{"id":1661,"date":"2014-01-21T08:48:56","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T00:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/?p=1661"},"modified":"2014-12-26T18:58:27","modified_gmt":"2014-12-26T10:58:27","slug":"13-awesomes-manga-for-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/01\/21\/13-awesomes-manga-for-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"13 awesome manga for 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"news_large_cover11\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to think that I read a lot this year but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not exactly sure if I did. In the last year I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been gorging on texts that I think I had around forty books, mostly academic, in my bibliography. Was there time for manga? I always wish there was more time for manga.<\/p>\n

I did try to read some manga this year and this is the list of my favourites that I have read. I honestly wish I read more. Again, this list is not based on whether it was released this year but are based on titles that I managed to read this year. And I read a couple of awesome ones this year. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 13 awesome titles from 2013.<\/p>\n


\n\"Tropic<\/a><\/p>\n

Tropic of the Sea by Satoshi Kon<\/h3>\n

I love Satoshi Kon more than and sooner than I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever proclaim love for Hayao Miyazaki. His movies have always been very personal for me and knowing that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no longer around, it’s all about making the most of what he’s left behind. One of which was this manga, Tropic of the Sea<\/i>, a manga I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know existed and was pleased that it was made available in English. The story follows a a family at some coastal town and the myth that surrounds them. It is visually stunning and for a while reminded me of Jiro Taniguchi, particularly with how clean and smooth Satoshi Kon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lines were. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see his Paprika-esque visuals here but it remains a good read and quite a solid manga that anyone can enjoy. If people are expecting Satoshi Kon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mindfuck in this one they might be disappointed. It basks in the small town feel which I love dearly so it has a soft spot for my favourite reads this year.<\/p>\n

\"oboreruknife\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oboreru Knife by George Asakura<\/h3>\n

Another one of my hick town manga. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something amazing and beautiful about small town stories and surprisingly, this was one I truly enjoyed. In this comic, the heroine moves to a small town and was far removed from the glitz and glamour of the city. Despite this, the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glamour continues to lure her and this leads to a very unfortunate event which leaves her disconnected from her town and the boy who showed her its beauty. I find this story compelling as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those shojo titles that is unafraid to tackle some uncomfortable topics relating to children in Japan: gravure idol culture gone wrong, bullying, rape, sex, etc. While it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first to do this, I have to commend it for not taking these matters lightly. Asakura and her heroine faces these problems head on and she does this with such grace and beauty. Quite mature for a shojo manga but one that I think some girls would like to have read in this day and age.<\/p>\n

\"Takemitsusamurai\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Takemitsu Zamurai by Taiyo Matsumoto<\/h3>\n

This manga was such an unusual art and style from Taiyo Matsumoto that I sincerely enjoyed every bit of it<\/a>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a refreshing read on old samurai tales and one that I immensely enjoyed with every page. Apart from Vagabond, this is perhaps my second favourite samurai manga. Sorry, Rurouni Kenshin.<\/p>\n

\"Smellslikegreen\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Smells Like Green Spirit by Saburo Nagai<\/h3>\n

This title is probably my most favourite BL to date. Surprisingly, from an author I have not read! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spoken about this at length in my review<\/a> and if I can sum up my thoughts on this title, well, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably one of the best crafted BL stories that captures the youth of a transforming sexuality. It has humour, vibrant characters, and a beautiful setting that is alive and well.<\/p>\n

\"Gundamtheorigin\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gundam the Origin by Tomino Yoshiyuki and Yasuhiko Yoshikazu<\/h3>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always been a Gundam 0079 fan but I actually never got to own these books. My friend Yue was really hooked on this and I mulled over to give the Japanese edition to try. However, since Vertical announced that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re translating this title and is giving it the full service, I just thought of waiting for the English editions. Unsurprisingly, it was worth the wait. The glossy pages, the hardbound, and the fantastic beginning of humanity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s survival is well captured in the book. The team behind Gundam Origin really pushed the story of 0079 further, highlighting the complexities of human relations as it gets divided in space. I am honestly overwhelmed by the beauty of Yasuhiko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s illustrations having come from the rudimentary 0079 animation. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a beautiful start and honestly one that I look forward to until all the volumes come out in English.<\/p>\n

\"sonoamatou\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sono Otoko Amatou Nitsuki by Est Em<\/h3>\n

Somehow, every year, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got to be an Est Em favourite right? One of the things that excited me last year was the release of this old series in Ohta Shuppan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Poco Poco site. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a delightful story about a man and his love for chocolate which extends to the people dear to him. While not exactly a food manga, Est Em manages to entice our tastebuds with her delectable imagery which brings to life the sheen over a well-tempered truffle. This is a book that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read without having a truffle to your side. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lovely read and one I’d read over and over again.<\/p>\n

\"nounai<\/a><\/p>\n

Nounai Poisonberry by Mizushiro Setona<\/h3>\n

While this has been around for a while, I really only got to reading this title last year. This title takes a look at the voices inside a woman’s head. Literally. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a humorous story of how this woman tries to silence these opposing opinions, maintain her sanity, and decide which voice truly represents what she wants. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a hilarious tale although a friend of mine has already noted her annoyance with the story. However, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t possibly consider it a Mizushiro Setona story if you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get annoyed! I stand by this interesting tale which I find quite relatable given the madness that I myself hear from the voices in my head.<\/p>\n

\"kyouwakaisha\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu by Fujimura Mari <\/h3>\n

I would put Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll take a work holiday) as part of my “obachan OL needs some love” category. I suppose Nounai Poisonberry falls in this too but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more apparent in Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu. While we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see struggling voices in her head, the heroine does have her apprehensions in dating a younger man more so when she has absolutely no experience in love. When she does score with a boy in her office, she takes a break from work and starts to reassess her life and her sudden love. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a title that tickles my obachan heart, one that makes me think that even if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a little older than most heroines, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve still got our tokidoki moments.<\/p>\n

\"Daiya<\/a><\/p>\n

Seven Deadly Sins by Suzuki Nakaba | Ace of Diamond by Terajima Yuki<\/h3>\n

This is a tie on the shonen battle since I really can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t choose one to let go. For one, I read Ace of Diamond first, curious on finding a baseball manga that fills the gap of Adachi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mix. As it turns out, this baseball story exceeds my expectations, giving me enough technical appreciation for the sport and endearing characters that I literally cried for. I\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget you Tanba-senpai. ; ^; This is perhaps this generation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new koshien champions.<\/p>\n

\"7<\/a>
\nWhile I was set on Ace of Diamond, I read Seven Deadly Sins to pass time and I was honestly surprised by this story. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a shonen story that centers on a political struggle and I was quite surprised at how youthful and refreshing a deeply complex story on war can get. Set at a magical universe of Brittania, a princess sets on a journey to look for the 7 Deadly Sins, a group of people who have committed the highest treason in the land. The journey leads her in a tavern where a young man reveals he holds much greater strength than what he looks. This probably deserves a proper review someday, but from what I read, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a refreshing tale on war dynamics. Shonen stories often gloss over the burden heroes bear for every battle they fight, but this story has this raised awareness of the heroes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 crimes. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also not one of those black and white tales which I appreciate when I cross it in shonen manga.<\/p>\n

\"ballroom<\/a><\/p>\n

Ballroom E Yokoso by Takeuchi Tomo<\/h3>\n

When I first saw this in manga taishou last year, I thought, a manga on ballroom? Why not, right? I was expecting this title to be closer to Swan where it focuses on the relationships formed behind dancing. Something like a younger version of Shall We Dance. Instead, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a legit sports manga with drawings that matches the energy and vibe of sports dancing. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beautifully drawn and I think it serves as a better use of your time compared to watching Dancing with the Stars.<\/p>\n

\"umibenoonna\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Umibe no Onna no Ko by Inio Asano<\/h3>\n

This manga was actually one of my earliest reads last year. I got it mostly because it was Inio Asano and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a bit of a fan of his since Solanin. If you guys haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read Solanin, you should. Umibe no Onna no Ko was also published in Manga Erotics F and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always a plus for me. Some of my favourite titles have come from that magazine after all. This title is a rather cute and discomforting story of young love. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an unusual romance about two sexually curious kids and how that curiosity caught the best and worst of them. I remember having a very cathartic reaction with this manga after reading the first two volumes. Until now, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t place words on how or why I liked this other than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well shit, that blows. But fuck, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be available in English too.<\/p>\n

\"Udagawacho<\/a><\/p>\n

Udagawacho de Mattete by Hideyoshico<\/h3>\n

Prior to my read of Smells Like Green Spirit, this was in the running of my favourite BL from last year because of its approach towards transgender relationships. Hideyoshico writes a rather believable set of characters who bear the weight of their newfound sexuality with such responsibility and bravery. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cute and heartwarming tale. Like if Wandering Son goes to high school.<\/p>\n

\"kiraranohoshi\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kirara no Hoshi by Morinaga Ai<\/h3>\n

I just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quit Morinaga Ai. Her sort of new-ish story may not be as insane as Heavenly Hockey Club but it still contains her comedic energy which I just cannot forget. This time, she looks into the world of celebrities and her lead actress finds beauty in the most invisible boy in their school. To save her father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crippling talent company, she hires the boy to be her next star.<\/p>\n

So here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my 13, actually 14, for 2013. I had a lovely time reading these manga. I\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 actually\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 read another manga which I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember the title but I remember the plot. I suppose I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be reading that and sharing that someday, but if I found 13 new titles to be enjoyable in the last year, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m quite sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find a whole new slew of titles this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to think that I read a lot this year but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not exactly sure if I did. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"I rounded up the manga I enjoyed reading in 2013.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[559,33],"tags":[298,465,478,208,481,480,445,484,479,482,431,483],"class_list":["post-1661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-favorite-reads","category-features","tag-inio-asano","tag-saburo-nagai","tag-best-of-manga","tag-est-em","tag-fujimari-mari","tag-gundam","tag-hideyoshico","tag-morinaga-ai","tag-satoshi-kon","tag-suzuki-nakaba","tag-taiyo-matsumoto","tag-terajima-yuki"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p26e5y-qN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1669,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/01\/25\/2014-manga-taishou\/","url_meta":{"origin":1661,"position":0},"title":"A Sneak Peek of The 2014 Manga Taisho Nominees","author":"khursten","date":"January 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another year for Manga Taisho (Manga Award) where some of manga\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most influential critics select a number of titles to choose the best of manga released last year. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a yearly tradition of sorts for me to check this award out since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a lazy fart and I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sevendeadlysins","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2824\/12128974094_67e8b13ae6_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1641,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2013\/12\/20\/digital-reads-ebookjapan\/","url_meta":{"origin":1661,"position":1},"title":"Digital Reads: Ebookjapan","author":"khursten","date":"December 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the things I dreaded when I moved to Australia was how I'm going to weed my precious manga collection. By then, my collection has blown out of proportion and to choose which ones to part with tore me apart. Quite literally, if you ask my heart. Painful as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3826\/11116117723_13bb85a52e_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1941,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/01\/04\/manga-resolution-for-2015-all-about-josei\/","url_meta":{"origin":1661,"position":2},"title":"Manga Resolution for 2015: All about Josei","author":"khursten","date":"January 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As I was writing down my favourite reads of last year, I sat back and wondered, how much attention did I give to josei that year? I remember writing last year about the silence on josei but did I even make an effort to tackle josei, let alone understand this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fujoshi Life"","block_context":{"text":"Fujoshi Life","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8668\/15994894688_a84d1ae6c0_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2012,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/12\/31\/10-awesomesauce-manga-from-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":1661,"position":3},"title":"10 awesomesauce manga from 2015","author":"khursten","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"2015 came and went so fast and I feel like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read enough manga. OTL. More like, I feel like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t written much about the manga I read in the last year. I remember making a call for more josei this year but I ended up reading so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favorite Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Favorite Reads","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/favorite-reads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shelf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1720\/23366688053_5fdb0ea604_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":464,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2011\/01\/17\/sneak-peek-at-2011-manga-taishou-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":1661,"position":4},"title":"Sneak Peek at 2011 Manga Taishou List","author":"khursten","date":"January 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Manga Taishou season again and I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even started reading Therma Romae (once\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I find my copy somewhere). Out of all the award ceremonies, I tend to enjoy the selection in Manga Taishou because these manga do not disappoint at all. Some awards tend to let some title win\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fujoshi Life"","block_context":{"text":"Fujoshi Life","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/news_large_otoyome2covers.jpg?fit=610%2C868&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2133,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2016\/12\/31\/my-favourite-manga-reads-in-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":1661,"position":5},"title":"My favourite manga reads in 2016","author":"khursten","date":"December 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 2016. What a year. It's been a tough year for many of us and personally, it was a challenging one. I was so busy with the last stretch of my dissertation that I hardly read any manga at all! When things finally slowed down in December, I started thinking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favorite Reads"","block_context":{"text":"Favorite Reads","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/favorite-reads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/best2016manga.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/best2016manga.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/best2016manga.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/best2016manga.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/best2016manga.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1661"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1667,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661\/revisions\/1667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}