20th Century Boys (Japanese: 20世紀少年, Hepburn: Nijusseiki Shōnen) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan‘s seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1999 to 2006, with the 249 chapters published into 22 tankōbon volumes. A 16 chapter continuation, titled 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年, Nijūisseiki Shōnen), ran in the same magazine from 2006 to 2007 and was gathered into two tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of…
Zipang (Japanese: ジパング, Hepburn: Jipangu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi. It was serialized in Kodansha‘s seinen manga magazine Morning from 2000 to 2009, with its chapters collected in forty-three tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of the members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force who are transported back in time more than 60 years to 1942. A twenty-six episode anime television series by Studio Deen and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi was broadcast on TBS from…
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches (Japanese: 山田くんと７人の魔女, Hepburn: Yamada-kun to Nananin no Majo) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Miki Yoshikawa. It was serialized in Kodansha‘s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from February 2012 to February 2017, with its chapters collected in 28 tankōbon volumes. The series was published digitally in English by Crunchyroll starting in 2013 and was licensed in North America by Kodansha USA in 2015. An eight-episode television drama adaptation…
Wandering Son (Japanese: 放浪息子, Hepburn: Hōrō Musuko) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was originally serialized in Comic Beam from the December 2002 to August 2013 issue, and published in 15 tankōbon volumes by Enterbrain from July 2003 to August 2013. The series is licensed in English by Fantagraphics Books, which released the first volume in North America in July 2011. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced…
Vandread (Japanese: ヴァンドレッド, Hepburn: Vandoreddo) is a Japanese anime television series directed by Takeshi Mori and producted by Gonzo. The series is composed by two seasons consisting of 13 episodes each; Vandread, broadcast from October to December 2000, and Vandread: The Second Stage, broadcast from October 2001 to January 2002. The series was also adapted into a manga and light novel series. Plot Further information: List of Vandread characters The male-only planet…
Ultra Maniac (ウルトラマニアック, Urutora Maniakku) is a manga series written by Wataru Yoshizumi. The romantic comedy series features 8th grader Ayu Tateishi, a tennis club member, and her transfer student friend, Nina Sakura, who is actually a trainee witch from the magical kingdom. It premiered in Shueisha‘s Ribon manga magazine in February 2001 and ran until January 2004. It was also published in five collected volumes by Shueisha. Viz Media licensed…
Nanako SOS (ななこSOS, Nanako Esu-ou-esu) is a seinen manga series created by Hideo Azuma which ran in Popcorn and Just Comic (both published by Kobunsha) from April 1980 to July 1986. The series was adapted into 39-episode anime television series produced by Kokusai Eiga-sha which aired on the Fuji Television network from April 2, 1983 to December 24, 1983. Azuma created additional manga stories which ran in Azuma Magazine from July 2001 to July 2004….
Maestro (マエストロ, Maesutoro) is a Japanese music slice of life seinen manga series written and illustrated by Akira Sasō. It was published by Futabasha, with serialization from 2003 to 2007, first on the manga magazine Manga Action and later on the website Futabasha Web Magazine. It was compiled in three volumes published between 2004 and 2008. It was adapted into a live action drama film titled Maestro!, directed by Shōtarō Kobayashi and released on…
Laid-Back Camp (Japanese: ゆるキャン△, Hepburn: Yurukyan), also known in Japan as Yuru Camp, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Afro. Set in and around Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, the series chronicles the adventures of Rin Shima, Nadeshiko Kagamihara, and their friends as they travel to various campsites across the country. The manga was first serialized in Houbunsha‘s Manga Time Kirara Forward magazine from July…
The Kagerou Project (カゲロウプロジェクト, Kagerō Purojekuto, lit. “Heat Haze Project”), also known as “Kagerou Daze” (カゲロウデイズ, Kagerō Deizu, lit. “Heat Haze Daze”) or “Kagerou Days”, is a Japanese mixed-media project. It started as a Vocaloid song series created by Jin (Shizen no Teki-P) (じん(自然の敵P)). The story revolves around the Mekakushi Dan, a group of young people with unusual eye-related powers. The franchise became infamous…
Jingai-san no Yome (人外さんの嫁, lit. “Non-Human Creature’s Wife”) is a Japanese four-panel manga series written by Yu Aikawa and illustrated by Akiwo Yasaka, serialized online via Ichijinsha‘s Zero-Sum Online website since June 2016. It has been collected in twelve tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Saetta premiered from October 2 to December 18, 2018. Plot Tomari Hinowa is a normal high school boy,…
Fake (フェイク, Feiku) is a seven-volume BL manga by Sanami Matoh. The story focuses in a romance between Randy “Ryo” Maclean and Dee Laytner, two New York City detectives from the fictitious 27th precinct. An anime version of the fifth act (or chapter) from the second manga is also available, in the form of an OVA. Fake was first published as seven volumes by Biblos, but after the company went…
