Ray is a science fiction manga by Akihito Yoshitomi that ran in Champion Red magazine from 2002 to 2006 and was compiled in seven volumes. An anime television series adaptation titled Ray the Animation was broadcast in Japan from April 6, 2006, through June 29, 2006. The anime series was produced by Tezuka Productions and animated by OLM. Plot The story takes place in the near future, and describes a…
Natsu no Kumo: Spinning Web (ナツノクモ Spinning Web, “Summer Spider: Spinning Web”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rokuro Shinofusa. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s Monthly Ikki from September 2003 to March 2007, with its chapters collected in eight tankōbon volumes. Publication Natsu no Kumo is written and illustrated by Rokuro Shinofusa. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s Monthly Ikki from September 25, 2003 to March…
Jōkyō Monogatari (上京ものがたり, “Going to Tokyo Story”) is a Japanese autobiographical manga written and illustrated by Rieko Saibara. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 2003 to 2004, with its chapters collected in a single tankōbon volume. A live-action film adaptation premiered in 2013. In 2005, the manga, along with Mainichi Kaasan, won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize‘s Short story Award. Cast Kii Kitano as Natsumi Takahara Fumino Kimura…
Hana Yori mo Hana no Gotoku (花よりも花の如く, ‘More Flower-like Than Flowers’) is a manga series written and illustrated by Minako Narita. Plot The story follows Norito Sakakibara, a young man who apprentices as a Noh performer with the aim of eventually becoming a Noh master. Reception Sales Volume 6 has sold 84,443 copies (as of November 17, 2008) Volume 7 has…
Danchi Tomoo (団地ともお, “Apartment Complex Tomoo”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tobira Oda. An anime adaptation was announced in January 2013 and ran between April 2013 and February 2015. Plot Danchi Tomoo stars elementary school student Tomoo Kinoshita who lives in the mammoth Edajima Apartment Complex in Building #29 with his mother Tetsuko and sister Kimiko, while his…
After School Dice Club (Japanese: 放課後さいころ倶楽部, Hepburn: Hōkago Saikoro Kurabu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirō Nakamichi. It focuses on a group of teenage girls and their efforts to set up a board game café. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday from March 2013 to June 2021, with its chapters collected in nineteen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Liden Films aired from October…
750 Rider (Japanese: 750ライダー, Hepburn: Nanahan Raidā) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Isami Ishii. It was published from 1975 to 1985 in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion, owned by Akita Shoten, with a total of 50 volumes. This manga was preceded by another work of the same author named 750 Rock, which was published between 1973 and 1974 in the magazine Weekly Shōnen…
Vermeil in Gold: The Failing Student and the Strongest Scourge Plunge Into the World of Magic is a Japanese manga series written by Kōta Amana [ja] and illustrated by Yōko Umezu about a young magician who accidentally makes a contract with a legendary and powerful female demon, eventually becoming her master and lover and the trials and challenges they face so…
The Venus Wars (Japanese: ヴイナス戦記, Hepburn: Vinasu Senki) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It was serialized in the Gakken magazine Nora Comics from 1986 to 1990. In 1989, The Venus Wars was adapted into an anime film directed by Yasuhiko, co-written by Yuichi Sasamoto and Yasuhiko, and produced by Bandai Visual, Gakken, and Shochiku. Manga The manga was originally published in Japan by Gakken from 1986 to 1990, and then…
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension – Myth of Hades (Japanese: 聖闘士星矢セイントセイヤ NEXT DIMENSION 冥王神話, Hepburn: Seinto Seiya Nekusuto Dimenshon Meiō Shinwa) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It is the canonical sequel to the manga series Saint Seiya by Kurumada, while also serving as a prequel to the events presented in it. The main plot is set in the 18th century during the previous “Holy War” between…
Rave Master, Rave, and alternatively, The Groove Adventure Rave in Japan, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The series follows Haru Glory, a teenager on a quest to find the five fragments of the sacred stone of light Rave (renamed from “Holy Bring”) in order to bring peace to the world by defeating the criminal group Demon…
Pastel (Japanese: ぱすてる, Hepburn: Pasuteru) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Toshihiko Kobayashi. It was first serialized in Kodansha‘s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from July 2002 to July 2003, then moved to Magazine Special in September 2003 and finished in January 2017. Its chapters were collected in 44 tankōbon volumes. It was published in North America by Del Rey Manga; only the first 14 volumes were released. Plot 16-year-old Mugi…
