Obatarian (Japanese: オバタリアン) is a yonkoma manga series by Katsuhiko Hotta which was published by Takeshobo in Manga Life from 1988 through 1998. An anime series was adapted from the manga in 1990 by Sunrise, which aired on TV Asahi. The title Obatarian (or Obattalion) is a Japanese buzzword from the late 1980s, created as a pun portmanteau of the Japanese word おば (oba, meaning “middle-aged woman”) and the Japanese title (Battalion/バタリアン) of…
Nagareboshi Lens (流れ星レンズ, Nagareboshi Renzu, “Shooting Star Lens”) is a Japanese slice of life romance shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Mayu Murata. It began serialization in Shueisha‘s Ribon manga magazine in 2011 and ended on July 3, 2014; a total of 10 volumes were published. An original video animation adaptation was released in 2012. Characters Risa is the main female protagonist who has no experience in love. Once when her best…
Maburaho (Japanese: まぶらほ) is a romantic school comedy light novel series written by Toshihiko Tsukiji, illustrated by Eiji Komatsu and serialized in Gekkan Dragon Magazine. The light novel was adapted into a manga illustrated by Miki Miyashita and later developed into a 24 episode anime series produced by J.C.Staff and broadcast by WOWOW in Japan. The series is about the story of Kazuki Shikimori, a second year student of the…
L’Etoile Solitaire (溶けた氷 -エトワール・ソリティア-, Toketa Kōri – Itowāru Soritia, “Thawed Ice: The Lone Star”) is a one-shot Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yuno Ogami. It is licensed in North America by Digital Manga Publishing, which released the manga through its imprint, Juné, on October 15, 2007. Reception Katherine Farmar, writing for Comics Village, found that although the story was formulaic, it was still…
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Japanese: 甲鉄城のカバネリ, Hepburn: Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri) is a Japanese anime television series by Wit Studio. It was broadcast for 12 episodes on Fuji TV‘s Noitamina programming block from April to June 2016. The series was streamed on Amazon Prime Instant Video service. Two compilation films premiered in Japanese theaters in December 2016 and January 2017. Crunchyroll and Funimation co-released the anime on Blu-ray and DVD in the…
Ka Shin Fu (花信風, Kashinfū, transl. “Spring Wind Signaling the Blooming of Flowers”) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Makoto Tateno. The manga is licensed in English by Digital Manga Publishing, which released it in October 2007, and in Germany by Egmont Manga in July 2010. Reception Katharine Farmar, writing for Comics Village, felt the unusual part about the story was the complex family relations and…
Jaja Uma Grooming Up! (じゃじゃ馬グルーミン★UP!, Jaja Uma Gurūmin★UP!, “Unruly Horse Grooming Improvement”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Yuki. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shōnen Sunday from October 1994 to September 2000, and compiled into 26 tankōbon volumes. Plot Jaja Uma Grooming Up! depicts the story of Shunpei Kuze, a high-school student unsure of the future until he takes a motorcycle ride…
I Am Here! (Japanese: ココにいるよ!, Hepburn: Koko ni Iru yo!) is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Ema Tōyama. The series was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine, Nakayoshi. The series ended with 5 volumes released by Kodansha under the imprint, Kodansha Comics. It was announced in the New York Anime Festival 2009 that the series will be licensed in English by Del Rey Manga and the release for the first volume will be November…
Hada Camera (Japanese: ハダカメラ, Hepburn: Hada Kamera, “Naked Camera”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wakō Honna. It was serialized on Shogakukan‘s online platform Sunday Webry from April 2017 to February 2019, with its chapters collected in nine tankōbon volumes. Publication Written and illustrated by Wakō Honna, Wakō Honna was serialized on Shogakukan‘s online platform Sunday Webry from April 5, 2017, to February 6, 2019. Shogakukan collected its chapters in nine tankōbon volumes,…
GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Japanese: GA 芸術科アートデザインクラス, Hepburn: GA Geijutsuka Āto Dezain Kurasu, Also written “GA Art Department Art Design Class”) is a Japanese seinen yonkoma manga series by Satoko Kiyuzuki. The series was serialized in Heiwa Shuppan‘s moe four-panel manga magazine Comic Gyutto! from its first issue on July 23, 2004 to its last issue (the third issue). Afterwards a one-shot manga appeared in the August 2005 issue of Houbunsha‘s…
Fafner in the Azure (Japanese: 蒼穹のファフナー, Hepburn: Sōkyū no Fafunā) is a Japanese mecha anime franchise created by Xebec in collaboration with Starchild Records. The story focuses on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an escalating war against giant aliens called Festum. The first series, subtitled Dead Aggressor, is directed by Nobuyoshi Habara and written by Yasuo Yamabe and Tow Ubukata with character designs from Hisashi…
Earthian (アーシアン, Āshian) is a yaoi manga by Yun Kouga. It is about angel watchers of earth which was made into a J.C.Staff-produced anime OVA. The angels’ roles are to assess the progress of humans giving them positive and negative scores based on their everyday actions. The angels, who have deemed that the Earthian are becoming far too destructive, decide that if the Earthian reach…
