After the Rain (Japanese: 恋は雨上がりのように, Hepburn: Koi wa Ameagari no Yō ni, lit. ‘Love Is Like After the Rain‘) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jun Mayuzuki. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s Monthly Big Comic Spirits magazine from June 2014 to November 2015, and later in Weekly Big Comic Spirits from January 2016 to March 2018. Its chapters were compiled into 10 tankōbon volumes. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Wit…
Yawara! (also stylized as YAWARA!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was serialized in Big Comic Spirits from 1986 to 1993, with its chapters collected into 29 tankōbon volumes by publisher Shōgakukan. The story centers around Yawara Inokuma, a seemingly ordinary high school girl, but her grandfather, a living judo legend, has been secretly training her since she was a child…
Mobile Police Patlabor (Japanese: 機動警察パトレイバー, Hepburn: Kidō Keisatsu Patoreibā), also known as Patlabor (a portmanteau of “patrol” and “labor”), is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of manga artist Masami Yūki, director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, and character designer Akemi Takada. The popular franchise includes a manga, a TV series, two OVA series, three feature-length movies, two light novel series, and a short film compilation,…
Okama Report (Japanese: おカマ白書, Hepburn: Okama Hakusho, lit. “Gay Report”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideo Yamamoto. The series follows Shinya Okama, a straight college student who works at an okama bar (a cross-dressing gay bar). Okama Report was serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday from 1989 to 1991, and was adapted into a three-part original video animation (OVA) from 1991 to 1992. Synopsis[edit] While drunk at a party, college…
Natsuiro Kiseki (夏色キセキ, A Summer-Colored Miracle) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise and directed by Seiji Mizushima. The series aired on MBS between April and June 2012. A manga adaptation illustrated by Tatsuhiko was serialized in Square Enix‘s Young Gangan magazine between January 2012 and March 2013. Plot At a Shinto shrine in Shimoda, there is a large rock. It is said that if four close friends gather around the…
Magic Woman M, known in Japan as Magical Girl Meruru (Japanese: 魔法少女メルル, Hepburn: Mahō Shōjo Meruru), is a two episode hentai anime OVA series. It is based on a manga by Nekoshita Pong that was serialized in Monthly Fantazine. It was originally licensed by Central Park Media, who released the OVA on DVD under their Anime 18 label. It is currently licensed by Critical Mass. Story A newly trained young sorceress named Meruru…
Hana-Doll* (華Doll*) is a Japanese 2.5D mixed-media project created by Movic, which consists of various drama CDs, music, and stage plays. A manga series with art by Ikuhiro Nao titled Hana-Doll*: Flowering: Boys were still in a dream was serialized in Kodansha‘s shōnen manga magazine Shōnen Magazine Edge from November 2020 to October 2021 and was collected in a single tankōbon volume. An anime television series by A-Real titled Hana-Doll*: Reinterpretation of Flowering has been announced….
Gamera Rebirth (stylized as GAMERA -Rebirth-) is a Japanese original net animation (ONA) series directed and co-written by Hiroyuki Seshita. Produced by Kadokawa Corporation and animated by ENGI, it is a reboot of the Gamera franchise following Gamera the Brave (2006), and the first animated entry in the franchise. The series was released worldwide on Netflix on September 7, 2023. Synopsis During summer 1989, three elementary students witness Gamera in battle as monsters…
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life (妖怪アパートの幽雅な日常, Yōkai Apāto no Yūga na Nichijō) is a Japanese light novel series by Hinowa Kōzuki. Kōzuki first released the light novel in 2003, and concluded it in 2009 within 10 volumes (and a later side-story collection in 2013). An anime television series adaptation by Shin-Ei Animation aired from July to December 2017. Plot High school freshman Yūshi Inaba is…
Danchigai (だんちがい, lit. “Big Difference”) is a Japanese four-panel comedy manga series by Kazusa Yoneda. It was serialized in Ichijinsha‘s seinen manga magazine Manga 4-Koma Palette from June 2011 to September 2021. The series received an anime adaptation, which aired from July to September 2015. Plot The story revolves around Haruki Nakano and his four sisters: Mutsuki, Yayoi, Uzuki, and Satsuki. While they may seem monotonous aside from the…
Bakuman (バクマン。, stylized as BAKUMAN。) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for Death Note. It was serialized in Shueisha‘s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2008 to April 2012, with its 176 chapters collected into 20 tankōbon volumes. The story follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become manga artists, with…
801 T.T.S. Airbats, known in Japan as Aozora Shōjotai (青空少女隊, lit. “The Blue Sky Girls Squad”), is a manga by Shimizu Toshimitsu which was later adapted into a seven episode anime series, produced by Studio Fantasia and Victor Entertainment. The series was released in Japan on LaserDisc as a series of OVA episodes between 1994 and 1996, and was licensed for English language distribution by ADV Films. The title…