Manga for 12 year old boy

[OxfordDog]

Just started secondary school and still dislikes reading :( I've spent years trying to build up an enthusiasm in him by reading to him regularly, buying all kinds of books that are either popular with his age group or appeal to his interests etc Nothing has worked. The only books he'll pick up are graphic novels. I feel we've read most of those now (unless anyone has any more they'd like to recommend??) so was thinking about branching out into manga. I know nothing about it, other than they look like graphic novels?? A quick amazon search has led me to the conclusion that I'd need to choose carefully as some of the content appears ummmm.. dubious, others seem geared toward girls. Are there any age appropriate recommendations for a 12 year old boy? Thanks

Has he tried DragonballZ/Dragonball Super? My 10 year old loves those.
There's loads of Dragonball anime as well.

My Hero Academia and Naruto are very popular but you might want to check it out first for content - I thought it was slightly too grown up' for my DS at the min, more aimed at young teenagers.

If he's a Nintendo fan there are manga adaptations of a few of the Legend of Zelda games that my son's have both enjoyed.

Don’t do it. Manga and anime are entry ways into some horrible stuff.

Don't be ridiculous, manga are Japanese comics.

OP, does he like pokemon? I think there's a pokemon manga.

I know exactly what they are thanks. You don’t need to scratch too deeply beneath the surface online to find some stuff that you don’t want young tween/teens to be getting into. And like it or not, this age group will transfer their interests to online.

I regret innocently introducing DS at a similar age.

Thanks I will take a look. He doesn't like pokemon but his little brother does so I will have a look for him. He likes football, but I don't think that seems to be a strong theme in Japan!

@Dannexe I understand what you are saying, when I googled some of it looked pornographic. But that's why I asked for recommendations. I definitely won't be giving him free reign to look at anything online himself.

It's a shame that graphic novels are few and far between. I'm at a loss with what to give him to read that has plenty of graphics. He just doesn't want to read big chunks of text, yet is clever and needs some mental stimulation.

Have you tried Hugo cabret and the others by the same author. They’re a mixture of text and graphics

Although probably more suited to a year 5/6

There are porn videos, would you stop him watching films? Or western cartoons? It's just a medium like any other, he's not going to go down some horrible rabbit hole from watching/reading pokemon.

I'd he's ever seen threlast airbender there are graphic novels too, I think possibly a sequel? Don't worry despite the show being anime style it's made in the western so won't corrupt him like the PP thinks Japanese media will.

@OxfordDog ignore @Dannexe . Manga books pretty much always have a recommended age suggestion on the cover. If it's an "All Ages" or probably even a "13+" then it's fine. Just avoid "older teen" or "adult".
They are comics. Just Japanese.
It's like saying a child shouldn't read the Beano because it might lead to reading Viz.

@OxfordDog also there are absolutely loads of non Japanese graphics novels out there.
There graphic novel versions of popular books like Alex Rider or Atermis Fowl. Plus versions of Shakespeare, Dickens, Sherlock etc.
Plus loads and loads of original stuff.
Hopefully you will find something he likes.

Ignore away (at your peril)

Beware of the dangers of Pokemon...

There are absolutely loads of graphic novel versions of popular books out there - including Shakespeare, many classic novels, Terry Pratchett's discworld series etc.

My kids also like Pokémon manga and the Avatar the last Airbender comics. There's a good bit of marvel content aimed at younger readers - the Spiderverse/Spider Gwen series off the top of my head.

Of course there is inappropriate content out there on the internet, but you could say be that about literally anything. Just look at at the recommended age range and screen it (by scanning it yourself) before you give it to him.

Another idea - if he likes (or might like) war stories you can still buy the Commando comics. There are 4 released every month and WHSmith sell them. Quite cheap and a quick read.

My 11 year old reads One Piece and loves it!

Mine loved the Jojos bizarre adventure series but they are SO expensive and they can read them like a comic book so I stopped it.

Can’t help with manga but the amulet series is my DS11 favourite graphic novel books and he’s counting down to the release of book 9. Ghostopolis is a bit dark but another well liked book.

Also do try a brick and mortar comic book store if you can, they will be able to give age appropriate recommendations. I found my local one very helpful (Page 45 in Nottingham in case you happen to be local)