Great manga with rocky beginnings

Key points

• Great manga series like
  Attack on Titan
  AND
  Furious
  had shaky starts but improved over time for a better reading experience.
• Doctor Stone, Yu Yu Hakusho,
  AND
  Gintama
  they took some time to find their balance before delivering top-notch storytelling and humor.
• Monster
  AND
  One piece
  had a slow start 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 out as haymakers. Fans will be surprised to know that the legendary and iconic series today needed some time to sort things out before kicking off, which was a risky move on their part.

The work of a mangaka is exhausting and a series can be canceled in the blink of an eye. It's a relief to fans that some of the best manga they can get their hands on weren't eliminated due to a rocky start, because they not only turned the tables, but have become some of the most iconic stories in the medium. .

8 Attack on Titan

The art style was difficult 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 manga artists ever. The extraordinary plot of this series was palpable from the beginning, but in one area Attack on Titan fans constantly disappointed was his art style.

The series' artwork was particularly shabby at first, and it's no secret why it took an anime adaptation for the series to finally start to catch on. Thankfully, viewers who followed the anime and moved on to the manga were greeted with vastly improved artwork that made the narrative of the subsequent time jump a joy to witness.

7 Doctor Stone

Senku had to travel to a different village for the manga to feel fresh

• Mangaka: Riichiro Inagaki
• Genres: Adventure, post-apocalyptic, science fiction
• Turning point: Evil looks (Chapter 17)

Doctor Stone is a unique shonen manga about science and how inventions can help the Earth after it was forcibly pushed back into the Stone Age. At the center of this story is Senku, a character who overcomes his petrification and decides to save humanity with his brilliant mind.

The manga had a decent premise, but the first few chapters were a chore to get through. It wasn't until Senku essentially abandoned his friends and headed to a nearby village Doctor Stone he began to impress readers and never looked back.

6 Furious

The Black Swordsman arc is a very jumpy start that makes courage seem unlikely

• 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 an incredible legacy with Furious. This dark fantasy series is iconic for its massive weapons, dark imagery, and multifaceted characters that are a joy to read about.

However, most fans would agree that Black Swordsman's introductory arc may be too gratuitous. It's hard to like the character of Guts when he appears deranged, and it's only when the manga transitions into the acclaimed Golden Age arc that Miura is able to flex his creative muscles and give readers a more nuanced protagonist.

5 Yu Yu Hakusho

It took Yusuke a long time to revive

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

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

However, there was a chance that this would happen Yu Yu Hakusho it could have ended long before its true conclusion, since the first few chapters did nothing to move the plot forward. In one of the rare cases of an adaptation that eliminated the manga's content and improved the plot, these meandering plots 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

He plays it safe from the start before turning to his quirky 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 packed with references and great background narration that helps each character come to life without losing their satirical edge. However, this is not evident at the beginning of the series, when the manga was testing the waters.

The jokes weren't all that frequent and the short narratives could get annoying after a certain point. It's not until later Gintama leaned so heavily on its satirical writing, along with some long, well-paced 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 rhythm 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 quirky and iconic manga series that is finally getting the love it deserves in the West. 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 just need to take a look at Araki's first attempt at writing a JoJo story to see numerous cracks in his artwork. However, from that point on the mangaka only got better, 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: Night of the execution (Chapter 8)

Monster is one of the most gripping crime thrillers readers can get their hands on, but they should be aware of one thing: Even though the story becomes surprising after a certain point, it takes a lot of setup to achieve this narrative outcome.

The slow burn may please some readers, but others may complain about the lack of action or significant movement in the plot. It can't be stressed enough that this wait is worth it, and in the end, readers will get to check out an exciting manga that boasts one of the best antagonists in the medium.

1 One piece

It can be pretty generic until readers reach the Alabasta arc

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

Oda has fascinated the world with One piecethe only member of the Big Three still going strong today. Getting into this series as a beginner can be a daunting task, but readers who take the plunge will not be disappointed. They'll just have to maintain it throughout the first half.

The first mini-arcs may seem cliché, like One piece it satisfies every shonen trope, except that the Arabasta arc gives a taste of Oda's brilliance. Things only get better from this point, with Skypiea, Thriller Bark and Dressrosa showing what One piece that's all.