Manga: The Complete Guide

As a fairly recent convert to manga, I found this guide indispensable. In reality it probably deserves four and a half stars as any 'ratings' system will inevitably be a little subjective but on the whole it has steered me through unfamiliar waters with few misteps (mix metaphors much?) An amazing literary format that shows no signs of abating in the west, Manga can seem totally overwhelming if you are a noob, but Thompson's guide is well-written, intelligent and easy to use. At the very least, you won't make the mistake of picking up what you think is 'magical girl' manga for your 10 year old only to discover it's porn (or vice versa, the book has seperate chapters on Yaoi and Adult manga.) It will need to be updated before long, but it's definetly money well spent.

Though I don't feel as qualified as some reviewers, all I can add is that this Guide provides an excellent overview of the Manga universe and includes informative articles on the subject. Not only can you find Manga directly, but be guided by topical lists. I found what I needed in this book and consider it great for beginners and the informed alike. If you want to understand what Manga is all about, this is a good place to start.

I got this book to function as a dictionary of all things manga (a term that is defined by the author of this text as Japanese ONLY created manga no Korean or Chinese creations are included). Fortunately this is how this book functions best as a dictionary. It fails to do little else. Included in the book are small articles are all forms of manga from shojo to shonen to otaku to doujinshi. The best part about these articles is that they refernce manga titles found within the book according to the article's subgenre. Interested in horror or fantasy or pet comedies, but don't know what else is out there - check out this book. Unfortunately, this book suffers from a few problems as well. There are instances of poor editing. On one page the word relationship is spelled "relationshi" and the period is missing. Another problem is the zero to four star rating system. In short, it can't be used. The author's prefernce for all things Shounen Jump is obvious and if the work is old (think Tezuka) it is guarenteed a good review. Another problem with the rating system is that whomever decided upon the rating didn't do it consistently. Bobobobo (bo whatever) receives a rating of 2.5 stars making it better than average while Loveless receives 2 stars making it average. (Loveless is described as "boring" showing the author's roots in shounen manga. There is even a comment that in other manga the characters at least trade swords.) Another insult is that Godchild received the same rating as Bobo. And for Descendant of Darkness fans (myself included) 1 star. Whereas Love Hina gets 3 (granted it is a fun work, but come on). Tenshi ja nai! receives 2 stars and is described as "trashy". However, anything Yu Watase does is not trashy or expected, but rather wonderful receiving an average 3 star rating (think H3 here). FMA receives a rating of 4 stars (which I happen to agree with) as does Naruto. Another problem is that the book already needs an update. Many of the works are left with NR (not rated) ratings because the work could not be reviewed prior to publishing. This includes works like Vampire Knight, E's, Black Sun, Silver Moon, or Gunsmith Cats: Burst. Works that have been out for a year or more. However, to compensate for this problem Del Ray does offer a link on its website to get updated reviews (the link is in the book). Also included in this work are subsections on hentai and yaoi. (Yuri is left to a small article. A major problem because many of the yuri works could not be reviewed by the author and are left as NR.) NR also appears heavily in the yaoi section. Only three yaoi works get four star ratings Shout Out Loud (deserved it), Wild Rock (never read heard it sucked), and Gerard & Jacques (I can't get over the girly art). Other fantasic works like Junjo Romantica (2.5 stars), Yellow (2 stars), and Brother (3 stars) receive lower ratings. Interestingly Love is Like a Hurricane is included in the NR catagory along wit

Thompson's book is an impressive achievement, and he's written the definitive "Everything You Ever Really Wanted to Know About Manga (But Had the Good Sense Not to Ask)" reference book. He provides coverage of every single manga that's been translated and made commercially available in the United States, which is a major undertaking by itself, and he goes the extra mile by including extensive essays on a variety of subjects ranging from basic Japanese culture to American fandom to the ins and outs of the publishing industry itself. Any librarian or educator who really wants to get a handle on what their kids are reading should do themselves a favor and order a copy. Manga fans themselves will want this just to keep track of the sheer number of comics that have been released since the 1980s, and to determine which ones are worth tracking down, and which should be avoided at all costs.

I first heard of this author and this book on the "Comic Geek Speak" podcast, (an excellent podcast by the way). I have been reading American comic books for over 25 years and had read very little Manga but was always interested. I was bit put off from some Manga because it either seemed juvenile or pornographic. This book does a tremendous job in dispelling the image of Manga that many of us raised on American comics have about the genre. This book explains not only the history of Manga but the various types of Manga to the point where if you can't find something you'd like, you just didn't look hard enough. Plus there are over 900 reviews! Don't like big-eyed teenage girls running around in skirts? Don't worry! There is a Manga series that caters to both men and women of every age group and interest. Horror, fantasy, occult, mystery, politics, sci-fi, sports, pets, martial arts, military, business people, etc...Whew! Without this book, the hundreds of titles and dozens of genres would be too much to try and piece together. I'm sure many experienced Manga fans will disagree with some of his reviews but when you've read as many as the reviewer has, cliches are probably very easy to spot and quality easy to discern. If you feel that your American Comics collection is getting a bit predictable or drab, or you just want to expose yourself to this art form, this book is a must for people absolutely new to the form.