San Diego Comic-Con 2014: Best & Worst Manga Picks!

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Saturday night at San Diego Comic-Con brought out the manga fans to Room 23ABC, as this year’s edition of the Best and Worst Manga panel gathered to rant and rave, cheer and diss the best and the worst Japanese comics (in English) available in North America over the past year, and to shine a light on a few under-appreciated gems and some coming attractions.

First, meet the panelists:
David Brothers, Blogger at 4thLetter.net, formerly with Comics Alliance. Also on Twitter as @hermanos and on Tumblr at http://tumblr.iamdavidbrothers.com/

Brigid Alverson, journalist/blogger at Robot 6 / Comic Book Resources, School Library Journal: Good Comics for Kids and MangaBlog. She’s also on Twitter as @BrigidAlverson

Christopher Butcher, blogger at Comics212.net, manager at The Beguiling, Toronto’s finest comics shop, and Marketing guy for Udon Entertainment. He’s also on Twitter at @comics212

I’ll be posting a more complete list with the panelists comments on why they loved (or hated) these titles, but for now, here’s the list of books for your shopping convenience!

Best New Manga for Kids / Teens (for readers age 8 to 15)

• My Love Story!! By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko (Shojo Beat/ VIZ Media) – selected by David Brothers
• No Matter How You Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault That I’m Not Popular by by Nico Tanigawa (Yen Press) – selected by Chris Butcher
• My Little Monster by Robico  (Kodansha) – selected by Deb Aoki
• Voice Over! Seiyu Academy by Maki Minami (Shojo Beat / VIZ Media) – selected by Brigid Alverson

Best New Manga for Grown-ups (For readers age 16+ older teen to adults)

• Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano (Fantagraphics) – David Brothers
• What Did You Eat Yesterday?  by Fumi Yoshinaga (Vertical) – Chris Butcher
• Say ‘I Love You’ by Kanae Hazuki (Kodansha) – Deb Aoki
• Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura (Kodansha) – Brigid Alverson

Best Continuing Series for Kids/Teens (at least one new volume published between July 2013-2014)

• Knights of Sidonia by Tsutomu Nihei (Vertical) – David Brothers
• Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (VIZ Media) – Chris Butcher
• Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You by Karuho Shiina (Shojo Beat / VIZ Media) – Deb Aoki
• Wandering Son by Takako Shimura (Fantagraphics) – Brigid Alverson

Best Continuing Series for Grown-ups

• Wolfsmund by Mitsuhisa Kuji (Vertical) – David Brothers
• Sunny by Taiyo Matsumoto (VIZ Media) – Chris Butcher
• Summit of the Gods by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare Ponent Mon) – Deb Aoki
• Thermae Romae by Mari Okazaki (Yen Press) – Brigid Alverson

Worst Manga (for anyone, anywhere)

• Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign by Takaya Kagami, Yamato Yamamoto, & Daisuke Furuya (Shonen Jump / VIZ Media) – David Brothers
• Wolfsmund by Mitsuhisa Kuji (Vertical) – Brigid Alverson
• High School DxD by Ichiei Ishibumi, art by Hiroji Mishima and Zero Miyama (Yen Press) – Deb Aoki

Under-Appreciated Gems (Under the Radar Manga That Deserve Your Attention)

• Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida (VIZ Media) – David Brothers
• Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly by Kyoko Okazaki (Vertical) – Chris Butcher
• Tableau Numero 20 by est em (Sublime) – Deb Aoki
• No. 6 by Atsuko Asano, Hinoki Kino (Kodansha Comics) – Brigid Alverson

Most Anticipated New Manga (licensed for print release August 2014-2015)

• Jaco the Intergalactic Patrolman by Akira Toriyama (Shonen Jump / VIZ Media) – January 2015 – David Brothers
• In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno (Vertical) – July 2014 – Chris Butcher
• A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima ( Kodansha) – Spring 2015  – Deb Aoki
• Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui (Shonen Jump/VIZ Media) – December 2014 – Deb Aoki
• Opus by Satoshi Kon (Dark Horse Comics) – November 2014 – Brigid Alverson
• Dream Fossil: Short Stories by Satoshi Kon (Vertical) – Summer 2015 – Brigid Alverson

Most Wanted Manga (As yet unlicensed for publication in North America)

• Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – All Parts after Part 3 by Hirohiko Araki (Shueisha)
• Ping Pong by Taiyo Matsumoto (Shogakukan) – David Brothers – Chris Butcher
• Kakukaku Shikajika by Akiko Higashimura (creator of Princess Jellyfish) (Shueisha) – Deb Aoki
• Steve Jobs (manga based on his biography by Water Isaacson) illustrated by Mari Okazaki (Kodansha) – Deb Aoki
• Sherlock (manga based on the BBC series), illustrated by Jay (Kadokawa Shoten) – Deb Aoki

Favorite Digital-Only Manga (Manga that’s only available in digital format, not available in print)

• Fort of Apocalypse by Yuu Kuraishi & Kazu Inabe (Crunchyroll Manga) – David Brothers
• The Great Phrases Women Fall For by Misawa of Hell (MangaBox) – Chris Butcher
• Investor Z by Norifusa Mita (Crunchyroll) – Deb Aoki

Stay tuned — will try to post the audio of our panel, or offer up some of the quotes from our discussion, so you know why we picked these manga for your consideration.

Agree or disagree with our picks? Or have your own suggestion for the best and worst manga of 2014? Add ’em below!