Monkey D. Luffy, Punching
I read a frankly terrifying amount of comics and manga (mostly the latter), but I haven't written about either in awhile. For today's blog post I'm reviving an old gimmick.In the early days of my blog, I wrote more than 20 "Sequential Art" posts in 2011 and 2012. In these, I would detail the most recent comics and manga I read that week or month, and review each of them with a vague, basketball-themed rating. It's been more than six years since I've written one, but instead of making this exactly like the old comics posts, I'm going to present a short list. Yes, I do those a lot.
One unusual pattern of manga that I've come to enjoy is juvenile delinquent fights. There are a HUGE number of these, in which conflicts between teenagers going through school, romance, and home-life difficulties settle their differences with their fists. I think this is part romanticization and storytelling attached to organized violence (same reason why there are so many excellent movies about boxers), and also part because high school is a near-universal experience for most manga readers - it's something that a huge majority of Japanese people will experience, and as such high school stories are relevant and/or nostalgic.
Really though, this article began life as a list of manga recommendations, and then I changed it to only be about non-magical teenagers fighting each other when my original list of ideas was more than half that. I originally thought about including martial arts stories (The Breaker was included in an early draft of this list), but those are more about main characters achieving preposterous strength via mystical or semi-mystical means and less about conveying feelings or dominance through fists. For similar reasons I avoided shounen a few comedy manga where fistfights were secondary action moments and not *the point* exactly.
Ippo Makunochi, Punching
And because I love playing games and also am a stickler for rules, I imposed some limitations for this list. The six manga below are each of these:
- A Japanese manga series I've either read to completion or up to current English translation in the past six years (sorry, Rikudou, I'm not caught up).
- Strictly manga about teenagers punching others, usually other teenagers, unassisted by magical powers (sorry, One Piece).
- Manga WITHOUT an anime adaptation or live-action drama adaptation (sorry, Hajime no Ippo and like 20 other candidates)
- Slightly obscure, under-the-radar series that my buddies David and Paul hadn't heard of (sorry guys).
Following those four self-imposed rules, these are six manga about teenagers and the punching thereof that I love or loved to read. They don't exactly share a tone or a genre, but definitely star teens and those teens get into fistfights. Here's the list, presented in English-translated alphabetical order:
Six Manga About Teens Punching Teens
A lengthy, emotional shounen manga by Tetsuhiro Hirakawa (this is NOT the Clover about a mutant magical girl by the CLAMP manga circle), Clover is about the high school life of Hayato Misaki, a student who returns to his hometown for the first time in five years to attend high school. Hayato is a loner and (mostly) friendless, so he's eager to reconnect with his old friends Nara (a nerd that likes motorcycles) and Kenji (a strong and hardworking guy who's also awkward and quiet). Clover is mostly about these three friends reconnecting, with Hayato, Kenji, and others getting into BRUTAL fights with other kids.
Clover is a long one at 400+ chapters in 43 volumes, but it goes to interesting, emotional places and is about the personal growth of its main characters just as much as it is about fighting. And holy crap there is a lot of fighting, and most of it is excellent. Clover has so many characters in its central group that the final fight ends up being a massive 5v5 tournament and it probably could've been 8v8. Clover ended in 2015, and I'm kinda mad that Hirakawa's new manga doesn't have anyone translating it into English ("Sunflowers," which is about juvenile delinquents and Japanese traditional dance).
Clover is a long one at 400+ chapters in 43 volumes, but it goes to interesting, emotional places and is about the personal growth of its main characters just as much as it is about fighting. And holy crap there is a lot of fighting, and most of it is excellent. Clover has so many characters in its central group that the final fight ends up being a massive 5v5 tournament and it probably could've been 8v8. Clover ended in 2015, and I'm kinda mad that Hirakawa's new manga doesn't have anyone translating it into English ("Sunflowers," which is about juvenile delinquents and Japanese traditional dance).
Kento Ankokuden Cestvs / Kendo Shitouden Cestvs
Here's the one manga wildly different from the other five on this list. Cestvs is about a young slave boxer named Cestvs (also spelled "Caestus," a type of gladiatorial boxing glove) in imperial Rome, making him the only protagonist on this list that isn't a high school student in Japan in the 2000s or 2010s. These two series (one is a direct sequel after a short time-skip) are also dramatic as hell and a (very) loose retelling of the events of the rule of Emperor Nero in the Roman Empire. The second manga is still ongoing.
This historical fiction story has some really cool boxing and gladiator fights at key points, qualifying it for this list, but is otherwise about this era of Rome and the struggle of Roman slaves. The young slave Cestvs, his trainer Zafar, and Cestvs's mercenary rival Rusca are three great main characters, and seeing historical events reenacted in a manga with solid artwork is pretty dang cool (at the very end of the first series, Poppaea Sabina arrives in Rome but hasn't met Nero yet). This series is definitely recommended if its unusual setting sounds interesting and you aren't turned off by brutal gladiatorial combat.
This historical fiction story has some really cool boxing and gladiator fights at key points, qualifying it for this list, but is otherwise about this era of Rome and the struggle of Roman slaves. The young slave Cestvs, his trainer Zafar, and Cestvs's mercenary rival Rusca are three great main characters, and seeing historical events reenacted in a manga with solid artwork is pretty dang cool (at the very end of the first series, Poppaea Sabina arrives in Rome but hasn't met Nero yet). This series is definitely recommended if its unusual setting sounds interesting and you aren't turned off by brutal gladiatorial combat.
The silliest and funniest series on this list, Nanba MG5 (which has a sequel called Nanba Dead End that is untranslated) stars Tsuyoshi Nanba, a high school freshman from a family of thugs. That's right, Tusyoshi's father, mother, and older brother were legendary delinquents in their time, and they expect young Tsuyoshi to become the strongest delinquent in the region, just like his older brother before him. Tsuyoshi, however, has other plans, and secretly enrolled in a serious academic high school instead of a low-ranked school full of delinquents. Tsuyoshi is an incredible fighter, but is more interested in joining art club and making friends that beating up rivals.
Of course, Tsuyoshi gets drawn into fighting drama anyway, and after a few setup chapters he's living a double life, trying to be a regular student at one school while defending the weak from gangs at the delinquent school across the street. Nanba MG5 has some truly absurd storylines and situations, but I'm really attached to the story and characters so far. The above image has the masked vigilante Tsuyoshi in white and his older brother Takeshi in black) Combined, the two Nanba series are over 30 volumes and 300 chapters, but only the first ~40 chapters or so are translated at the time of writing this.
Of course, Tsuyoshi gets drawn into fighting drama anyway, and after a few setup chapters he's living a double life, trying to be a regular student at one school while defending the weak from gangs at the delinquent school across the street. Nanba MG5 has some truly absurd storylines and situations, but I'm really attached to the story and characters so far. The above image has the masked vigilante Tsuyoshi in white and his older brother Takeshi in black) Combined, the two Nanba series are over 30 volumes and 300 chapters, but only the first ~40 chapters or so are translated at the time of writing this.
Saotome Girl is the only manga on this list that's more about romance than action, with the character-building scenes between the tightly-wound boxing champion Yae Saotome and her boyfriend Satoru Tsukishima definitely the main focus. Yae is a talented, hardworking boxer with Olympic dreams, and Satoru is a boxing club member who isn't a great fighter, but is very observant and studious. Both of these kids are crazy for each other, but Yae is forbidden from having a boyfriend because she needs to focus on boxing. Her coach assigns Satoru as her trainer so they can work together frequently and keep their relationship a secret.
There's very little relationship *drama* in Saotome Girl, because the two main characters are so much in love that it's almost unimaginable that anything could come between them. Regardless, they're both inexperienced as hell and watching them clumsily figure out romance (spurred on by a few of their friends) in between intense boxing training and fight scenes is a total delight. The series does show the female form quite a bit, but it's not nearly as gross or exploitative as dozens of other manga I've read. Lots of gratuitous abs, though. One of my favorite romance manga I've ever tried, short of Ore Monogatari and Horimiya (both of which are SO GODDAMN CUTE, but don't have enough fighting to be on this list).
Teppu is about mixed martial arts and not boxing, but there's definitely enough PUNCHING for it to qualify. Natsuo Ishido is a tall, beautiful, athletic student who succeeds in everything she tries, to such an extreme that high school life bores her. Natsuo is also an elitist, menacing bully to most of the girls in her class. When she meets a judo- and MMA-practicing student named Yuzuko Mawatari, Natsuo is enraged by Yuzuko's sunny demeanor and also her grappling skills, which stymie Natsuo for the first time in her life. Natsuo starts training at an MMA gym because A) she wants to beat the shit out of Yuzuko and B) mixed martial arts make her feel truly alive.
Teppu is almost a shounen sports manga acted out in reverse. Natsuo is the villain of this story, both in actions and personality. Multiple rivals (justifiably) want to take revenge on her, and Natsuo leverages her talent and new MMA training into beating up these rivals as much as preparing for MMA events. It's a fun, interesting take on sports manga with some pretty great fight scenes that ended far too soon (after maybe 35 chapters in just four or five volumes).
Teppu is almost a shounen sports manga acted out in reverse. Natsuo is the villain of this story, both in actions and personality. Multiple rivals (justifiably) want to take revenge on her, and Natsuo leverages her talent and new MMA training into beating up these rivals as much as preparing for MMA events. It's a fun, interesting take on sports manga with some pretty great fight scenes that ended far too soon (after maybe 35 chapters in just four or five volumes).
The series on this list with the most surrounding works, Worst is a sequel to Crows, a 1990s manga that's also a hot-blooded epic about juvenile delinquents. Crows had multiple sequels and prequels, including gaiden chapters, and not all by the same author. Tetsuhiro Hirakawa, the writer of Clover (detailed above), even wrote a Crows manga called Crows Zero II. However, all of those predecessor manga had anime or live-action adaptations, so only Worst qualifies for my list. And that's just fine, because I think Worst is the best of the bunch.
Set two years after Crows, Worst is a story of the town of Toraushi, whose local high schools and gangs are in a constant state of turmoil. Suzuran High School is the roughest and toughest of all the Toraushi schools, whose students are called "crows" because of their black uniforms and the superstition of crows being harbingers of disaster. In Worst, a new freshman named Tsukishima Hana arrives in Toraushi intending to be the best in Suzuran (which would make him the best of the "worst," hence the manga's title). Hana is relentlessly positive and makes friends easily, but is also a devastating fighter. Worst is almost too masculine (I can hardly remember SEEING a woman in the entire series other than a mom or two), but it's full of great fights, good jokes, and bad dudes.
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All six of the manga above are fun as hell and full of punching. Basically my manga aesthetic, and all are highly recommended. Nothing much else new to report here! Still reading, playing, watching my usual jams. I've completed my blogging goals of the year, but I still want to a fifth post next week (Blog Like Crazy), and two in December. Not 100% sure what next week will be, but I'm leaning towards a game review.
Games-wise I'm still playing Tales of Berseria and Shadows: Awakening, but I really really want to have them both knocked out in the next 7 to 10 days. Not sure if that'll happen or not, but I have hope! Have a nice life, everyone.
Set two years after Crows, Worst is a story of the town of Toraushi, whose local high schools and gangs are in a constant state of turmoil. Suzuran High School is the roughest and toughest of all the Toraushi schools, whose students are called "crows" because of their black uniforms and the superstition of crows being harbingers of disaster. In Worst, a new freshman named Tsukishima Hana arrives in Toraushi intending to be the best in Suzuran (which would make him the best of the "worst," hence the manga's title). Hana is relentlessly positive and makes friends easily, but is also a devastating fighter. Worst is almost too masculine (I can hardly remember SEEING a woman in the entire series other than a mom or two), but it's full of great fights, good jokes, and bad dudes.
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All six of the manga above are fun as hell and full of punching. Basically my manga aesthetic, and all are highly recommended. Nothing much else new to report here! Still reading, playing, watching my usual jams. I've completed my blogging goals of the year, but I still want to a fifth post next week (Blog Like Crazy), and two in December. Not 100% sure what next week will be, but I'm leaning towards a game review.
Games-wise I'm still playing Tales of Berseria and Shadows: Awakening, but I really really want to have them both knocked out in the next 7 to 10 days. Not sure if that'll happen or not, but I have hope! Have a nice life, everyone.
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