Let’s get this party started! As with the Noughties list, I’m going to cheat by starting with an…
Honorable Mention – Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu (2018-present)
OK, I admit it, this is a bit of a cheat. Truthfully, BokuYaba is a series I couldn’t quite slide into the top 10. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave out a series I love as much as any I’ve read in a very long time. Again, this list is personal, and this is the ultimate expression of that. Little more need to said about why I love it so much – manga romance and romcom protagonists just don’t get much better. By the end, it might very well have worked its way onto a theoretical list like this without need of a wild card.
I’m excited to begin another LiA crowdsourcing project! This time around it’s my top 10 manga of all-time. We didn’t hit quite the same levels of support we did for the “Best of the 2000’s” project, but thanks to your generosity we cleared Tier 2. That means a full top 10 manga, list, with a short summary of why I made each pick. Here are the folks who stepped up and supported this project on Ko-fi:
- Riv
- Nicc
- Red
- Stephen
- Ryan
Of course, those folks will once again get a one-week special sneak preview of my picks, along with my deepest gratitude. I’ll be going in countdown form again, starting with the supporters and going live here on 9/2/23.
As for the list, it goes without saying that it was incredibly difficult to put together. I think I should also reiterate that this is in no way an attempt to create a “best” list – these are my personal favorites, no more and no less. And given that the pool of manga I haven’t read is vastly deeper than the pool of manga I have, there are going to be series not on my list that many of you think should be (and would be on yours).
Unlike with the year-end and decade anime lists, I don’t see any particularly tricky eligibility questions. The only restriction is that it must be a manga – originally written in Japanese and published in Japan. And I’m not restricting myself to completed series – if an ongoing manga is on here, it’s based on the published and translated chapters to date.
Finally, let’s do another contest, as those seem to be natural for any top 10 list. I’ll leave this open until I post #10 – take your best shot just like with Best of the 2000’s list The winner gets a haiku about any series on the list, their choice.
Nellie
August 27, 2023 at 9:59 pm1. Hunter x Hunter
2. Cross Game
3. Hikaru no Go
3. Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou
4. Otoyomegatari
5. Baby Steps
6. Spirit Circle
7. Rurouni Kenshin
8. Hirayasumi
9. BokuYaba
10. Oyasumi Punpun
Guardian Enzo
August 27, 2023 at 10:18 pmFirst!
Very interesting guesses, thank you.
Alonom
August 28, 2023 at 10:19 pmIn the top 10 anime lists I at least have confidence in my choices (though not in their placing). This is a complete shot in the dark for me
1. Cross Game
2. Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou
3. Vegabond
4. Spirit Circle
5. Rurouni Kenshin
6. Earsed
7. Otoyomegatai
8. Bokuyaba
9. Oyasumi punoun
10. Baby steps
Samu
August 28, 2023 at 10:26 pmGuessing games are fun. A tricky one since you qualified it as your favourites rather than the ‘best’, which I think pushes out some heralded big names in favour of some classic Enzo picks. There’s about 4-5 other manga I could swap in here but let’s go with:
1. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
2. Rurouni Kenshin
3. Cross Game
4. BokuYaba
5. Baby Steps
6. Spirit Circle
7. Otoyomegatari
8. A Distant Neighbourhood
9. Yugami-kun wa Tomodachi ga Inai
10. Vagabond
Guardian Enzo
August 29, 2023 at 6:50 amInteresting guesses, thanks for playing…
Monymous
August 30, 2023 at 10:11 am1. Hunter x Hunter
2. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
3. Spirit Circle
4. Otoyomegatari
5. Cross Game
6. Rurouni Kenshin
7. BokuYaba
8. Bakuman
9. Akatsuki no Yona
10. Vinland Saga
Guardian Enzo
August 30, 2023 at 11:47 amInteresting group, thanks for entering!