Hey everyone,
I'm in Japan right now for a quick holiday. It seems like a good chance to buy some manga. I just have no idea what I should be buying. I didn't become interested in Japan via the anime route like a lot of people, so I'm just unfamiliar with what's out there.
I have been studying for a bit over a year and my Japanese comprehension is probably somewhere between N4 and N3.
I've been going hard at Anki and have done about 4000 words on my listening deck and 3000 words on the reading deck. I also finished the Kanjidamage deck a few months ago and have kept up with reviews. My functional command of Japanese is less than this though and I really want to get away from trying to brute force the whole language with flash cards.
I know there are plenty of recommendations online for this. It's just that a lot of it seems to steer you towards children's content with furigana. I started playing Ni No Kuni for that reason and while I can see why it's great for language learning, I'm just not that interested in being a little boy who collects cute animals. So I want to avoid the manga equivalent of that. I realise that generally means no furigana which is why I've worked hard at kanji lately.
The kind of anime I've enjoyed has been Akira, Bubblegum Crisis, Ghost in the Shell, Black Rock Shooter Dawnfall, The Fable, Shirokuma Cafe. So yeah, I like sci-fi, cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic stuff I guess. But I also enjoy media about feudal wars or comedies about modern life.
The kind of anime I don't like is the stuff that has really jarring changes in tone. Like where there's a guy who saves the world by battling a demon monster but then he's too shy to talk to his crush. And I don't really get into media about a guy who just likes fighting people and he's cocky about it and that's his whole motivation and personality. I need a lot more of a real story than that.
I'm also happy to take recommendations for things that are beyond my level right now, because then I can work towards it as a goal.
What should I buy?
by thehandsomegenius