love the story where heroine travels to another world/time.