Umimachi Diary (Japanese: 海街diary, lit. “Seaside Town Diary”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s josei manga magazine Monthly Flowers from the August 2006 issue to the August 2018 issue (both sold on June 28 of their respective years). A film adaptation titled Our Little Sister, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and starring Suzu Hirose, was first announced in the June 2014 issue…
Saikyō! Toritsu Aoizaka Kōkō Yakyūbu (最強!都立あおい坂高校野球部, lit. “Strongest! Aoizaka Metropolitan High School Baseball Club”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Motoyuki Tanaka. It was serialized in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shōnen Sunday from January 2005 to April 2010, with its chapters collected in 26 tankōbon volumes. In 2008, the manga won the 32nd Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category. Story Six years ago following a crushing defeat, a…
Parallel (ぱられる) is a Japanese shōnen manga by Toshihiko Kobayashi. It tells the story of two high school students, Shinnosuke Nekota and Sakura Hoshino, who are forced to live together in the same house when their parents become unofficially engaged and leave the country for their work. The manga spans four volumes, comprising a total of 19 chapters as well…
Velveteen & Mandala (Japanese: べっちんとまんだら, Hepburn: Becchin to Mandara) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Jiro Matsumoto. Originally published as a Japanese-language series starting in 2007, this manga was later compiled into a Japanese-language Tankōbon, and subsequently was published in 2011 as an English-language paperback graphic novel. Plot Velveteen & Mandala takes place in a dystopian Tokyo that is in the midst of a war. The…
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…
Action Heroine Cheer Fruits (Japanese: アクションヒロイン チアフルーツ, Hepburn: Akushon Hiroin Chia Furūtsu) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Diomedéa and directed by Keizō Kusakawa. The series aired in Japan between July 7 and September 29, 2017, and is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. A manga adaptation by Azuse was serialized in Young Champion Retsu in 2017. Plot Due to the popularity of a certain city’s “action heroine”,…
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…
Tales of Yajikita College (やじきた学園道中記, Yajikita Gakuen Dōchūki, transl. “Yakita Academy Travel Journal”) is a manga series by Ryōko Shitō (市東亮子, Shitō Ryōko). The manga was published by Akita Shoten; 29 volumes (1982–1991, Bonita (ボニータ, Bonīta) magazine), 2003–2006, Mystery Bonita (ミステリーボニータ, Misutarī Bonīta) magazine, and compiled into 29 tankōbon volumes. Plot The stories follow the adventures of Shinokita Reiko (Kita) and Yajima Junko (Yaji) as they move from school to school fighting corruption, Yakuza, gangs,…
Kagihime Monogatari Eikyū Alice Rondo (鍵姫物語 永久アリス輪舞曲ロンド, lit. Key Princess Story: Eternal Alice Rondo), or simply Kagihime, is a Japanese manga series written by Kaishaku. The manga was serialised in Dengeki Daioh. A 2006 thirteen episode anime produced by Trinet Entertainment was adapted from the manga. Kagihime is one of many anime works influenced by Alice in Wonderland as the story focuses on the completion of a third Alice…
I My Me! Strawberry Eggs (あぃまぃみぃ! ストロベリー・エッグ, Ai Mai Mii! Sutoroberī Eggu), occasionally shortened to Strawberry Eggs, is a Japanese anime television series conceptualized by YOM. Produced by Pioneer LDC, Toshiba Digital Frontiers Inc., Pioneer Entertainment (USA) LP., TNK and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, the series is directed by Yūji Yamaguchi, with Yasuko Kobayashi handling series composition, Maki Fujii designing the characters and Masara Nishida composing the…
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…
Backflip!! (バクテン!!, “Bakuten!!”) is an original Japanese anime television series animated by Zexcs, directed by Seishirō Nagaya and Toshimasa Kuroyanagi and written by Toshizo Nemoto. The series aired from April to June 2021. A manga adaptation by Kei Sakuraba was serialized in Kodansha‘s Dessert manga magazine from January 22 to September 24, 2021. An anime film premiered on July 2, 2022. Story Shotaro Futaba loved sports, but…
