Hamtaro, known in Japan as Trotting Hamtaro (とっとこハム太郎, Tottoko Hamutarō), is a Japanese manga and storybook series created and illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai about a hamster. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan‘s “Second Grade” magazine in April 1997; more Hamtaro stories would later be added into the other grade-level magazines, as well as in Ciao. The series focuses on a hamster named Hamtaro, who has a variety of adventures…
30-sai no Hoken Taiiku (30歳の保健体育, Sanjussai no Hoken Taiiku, trans. Health and Physical Education for 30-Year-Olds) is a Japanese guidebook series written by Mitsuba and published by Ichijinsha. The series is aimed at men in their 30s who have not had any romantic or sexual relationships with women. It includes colourful characters and some laughs. The manga adaptation by Rikako…
Zombie Hunter (死霊狩り, Shirei Kari) is a dark and violent novel series published in the 1970s by Japanese writer, Kazumasa Hirai.It is about an ex-race car driver who hunts down and kills zombies. Plot The main character, Toshio Tamura, was once a grand prix champion who finds himself to be one of many people on a jungle island where he goes through a…
Vatican Miracle Examiner (Japanese: バチカン奇跡調査官, Hepburn: Bachikan Kiseki Chōsakan) is a Japanese light novel series written by Rin Fujiki and illustrated by THORES Shibamoto. The series began in 2007. A manga adaptation by Eiji Kaneda ran from 2012 to 2014, and a second one, illustrated by Anjue Hino, began serialization in 2016. An anime television series adaptation by J.C.Staff aired from July 7 to September 22, 2017. Plot…
Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~ (うみものがたり 〜あなたがいてくれたコト〜, lit. “Sea Story: That You Were There For Me”) is a Japanese anime series, directed by Yuu Kou and Junichi Sato and produced by Zexcs. It began airing on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting on June 24, 2009. An unaired episode was featured in the final DVD volume, released on March 26, 2010. The anime is based on a pachinko game manufactured…
Nanatsuiro Drops (ななついろ★ドロップス, Nanatsuiro★Doroppusu, lit. Seven-Colored Drops) is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by UNiSONSHIFT and released on April 21, 2006 for Windows. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. A light novel, written by Tamaki Ichikawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, was published by Enterbrain in June 2006. Two manga adaptations were published by MediaWorks and later ASCII Media Works. A 12-episode anime produced by Studio Barcelona aired between July and September…
Lamune (ラムネ, Ramune) is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Neko Neko Soft originally released on July 30, 2004, for the PC. It was followed by an all-ages version for the PlayStation 2, and was released on August 25, 2005. A twelve-episode anime series based on the visual novel, entitled Lamune: Garasu Bin ni Utsuru Umi (ラムネ 〜ガラスびんに映る海〜, lit. Lamune: Sea Reflected in the Glass Bottle), was…
Gakuen Polizi (Japanese: 学園ポリーチェ, Hepburn: Gakuen Porīche, “School Police”) is a Japanese romance yuri manga series written and illustrated by Milk Morinaga and serialized in Comic High! by Futabasha. It’s published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. Plot Police officer Sasami Aoba is assigned to enter an all girls High School as an undercover cop to monitor for any suspicious activity, but when she arrives there she discovers that there…
The Familiar of Zero (Japanese: ゼロの使い魔, Hepburn: Zero no Tsukaima) is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Noboru Yamaguchi, with illustrations by Eiji Usatsuka. Media Factory published 20 volumes between June 2004 and February 2011. The series was left unfinished due to the author’s death in 2013, but was later concluded in two volumes released in February 2016 and February 2017 with a different…
22/7 (Japanese: ナナブンノニジュウニ, Hepburn: Nanabun no Nijūni) is a Japanese anime series created as part of the multimedia project between Yasushi Akimoto, Aniplex, and Sony Music Records. The series features the idol girl group of the same name as their characters. A short series on the official YouTube channel of the group, titled The Diary of Our Days, was animated by CloverWorks and aired on March 28, 2018. A TV series is animated by A-1 Pictures and…
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina (Japanese: 魔女の旅々, Hepburn: Majo no Tabitabi, lit. “The Witch’s Journey”) is a Japanese light novel series written by Jōgi Shiraishi and illustrated by Azure. SB Creative have released twenty volumes since April 2016 under their GA Novel label. A manga adaptation with art by Itsuki Nanao has been serialized online since November 2018 via Square Enix‘s online manga magazine Manga UP!. It has been…
Uma Musume Pretty Derby (Japanese: ウマ娘 プリティーダービー, Hepburn: Uma Musume Puritī Dābī, lit. “Horse Girl Pretty Derby”) is a multimedia franchise created by Cygames. A mobile game for iOS and Android was scheduled to debut in late 2018 and then delayed to February 2021. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by P.A. Works aired from April to June 2018, followed by a second season by Studio Kai which aired from January to March…
