Dark Metro (Japanese: ダークメトロ, Hepburn: Dāku Metoro) is a horror manga written by Tokyo Calen and illustrated by Yoshiken. Release Tokyopop published two volumes of Dark Metro in North America from February 12, 2008, to August 12, 2008. It is also published in Russia by Comix-ART, and in Brazil by NewPOP Editora. Reception Writing for PopCultureShock, Katherine Dacey stated: “In less capable hands, this material…
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…
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…
Bastard!!: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (Japanese: BASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-, Hepburn: Basutādo!! Ankoku no Hakaishin, lit. “Bastard!! The Dark God of Destruction”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazushi Hagiwara. It began its serialization in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1988, and has continued irregularly in Ultra Jump since 2000, with its latest chapter released in 2010. Twenty-seven collected tankōbon volumes have been released as of 2012. The manga was formerly…
Devilman (Japanese: デビルマン, Hepburn: Debiruman) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The manga focuses on a high school student named Akira Fudo who absorbs the powers of the demon called “Amon” with help of his friend Ryo Asuka in order to battle creatures hidden in human society, thus calling himself the “Devilman” in the process. The series was originally ordered…
Gantz (stylized as GANTZ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha‘s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected in thirty-seven tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous “game” in which they…
YuYu Hakusho (Japanese: 幽☆遊☆白書, Hepburn: Yū Yū Hakusho) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The series tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck and killed by a car while attempting to save a child’s life. After a number of tests presented to him by Koenma, the son of the ruler of the afterlife Underworld, Yusuke is revived…
Parasyte (Japanese: 寄生獣, Hepburn: Kiseijū, lit. “Parasitic Beasts”) is a Japanese science fiction horror manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. It was published in Kodansha‘s Morning Open Zōkan and Monthly Afternoon magazine from 1988 to 1995. The manga was published in North America first by Tokyopop, then Del Rey, and finally Kodansha USA. The series follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school senior who is the victim of a failed attempt by…
Berserk (Japanese: ベルセルク, Hepburn: Beruseruku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world, the story centers on the characters of Guts, a lone mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the “Band of the Hawk”. Miura premiered a prototype of Berserk in 1988. The series began the following year in the Hakusensha‘s now-defunct magazine Monthly Animal House, which was…
Bleach (stylized as BLEACH) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. It follows the adventures of the hotheaded teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who inherits his parents’ destiny after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His new-found powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and…
Squid Game (Korean: 오징어 게임; RR: Ojing-eo Geim) is a South Korean survival drama television series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk for Netflix. Its cast includes Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung. The series revolves around a contest where 456 players, all of whom are in deep financial debt, risk their lives to play a series of deadly children’s games for the chance to win…
Mieruko-chan (見える子ちゃん, “The Girl Who Can See Them”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tomoki Izumi. It began serialization online via Kadokawa‘s ComicWalker website in November 2018, with six tankōbon volumes released so far. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Passione aired from October to December 2021. High school student Miko Yotsuya has the unfortunate ability…
