Considering I wrote an article recently about my favourite anime that I’ve watched from each decade, I thought it would only make sense that I do the same for the manga that I’ve read. The same restrictions as in the other article will apply, those being that I’m not going to include the 2020s since the decade hasn’t finished and that I will be excluding any decades from which I have not read any titles. With that being said, let’s take a look at my favourite manga that I’ve read from each decade.
1920s – The Four Immigrants Manga
First off, I should clarify while the collected book was released in 1931, the original chapters were written from 1924-27. Therefore, I’m counting this as a 1920s title. The Four Immigrants Manga is an autobiographical work by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama about his and others experience as immigrants to San Francisco and it proves to be a fascinating read. For one, while certainly emphasising comedy, The Four Immigrants Manga is a fascinating insight into a time and perspective that we rarely get to see. Sure, the comedy doesn’t always work and the artwork and panel layout can be rough but, close to a hundred years later, I still found myself enjoying the book and the things I learned about the time period. That certainly counts for something!
1940s – The Mysterious Underground Men
The oldest Osamu Tezuka that I’ve read also happens to be the only manga that I’ve read from the 1940s. Still, The Mysterious Underground Men from 1948 proves to be a great read that helped lay the foundations for his long and venerable career. John promises his dying father that he will create a safer mode of transport than airplanes and works to build a vehicle capable of travelling through Earth’s crust and core. Upon embarking on the first voyage, John as well as a laboratory experiment called Mimio, a rabbit with the intelligence of a human, encounter an underground civilisation that threatens the world above. While a little basic compared to Osamu Tezuka’s later titles, both with regards to story and art, the style remains charming enough even today and it’s interesting to note how the plot develops into something that actually evokes emotion towards the end and leaves the reader thinking.
1950s – The Twin Knights
Of the several manga that I’ve read from the 1950s, my favourite belongs to yet another Osamu Tezuka manga, The Twin Knights. A sequel to the far more popular Princess Knight, I actually find myself enjoying The Twin Knights more. The story continues sometime after the events of Princess Knight (which I’ll not discuss here because of spoilers) and features, in my personal opinion, a tighter plot as well as a more charming visual aesthetic. Is it as historically important as Princess Knight, of course not, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t consider it to be the superior title.
1960s – Swallowing the Earth
The Osamu Tezuka manga Swallowing the Earth proves to be a fascinating read as it was released during a period of his career which was undergoing transition. The manga audience was growing up and, with it, they wanted more adult stories, something Osamu Tezuka eventually began releasing alongside his other series still aimed at younger audiences. Swallowing the Earth features the bumbling alcoholic Gohonmatsu as he begins to uncover a plot involving a beautiful woman called Zephyrus who has recently arrived in Japan and looks as young as she did about twenty years ago. There is some outstanding use of panels in Swallowing the Earth and the artwork itself is an interesting blend of the more detailed art he’d use in later adult series and the cartoony art that he was known for at the time. The story itself is also great although I will admit that it stumbles a bit where the manga becomes episodic for a time after a major event has occurred. Nonetheless, it proves to be a fascinating read and is currently, though facing some stiff challengers, my favourite 1960s manga that I’ve read.
1970s – Ayako
I’m starting to feel a little guilty about the number of Osamu Tezuka titles appearing in this list, perhaps either because of my admiration for his work or because I’ve read a disproportionately large number of them from each time period. Regardless, Ayako is not only my favourite manga that I’ve read of the 1970s but it also ranks as my favourite Osamu Tezuka manga that I’ve read so far. Ayako takes place after World War II and follows Jiro Tenge who secures his release as a prisoner of war by serving as an agent for the U.S. He returns home only to discover how depraved his family has become in their struggles for power and no character better represents this than a little girl called Ayako whose origins demonstrate the corruption surrounding the Tenge family. Osamu Tezuka’s intricate storytelling is on full blast in this work which features numerous content that people may find disturbing but manages to grab and take hold of your attention as you learn more and more about what is happening. The art itself is also superb, taking a more realistic style than that of Swallowing the Earth but maintaining enough elements that it isn’t simply attempting to replicate reality but a stylised version instead. Ayako, as far as I’m concerned, is a masterpiece that deserves to be read by all fans, whether they be fans of manga, books or even just good storytelling.
1980s – Pink
A manga not done by Osamu Tezuka?! Amazing! To be honest, I could’ve thrown Message to Adolf in here but I decided to go with another manga that may’ve impressed me more, Pink. Set during the Japanese economic bubble, we follow an office worker called Yumi who, due to her need for material possessions, works at night as a prostitute. This allows her to acquire many objects that even she herself recognises that she doesn’t need as well as to feed her pet crocodile. The story itself is very thought-provoking although it does feature a lot of sexual content, you’ve been warned. The art for the series is also going to take getting used to with simplistic, highly stylised drawings that prove to be surprisingly expressive and endearing. It may not be for everyone, nor would I want it to, but Pink deserves to be viewed as my favourite manga from the 80s that I’ve read so far.
1990s – Cardcaptor Sakura
When I was a kid, there was a show that I loved called Cardcaptors. Imagine my surprise then to learn that what I’d been watching had been the butchered version and that the original story was quite different. Knowing this, I ended up acquiring the manga omnibuses from Dark Horse and set about reading them. Following Sakura Kinomoto, a young girl who accidentally releases the Clow Cards that were stored in her basement, she attempts to retrieve these cards while sorting out any trouble they may’ve caused. The story of Cardcaptor Sakura is mainly episodic with some ongoing story elements but there are plenty that I fondly remember for how emotional they felt. This is helped by the gorgeous artwork that Clamp is known for and, amongst all of their titles that I’ve read so far, has yet to be topped.
2000s – With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child
When it came to this decade, there was no hesitation at my choice as it also happens to be my favourite manga of all time, With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child. The story follows a couple named Sachiko and Masato Azuma who have just had their first child, Hikaru. However, after a while, it becomes clear that Hikaru is different from other children. He is identified as being autistic and Sachiko, the mother, has to bear the brunt of society’s stigma towards autistic people. However, Sachiko comes to learn more and more about autism and she starts working hard to make the world a better place for her son by assisting his needs, correcting people’s misinterpretations about autism etc. As someone who has autism myself, I found reading With the Light to be an incredible and emotional experience that does a fantastic job of portraying autism while also examining the effects on family, friends, strangers etc. The artwork itself is also superb although I’ll admit that the colour pages don’t translate well to black and white. Nonetheless, it is a manga that I truly believe everyone should read and comes strongly recommended.
2010s – Prophecy
Of manga that started in the 2010s, my personal favourite would currently be Prophecy. The story of Prophecy follows an Anti-Cyber Crime Division that pursues a figure called “Paperboy” who uploads videos of himself carrying out what is essentially vigilantism. Admittedly, the story does take a little time to get going but, once it gets going, it quickly becomes a highly interesting pursuit which asks a lot of questions about morality, society and the impact of the internet. The artwork itself is also very interesting, taking a more realistic look than most manga but featuring lots of style and detail that supplements the story well. It’s a great read and is short enough at three volumes that I’d highly encourage you to try it out if the plot intrigues you.
Of course, I’ll be wondering what you readers think of my favourite manga that I’ve read per decade, whether you’ve read any of them and what you thought about them, what your favourite manga that you’ve read per decade are, suggestions to read and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!