Recommend a manga for my little sister

[Daravon]

I've just started reading manga myself. I've sampled Hellsing, Gunslinger girl, and Trigun in order of how much I liked them. I also picked up a copy of Azumanga Diaoh 1 (あずまんがだよ？my jp skills are weak).

I realized that unlike the others it's appropriate for my little sister (12yo), but I'm not sure she would like it because it's mostly a comedy and doesn't have much coherence of plot or fulfilling themes.

Would anyone care to recommend a manga that someone in her age group could relate to, something not too racy or violent, but not dumbed down either? I suppose FMA might fit the bill, but the opening might scare her off. I also need something liscenced and available affordably, so I can get it in book form.

[sohryu]

Yotsuba&! (http://home.nc.rr.com/momotato/yotsubato.html)

Go. Now.

[soundchazer]

Hmmm... Ouran High School Academy, Kare Kano, Maison Ikkoku, Aria.

[Daravon]

Oh I forgot...if I'm buying it, I'm reading it, so it has to be fulfilling to adults too.

[Saya-biki]

School Rumble!

if you wanted to...you could try Excel Saga XD I started that at around 12...

[Liegenschonheit]

Kare Kano may be a little adult for a 12 year old, especially since he asked for something not too racy.

I would recommend:

Card Captor Sakura: One of Clamp's best efforts. The protagonists are quite young, and there is very little sexuality. The violence is limited to fantasy type battles while collecting cards, with no real blood or anything like that.

Fruits Basket: An excellent manga with great humour, drama, and a bit of romance. It is sophisticated enough for adult fans, so she won't feel like it's meant for kids, but it isnt violent or sexual.

DNAngel: a cute, funny shoujo manga with a healthy dose of romance. Again, nothing racy.

Inyasha: This one is very popular amongst teenage girls, and is appropriate for the age group. The violence is fantasy type violence in battles with demons, but not a whole lot of blood or gore. It is a comedic romance.

There are a lot of manga that are targeted specifically to the female young-teen age group available, that are sophisticated enough to be interesting for adults. Tokyopop and Viz both feature a lot of shoujo manga, and checking out their websites will give you a synopsis and general idea of what the manga is about, and both companies have age-ratings on the back of their books.

If she is interested in manga, why not take her with you and let her pick out some of her own?

[sohryu]

Oh I forgot...if I'm buying it, I'm reading it, so it has to be fulfilling to adults too.
Yotsubato is fulfilling to adults. I'm 20 and I love it.

Of course, age is nothing but a number. >.>;

[Daravon]

I bought Yotsubato #1. Figure I can't go wrong if I liked AzuDi. Note: this thread is not just a thinly veiled attempt to hide my interest in such genres :).

[Senshi]

If she is interested in manga, why not take her with you and let her pick out some of her own?

Yeah thats a good idea (unless its a present or something) and since most manga's have ratings on them it should be relatively simple to pick something that is appropriate. :yes:

Even tho I imagine she would be into shoujo manga which isnt really my cup of tea, there are things she (and maybe you as well) might be interested in...

Like most of the stuff by Rumiko Takahashi is good (such as the aforementioned Inuyasha and one my my favorites - Ranma 1/2)

Also the 4-woman mangaka group CLAMP is good to look into (like the aforementioned Card Captor or anything with the exception of Chobits which is more shounen romance than anything)

You might also want to think about picking up that magazine "Shoujo Beat" that is available in most bookstores which has chapters from some mangas, and then if she sees something she likes might want to start collecting the volumes. I dont know how racy the stuff in there is however since I have never picked it up.

I bought Yotsubato #1. Figure I can't go wrong if I liked AzuDi. Note: this thread is not just a thinly veiled attempt to hide my interest in such genres :).

good choice... I like pretty much anything by Kyohiko Azuma as people who know me around here are well aware ^_^

[Tamanegi Sensei]

Theres a little somethin called Ichigo Mashimaro. It's like an Azumanga Daioh-lite. Sometin like that may seem good for that 12 year old or somethin. It's a slice of life and it follows the lives of 12 year olds, elementary students, go figure. It might be out soon so I would pick it up.

[LadySage]

Kodocha's pretty good as well. The protagonist, Sana, is around that age and as the series goes, she faces a lot of issues your sister may or may not be able to relate to. It's very funny when it wants to be - Sana is an absolute hoot.

I started on Ranma 1/2 when I was 12, and it's still a favorite to this day. It saddens me that it's not popular with new fans...

Fushigi Yuugi, and anything by Yuu Watase (except Ceres) is good stuff for that age group as well.

[Tamanegi Sensei]

Does manhwa count as well cause Duck Prince looks like it's good for the tween. And if Yuu Watase is good I would go with Absolute Boyfriend...if you like shallow and repeitive. Or.. anythin Clamp, even Angelic Layer seems kid friendly. Kids are playin with dolls in this right?

[Dtortot]

i think my help here is very limited since I don't read shoujo nor stuff that is mostly aimed at kids, but I would venture and say Saiyuki, Nausicaa and Planetes (although this one might bore her). That is in my expirience.

In the experience from other people:
Pretty Face, Zodiac Detective, Magical Girls.

[Niner]

Ehhh... Pretty Face may have a bit too much in the way of fanservice and racy themes for a young'un.

My personal recommendation is Wish, by CLAMP. Sweet and touching, with just the right amount of comedy. Definitely one of my personal favorites; your sister should like the pretty art if nothing else. XD

[Ender]

Ara ra,

My youngest sister is 13, and I've been throwing manga her way since she was 5-6...but this probably has nothing to do with anything. ^_^;

I do know that she likes series like Rurouni Kenshin, Nausicaa, Trigun, Great Teacher Onizuka(well...she's kinda advanced for her age), Ranma 1/2, One Piece, Prince of Tennis, Harlem Beat, any one of the Phoenix volumes, Maison Ikkoku, Dragon Ball, and Midori no Hibi just to name a couple. Again, take it as you will

-Prof. Ender

[Two-twenty]

Fruits Basket: An excellent manga with great humour, drama, and a bit of romance. It is sophisticated enough for adult fans, so she won't feel like it's meant for kids, but it isnt violent or sexual.
Uh, there is a little bit of this in the later volumes, but by the time Tokyopop release them, she'll be old enough anyway. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/Twotwenty/iceburn.gif

[soundchazer]

Oh I forgot...if I'm buying it, I'm reading it, so it has to be fulfilling to adults too.

I still would go with the choices I mentioned earlier. I would also add Short Program 1 and 2, and maybe include Miracle Girls (if it is still in print), Card Captor Sakura.

If you have to select any Rumiko Takahashi manga, my choices would be like this, in deacreasing order: Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Inu Yasha (she also has mermaid forest, which is quite good, but more of a horror type series).

A good but sad manga, which can be enjoyed teens and adults is Socrates in Love. It is only one volume long.

If she is inot romantic manga, she will enjoy Hot Gimmick, Girl Got Game and M.A.R.S. (although that one might be a little too complex in situations for her age). Fruits Basket is another good choice.

[ant]

Hikaru no Go, Bleach, Naruto Shounen Jump manga would be a good starting point. Case Closed is another your sister might enjoy.

[LadySage]

Does manhwa count as well cause Duck Prince looks like it's good for the tween. And if Yuu Watase is good I would go with Absolute Boyfriend...if you like shallow and repeitive. Or.. anythin Clamp, even Angelic Layer seems kid friendly. Kids are playin with dolls in this right?

Well, I wouldn't say X is kid friendly, although I did start it at 13 or 14. ^^;

And you know, Watase has a lot of manga other than Absolute Boyfriend. I've decided not to read it, since the premise seems absolutely ridiculous, but I enjoy most of her work. Lovely art, interesting plots, and great character developments ahoy!

[soundchazer]

Well, I wouldn't say X is kid friendly, although I did start it at 13 or 14. ^^;

And you know, Watase has a lot of manga other than Absolute Boyfriend. I've decided not to read it, since the premise seems absolutely ridiculous, but I enjoy most of her work. Lovely art, interesting plots, and great character developments ahoy!

That is funny, because from all the Yuu Watase series I have read (Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres), Abstolute boyfriend has the most plausible story. I mean, seriously... how often do you get transported into a China-like world, or happen to be a Celestial Maiden? One thing is a constant on the three series: lots of melodrama and bishie men.

[LadySage]

That is funny, because from all the Yuu Watase series I have read (Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres), Abstolute boyfriend has the most plausible story. I mean, seriously... how often do you get transported into a China-like world, or happen to be a Celestial Maiden? One thing is a constant on the three series: lots of melodrama and bishie men.

This is manga. Not everything has to be plausible, you know! But on that note, Imadoki would probably be more plausible than Absolute Boyfriend.

And yes, lots of melodrama and lots of bishies.

[Kei]

bishie men that look identical.

Fixed.

~Kei

[Dreamescape]

The last time I went home I bought my lil' sister The Flower of the Deep Sleep since I noticed she started getting into manga/anime. She seemed to like it a lot and was asking me to get her the second volume before I left. But when I was trying to decide what to get her I realized I had no idea what a little girl her age would even want to read. So I just looked for something I thought would be intersting to me. Flower of the Deep Sleep is about a girl who can see the future in her dreams. Then of course come the obvious dilema of whether or not she should change it or not. "Nice Guy" pose a la Rock Lee for the premise. lol.

[Risen Hell Fire]

Hmmm besides Azu and Yostuba I think maybe To Heart, it's cute but short, shorter then Azumanga short.

[Lupin the 3rd]

Nausicaa manga, Kare kano, Ouran high school host club, Fruits basket, and xxxholic are good choices.

[Tori]

well i would sugest The ALL-NEW TENCHI MUYO. That was the first book I got. You should get her a book that she can relate to.

[Daravon]

To follow up, I bought her all 4 volumes of Azumanga, and she totally loved them. Now I guess I'll get her Fruits Basket. I also got Yotsubato 1 and it seemed pretty boring to me.

[alien222]

To follow up, I bought her all 4 volumes of Azumanga, and she totally loved them. Now I guess I'll get her Fruits Basket. I also got Yotsubato 1 and it seemed pretty boring to me.

Good idea... fruits basket is a great shoujo manga!

[Sage Brushfire]

lucky i love shoujo manga now lets see, Card Captor Sakura, Azumanga Daioh, D.N.Angel, haven;t read but i deifnately heard yotsuba was good, and saint tail is a fav of mine all of them very kid friendly and excellent reads

[Yodatsubato]

...haven;t read but i deifnately heard yotsuba was good...
Yotsubato is good. But it may be better off if you don't like it, since your heart will be at the mercy of the fearsome Baron ADV, who is not feeling particularly merciful at the moment...

The first three mangas came out in June, August, and October of 2005. Because of some... issues... within ADV's manga division, they haven't said anything about when Volume 4 is going to be out (the Japanese volume was released a long time ago, though). However, I have heard that they cancelled a few manga titles and Yotsubato is not one of them. That's an encouraging sign, I guess.

My point is that *if* you get into Yotsubato, which many people have done, you'll need to be patient. Or at least buy yourself a straight jacket; that always keeps me out of trouble.

[NausicaaBoy]

Try Dragon Knights!! its a good story for anyone, and there is lots of material. Its ostensively for over 13, but it would be fine for anyone, in my opinion.

[Tori]

She might like Buso Renkin it's a good manga for people who like Rurouni Kenshin. Another one is Last Hope its a good book in my opoinion.

[NausicaaBoy]

oh yeah and Fruits basket

[Darkdreams]

From Far Away is another good, clean manga.

[HuggyBear]

Yeah well if no one's already recommended it, I'd say try Angel/Dust or Evangelion: Angelic Days

[Kakashi Hatake]

Hmmmm...lets see I would preffer YOTSUBA, but don't take my word for it. You should read it yourself before giving it to her. I mean I first got YOTSUBA from a book fair at my school and after I read the first book, I got the second. Can't find the 3rd one yet tho :whine: I don't know if you or your sister would like it, but I do like it and it's funny at times.