Hahas, even though i never bought anything on impulse, but if i see this manga and i totally fell in love with the cover and everything, the first thing i get home is to search the net more about it and see if it is worth to buy. Or maybe squeal with my friend and try to coerce her to buy for me because she is richer than i am (her pocket money is twice of mine T_____T) and we shall enjoy it together! hahas.

Why i don't buy on impulse? Because i'm poor and can't afford to just spend the money. My friend is like dots. She ever bought like 4 mangas just because i mentioned it COULD have been the kind she likes and then dumps them in the trash because she hated them >x> i so can't believe her hahahahs. Yups, it's the same friend. ^^

Dude...Bleach all the way!!!
great story, exceptional art, and its just written/drawn very very well :)

As Jolynda said, the cover is very important to get attenction, but often a good story is behind a bad drawing... cover and desing are important, but to know a bit about the story is more, I think!

I also prefer to know something about the manga i'm about to purchase before i buy it. that's either from reading the reviews online or from asking friends who have read it. my current (and enduring) passion is kaori yuki's work, so angel sanctuary is my favourite in my collection. the manga is fantastic and the art book is to die for. it was just luck that i'd seen some wallpapers years ago and decided i that wanted to know more about the manga. but some stuff out there looks really pretty and then you read the story and it's not worth the purchase. so i always find out if it's someting i'm going to want to keep collecting before i buy the first one.

I perfectly agree!

I also agree about Angel Sanctuary, I loved it too!

At first, Battle Angel Alita got me the most. That was the time I actually started being a fan of Japanimation and Mangas. Battle Angel Alita was actually my first Series I actually bought, and in English, published by VIZ-Graphic Novels. I bought the last Volume, in London...
I possess I guess 5 Manga-Volumes of Battle Angel Alita, one of'em in German. I got it for Christmas. My brother thought I was crazy when I read about... Spinal Collumn Theft in the far Future... and this kinda vulgare Future that fascinated me. People who read this Manga for the first time would think OMFG, this is all about Brutality and Gore, But, if you look harder, then you actually see clearly that those Characters who murder-defeat their enemies actually have feelings inside themselves... it made me cry, honestly. Especially the Episodes of the Relationship between Alita and Hugo, and the tragic Ending.

Other Mangas and that come into my mind right now are Rurouni Kenshin Volumes 18-28, I have'em for a Year now, so actually no very long... But when I went to my local Comic-Store, I took a look into some Volumes after the Kyoto time and found it quite interesting. I saved my money and bought a Kenshin Artbook and the volumes 18-28 right away... And man that blasted me,... Enishi Yukishiro, Tomoe's younger Brother is out for revenge on Kenshin for murdering her, while Tome tried to protect him. Enishi is insane, even more than Makoto Shishio was. I loved the Clash between Japanese Style vs Chinese Elegant Kung Fu Sword Fighting... too ad it wasn't performed so good in the Seisouhan OVA...

The plot, characters, and artwork influence what I buy.

Jing: King of Bandits took one look at the cover and a few pages of reviews/ previews and knew I would love it.
It has everything I love artwork, bizzare cast of characters, amazing fight scenes, odd names that are easy to remember and so forth that have me buying all of the books in the series I can afford.

I look at the title and cover and if it looks like something that might interest me then I would read a little bit of it and see if the story interests me and if it does then I might get it. So if a manga has a good story and looks pretty good to me then I think I might get it.

I'm not sure what manga I see at the book store the most... But I am really into the Naruto manga! ^-^ Love it!! I'm at chapter 293 and I can't find anymore... I'm pissed!! I want more!!

SPOILER (click to view)

Naruto is training to controle the fourth tail of the fox demon!

I want more!!

WHen I buy manga it's usually 'cuz I saw a preview for it or the cover grabs my eye and I pick it up and look at it. However that's a large problem for me 'cuz I have SO many series going at once and I need to finish them before I start another... It never works. I always start series before I finish the other ones. But I still try to keep up with them all the best I can. Money runs too short...

Well the best ones for me are:
kingdom hearts
i''s
tenjhou tenge
alice19
bleach
and over them all is Hellsing with The Dawn!

Well considering mangas I'd have to say the most appealing for me would have to be Fruits Basket, FMA, and Bleach.
I think with Fruits Basket theres alot more story put into it than the anime.
Well for Bleach its just plain awesome. I mean it has an awesome staory and I personally love in the mangha all of the chapter pages, like the cool drawings Tite does. They seem to amaze me for some reason =_=.
Full metal is also a tad bit different than the anime. I think it helps you understand the anime a bit better, well it does for me at least.
Another one I just thought of is Hellsing. Its so freaky, scary, and creepy but at the same time its really addicting.

In stores i see a lot of 'used-to-be' popular mangas. and the ones i want, i have to ask them to order them in... and like most people are saying, i too like to know about the manga first before buying it. and for some reason i have this weird rule for myself. only 3 volumes of each series.

It's hard to say, but only a select few manga are fairly good at the beginning...

I usually go off of what I hear about certain series though. Word of mouth is usually a good way to get solid information if it has basis and is factual.

The only manga series that really dragged me in so far is the Ragnarok series. Granted, I was interested in it at first due to my ties to the game, but the manga is just fantastic.

I own all 10 volumes published in the U.S. and may look for more eventually. I think there are a few more out, but I want to wait and stock pile the volumes before reading.

After a certain point, Flame of Recca drags the reader in. It's rather slow at the beginning, but picks up the pace once it gets past about volume 4 or 5.

Naruto has its high and low points, as do other manga series.

It really depends on what the reader likes. Certain genres may not interest or entertain others.