While a lot of the most critically-acclaimed new graphic novels of the past year were drama or action stories, there were also quite a few new manga stories with enough naughty jokes and dark humor for grown-ups, or slice-of-life charm to make us smile.
Take a look at the motley cast of characters and eccentric stories in the 10 nominated titles in the Best New Seinen/Josei Manga - Comedy Readers' Poll. A poor little rich girl, a death metal god with a wimpy alter-ego, a college student who can see bacteria and a suicidal schoolteacher -- could you possibly find a more eccentric batch of characters? They made you laugh, they made you guffaw, they made you think "WTF?!" But which one was your favorite new series of the year?
Now, some of you might say, "Hey, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei was originally featured in a shonen manga magazine. But as far as I'm concerned, the content (and humor) in this series is so dense, it seems geared toward older readers who are ready for it's dark wit and wicked pop culture satire.
Meanwhile, others might say "Hey, What A Wonderful World isn't a comedy." Well, no - not in the Three Stooges definition of the word . But Asano Inio's semi-connected collection of short stories is kind of quirky and has mostly slice-of-life storytelling that makes it seem, well... not so serious as some of the titles in the Best New Seinen/Josei - Drama category. Anyhow, as your humble poll-creator, I beg for your indulgence, and your votes in this readers' poll!
You can vote now below, or go to the poll page to see cover art and descriptions of the stories:
I made a few other changes to the Readers' Poll categories this year -- you can get a sneak peek at what's coming up at the 2009 Manga Readers' Poll page.
NEXT UP: The Best New International / Original English Manga Readers' Poll!
Image credit: Kiminori Wakasugi 2006 / HAKUSENSHA, Inc.
Comments