5 – Attack On Titan
status : finished
Started airing in 2013 based on the original manga by Hajime Isayama, Attack on titan far exceeded anyone’s expectation and took the world by storm.
The story follows Eren Yeager who lives in a world where humanity has been cornered into walls by human eating titans, after the titans invade his hometown and killed his mother he swears to take revenge on the titans and end them all.
The story while seeming generic at start has some very unique themes relating to racism and oppression with amazing plot twists after amazing plot twists.
though the ending of the series didn’t live up to my expectations this anime is must watch for the journey and amazing adaptation by Studio Wit.
Attack On Titan Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.55
- Anime Planet: 4.38/5
4 – Monster
Status : Finished
Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, Monster is a tale of a gifted surgeon Tenma Kenzo who had to choose between saving a mayor or a little kid.
Tensa chose the later but ended up regretting when the boy he saved grew up to be a prolific serial killer.
Monster is a perfect blend of psychological thriller and true crime and dwelves into Tenma’s mind as he blames himself for all the murders and attempts to fix his “mistake” from long ago.
Monster Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 9.15
- Anime Planet: 4.44/5
3 – Vagabond
Status : on hiatus
Vagabond written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue based on Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel, Musashi is a historical manga set in feudal Japan following the story of real life legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi.
who initially sought to become the most famous swordsman in Japans but as his story progresses he comes to the realization that there’s more to life then fighting and becoming the best.
Vagabond has some of the best artworks that the manga has to offer.
we can only hope that Inoue san finishes his masterpiece someday.
Vagabond Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 9.25
- Anime Planet: 4.49/5
2 – Jojo’s bizarre adventure
Status : Part 9 ongoing
Hirohiko Araki’s magnum opus Jojo’s bizarre adventure is one of the best mangas out there, it has different parts following different members of Joestar bloodline and each part has a different tone and theme from one another, one is a vampire hunting story while another is a race in old wild west.
the artstyle evolved as it went on from its first serialization in late 80’s and reflects several eras of pop-culture.
After Part 6 Stone ocean’s conclusion Araki rebooted the series to seinen and introduced Part 7 Steel Ball Run which went on to be regarded as the best part of the series, the setting takes place in Wild West has the best Protagonist and antagonist in the entire series. it revisited some elements from part 1 such as Joestar and Zeppeli connection.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.25
- Anime Planet: 4.27/5
1 – Berserk
Status : ongoing
Author Kentaro Miura’s legendary manga Berserk is often regarded as one of the best fiction ever, it is a dark tale following Guts a mercenary whose life has been nothing but despair since birth. He was abandoned as a child and was betrayed by his closest friend, Guts is gritty protagonist who has become the face of the seinen demographic.
Berserk published in 1989 went on to become the most influential manga ever with artists from different industries taking inspiration from it in various forms such as in video games or other animations.
at its core Berserk is a revenge story in a world where heroes and villains are non-existent.
just like Vagabond, Berserk has one of best artworks in all of manga medium.
Even though the author Kantaro Miura has unfortunately passed away, his story is continued on by his co-workers and friends.
Berserk Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 9.47
- Anime Planet: 4.59/5
