2. Not so brand new anymore, but still riding high (he he) it's those two nigh-on-impossible-to-undersatnd-their-japanese-but-ever-so-cuuuute GET BACKERS. I now have all 24 takubons in Japanese (though I have only read up to about 9) and I have up to 3 in English at which the translations now stand. We won't even get into how FUNNILY BAD the translations are. There's alao a 49 episode anime which is good, but not as pretty or character oriented as the manga. Resons why this remains one of my firm favourites? The two main characters are just so in love it's not even funny. With a whole host of great characters (including the lovely girly boy who wears a sweet wrapper, and the sadist psyco with a beautiful voice), insane story lines, comedy and the ever great and entertaining angst, this is an amazingly sophisticated but not over-bearing (a la Mirage of Blaze) manga/anime.
3. Here stands a manga which wins the contest for CUTEST THING EVER WRITTEN hands down. And so it is, the one and only DEMON DIARY. This is a particularly interesting manga as it is actually Korean. The story gets a bit crazy in volume 5 but I forgive it because the main character, Raenef, is so cute, and his fearsome servant Eclipse is extremely hot. Together, they are made for eachother.
4. My highest new entry is SAIYUKI.. Again with fantastic characters, on the borderline of completely obvious shounen-ai and a fun story all make this a great manga. Saiyuki recently came out in English and there is also an anime series which I have yet to see, but oh I will!
5. ICE COLD DEMON'S TALE. What can I say? This is an extremely long tale of a demon and a dead guy who are in love. The stories are long and involved, the characters cute and well developed (well, so would you be if you were in 24 takubons) and everything is beautifully drawn . This manga is not translated, but translations of up to book 4 can be found online. The rest, as they say, is up to you.
6. TOKYO BABLYLON is new in here. Just translated into English, this CLAMP classic actually managed to shock me with its shonen-ai obviousness. I mean, I knew it would be (this IS CLAMP) but all the referances to marriage and dates and all- it's overwhelming! The anime is nothing like this! Anyway, apart from that, this manga is a really interesting product of its time. It's dark, despairing, and if you've watched X, very depressing but this all serves to make it a very interesting manga.
7. Next up is BOKURANO NO OKOUKO (Our Kingdom) . Not in English as it's very new and ongoing. This tells the tale of two boys (cousins, disturbingly enough), both heirs to some big company and estate, who are finding out they actually rather fancy eachother. The stories are cute and the characters very likeable, if a bit psycho. Go forth and enjoy!
8. Going down, but not forgotten is FAKE. Just because it's really funny. Lots of boy-loving and it's really sweet too! It's a manga (available in English) and a film (which actually doeasn't have a bad dub) and I like both. Read it and laugh in amazement as every single bloke in the manga fancy each other! Be amused as Ryo endlessly rejects Dee's lustful approaches! Wonder whatever happened to the storyline as the two keep snogging! Hoorah!
9. GOHRU DRUG (English title: Lawful Drug) . I worked like a bitch and have transcribed the first two editions (of this bizarre CLAMP manga into English. It's wierd, it's slashy and I love it!
10. Lastly we come to SAMURAI DEEPER KYO. I thought I would be safe from shounen-ai with this samurai tale, but alas, it was not meant to be. Yukimura appeared and that was the end of that idea. But he only served to increase my amusement at this really quite funny manga. Up to a 26th volume in Japanese and still going strong, this manga is both serious and funny. There are tonnes of characters, numerous story threads and lots of fighting. As a side-note, the anime is EXTREMELY different from the manga. And is actually quite bizarre.
Want more? Then take a look at my YAMI FANFIC RECOMENDATIONS PAGE.
2. Oh my. It's KYOU KARA MAOU (From today, I'm a Demon Lord!). It's as shonen-ai as can be. But it's more than that. It's like a skewed harem show and it is the funniest anime I have ever watched. It seems to take the piss out of all those anime (particularly shonen-ai) cliches. And the story is insane. The characters are too for that matter.
3. X, oh X, how much I have neglected you. But why I know not. With seemingly endless pairing possibilities, pretty pretty men and a complex, ultimatly very serious story line, this anime is one of CLAMPs finest, and one of my very favourites..
4. FRUITS BASKET. characters. mix of comedy and drama.
MIRAGE OF BLAZE
DNANGEL
A VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE
GUNDAM SEED
HELLSING
GUNDAM WING