Top 10 Greatest Animanga

I REALLY DEBATED WHETHER I wanted to write this post just because of how difficult it would be. The more manga that I've read and anime watched, I've noticed that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to compare them. And yet, I do my best. Let's dive in!

10: Haikyuu (Haruichi Furudate)~ 8.5/10

Ever since the anime's rise to popularity, Haikyuu's been on most people's top 10 list. Haikyuu, in essence, brought the sports genre into sharp focus. Unlike some of the other series on this list, there's not much—no, anything—I can say is wrong with this series. The pacing is perfect: Hinata and Kageyama grow proportionally by pushing each other to new heights. The relationship between the team is spectacular, heartwarming, and funny to watch. The animations do this series justice; bringing the characters to life off the page.
In recent news, however, it appears that the last arc of Haikyuu isn't being promoted as an anime. Rather, the I.G production studio announced it's being released in two movies. Truth to tell, this is disappointing in more ways than one. Yet having read the manga myself, I always viewed the anime as an awesome complement, not the be all end all.

Overall, there's not much I can say for this series other than that it deserves every bit of fame it's earned and more besides. But if there was a reason I had to put it at number ten, it's because while it accomplished everything the series set out to do, Haikyuu didn't fundamentally change me in ways the other series on this list have. While I'll always remember it as the manga that got me to look at volleyball in a completely different light, Haikyuu comes close, but it doesn't take the crown of sports manga king.

9: Monster (Naoki Urasawa): 8.5/10

It should be no surprise to anyone who's read anything by Naoki Urasawa, that multiple of his works have found a home on this list. Perhaps, his most well-known work, Monster, follows the story of successful neurosurgeon Tenma, who is working in Germany after the fall of the Berlin War. Near the end of the Cold War, Tenma is called into work one day when a boy is brought into the ER with a bullet in his head. However, at the same time, the city mayor suffers a stroke.

Tenma, ignoring his superior's advice, chooses to treat the boy because he was brought in first. While he saves the child, the mayor dies, and with him, any hope that Tenma's career will advance. Even Tenma's fiancé, the daughter of the hospital director, leaves him now that she sees his star is falling.

One day, sitting next to the boy he saved who is still in a coma, Tenma confides his frustrations.

"I wish they were all dead!" He says, hands shaking.

Well, what do you know? The next day, his wish comes true. And the boy mysteriously disappears. Apparently, the child and his sister, who were recovered from the fire that killed their parents were transported to an orphanage. The police begin to suspect Tenma, but since they have no evidence... ten years pass in silence and Tenma rises to become head of neurosurgery.

One day, he's treating a patient, a criminal, when that patient talks about a mysterious monster. He confesses that someone—something—forced him to commit a murder. When Tenma takes the man on a stroll, the two of them find themselves in an abandoned building where the monster appears.

To his horror, Tenma finds that this man is the boy he saved ten years ago. The most prolific serial killer in history, saved by his hands—his hands.

That evening, when Tenma gets back to his apartment, his patient murdered, a manhunt begins in the city as three couples turn up dead—the same way they died ten years ago. The police finally find their corroborating evidence: Tenma is guilty. The search begins. Except Tenma has a sneaking suspicion that he's missing something. Didn't that boy have a twin sister...?

To me, Monster, while a masterpiece in its own right, represents a prelude to Urasawa's greatest work. That isn't to say Monster isn't worth watching, it definitely is. Johan Liebert, the alias of the boy Tenma saved, is easily one of the greatest antagonists ever written. Monster is truly a journey, a complete one. Internal conflict matches with external conflict as Tenma struggles to deal with his Hippocratic oath—his vow to cause no harm. But if he is to stop Johan, does that mean he has to kill...

8: Jojo's Bizairee Adventure part 7: Steel Ball Run (Hirohiko Araki): 8.7/10

While part 7 of Jojo started as a short story, it's Araki's greatest work—the best of Jojo. Similar to part 5, where Giorno Giovanna attempts to escort the gang boss's daughter to safety, Steel Ball Run is a similarly structured story: it's a race!

Our protagonist, Johnny Joestar, a cripple, former champion horse racer, watches as contestants from across the world gather to compete in the greatest race of all time. And the reward? Money beyond your wildest dreams. That's where he meets Gyro Zeppeli. After watching Gyro do some sort of what could only be magic, Johnny grows curious. After somehow mounting a horse, Johnny joins the thousands of racers.

But as the race progresses, Johnny and Gyro suspect a deeper meaning behind the race. They stumble upon these mysterious corpse parts that select contestants seem to be searching for. Moreover, these mysterious parts seem to give the user special powers.

As Johnny and Gyro decide to hunt for the corpse parts themselves, things get tricky when the president himself gets involved (yup, you read that right).

The story follows the iconic duo as Gyro teaches Johnny about the principles of spin. As Johnny incorporates Gyro's teachings with his stand ability, the fight for the corpse parts builds when it's discovered that the corpse isn't just ordinary, it's a saint's corpse!

One of the best things about this series is how the author elaborates on the magic system, developing Johny’s stand from Tusk Act 1 to Tusk Act 4. I've always been enthralled by the unique stands and abilities that Araki has come up with. But to me, Tusk takes the crown. To avoid spoilers, suffice it to say that Araki incorporates Gyro's teachings magnificently to develop Johnny’s abilities.

Not to mention, the amazing fight scenes contribute to a constant sense of unease while reading this series. There's always a fight around the corner. The question is: who can you trust?

7: Hunter x Hunter (Yoshihiro Togashi): 8.8/10

The series that needs no introduction. No Shonen conversation is complete without including the amazing journey Gon and Kilua embark on. Whenever I think of the duo trope, HxH comes to mind: while Kageyama/Hinata might compete, their no match for Gon and Kilua.

But it's more than that. One of the reasons HxH is such a sensational masterpiece is the magic system. Magic—nen—is so complicated, so interwoven, that the magic system is all enticing.

Togashi steadily builds up the world of HxH; we follow Gon and Kilua as they explore from place to place in hunt of Gon's elusive father: Ging.

The story has amazing character development focusing on Gon and Kilua independently as well as together. They are brothers—no, even closer. While no review I can write can do HxH justice, the series is an experience. One whole heartedly worth watching/reading.

Because of health problems, the series goes on periods of hiatus, but there's more than enough material right now to keep you busy (400 chapters).

6: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Hiroma Arakawa): 9.1/10

There can be no better definition of original. Fullmetal Alchemist is like nothing I've ever read. That is to say, there's nothing out there like it. That, in and of itself, deserved praise.

Edward And Alphonse Elric embark on a journey to recover their bodies after practicing the forbidden human transmutation to revive their dead mother. It failed and left them with only half their bodies left. With the badge of state alchemist, the two brothers seek the elusive philosopher’s stone, the most powerful alchemy enhancer. As the brother's travel the world, their lives touch those who come near them.

Their quest leads them to discovering the homunculi: human-like creatures created through the power of the philosopher’s stone (greed, wrath, pride, lust, envy, sloth, gluttony). They uncover the deeper secret that the homunculi have infiltrated the military, and the higher echelons of the government. The Elric brothers hunt down the homunculi, but colonel Roy Mustang fears they have deeper suspicions and suspects that the Elric brothers are in turn being used.

The plot thickens when the Elric brother's father, Hohenheim, enters the picture. And on the horizon, civil war brews within the empire.

The magic system, Alchemy, perfectly complements the chaotic, action-packed fights that take place over the course of the story. More than that, the author does a great job of keeping the magic, simple, down to earth, and easy to understand. The audience is never left wondering how something happened, because it's all traced back to the basic rules of alchemy.

The law of equivalent exchange which is separated into two parts:

1. The Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that energy and matter can neither be created from nothing nor destroyed to the point of elemental nonexistence. In other words, to create an object with the mass of one kilogram, at least one kilogram of material is necessary; destroying an object with the mass of one kilogram would reduce it to a set of parts, the sum of which would have the mass of one kilogram.
2. The Law of Natural Providence, which states that an object or material made of a particular substance or element can only be transmuted into another object with the same basic makeup and properties of that initial material. In other words, an object or material made mostly of water can only be transmuted into another object with the attributes of water.

The story, while it appears light on the surface, is anything but. It's a coming-of-age story that shepherds the Elic brothers into adulthood. They're forced to deal with death and loss. It's a story about caring about something more than life itself. Whenever I rewatch Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, it always feels too short—only 64 episodes long.

5: One Punch Man (One, Yusuke Murata): 9.1/10

One Punch Man, on the other hand, is exactly what it appears to be: a light-hearted comedy interspersed with rare moments of seriousness: I love it. It's a breath of fresh air from the oppressive cone of Shonen, all following the same tropes and trends.

One Punch man is more than an outlier. It threatens to change all of Shonen—it's revolutionary!

The story follows Saitama, a once average corporate worker who decided to get strong. Except, he's too strong. Way way way too strong: he defeats everyone in only a single punch. And this is the major problem Saitama struggles with. Everyone is simply too weak.

Don't get me wrong. Amazing fight scenes aren't mutually exclusive.

Saitama eventually gets an apprentice and a score of rivals who recognize how truly amazing he is. And yet, most of society still doesn't take him seriously. But those are just some of Saitama's major challenges.

Out of all the animanga on this list, One Punch Man is the easiest to watch and, more importantly, the easiest to fall in love with. With only 24 episodes currently, and 180 manga chapters, it's a breeze.

4: Kokou no Hito—Climber (Shin-ichi Sakamoto)~ 9.3/10

While not nearly as popular as Haikyuu, Kokou no Hito, since it was started in 2007, is the undisputable king of sports. As the name suggests, this series is about climbing. One of my favorite aspects of the sports genre is when the author tackles an unconventional sport, and by reading the series, the audience learns all about those athletes and what their lives are like.

This aspect is definitely what made Kokou no Hito stand out in sharp contrast to Haikyuu. While Haikyuu tackles the more conventional sport, volleyball, a sport that most people have some rudimentary knowledge, climbing is practically unheard of. What's more, while Haikyuu takes on the common duo—rivalry—trope, this series follows the introverted protagonist, Mori Buntarou, whose sole goal in life is to get away from the chaotic world around him. And he finds that solitude in the mountains.

But rock climbing is never done alone. Climbers wear tethers and communicate with their team. Climbing is very dangerous after all. But to Mori, people are needy, they're burdens he doesn't need to carry.

Also, this series tackles real-life problems that other sports manga scrupulously avoid: namely, the idealism of youth. Early in the series, Mori hears his classmates share their dreams about the future; travelling abroad, becoming a model, etc. Years later, while pursuing his own dream, he meets peers from his past. The manga does away with the pretense of happy ever after and shows disturbing themes such as prostitution, and drug addiction. But it's all for a purpose: Mori grows.

His dream itself is K2's East Face, the never before conquered route to the hardest mountain in the world. As Mori grows, conquering the fears of his youth around people, and eventually gets married, the pressure to leave his dangerous rock-climbing life behind builds up, leading to the breathtaking crescendo of the story leading up to its conclusion.

There's nothing about Kokou no Hito that isn't just right. In many ways, it's the story of Mori Buntarou, the introvert learning to communicate with others. But it's also about problems he faces as he grows into his adult life. What is his dream worth, his life?

3: 20th Century Boys (Naoki Urasawa): 9.3/10

The unquestionable king of mystery goes to Urasawa's greatest work: 20th Century Boys. This story follows three separate timelines: the past, the present, and the future.

In the present, Kenji, judged by society as a failure in every respect—living with his mother while taking care of his sister's daughter—after the death of his childhood friend, Donkey, investigates a serious of questionable events. What he finds scares him. There's a cult growing under the leadership of a mysterious figure: friend.

In the past, Kenji, still only a kid, starts brainstorming with a group of friends: how can we take over the world? The first step would be to scare humanity, he writes in his notebook. And then, a powerful cult leader could emerge.

"What is the best way to create public panic? " Young Kenji wonders. Back in the present, the Friend cult is growing in power and only Kenji seems to know that one of his childhood friends must be doing this—must have the notebook. He faintly remembers it—writing how to conquer the world. Why on Earth can't he remember what he wrote?

In the future, a girl named Kanna investigates the year 2000: the year when it all went wrong—the year her uncle Kenji died. In the years since, the world order has changed. Friend's cult has grown to an international organization. As Kanna races to uncover the secrets of the year 2000 and how her uncle died, she realizes that Freind, the supposed savior of the world, has more plans for humanity.

The story tackles themes such as aliens, space travel, bio-warfare, and everything else in between. There's a reason 20th Century Boys stands as king of its genre.

2: One Piece (Eiichiro Oda): 9.6/10

There's a reason One Piece has been going on for over 20 years. It's the undisputable king of Shonen. It also needs no introduction. One Piece is the ultimate character journey following Luffy and his crew as they seek out the One Piece, the greatest treasure in the world left by the pirate king, Gold Roger.

The story follows the Straw Hat Pirates through the grand line as they stop in different countries and leave their mark. But truth to tell, One Piece didn't really click for me until we reached the Paramount War (yup, I watched 400 episodes before I loved it). As the giants in the pirate world—the emperors started joining the story, I was sold.

Since there's little praise I can add to an already saturated space, I'll keep this brief. One piece is the king of Shonen, period. But why isn't it number one? It hasn't ended yet. And there's only one series that's the king of endings.

1: Code Geass (Ichirō Ōkouchi, Gorō Taniguchi): 9.8/10

Code Geass, a wholly original story without manga or light novel backing, is a masterpiece. It's the template for how to write two contrasting characters, it's the template for how to write plot, it's the template for how to write endings.

The primary conflict revolves around the Holy Britannian Empire, which controls over 2/3 of the world. And after the recent annexation of Japan, the once proud nation is now called Area 11. This is where the story kicks off with our two protagonists. Lelouch Lamperouge, former prince of the Britannian empire, is now a student studying at Ashford Academy. And Suzaku Kururugi, son of the late Japanese prime minister, now serves in Britannian military.

After Lelouch is blessed with the power of Geass—the ability to make anyone bend to his will if he makes eye contact (though it can only be used once per person), Lelouch decided to change the world order with his own hands. He starts by organizing the rebels in area 11 as their charismatic leader, zero.

Split over two seasons, titled r1 and r2 (rebellion 1 and rebellion 2), the plot challenges our preconceived notions of good and evil. While Lelouch believes the means justify the ends, Suzaku believes results achieved through inappropriate means are worth less than nothing. While Lelouch believes change can only be achieved through military strength, through bringing down the system, Suzaku believes change can be accomplished peacefully, through a transition of power. The two childhood friends stand at odds with each other, their identities hidden: Lelouch as zero and Suzaku as the pilot of the Lancelot.

Arch enemies, yet friends.

And the beauty of Code Geass is that, while the plot is bigger than these two characters, in essence, it remains a conflict between them throughout. Lelouch, who in reality, seeks vengeance against his father for the murder of his mother and the crippling of his sister, aims to use Japan as a means toward an end. Suzaku, who inadvertently caused Japan to surrender during the war, aims to free Japan to redeem himself. The only difference being that he intends to free Japan legally by becoming the knight of one, strongest knight in the empire who has the privilege of choosing one of the territories for himself.

Love, loss, kindness, sorrow: the two are mirrors of each other. And as the world hinges toward war, they find themselves on opposite sides.

As I mentioned, Code Geass has the greatest ending in anime. Having rewatched the anime at least half a dozen times, I can confidently say that it has no equal. It's short (only 50 episodes) and packed full of action, but more importantly, it carries messages about morality, dictatorship, and the trend of society.

What is right? What is wrong? What is the grey area?

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