How long is long? That's not a rhetorical question...I need an answer to that. I mean, if long is over 10 volumes that's one thing, but if we consider some series like Bleach (56 volumes ongoing), Inuyasha (56 volumes complete), Fullmetal Alchemist (a measly 28 volumes), or the granddaddy of all series Kochikami (183 volumes...are you kidding me?), or even Detective Conan (Case Closed) (78 volumes) and One Piece (68 volumes).
I'm going to have to go down the list of longest manga and see what I've read.
I read about 8 volumes from the local library and then I got really, really bored.
Okay, at 45 volumes, Oh My Goddess seems to be the longest series I've read a good portion of, but I didn't actually like it, so...let's keep looking?
Whelp, the list I found only gives me the top 100 longest. So, I guess I'll go with...Bleach? Although I've only ever read about 5 volumes of it, so I don't really know. So, my final answer is: I have no idea!
Are there any long-running series that you'd recommend?
I don't know why, but I can never really get into the manga of Fullmetal Alchemist, or Inuyasha.
I have read a few. I like FMA, but I sort of get stalled out on it. And I love Inuyasha. Yes, yes, it's popular and mainstream and blah, blah, blah, but it's also good...well, the anime is (except for the series end, that goes without saying). The manga just...eeeeeeeeeehhhhh.
Maybe it's that there are 56 volumes. I cannot afford that. I could get them from the library, but even then...56 volumes?
1-14...incidentally this stack o' manga is for sale for $70 on a site called Canadian Listed .com ...it is missing issue #10. For $70 used, I want issue #10, hoser.
It's a daunting stack o' manga to take on. So, I keep meaning to get into both of these series, but I can't. Someday maybe?
Can something be both underrated and overrated? I mean, Inuyasha is pretty universally loved, but it gets a lot of flack from "real" anime fans who see us Inuyasha lovers as some sort of less-than fan just because we happen to think it's cool. (Incidentally I have also gotten flack for just liking the English Dubs...apparenty I am "missing out" on the original which is "so much better." Bleh.)
I have heard the following phrases, or some variations of them, several times in my anime-lovin life (a few times from Ms. Shakespeare perhaps...ahem, ahem..?):
"Yeah, but it's so mainstream."
So? It's mainstream because it's good. I get a little defensive of Inuyasha at times. Just because something is popular doesn't automatically make it bad. This feels like the whole "sell-out" theory of rock. BTW world, if Someone you like gets famous and other people like them now, they do not automatically become sell-outs. You should be happy that someone you like finally hit the big time, instead of throwing out scornful and nostalgic crap about how they were "so much better" before everyone started watching/listening to them.
"It's all very monster of the week."
So? There are a LOT of monsters in the feudal era (this is non-fiction, right? I mean Feudal Japan was like crawling with oni? Inuyasha is practicaly a documentary, right?). There is still an overarching plot (or five) that ties all the pieces together.
"It's for kids."
No. It is not for kids.
Inuyasha has been around for a long time, sure. And it's really popular, sure. It's also weirdly underrated as an interesting, complex and well-written (most of the time) show. Plus, they'll keep you going for a while with 167 episodes and 4 feature films. Ah, I can remember waiting for the new seasons on [AS].
I do hate the way it ended though...boooooo! BOOOO!
The manga spans 56 volumes. 56!!! I don't have the time or energy to read all of that, although I hear it is a little more violent and risque than the anime series. Plus I think it has an ending.
So, Inuyasha haters of the world. Quit underrating and under-appreciating one of my favorite series of all times.
