^^ No, they're not actors in the manga.
Universal-Adaptor Cast simply means that the cast is comprised of characters that work so well together they can be put in any kind of setting and still be incredibly fun to watch.
Oh, Sparkysharps, I just started reading Otoyomegatari which I remembered the name of somehow? It's only got 12 chapters so far, but it's really beautifully drawn, and set in mainland Asia (east of India, I think?) around the time of the Crimean War starting.
Eh, but it's not fantasy, and there's only some action.
edited 18th Jul '10 10:20:42 AM by Tzetze
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.Oh, yes, THIS! Highly, highly recommended. It's so refreshing to see this kind of subject matter in manga.
...and lol. Tzetze. India is in South Asia, which is south of Central Asia. East of India would be South East Asia, which is Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, etc.
It would be more accurate to say "north of India".
But why are you using India as a landmark anyway in the first place?
Here, have a map of Asia.
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/as.htm
EDIT: True... it's not fantasy... and action is not really a huge focus. But it's a great work nonetheless.
edited 18th Jul '10 10:30:16 AM by Anarchy
Can anyone give me a manga recommendation?
What I Do Like: Steampunk and creepy undertones. Gore is a-okay. Something intelligent maybe as well, rather than strictly comedic. I'm a huge fan of Pandora Hearts, Higurashi/Umineko, Death Note, and Fullmetal Alchemist. But I'm looking for a few titles that are less mainstream this time in order to broaden my horizons.
What I Don't Like: Kuroshitsuji, Bleach, or slice-of-life stories, such as Lucky Star. Romance between any sex is okay, but I would prefer if it wasn't the main focus of the story. No shoujus(SP?)/chick-lit stories, mechas, or magical-girl stories.
EDIT: I like vampires in good taste. No Vampire Knight esque stories, please.
Thank you :]
edited 18th Jul '10 3:14:13 PM by MissLillian
Just killing time until the world ends.^ What exactly do you mean by "creepy undertones?" Are we talking Monster creepy *, Yami No Matsuei creepy *, or Okane Ga Nai/Twilight creepy *?
edited 18th Jul '10 3:20:06 PM by Sparkysharps
Metropolis, maybe? Steam Detectives ... Steam Boy... Sakura Taisen...
edited 18th Jul '10 3:24:31 PM by Anarchy
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. If you don't mind humour, cynicism and social commentary in your Nightmare Fuel Unleaded, you'll probably love it.
Edit : yes, not steampunk, but I didn't understand his request as specific to that genre (why would someone suggest Lucky Star otherwise ?). And it definitely fulfils the "creepy undertones" requirement.
edited 18th Jul '10 3:28:12 PM by Jhiday
^^ Oh it doesn't need to be steampunk, LOL it's just something I like! (And I'm a girl ^///^; )
Thanks for the suggestions :D! The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and the Steam Detectives ones in particular sound really interesting, actually.
edited 18th Jul '10 3:32:36 PM by MissLillian
Just killing time until the world ends.
Pat. St. of Archive Binge
^^More like Magic Realism applied to Monster of the Week horror with a wicked vein of Black Comedy. And as the page creator I'd definitely recommend it.
Welcome Miss Lillian!
edited 18th Jul '10 3:43:51 PM by AckSed
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.^^ Well, always wanna be clear (I'm one of those people who watch the latter for trainwreck value. Case in point: I have seen the aforementioned Okane Ga Nai, knowing it was terrible. I am now incapable of taking Jun Fukuyama even the least bit seriously)
Hmm, I'm gonna have to go more on the creepy and obscure than the steampunk, simply because all of the decent steampunk I know is Anime First (*coughLastExilecough*). This means much of the stuff by Naoki Urasawa (Pluto, Monster, and 20th Century Boys), because I can't think of a mangaka who can fuck with my emotions better than he does.
Also, I liked Eternal Sabbath
(MAL link 'cause there's no tropes page), wherein Mind Rape is pretty much the Hero and the villain's superpower.
Edit: I has been ninja'd like whoas
Edit the second: OOH OOH! I just remembered MPD Psycho. It's by the same writer (different artist) as Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (which I second, by the way), but with less Black Comedy and more crazy people.
edited 18th Jul '10 3:47:59 PM by Sparkysharps
Oh, I thought she was looking for something steampunk AND creepy, and preferably intelligent with no romance- but yeah apparently I was wrong.
All right then. If you liked Death Note you'll LOVE Liar Game.
For the creepy, do you like full on horror? Because you might want to check out Spiral or Mermaid Game....
Oh! I know, you'll love this. This is one of Yoshihiro Togashi's lesser known works, and I don't know why because it is amazing.
Go find Level E. It's weird and creepy and sometimes horrifying and tragic and the humor can be very dark at times. It's a... very weird, genre-busting piece.
EDIT: Seconding both Kurosagi and MPD Psycho.
edited 18th Jul '10 3:51:19 PM by Anarchy
^^ Thanks for the welcomes, Sed! :D The TV Tropes summary sounded totally up my alley, I'm already hunting for scans as we speak. ;]
Sparky: Oh, I do that too! I snarked the first volume of Twilight
with my own little notes and such, but making fun of a series is a one-time thing for me. I do it, and then I'm done. Some of my friends are particularly nazi-ish about the way they make fun of Twilight though, like it actually makes them angry, or something. Scarryyy. (Sorry for the possible off-topicness? :O?)
And those recommendations also sound great! People have been telling me to read Monster
for a while now, actually, so it's interesting that it's been mentioned a few times here too, xD
EDIT @ Anarchy: I like both creepy and full on horror. I just like being scared :] And weird is always good too. Anything's better than seeing the same thing over and over again.
And like Monster
people have been telling me to read Liar Game
. Maybe I'm just the Hype Aversion
type, or something.
edited 18th Jul '10 3:55:15 PM by MissLillian
Just killing time until the world ends.^ Monster is one of those series where everyone I know (including me — it gave me my very first case of anime Awesomeness Withdrawal) praises it to high heaven, but has almost no active fandom to speak of. I suspect that part of this is due to the fact that you can count the number of "hawt" characters on one hand. Urasawa is not a fan of Generic Cuteness.
edited 18th Jul '10 3:59:31 PM by Sparkysharps
Oh, I know what you'll like then. Go check out Franken Fran if you haven't already.
@ Anarchy: Will do!
@ Spark: I like attractive characters, but I don't mind unattractive characters either. I'm not really a vocal member of the Fandom!Community of anime/manga, but I can't understand why people would pass up a great story if the characters are older or less bishie-like. It's sad.
edited 18th Jul '10 4:14:51 PM by MissLillian
Just killing time until the world ends.Although I disagree on some points with her post, I think Anarchy said it well enough:
It's a visual medium, so it's fair enough to drop a story if you really dislike the art style. ^^;
To clarify: I DO like older or less bishie-like characters, if they're drawn well. But there's a difference between that and the art style being flat out bad or unappealing.
Take Onidere for example, or Hunter X Hunter at its worst, or early Bleach and One Piece, or early Prince Of Tennis, or early Ouran High School Host Club, or the Slayers anime... bishonen or age has nothing to do with it, it's the art style that's bad.
I'm going to try the anime and see if I can stand the art better.
^^ I would suggest Elfen Lied (because that's what immediately comes to mind when I think boobs and gore), but then I remember that EL kinda sucks monkey nuts.
There's probably about a thousand one-shot OVAs from the 90s that would meet your brother's citera, though I'd be assed to know which are any good. Except for Battle Angel Alita. I like Battle Angel Alita.
By "sexy," are we talking straight-up Fanservice only? Because if we're talking sexiness of atmosphere and characters instead of panty shots and gainaxing, there's always Baccano.
edited 21st Jul '10 12:36:40 AM by Sparkysharps
Speed Grapher is sexy and kind of bloody... can your brother ignore the fact that the series is telling him that he's a horrible creep for objectifying women like that?

I knew that idea (despite my mispelling it)- but does that mean the characters are actors in-story or something?
Or is it because many cast members seem to be Historical Domain Characters who pop up in lots of other anime/manga.
Hodor