OK, so I’m doing a panel on underrated scifi and fantasy manga next week at Loscon 38. I’ve already figured out that I want to talk about Planetes, To Terra, Pluto, From Far Away and Twin Spica, but I also don’t want to miss anything!
So, even if I don’t wind up using it in my presentation, I would love to hear about your favorite, underrated scifi or fantasy manga, why you love it so much and why you think it deserves much more attention!
My personal favorite is From Far Away
Sometimes the characters seem a bit Mary Sue-ish as they defeat their enemies with love and other positive feelings, but they also struggle greatly with their imperfections. I also find that the mangaka deals with issues with a certain realism. For example, Noriko struggles with learning the local language after arriving in the new world, which isn’t something you see in too many fantasy manga. (And it actually takes her time to learn!)
Another strong point of the series is how strong and/or respected women are. It would be all too easy to have all the women be dainty little flowers or to throw in a lot of sexual violence to intimidate even the strongest lady, but Hikawa steers clear of this. That being said, Hikawa showcases a lot of personalities across both sexes. There are strong women, dainty women, scary-looking men who are really softies, skinny men, men and women with noble demeanors; it’s refreshing to see all kinds of people and all kinds of body types in a manga.
A lot of people I know have never heard of From Far Away, probably because it was released during the Great American Manga Boom. By now, it’s probably quite out-of-print, but not ridiculously expensive on eBay or Amazon. (Thank goodness.)
Anyway, please let me know which scifi and fantasy manga you love in the comments below! Thanks!
P.S. Has anyone noticed how remarkably similar To Terra is to Battlestar Galactica? (Although I think To Terra predates the original BSG a little bit.)
P.P.S. In case you’re wondering, I’m going to stick to legally-published-in-English manga for my presentation. Might as well.
“Planetes.” Easily.
I’ve already got Planetes on my list. 🙂 Want to elaborate on why you like it, by any chance?
The Keys to the Kingdom by CMX is one of my favorites that doesn’t seem to get enough love. It’s starts out as a little cliched high fantasy tale about who is going to be the next ruler of the kingdom but makes really good use of the story’s setting and history by the end. Plus I love shojo so I liked the art quite a bit as well. XD
Psycho Busters. Got the novels and the graphic novels, and the storylines are different, sort of. I like the people, even the ones who are technically bad guys. Nice varied lot of psychic powers, including some I hardly run into. And I like the plot(s), even if I still don’t get the endings of either version. At least both of them had decent endings and didn’t trail off with a missing last volume (or entire story arc, like some of the series Tokyopop published).
I would prefer slightly more surreal Sci-fi / Fantasy titles: Ryuguden, Music of Marie, No 5, Mushishi, Witches.