I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.
The linky will be below my post.
Forbidden Planet Bookstore in New York City
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| Photo from Wikipedia |
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| Photo from Forbidden Planet's website |
On Thursday night of BEA week, Kendra of Books Complete Me, Megan of Amethyst Daydreams, and I trekked to Forbidden Planet, the huge graphic novel store in Union Square in New York.
The second floor was entirely devoted to manga. By far, the best collection I've ever seen. Partially out of curiosity and partially out of a lack of anything better to do, I asked the sales clerk to recommend a few manga titles. I specifically mentioned that I really enjoyed Sand Chronicles. For the next 20-30 minutes, the fabulous Dani and even a random helpful customer recommended title after title. I was so impressed with the customer service. Dani's knowledge was impeccable and she was happy to help me with any and all questions.
Here are a few titles Dani and the customer recommended:
Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Nana by Ai Yazawa
Yotsuba by Kiyohiko Azuma
My Girlfriend's A Geek by Rize Shinba Pentabu
Chi's Sweet Home by Kanata Konami
Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi
Inubaka by Yukiya Sakuragi
Have you read any of these?
I did buy one volume they recommended (I didn't have room to carry home anything else:
Death Note vol. 1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
I'll let you know what I think of it!
If you're ever in New York City (or various places in the UK), you should definitely check out Forbidden Planet for great manga.
I've actually never heard of Forbidden Planet. That's a major problem.
ReplyDeleteOnward with the quest to visit every bookstore in the five boroughs!
(Just kidding. I'm not even close to having visited all of the bookstores in New York City.)
Enjoy Death Note! Checking it out right now! Oddly enough, I like shonen more than the female counterpart (name just slipped my mind) but I'm not such a manga person anyway, and it's super hard to find stuff with that little bit of romance that catches my eye. (So far, working my way through DN Angel, which I'm liking, and Fullmetal Alchemist, which has captured my heart.)
Enjoy!
~Riv Re
Riv Reads
Fullmetal Alchemist! I love it so much too. I think it's one of the best manga every created! (Even better than Death Note) Have you read it, Alison? If not you should try it too!
DeleteGreat pick, Alison! Death Note is one of my all time favorite anime/manga ever! I even bought a Light Yagami nendoroid and a deathnote notebook because I was a total geek for it lol. It has 3 live action movies too which are different from the anime and manga series. Anyway, if you liked it, you should definitely give Liar Game a try too.
ReplyDeleteI only read a few chapters of Bakuman but I thought it was great, not as great as Death Note though. They're two very different manga so I really can't compare them. Yotsuba and Nana are quite popular too so maybe you'd also like them.
I have heard of The Forbidden Plant bookstore though I haven't had a chance to go visit. Glad to hear Dani and a customer were able to recommend some titles to you.
ReplyDeleteI've never read any of those series but I have watched the following:
1. Death Note
2. Bakuman
3. Vampire Hunter D.
They are all great choices to check out!
Have a great reading week!
Wow, what an awesome store! Love it too when customer service is outstanding and there's someone working who is clearly as passionate about what you're interested in as you are. Can't wait to see what you think of what they recommended!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I was near Union Square! It's close by The Strand (huge bookstore, 4 storeys + basement of books) but I didn't know about Forbidden Planet. I will definitely check it out next year. I will also checkout Kinokuniya in Bryant Park (Japanese bookstore, 2nd floor is all manga and books) which I sadly didn't get a chance to go to this year. So much misses gah! Anyway I've read Death Note, it's a very popular series but I didn't really enjoy it. I hope you like it!
ReplyDeleteI meant manga and art books
DeleteI've read Death Note and Bakuman (both are really good!) and I really want to try Vampire Hunter D it sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteLOL--I'll bet you were in Manga heaven. Such a cool-looking bookstore!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I don't even read Manga, but I'd love to visit Forbidden Planet.
ReplyDeleteThe series I have read the most of would be Yotsuba, which is the complete opposite of Death Note. It's very lighthearted, with an adorable main character and lots of funny moments. Not serious at all.
ReplyDeleteI know that they're probably different (as manga-to-anime adaptions can be), but I started watching the Usagi Drop/ Bunny Drop (U.S.) anime recently and it's very good. It's about a 30-year-old man who takes in his grandfather's illegitimate daughter, who's only six. It's published as a manga by Yen Press if you're interested, I'd love to know how it is.
And thanks for the store info! I'd love to visit someday.
I love that you found that bookstore I'm so certain that New York has some great finds for books. If I wasn't such a small townie and really could I would love to go but BIG crowds scare me LOL. I haven't read any of those yet but have them on my TBR now for Manga Mondays well after your reviews to see if I will like. Love this MEME you got me involved in a Genre I would never really read before. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, Death Note is probably the best manga series ever! It could easily have been a novel series for how much time we spend in the MC's head and even in some other people's heads.
ReplyDeleteIt's being made into a Hollywood film, too. I'm really excited because the Japanese live action films were really good, and this Hollywood director is very dedicated to keeping true to the actual story.
It's a dark urban fantasy, but with less emphasis on the fantasy and more on the development of a megalomaniacal serial killer. It's so freakin' good.
Death Note was my first manga ever. I fell in love with it and the format. It's a fabulous psychological, suspense thriller.
ReplyDeleteI'm also really enjoying Nana right now. It's mostly typical chick lit but I'm curious to see where it goes.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing their suggestions. I'll have to add these to my TBR now.
ReplyDeleteCool! I love to visit New York. Glad you had a great time. I don't read manga but my sister in law does. I will let her know.
ReplyDeleteooh i like this one.
ReplyDelete