Cromartie High remains as one of my favorite manga/anime of all time top 5 material easily. Though Im surely not breaking any new ground by saying that. You can travel across the web or attend any anime convention and find plenty of others with that same opinion. As I always say with my write ups namely when its for my personal favorites since they tend to be comedy/shounen/motivational series Comedy is subjective If someone has a sense of humor that doesnt align with a series then their mileage will inevitably vary. This too isnt a groundbreaking take either however I bring all this up because I find it absolutely preposterous that despite the anime getting the acclimation across the world that it rightfully deserves the manga does not nearly get the same amount of appraisal. So Im here today to convince you that although you cant go wrong in either way you decide to engage with the series the manga is infinitely the superior option. For its a funnier and much more complete package than its anime adaptation. And hell Ill even toss in a personal sidequest just for you toots to also answer why this STILL manages to be one of my personal all time favorite series ever all these years later. 220https://i.ur.com/5jpqPsI.png Okay Ill be honest I went a little harder than I intended to with that introduction. Not in regards to my love for the series for Ill get into that later. But in regards to how well others aside from myself treat the source material. Lets not beat around the bush though the manga itself is far from unpopular. According to stats taken from various sources it had a whopping 4.5 million copies in circulation won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award for the shnen category in 2002 and it was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Manga Division at the 7th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2003. Kodansha Manga Award n.d.. So yeah saying that this manga doesnt get the praise it deserves is pretty frickin farfetched now that I think about it. Especially given everything its spawned in its wake such as both an anime and live action adaptation of it exists. But what exactly does it excel in so well that made it so beloved and why do I consider the manga the superior format? Wow maybe that shouldve been my opening paragraph instead. Definitely a more substantive thesis if you ask me. Anyways firstly a brief synopsis even though it really doesnt need one at this point. A smart boy named Kamiyama finds himself enlisted no no trust me this word is much more appropriate than enrolled. in the most badass school of delinquents and hijinks ensues. Given that this is source material were given more of what makes the series so good. And thats the main reason I decided to pick up the manga in the first place with a measly yet golden assortment of only ten episodes I thought it was absolutely criminal how short it was. So thank god the manga has 338.3 chapters plus a short lived official spinoff focusing on the teachers to make up for the adaptions short length. And as expected it has everything that its anime counterpart has in spades but it also contains aspects worth praising that are unique to the manga alone such as the art the use of multimedia the amount of unpredictable plots/situations the genius paneling that lends itself exceptionally perfect to its comedic timing lore plenty of insight into Nonaka himself and the vast array of characters that are unforgettable. Ill be touching upon each of these in my writeup. The artwork lends itself exquisitely to the jokes and situations characters find themselves. Initially though not as concrete the characters have a broad build a stoic face eccentric features across their face/head and have the super angular yet thick character outlines that gets even more refined as the series progresses. Not only that but many of the characters share the same copy paste tough guy sort of face EVEN Maedas own mom Nightmares from her aside I found the illustrations themselves to not only enhance the jokes and hilarity of the situations themselves but gorgeous to look at as well especially in pages dedicated to a character portrait. I specifically remember a chapter introductory page with Kamiyama on it poised by a motorbikeerized mechazawa dont ask that I was enamored by. Not only did I feel like I was looking at a poster for a Dean Martin film but it was then that I got the feeling that Nonaka was heavily inspired by 1950s western popart and comics. As the series goes on the individual characters begin to lose the same face look and develop concrete visual designs. Its as if Nonaka saw the cover of GTA: Chinatown wars and went lol thatd make for a funny chapter and base the look off of that going forward. Anyways I often feel as if the artstyle is the most overlooked aspect of the manga for not only do I find it aesthetically pleasing but also extremely varied. 220https://i.ur.com/FXQQpVM.jpg This varied artstyle not only comes from the less human characters like freddie mechazawa banchouchan arachan and maskedtakenouchi but from the volume covers themselves. Seriously these are all gorgeous and uniquely stylized. Volume one looking like a communist propaganda poster with an eyegrabbing color contrast of red white and yellow. Volume 4 and 5 are unabashedly influenced/parodying warhols style with the former being a blue freddie shredding a guitar with nonaka like hair and the latter literally being a can of soup oops I mean soup canerized mechazawa dont ask. Hell the cover of volume 13 being a human masked takenouchi taking porky pigs spot at the end of a melody melodies thats all folks closing card is what inspired me to cosplay as him. This is also far from the only time Cromartie high utilizes real life images as it also uses it as a means to open up or close a volume with a hilarious scenario. What Im trying to get at is that the visual component of this series is often pigeonholed as stoic and stiff and while that rings some truth in the anime aside from the digicharat cameo in contrast the manga is actually so much more. Which is golden since this is a book were talking about. Each volume is uniquely illustrated most of which exhibit a unique artistic technique or style that I find mesmerizing to look at with the final volume and thirteen being my personal favorites but you cant go wrong with any of them. Another aspect that the manga dunks over the anime is the insight on Nonaka himself. Throughout the series were given an insight into the man that Im sure Im not the only one who related to who created this very series. These bonus chapters are not only hilarious on their own but also gives insight into the environment and work behind maintaining relevance on such a popular series. All the glitter is not gold however as funny as they are they also paint the mangaindustry in a realistic stressful light. However Nonaka demonstrates not only in these chapters but by creating Cromartie as a whole that even when hard times come your way its not only important to see these as experiences to learn and grow from but also to look on the brightside. We often fixate on the negatives in times of distress however its at those times that we should look on the positives and make the most out of our time in these circumstances. This theme is mostly at play in these Nonaka centric bonus chapters. As Im certain getting the news that his series wasnt hitting high marks with readers or that it was getting canned were not all sunshine and roses. But despite that he turned those very scenarios into some of my favorite chapters in which despite the darkness he was still able to find a light at the end of the tunnel and humor throughout. So all I can say is despite the odds being stacked against him and his creation he still managed to come out on top. 220https://i.ur.com/tIHIaSl.jpg Anyways enough wanking off Nonaka as Im sure thats something hed dismiss entirely. The last aspects Id like to focus on are the vast amount of characters situations and lore exempt from the anime. Listen Ive said it 100 times and Ill say it 100 more comedy is subjective. And ultimately Cromarties sense of humor just so happens to tick all my boxes. Situations such as Takenouchis time in America Kamiyamas backstory the SumoClub Planet of the frickn Apes and even a bunch a chapters where were actually introduced into the staff at cromartie And thats not even including the spinoff written by Nonaka that came out in 2018 which is also something I cant recommend enough. Basically if you loved the sense of humor of the show and were curious about the lore or if you didnt give a crap about the lore for a comedy series until reading this than youre slapping yourself in the face by not reading it. I literally could not stop myself from putting down the series because of how much fun I was having reading each chapter. And Im aware that some people may need a break every now and then with gag humor but I am not that person. The more obtuse ridiculous and nonsensical the better so I never tired of this series gags. Theres also so many chapters that I can choose any page at random and instantly make my day 10x better just by having a hearty laugh reading it its the pinnacle of timeless. Whether its a unique spin on the boketsukkomi routine juxtaposition between character designs and actions the utter insanity of the predicaments they find themselves in a running gag deadpan humor or even introducing a new character who feels like theyve been with us the whole time this manga nails every comedic style in comes in contact with. In my opinion well duh. Cromartie High remains as one of my favorite manga/anime of all time top 5 material easily. Though Im surely not breaking any new ground by saying that. But what exactly does it excel in so well that made it so beloved and why do I consider the manga the superior format? Well instead of summarizing everything Ive gushed about up until now simply put its funny And is much more layered than people give the series credit for or hell how it may seem on the surface to others who equally enjoy the series as much as me. I dunno about that though for I have mechazawa on my bboy sweats a plush mechazawa and a HUGE cromartie high poster on my wall anyways Im not autistic I swear I just have a very childish sense of humor and a deep appreciation for media that can make me feel warm at any given moment I promise