Oishinbo (Japanese: 美味しんぼ, lit. “The Gourmet”) is a long-running Japanese cooking manga series written by Tetsu Kariya [ja] and drawn by Akira Hanasaki [ja]. The manga’s title is a portmanteau of the Japanese word for delicious, oishii, and the word for someone who loves to eat, kuishinbo. The series depicts the adventures of culinary journalist Shirō Yamaoka and his partner (and later wife), Yūko Kurita. It was published by Shogakukan between 1983…
Umineko When They Cry (Japanese: うみねこのなく頃に, Hepburn: Umineko no Naku Koro ni, lit. “When the Seagulls Cry”) is a Japanese dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. Its first episode debuted at Comiket 72 for Windows in August 2007. The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two days, and the mysterious murders that befall them. Readers are challenged to discern…
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story (Japanese: マギアレコード 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ外伝, Hepburn: Magia Rekōdo: Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika Gaiden) is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by f4samurai for Android and iOS, which was released by Aniplex in Japan on August 22, 2017. A North American version was available from June 2019 to October 2020. The game is a spin-off of the 2011 anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and…
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (マギ, Magi) is a Japanese fantasy adventure manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Ohtaka. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from June 2009 to October 2017, with its chapters collected in 37 tankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media. Taking place in a fantasy world that borrows elements from One Thousand and One Nights,…
Hamtaro, known in Japan as Trotting Hamtaro (とっとこハム太郎, Tottoko Hamutarō), is a Japanese manga and storybook series created and illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai about a hamster. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan‘s “Second Grade” magazine in April 1997; more Hamtaro stories would later be added into the other grade-level magazines, as well as in Ciao. The series focuses on a hamster named Hamtaro, who has a variety of adventures…
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!, often shortened to Manabi Straight!, is a Japanese multimedia project co-developed by the animation studio Ufotable and MediaWorks. The project revolves around a group of high school girls in the year 2035 when the birth rate has dropped dramatically. It launched in August 2004 in MediaWorks’ Dengeki AniMaga magazine, and went on to produce a manga adaptation serialized in MediaWorks’ Dengeki…
Zoids Wild (ZOIDS ゾイド ワイルド, Zoido Wairudo) is an anime series based on the Zoids model kits produced by Takara Tomy. The 5th Zoids anime, is part of a cross-media relaunch of the franchise encompassing a new toy line, manga series, and video game for the Nintendo Switch, predominantly aimed at boys aged 10–12. Streamed from 19 May 2014 to 28 July 2014, this was the final series produced by Allspark Animation before…
Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito (ヤミと帽子と本の旅人, translated as Yami, the Hat, and the Travelers of the Books), also known as Yamibō/Yamibou for short, is a Japanese adult visual novel published in December 2002 by Root. A 13-episode anime series produced by Studio Deen aired between October and December 2003. Although the characters and their relationships remain basically the same in the game and anime, the…
Wangan Midnight (Japanese: 湾岸ミッドナイト, Hepburn: Wangan Middonaito) is a Japanese racing manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki. It was first serialized in Shogakukan‘s Big Comic Spirits in 1990, but was later serialized in Kodansha‘s Weekly Young Magazine from 1992 to 2008. The manga was compiled into 42 volumes published by Kodansha. A second manga series titled Wangan Midnight: C1 Runner was published from 2008 to 2012. A third manga…
Nanatsuiro Drops (ななついろ★ドロップス, Nanatsuiro★Doroppusu, lit. Seven-Colored Drops) is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by UNiSONSHIFT and released on April 21, 2006 for Windows. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. A light novel, written by Tamaki Ichikawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, was published by Enterbrain in June 2006. Two manga adaptations were published by MediaWorks and later ASCII Media Works. A 12-episode anime produced by Studio Barcelona aired between July and September…
Lamune (ラムネ, Ramune) is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Neko Neko Soft originally released on July 30, 2004, for the PC. It was followed by an all-ages version for the PlayStation 2, and was released on August 25, 2005. A twelve-episode anime series based on the visual novel, entitled Lamune: Garasu Bin ni Utsuru Umi (ラムネ 〜ガラスびんに映る海〜, lit. Lamune: Sea Reflected in the Glass Bottle), was…
Uma Musume Pretty Derby (Japanese: ウマ娘 プリティーダービー, Hepburn: Uma Musume Puritī Dābī, lit. “Horse Girl Pretty Derby”) is a multimedia franchise created by Cygames. A mobile game for iOS and Android was scheduled to debut in late 2018 and then delayed to February 2021. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by P.A. Works aired from April to June 2018, followed by a second season by Studio Kai which aired from January to March…
