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…
Doraemon (Japanese: ドラえもん [doɾaemoɴ]) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 tankōbon volumes and published by Shogakukan from 1970 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a boy named Nobita Nobi. The manga spawned…
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by its parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series references the term “grand theft auto”, used in the…
Golgo 13 (Japanese: ゴルゴ13, Hepburn: Gorugo Sātīn) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan‘s seinen manga magazine Big Comic since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. Golgo 13 is the oldest manga still in publication, and its tankōbon edition was certified by Guinness World Records as the highest number of volumes for a single manga series. Saito said before his death in 2021…
Death Note (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a teen genius who discovers a mysterious notebook: the “Death Note”, which belonged to the Shinigami Ryuk, and grants the user the supernatural ability to kill anyone whose name is written in its pages. The series centers around Light’s subsequent…
Pokémon (an abbreviation for Pocket Monsters in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a company founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996, and is centered on fictional creatures called “Pokémon”. In Pokémon, humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train Pokémon to battle other Pokémon for sport. All media works within the franchise are set in…
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics’ most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned…
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The character made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39 (cover dated March 1963), and received his own title in Iron Man #1 (May 1968). Also in 1963, the character founded the Avengers alongside Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp and the Hulk. …
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has since been featured in movies, television shows, video games, and plays. Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his…
Superman is a fictional superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938). Superman has been adapted to a number of other media which includes radio serials, novels, movies, television shows and theatre. Superman in Superman: Secret Origin #6…
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe continuity, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman’s origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after…
Tokyo Ghoul (Japanese: 東京喰種トーキョーグール, Hepburn: Tōkyō Gūru) is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha‘s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014, and was collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes. A prequel, titled Tokyo Ghoul [Jack], ran online on Jump Live in 2013 and was collected in a single tankōbon volume. A sequel, titled Tokyo Ghoul:re, was serialized in Weekly Young Jump between October 2014 and…
