For graphic novels:

I can’t avoid bringing up Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Probably the most influential graphic novel ever written, it is a masterpiece on every level. Even if you’re not into superhero comics (which this is kind of a deconstruction of) the story stands on its own.

The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. Feel free to pirate these considering Gaiman has turned out to be a piece of human garbage. But you can’t deny the mastery of this series. Gothic, romantic fantasy with incredible depth, beauty and power.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan is a popular space opera series by one of the best writers in comics. Just really charismatic and engaging, great art, great characters and a narrative that effortlessly carries you along for the ride.

Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire is a strange, unique post apocalypse story. Great writing and characters but very dark and the overarching plot is kind of weird (but not really the point of the story).

Preacher by Garth Ennis is a modern fantasy with some of the sharpest writing in comics and a brilliant concept. I’d compare it to a Tarantino film where the overarching story is just an excuse for razor sharp dialogue and ultra-stylish characters and scenes (but the overarching story is great, too). Be warned that Ennis loves over the top shock and gross outs, which I personally find tedious but put up with because the rest is so good. Note that I think the second half of the series (there’s a major event and small time skip at this point) is kind of dull and self-indulgent and can essentially be avoided.

For manga:

Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed by Masamune Shirow are very influential and well known (in the west) scifi manga, but they are pretty dense and technical and not everyone’s cup of tea. Both go into a lot of very detailed world building and politics, but also have some of the coolest Japanese cyberpunk action every put to page.

Berserk by Kentaro Miura is probably the most famous fantasy manga in the west. Unrelentingly dark and grim, it isn’t to everyone’s taste but the spectacular art and unique, epic story make it stand out in the genre. Contains some nasty sexual violence.

Fullmetal Alchemist is a steampunk fantasy setting with great characters and story. It’s aimed at a younger audience but mostly avoids the common tropes and cliches of that style. Easy to read and charismatic series.

Akira is the obvious entry point, its a masterpiece.

The Wedding Singer. Even if you don’t like Adam Sandler’s usual schtick, he plays this completely straight and is really endearing. Great 80s soundtrack and Sandler and Barrymore are adorable and funny.

Your Dunning Kruger is showing.

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Spend your money, travel, get outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Or get professional help.

Biblically accurate.

Sure, just keep in mind that most of the answers you got are completely wrong :]

DO NOT ASK SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANT MEDICAL QUESTIONS. CONSULT AN EXPERT.

Almost all of the replies here are wrong or missing important information.

There’s a line running through the middle of this; on one side you’re strongly independent and on the other side you’re an asshole. I’ve veered back and forward across this line for most of my life (in my late 40s now). There’s no hard and fast rules around which side of the line you’re on in any given situation, every circumstance is different and needs to be assessed on its own merits.

If meeting somebody halfway means doing something I don’t want to do, I don’t want a relationship with this person.

Having this as a hard rule that you always stick to, will frequently put you on the asshole side of the line. Sometimes its nice to do something for someone, even if you don’t particularly enjoy it, just because it’ll make them happy. If you care a lot about them, making them happy is enjoyable (well, it should be!) even if the specific activity isn’t. As I said, you assess each situation on its own merits. Figuring out how much you’re willing to compromise on stuff like this, and for whom, is just something you’ll need to work on over time. If it’s something that you don’t particularly want to do but it’ll make your partner really happy, why wouldn’t you want to give them that?

Communication is key. You need to be able to explain to the person why you make these decisions, but also be able to listen to them about how they feel about it, and find some understanding on both sides.

But why must couples do everything together?

They shouldn’t, people who think like that are awful. But they should do some things together. Probably quite a lot of things.

If a person I’m dating feels entitled to try to change me, I don’t see how a relationship would work

Going from being by yourself to being in a relationship will always require changes. If the way you think in a relationship doesn’t change to include the other person, then you’re not really in a relationship you’re just hanging out. People shouldn’t try to force changes on people against their will, but you should be accepting that you will need to make some changes, just because it is a fundamentally changed situation from being on your own.

It does sound to me like you have some reflexive responses that are a reaction to your upbringing, that I suspect will make it difficult for you to communicate and negotiate through a relationship in these ways. Some kind of therapy can potentially help you work through some of this, but also being self aware (which you seem to have some amount of) and learning through experience should be able to mature these aspects of your personality over time, as long as you make the effort to self-assess and try and be as objective as possible in those assessments.

This isn’t true, people claimed that her husband (also a breakdancer) was part of the selectrion commitee but that is false.

The Australian women’s breakdancing contestant performed an absolutely inexplicable routine with no breakdancing in it and just a bunch of random body movements and extreme weirdness. Her official explanation is that she knew she couldn’t compete with the younger, more athletic contestants (she’s like 40) so she decided to compete with creativity, but I’m sure there’s something else going on. My theory is that she had something like a panic attack and was basically out of her head and got all these weird ideas and had a freak out.

He’s riding that curve like one of those surfing dogs.

You mean my clan in Battlefield 1942 wing riding on the Bomber to drop onto the far flag on Bocage was historically accurate?!

lol you’re the one who came in swinging with “for all I know!” “you could be lying!” as soon as I pressed you on a point. That’s the definition of a bad faith argument, you’re not acctually trying to engage with points of discussion you’re just trying to “win” the conversation.

lol do you always assume anyone who disagrees with you is acting in bad faith? Whst a convenient way to shield yourself from uncomfortable truths.

No wonder you’re desperate to lock someone into a relationship with you asap, you sound nuts.

Paranoia wtf? I’ve formed my opinions from my life experiences, are you trying to tell me you’ve done peer reviewed research to decide what makes a good relationship?

I was with my wife for 10 years before I proposed. We have the best relationship of anyone we know. I know plenty of people who married after a couple of years and are fucking miserable.

This is terrible advice. Most people’s “gut” reactions are heavily based on external influences like peer group pressure, media influence and upbringing.

Practice critical thinking.