Good Horror Manga (serious question)

[mistress #9]

Hey all i finally decied to give this manga thing a try and was wondering What everyone's favorite Horror/thriller Manga were. I think if i hear about all your favs and why you love them. Then I would be able to pick a manga series to try. Thanks all. Oh i already have tried Pet shop of horrors, and i am liking it but want somehting a little darker..

PS. i did look at the post looking for a good manga but I wanted to hear from other fans. Sorry if this is not okay but i figured I would give it a try..

[Mana]

Mantis Woman was a pretty good, one-shot horror manga. It's a series of short stories by the same woman, and was released in the States... last year sometime, I believe? It was done by a smaller company though, so it may be hard to find (I got mine at a comic book store).

Also, a decent amount of Koji Suzuki (You know, the guy who wrote the "Ringu" novels) stuff has been brought over, including all of the manga for the Ringu series. Ring and Ring 2 were done rather crappily (in my opinion) trying to do a horror manga in a happy, shoujo-esque style, but there's a different artist for Spiral. I've yet to read either Ring 0 or Birthday, but the art seemed pretty good in what I saw of them. Suzuki's manga for Dark Water was also released State-side, and what I found the best about it was the collection of other stories in the manga (a total of 5 or 6, I believe). I know the Ringu stuff was released by Dark Horse, but I think ADV is the one who released Dark Water. I've seen all of them at B&N, but they've been out for a while now.

[DarkKanti]

Monster, Pluto, and 20th Century Boys. All by the same genius author Naoki Urasawa, they might not deliver the screams, but each one will definitely make your skin crawl. Monster is about a doctor who saves the life of a boy who grows up to be a serial killer and the doctor ends up the prime suspect. Pluto is a much darker retelling of a story arc in Astro Boy where all of the world's strongest robots are being systematically killed off. 20th Century Boys... I can't give this the summary it deserves. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. It's one of the best mangas ever written and definitely deserves a look.

[Rove]

Since you're gore and nudity tolerant, let's play with all the high cards:

Berserk: Not only horror, but action, medival-action, political intrigue, betrayal, oceans of blood and drawn human pieces flying everywhere, demons, and a bit of romance. You're in? (Published by Dark Horse)

Koroshiya 1 : In before Dtortot, if you ever read this (not licensed, probably never will) you will thank me for your nightmares.

Sky High-Sky High Karma: Not much blood, but plenty of eerieness that creeps behind your back. Unlicensed.

MPD Psycho: A detective that suffers from multiple-personality disorder helps solve gruesome cases that may (or may not) be related to his other personalities. Plenty of blood, gore and violence too. Unlicensed.

Now on to the cult titles:

Junji Ito: (A manga author, not a manga). Titles like Tomie, Uzumaki, Voices in the Dark and Gyo have gained him the reputation of being one of the most "graphic" manga artists, and with reason.

Maruo Suehiro: A favorite of mine, his works are beyond words and extremely hard to find in the US, so good luck.

Honorable mentions:

The Suicide Club: Based on a movie by the same name, a group of highschool girls gather to commit mass suicides in public places in Japan, with the help of a reincarnation leader figure. Is not that good, but is a quick read (1 volume).

Vampire Princess Miyu: No gore and little blood can be found here, but similar to Sky High, it has a lot of eerie atmosphere to keep you reading, the artwork is beautiful too.

Leviathan: More oriented to mystery cases than horror, it still delivers some very gruesome scenes, and the plot and artwork are very good too.

Jiraishin: Again, not horror per se, more like cop stories with ocassional gore, blood and bits of horror in some cases. Some volumes published by Tokyopop (former Mixx), known as Ice Blade, however the license expired and it's out of print.

Death Note: Again, not horror per se, but a great thriller in it's own right. Beware, dialogue heavy, if you're looking for cheap bloob go look somewhere else. Published by Viz.

Boogiepop Phantom (and others): Great thriller/mystery/supernatural reading. Seven Seas has started to publish this one and with very high quality both in translation, additional information and overall paper quality.

DarkKanti already covered Naoki Urasawa, but I would like to support his works too. Great thrillers the whole of them.

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty, so wait till Dtortot comes by, he will give a list longer than mine.

[mistress #9]

thanks all they sound all so awsome, i thought boggiepop phantom was not realised in north america, that's what the anime/manga store i go to said, so maybe its just not in Canada yet? The rest sound good to, has anyone seen Model, a friend told me it was very good, but he was the friend that told me i would abosouly love sakura diaries...um yea okay...anyways i hope to add to this list soon myself. Glad to meet others that share my horror fandom, oh and are horror/thiller manga given a special name in japan?

[Pachinko]

Diabolo is a very good thriller manga.

As well as Ringu/Spiral and Dark Water. They are both brilliant. I have to admit, during reading sessions of either one, I had to set the book down a few times... It's intense stuff, IMHO. I'm sure you'd enjoy it.

[ant]

This might sound stupid but why isn't Monster down on anyone's list here?

[Dtortot]

This might sound stupid but why isn't Monster down on anyone's list here?Monster, Pluto, and 20th Century Boys. All by the same genius author Naoki Urasawa, they might not deliver the screams, but each one will definitely make your skin crawl. Monster is about a doctor who saves the life of a boy who grows up to be a serial killer and the doctor ends up the prime suspect. Pluto is a much darker retelling of a story arc in Astro Boy where all of the world's strongest robots are being systematically killed off. 20th Century Boys... I can't give this the summary it deserves. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. It's one of the best mangas ever written and definitely deserves a look.It has been listed.

[ant]

^I knew that question was stupid.

[Miaka Lee]

Scary Book Volume 1: Reflections by Kazuo Umezu, was released by Dark Horse not to long ago. Umezu is known as the "Steven King of Japan" and I think he does a pretty go job at. This first volume presents two feature-length tales of terror. In "Mirror," a narcissistic girl's reflection begins to take mean-spirited command of her life; and in "Demon's Revenge," a sadistic samurai master bent on seeking retribution for his son's injuries finds the tables of vengeance turned against him. It's a bit of a spine-chiller.

The motto for him is "You haven't been scared until you've been scared by Umezu Kazuo!"

Scary Book Volume 2: Insects, I heard was just released in the states the 10th.

[ash_chan]

Mantis Woman was a pretty good, one-shot horror manga. It's a series of short stories by the same woman, and was released in the States... last year sometime, I believe? It was done by a smaller company though, so it may be hard to find (I got mine at a comic book store).

Also, a decent amount of Koji Suzuki (You know, the guy who wrote the "Ringu" novels) stuff has been brought over, including all of the manga for the Ringu series. Ring and Ring 2 were done rather crappily (in my opinion) trying to do a horror manga in a happy, shoujo-esque style, but there's a different artist for Spiral. I've yet to read either Ring 0 or Birthday, but the art seemed pretty good in what I saw of them. Suzuki's manga for Dark Water was also released State-side, and what I found the best about it was the collection of other stories in the manga (a total of 5 or 6, I believe). I know the Ringu stuff was released by Dark Horse, but I think ADV is the one who released Dark Water. I've seen all of them at B&N, but they've been out for a while now.


Spiral is alright, though I'm not sure about the others.

[Dtortot]

Who ever is having the idea of getting into Death Note. Don't.

[ash_chan]

Who ever is having the idea of getting into Death Note. Don't.
^Agreed.

I enjoyed the first volume or so, but after the arrival of the "second" Kira it just gets lame. D':<

[Dtortot]

^Agreed.

I enjoyed the first volume or so, but after the arrival of the "second" Kira it just gets lame. D':<Ummm yeah the only difference between what you are basing your opinion and I am basing mine is very simple. You have only read some part of it. I have read it all.

[mistress #9]

Well I have picked up monster loved it! I am very excited because the second volume just came in and I am picking it up on saturday. I also have up to vol 6 off Pet shop of horrors and the first vol of hellsing. I enjoying them all. So thanks for all the suggestions I will diffently check some more out. I also might look for the Vampire princess Miyu manga, I am enjoying the dvd's so I think I would like it. Thanks again and keep the suggestions comming. Oh and I looked for mantais Women but the store I go too doesnt sell it. :sweatdrop