801 T.T.S. Airbats, known in Japan as Aozora Shōjotai (青空少女隊, lit. “The Blue Sky Girls Squad”), is a manga by Shimizu Toshimitsu which was later adapted into a seven episode anime series, produced by Studio Fantasia and Victor Entertainment. The series was released in Japan on LaserDisc as a series of OVA episodes between 1994 and 1996, and was licensed for English language distribution by ADV Films. The title…
Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki (Japanese: 八十亀ちゃんかんさつにっき, lit. “Yatogame-chan Observation Diary”) is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Masaki Andō. It was serialized in Ichijinsha‘s Monthly Comic Rex magazine from May 2016 to September 2022. An anime television series adaptation by Saetta aired from April to June 2019, with a second season airing from January to March 2020. A third season aired from January to March 2021….
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…
Last Inning (ラストイニング, Rasutoiningu) is a baseball manga written by Ryu Kamio, supervised by Kiyosi Kato and illustrated by Yu Nakahara. Plot Saitama High School went to the first round of the Koshien 36 years ago. However, after that they did not manage to win any. Keisuke Hatogaya one of the members of the team 23 years after going to the Koshien punched the Umpire for making…
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…
Captivated, by You (Japanese: 夢中さ、きみに。, Hepburn: Muchū sa, Kimi ni) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yama Wayama. Originally written as a doujinshi (self-published manga) in February 2019, the manga was later acquired by the Comic Beam editorial department, who published the manga in one volume in August 2019. A television drama adaptation aired from January to February 2021. Synopsis Captivated, by You is an anthology…
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…
Yasuko to Kenji (ヤスコとケンジ, lit. “Yasuko and Kenji”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Aruko. Yasuko to Kenji was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Bessatsu Margaret from April 2005 to November 2006. In 2008, the series was adapted into a comedy drama which aired in Japan on Nippon Television. Plot The show focuses on a man named Kenji and his younger sister Yasuko, whose parents died in an…
Wata no Kunihoshi (綿の国星, “Cotton’s Country Star” or “Planet of Cotton Country”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yumiko Ōshima. It was serialized by Hakusensha in LaLa magazine from 1978 to 1987 and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. The story is about an abandoned kitten called Chibi-neko (drawn as a small girl with cat ears and a tail) who is adopted by a young man named Tokio…
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…