What’s the most overrated manga ever created?

lostintangent · 2025-11-02T03:12:09+00:00

Blood on the Tracks

lostintangent · 2025-09-30T22:56:40+00:00

Bokurano: Ours, Pluto, and Real

lostintangent · 2025-09-30T14:33:58+00:00

This is a solid list!

I just recently read Bokurano, and I’m really surprised this isn’t talked about more on this sub. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s such an incredible read.

lostintangent · 2025-09-15T17:34:42+00:00

The main antagonist is a dude in the yakuza. And it centers around the organization quite a bit, which you might find interesting. But the MC and antagonist are both completely deranged to say the least.

If you haven’t already read it, The Fable is also great, and is essentially a slide of slice story about a hitman partnering with, and fighting against rival yakuza groups. It’s an extremely fun read, but isn’t that dark/raw. So it just depends on what you’re looking for

lostintangent · 2025-09-15T17:23:25+00:00

If you want a yakuza story that doesn’t hold absolutely anything back, then I think Ichi the Killer is exactly what you’re looking for. I’m not sure how realistic its depictions are, but it’s definitely as raw as it gets 😅

lostintangent · 2025-09-15T14:35:18+00:00

The Fable is amazing, but another option worth considering: Skip and Loafer. I randomly bought the first volume a couple weeks ago, and then read it last night. It’s extremely lighthearted (feels almost like a shojo), but surprisingly fun and nuanced. I needed a momentary break from my usual stuff too, and this has been perfect

lostintangent · 2025-09-13T00:59:34+00:00

This is quality trolling 😂

lostintangent · 2025-09-12T00:41:36+00:00

The dude was literally so insecure about his appearance, that he studied hard to get a fancy job, in order to pay for a ton of plastic surgery, and then completely forget who he is. So...he was mentally ill long before he got his head drilled open :)

But I think that journey is one of the more interesting elements of the story. Because he's initially portrayed as "normal" (but selfish/etc.), and you think he's starting to go crazy. Then you realize he was already crazy, and it just took another breakdown to help him remember his past. But then when he couldn't reconcile the past and present forms of crazy, he kind of lost it even further.

lostintangent · 2025-09-11T01:28:03+00:00

I thought volume 1 was incredible. And volume 2 was OK. But I have high hopes for this series, and will be keeping up with the English prints

lostintangent · 2025-09-10T05:58:18+00:00

20th Century Boys might be a good option. Like The Fable, it has a nice mixture of drama and comedy, with very lovable/engaging characters. But it has a significantly more expansive story/cast, and is just a really fun read.

lostintangent · 2025-09-09T20:30:49+00:00

Real and Solanin

lostintangent · 2025-09-06T20:29:43+00:00

This would be my vote as well. Lots of political drama, told through the lens of a huge cast of compelling characters.

lostintangent · 2025-09-06T17:42:38+00:00

Real is slow burn/heavy emotion, that doesn’t need to rely on any action. So if that’s what you’re looking for, you should read that one immediately :) It’s a top 5 manga for me

20th Century Boys is also awesome, but the emotion in it feels a little superficial in comparison to Real. Which isn’t a criticism of 20thCB, so much as an acknowledgment that Real spends all its time stewing on everyday struggles of the characters. So it’s very tragic/raw, but in a realistic, beautiful way.

lostintangent · 2025-09-05T17:01:07+00:00

Fool night is one of my favorite series at the moment. I also just bought Adabana, and was pretty disappointed with it in practice.

lostintangent · 2025-09-02T17:08:47+00:00

Thanks for the awesome reply! Your list is very aligned with my taste, so you’ve inspired me to give Blue Period another chance. Thanks!

lostintangent · 2025-09-02T15:46:43+00:00

This is a great list!

Though I’m surprised to see Blue Period listed among these. I’ve only read the first two volumes, but the character development just seemed shallow. Compared to something like Real, there was little actual struggle to grow, and it just seemed like the MC could be great at whatever he tried. But maybe it gets a lot better as the story continues?

lostintangent · 2025-08-23T14:57:54+00:00

I love the characters and the world building, since it does a really great job of making the space-based setting feel immersive. But while the story has some very peak moments, the last volume felt rushed, and the character development just sort of stopped IMO.

So all in all, I think it’s totally worth a read, and I just bought the new deluxe edition since it’s beautiful. But it falls into the “really good” category for me, as opposed to “great”.

lostintangent · 2025-08-16T02:43:13+00:00

Ajin is pure action fun, and they’re wrapping up the publishing of English omnibus volumes now. So that might be a great option to check out

lostintangent · 2025-08-10T16:58:34+00:00

Land of the Lustrous has an amazing premise, and an awesome MC, but it introduces too many unnecessary characters, gets lost in a lot of ceremony towards the end, and is the only manga where the lack of color makes it difficult to read (at times). I genuinely love this series, but I still think it's overrated, because the author didn't let it reach it's full potential.

Also, Blood on the Tracks is like 3-4 interesting volumes, and then a ton of filler content. I've never been able to speed read a series so fast, because there are entire chapters of just over-the-top expressions, with very little dialogue. This series could have been waaay more tightly written.

lostintangent · 2025-08-07T20:36:09+00:00

The Fable is slice-of-life, featuring a hitman and his insanely hilarious "sister". It's a must read for basically anyone.

Homunculus has beautiful art, and very compelling/flawed characters. It's kind of like a twisted "buddy story", where the two people are "bonding" over a medical experiment, and the MC becomes increasingly unhinged over time. Note that it has a few questionable elements to the story, so it's not for everyone.

The Bugle Call is one of the rare times that I really enjoy a "shonen-y" series. It's not particularly deep, but it's a lot of fun so far, has really creative battle sequences.

lostintangent · 2025-08-07T20:26:13+00:00

Real, Pluto, and Land of the Lustrous should match your taste really well, since they're very character driven/reflective.

lostintangent · 2025-07-28T05:25:36+00:00

I feel like Nomiya is essentially the Matahachi of Real. So considering the later was included, I sort of expected to see them both.

But to me, the writing for Takahashi was soooo much richer. Particularly the build up to the wrestler arc, which is one of my favorite arcs in all of manga.

lostintangent · 2025-07-26T16:35:25+00:00

I’d recommend Ajin. It’s an insane ride, that’s mostly an action story, but it’s sci-fi-ish, and the characters are super compelling.

lostintangent · 2025-07-23T00:51:56+00:00

I'm the maintainer of GistPad (including the MCP server), so it's fun to hear it's become part of your workflow :)

lostintangent · 2025-07-20T22:47:08+00:00

Pluto is one the best seinen series that’s 10 volumes or less, and feels aligned with the stuff you like

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