Ah My Buddha, known in Japan as Amaenaide yo!! (あまえないでよっ!!, lit. “Don’t Act Spoiled!!”), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Toshinori Sogabe that was serialized in Comic Gum magazine from March 25, 2004 to February 24, 2007. An anime adaptation aired on TV Tokyo‘s anime satellite channel, AT-X between July and September 2005. A second “season” of the manga, named: Amaenaideyo!! MS! was serialized from July 25, 2007…
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…
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…
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…
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a Japanese manga series written by Ukyō Kodachi and Masashi Kishimoto, and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. It began monthly serialization with Kodachi as writer and Kishimoto as editorial supervisor in Shueisha‘s shōnen manga magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, in May 2016 and was transferred to Shueisha’s monthly magazine, V Jump, in July 2019. In November 2020 Kodachi stepped down, with Kishimoto taking over as…
Astro Boy, known in Japan by its original name Mighty Atom (Japanese: 鉄腕アトム, Hepburn: Tetsuwan-Atomu, lit. ’Steel-Armed Atom’), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha‘s Shōnen from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten. Dark Horse Comics published an English translation in 2002. The story follows Astro Boy, an android young boy with human emotions who is created by Umataro Tenma…
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…
