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05
Shokugeki no Soma
I LOVE this manga. A ridiculously dramatic yet totally engaging story about cooking in an elite culinary school, this is a great feel-good manga.
Yes, it's a story with flaws: the nature of the plot means that you know it's usually going to end well for the protagonist, and there's a debate to be had on whether the food orgasms are integral to its appeal. But there's also something unputdownable about it. You want to see just HOW the protagonists win, and with each chapter you get the sense that it's always building towards a bigger challenge.
And the artwork is brilliant. I'd never seen food drawn in black and white look so delicious before. You can understand the texture and consistency of the food so clearly, I'm not even sure if these are drawings sometimes or whether Shun Saeki, the illustrator, has expertly traced over images of real food. The drawings look so delicious, I can credit my love of eggs benedict directly to this manga.
Moreover, watching videos of him drawing online was eye-opening: it was the first time I'd seen a mangaka so comfortable with using digital technology.
All in all, a great manga for those times when you don't want something too heavy, but still want something good.
04
Monster
What can we say about Monster other than it's unpredictable and fantastic. A original dark manga with some terrifying moments, this is a manga that is definitely not for kids. It's a psychological rollercoaster that delves into what it takes to drive us over the edge; I couldn't stop thinking about its various plot points for weeks after I'd finished it.
And even though I never wanted this manga to end, I'm glad that it did: it's told succinctly enough that even the final arc doesn't drag on (*cough cough* Naruto *cough cough*)
Not only that, but the brilliant artwork is tinged with enough realism to make the whole story seem eerily possible. This is a heavy read, but a must-read nonetheless.
03
Naruto
Let's ignore the fourth great ninja war arc (which S and I agree is our least favourite arc in Naruto), and focus on when Naruto was amazing. When it could make us dream of being ninjas in one scene, then move us to tears within the next.
It's a story about characters who persevere, who fight the odds an who strive for their dreams no matter what. Naruto is such a flawed protagonist - hell, some would go as far as to say he is just irritating at the start of the series - but there is something about him that is so admirable. And yet somehow we stick with this spectacular screw up of a hero who you should've hated from the start but never quite could.
And the fights were epic. Especially in the early days of Naruto, the chakra system was more than just a novelty to me - it opened my eyes to the depth of strategy that could be found in manga battles, and braced me for the more complicated fighting mechanics in manga such as Hunter x Hunter that I'd discover later on. In fact, Naruto kept me hooked on buying manga even when I'd collected all of my Dragonball and Dragonball Z manga volumes.
02
Deathnote
I remember finishing chapter one, putting the volume down, and thinking to myself: 'holy crap'. This was my first experience reaing a manga that wasn't about physical fights and power levels, and it had blown my mind. Not just with the artwork, which seemed almost photorealistic to me, but with the story, which seemed to be going in such an original direction.
This remained the case throughout the rest of the series. As the competing characters engage in a game of cat and mouse with each other, this is a series that will blow your mind over and over again. It's a fast paced manga that really raises some moral questions - my views on who is right and wrong in the show have certainly shifted over time.
Is some of melodrama? Yes. Is it great, spectacular melodrama? Hell yes.
All in all, it's not for everyone, but if you like shows like Breaking Bad or crime dramas on TV, then you'll love death note.
01
Dragonball Z
I remember every part of buying my first Dragonball Z volume, even though it must have been over 15 years ago. It was issue 17, which would have been a weird place to start if I hadn't already seen the anime and if it wasn't about my favourite Villain from the show, Perfect Cell.
This is where my manga journey began. Every time I went back to that store, I'd pick up another volume or two of manga. This eventually lead me to pick up an issue of Shonen Jump - a weekly serialisation of multiple manga- which would introduce me to anything from Naruto to One Punch Man years later.
As for the manga itself, well... what's not to love about Dragonball Z? The sense of adventure, the thrill of overcoming challenges. It even got me into exercise as a kid, which was saying something!
Even though the plot might seem a bit dated or predictable now (almost every anime fan knows what a super saiyan is whether or not they've seen Dragonball Z), I remember being awestruck each and every time the heroes faced and seemingly defeated an insurmountable foe.
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05
Haikyuu!
This amazing sports is a typical ultimate underdog story which revolves around a junior high school student name Shoyo Hinata and his passion for volleyball.
Each character (even the small ones) are well developed from start to finish, which is something a lot of shounen anime lack (I'm looking at you Naruto and Fairytale); this results in a genuine care for every character, even those who only appear for an episode or two.
Even if you have no interest in sports, I would recommend this show, it's so brilliantly done, particularly the third season. Finally, the show is surprisingly unpredictable, you never quite know who's going to win, even in the final few episodes. Again, this builds up such an intensity and really gets you on the edge of your seat. It's similar to One Punch Man in a certain way: the premise seems kind of meh, but when you start watching it, you will find it very difficult to stop.
Overall, the story epitomises the brilliance of anime and its ability to make any topic intense, emotional and HYPED!
04
One Punch Man
One punch man (OPM) is pretty much the total opposite of Haikyuu: it tells the story of Saitama; whose hobby is to be a hero. He trains hard for 3 years and loses all his hair in the process. His training pays off so much, in fact, that he is now too strong. Every enemy or monster he comes up against is destroyed in just one punch!
This show is probably the most over-exaggerated anime I've ever watched (with perhaps the exception of Food Wars) and this is what makes it so epic. The OST combined with the phenomenal animation produces some of the best fight scenes in current anime, and this anime is only 12 episodes long.
The show is laugh out loud funny and will have you watching scenes over and over again on sketchy YouTube channels. If you're a big anime fan and you've seen plenty of shows, you'll also love this as it is a pastiche of shounen manga, and my God it does a brilliant job.
03
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
This is a bit of an odd one because it's only here after I re-watched it. I didn't remember it being that good but after watching it again, it really is THAT good.
It follows two young boys who try to resurrect their mother using a power known as 'alchemy'. However, it goes horribly wrong and they are left physically impaired.
Aside from the excellent, well paced storyline and consistent character growth, this faithful adaptation forced me to elicit nearly every emotional possible, even when re-watching it. It's like they took everything great about the original anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, and replaced all the faults with awesome. The plot, animation and characters in particular are substantially improved upon.
To finish, I'd like to praise how consistently hilarious this anime is, the comedy never goes stale and they do a surprisingly good job of finding hilarious moments during serious scenes.
02
Naruto Shippuden
Ah, Naruto. What a rollercoaster of an anime this is. Shippuden follows on from the original Naruto series and is set 2 and a half years later. Honestly, like most fans (I think), I no longer watch Naruto. The reason it's on this list is because it's what originally got me into anime and I shall forever be indebted because of it. I was hooked on the series and enjoyed pretty much every minute of every episode, even the fillers. I wanna say up until the fourth great ninja war, the show was great. However, when the war started, the anime declined. It went on FOREVER and with months on end of fillers, my disinterest grew and grew. I did manage to watch up until the final fight (which, by the way, was epic), but I haven't watched it since then. Although, even now, I believe Naruto Shippuden has some of the best choreographed fights in anime, and it will forever have a rose tinted place in my heart.
I would strongly recommend this anime to newcomers and those of you who prefer a slower paced anime. This is probably the best example of a show which you don't think you like that much until you realised you've spent all day watching it.
01
Hunter X Hunter (2011)
So, here we are at the number one spot and, honestly, it wasn't that close. This anime follows a young boy (bet you couldn't have guessed that) named Gon, who is determined to become a hunter in order to find his father, a professional hunter himself. However, in order to do this, Gon must first pass the gruelling hunter exam. Now, this is going to sound lazy but I promise it's not; I don't think anything I say can do this show justice. So instead of me rambling about this, that, and the other, I'm going to refer you to a video by Super Eyepatch Wolf which perfectly explains why you should watch Hunter X Hunter (no spoilers)..