Okay, I know a lot of the readers and posters here read manga and maybe some of you are on the fence about trying it out. I'm here to give some recommendations and reviews because I've seriously read just about everything that isn't ancient :P

I plan to write a review or a recommendation once or twice a week for a bit to see if I can stir up some more conversation and interest in manga. Why? Because manga is awesome, I want to give shout outs to some of the underappreciated series out there. I'll cover some of the bigger series too eventually however for at least the first few posts I'm going to go with things that aren't as mainstream as the Big 3.

First off let's talk preferences, I'm mainly a shounen and seinen kind of guy. I have dipped my toes into the shoujo pool every now and then, but it's normally not my cup of tea. I read a pretty well balanced amount of genres although my tastes might be a little light on horror for some of you. I love psychological thriller stories and mysteries, I grew up as an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, so fear not horror fans I like something kind of similar.  xD

I'll also be taking requests which may or may not take a lot of time depending on whether or not I've read the series you request. 

I'll start off with my favorite overlooked manga ever...Mx0.

Let me guess...You've never heard of it right?

Mx0 is a magical high school comedy series written and illustrated by Kano Yasuhiro who also did a series called Pretty Face. The series' protoganist Kuzumi Taiga is probably in my top 10 favorite main characters from any manga or anime simply because of how he reacts to difficult situations. Taiga eventually becomes enrolled in Seinagi High, a school that teaches all of its students how to use magic while on campus grounds, by chance. However there's one little catch, he has no magical abilities whatsoever. Still sound a little familiar? Here's another catch, every student and teacher believes he's a magic prodigy so he constantly has to act the part.

Now this wouldn't be a shounen manga without a girl, Taiga's main love interest is Hiiragi Aika whom Taiga blames is the reason he didn't get accepted into Seinagi High initially. Yes, Taiga failed the school's entrance exam and ended up as a Seinagi student by other means. Aika also just happens to be the daughter of the school's most feared teacher too which leads to some very funny moments. I'm not a huge Aika fan because the ditzy pretty girl act has been done before, but she's still a nice character.

So what about the magic? The magic isn't some cut paste Harry Potter job with Mx0 and I believe Kano did a really good job isolating the magic within the school. All students are issued a metal plate that can absorb magical energy from magical "hot spots" which the schools are built on. The plates will only work while on these spots so even if the students were to try to use magic outside of school it wouldn't work. The plates can also store a limited amount of magic energy so the students have a finite amount of spells they can use in one day.

The artwork is great throughout the whole series and I believe Kano's expressions are some of the best in the field. Not many mangaka can make me laugh with just a character's face. The character designs aren't the most original however they're very clean and polished. Kano also has a great sense of humor and I must say that the chapter, Mosaic Panic, almost made me fall out of my chair. He's doesn't use that over the top ecchi humor that has been running rampant in anime and manga lately which is welcomed.

Mx0 is a great series if you're looking for a laugh with some solid battles along the way. The series was unfortunately cut short due to poor sales in Japan, but it still managed a respectable 99 chapters. I really love this series because it doesn't follow the trend of immensely powerful main character overcomes all with his unlimited potential. I like Naruto and Bleach but sometimes I want something a little different and Mx0 gave me just that.

Give it a try or you'll make Aika sad.