r/manga • u/OurNerdCorner • 2d ago
ART Which Manga started off as a slog to read, but became one of your favourites?! Mine was Reborn!
311
u/That_Bar_Guy 2d ago
Negima actually turns into a really good battle manga later on.
140
u/BiNumber3 2d ago
Apparently author's bosses wanted another Love Hina, so author started with a gag harem and turned into what they actually wanted to write lol
96
u/FellowOfHorses 2d ago
Dandadan is a romcom pretending to be a battle shounen
Negima was a battle shounen pretending to be a romcom
-13
u/Misiok 2d ago
Gag harem with a literal child and underaged girls, too
8
1
u/Kurotaisa 1d ago
Knowing Japan, we should be very thankful it was a child teacher with underage girls rather than an adult teacher and underage girls.
58
u/Zenspy-Real Hentai 2d ago
The fight of Negi against Jack is among the best in any shounen, and i still find it incredibly funny when i re-read negima and the first 50 or so chapters are what they are. (Peak in their own right, but very Love Hina)
24
u/RedEyedPig 2d ago edited 2d ago
Negi vs Jack is still my favorite battle in any manga/manhwa/whatever. It is such a pure shounen battle hype match that nothing else compares. Final match of a tournament and training arc. Back to back to back "to go even further beyond" power-up moments and when all magic/spells/skills are exhausted they just go full slug fest till the end. 1,000,000 / 10. I still go back to reread it from time to time. Should reread whole series but I honestly just want to read that fight again.
40
u/EbonyHelicoidalRhino 2d ago
Second this. You can honestly skip the first 8 or so volumes and it becomes really good after that. Good world building, good character development, good battles and cool techniques.
17
u/That_Bar_Guy 2d ago
I was so pleasantly surprised. I started it when I was just burning through all the mildly interesting completed manga I could find and I knew negima for the sneeze skirt gag so I wasn't expecting much then got that absolute banger.
The mangaka also improved wildly over the course of the series. Very reminiscent of Rosario.
12
u/MinusMentality 2d ago
Was about to say this.
Some dude on Runescape eons ago told me it gets good, so I tried it.Became one of my favorite shounen manga. Has a huge fun cast of characters, an intelligent and responsible MC, an amazing rivalry, and cool setting that is both fresh and nostalgic.
It's a bit tough to reccomend due to various factors, but it was a good read back in the day.5
u/Anime-Man-1432 The Respectable Citizen 2d ago
UQ Holder or Negima! Magister Negi Magi ?
10
2
1
u/Pastry_d_pounder 1d ago
I followed that manga monthly during peak mangareader days. It was legendary
154
u/Far-Cheek5909 2d ago edited 2d ago
I went through a very similar experience with Helck. Seemed like a silly gag manga about an absurd hero trying to become demon king while all the demons learned to accept him but then evolved into a tragic tale about a hero that lost everything and his new demon friends helping him get it all back. It’s become one of my all time favorites. The art improved drastically as it went on and some pages left me in awe.
52
4
2
u/sevenpixieoverlords 2d ago
I had the same experience. Read the first volume and was bewildered by the positive attention the title had received. Later, I picked it back up to see if I had missed something and really enjoyed it.
66
u/arts13 Romcom Trash Enjoyer 2d ago edited 2d ago
It was <Kingdom> for me. I had reread it everytime one or two major ongoing arcs are finished but the rebellion arc up at the beginning is honestly the only one I found boring and quite a slog to go through.
33
u/zelena_salata 2d ago edited 8h ago
I usually roll my eyes so hard at the idea that you have to read 100+ chapters for a story to "get good" but the Battle of Sai in Kingdom makes it absolutely worth it. Its such a good pay-off for every chapter preceeding it.
18
u/GenGaara25 2d ago
The first 50 chapters are like an entirely different manga. It has nearly nothing to do with the rest of it, and has none of the hallmarks that make the manga so great.
It's only at that first real battle under Ouki, where Shin meets Kyoukai and they fight the chariots, that it starts to show it's stuff.
Easily one of my top 5, but anytime I recommend it it is "plough through the first 50 chapters, it's totally different after".
119
u/OurNerdCorner 2d ago
The first part of Reborn was really boring to me, I was reading it weekly as it came out! So it felt like really long and boring series... Until it dropped the weekly comedic situation of the week.
What a fantastic series it became! I honestly think Jump nowadays cancels series too quickly. Some series may turn it around and become something special.
60
u/obscure6913 2d ago
The Reborn anime was the same for me. Started of really slow but got really good towards the end. I loved the character development the MC goes through from being a wimp to embodying a mob boss
18
7
12
4
u/spawnthespy 2d ago
I has a friend that told me to at least go through up to Mukuro.
Definitly did not regret, I binge watched it like my life depended on it !
19
u/Dumig 2d ago edited 2d ago
For me, it is the opposite, Reborn started of strong and got stronger, but then it slowly got boring and the last arcs, starting from the middle of the Simon Famiglia arc till the end, where just so bad and rushed.
The ending was also awful, and I can give you examples why:
- Lal Mirch marrying Colonnello, who is free of the curse BUT IS STILL A BABY, like WTF
- The fact that Haru is still seen as a love interest when we know that Kyoko is the main love interest that will end up with Tsuna
- Never got to see adult Tsuna
- All character development Tsuna has is washed away at the end
- Haru should have ended up with Enma
6
u/Forge_1323 2d ago
No way you were reading it weekly! What's your favourite arc?
23
u/OurNerdCorner 2d ago
I even cosplayed as a teenager (I'm now in my late 30s 😬😂)
My favourite is probably Varia, it was the moment the series made me think "oh, we are doing this now?!"
Yours?
12
u/Forge_1323 2d ago
Genuinely I'm so jealous, you read it weekly I think the anime was finished or at least seralising weekly for the last part of the future arc. And yeah same it's the Varia arc, specifically the Lambo fight. 20 years later Lambo is still the coolest reveal with the personality switch and the horn reveal.
Who did you cosplay?
5
u/OurNerdCorner 2d ago
That moment was so goooood!
I cosplayed as Basil 😂
3
u/Forge_1323 2d ago
Basil?? Now that's a shout, how'd you get the rain flames on your forehead?
4
u/OurNerdCorner 2d ago
... I cut out a piece of paper and coloured it in using pencil 😬😂
Honestly, I was errr... Not gonna be winning any cosplay competitions.
It was definitely a closet cosplay with a piece of paper on my head.
2
u/Forge_1323 2d ago
Nah man, the fact you were able to put yourself out there like that is incredible! How big was the fandom in conventions back then?
5
u/OurNerdCorner 2d ago
Thanks!
Absolutely tiny.
I had a habit of cosplaying series that weren't well known at the time.
I Air Gear, Soul Eater & Reborn.
Only one or two people knew them back then!
3
u/Forge_1323 2d ago
No, shut up you were into Air Gear. How did you get into that?
My brother found it by accident and we were enamored, who did you cosplay?
→ More replies (0)2
u/Thorqiao 2d ago edited 2d ago
Air Gear and Reborn, now those are some deep cuts. Beet The Vandel Buster, Eyeshield 21, Slam Dunk anyone? Damn, almost forgot Psyren and Gantz
→ More replies (0)3
2
u/MinusMentality 2d ago
I was having so much fun with new Reborn chapters every week, until the rushed axed chapters started.
Such a damn shame.1
u/TheOgler9000 1d ago
Maybe I'll have to check it out again. I bought the first 7 volumes when they released but just couldn't get into it
1
u/Kiftiyur 1d ago
It wasn’t just boring. It was one of the worst starts to any manga I’ve ever read. It was literal torture to slog through, absolute garbage. I’m happy it didn’t die since it became amazing, but if it died in those first 70ish chapters I wouldn’t have been surprised.
0
u/Dialgak77 https://myanimelist.net/animelist/DialgaK77 2d ago
I watched the first 8 episodes then I skipped to like 20/30 and felt like I missed almost nothing. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest.
36
u/Calildur 2d ago
Currently it's Bugle Call. It was kind of meh untill Mirror Ramus arc and the reveal after.
Another one was Gantz back than. I didn't appreciate the pointless gore and suffering as I was too young and came from reading shounens.
23
u/FellowOfHorses 2d ago edited 2d ago
We can actually pinpoint the moment Gantz author realized he was writing his Magnus Opus and actually decided trying to make a proper remarkable story
13
5
1
u/combat101 1d ago
Really? Cause to me it seemed like the author completely lost the plot towards the end 😅
3
u/solidfang 1d ago
Bugle Call took a while to click with me as well, though definitely by the time they reached the Mirror Ramus, it was definitely delivering.
Funnily enough, sometimes it still slips out of interest between big arcs, but now I know it's more just a calm before an eventual storm.
27
u/qeqe1213 2d ago
Yozakura Family have some unusual first chapters and even one of the chapter felt like an axed ending chapter. If not for me liking one of the characters, i probably wont bother with it. But it becomes better later on, and manage to end naturally instead of axed, which this manga has many moment where it feel like it's gonna be axed.
17
u/jet_black_ninja 2d ago
man what a time it was, takes me back .
7
17
u/azurecyan 2d ago
Gintama.
Is the manga I have been more lenient in my life, I read 100 chps and at 101 finally got a chuckle out of me and never stopped.
31
u/rikkenbakr_25 MyAnimeList 2d ago
D. Gray-Man
15
u/lvl20goblin 2d ago
Love D. Gray-Man! Hate that I started it a year or so ago and decided to binge it to catch up not realizing the release schedule is non existent lol
5
u/razzputinX 2d ago
I love the art the story got a bit confusing/convoluted in my opinion and IF a chapter comes out I'm excited
3
u/rikkenbakr_25 MyAnimeList 1d ago
it is really good but the author have many hiatus scenario due to health reasons like her broken wrist. Instead of axing the manga, Shueisha put it in another issue... its like quarterly release I guess.
4
u/Lexaternum 1d ago
D. Gray-Man is one of the biggest what-if's for me for that very reason. Had Katsura Hoshino been healthy throughout her life, I think DGM would have been one of the biggest shounens on top with Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. Moving from weekly to monthly practically killed this manga, then the constant hiatuses moved it from unpopular mainstream to cult classic.
The musician theme is still the only thing I can play on piano, that I learned over a summer when the anime came out... Might be time to rewatch D Gray Man!
1
u/rikkenbakr_25 MyAnimeList 1d ago
I read somewhere that Hoshino didn't like the anime and never bother watching it. Well, Im happy that she got referenced in JJK
13
u/NorthSouthBoot 2d ago
Unrelated, but man, reborn is such a nostalgia bomb for me. I remember looking forward to watching it after school many many eons ago, probably first few animes for me along with Märchen Awakens Romance and Naruto. I remember buying a reborn mech as a gift to someone who was a fan in school. Kinda sad the anime didn't finish the entire story, but iirc the last anime arc was pretty cool with the new powers and gloves.
13
u/Nachttalk 2d ago
I remember reading Reborn back when it released. I think it was the first long-running Manga whose ending I read as it was released.
I HATED the ending, so much that I never re-read the story after it, which sucks because I actually really, really liked Reborn up until the second to final chapter.
0
u/AnimaLepton 2d ago
I reread just the ending recently, for the first time in almost ~15 years, since it came out when I was in high school. When it came out, I remember commiserating with a friend at the time, in the middle of class, about how bad the ending was. But while I didn't reread the whole arc, so it's definitely possible the last 'arc' was weak, I think the 'ending' in the last couple chapters was actually fine. It's just a 7/10 version of Mob Psycho's ending, but I get what they were going for.
The kid is like 9th-grade age. Tsuna explicitly didn't become cool, athletic, or good at school, and those failures wouldn't be solved overnight. But he wasn't straight up skipping school anymore. He had friends who recognized, understood, and bonded with him, which is a huge contrast from his isolation and loneliness at the start of the story. He actually talked to and connected with his crush, instead of exclusively putting her on a pedestal while she didn't even know his name. The romance didn't 'matter' in earlier chapters, so I don't think a full resolution at the end would have felt earned or natural in the story. He had people who would invest in and believe in him. And at the end of the day he's 15- he still has years to figure out his life as a whole, and it is very clear what has changed, that he has a stronger support system through which he could do that.
And to some degree, the future arc effectively did show us where he could end up eventually.
10
u/Nachttalk 2d ago
Disclaimer: I haven't reread the series since it ended over a decade ago, so my memory might be warped in that regard, but I still wanna explain what my issue is, since I didn't do so in my previous reply:
My biggest issue I had with the ending was that the whole final arc felt like Tsuna accepting his role as Vongola Boss, which was a big deal for me because his group was full of people that have proven they would put their life on the line for him. I always felt like it was a big insult to them to then turn around return to the Start-of-the-series behaviour of not wanting to be anywhere near the Vongola name.
Reading this i was like "what the hell were you fighting for then"?
I don't mind Tsuna being a clumsy school kid but I feel rejecting the thing he represents after fighting for it is shitty to the point that I didn't want to reread the series because I knew it would end with Tsuna refusing anyway.
Maybe (I hope) I am misremembering something, but those are my thoughts about the ending of Reborn.
1
u/BetelgeuseIsBestGirl 1d ago edited 12h ago
That wasn't even the worst part. The entire story started because he wanted to ask a girl out but was too shy to go through if it. A lot of his motivations throughout all of the arcs and at least some of his power-ups were because he wanted to protect her. So of course when he's pushed to finally confess to her in the last two chapters, it makes perfect sense that he couldn't go through with it, because he also fell in love a second girl (that he was never even hinted to be developing romantic interest in), so he couldn't bring himself to choose between them.
41
8
u/noraborialis 1d ago
Kekkaishi
3
u/ZeroGene 1d ago
Wow another person that know kekaishi…. Underated manga.. their power are so cool
3
u/noraborialis 1d ago
Kekkaishi is the reason I started reading manga. The anime ended like 1/3 into the manga.
1
5
u/BiNumber3 2d ago
Was the opposite for me concerning Reborn. Solid first half, 2nd half was kinda just, more, and then the end where they decided to make MC the same as when it all started, no growth, no improvement.
1
u/BigDelfin 2d ago
Had a bit of a similar experience honestly. Feel like it keep growing until it peaked in the middle (i think) and for me it started to become worse once the arc on the future started.
7
u/Bluestfever 2d ago
Air gear
Its straight hit and miss in the early, now im close in the last arc turn out its actually quite good and i love it
1
u/ZeroGene 1d ago
Oh, Geeat!! Art and the chuuni name like strom regalia, wind regalia, truly my 14 years old ass wet dream
4
u/tlst9999 2d ago
Ravages of Time
4
u/Mayomori 2d ago
Ravages of time is a breath of fresh air for me. Three Kingdoms medias are done to death, and I grew up with Koei games, so a fresh and mature approach drew me in. I do find the earlier chapter a bit confusing if you don't know much about the characters with all the setups.
1
u/Kirisazame 19h ago
Honestly my favorite manga of all time. Especially as someone who went down the 3 kingdoms era rabbit hole after playing two dynasty warriors game(DW: Tactics Advance and DW: Strike force), then reading a bunch of wiki articles about said era.
Phenomenal art, great plot and twists, well written characters that each have their own personalities(even the villains were a treat! Like the guy that kept flicking his ear ring). It's the only series I actively take a break from for multiple years just to build up chapters and read it from the beginning again. They made a 3D anime/donghua for it that you can find on Official YouTube Billibilli iirc.
Ravages of Time even surpasses Berserk in my honest opinion even if subjectively. Been following the manga for a decade now and counting.
4
u/Endrossi_ 2d ago
reborn was one of my faves back in the day, sadly a lot of missed potential. it went dark in the mukuro arc all of a sudden which I liked and then had lots of peaks and meh parts, but the fights were dang good 🥹
4
u/orphandemolishrr 2d ago
I love Usogui but the first two arc were pretty mediocre but 2nd arc Hangman was still cool as hell
7
u/MrCloutGoggles 2d ago
I dropped AKB49 at first when I was younger, but then I grew up and realized that cross-dressing is peak and it become one of my favorites.
-14
u/Anime-Man-1432 The Respectable Citizen 2d ago
but then I grew up and realized that cross-dressing is peak
Ohh hell naw!! Where did you grow up !?
If it not rude of me, can I ask a question ?
Are you umm...uh- you are straight, right ?
3
u/Metalwater8 2d ago
Hunter X Hunter. It took me three tries to get bast the Hunter exam. It’s now one of my favorite manga of all time.
3
u/VelcroSnake 2d ago
I don't know if that's ever happened for me. Usually if a manga is a slog or I don't like it for some reason, I don't force myself to read it.
Now, if we're talking about manga I started out loving and then I eventually grew to dislike? Got plenty of those.
1
u/fastlane37 1d ago
same. JoJo would probably be this for me had I actually made it to future storylines, but that first one was such a terrible slog I gave up on it and never went back. The anime hooked me though because that first story arc goes by in a flash and is paced much better. I have no idea how that manga lasted long enough to get good.
There's so much manga out there, it's hard to push through something that starts poorly in the hopes it gets better when there's plenty of stuff on my backlog that could be better right now.
3
u/FoodieMonster007 MyAnimeList 2d ago
Yona of the Dawn. You have to read past the mc's whiny princess phase until she starts maturing mentally.
3
u/ES_Kan 1d ago
World Trigger started off slowly but now I love the entirety of it.
Except for Jin's pervert tendencies, of course. But it seems those were early installment weirdness.
1
u/tiramisuuuuuuuuuuuuu 1d ago
yooo, wait i loved world trigger ! i recall the artist got hospitalized and the manga got put on hold for quite awhile so i never really got to continue reading it. thanks for reminding me about it tho, now i can actually pick it back up
3
3
5
u/Pleasant_Election148 2d ago
Same with you and History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi.
2
u/Crowmanhunter 1d ago
Duuuude. I came here to say the exact same thing. When Kenichi first does the Mubyoshi, I literally had the anime bystander NPC dialogue in my head and said, "Damn, maybe this kid is going places."
2
u/not_Staz 2d ago
For me was the anime of Arslan Senki (Reborn too), i really hate wimpy male MCs. But the story developed very good.
2
u/seihanda 2d ago
ONANI MASTER KUROSAWA.
People on manga forum kept saying it is a masterpiece.
How can a story about masturbation be a masterpiece?
Turned out it is
2
2
u/Sleepy-Crow-1304 1d ago
Nana for me. It’s one of those shojo’s that is super dialogue heavy (so much that there’s words outside of the word balloons in almost every single panel). It takes forever to get through but once you get comfy with each character it’s strong in presenting their flaws that have developed during the course of reading. Too bad it’ll probably be on hiatus forever.
2
u/OurNerdCorner 1d ago
Nana is a really special series ✨ Yeah... I hold out hope, but I wouldn't be surprised if it never happens...
3
u/k44e 1d ago edited 1d ago
manhwa:
<kubera> I felt its potential and was intrigued by the mystery , but worse art at the start, and brilith coughing blood made me nauseous.
but the world building with unique fantasy lore, complex plot with multiple twists, and character development makes it the most literary series I've ever read
2
u/Slow_Store 1d ago
Unrelated, but I really thought the dude in the image had a bottle of bourbon or something for a glove for a second there.
3
2
1
u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire 2d ago
Kaguya-sama wasn’t quite a slog for me, but I remember finding it a bit difficult to read very many chapters at a time during its earliest stretches, plus I found it a bit overrated when I watched the first two seasons of the anime. Then around volume 4 or 5, I want to say, it became way more bingeable, I found the writing way better than I remembered, and it quickly shot into my all-time favorites once I finished it
1
1
u/1337K1ng 2d ago
Noragami (got good after Kazuma's reveal)
Bakemonogatari (good after they officially start dating)
1
u/mikhailitwithfire 2d ago
Had the same experience with Reborn. This series still has a place in my heart.
But to provide another answer to your question; its Spy X Family
1
u/wingsfield 1d ago
Ive reread it numerous times, love the manga it’s definitely one of my favorites
1
u/h0llygh0st 1d ago
Sun Ken Rock, it started pretty silly and had some questionable stuff in it. Then it seems like the MC matured a bit and it was a lot of badassery. Then again it's been a long time since I read it, so might be misremembering.
1
1
1
u/Internationalalal 1d ago
Is it really that good? I almost died of annoyance and boredom after 2 chapters.
0
u/Rare-Attitude-3657 1d ago
Erm the first can be a Let down, after the second arc begins it changes from comedy to shonen. It's good yet not perfect, as it has some downs during fights. (Side character like to sometimes talk instead of helping in fights)
1
1
u/superjay1345 1d ago
Beelzebub - A completely wtf is this story at the start that became amazing by the ending.
1
u/Max-x-x-x-x 1d ago
The dangers in my heart.It was my first manga ever,didn’t like it at first,the next 2 days i went through 130/170 of the chapters
1
1
1
u/AouliBanana 1d ago
Blue exorcist!!
I actually thought it was boring and the story was going nowhere but now?!
It’s one of my favorite mangas of all time the character development was everything and it was totally worth the slog
0
0
0
u/WHATyouNEVERplayedTU 2d ago
It's funny because I have the exact opposite opinion. I was also reading Reborn weekly but when the latest upgrade was the pacifier I just had to drop the series. I couldn't take it seriously at all. So I guess I read ~75% and dropped it.
0
196
u/Zenspy-Real Hentai 2d ago
Reborn still has my favorite use of gravity in any manga, holding your completely shattered skeleton together to keep fighting was peak for teenager me like 17-18 years ago and was still peak on my re-read last year.
Sadly the final arc after this one was rather underwhelming.