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The Essential Manga Guide: 50 Series Every Manga Fan Should Know  

By Briana Lawrence   

Publisher: Running Press Adult  

Publication Date: 6-11-2024

The Essential Manga Guide: 50 Series Every Manga Fan Should Know by Briana Lawrence is what I would like to say a paperback version of a Wikipedia webpage of an anime we know and care about. It is something fans need when so much anime and manga are published every month. As an anime and manga fan, I was excited to see the selections that Briana Lawrence chose as the most essential manga that new and well-informed fans should know about.   

If you do not know who Braina Lawrence is, she is the Senior Features Editor at Crunchyroll. She has written for numerous media outlets focusing on the anime and manga industry. In addition, Lawrence is a strong advocate of representation and diversity, in which she proudly identifies as a black, queer, and magical girl. This book, The Essential Manga Guide, showcases her interest in representation as several entries discuss diversity, giving each manga a fresh take on why a manga is significant in the industry. As a reader, I was captivated by what Lawrence says about selections. Her contributions to the anime and manga industry make her a reliable source, but I want to point out that her opinions and selections for each entry are still subjective. Some fans are open to agreeing and disagreeing with her essential manga list. I agreed with most of her selections. There are some manga I never even heard of, but it got me interested in reading them.   

Before providing her list of manga selections, Lawrence briefly overviews what manga is and its history. She even provides us with an explanation of how manga impacted Western culture and audiences too. The explanation is short and simple: it clearly explains manga for even the newest fans.   

After the introduction and manga overview, Lawrence then provides us with each manga entry. Lawrence does not provide a numerical ranking of each manga entry, which is good. Fans wouldn’t want to be swayed by her rankings as it would influence their outlook on each manga. With each entry, she provides a brief synopsis and explanation of why it is on the list. Then she provides her commentary about each entry, explaining what she liked about the series and what makes it impactful towards anime and manga history. The explanations are quite subjective as she often uses the “I” statement. Although it is good to know her opinion, some readers may not like the frequent “I” statements because they can provide a one-sided opinion of the entries instead of using an unbiased third-person point of view.   

One aspect that I enjoyed about the book is the “Omake” section. These sections provide you with trivia about the manga. The “Omake” section is my favorite because I learn something new about the series I enjoy.   

The only downside about the book is that it doesn’t provide enough images about each series. I assume that it is mainly due to copyright issues. However, the book does offer excellent fan-inspired illustrations of some of the series.   

Overall, I enjoy this informative manga guide. This is a great handbook for new fans getting into anime and manga and for veteran fans wanting to know more about their favorite series or pick up a series that they heard about but haven’t taken the initiative to read. 

The Essential Manga Guide: 50 Series Every Manga Fan Should Know was released on June 11th, 2024. You can buy the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.