best manga i read in 2023

[@MadamGojira]

In the clear moonlit dusk for me was such a great read, I love the characters and the romance. For BL my top one was Old Fashioned Cupcake which was an adult BL story that has such an amazing story and mature themes not explicit mature but just very grown up. It’s SO GOOD I highly recommend it. Sign of Affection still manages to impress me with its maturity in the romance, it’s wonderful. Really also loved Dont Say Mystery it’s everything I’ve hoped. I love the mystery so much and it’s just so unique and expertly written! Those were my faves that stuck out for sure. Edit: OH Yona of course I’m also reading through it and Yona is easily one of the best female characters in manga I adore her.

[@tsukkinotes]

nice!! and i recently read old fashioned cupcake and enjoyed it 👁 can't wait to get into the sequel volumes

[@Yingsiess]

The fragrant flower blooms with dignity is so good, I’m so glad you’re making it more known! More people shld get on this! I’ve been reading digitally but I have already preordered it ✌️

[@tsukkinotes]

yes!! really hoping many people jump on the physical release, the story is so good, the coming of age elements are top-tier

[@KatieColson]

I love that you did a Best Of like they do on Booktube. I’ve been wanting that from MangaTube for so long. So happy to have watched this and loved it. Took some recs from you (as always)

[@tsukkinotes]

thank you so much!!

[@elllisgrey]

as someone who started collecting the boys over flowers manga this year, you hit the nail on the head with “trash but addicting” lol! i love the series and the k-drama so much but it is definitely no masterpiece 😭😭 aside from that, i also really loved my happy marriage this year!!

[@elllisgrey]

oh and how could i forget yona!! i also felt very late to that hype train but it is SO phenonmenal

[@tsukkinotes]

collecting??!! good luck omg, the volumes are so hard to find. i'm lucky my library had a bunch / the shonen jump app. but yes haha the series was really fun overall if i ignored some of it's ... issues. i don't regret reading it and the sequel

[@elllisgrey]

@@tsukkinotes man… i don’t even wanna talk about how much i’ve spent on that series 😭 and i’m only up to vol 14

[@George.482]

Great video keep up the good work 😊

[@tsukkinotes]

thank you! glad you enjoyed

[@Animated_wonder]

I’ll say that I understand your criticism about Tokyo Revengers about kids going through that, but as someone who studied Criminal Justice, I can confirm that behaviors and activities like that do happen to people that are involved in gang activity. It’s reality of this world that people tend to not grasp just because it can seem unreal to imagine teenagers doing this.

[@tsukkinotes]

i expanded more on my thoughts in my casual review of tokyo revengers but i think it was more of an issue of the tone that affected the believability of the series as a whole. banana fish has minor characters and even slam dunk were much better character explorations imo in terms of the motives and circumstances of the characters. tokyo revengers was more focused on the action imo and the time travel aspects, so it lost a bit of that backstory etc that i crave in a series like that. it doesn’t help that there is so much going on and at times it did feel like a lot of the more sad events were played up for shock value. one of my favorite manga is rainbow nisha rokubou no shichinin which is historical fiction set after ww2 about these boys in a juvenile detention center. the tone is very serious and i guess i prefer if the characters are children, that it’s not as lighthearted as tokyo revengers is at times? hopefully i explained this well, i didn’t mean to come off as saying that kids never go through these circumstances

[@Animated_wonder]

@tsukkinotes understand what you're trying to say, but just letting you and others realize that sadly kids and of course adults are exposed to doing these atrocities to other people. In one of my classes I had to read a book about a guy who if I remember is writing a report/research about gang activity/drug sells and he spends time with this community and he talks about sex violence, rape, etc., but he also realizes that some of these people were put in these circumstances and he befriends them and helps some of them out of that environment. If you want to read it, I can let you know the name of the book

[@valneanne]

I'm still giggling over you accidentally calling the Tokyo Revengers gang wholesome 😂 Having said that, I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts about all of these. I only got back into manga last year (the last time I read any I was between 13-15/16 and I just looked up the title, Model, and it turns out it was actually a Manhwa which I would not have known back then 😅 and it's about vampires (it released in 1999, I probably read it around 2003-2004, Twilight released in 2008... I see a theme) and has a gloriously goth-y cover which makes sense since I was all into goth stuff and being ~dark and mysterious~ and using xD in ever conversation ever...🤦‍♀😅) so there's a lot of stuff I haven't touched yet because my book (which now includes manga) is only so big. As someone who's watched a lot of Boys Over Flowers adaptions (and spin-offs, inspired bys etc, I don't know why, but it's the kind of mindless watching were I'm just along for the ride and am generally thankful I neither know nor am any of the characters involved, but enjoy watching the drama unfold) I should probably read the manga and it's sequel. I have read My Happy Marriage and loved it, I am in the process of working my way through Tokyo Revengers. I do want to read Something's Wrong With Us and Yona of the Dawn, I just need to get through a bit of what I'm already reading first. The Fragrant Flower sounds like something I would really be into, I have been working my way through (I read a lot of stuff at the same time... I do it with books and I've apparently started doing it with manga too) Love, That's An Understatement which also features a delinquent and then there's Tokyo Revengers so I have a feeling delinquents might be making a regular appearance in my reading throughout 2024 😅

[@tsukkinotes]

i feel you about boys over flowers lol, if you were invested in its adaptations i would recommend the manga! the sequel was genuinely good but the original series was just the good old soap opera poorly aged drama. but yes i highly recommend fragrant flower! the mc is not exactly a delinquent but people have that impression of him and he looks the part

[@karla4799]

Yes! I'm glad someone is talking about Fragrant Flower. I like this story so much, and this couple is so cute. I started buying the Japanese volumes, but I'm glad it will be available in English soon. I'm feeling really spoiled with all your videos being released recently. I always enjoy your videos and find them very relaxing.

[@tsukkinotes]

thank you so much!!

[@ilvanime01]

Couldn't agree more on the top three of your list of non favourites, exactly how I felt when I read them years back.

[@tsukkinotes]

glad to know i'm not the only one 👁

[@khayrinqistina1901]

All of these series is really so good! 😁👍🏻

[@tsukkinotes]

i agree 👁️

[@Sephie.]

My top 2 fav manga that I got into this year defo have to be Welcome to demon school Iruma Kun! and Yona of the dawn both series are so so good and I especially did not expect to like Iruma Kun so much!! :D

[@tsukkinotes]

nice!! i'll have to check that one out, i have heard some buzz about it

[@atmmachine11]

The best manga series I read and completed in 2023 were for sure Vinland Saga, Golden Kamuy, and to a lesser extent Hells Paradise. Vinland Saga and Golden Kamuy I would whole heartedly recommend but I know you already read part of both of them. Both were capable of making me cry which is quite the feat. I was mixed on Hells Paradise but by the last few volumes I enjoyed it a decent amount, if at least for the plethora of great characters.

[@tsukkinotes]

thanks for the recommendations!! i really need to get back into Vinland! i left off after the farmland arc but i know the volumes come out really slow so i've been procrastinating on getting back to it

[@RiseAbovePride]

It has been so long since I tuned in happy to see your still recommending awesome series! Happy New Year!

[@tsukkinotes]

hi and welcome back!! glad you enjoyed, happy new year :)

[@just.yukii.]

I love my happy marriage im glad its getting noticed

[@tsukkinotes]

it’s so good, literally took over my life last year

[@Floridameerkat93]

There's a sequel to Boys Over Flower?! I never knew that.

[@tsukkinotes]

yes 👁️ boys over flowers season 2, it’s another 15 volumes and it’s genuinely good imo, it follows a new cast at the same school years later but the og characters do make cameos

[@bizarreindividual4026]

❤