The title says it all.
We only discuss about narrative here. Better if you can make a tier list based on narrative and not plot, characters, etc.
My favorite manga in term of narrative would be Lone Wolf and Cub and Vagabond. LW&C has that artistic, historical feeling, and suit the dark theme of story. Vagabond has one of the most penetrating, introspective narrative ever.
And Watchmen has to be one of the most masterful.
Yours?
Your favorite narrative in manga/manhua/manhwa/comics and why.
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When it comes to narrative I believe Hunter X Hunter does a good job it helps set the mood for the current situation an it gives the reader a inside look into the characters psyki (sp?) plus it explains details about the world without having to physically leave the area. By this I mean that we can learn about other parts of the HxH world without ever having to have a character physically go there.
I would agree with the 3 already mentioned. V for Vendetta would have to also be mentioned an it would have the same reasons that Watchmen had.
Sin City's narration is good only if you like detective story's
an I want to say the narration for BONE is rather good just that I can't recall a narration ever happening in that comic…better go and re-read it.
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I haven't kept up with it in two years, but I was really digging Ed Brubaker's current run on Captain America. About 25 issues in the Captain gets killed, causing the narrative to fall on the supporting cast, but mostly Bucky; Captain America's back from the not-quite-dead side kick. During the first arc it was revealed that he didn't die during WW2, but rather ended up a brainwashed soviet super-assassin. After Cap found a way to restore his memory the story has primarily been about Bucky coping, and currently trying to make amends for his past, an ambition that eventually led to him picking up the mantle of Captain America. I've only read three arc so far (Red Menace,The Death of Captain America, and The Man with No Face), but it something I'm really eager to pick up again.
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Manga narrative rarely impresses me. The pictures tend to tell their stories by themselves, so it doesn't really matter either.
The only ones that come to mind are Bakuman, One Piece and Toriko. If I had to choose a good one, I'd say Mashiro's first-person narratives in Bakuman. One Piece just has its limited narrative for the pacing, and the info itself tends to be more interesting than the rather unpersonal narrative. Whitebeard's death had some good narrative, but that's pretty much it. Toriko's narrative is annoying. All those monster/power-up/character descriptions. Shibukuro should try to weave it into the plot instead, or keep it in the factbooks, because all those huge info pages end up putting the story to a halt.
Going into comics in general, Watchmen certainly deserves a spot on the list.
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I think Sandman has the best narration i've ever read. The pacing, the way characters are introduced, the cohesiveness. Neil Gaiman added a lot of depth and dimensions to his story with a few panels or passing references and they never feel forced or out of place because he layers it into the story so well.
Most of the time when you read a story there's a focus on one or a group of characters and everyone else just sort of gets a side roll but for as large as the Sandman universe was every time a character was introduced it felt like they had their own story to tell and we were either seeing it or a piece of it while the current story was moving along. I never forgot reading that comic that everyone has a story and Neil enforced that.
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I like the Lone Wolf and Cub format of a huge amount of mostly episodic stories that build a world and develop the main characters while a main plot line buzzes along in the back. Eventually it becomes the main focus near the end.
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Manga narrative rarely impresses me. The pictures tend to tell their stories by themselves, so it doesn't really matter either.
The only ones that come to mind are Bakuman, One Piece and Toriko. If I had to choose a good one, I'd say Mashiro's first-person narratives in Bakuman. One Piece just has its limited narrative for the pacing, and the info itself tends to be more interesting than the rather unpersonal narrative. Whitebeard's death had some good narrative, but that's pretty much it. Toriko's narrative is annoying. All those monster/power-up/character descriptions. Shibukuro should try to weave it into the plot instead, or keep it in the factbooks, because all those huge info pages end up putting the story to a halt.
Going into comics in general, Watchmen certainly deserves a spot on the list.
Hunter x Hunter also tends to do the same exact thing and I have never felt it to be a nuisance.
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Hunter x Hunter also tends to do the same exact thing and I have never felt it to be a nuisance.
While I really enjoy Hunter X Hunter and Toriko, I admit that the narrative for them can get pretty tiring. A lot of times, I just feel like it would be better if we could just get a quick reaction shot or text instead of a paragraph telling us whats going on, and what a character thinks when they're making a move. It just feels like there's better ways to let us in on whats going on without typing in a paragraph or two's worth of info on one subject.
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@HiroVoid:
It just feels like there's better ways to let us in on whats going on without typing in a paragraph or two's worth of info on one subject.
Sometimes a picture alone can't convey what words can.
Sometimes words alone can't convey what a picture can.
Especially when dealing with strategies, battles, or how a character comes to a certain conclusion or choice, things that involve logic. Emotions can usually come off better just in art… if the artist is talented enough.
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I absolutely love sin city's narrative. Most is internally narrated and each "part" is soley focused on the thoughts, feelings, and actions of a singular character.
"The hard goodbye" is us experiencing the world of Sin City through the eyes of Marv.
The timeline is really well developed as well. A dead charcter will show up in a later chapter.. telling us this event took place before. Seeing a character the reader has already connected with playing a part in another character's story is really cool. You get more insight… especially when the current protagonist shares his or her opinion on a previous leading role. It provides that extra layer of detail that really immerses the reader into the setting
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Sin City was an absolute masterpiece. Let's hope the sequel does it justice though it has a high bar to reach.
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I don't have a particular title that comes to mind, but I'm a big fan of visual novels which blends first person with second person narrative techniques. Such style is just a lot more conducive for writing more complex characters, and helps ease the player into a personal relationship with them. It creates a climate where even if you know you're not the player character, you have the same feelings the player character has for other characters in the story. This is a sense of emotional investment that manga can't really emulate…I can sympathize with manga characters, but I can't empathize with them. Not the case for this style of VN.
Some VNs blend third person and first person narratives, and I feel this is closer to what we see in manga. It's weaker overall for developing characters, but better for revealing plot.
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@Thousand:
Sin City was an absolute masterpiece. Let's hope the sequel does it justice though it has a high bar to reach.
I was referring to the graphic novel not the movie.
But that was good too.
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I was referring to the graphic novel not the movie.
But that was good too.
I liked how everything was black and white except the blood:)
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I really like bleach's pacing. it's so… nvm, I can't.
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@Thousand:
I liked how everything was black and white except the blood:)
Forgot about the yellow bastard…red chucks etc.
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For me it's definitely FMA.
The narrative is definitely the backbone of the series, with the characters and setting as backup. You've got two brothers who have committed the ultimate sin and were to pay the ultimate price, but through their love for each other managed to survive and even see hope, each searching for a way to restore the other. However, they are constantly faced with their own weaknesses and obstacles, both ethical and physical, in their quest. Questions of what it means to be human and what it means to be god, whether killing is justified and the cycle of vengeance, and, of course, equivalent exchange are explored thematically to satisfaction. In the end the protagonist gains a happy ending not through sheer power but through learning his lesson and defeating the Truth at his own game by sacrificing his alchemy and focusing on his friends. Characters' backstories make their motivations and actions completely consistent. It's just an awesome narrative.
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Vagabond & NANA for me.
V: Obvious reasons. The philosophical depth and the search for your own path in life, definitely driving forces of the narrative.
N: The relationship between Hachi and Nana is the groundwork for the series and the manner in which Yazawa-sensei goes through the alternating POVs builds and builds and builds upon the emotional resonance exhibited in their relationship. It becomes so organic and humanistic the way in which these characters think and discern the events surrounding their lives and each other.
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Billy Bat is currently my favorite manga narrative. I love narratives with a lot of characters that all interact with each other by chance.
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For me it's definitely FMA.
The narrative is definitely the backbone of the series, with the characters and setting as backup. You've got two brothers who have committed the ultimate sin and were to pay the ultimate price, but through their love for each other managed to survive and even see hope, each searching for a way to restore the other. However, they are constantly faced with their own weaknesses and obstacles, both ethical and physical, in their quest. Questions of what it means to be human and what it means to be god, whether killing is justified and the cycle of vengeance, and, of course, equivalent exchange are explored thematically to satisfaction. In the end the protagonist gains a happy ending not through sheer power but through learning his lesson and defeating the Truth at his own game by sacrificing his alchemy and focusing on his friends. Characters' backstories make their motivations and actions completely consistent. It's just an awesome narrative.
Are you sure you're not confusing narrative with message? :P
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I recall very little actual narrative in FMA
EDIT: If imagery narration counts i'd put shamo up there, I swear sometimes it didn't need words to portray what it was saying.
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Augh, I think I've confused narrative for themes/storytelling. My bad.
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Duh, Watchmen of course, winning!
And I really ejoyed the narrative in Enkil Bilal's "La Foire Aux Immortels", even if the drawings are taking equally much of my attention…
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@Sonic:
Duh, Watchmen of course, winning!
And I really ejoyed the narrative in Enkil Bilal's "La Foire Aux Immortels", even if the drawings are taking equally much of my attention…
I never gotten around reading Bilal's narratives, but I really enjoy his work overall.
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Someone earlier mentioned boring text and implying a desire to see it unfold more visually, or woven into the dialogue/story instead of just being given a paragraph to of letters to read.
This reminds me
Kimura Kon. I'm a big fan of his narrative and telling techniques. I just really love his style. Somebody else could probably better describe his quality of work. But in Kyomusume he knows how to utilise words in a comic book for maximal effect.
You can look at this convoluted, insane page that has text going in and out of bubbles and literally between the lines (panels, pages) and it's overwhelming. And it's damned masterful. It's minimal in art (while still being pretty well drawn) and the text is just overloaded.
Koube Zaijuu is also an interesting read. The man is good.
He's one of my favorite seinen authors.