Updated
I haven’t been reading a lot of manga of late, but after reading this, I do want to read more about the first manga mentioned. I think a lot of people have this mistaken idea that a lot of manga either have 1. fighting, 2. supernatural stuff, or 3. romance/love, which isn’t untrue at all (far from it), but there are so many, many manga that aren’t all that. Some are really quite educational and are excellent primers on the niche or specialised topics/themes they deal with. Some are poignant slice-of-life stories. Some are pure (good) entertainment, which isn’t a bad thing too.
- Nodame Cantabile, by Ninomiya Tomoko
“The series depicts the relationship between two aspiring classical musicians, Megumi ‘Nodame’ Noda and Shinichi Chiaki, as university students and after graduation.” Classical music! Don’t know your Bach from your Beethoven? Well, I’m still pretty clueless most of the time, but reading this has cultivated a deeper appreciation for the genre, however superficial it may sound.
- Iryu, by Nagai Akira and Nogizaki Taro
About the healthcare and hospital system in Japan, with an added emphasis on the Batista procedure. This manga is heavy going, but very educational too, if that’s your thing. I read a couple of volumes, and each volume took forever (they were in Chinese, and my command of the language does not include medical jargon) so I gave up.
