Ok guys, I can’t stand it anymore.
Why there isn’t an updated list of alternative manga recommendations anywhere online yet?
Fuck this shit!
I love underground manga but it’s too hard to find good suggestions and updated lists. And with “alternative manga” I mean those really different, obscure, weird, extreme and experimental japanese comics that only a few non-japanese people from all over the world will ever read and appreciate.
These are surreal avant-garde manga such as the ones published in alternative japanese magazines and anthologies like Garo, AX and COM. Even a few Gekiga artists could be still considered alternative today.
These are manga created by crazy authors like Takashi Nemoto, Sasaki Maki, Imiri Sakabashira, Jiro Matsumoto, and Shintaro Kago. These could be comics in the heta-uma, ero-guro, ironic-guro genres.
I’m tired to spend hours and hours just to find a few new interesting manga, there isn’t a proper resource to learn about new volumes and alternative mangaka published in english, or even in french, italian or spanish. There was once a great thread on Anime News Network forum with good recommendations, but it’s not updated anymore.
On Wikipedia’s entry for Alternative Manga there are just a few authors such as Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Yoshiharu Tsuge, who could not even be really considered “alternative” by today’s standard (but still hugely important for the evolution of japanese comics).
Crowdsourced lists as the ones from Goodreads are laughable, just a few titles and not many really obscure manga.
There are some great articles about the history of alternative manga on blogs and websites such as The Hooded Utilitarian, stuff by Ryan Holmberg on The Comics Journal, ComicsBeat, the awesome translation of Manga Zombie, a few ones in italian by Piero Livigni and video recommendations in italian by Gekigemu, but still not enough suggestions and slow updates for new (and old) volumes published in America or Europe.
What can I do?
Well, I can create a place (this post in my blog) in which to recommend all the best alternative manga that i know, keeping an updated list for every time I find a new one and ASK FOR YOUR HELP!
Below you can find the most updated list ever for alternative manga published outside of Japan, thanks to publishers like Picture Box, Drawn & Quarterly, Hollow Press, Viz, Taco Che, Lezard Noir, Coconino, Canicola and many more.
If you know other volumes that should be in this list, PLEASE ADD A COMMENT BELOW or SEND ME AN EMAIL! This is important, there are hundreds of readers out there who LIKE YOU and ME need help to find new interesting comics.
Here’s what will be considered as “alternative manga” in this list:
- Less known Japanese comics officially translated and published outside of Japan.
- The most interesting Manga and Mangaka originally published in Garo, AX and COM
- Experimental comics by japanese authors, with non-standard drawings, spastic stories or weird characters
- Really obscure manga with original ideas
- Less known manga with historical importance for the evolution of japanese comics outside of the mainstream ones.
- I may list a few manga only available with fan-translations and scans if they are a "must read" for alt-manga fans. For example Dead Scanlations Tumblr, Dead Scanlations Blog, and Whatsonscan, are doing a good job in preserving digital copies of Garo magazine issues and other alternative manga never published outside of Japan.
I’ll keep this list updated every time i find something new and when you’ll suggest something interesting!
It took many hours, weeks, years to create this list, so if you’d like to thank me you can just buy these manga from my Amazon associates links, it’s free for your but it will help me a lot!
###############################
[UPDATE 3.3 @ 19/08/2021
- added Hinako Sugiura, George Akiyama, Lychee Light Club (Usamaru
Furuya), KSKHH + the Life of Namazuko (Daisuke Ichiba), Chinpoko Jiro +
Atomic Love + Nuovuo (Jiro Ishikawa), A sens Unique (Yoshikazu Ebisu),
Red Box (Toshio Saeki), Shohei Kusunoki. On Blogger became impossible to update such a huge list like this one (even just writing is super slow), i'll have to find a
different way to do this. In the meantime you can follow this account on Twitter for updates. ]
[QUICK UPDATE @ 07/04/2021
- my day jobs & family are keeping me busy, but I will add more manga ASAP]
[UPDATE 3.2 @ 11/11/2020 - added Baron Yoshimoto, Saru by Hanawa Kazuichi, Monkey Business series, Manga anthology by Metro Scope, Tales of Shigeru Mizuki]
[UPDATE 3.1 @ 04/08/2020 -
added a couple of english publications for Shigeru Sugiura, Concerned Theatre Japan magazine, Bête Noire anthology.]
[UPDATE 3.0 @ 31/07/2020 -
added Shunji Enomoto, Teruhiko "King Terry" Yumura, Manga Surprise!
anthology, more coming soon. Blogger fucked up image management, so now
sample pages will be shown vertically. Oh well.]
Only the last 4 updates are noted in here. This page is always updated (untill i die?) when i find or receive a suggestion for new interesting manga to add to the list.
###############################
Beware: there are hundreds of images in this page and often the site don't load them all. Just reload the page to see them! :)
Alternative Manga by Anthologies
Title: Secret Comics Japan
Authors: Junko Mizuno, Hironori Kikuchi, Yuko Tsuno, Yoshitomo Yoshimoto, Kiriko Nananan, Shintaro Kago, Makoto Aida, Benkyo Tamaoki, Usamaru Furuya
Published in: English
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Title: USCA ユースカ English edition
Authors: NISHIMURA Tsuchika, SHINZO Keigo, MIYAZAKI Natsujikei, TANIGUCHI Natsuko, MOTO Hideyasu, BRIDGE SHIP HOUSE, Zajirogh, KASABE Tetsu, KATSUHIKA Keita, HIRANO Ryo, SANUKI Naoya, Yoshie, OTA Motoyuki, KAMODA Jun, error403.
Published in: English
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Title: AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
Authors: Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Imiri Sakabashira, Kazuichi Hanawa, Yusaku Hanakuma, Akino Kondoh, Shin'ichi Abe, Takashi Nemoto, Osamu Kanno, Takao Kawasaki, Ayuko Akiyama, Shigehiro Okada, Katsuo Kawai, Nishioka Kyodai, Takato Yamamoto, Toranosuke Shimada, Yuka Goto, Mimiyo Tomozawa, Namie Fujieda, Mitsuhiko Yoshida, Kotobuki Shiriagari, Shinbo Minami, Shinya Komatsu, Einosuke, Yuichi Kiriyama, Yunosuke Saito, Tomohiro Koizumi, Seiko Erisawa, Shigeyuki Fukumitsu, Kataoka Toyo, Hideyasu Moto, Keizo Miyanishi, Hiroji Tani, Otoya Mitsuhashi.
Published in: English, French
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Title: Sake Jock - Comics from Today's Japanese Underground
Authors: Imiri Sakabashira, Naoto Yamakawa, Kiriko Nananan, Nekojiru, Yasuji Tanioka, Yoshiharu Mitsumoto, Naoki and Shunichi Karasawa
Published in: English
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Title: Comics Underground Japan
Authors: Ebisu Yoshikazu, Toma Masakazu, Takashi Nemoto, Carol Shimoda, Hanawa Kazuichi, Tanioka Yasuji, Suehiro Maruo, Yamada Hanako, Migiwa Pan, Muddy Uehara, Hideshi Hino, Nekojiru and Yamano Hajime.
Published in: English
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Title: Canicola (1 - 12)
Authors: Yasaku Hanakuma, Yuiki Yokoiama, Naoyuki Tsuji and many more
Published in: Italian, English
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Title: š! magazine
Authors: Ayumu Arisaka, Harukichi, Ichasu, Keisei Kanamachi, Rokudai Tanaka, Tetsu Kayama, Tsuchika Nishimura, Tsukue Akimoto, Kikuchi Hironori, Wakana Yamazaki, Yoshie, Imiri Sakabashira, Jiro Ishikawa, Jun Oson, Kanako Furugori, Katsuo Kawai, König Lü. Q., mississippi, Nerunodaisuki, Nishioka Bro-sis, Nutoguran, Takako Ooki, Tana Hiuchi, Tatari Takayama, Tokushige Kawakatsu, Yuichi Yokoyama, Yuko Tateyama and many more!
Published in: English
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Title: Comic Cue
Authors: Asakura Sekaiichi, Baba kayo, Eguchi Hisashi, Furuya Usamaru, Inoue Santa, Kawakami Junko, Kuroda Iou, Miki Toriro, Minami Q-ta, Mizuno Junko, Oda Tobira, Sadamoto Yoshiyuki, Sensha Yoshida, Sugimura Shinichi, Takano Aya, Tanaka Keiichi, Terada Katsuya, Tono Sahou, Umino Chica, Wada Radio, Yamada Naito, Yoshimoto Yoshitomo, Yuuichi Yokoyama
Published in: French
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Title: Tokion
Authors:
- #1 The Power Plus Issue: Seal Rolls by Nekojiru Udon (8 pages), Take Care Little Mami! by Junko Mizuno (8 pages plus 1 page illustration), The Hunter by Kazuichi Hanawa (4 pages)
- #2 The Sex Issue: Paint in Water Color by Kiriko Nananan (16 pages), Stain on the Brain by Yusaku Hanakuma (4 pages), Pervert’s Shangri-La by Kotaro Ohkosi (1 page)
- #3 The Happy Issue: Through the looking Chest by Mimiyo Tomozawa (8 pages, plus 2 pages illus), Got Little, Got Big by Touyou Kataoka (4 pages), Submarine Familiy by Jiro Ishikawa (7 pages)
- #4 The Crazy Issue: Palepoli by Usamaru Furuya (8 pages), The Mystery of the Victor Dog by Hiromi Tanaka (2 pages), Mutant Hanako by Makoto Aida (12 pages)
- #5 The Family Issue: Lucha Death by Yoshiharu Mitsumoto (16 pages)
- #6 The Sound Issue: un-named story, Imiri Sakabashira (29 pages)
- #7 The Free Fashion Issue: un-named story, Imiri Sakabashira (23 pages)
- #8 The Horror Issue: A Nap Time Story by Nekojiru Udon (12 pages), The Tail of the Beetle by Nekojiru Udon (10 pages)
- #9 nothing
- #10 The Dreams Issue: Dream Fight by Katsuhito Ishii (17 pages)
Published in: English
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Title: Comix 2000
Authors: Amakane Suzy (Wangan Dog), Hanawa Kazuichi (untitled), Kikuichi Hironori (The Admirable Boys), Koizumi Yoshihiro (Chimney’s), Moto Hideyasu (Endless 20th Century), Okuda Robot (untitled), Wehalla Muddy (The Baby and Snakes)
Note: HUGE volume, 2.000 pages of underground comics!
Published in: all the comics are wordless in order to accommodate readers of any nationality
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Title: Vèritè Magazine
Authors: Tadao Tsuge, Susumu Katsumata, Youji Tsuneyama, Yukichi Yamamatsu, Takashi Fukutani, Nazuna Saito, Susumu Higa, Seiichi Hayashi, even more planned for following issues!
Note: a new series of comics / manga anthology published in India, featuring alternative comics by Indian and other artists along with alternative manga by Japanese artists. At least 6 issues are planned, please support their work so they can keep publishing these volumes!
Published in: English
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Title: Mangajin
Authors: Kazuichi Hanawa, more?
Note: Mangajin was a monthly English-language magazine for students of Japanese language and culture. Each issue featured selections from various popular (and a few alternative) manga translated into English with detailed cultural and linguistic commentary.
Published in: english
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Title: Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators
Authors: Kazuichi Hanawa, Kan Takahama, Daisuke Igarashi, Taiyo Matsumoto, Moyoco Anno
Published in: english
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Title: Sinta (シンタ) vol.1
Authors: Yogo Yamaguchi, Jun Urata, Yul Gordon, Yuko Kanno, Ishigurorei, Fujimura Izumi, Asahiko Yamazaki, Tadayuki Hiro, Kenji Yamashita, Mississippi, Tanaka Rokudai, Kito Prayer, Fujimura Izumi, Lumins, Jun Kitamura
Published in: Japanese, with english translations at the bottom of each page
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Title: Kyoco
Authors: Izumi Fujimura, MISSISSIPPI, Rei Ishiguro, Yukihiro Tada, Maki Irie, Yumeko Ichigono,
Jun Nakagawa, You Tsuchida, Shinya Hiratake, Kenji Yamashita, Asahiko Yamasaki,
Tsutomi Date, Taishi Tominaga,Chisato Asano, Ai Syzuki, Andy C. Jenkins, more
Published in: Japanese, with english translations at the bottom of each page. Only KyoCo 3 and 4 have English. 1 and 2 do not.
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Title: Popocomi
Authors: Maiko Dake, Izumi Fujimura, Kanako Furugori, Hiroya Kaya, Eri Masco, MISSISSIPPI,Ikumi Nakada, Nerunodaisuki, Kiyoko Sakata, Yuki Takahashi, Yu Yokoyama, Waka Yoshida. (also Popocomi "Travel and Women")
Published in: English
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Title: Glaeolia
Authors: Arantoochika, Hiuchi tana, Kawakatsu Tokushige, Masumura Jūshichi, mogcom, Moriizumi Takehito, Morita Rui, Okuda Akiko, Onta Niwako, Shinnosuke Saika, Yamakawa Naoto, Yosomachi
Published in: English
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Title: Manga Surprise!
Authors: Takezaki Tony, Yasuda Hiroyuki, Izumi Garret, Kuroda Iou, Tanioka Yasuji, Ashinano Hitoshi, Yoshida Mamijo, Oyama Tetsuya, Matsumoto Yuka
Published in: English
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Published in: English
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Title: Concerned Theatre Japan!
Authors: Akasegawa Genpei, Shirato Sampei, Yoshiharu Tsuge
Published in: English
Published in: English
Note: a scholarly journal on Japanese theatre in the late 60s/early 70s. Vol. 2 #1 from 1971 featured three manga. An excerpt of Sakura Illustrated by Akasegawa Genpei, chapter 1 of Red Eyes by Shirato Sampei, and The Screw-Style by Yoshiharu Tsuge, but it was published as The Stopcock in this book. Thanks to Teddy for this info!
Buy from:
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Title: Bête Noire
Authors: Suzy Amakane, Ichiba Daisuke, Junko Mizuno, Takashi Nemoto, Caroline Sury, Yuichi Yokoyama
Published in: english
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Published in: english
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Title: Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan
Authors: Satoshi Kitamura, Nishioka Kyodai (Bro+Sis), Hiromi Kawakami, Aoko Matsuda, Fumiko Takano
Note: Each issue contains 1-2 manga, among text-only novels
Published in: english
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Note: Each issue contains 1-2 manga, among text-only novels
Published in: english
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Authors: Hiroshi Hirata, Tamori Yousuke, Hoshino Yukinori, Katsuhiro Otomo, Marrs Lee, Keizo Miyanishi, Fukuyama Youji, Mukaide Masaichi
Published in: english
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Published in: english
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Alternative Manga by Authors
Author: Takashi Nemoto
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
- Monster Men Bureiko Lullaby
- AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
- Comics Underground Japan
- Bête Noire
Author: Imiri Sakabashira
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- The Box Man
- Nekokappa (french only, but it's mostly a wordless comic)
- Hataraku Kappa (to be published in 2020 in italian)
- Sake Jock - Comics from today’s Japanese Underground
- AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
- š! #32 'Japan'
Author: Sasaki Maki
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- Ding Dong Circus
- Charivari - Sasaki Maki Anthologie (French only, but it's mostly a wordless comic)
Author: Yusaku Hanakuma
Published in: English, Italian, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- Tokyo Zombie
- Canicola 8 (italian version has english translation at the bottom)
- AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
Author: Tetsunori Tawaraya
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Seiichi Hayashi
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Usamaru Furuya
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Palepoli (french only, english fan translation available)
- Short Cuts
- Secret Comics Japan (a few pages of Palepoli are translated in english here)
- Lychee Light Club (italian, english, more?
- Garden (soon in French?)
Author: Makoto Aida
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Mutant Hanako (Some more details in here. There's a Japanese edition of Mutant Hanako that is fully translated in English at the end of the volume. All dialogues are translated and ordered in the last few pages, with numbers that connect the Japanese pages to the english translation. There's also french version available)
- Secret Comics Japan (small part of Mutant Hanako is translated in english here)
Author: Kikuchi Hironori
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Nirvana-Man (french only)
- Mademoiselle Takada (french only)
- Alchenical Graphics (japanese version, but it's a wordless manga)
- š! #27 'BFF'
- š! #8
- š! #5 After Snowfall
- š! #32 'Japan'
- Secret Comics Japan (a few pages of Nirvana Man were translated in english here)
Author: Yoshiharu Tsuge
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
- Screw Style (English translation in "The Comics Journal" #250, Feb. 2003)
- RAW magazine vol. 1 no. 7 (Red Flowers, supplement)
- RAW magazine vol. 2 no. 2 (Oba’s Electroplate Factory)
- L’Uomo Senza Talento (italian and french only?)
- Il giovane Yoshio (to be published in Italian)
- Fiori Rossi (Akai Hana, to be published in Italian)
- Nejishiki (2 anthologies to be published in Italian)
- Collected Works of Yoshiharu Tsuge (English, to be published in 7 volumes by Drawn & Quarterly)
- Concerned Theatre Japan (The Stopcock AKA Screw-Style)
Author: Suehiro Maruo
Published in: English, French, Italian, Spanish and more
Recommended manga:
- Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show
- Ultra-Gash Inferno
- New National Kid
- The Strange Tale of Panorama Island
- Comics Underground Japan
- AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
- and many more
Author: Shintaro Kago
Published in: English, Italian, French, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- Enciclopedia delle Kagate (only in italian?)
- Uno scontro accidentale sulla strada per andare a scuola può portare a un bacio?
- Fraction
- Super-Conductive Brains Parataxis
- Secret Comics Japan
- Super Dimensional Love Gun
- Dance Kremlin Palace (only in japanese, english fan translation available)
- and many more
Author: Jiro Matsumoto
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
- Velveteen and Mandala
- Tropical Citron (fan translation only?)
- Joshi Kouhei (fan translation only?)
Author: Tadao Tsuge
Published in: English, Italian
Recommended manga:
- Trash Market
- Slum Wolf
- Alla Deriva. La Mia Vita in Barca (italian only?)
- Radure Sconfinate. La Mia Vita in Barca (italian only?)
- Tale of the Beast (English)
- Sabu the Bruiser (English)
Author: Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
- Midnight Fishermen
- A Drifting Life
- The Push Man and other stories
- Le Lacrime della Bestia (italian only?)
- and more
Author: Taiyo Matsumoto
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
- GoGo Monsters
- Tekkonkinkreet (Black and White)
- No. 5 (incomplete in english, fully published in french, english fantranslation and scans available)
- Takemitsu Zamurai (French, Spanish Only? Italian soon?)
Author: Toyokazu Matsunaga
Published in: English, Italian
Recommended manga:
- Il Castello del Drago (italian only?)
- Bakune Young
Author: Takashi Kurihara
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Cornigule (french only, but not many dialogues, mostly drawings)
Author: Oji Suzuki
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- A Single Match
- Bleu transparent (french only)
- Vaste le ciel (french only)
- Transparent Communication (to be published in 2020 in italian)
- Motorcycle Girl (to be published in 2020 in italian)
Author: Shin'ichi Abe
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- That Miyoko Asagaya Feeling (English)
- Un gentil garcon (french + italian)
- Les amours de Taneko: suivi de Vengeance (french only)
- Une bien triste famille (french only)
- Paradis (french only)
Author: Toshio Saeki
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Rêve écarlate (french only, but it's basically an artbook, mostly drawing)
- Red Box
Author: Masahiko Matsumoto
Published in: English, French, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- Cigarette Girl
- Gekiga Fanatics (french only, italian version soon)
- The Man Next Door
Author: Jiro Ishikawa
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- C'est comme ça (french only)
- š! #32 'Japan'
- Chinpoko Jiro
- Atomic Love
- Nuovuo
Author: Hideo Azuma
Published in: English, French , German
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Shotaro Ishinomori
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Eros X SF (french only)
Author: Kazuo Umezu
Published in: English, French, Italian
Recommended manga:
- The Drifting Classroom
- Cat Eyed Boy
- Je suis Shingo (french only?)
- Fourteen (fan translation only?)
- and many more
Author: Atsushi Kaneko
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
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Author: Junko Mizuno
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
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Author: Yuichi Yokoyama
Published in: English, Italian, French (most comics are wordless, so it doesn't really matter)
Recommended manga:
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Author: Hajime Ueda
Published in: English, Italian, French, more?
Recommended manga:
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Author: Chiyomi Hashiguchi (Nekojiru)
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- Sake Jock - Comics from Today's Japanese Underground
- Comics Underground Japan
- Nekojiru Udon (french only, english fantranslation available)
- Nekojiru Manju (french only, english fantranslation available)
Author: Tatsuhiko Yamagami
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Les vents de la colère (french only)
Author: Shinobu Kaze
Published in: English, French soon
Recommended manga:
- Violence Became Tranquility (Heavy Metal magazine #36, March 1980)
- Violence & Peace (Shinobu Kaze anthology coming in french in 2018 thanks to Lezard Noir)
Author: Gajo Sakamoto
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
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Author: Robin Nishi
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Mind Game (french only, there's an anime version in english)
Author: Iou Kuroda
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- Sexy Voice and Robo
- Manga Surprise!
- Comic Cue
Author: Akino Kondoh
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- Eiko (french only?)
- Les insectes en moi (french only, italian version soon)
- Nothing Whatsoever All Out in the Open
- AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
Author: Shigeru Mizuki
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
- NonNonBa
- Kitarō of the Graveyard
- Tales of Shigeru Mizuki ( This was published in Osaka in 1993 as a special English release. only 300 made)
Author: Bonten Tarô
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Sex and Fury (french only)
- Badass Babe (English)
Author: Junji Ito
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
- Dissolving Classroom
- Uzumaki
- Horror Comic Collection
- Museum of Terror
- Gyo
- Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories
Author: Hideshi Hino
Published in: English, Italian, French
Recommended manga:
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Author: Shiriagari Kotobuki
Published in: Spanish, French
Recommended manga:
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Author: Daisuke Igarashi
Published in: English, French, Italian
Recommended manga:
- Saru (french, italian only?)
- Spirit in the Sky
- Children of the Sea
- Hanashippanashi - Patati patata (french only?)
Author: Daisuke Ichiba
Published in: Spanish
Recommended manga:
- El Suicidio del Amor (spanish only? mostly drawings without words?)
- Hospital train (Available in English & Italian)
- KSKHH (Available in English & Italian)
- the Life of Namazuko (Available in English & Italian)
Author: Susumu Katsumata
Published in: English, French, Italian (soon)
Recommended manga:
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Author: Shinkichi Kato
Published in: Japanese only? English fan scanlation available
Recommended manga:
- Obrigado!
- Baka to Gogh
- Ranman
- and more
Author: Inio Asano
Published in: English, Italian, French, more
Note: Asano became quite popular in the last few years and many of his works could be seen as classic manga for teenagers and young adults, but many of his older works are wonderfully surreal with many strange characters and original ideas.
Recommended manga:
- Goodnight Punpun
- La Città della Luce (Hikari no Machi)
- La Fine del Mondo e Prima dell'Alba (Sekai no Owari to Yoake Mae)
- What a Wonderful World
Author: MAN Gataro
Published in: English, French, more?
Recommended manga:
- Heartful Company (French only)
- Mitochon armageddon (French only)
- Viz’s Pulp Magazine v.6 n.08 - Manga Hell!!
Author: Nakamura Mitsuru
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Kû et Kaï, deux vrais héros (a short book for kids? nice drawings with some descriptions)
- La Peluche la plus moche du monde
Author: Jun Hayami
Published in: English, French, Italian
Recommended manga:
- Beauty Labyrinth of Razors
- Solo un Uomo(italian only?)
Author: Shizuka Nakano
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Morimite (French only?)
- Le Semeur d’étoiles (French only?)
- Le Piqueur d’étoiles (French only?)
Author: Rokudai Tanaka
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Promenades dans la ville de la boîte à biscuits (french only?)
- š! magazine #4, Lost in the City
- š! #32 'Japan'
Author: Shinya Komatsu
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Tohu-Bohu (french only?)
- Souvenirs de la mer assoupie (French only?)
- AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga
Author: Shigeru Sugiura
Published in: French, English
Recommended manga:
- Doron Chibimaru : Le petit ninja (french only? english scanlations seem available somewhere)
- Raw Vol. 1 #7 (Jiraiya the Ninja Boy)
- The Ganzfeld 4
- The Ganzfeld 5 (Classics Theatre)
Author: Yaro Abe
Published in: French (English scanlations may be available?)
Recommended manga:
- La Cantine de Minuit (french only?)
- Mimikaki (french only?)
Author: Kazu Yuzuki
Published in: French
Recommended manga:
- Mirages d’été (french only?)
- Des courges Par Milliers (french only?)
Author: Kiriko Nananan
Published in: English, French, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- Water
- Blue
- Sweet Cream & Red Strawberries
- Amours blessantes
- Sake Jock - Comics from Today's Japanese Underground
- Secret Comics Japan
Author: Aya Takano
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
- Spaceship EE
- Cosmic Juice
- Jelly Civilization Chronicle
- Tokyo Space Diary (bilingual, Japanese / English)
Author: Isami Nakagawa
Published in: French, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- Poguri (French and Spanish only? Mostly wordless? May not be a problem)
Author: Kamimura Kazuo
Published in: English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, more
Note: today Kamimura's manga may be seen as normal over-the-top action stories and slice of life tales, he's quite popular for his "Lady Snowblood" series so not really an alternative or obscure author. Still of interest for this list, for some of his spectacular, avant.garde and original drawings, some stories could almost be categorized as ero-guro.
Recommended manga:
- L’età della convivenza
- Le club des divorcés
- Flowers of Evil (Japanese only? An italian version could be published in the future)
Authors: Koji Aihara + Kentaro Takekuma
Published in: English
Note: Even a Monkey can Draw Manga is a great satire on the manga industry, pointing out many interesting facts about why most manga are just the same boring series of cliches. It's also a crazy series of weird characters joking about popular comics. If you think most manga are just boring, this is for you.
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Eiji Nonaka
Published in: English, German
Recommended manga:
- Cromartie High School (only a few volumes were published in english? Scanlations for the whole series are available)
Author: Toru Yamazaki
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
- Octopus Girl (only 3 volumes were published in english)
Author: Kazuichi Hanawa
Published in: French, English, Italian, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- La demeure de la chair (French only?)
- Contes du Japon d'autrefoi (French only?)
- Contes fantastiques (French only?)
- Tensui l'eau céleste (French only?)
- Doing Time
- Mangajin
- AX - Volume 1
- Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators
- Tokion
- Saru (published in Muae 2 Collapsing Buildings magazine)
Author: Shungiku Uchida
Published in: French, Italian
Recommended manga:
- La Petite amie de Minami (French, Italian)
Author: Hideji Oda
Published in: English, French, Italian, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- A Patch of Dreams (available in English, French, Spanish)
- Il Mondo di Coo (2 volumes, Italian only?)
- Dispersion (French and Italian only?)
Author: Susumu Higa
Published in: English, French, Italian
Recommended manga:
- Okinawa (published in French in 2 volumes as "Soldats de sable" and "Mabui")
- Kajimunugatai (Italian only?)
Author: Kenji Tsuruta
Published in: English, French, Italian, Spanish
Recommended manga:
- I viaggi di Emanon (Italian only?)
- Le memorie di Emanon (French, Spanish and Italian only?)
- La pomme prisonnière (French and Italian only? Almost wordless anyway)
Author: Keiichi Koike
Published in: French, Italian, English
Recommended manga:
- Ultra Heaven (French and Italian only, incomplete)
- Heaven's Door (Published in French & English)
- The Tipping Point
Author: Michio Hisauchi
Published in: Italian, English
Recommended manga:
- Japan's Junglest Day (this strange, short 40-page manga about WW2, philosophy and aliens was published in "Monkey Brain Sushi" a 1991 fiction anthology by various Japanese writers. It seems the only manga by Hisauchi ever published outside of Japan. It was published in English and Italian, i'll try to add more images ASAP)
Author: Tiger Tateishi (Koichi Tateishi, タイガー立石)
Published in: English?
Note: he mostly created wordless surreal comics, so mostly of his japanese-only volumes are enjoyable without knowing japanese.
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Hiromi Hiraguchi (平口広美)
Published in: Spanish, French
Recommended manga:
- Sex Report
- Sexy Stories from World Religions (Santa Claus on New Year's Eve)
Author: Katsuya Terada
Published in: English, Italian
Recommended manga:
- The Monkey King (Saiyukiden)
- Il Cammello Che Ride (Rakuda Ga Warau, Italian only?)
- Manga of The Dead
- The Tipping Point
Author: Tsurita Kuniko
Published in: Italian
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Tori Miki
Published in: French, English (only 1 volume under the title "Anywhere But Here)
Recommended manga:
- Intermezzo (5 volumes, with no words so you may also buy the original Japanese editions)
- Charivari
Author: Minoru Sugiyama
Published in: Italian only?
Recommended manga:
- Mother Cosmos (italian)
Author: Nishioka Kyodai (Bro+Sis)
Published in: English, Italian
Recommended manga:
- AX Volume 1 (english)
- kuš! (english)
- Viaggio alla fine del mondo (italian)
- Il bambino di Dio (italian)
Author: Yoshikazu Ebisu
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
- The Pits of Hell (to be published in late 2019)
- Comics Underground Japan
- A sens Unique
Author: panpanya
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Takashi Fukutani
Published in: English, French
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Shunji Enomoto
Published in: Spanish, Italian
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Recommended manga:
Buy from:
Author: Teruhiko "King Terry" Yumura
Published in: English
Recommended manga:
Recommended manga:
- Shogun Tofu (Raw magazine Vol. 1 #7)
- Penguin Gohan (in collaboration with Shigesato Itoi, currently untranslated)
- Seventeen (Italian)
- The Troublemakers (English)
Author: Hinako Sugiura
Published in: Italian, French, Spanish
Recommended manga:
Recommended manga:
Author: George Akiyama
Published in: French,
Recommended manga:
Recommended manga:
- Anjin San (French)
- Jintarô : Le caïd de Shinjuku (French)
Author: Shohei Kusunoki
Published in: French,
Recommended manga:
Recommended manga:
- Peuple invisible
- La Promesse et autres histoires
[UPDATE 3.3 @ 19/08/2021
- added Hinako Sugiura, George Akiyama, Lychee Light Club (Usamaru
Furuya), KSKHH + the Life of Namazuko (Daisuke Ichiba), Chinpoko Jiro +
Atomic Love + Nuovuo (Jiro Ishikawa), A sens Unique (Yoshikazu Ebisu),
Red Box (Toshio Saeki), Shohei Kusunoki. On Blogger became impossible to update such a huge list like this one (even just writing is super slow), i'll have to find a
different way to do this. In the meantime you can follow this account on Twitter for updates. ]
[QUICK UPDATE @ 07/04/2021
- my day jobs & family are keeping me busy, but I will add more manga ASAP]
[UPDATE 3.2 @ 11/11/2020 - added Baron Yoshimoto, Saru by Hanawa Kazuichi, Monkey Business series, Manga anthology by Metro Scope, Tales of Shigeru Mizuki]
[UPDATE 3.1 @ 04/08/2020 -
added a couple of english publications for Shigeru Sugiura, Concerned Theatre Japan magazine, Bête Noire anthology.]
[UPDATE 3.0 @ 31/07/2020 -
added Shunji Enomoto, Teruhiko "King Terry" Yumura, Manga Surprise! anthology, more coming soon. Blogger fucked up image management, so now sample pages will be shown vertically. Oh well.]
Only the last 4 updates are noted in here. This page is always updated (untill i die?) when i find or receive a suggestion for new interesting manga to add to the list.
###############################
If you know more alternative, avant-garde, experimental manga published outside of Japan that should be added to this list, please leave a comment below or send me an email, we NEED YOUR HELP!
Contributors who helped updating this list: Mercury Mike, Eoin Marron, exaheva, naxin, Jones, Dave, David Wybenga, Jacob Bouvet, Teddy Popitan, Ryan, probably more! Did I forget someone?
Many of these manga are or will be shown in this video series (in italian):
thank you thank you thank you thank you !!! I've been looking for something like this FOR AGES.
RispondiEliminame too! i spent hours and hours hunting down new titles in obscure forums and dead blogs, I really hope that by keeping this list updated I could create some kind of "place" where people could always find the new recommendations and suggest more :)
EliminaMangascreener were an English scanlation group in the early 00s who introduced many of the above authors to audiences outside of Japan. One author they translated who I loved, but isn't mentioned here, was Shinkichi Kato.
RispondiEliminaWow I did not know Shinkichi Kato, great suggestion! It seems no one has ever published anything by him outside of Japan :( I should really add more "scanlations only" manga in one of the next updates. We never thank enough those fans who translate obscure manga no one else will ever publish in english / italian / french / etc.
EliminaGod bless you. I can think of some others which, although they might seem mainstream-ish in where they were originally published, would definitely fit in the "alternative" genre in English (and or European languages, I'm guessing). Reasonable people might well disagree about some of these being "alternative", some more than others (but if you're counting Mizuki, Ito and Umezo...). (My first thought was: I hope 'Bakune Young' is on the list)
RispondiEliminaEven a monkey can draw manga
Cromartie High School
Octopus Girl
various Taniguchi manga
Nijigahara Holograph
Land of the Lustrous (the story is dogshit and the genre mainstream, but the art pushes it into the avant garde, like Sienkiewicz drawing New Mutants)
Thanks a lot Jones! I did not know Octopus Girl or Land of the Lustrous, interesting ones and I will probably add them :O It is indeed hard to categorize "alternative" and at the same time trying to create a list that is as complete as possible, with authors who may not be as "alternative" today, but still deserve to be named. In this case, Taniguchi and Asano, I should really add them in the next update, at least for their most "experimental" manga :O
EliminaYou're missing my favorite of them all, Kazuichi Hanawa. His best stuff is only in French, but in English there's Doing Time, published by Ponent Mon.
RispondiEliminaI did not know there were more manga by Hanawa in french, awesome! :O Doing Time was also translated in italian, i'm going to check what is available in frech to add them in the next update, by looking at the covers on Amazon they seem really interesting!
EliminaThe short story in AX Anthology will give you a taste of his great horror/folklore stuff. The French books Tensui and Contes du Japon d'autrefois are along those lines.
RispondiEliminaThank you so much!!! Now I know what I'm gonna do with my scholarship :P
RispondiEliminaDid you check http://deadscanlations.tumblr.com/ or http://deadscanlations.blogspot.it/ ?
There are untranslated manga scans you can download, sometimes I like to read them even if I don't get anything. I remember a funny short story by Yusaku Hanakuma from Garo 1995, with a teacher beating his students XD
naxin
I plan to add a link to Dead Scanlations in one of the next updates (probably i'll do an update after Xmas), i'm always sad when i look at those untranslated manga, but they deserve to be named :O
EliminaMy dream is to collect all the untranslated stories by Takashi Nemoto, create an fan-anthology and try to find someone who could translate them :P
Thank you for making and updating this list! :)
RispondiEliminaIt's a pleasure! I'm happy to help other readers to find interesting manga and maybe also help those publishers to sell a few more copies, so they could translate more weird stuff :D
EliminaThere is an editor of Mutant Hanako that is fully translated into English. The caveat is that it is published in Japan and that the English translation is all compiled at the end. The thing to do is print it out and then use the sheet as you read along the story.. https://www.amazon.co.jp/会田誠著復刻版「ミュータント花子」-Makoto-Aidas-Mutant-Hanako/dp/4908499136/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1535302224&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=大型本+mutant+Hanako
RispondiEliminaThanks a lot for all these new suggestions David! I'm going to add them all to the list soon :) I received a copy of that japanese version of Mutant Hanako a few weeks ago and there's indeed the english translation at the end of the volume! Super cool, I did read about it in a review, but I was not sure if it was true until I saw it with my eyes :O I'm super happy, one of my favorite manga ever
EliminaI have an extra of these if anyone is looking for it
EliminaMonkey Brain Sushi is a 1991 fiction anthology, with one manga inclusion. It's a bizarro super cool alternative manga about the last Japanese WWII soldier still "fighting" on a Philippine island. It's a 40 page story; Japan's Junglest Day by Michio Hisauchi. Damn, this is a great story.
RispondiEliminaAdded to the list! I found out they also published and Italian version, but I just ordered the english one as it was much cheaper, i'm really curious to read it, thanks again for the suggestion :)
EliminaMoon Trax by Tiger Tateishi is trippy in a 1970's, LSD-inspired, looking way. The comics are one-page, wordless works, with a devolving low-narrative theme, looking like a poster. There are even some English essays
RispondiElimina.
Added! It seems he lived in Italy for many years, wow! I hope to be able to find a copy of one of his anthologies, for now they are quite expensive :O
EliminaMy Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi. Very moving story. It's a touching autobiographical story. Not all about sex, by the way. (And now a sequel)
RispondiEliminaI'm still not sure if to add this one too, is it strange or obscure enough to be considered for the list? I'll try to read some review to make up my mind ;)
EliminaIts one of those odd crossover hits, like it would totally fit into the alternative comics section in a US comic book store, but it actually was a big hit both in Japan and abroad.
EliminaIt got its start on Pixiv and was originally self published (though a larger publishing house picked it up after it became popular and made book versions of it) - so there are lots of reasons to consider it alternative but its not exactly obscure.
Big News! Drawn and Quarterly has announced they will start publishing a series of Tsuge Yoshiharu books; the 1st to come Fall of 2019..
RispondiEliminaGreat news! Here in Italy we are receiving many Tsuge Yoshiharu anthologies lately, thanks to a few publisher who are in love with him, happy to know that international readers will be able to get them in english too!
EliminaFinally our special Japanese issue is out: http://komikss.lv/
RispondiEliminaIt is an awecome anthology! Thanks a lot for publishing it :) I will also do a video-review for it (in Italian) soon!
EliminaThank you very much for this list! Many authors I'm happy to have discovered (like Tiger Tateishi). Recently, I discovered that some of Nishioka Kyoudai's story was scantrad (http://pepperanon.blogspot.com).
RispondiEliminaAs always i'm happy to help other readers with similar tastes to find interesting manga :)
EliminaHere in italy we recently got a couple of translated volumes by Nishioka bros ("Viaggio alla fine del mondo" and "Il bambino di Dio" https://amzn.to/2Eg1xgu ), I'll add them in a next update!
Hi Kyoco 4 is out of stock at the listings there, but it's still available on Glacier Bay. The only difference is, they moved their store url so you might want to update to point to the new one: https://glacierbaybooks.com/product/comic-kyoco-4/
RispondiEliminaSeems like they also have copies of Kyoco 3 and Sinta, which I notice either don't exist on this list (Kyoco 3) or are out of stock at other spots (Sinta no longer available on taco che).
Thanks! I will update the page in the following weeks, as I also have a few other manga to add :)
EliminaMan, I'm from brazil, and this is everything i want to do see for years. Thank you so much. Anything you need for help i'll happy to help
RispondiEliminaHappy to know this list is useful for other readers :D When you'll find more alternative (translated) manga still missing from this list, feel free to leave a comment in here with the title / author :)
Eliminamano nunca vi nenhum br ler essas coisas, vc tem alguma rede social pra gente conversar, se quiser jouquim_ é meu insta
EliminaHere in brazil the scene of classic manga / gekiga is starting now.
RispondiEliminaHiroshi Hirata had 1 publishing from last year https://www.amazon.com.br/Desonra-Kubidai-Hikiukenin-Exclusivo-Amazon-ebook/dp/B07WDD9H34/ref=sr_1_4?__mk_pt_BR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=manga+pipoca+e+nanquim&qid=1586961460&sr=8-4
It's great to see other countries publishing gekiga, here in Italy it started 3 - 4 years ago and I hope they continue like this!
EliminaThis is wonderful! I have been running panels at conventions on and off for years in the States about Alternative manga, though my own definition is kind of translating the definition of Alternative comics in America to Japanese so there are a few mainstream Seinen and Josei works (and the odd gekiga-era shounen work that was from the time when Shounen magazines published some wild and out there stuff in the late 60s/early 70s). Here's a guide to what I wrote (feel free to pull from it), though I think you covered most of who I covered and more: https://animechicago.com/articles/alternative-manga-panel/
RispondiEliminaI wish I knew French, as they probably have the best scene for this kind of stuff and even if I knew Japanese some of this work might actually be easier to find and France than it would be in Japan.
Giant thanks for this guide - grazie!
Thanks a lot for the link Neil! I'm going to check your article later to see if there are some new authors to add to this list! :D
EliminaFrance is indeed an awesome country for manga and comics in general. I had to buy some manga in french because that was the only option, and even if I don't know french it's similar enough to italian to have a vague idea of what they are talking about ;P
Great list. You should add Tsutomu Nihei. Nihei's recent works aim at a mainstream audience (Knights of Sidonia and APOSIMZ), but his early style was experimental, artsy, and avant-garde. Abara, Biomega, NOiSE, and of course, BLAME!, which is one of the quintessential manga on lists like this one (even though it is quite famous and influential nowadays).
RispondiEliminaThanks for the suggestion Sergio! Nihei may indeed be a good fit for this list. I plan to update the list with many new suggestions, but I did not have time yet, maybe the next month :D
EliminaQuesto commento è stato eliminato dall'autore.
RispondiEliminaGrazie mille! The work is amazing here!. I discovered a lot of things!
RispondiEliminaTo complete your list you can ad:
- Three works of Jiro Ishikawa (in french but without words):
Chinpoko Jiro (http://www.lederniercri.org/prod/jiro-ishikawa-chinpoko-jiro-1176.html),
Atomic love (https://www.lesrequinsmarteaux.com/album/atomic-love?ajax=1&xnav=240&ynav=155&postitvisible=false) and Nuovuo (http://www.lederniercri.org/prod/jiro-ishikawa-novuo-1250,215.html)
- One work of Yoshikazu Ebisu: A sens unique. In french but very few words (https://www.lespressesdureel.com/ouvrage.php?id=4031)
- You can ad also Red Box from Toshio Saeki (without words. Expensive but very very good quality. (https://www.cornelius.fr/catalogue/red-box/)
- Cornelius also edited the complete works of Shohei Kusunoki in two books. Only in french, however. (https://www.cornelius.fr/auteur/kusunoki/).
- Cornelius will also edited all the works of Yoshiharu Tsuge in 7 books. Three are already out. Only in french. (https://www.cornelius.fr/auteur/tsuge-yoshiharu/)
- I recommand also Laserbeam from Hayakawa Motohiro (mostly illustrations without words) (http://www.lederniercri.org/description.php?id=840&path=36&sort=Id&search_query=laserbeam)
- Also the incredible CATALOGUE EXPOSITION HETA-UMA MANGARO. A book about Heta Uma art between Japan and France. You can find a lot of illustration from different artists. Only in french however. (http://www.lederniercri.org/prod/catalogue-exposition-heta-uma-mangaro-800,8.html)
- You can also check United Dead Artist who edited different artists: Keiichi Tanaami, Wataru Kasahara, Daisuke Ichiba, Namio Harukawa. It's always illustrations so there is no words in it.
I hope this is helpful for you.
Cheers!
and Ichiba Daisuke made also a work with Pakito Bolino from Le Dernier Cri: Uruse Baka. (http://www.lederniercri.org/prod/uruse-baka-ichibakito-1245,210.html)
EliminaThanks for the suggestions Sweet! I'll check them all for the next update, possibly in September :) Blogger is quite atrocious to add more and more images to this post, but i'll keep doing this even if it looks like sh*t now :P
Eliminavery nice list, i have read the majority of these which is very nice. And I see some of my favourite mangaka of all time here, which I do not see anywhere else on the internet.
RispondiEliminaI have some suggestion:
Arai Hideki - The World is Mine, Kiichi!!
Osamu Mizutani & Seiki Tsuchida - Yomawari Sensei
Ryu Miyanaga - Einstein's Monster
Hirona Takahashi - Benitsubaki, Hajimete no Seisai
Youichi Abe - Blood Diver Ringo & Fish Bowl Man, Onikujo
Daisuke Nishijima - Dien Bien Phu
Youko Nemu - Gozen 3-ji no Muhouchitai, Pandora
Ranjou Miyake - Imuri, Pet, Akai Kiba
Rasenjin Hayami - Kutsuzure Sensen: Majo Vasenka no Sensou
Masato Hisa - Jabberwocky, Grateful Dead, Four Billion Nights
Kashmir - Terumina
Minetarou Mochizuki - Tokyo Kaido, Dragon Head, Chiisakobee
Tsubana - Wakusei Closet, Babel no Toshokan, Mikake no Nijuusei
Sayman Dowman - Nickelodeon
Makoto Ojiro - Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia
Hiroshi Motomiya - Mada, Ikiteru...
Yousuke Takahashi - Maneater, Mononoke Soushi
Ok I see how long this list, I hope you look at maybe a few of these, thank you!
huge thanks for the list! I'll check them all and add the most interesting ones on this page in the following months :)
Eliminathe next update may be in January
hey man, how can I post stuff here, I have some thing to put here
RispondiEliminajust post your list in these comments or send me an email to dadaswing@gmail.com and i'll check & add them to the page ASAP :)
Eliminamimiciri
RispondiEliminamariko, umako iku yo
happy people
B no sonata
alquimist of turandot
Morimite
Mabui
Other world Barbara
Mori no youshokujou
Tsuno-byou
Authors:
Hinako suguiura
Tsuru, Daisaku
sorry if any of them are already on this list and thank u for your work, is very hard to find people who appreciate this kind of manga