Gen Z loves Manga and so do we: 5 of our favourites to start your journey

The prospect of diving into a whole new subculture headfirst can be daunting, so here are some of our favourite Manga you can read to begin your journey.

Doraemon, Shinchan, Ninja Hattori were the mainstay cartoons loved by late 90s and early 2000s kids. Other than being Japanese, they also have another thing in common — they’re all based on Manga comics. While the generations before them grew up on Tinkle, Reader’s Digest and the adventures of Chacha Chaudhary, Gen Z has been captivated by Japanese Manga comics. For the unversed, Manga are simply Japanese comics.

If you’re a fan of comics, graphic novels or any other visual storytelling mediums, chances are you will enjoy reading Manga. But the prospect of diving into a whole new subculture headfirst can be daunting, so here are some of our favourite Manga you can read to begin your journey.

A beginner’s guide to Manga

Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo

This is perhaps one of the most famous Manga currently. The story follows a spy who has to “build a family” to execute a mission, not realizing that the girl he adopts as his daughter is a telepath, and the woman he agrees to be in a marriage with is a skilled assassin.

Its anime can also be watched on Netflix.

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

When it was originally published by Tokyo Pop, Fruits Basket became a bestselling title and blew away all preconceived notions that girls don’t read comics. The manga follows an orphaned girl who moves in with a family that lives under a curse.

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

Perhaps what can be called the King of Manga, Naruto is the one that started the craze for them. Set in the fictional world of Shinobi (Ninja), it follows Naruto, who is hopeless as a Ninja at first but gradually develops his skill after repeatedly suffering setbacks.

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

This manga has recently been serialised into a live action story on Netflix and fans couldn’t keep calm! Littered with important themes, One Piece covers social problems and conflicts.

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

A Silent Voice is one of the exceptions in shonen manga with no action and crime fighting — well, at least, not in a “I’m gonna save the world” sense. Instead, it focuses on a boy who has been both the bully and the bullied, and how he moves on from that.