And now, without further ado, let's get this started.
#10
FLCL by GAINAX and Haijime Ueda
Let's start this list off with one of the first manga I ever read. FLCL is about Naota, a gradeschool kid who's got a lot of problems on his plate. His older brother has left to play baseball in America, leaving behind his girlfriend, Mamimi Samejima, who's now beginning to come on to Naota. On top of that, someone has been starting fires around town, and Naota suspects Mamimi. All of these troubles come to a head when a beautiful alien from outer space assaults him with a guitar from atop a vespa and begins pulling robots out of his head.
Contrary from the norm, the manga is actually based on GAINAX's popular anime. It takes a lot of departures from the series, particularly in the second volume. The series is much darker, more violent, and more sexual, a change in tone that is exemplified by a scene unique to the manga in which Haruko beats up Naota's friends and then tells him to go see them and that they're "bleeding all over their porn." The class president gets a larger role, with the robot coming out of her head being a permanent cast member, and the ending is a lot sadder. The manga is particularly impressive because of Ueda's striking art style. His use of ink to create heavy outlines and shading makes the art striking, and perfectly captures the change in tone. The manga is hilarious, striking, and has surprising depth, but in my opinion still falls short of the anime. A great manga nonetheless, and a must-read for fans of the anime.
The FLCL manga is a completed series published in the US by Tokyo Pop, and is currently out-of-print. It can be hard to find in bookstores, but is worth the hunt. Or you could do a quick search to find it on Amazon.com.
#9
XXXHolic is part of a two-comic project that unifies the CLAMP universe. Its sister-series, Tsubasa, takes alternate-universe versions of characters from CLAMP's other comics and has them running through other worlds Kingdom Hearts style at the behest of Yuko, the Witch of Space. XXXHolic, in comparison, is a series focused less on adventure and more on characters. It's the story of Kimihiro Watanuki, a highschool student with the power to see spirits. Wanting to get rid of this power, he makes a deal with Yuko that he'll work for her to pay for its removal.
Throughout the series, you see Yuko making deals with many other characters. She fixes problems in their life, but often the cost is too steep or is unexpected. I particularly love how the series uses its artwork to convey ideas. There's a part where Yuko is helping a young woman overcome her clumsiness, but after Yuko has used her magic, the woman is still clumsy. Yuko explains that it's the words of discouragement from her sister that cause her clumsiness, that there's a magic in speaking that can make things so. The art in these panels shows the power of these words literally tripping the woman and causing her to fail. The use of the art to convey story like this is particularly powerful, and is prevails through the whole series.
XXXHolic is an ongoing series that is published in the US by Del Ray manga. It's available in bookstores, and for order online through sites like Amazon.com.
#8
Noblesse is a Korean Manwha written by Son Jae Ho with art by Lee Gwang Su. It's the story of Camis Etrama De Raizel, a sort of Vampire referred to as Noblesse, who has awakened from an 820 year power-nap. He finds one of his servants, another Noblesse named Frankenstein, has become the headmaster of a school in Korea, and enrolls in the school where he befriends a number of students. But his awakening didn't go unnoticed, since a shady group of scientists and their no-longer-human "experimental materials" cross Raizel and his friends, and he and Frankenstein must fight to keep them safe.
The story and art may seem cookie-cutter, and indeed, it does have post-Twilight "that's-not-a-vampire" syndrome, but the series acknowledges and overcomes it by having Vampires as we know them be a byproduct of the Noblesse. The story is quite entertaining, shifting seamlessly between comedy and drama, and the art is something you rarely see in this sort of battle manga. It's a refreshing style, and I have to give credit to Lee Gwang Su for how much his art really does for this story.
Noblesse is not published in America, and there are no companies that have purchased a publishing liscense as of yet. You can read fan translations on sites like Mangafox and Tenmanga.
#7
Adventure Boys by Adachi Mitsuru
Adachi Mitsuru is a veteran mangaka who has worked on a number of incredible stories, such as Crossgame (now in print in the US! Go buy it!), and Katsu. With Adventure Boys, a collection of stories released in Japan in 2006, Adachi has created what I believe to be his best work to date. Similar to his previous works, Adventure Boys heavily explores the themes of boyhood innocence and youth.
The collection drew me in right from the first story, where a man who has accidentally sold out his girlfriend's family to a scammer goes back to his childhood home and remembers pretending his closet was Doraemon's magical pocket. Consumed by grief, the story unfolds as he sits in the closet and remembers the events of the past few days and wonders how he can ever make them right. It sets the tone perfectly for the stories to follow, in which the tragedies of the past are confronted, acknowledged, and eventually overcome. It's a heartwarming collection, and an outstanding achievement.
Adventure Boys is not available in the US, but a fan translation can be found on MangaFox. It's free, and it's not too long, so you really have no excuse not to read it.
#6
Bakuman is a manga by writer Tsugimi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata about the creation of manga. Moritaka Mashiro is a Jr. High student who's always been artistically gifted, but has never had much direction. When his sketchbook, full of sketches of Miho Azuki, a cute girl in his class, falls into the hands of the valedictorian Akito Takagi, Mashiro is blackmailed into working with him on making manga. Takagi convinces Mashiro to confess to Azuki, who has always wanted to be a voice actress, and they make eachother a promise. Mashiro is going to get one of his manga turned into an anime, and when he does, Azuki is going to voice the lead female role. Then, he will propose to Azuki.
The story is a great example of how anything can be a good story. The trick is in the telling. Deadline stresses, the difficulties in getting published, and the issues with Mashiro's strange and innocent relationship with Azuki all form a compelling narrative. The writing is funny and the artwork is just stellar. The characters are all memorable, and the comics they create are intriguing in their own right.
Bakuman is currently being published in the US and Canada by Viz Media. Two volumes have been released and can be found at bookstores and online.
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