It’s fair to say that I don’t know a great deal about manga, though I’m pretty well versed in comics generally. Japanese titles have been a big story in book stores in the west for the last few years, and I wanted to check out the cream of the crop.

My first port of call was Death Note, which started very promisingly with a supersmart teenage boy who is befriended by a demon. He uses his power to kill people to eradicate criminals, and himself becomes the subject of a criminal investigation. So far, so good. Only, our protagonist gets a girlfriend a few volumes in, and she’s so annoyingly depicted – we’re pretty much talking Lolita fantasies – that I gave up on the series.

Thing is, I know a lot of manga isn’t going to be to my tastes. Acres of it is devoted to subgenres designed to appeal to 13 year old girls, or 9 year old boys, or for adults but about subjects such as baseball that hold no interest for me. Which leaves a whole bunch of science fiction material, and thrillers, both genres I can enjoy.

So, I did a bit more research, and discovered that Monster, by Naoki Urasawa, is highly rated. It’s a clever thriller with intriguing elements: a Japanese doctor gets a job at a hospital in Germany. Dedicated to saving the lives of everyone, and not just the dignitaries that hospital politics dictates he should devote his talents to, Dr Tenma keeps a young boy alive. Oops. The kid turns out to be a killer, and the good doctor sets out to find him and rescue his reputation. In the process, Tenma falls among criminals and uncovers secrets better forgotten in today’s Germany.

That’s as far as I’ve got anyway: I’m three volumes into a series of 18 small inexpensive volumes. So far the ride has been a lot of fun: the characters are more plausible than those of Death Note, though sometimes stereotypical, brought in from Central Casting to bring particular moral questions alive for the reader. I identify less with Dr Tenma than the dilemmas he faces, put it that way.

In terms of plot and action, it’s exciting stuff, with all kinds of fun twists and turns. But there are times when it becomes melodrama. A cop turns up to arrest Dr Tenma in a remote location he’s been sheltered, only to discover that Tenma is operating on the cop’s own mother! Her life is in the hands of a man the cop believes to be a bad ‘un, and the situation is not only milked but the milk then turned into cheese of the ripest sort.

But maybe I’m being a little unfair: after all, I swallow the most ridiculous nonsense on a regular basis when I read superhero comics, on the rare occasions when I still do (Brian Vaughan’s excellent Runaways has been a recent favourite, now written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, though I’ve not checked any of his issues out). Only, I grew up reading that particular kind of soap opera, so I know what to expect. Maybe I’m encountering a particular form of manga histrionics at this point, and I’ll get used to it if I read more. And there’s more to Monster than that: this is young adult fiction of a high order, though without the maturity and sophistication that, say, Pete Milligan or Jason Aaron regularly bring to the table in their comics.

For now, I’ll stick with Monster: a volume every couple of months as bedtime reading suits me fine at the moment. And then maybe I’ll explore the quality end of the manga science fiction scene, to see what I can find there to recommend. Anyone with any favourites, please let me know.