Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Discussion, generally of an in-universe nature, regarding any aspect of the franchise (including movies, spin-offs, etc.) such as: techniques, character relationships, internal back-history, its universe, and more.
User avatar
Piccolo Daimao
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 am

Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Piccolo Daimao » Tue Oct 05, 2010 3:42 pm

So, most Dragon Ball fans that I meet say that their favourite manga is Dragon Ball. But how about you guys? I'm not intending to start another "Which manga is better?" war (and please, no use of the word "Narutard", it's just immature), but is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball? And this might be the same or different question, depending on how you look at it, but does anyone think the best manga isn't Dragon Ball, as well?
Holden Caulfield in [b][i]The Catcher in the Rye[/i][/b] wrote:I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.

User avatar
Savage68
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1929
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:16 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Savage68 » Tue Oct 05, 2010 3:49 pm

My favorite manga is DB, but that would never blind me so much as to think it's "the best". Your favorite show isn't necessarily good, and likewise, a show that you have no interest in (or one that you flat-out dislike) isn't necessarily bad. That's where subjectivity comes in.

inb4onepiece

User avatar
Piccolo Daimao
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 am

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Piccolo Daimao » Tue Oct 05, 2010 3:51 pm

Savage68 wrote:My favorite manga is DB, but that would never blind me so much as to think it's "the best". Your favorite show isn't necessarily good, and likewise, a show that you have no interest in (or one that you flat-out dislike) isn't necessarily bad. That's where subjectivity comes in.

inb4onepiece
Yeah, that's what I meant by how "favourite" and "best" can be different things. For example, if we talk about Dragon Ball as being two different series--Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z--I see Dragon Ball as being the better of the two, while my favourite is Dragon Ball Z.
Holden Caulfield in [b][i]The Catcher in the Rye[/i][/b] wrote:I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.

Cipher
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6408
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:54 pm
Location: Nagano
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Cipher » Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:04 pm

Well, it's one of the grand total of two manga I read, so ... I guess so?

Better question: Is anyone else here not really a manga/anime fan in general?

User avatar
Piccolo Daimao
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 am

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Piccolo Daimao » Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:12 pm

Cipher wrote:Well, it's one of the grand total of two manga I read, so ... I guess so?

Better question: Is anyone else here not really a manga/anime fan in general?
Well, I don't read or watch manga/anime other than Dragon Ball, so I guess I could fall into there. I have tried to give them a chance, but most of the time I'm just not drawn to them and am sometimes put off by the artistic style. That's one of the reasons I've always liked Dragon Ball--their art style is unique compared to a lot of other mangas, which is probably why, at first, I didn't know it was a manga/anime. Not saying some of the other mangas' art styles aren't unique, but I can detect striking similarities between a lot of them. I borrowed the first 3 or 4 volumes of Naruto from my friend, but I just couldn't get into it.
Last edited by Piccolo Daimao on Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Holden Caulfield in [b][i]The Catcher in the Rye[/i][/b] wrote:I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.

Cipher
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6408
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:54 pm
Location: Nagano
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Cipher » Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:23 pm

Piccolo Daimao wrote:Well, I don't read or watch manga/anime other than Dragon Ball, so I guess I could fall into there. I have tried to give them a chance, but most of the time I'm just not drawn to them and am sometimes put off by the artistic style. That's one of the reasons I've always liked Dragon Ball--their art style is unique compared to a lot of other mangas, which is probably why, at first, I didn't know it was a manga/anime. Not saying some of the other mangas' art styles aren't unique, but I can detect striking similarities between a lot of them. I've tried the first 3 volumes of Naruto, but I just couldn't get into it.
I know what you mean. Truth be told, a lot of the manga/anime tropes really bother me, despite Dragon Ball initiating more than a few. The only other series I read, Hellsing, is pretty profoundly un-Japanese in its style.

That's not to say I have anything against manga and anime. I just don't seek out series simply because of they happen to be a cartoon/comic from Japan. Most often, if I find myself liking one, it will be despite the fact that it's an anime, not because of it.

User avatar
Hellspawn28
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 15686
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:50 pm
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:28 pm

Nope, mangas like Monster, Battle Angle Alita, Bastard!!, JJBA, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, Berserk, and Battle Royale are much better if you ask me.
She/Her
PS5 username: Guyver_Spawn_27
LB Profile: https://letterboxd.com/Hellspawn28/

Olivier Hague
I Live Here
Posts: 2171
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 12:09 pm

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Olivier Hague » Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:30 pm

I'm not sure what I'd call "my favorite manga", but it definitely isn't Dragon Ball... Not even close.

User avatar
Piccolo Daimao
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 am

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Piccolo Daimao » Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:30 pm

Hellspawn28 wrote:Nope, mangas like Monster, Battle Angle Alita, Bastard!!, JJBA, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, Berserk, and Battle Royale are much better if you ask me.
But do you like them better than Dragon Ball?
Holden Caulfield in [b][i]The Catcher in the Rye[/i][/b] wrote:I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.

User avatar
Hellspawn28
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 15686
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:50 pm
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:33 pm

Piccolo Daimao wrote:
Hellspawn28 wrote:Nope, mangas like Monster, Battle Angle Alita, Bastard!!, JJBA, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, Berserk, and Battle Royale are much better if you ask me.
But do you like them better than Dragon Ball?
Yes, I like DB as the next guy in all but there are mangas much better. I used think that "Oh my God that DB/Z/GT is the greatest anime I ever seen my Life" when I was 13 or 14 before I discover better series.
She/Her
PS5 username: Guyver_Spawn_27
LB Profile: https://letterboxd.com/Hellspawn28/

User avatar
Piccolo Daimao
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 am

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Piccolo Daimao » Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:42 pm

Hellspawn28 wrote:
Piccolo Daimao wrote:
Hellspawn28 wrote:Nope, mangas like Monster, Battle Angle Alita, Bastard!!, JJBA, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, Berserk, and Battle Royale are much better if you ask me.
But do you like them better than Dragon Ball?
Yes, I like DB as the next guy in all but there are mangas much better. I used think that "Oh my God that DB/Z/GT is the greatest anime I ever seen my Life" when I was 13 or 14 before I discover better series.
I'm not criticizing you or anything, just asking if you like them better than Dragon Ball.
Holden Caulfield in [b][i]The Catcher in the Rye[/i][/b] wrote:I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.

User avatar
AgitoZ
Temporarily Banned
Posts: 1713
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 12:24 pm
Location: Florida, USA

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by AgitoZ » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:11 pm

I would say One Piece is or comes pretty close. I've never thought DB was high class art but it just has a special place in my heart, also it's not the worst series ever.

Cipher wrote:
Piccolo Daimao wrote:Well, I don't read or watch manga/anime other than Dragon Ball, so I guess I could fall into there. I have tried to give them a chance, but most of the time I'm just not drawn to them and am sometimes put off by the artistic style. That's one of the reasons I've always liked Dragon Ball--their art style is unique compared to a lot of other mangas, which is probably why, at first, I didn't know it was a manga/anime. Not saying some of the other mangas' art styles aren't unique, but I can detect striking similarities between a lot of them. I've tried the first 3 volumes of Naruto, but I just couldn't get into it.
I know what you mean. Truth be told, a lot of the manga/anime tropes really bother me, despite Dragon Ball initiating more than a few. The only other series I read, Hellsing, is pretty profoundly un-Japanese in its style.

That's not to say I have anything against manga and anime. I just don't seek out series simply because of they happen to be a cartoon/comic from Japan. Most often, if I find myself liking one, it will be despite the fact that it's an anime, not because of it.
May I direct you two to the One Piece bandwagon...
If you're not here soon... GET ON!

User avatar
Perfect
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1865
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 5:16 am

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Perfect » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:32 pm

I've read tons of manga, I can honestly say next to none of them have the same unique execution that Dragon Ball has.
I can say that's really one of the main reasons it's the best in my eyes. Just through the artwork's evolution, being incredibly consistent with that at the same, I mean the series has so much to offer. It's (execution through) themes are also what many of today's series really fail at. After Dragon Ball comes Yu Yu Hakusho, which has always been my second favorite. I guess you can't really call something the best either, you can only say it's one of the best. There will never a be a "best" or "better" manga series...Well maybe better if you call a scribble a series. It's like comparing two different languages with each other.

Some mangas I enjoyed:
-Yu Yu Hakusho
-Cyborg 009
-Detective Conan
-The Big O
-Gundam Wing
-Ultimate Muscle
-Rurouni Kenshin
-Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
-Black Cat
-Cowboy Bebop

Some manga I'm either indifferent on or dislike:
-Naruto
-Bleach
-Death Note
-One Piece
-Sailor Moon
-Battle Royale
-Berserk
Fox666 wrote:It seems you have pissed a lot of people on this forum, and I am quite sure they would like to call you stupid and say that's the designated adjectives for you. But they don't do that because of there are rules in this community.

User avatar
B
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5562
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:15 am
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by B » Tue Oct 05, 2010 7:57 pm

Konjiki no Gash!!(or Zatch Bell!) would be my favorite. Dragon Ball's a moderately close second.
Keen Observation of Dragon Ball Z Movie 4's Climax wrote:Slug shits to see the genki

User avatar
Onikage725
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1502
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:00 pm
Location: Outer Heaven
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Onikage725 » Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:48 pm

My favorite manga series is Bio-Booster Armor Guyver. The one problem with it is the release schedule is haphazard. Yohsiki Takaya doesn't have any assistants, and has some health problems, so it is rarely on schedule.

But then, we only got 8 volumes translated by Viz many years ago before they dropped it. I have plenty to work through via scans before I catch up.
To show my appreciation, I'll only beat them half to death.

User avatar
Wobbuffet
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 471
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2010 1:27 am
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Wobbuffet » Tue Oct 05, 2010 9:41 pm

I like Kenshin a lot, just like I like Dragon Ball.
I don't know wich one I like better...
Sorry, I can't speak English very well, but I'm trying my best.
This is My Anime List.

User avatar
Travis Touchdown
Regular
Posts: 734
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:14 pm
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Travis Touchdown » Tue Oct 05, 2010 10:28 pm

I didn't find one that I like better, just one that I like as much. I totally dig Chibi Vampire/Karin as much as Dragon Ball.
"Hey girlfriend, why don't you throw a few more punches? Afraid you might break a nail or somethin?"
Ken - Street Fighter II

User avatar
Zephyr
I Live Here
Posts: 4407
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:20 pm

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Zephyr » Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:12 pm

Dragonball (Z) is my favorite. Maybe its the nostalgia, but I get more enjoyment from this than any other.
Cipher wrote:Well, it's one of the grand total of two manga I read, so ... I guess so?

Better question: Is anyone else here not really a manga/anime fan in general?
I'm not a fan of Anime/Manga in general, but there are plenty that I like (if that makes any sense).

Ones I like include:
Ronin Warriors
Kikaider
G Gundam
Cowboy Bebop
Ruroni Kenshin
Trigun
Scryed
Big O
Yu Yu Hakusho
Outlaw Star
and of course Dragonball (Z).

Ones I can't stand:
Naruto
Bleach
Death Note

And I'm entirely indifferent towards One Piece.

User avatar
ShiningMoon
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 179
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:38 am
Location: Omaha, NE

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by ShiningMoon » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:45 am

Cipher wrote:Better question: Is anyone else here not really a manga/anime fan in general?
Me. I used to read manga all the time, but mostly because my friend always bought it and let me borrow it. It was a pretty brief phase. It's not that I have anything against manga/anime, though I tend to get put off by stuff whose fanbase irritates me beyond belief or things that seem to be all uppity and pretentious just 'cause they can. But...I hardly read anything, anymore, being so busy reading textbooks all the time, and I regularly keep up (on a weekly basis) with a grand total of...two shows...wait, wait, three now. None of them is a cartoon. All of my fandom time goes into DB and, frankly, I like it that way.

Other stuff I read back in the day was a mix of mostly popular things...girlier stuff (both myself and the person who bought all the manga are female) and I used to subscribe to Shonen Jump as well. I read it all 'cause it was all there, but by far I enjoyed the DBZ the most. I don't know if any of the other stuff I read was "better" (and of course one could easily argue that DB is better than Z, but uh, I just read DB for the first time earlier this year so I'm not counting it in that group), but definitely none of it was my favorite -- DBZ all the way. I really tried to get into other stuff, but, meh.

And I like its style...way better than most other anime/manga. Both DB and DBZ. (I know, I know, I'm weird; I even really like the late DBZ style!)

Cipher
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6408
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:54 pm
Location: Nagano
Contact:

Re: Is anyone's favourite manga not Dragon Ball?

Post by Cipher » Wed Oct 06, 2010 1:29 am

AgitoZ wrote:May I direct you two to the One Piece bandwagon...
Tried it way back in the day when I was in middle school and still subscribed to Shonen Jump. Didn't do it for me.

Why would I want Dragon Ball-lite, without the passage of time? Like I said, I don't seek out anime/manga unless it already particularly grabs me in a way other things don't, so I don't see why there's an assumption that I (or other people) would gravitate to a series just because it's another manga kind-of sort-of like one I already enjoy.

That, and am I the only one who doesn't think it's near as Dragon Ball-like as people say it is to begin with? It's missing some pretty key elements, in my book.

Post Reply