Most of the critically-acclaimed new manga for grown-ups were dramas or action stories, but there was no shortage of laughs and slice-of-life charm to be found in this year’s batch of seinen and josei manga. When all the votes were counted, Koji Kumeta's black comedy Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei rose to the top of the heap.
See more of the best manga of 2009:
WINNER - Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei
© Koji Kumeta, KODANSHA Ltd.
Author and Artist: Koji Kumeta
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Compare prices for Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei Vol. 1
Nozomu Itoshiki is an emo educator who is constantly in despair. When his latest attempt to commit suicide is thwarted by his exceptionally cheerful student Kafuka, Itoshiki-sensei discovers that his entire homeroom class is filled with girls who are even more neurotic than he is.
2nd place - Geijutsuka Art Design Class
© Satoko Kiyuduki / HOUBUNSHA
Author and Artist: Satoko Kiyuduki
Publisher: Yen Press
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Kisaragi is a first year high school student who's just learning the finer points of art and design. With the help of her friends, the girls of Geijutsuka Art Design Class learn about color theory, painting techniques and much more, while making some hilarious mistakes along the way.
3rd place - Detroit Metal City
© Kiminori Wakasugi 2006 / HAKUSENSHA, Inc.
Author and Artist: Kiminori Wakatsugi
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
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Meet Krauser II, the demonic lead singer of Detroit Metal City, a death metal band on the rise. Meet Soichiro Negishi, a dweeby aspiring pop singer with a bowl haircut. You'd never know it looking at them, but these two opposites are the same guy! Negishi secretly hates being the god of Death Metal -- but can he help that he's so much better at it than anything else he's tried? As Negishi's / Krauser's lives collide, only chaos and hilarity can ensue.
4th place - Moyasimon
© Ishikawa Masayuki / KODANSHA
Author and Artist: Masayuki Ishikawa
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
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Tadayasu Sawaki has always had an unusual ability: he can see usually microscopic bacteria as cute little airborne critters that can talk to him. Tadayasu and his childhood friend Kei are freshmen at a university in Tokyo. But far from being a glamorous, urban institution of learning, Tadayasu's new alma mater is an agricultural college where livestock and crops mingle with coeds and professors. In this setting, Tadayasu's abilities are not just strange, they're very, very useful, and possibly very lucrative.
5th place - Butterflies, Flowers
CHOUYO HANAYO © 2006 Yuki YOSHIHARA / Shogakukan
Author and Artist: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
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Choko comes from a once wealthy family that has been reduced to working class circumstances. After being hired as an admin in a large company, she's got her work cut out for her with a tyrannical manager who is constantly on her back. But Choko discovers that his hard-edge hides his soft spot for her: he was once her loyal servant.
6th place - MariaHolic
© Minari Endou / MEDIA FACTORY
Author and Artist: Minari Endou
Publisher: TokyoPop
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Kanako has a fear of boys -- so much so she breaks out into hives if a guy even touches her. To fulfill her yuri fantasies of finding a cute girlfriend, Kanaoko enrolls in an all-girl academy. There she meets Mariya, a cute girl who fits the bill, but much to her surprise (and dismay!), Mariya is actually a cross-dressing boy with sadistic tendencies.
7th place - What a Wonderful World
SUBARASHII SEKAI © Inio ASANO / Shogakukan Inc.
Author and Artist: Asano Inio
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
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A college dropout gets shaken out of her twenty-something ennui as a series of strange, funny and wonderful events occur around her. Mysterious, humorous, magical and absurd all at the same time, What A Wonderful World offers a series of short stories that remind us that living can be the greatest adventure of all.
8th place - Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu
© Junko Mizuno
Author and Artist: Junko Mizuno
Publisher: Last Gasp
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Pelu is a lonely alien who wants to meet the right girl so he can make babies. But Pelu's quest is doomed from the start, because besides being an asexual zygote, Pelu just has lousy luck in love. As he meets, befriends, falls in love and gets snubbed romantically as "just a friend" by a parade of tragic women, Pelu just wonders if there's any real love to be found on Earth.
9th place - Doujin Work
© Hiroyuki
Author and Artist: Hiroyuki
Publisher: Media Blasters
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High school student Najimi discovers that her classmate Tsuyuri is making a chunk o' change on the side by drawing and selling her kinda naughty doujinshi (fan-created comics) at conventions. So Najimi decides to get in on the action. With advice from Tsuyuri and a few other pals, she tries to draw and sell her own doujin works... too bad her drawings really suck.
10th place - Oishinbo Ala Carte
OISHINBO A LA CARTE © Tetsu KARIYA, Akira HANASAKI / Shogakukan Inc.
Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
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To commemorate its 100th anniversary, the editors of Tozai Shimbun newspaper want to publish the "Ultimate Menu," the very best cuisine that Japan has to offer. Journalist Yamaoka Shiro is sent to find these amazing dishes, but he's got a rival in his quest: Yuzan Kaibara, a rich and arrogant gastronome who just happens to be Shiro's estranged dad.
