With so many long-running manga series being so popular, it’s easy to overlook the many shorter titles that the medium has to offer. I’ve spoken before about how much I enjoy one-shot manga and thought it might be interesting to discuss some of the best manga series that I’ve read that I consider to be short.
Of course, it would probably help if I clarify what I mean by short. While many people will have different opinions on what a short manga series is, for the purposes of this article, my definition of short will be that it was originally released in five volumes or less in their Japanese release while being more than a single volume. I will also be trying to focus on series that I have not spoken about too frequently on this blog with a perfect example being Girl Friends which I have often stated to be one of my favourite manga of all time.
With all that out of the way, let’s begin with my favourite Osamu Tezuka manga series that I have read so far, Ayako. Originally released from 1972-73 and collected across three volumes, the story 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. I consider this manga to be a masterpiece with incredible pacing, story revelations and some truly incredible artwork and I highly recommend anyone to seek out this work as long as they are not squeamish about sexual content.
Another excellent read would be A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, considered by many to be one of the founders of the gekiga movement. While the main character may be called Hiroshi Katsumi, A Drifting Life is actually an autobiographical work that explores how Yoshihiro Tatsumi became interested in manga, how he began to work in the industry, eventually how he began to reject the narrow category that manga was relegated to and his work on manga that were targeted specifically at adults. The story proved highly engaging to me although I confess that it helped that I was interested in the history of the manga industry anyway and I would strongly recommend that anyone who shares my passion for the medium of manga check out A Drifting Life.
With more and more Rumiko Takahashi titles coming out in English, I thought it might be worth discussing the first series that I ever read from her called One-Pound Gospel. The series follows a boxer called Kōsaku Hatanaka who eats too much and ends up in a weight class he’s not suitable for. A nun by the name of Sister Angela decides to help Kōsaku overcome his desire for food and help him. However, Kōsaku finds himself falling for Sister Angela, something which understandably creates friction between them. At only four volumes long, One-Pound Gospel is one of Rumiko Takahashi’s shorter series but serves as a perfect example of her style of comedy and characterisation. However, it’s worth noting that these four volumes were released over the course of nearly 20 years and sees the artwork change quite a bit over the course of the series.
Finally, I would like to mention an excellent manga series called Prophecy. A seinen manga series, the story follows an Anti-Cyber Crime Division who pursue a figure called “Paperboy” who uploads videos of himself carrying out what is essentially vigilantism. I think that the story begins slower than I would like but quickly becomes a highly interesting pursuit which asks a lot of questions about morality, society and the impact of the internet. The artwork is also quite interesting as it stands in sharp contrast to the stylised visuals of most manga series, adopting a more realistic art style to ground the story. At only three volumes long, Prophecy is a strong example of a short manga series done right.
Short manga series can be quite satisfying to read and I’m always eager to seek out more titles that fit into this category. Let me know your thoughts on my recommendations, if you have read any of these titles, other manga series less than five volumes that you would recommend and any other opinions you would like to share.
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!