Kakashi (Japanese: 案山子, lit. Scarecrow), is a 2001 horror film based on the manga of the same name. The film follows Kaoru Yoshikawa, whose search for her missing brother Tsuyoshi leads her to Kozukata, an isolated village that seems to harbor dark secrets. Plot The opening text narrates the tradition of “Kakashi”, where humans would burn animal and human hairs to…
Manga Bible (Japanese: みんなの聖書 マンガシリーズ = Minna no Seisho – Manga shiriizu, meaning “Everybody’s Bible – Manga Series”) is a six-volume manga series based on the Christian Bible created under the direction of the non-profit organization Next, a group formed by people from the manga industry. Though first published in English, the books are originally written in Japanese and each volume is illustrated…
MADARA is a Japanese manga series written by Eiji Ōtsuka and illustrated by Shou Tajima. Originally published from 1987 to 1994, it is set in a mythological era in Japan and tells the story of Madara, a goodhearted teenage boy who uses fantastic prosthetic limbs called “gimmicks” and a legendary sword to fight his own father, the evil overlord Miroku. The franchise has…
X, also known as X/1999, is a Japanese manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up of Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Kadokawa Shoten‘s Monthly Asuka shōjo manga magazine in May 1992 and ran there until it went on hiatus in March 2003; it has yet to be concluded. The story takes place at the end of days in the year 1999. The series…
Please Teacher! (Japanese: おねがい☆ティーチャー, Hepburn: Onegai Tīchā, Onegai ☆ Teacher) is an anime television series directed by Yasunori Ide, written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and produced by Bandai Visual. It was later adapted into a manga and light novel and centers on a group of friends and the odd things that happen to them after they get a new teacher. The Please Teacher! anime series premiered in Japan on the WOWOW satellite television network between…
Galaxy Express 999 (銀河鉄道999スリーナイン, Ginga Tetsudō Surī Nain) is a Japanese manga series. It is written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto, later adapted into a number of anime films and television series. It is set in a spacefaring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer their minds and emotions with perfect fidelity into mechanical bodies, thus achieving practical immortality. The…
Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (Japanese: 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい, Hepburn: Sanjūsai made Dōtei Da to Mahōtsukai ni Nareru rashii) is a Japanese boys’ love (BL) manga series by Yuu Toyota. A live-action television drama adaptation began airing on October 9, 2020, as part of TV Tokyo‘s MokuDra 25 programming block. Plot Having never had sex in his life, after Kiyoshi Adachi reaches his…
5 Centimeters per Second (Japanese: 秒速5センチメートル, Hepburn: Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru) is a 2007 Japanese romantic drama anime film by Makoto Shinkai. It theatrically premiered on 3 March 2007. The film consists of three segments: “Cherry Blossom“, “Cosmonaut“, and “5 Centimeters per Second“, each following a period in Takaki Tōno’s life and his relationships with the girls around him. The film was awarded Best Animated…
1+2＝Paradise (1+2=パラダイス, Ichi tasu Ni wa Paradaisu) is a Japanese manga series by Sumiko Kamimura. The story has been adapted into two original video animations (OVAs) released by Toei Video, a subsidiary of the Toei Company. Because of the sexual content the series was one of the manga placed on “Harmful manga” lists by local and national governmental agencies. The negative publicity resulted…
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (Japanese: 君の膵臓をたべたい, Hepburn: Kimi no Suizō wo Tabetai), also known as Let Me Eat Your Pancreas, is a novel by the Japanese writer Yoru Sumino. Initially serialized as a web novel in the user-generated site Shōsetsuka ni Narō in 2014, the book was published in print in 2015 by Futabasha. A manga adaptation ran from 2016 to 2017. A live-action film titled Let…
Dr. Slump (Japanese: Dr.スランプ, Hepburn: Dokutā Suranpu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha‘s anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984, with the chapters collected into 18 tankōbon volumes. The series follows the humorous adventures of the little girl robot Arale Norimaki, her creator Senbei Norimaki, and the other residents of the bizarre Penguin Village. The manga was adapted…
Futari Ecchi (Japanese: ふたりエッチ, Hepburn: Futari Etchi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Katsu Aki. It has been serialized in Young Animal since 1997, with the chapters later combined into tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha, of which to date there are eighty-five. The series follows a newlywed couple in their mid-twenties, both virgins when they married, and chronicles their sexual explorations. The manga combines erotic elements…
