Which manga is good as or better than Watchmen or Sandman?

[Zauriel]

In the world of comics, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' The Watchmen and Neil Gaiman's Sandman were hailed as the world's greatest comic books. When I read them, I knew that they deserved every bit of praise showered on either of them.

I have read many manga but I could not think of any manga that is superior to the critically acclaimed Watchmen or Neil Gaiman's Sandman. But I can think of a manga title that is every bit as good as the Watchmen and Sandman. That manga is called Monster written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. Monster reveals to us the dark depths of human psyche. The manga also narrates how a man's conscience can be affected by his own actions. Human relationships are complex and dynamic as well. Urasawa-sensei's Monster has sophisticated storytelling and complex plot weaving and memorable characters. The manga "Monster" was hailed as a national treasure in Japan. Johan is more than a poster boy for sociopaths. His actions and emotions show us how frightening the human mind can be.

[Kintor]

Hear me out on this one - Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Yes FMA's a shonen manga but its world building and character arcs are second to none. Very quickly you realise there's more to this story then cool action and some complicated rules about how magic works. The law of Equivalent Exchange puts in stark contrast the extremes of human nature and what some are willing to do in order to break the limitations of the physical world.

But then perhaps FMA isn't for you seeing as how Monster is your favourite. Because FMA is ultimately optimistic about human nature and the eventual triumph of good people in the face of adversity.

[Gray Lensman]

Hear me out on this one - Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Yes FMA's a shonen manga but its world building and character arcs are second to none. Very quickly you realise there's more to this story then cool action and some complicated rules about how magic works. The law of Equivalent Exchange puts in stark contrast the extremes of human nature and what some are willing to do in order to break the limitations of the physical world.

But then perhaps FMA isn't for you seeing as how Monster is your favourite. Because FMA is ultimately optimistic about human nature and the eventual triumph of good people in the face of adversity.

One of the things with something that is more of a medium rather than a genre (although outsiders confuse/conflate the two) is that some stories won't mesh with certain readers, even if they are great.

[Zauriel]

The Sandman comic book series falls within the dark fantasy genre, albeit in a more contemporary and modern setting. The Watchmen is a superhero comic book written as a psychological thriller with deconstructed characters.

Monster is a non-superhero, non-fantasy Psychological thriller manga, but it may be compared to the Watchmen.

[Kirby101]

2001 Nights by Yukinobu Hoshino

[Vegan Daddy]

Lone Wolf and Cub, Astro Boy, and anything by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

[Chubistian]

It depends on how you look at the subject. I'm pretty sure many people have mangas that they like as much as Sandman and Watchmen. Two of my favorites mangas are Akira and Dragon Ball and I hold them just as great as Sandman and Watchmen even if they are totally different not only to those comics, but between them. At the end, Gaiman and Moore&Gibbon's work aren't put into a pedestal only because they are two great stories, but because they meant a shift in how americans view and worked in the comicbook medium. I think Dragon Ball and Akira did something similar in Japan and also were a big influence in how manga and anime fared in western culture

[Zauriel]

I second Lone Wolf and Cub, Astro Boy, and Akira. Dragon Ball is a very great manga but not as complex as the Monster.

Astro Boy is an amazing story about a goody-shoes boy robot living in a human society.

I don't know 2001 Nights but I will read it when I have time.

Btooom is also another great manga. It is a tale of love, betrayal, tragedy and despair. The art is also clean, polished and detailed. Btooom manga brilliantly delves into the human psyche and depicts the worst traits of humanity in a grim and horrific manner, especially in several flashbacks. The human nature of each character is exposed in the narrative of the well-paced story. There was a gory scene where a prepubescent boy eats the remains of a human body.

[Superbat]

If you liked Monster, read Pluto by the same author.

[Oazsarun]

Lone Wolf and Cub not complex but is much better written than Monster. Vol.28 is the best thing i've have ever read

[Timothy Hunter]

In the world of comics, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' The Watchmen and Neil Gaiman's Sandman were hailed as the world's greatest comic books. When I read them, I knew that they deserved every bit of praise showered on either of them.

I have read many manga but I could not think of any manga that is superior to the critically acclaimed Watchmen or Neil Gaiman's Sandman. But I can think of a manga title that is every bit as good as the Watchmen and Sandman. That manga is called Monster written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. Monster reveals to us the dark depths of human psyche. The manga also narrates how a man's conscience can be affected by his own actions. Human relationships are complex and dynamic as well. Urasawa-sensei's Monster has sophisticated storytelling and complex plot weaving and memorable characters. The manga "Monster" was hailed as a national treasure in Japan. Johan is more than a poster boy for sociopaths. His actions and emotions show us how frightening the human mind can be.

I may be biased as I prefer European and American comics because the aspect ratio for tankobons are too small forcmy taste, but I don't think out of all the manga I've read to be on par with Watchmen or Sandman. However, there are some Manga that I would be in my top 10 list of what I would consider the greatest comics ever made.

Adolf
I consider this to not only be Osamu Tezuka's best work, but also the greatest manga of all time. Although it's not a surgically perfect as Watchmen or as all encompassing as Sandman, It's a flawless comic.

Akira
-Uneven in terms of quality, the volumes after the second destruction of Tokyo are superior to the volumes that preceded it. However, from that point on, Akira is just as effective as Watchmen in capturing apocalyptic dread.

A Drifting Life
My favorite autobiographical comic of all time.

I love Berserk so far, but I'm only up to volume 9, and it begins with a rough start, only picking up when The Golden Age Arc begins.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I am not sure this OP is something that -- a presumably Western bunch of fans -- should be framing in quite this way.

Part of the reason why Watchmen and The Sandman have the elevated status they do, is because they were popular and critical examples of non-superhero stuff in the Western Comics Business. That would not really be the case in Japan, where manga has never had that genre-specific delineation.

I think Japanese readers and Japanese manga fans should be leading this discussion and offering their insights, and maybe they have (and if it's translated in English) it would be great to share.

The OP assumes that Watchmen and The Sandman would automatically hold as a kind of universal standard for all comics and I don't think it works. Like even if I compare Watchmen and The Sandman to stuff in Europe, like Franco-Belgian comics, I don't think I'd feel comfortable saying that they're better than Moebius, Herge, Tardi, Pratt to say the least. Because it's quite different in a lot of ways.

Having said all that...

I think some of Junji Ito's stuff is as good if not better than The Sandman. Ito's works mine similar themes as Gaiman's The Sandman i.e. obsession/dreams/artistic creativity and a mix of surreal horror and urban fantasy, and for me stuff like The Enigma of Anigmara Fault, Used Record, Hanging Blimp to name a few are at times as good if not better than stuff in The Sandman. The fact that Ito is a writer/artist gives him an advantage of coherence whereas The Sandman shuffled through various artists.

[Oazsarun]

I think phoenix is the best osamu tezuka manga.imo phoenix and lone wolf and cub are better than the sandman and watchmen

[Mister Mets]

Interesting question.

I honestly don't think any manga is.

One way to consider it might be whether there's anything that wouldn't look out of place in Absolute Edition hardcovers, and listings of best literature, the way Watchmen is a $75 Absolute Edition hardcover, and on Time Magazine's list of best books of the 20th century.

I'm just not aware of anything on that level, although some can argue that manga is meant to be appreciated a bit differently.

Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is good, but a different type of series, more like Carl Barks' Scrooge stories.

Lone Wolf and Cub is exceptional, and consistently so for 28 volumes.

2001 Nights by Yukinobu Hoshino

That one is exceptional. Unfortunately, it does not appear to have been collected recently.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

One way to consider it might be whether there's anything that wouldn't look out of place in Absolute Edition hardcovers,

Is this some kind of joke?

Have you seen the bricks of BERSERK lately?

I'm just not aware of anything on that level,

So say you don't know manga then.

Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is good, but a different type of series, more like Carl Barks' Scrooge stories.

You are aware that comics professionals rate Carl Barks' comics above Moore and Gaiman and most anything, right? And that these comics have had an exceptional influence across different art mediums?

Your assumption that Tezuka is good like Carl Barks (while correct in that Tezuka merits the same status) runs on several false assumptions at once.