Sometimes when I look up new manga to read I also check out threads asking for recommendations, in case they have something interesting. This is probably the most difficult person to recommend a manga for so far lol
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Hey folks,
one of my younger relatives is turning 15 in two weeks time, and I thought I'd introduce him - and corrupt him biggrin - to the vast world of manga and comics.
He used to watch a few popular anime series when he was younger like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Naruto, One Piece, Detective Conan and Blue Dragon, so he isn't completely unfamiliar with the medium's style.
Now on to the genres: Science-fiction or Mecha are his favourites. Action is a must, and comedic elements will be appreciated. As for romance, it's okay as long as it isn't the story's main focus. His favourite films include Star Wars, Star Trek and Back to the Future. Recently, he's also enjoyed most of the Marvel comic adaptions to the silver screen, the Transformers series, Pacific Rim and TV series like Big Bang Theory, Sherlock and Doctor Who. However, other Science-fiction productions like Andrew Niccol's In Time and Planet of Apes: Prevolution were met with distaste. Plus, he isn't too fond of archaic Fantasy settings (i.e. The Lord of the Rings) or of hard Science-fiction (i.e. 2001: Space Odyssey). More contemporary settings or a blend of Fantasy and Science-fiction are fine, though.
I have already conducted a genre search but there's another hurdle that puts me in a bind: He just can't stomach anything too dark, scary, tragic, graphic or gory, and he dislikes any overly realistic, serious or thought-provoking stories. So series like Until Death Do Us Part - one of my favourite action manga by the way - are out of question. I'm considering the Full Metal Panic! titles but I'm not sure if he'd like this sort of whacky Japanese humour or the sequel's darker storyline.
A more or less light-hearted Shounen series would probably suit him best. It needs to be licensed and possibly complete or actively published in English since he can't read any Japanese. English is his second language, and his language skills are decent for his age - thanks to all the non-localised games he's playing. Something along the lines of Ratman would be perfect - if only it were still licensed in English...
If you can't find any fitting manga, I'd be willing to take comic recommendations, too. Just as long as it isn't too light (i.e. The Smurfs or Asterix) or too bleak (i.e. Transmetropolitan or Sin City).
I know these criteria are a lot to ask for but thanks in advance, anyway.
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He's led a very sheltered life. Let me illustrate: Whenever somebody starts to talk about more graphic topics like crimes, accidents, diseases or insects he'll ask the speaker to stop and delay the conversation until he's out of hearing distance because he doesn't want to imagine them. On the other hand, he'd gladly join in when you're talking about scientific discoveries or anything technology-related.
Pretty much any great manga that we've recommended (FMA, Sidonia no Kishi, Death Note, Eureka Seven (though why anyone would want to READ it is beyond me), Break Blade, Bleach, Shingeki no Kyojin and many more) has been rejected because a 15 year old apparently can't handle it, lol