Great Manga That Have Rough Starts

Key Takeaways

• Great manga series like
  Attack on Titan
  and
  Berserk
  had shaky starts but improved over time for a better reading experience.
• Dr. Stone, Yu Yu Hakusho,
  and
  Gintama
  took time to find their footing before delivering top-notch storytelling and humor.
• Monster
  and
  One Piece
  had slow beginnings but eventually became thrilling narratives with captivating plots and characters.

Some of the best manga fans can get their hands on didn’t exactly start as barn burners. Fans will be surprised to know that series that are legendary and iconic today needed some time to set things up before they got the ball rolling, which was a risky move on their part.

A mangaka’s job is a grueling one, and a series can get canceled at the drop of a hat. It’s a relief for fans that some of the greatest manga they can get their hands on didn’t get the axe because of a rough beginning, because not only did they turn it around, but they became some of the most iconic stories in the medium.

8 Attack On Titan

The Art Style Was Hard To Get Used To But Improved Over Time

• Mangaka: Hajime Isayama
• Genres: Action, dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic
• Turning Point: The Female Titan (Chapter 23)

Attack on Titan is one of the greatest manga of all time, elevating Isayama’s name as one of the greatest mangaka ever. The amazing plot of this series was palpable from the get-go, but one area where Attack on Titan consistently disappointed fans was its art style.

The artwork of the series was particularly shabby in the early going, and it’s no secret why it took an anime adaptation for the series to finally start gaining some steam. Thankfully, viewers who caught up with the anime and switched to the manga after were greeted with vastly improved artwork that made the post-time skip narrative a joy to witness.

7 Dr. Stone

Senku Had To Head To A Different Village For The Manga To Feel Fresh

• Mangaka: Riichiro Inagaki
• Genres: Adventure, post-apocalyptic, science fiction
• Turning Point: Nasty Looks (Chapter 17)

Dr. Stone is a unique shonen manga about science and how inventions can help the Earth after it’s forcefully thrust back into a Stone Age. At the heart of this tale is Senku, a character who overcomes his petrification and decides to save humanity with his genius mind.

The manga had a decent premise, but the first few chapters were a chore to deal with. It wasn’t until Senku essentially abandoned his friends and headed to a nearby village that Dr. Stone started impressing readers, and it never looked back.

6 Berserk

The Black Swordsman Arc Is A Very Edgy Start That Makes Guts Seem Unlikable

• Mangaka: Kentaro Miura
• Genres: Dark fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery
• Turning Point:The Golden Age (1) (Volume 3)

The late great Kentaro Miura left behind an incredible legacy with Berserk. This dark fantasy series is iconic for its massive weapons, dark imagery, and multi-faceted characters who are a joy to read about.

However, most fans would agree that the introductory Black Swordsman arc can be too gratuitous. It’s hard to enjoy Guts’ character when he comes across as deranged, and it’s not until the manga shifts to the lauded Golden Age arc that Miura gets to flex his creative muscles and give readers a more nuanced protagonist.

5 Yu Yu Hakusho

It Took A Long Time For Yusuke To Get Reanimated

• Mangaka: Yoshihiro Togashi
• Genres: Adventure, martial arts, supernatural
• Turning Point: The New Mission!! (Chapter 18)

Yu Yu Hakusho is one of two iconic shonen manga written by Yoshihiro Togashi. The manga established itself as a legendary shonen series before concluding on a disappointing note that reflected Togashi’s negative mindset at the time.

However, there was a chance that Yu Yu Hakusho could’ve ended way before its true conclusion, since the first few chapters did nothing to move the plot forward. In one of the rare instances of an adaptation cutting out manga content and making the plot better, these meandering storylines were removed from the Yu Yu Hakusho anime and made for a better viewing experience as Yusuke became the Spirit Detective without wasting any time.

4 Gintama

Plays It Safe Early On Before Leaning Into Its Wacky Comedic Writing

• Mangaka: Hideaki Sorachi
• Genres: Adventure, samurai, science fiction, comedy
• Turning Point: Lesson 89

Gintama is one of the funniest comedy manga and is jam-packed with references and great background storytelling that helps each character come to life without losing their satirical edge. However, this isn’t apparent at the start of the series when this manga was testing the waters.

The jokes weren’t all that frequent and the short narratives could be grating after a point. It’s not until after Gintama leaned heavily toward its satirical writing, along with some well-paced long arcs, that the series became something special that fans couldn’t get enough of.

3 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Phantom Blood Is A Rough Start, But Araki Finds His Groove Soon Enough

• Mangaka: Hirohiko Araki
• Genres: Adventure, supernatural
• Turning Point: Joseph Joestar of New York, Part 1 (Chapter 45)

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a wacky and iconic manga series that is finally getting the love in the West that it deserves. Credit should be given to the anime adaptation, especially when it comes to how it adapted the weakest tale in the series.

Phantom Blood was a good starting point, but fans need only check out Araki’s first attempt at penning a JoJo story to see numerous cracks in his artwork. However, the mangaka only improved from there on out, quickly becoming one of the most talented and celebrated creators for his work on this magnum opus.

2 Monster

A Thriller That Takes A While To Get Going

• Mangaka: Naoki Urasawa
• Genres: Crime, mystery, psychological thriller
• Turning Point: Execution Night (Chapter 8)

Monster is one of the most riveting mystery thrillers readers can get their hands on, but they should be aware of one thing: While the story becomes amazing after a point, it takes a ton of buildup to reach this narrative payoff.

The slow burn may sit well with some readers, but others may lament the lack of action or meaningful movement in the plot. It can’t be stressed enough that this wait is worth it, and eventually, readers get to check out a thrilling manga that boasts one of the best antagonists in the medium.

1 One Piece

Can Be Rather Generic Until Readers Reach The Arabasta Arc

• Mangaka: Eiichiro Oda
• Genres: Adventure, fantasy, science fiction
• Turning Point: Reverse Mountain (Chapter 101)

Oda has enraptured the world with One Piece, the only member of the Big Three still going strong to this day. Getting into this series as a beginner can be a daunting task, but readers who take the plunge won’t be disappointed. They’ll just need to stick with it through the first bit.

The first few mini-arcs can feel cliched, as One Piece ticks every shonen trope, only for the Arabasta arc to give a glimpse of Oda’s brilliance. Things only improve from this point, with Skypiea, Thriller Bark, and Dressrosa showing what One Piece is all about.