Yakitate!! Japan (焼きたて!! ジャぱん, “Freshly Baked!! Ja-pan”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Hashiguchi. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shōnen Sunday from December 2001 to January 2007, with its chapters collected in 26 tankōbon volumes. A sixty-nine episode anime television series adaptation by Sunrise was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2006. In North America, the manga was licensed in English by Viz Media in…
Waiting in the Summer (あの夏で待ってる, Ano Natsu de Matteru) is a 2012 Japanese anime television series animated by J.C.Staff, produced by Genco and Geneon, and directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. The screenplay was written by Yōsuke Kuroda with original character design by Taraku Uon, who both contributed in the creation of the Please! franchise (Please Teacher! and Please Twins!). The 12-episode series aired in Japan between January and March 2012 on TV Aichi and KBS. Sentai…
Val × Love (戦×恋ヴァルラヴ, Varu Ravu, “War × Love”) is a Japanese manga series by Ryousuke Asakura. It has been serialized in Square Enix‘s shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan since December 2015. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Hoods Entertainment aired from October to December 2019. Plot Ever since he was a child, Takuma Akutsu had a scary face. He…
Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi (Japanese: うちの会社の小さい先輩の話, “Story of a Small Senior in My Company”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Saisō. It has been serialized in Takeshobo‘s Storia Dash website since April 2020, with its chapters collected into five tankōbon volumes as of October 2022. An anime television series adaptation is set to premiere in 2023. Media Manga Written and…
Tactics (stylized as tactics) is a Japanese manga series written as a collaboration between Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama. It was serialized in Comic Blade Masamune. Kinoshita supplied the character “Kantarou”, and Higashiyama supplied the character “Haruka”. While the manga was previously licensed for released in English in paperback by both ADV Manga and Tokyopop, the manga was only available in English in digital format…
S.L.H Stray Love Hearts! (S・L・H ストレイ・ラブ・ハーツ!) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Aya Shouoto. It has been serialized in Sylph (magazine) since 2008, and has been collected in five tankōbon volumes by MediaWorks so far. Plot On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Kozue Hiyoki is visited in her dreams by a man who steals her heart- literally! Determined to find him and…
Rage of Bahamut (Japanese: 神撃のバハムート, Hepburn: Shingeki no Bahamūto) is a Japanese anime television series produced by MAPPA that is based on the Rage of Bahamut game. The series was directed by Keiichi Sato and written by Keiichi Hasegawa, featuring character designs by Naoyuki Onda and music by Yoshihiro Ike. The first season, titled Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (神撃のバハムート GENESIS, Shingeki no Bahamūto: Jeneshisu), consists of 12 episodes aired between October 6, 2014…
QQ Sweeper (QQ スイーパーキューキュースイーパー, Kyūkyū Suīpā) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kyousuke Motomi. After it ended in 2015, a sequel, titled Queen’s Quality (クイーンズ・クオリティ, Kuīnzu Kuoriti), began publication later the same year. Both series are published in North America by Viz Media. Plot Sixteen-year-old Fumi Nishioka is a homeless high school girl suffering from amnesia, often spending her nights in a secret…
Q.E.D. (Japanese: Q.E.D. 証明終了, Hepburn: Q.E.D. Shōmei Shūryō) is a manga series created by Motohiro Katou. Sou Touma is a university graduate who encounters a variety of investigative cases after returning to Japan from the US. He works with his friend, Kana Mizuhara, combining his deductive skills with Mizuhara’s social gifts. Q.E.D. has sold over 3 million copies in Japan and has been adapted as a live-action TV…
Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn (Japanese: 紅殻のパンドラ, Hepburn: Kōkaku no Pandora) is a Japanese manga based on a concept by Masamune Shirow and written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō. The manga began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten‘s Newtype Ace magazine from October 2012, later moving to the Niconico Ace web publication, and is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime adaptation has been produced by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ. It was first released…
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…