MangaHelpers Weekly Featured Manga Archive

[Kaiten]

Every week there will be a new recommended series. Check the home page of the website every week beneath 'latest translation' for a link to the series RTS page, or come straight here. For anyone who doesn't check the homepage, a temporary forum announcement will be made in the manga/anime forum when the series is updated.

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Flat:
Featured Manga: Week of January 20, 2011 - January 27, 2011



Heisuke is a young man who was left in charge of taking care of his little cousin Aki for a day. Being an only child who usually stays at home alone, Aki is quiet, reserved, and will go out of his way not to make trouble for others. As they spend more time together, Aki begins to grow very attached to Heisuke, especially since Heisuke's hobby is to make sweets and desserts. The quiet Aki eventually opens up to Heisuke, and Heisuke in return teaches Aki that sometimes it's all right to be selfish and say what you really want to do. ~ from Bliss Scanlations

recommended by c_k

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-Hitogatana-
Featured Manga: Week of January 27 - February 3, 2011

Crimes committed using manned combat-androids dubbed "Katana" run rampant. In an effort to maintain order, the government has organized the AKCD - "Anti Katana Crime Division." Togusa of the 8th squad of the AKCD, while holding existential doubts as a Human-Katana hybrid, continually casts himself into battle... [From Maigo Scans]

Already read Hitogatana? Looking for something else? You might also like:

1. Gamaran: Out in the midst of the mountain is the dojo of the "Ogame Ryuu" (Giant Tortoise Style). There lives Kurogane Gama, the son of the legendary swordsman, Kurogane Jinsuke, who is believed to be able to kill 1000 martial artists in Unabara. There, one of the son of Washitzu Naosata, Washitzu Naoyoshi, comes in search of the legendary swordsman, only to find that he had gone missing several years ago. After seeing the battle style of Gama, he instead chooses to ask Gama to come with him. Wanting to become stronger, Gama agrees to his offer, and that marks the beginning of Gama's battle to become the strongest of all . . .
2. Kaitaishinsho ZERO: A Byouma is a medical weapon created by ancient sorcerers to kill the infected or those around the infected and make it look like an illness. Even centuries after the sorcerers have died, these weapons still wander the world, infecting and killing people. Narutaki Soutaro and Izumo Momo are Shadow Doctors, trained to combat these Byouma through unorthodox means. Using magically created anti-Byouma medical equipment, they perform “operations” on the medical weapons to separate them from their hosts and destroy them. Will their special weapons and brilliant teamwork be enough to get rid of all the Byouma in the world? [vyc]
3. Chrno Crusade: America in the Roaring 20s. On the surface, it's a positive, peaceful time after the violence of the Great War. But lurking in the shadows is a dark element ready to snatch that peace away. Sister Rosette Christopher, an exorcist working as a part of the Magdala Order, has a duty to fight the demons which appear and cause destruction. But along with her companion Chrono, she usually ends up causing more destruction than the demons themselves! On one particular mission, they meet a young girl with a beautiful voice named Azmaria, who is being targeted by her own stepfather. As Rosette and Chrno work to save her, more is revealed about the relationship between them. There is more to these two than meets the eye.

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Ultra Heaven
Featured Manga: Week of February 3-10, 2011

I rarely recommend manga with a release schedule as slow as Ultra Heaven. Apparently it can be as long as two years between volumes. But Ultra Heaven is one of the most unique manga I have ever read, as close as a comic can come to post-modern literature. Like the Naked Lunch, Ultra Heaven drops you into a world where drugs, consumerism, religion, self help, and mysticism break the line between fantasy, dream, and reality. It's a brilliant, messy, trip of a comic and one of my all time favorites. Well worth the wait for more to come.

The main character is Kabu, a small-time peddler and heavy addict. Used to any kind of hallucinogenic trip, he is able to feel the happiness through the ecstasy of the drug, while on the same time hypocritically hating who gave birth to that society which has forced him to the live this way.
After an overdose caused by mixing two incompatible drugs, he spends his days looking for stimulants until the encounter with an enigmatic man who offers him a new kind of illegal substance...Ultra Heaven
From that moment on his incredible journey begins - where dream and reality are fused in an undivided world - causing him both hysterical joy and unbearable pain.

But what is Ultra Heaven and who is behind its creation? And who is the guru promoting the 'medication' as a powerful way to influence the whole universe surrounding us by exploiting the quantum theory?

With the help of a special amplifier helmet, Kabu starts a trip deep into the his consciousness, diving into a nightmare he could never have imagined...

If you liked Ultra Heaven you Might also like:

1. Heaven's Door: A one shot collection by Koike Keiichi, mangaka of Ultra Heaven.
2. Homunculus: Trepanation is the procedure of drilling a hole in the skull. It is said to increase the blood circulation and improve pressure inside the skull. It is also said to bring out a person's sixth sense, the ability to use ESP, see ghosts, move objects with one's mind. This is speculative fiction based on the concept of trepanation.
3. Nijigahara Holograph: Suzuki is a troubled boy. He's lived with uncaring foster parents for most of his life, alienated from the other kids at his school, owner of a cynical, unhappy mentality. Komatsuzaki is a violent, unpredictable bully whose head trauma causes him to act in mysterious, inexplicable ways. Arakawa is a no-nonsense, normal girl who pines after Komatsuzaki but can never have him. A teacher with just one working eye. A mother who committed suicide. A daughter in an endless coma. Attempted rapes, murders, extortion, sexual deviance, and a freakish explosion in the butterfly population. All of these elements are whirled together in a story spanning 10 years, a tale of blackness, pain, and apocalypse. And maybe just a bit of hope and redemption.
4. Mukashi no Hanashi: A collection of dark, short stories. Individual summaries included in the link.

[igotthegoods]

Miyori no Mori
Featured Manga: Week of February 10-17

A young girl escapes to the forest where she encounters the various spirits of the forest in a journey of the heart.

Don't let the young protagonist and shoujo demographic fool you, this is a rich and beautiful story that has a much more mature feel than I was expecting. Fans of fantasy manga will love this story.

If you liked Miyori no Mori, you might also like:

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: Humanity, in its hubris, has precipitated a devastating environmental disaster. Flourishing industrial civilizations have been swallowed up by the Sea of Corruption, an enormous forest of fungi releases a miasma of poisonous spores into the air. Nausicaa, a compassionate young princess, and her allies battle to heal a wounded world and its inhabitants...
2. Coo's World: Seventh grader Hayashi Renei is troubled by a strange dream: Her dead brother-- killed in an automobile accident--comes back to life as Coo. The dream comes again the following night and then every night thereafter. Coo's world is a cruel one--crueler than the real world, even--with its own share of pain, suffering, and sadness. Renei is searching for her house with her brother and others whom she meets in Coo's world so that she can return to reality and the land of the living...
   
3. Witches: A wildly imaginitive trek into the deepest realms of human beliefs and the mysteries of the universe. Daisuke Igarashi's amazing pen can recreate anything he can imagine on paper, resulting in beautifully chaotic, maddeningly detailed scrawls of pure wonder. A true celebration of the human imagination. When deep emotions come to the head, the witch that dwells in the heart awakens - the gorgeous and literary illusory tales begin.
4. Natsume Yuujinchou: Natsume's just an ordinary kid, except he can see spirits, just like his grandma Reiko could. Reiko, though, used to bully the spirits, and bound them to her will in the "Book of Friends". Now that Natsume has inherited this book, a never-ending stream of spirits is coming after him. With the help of a spirit "cat" (who really just wants Natsume to die so he can have the book), Natsume spends his days dissolving the contracts that bind the spirits and trying not to get killed.

[Kaiten]

Tomehane!
Featured Manga: Week of February 17-24

You really don't need to care about Japanese calligraphy to love Tomehane. Tomehane is a light, funny slice of life manga full of memorable characters and sharp writing. Fans of school life/slice of life will love it. It's turning into one of my favorite series.

Tales of a high school calligraphy club.

A story about a high school calligraphy club on the verge of breaking up that enters in a major competition while overcoming problems. Yuki, a promising female judoist, and Yukari, a quiet Canadian-raised boy who just returned to Japan, end up joining the club for the sake of maintaining the membership required to keep the club. Together with the old club members with unique characters, they gradually discover the fun of calligraphy and work together to win in the competition. -- NHK

If You Like Tomehane You Might Also Like:

1. Kuragehime: Kurashita Tsukimi is an 18 year old 'kurage otaku' (jelly fish fanatic). She lives in Tokyo in an all-woman apartment full of various types of otaku. They fear and despise beautiful, fashionable people while existing happily in their no-man, no make-up world.
   That all changes when a 'Stylish' saves the life of a jelly fish and intrudes upon Tsukimi's isolated existence. Things are made even more complicated when it turns out that the beautiful 'Stylish' is a man in drag.
2. Genshiken: College freshman and ACG lover Kanji Sasahara settled down his extracurricular activity in Genshiken (The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture) in order to become a true and thorough otaku. Meanwhile, Saki Kasukabe, the girlfriend of another freshman Genshiken member (also a bishounen) Makoto Kohsaka, was dragged into Genshiken's otaku-ish activities reluctantly, yet her resentful attitude towards otakus is changing without her noticing.
3. Lovely Complex: Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Otani, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo.
4. Sket Dance: The hilarious misadventures of the "Sket Dan"; a couple of high-schoolers who help out people as part of their club activity. Himeko, the hot-headed ex-delinquent with a soft spot for cute things and a taste for strange food. Switch, the brainy otaku who only talks via a computerized speech-application. And Bossun, the atypical leader of this looney bunch, with the amazing power to... concentrate very hard!

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Dogs: Bullets and Carnage
Featured Manga: Week of February 24 - March 3, 2011



Want hard edged fantasy free action manga? You'll love Dogs. A straight ahead, no frills action series with a dystopian sci-fi back drop, Dogs is full of memorable characters and innovative art. A good read for anyone looking for a fast pace and lots of action.

It is sometime in the future, where a certain European city extends far underground, even secret, dark levels that have the key to the past. Ex-assassin Mihai has returned. Sword-wielding Naota, Haine a mysterious product of genetic engineering and his sometime partner Badou, not to mention the scary but cute twins Luki and Noki, hang around plying their dangerous, and often deadly trades.

Start with the one volume prologue Dogs: Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark before reading Bullets and Carnage.

If you liked Dogs, you might also like:

1. Black Lagoon: Lock n' load with the baddest soldiers of fortune ever to hit the high seas of Southeast Asia! Aboard their World War II era torpedo boat, the Black Lagoon, Dutch the Boss, Benny the Mechanic, Revy Two Hand, and Rock, the salaryman from Japan, deliver anything, anywhere. In the dangerous underworld of the Russian Mafia, Chinese Triads, Colombian drug cartels, crazed assassins, and ruthless mercenaries, it's hard to know whom to trust. But if you've got a delivery to make, and you don't mind a little property damage along the way, you can count on the crew of the Black Lagoon.
2. Jormungand: This manga revolves around an underground weapon seller and her accomplices. The story starts when they add a new member to her team, a quite young and strange boy. He hates weapons. An intense action-packed series with bullets, knives, words, and blood flying everywhere!
3. Until Death Do Us Part: The future is a great unknown. Throughout history, those who have been graced with the power to read it have been sought by many. In this day and age, the term "prophet" is outdated. "Precog," as in precognition, is the modern term.
   
   Yet when the powers of precognition is graced upon a young girl named Tohyama Haruka, she is sought after by a powerful organization. Utilizing her powers, Haruka makes contact with Hijikata Mamoru, a blind swordsman. When cornered by her captors, Haruka proposes an outrageous condition to Mamoru. Haruka wants Mamoru to protect her until death do they part.

[Kaiten]

Ao Haru Ride
Featured Manga: Week of May 5-May 12



Looking for a good school life/romance manga? Give Ao Haru Ride a try. It's by the mangaka of Strobe Edge but has a more grounded, less fluffy feel.

Yoshioka Futaba has a few reasons why she wants to "reset" her image and life as a new high-school student. Because she's cute, she was ostracized by her female friends in junior high, and because of a misunderstanding, she couldn't get her feeling across to the one boy she has always liked, Tanaka-kun.

Now in high school, she is determined to be as unladylike as possible so that her friends won't be jealous of her. While living her life this way contentedly, she meets Tanaka-kun again, but he now goes under the name of Mabuchi Kou. He tells her that he felt the same way as she did when they were younger, but now things can never be the same again. Will Futaba be able to continue her love that never even started from three years ago? ~From Mangaupdates

If you liked Ao Haru Ride, you might also like:

1. Strobe Edge: Having no experience in romance, the vibrant Ninako curiously explores the meaning of what "love" really is, and is surprised to feel a colorful range of emotions as she grows closer to the school heartthrob, the quiet yet gentle Ren, who also happens to be involved in a longtime relationship. With every intention of keeping her head held high, Ninako prepares to face the mental pain of this one-sided love that she had allowed to take root, facing a series of trials that would either contribute to her growth as a headstrong woman, or break her as it did with other girls. By the same mangaka as Ao Haru Ride
2. Kimi ni Todoke: Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine... for a horror movie. With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, she's often mistaken for the haunting movie character Sadako. But behind her scary facade is a very misunderstood teenager. Too shy to fit in, all she wants to do is make some friends. But when a popular boy in class befriends her, she's sure to make more than just that--she's about to make some enemies too! An all time manga classic.
3. Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu: Takuma and Mayu's story began when they were only 8 years old. During his childhood, Takuma was constantly hospitalised due to his heart condition. He soon became friends with Mayu, the daughter of the doctor in charge of his case. Day by day they grew closer and closer. However, the summer when Takuma was 8, he made a promise to Mayu that he couldn't keep... Their story unfolds as they grow older and their bond gets stronger...
4. High School Debut: When Haruna Nagashima was in junior high her life consisted of playing softball and reading comics. But now that she's going to high school, Haruna decides to put all of her energy towards getting a boyfriend and having the high school romance of a lifetime. To help in her quest, she enlists cute upperclassman Yoh Komiyama to coach her as she eschews her jock tendencies and turns herself into the kind of girl who can catch a guy. Yoh agrees, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!
5. Lovely Complex: Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Otani, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo. LoveCom is my favorite shoujo ever.

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Noramimi
Featured Manga: Week of May 12-18



Noramimi is a witty, wonderful, funny paean to childhood, memories, growing up, moving on, but never forgetting the what you cherished. One of my favorite manga ever, Noramimi is a near perfect comedy manga.

In the Noramimi universe, most families own a 'mascot'. These strange and amusing creatures live at home and act as companions for younger children.

Noramimi is one such mascot. Unfortunately for him, he is an ogre type and thus not popular with
children, who prefer 'cuter' alternatives. Unwillingly, he decides to 'home stay' at "Hello Kids" - an agency that organizes matters between mascots and humans.

But, like all mascots, his heartfelt wish is to one day be adopted by a family...

If you liked Noramimi you may also like:

1. Azumanga Daioh: It's not manga, it's Azumanga! − smart, fun, and totally addictive. Created by the iconoclastic Kiyohiko Azuma, Azumanga Daioh is strongly character driven, taking the reader through the daily tribulations of Miss Kurosawa, Miss Yukari, the wild Tomo, hair-triggered Yomi, ditzy Osaka, brash Kagura, cute Chiyo-chan, and athletic (but girly) Sakaki.
2. Hanaotoko: Shigeo is a high strung elementary school student living with his mother. His only concern is getting ahead in life by doing well in school. He despises his father Hanao (who is separated from them), who's an idealistic free spirit and a kid at heart, infatuated with the sport of baseball. Shigeo's mother forces Shigeo to take time to visit his father, and so begins Shigeo's lessons that there's more to life than excelling academically (courtesy of his very childish father).
3. Minami-ke: Minami-ke is a manga following three sisters, Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki in their lives at home and school. It's a funny manga that depicts how these characters interact with each other and their classmates. It's a manga about ordinary girls and their ordinary adventures told in an extraordinary manner.
4. Pani Poni: A new teacher is assigned to Momotsuki Academy. Her name is Rebecca Miyamoto, or Becky. She is short, but she is pretty smart. This is a school comedy performed by Becky and strange students... and animals!?
5. Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei: This series that’s currently running in Shounen magazine is a dark comedy about a depressed teacher whose attempts to commit suicide are constantly foiled and his 32 troubled students.

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Witches
Featured Manga: Week of May 19-25



Igarashi Daisuke's rough, jagged, bold, detailed art style is the perfect compliment to his folk tales of natures beauty, kindness, mystery, malice, and ability to destroy. Scanlations of Children of the Sea stalled at volume two, though all four collected volumes are available for sale in the United States. Witches, his mediation on religion and mysticism, remains the only one of his manga fully translated online.

A wildly imaginitive trek into the deepest realms of human beliefs and the mysteries of the universe. Daisuke Igarashi's amazing pen can recreate anything he can imagine on paper, resulting in beautifully chaotic, maddeningly detailed scrawls of pure wonder. A true celebration of the human imagination.

When deep emotions come to the head, the witch that dwells in the heart awakens - the gorgeous and literary illusory tales begin.

If You Liked Witches You Might Also Like:

• Mushishi: They exist in the most unexpected places -- be it within your eyes and ears, under the floor and roof of your house, or the trees and flowers in your garden. They are everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time. Are they alive or not? Perhaps it is more apt to say they are beings who transcend the concept of life and death itself...
  
  They are mushi.
• Please Save My Earth: Are the woes of the present meant to be endured for the promise of a better future or to atone for past wrongs? In a captivating epic of love, fate, and faith, seven young people must struggle with this spiritual puzzle as their alien past lives threaten the future.
• Natsume Yuujinchou: Natsume's just an ordinary kid, except he can see spirits, just like his grandma Reiko could. Reiko, though, used to bully the spirits, and bound them to her will in the "Book of Friends". Now that Natsume has inherited this book, a never-ending stream of spirits is coming after him. With the help of a spirit "cat" (who really just wants Natsume to die so he can have the book), Natsume spends his days dissolving the contracts that bind the spirits and trying not to get killed.
• Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: This is the story of Alpha Hasseno, an Alpha 7 M2 series robot. Left by her owner, she appears and acts fully human while running a small coffee shop named Cafe Alpha. It is a light-hearted story about the people Alpha comes into contact with behind the backdrop of a futuristic country-side in Japan. As we meet Alpha, she makes a shopping trip to Yokohama.

[igotthegoods]

Piano no Mori
Featured Manga: Week of May 26 - June 1

A tranquil tale about two boys from very different upbringings. On one hand you have Kai, born as the son of a prostitute, who's been playing the abandoned piano in the forest near his home ever since he was young. And on the other you have Syuhei, practically breast-fed by the piano as the son of a family of prestigious pianists. Yet it is their common bond with the piano that eventually intertwines their paths in life.

Piano no Mori won a Grand Prize from 2008 [12th] Japan Media Arts Festival.

If you liked Piano no Mori, you might also like:

1. Nodame Cantibile: The son of a famous pianist, music student Shinichi Chiaki dreams of studying abroad and becoming a conductor like his mentor. Unfortunately, his fear of flying grounds his lofty plans! As he watches other classmates achieve what he has always wanted, Shinichi wonders if he should quit music altogether.
   Then one day he meets fellow student Megumi Noda, also known as Nodame. This oddball girl cannot cook, clean, or even read a music score, but she can play the piano in incomparable Cantabile style. And she teaches Chiaki something that he has forgotten: to enjoy his music, no matter where he is.
2. Chihayafuru: All her life, Chihaya's dream was to see her model sister become Japan's best... That is, until a quiet, unassuming transfer student named Arata tells her otherwise. A dream, he explains to her, is something she needs to work at herself.
   
   Arata plays a competitive version of a traditional Japanese card game--known as Hyakunin Isshu--in a way Chihaya has never seen before. After taking Arata's place in a game, Chihaya discovers she has a passion for it. Now Chihaya wants to become number one in the world, the Queen of Karuta.
   
   Chihayafuru won the 2nd Manga Taisho Award. Winner of the 35th annual Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shoujo.
3. Mushishi: They exist in the most unexpected places -- be it within your eyes and ears, under the floor and roof of your house, or the trees and flowers in your garden. They are everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time. Are they alive or not? Perhaps it is more apt to say they are beings who transcend the concept of life and death itself...
   
   They are mushi.
   
   Some wreak havoc in the lives of humans; while others bring them deliverance from suffering. Mushi are neither good, nor evil; for just like any other creature, they are merely striving to survive in this harsh, competitive world.
   
   Ginko - a lone wanderer with a reclusive personality, offers help and guidance to those plagued by mushi. This is the tale of his travels and exploits in a wondrous world populated by these mysterious entities.
   
   Mushishi won an Excellence Prize at the 2003 Japanese Media Arts Festival and the 2006 Kodansha Manga Award.

[Kaiten]

Reimei no Arcana
Featured Manga: June 2-June 9



Looking for shoujo but not interested in a high school setting? Try Reimei no Arcana! A sweeping historical fantasy featuring romance, drama, politics and intrigue, Reimei is perfect for shoujo fans looking for something a little new and different. Not a shoujo fan? Reimei no Arcana is a great place to start!

"On that day, I became the enemy's possesion," Nakaba thought as she stood there, knowing her destiny was to be married for convenience to keep the peace between her country Senan and Prince Caesar's country, Belquat; two neighbor countries on an island.

Between the two countries, there has been a constant war for 200 years and Nakaba has become a sacrificial goat for her country despite the discrimination of her red hair and of the sub-person (half-human, half-animal) Loki, who is her only friend and attendant at Caesar's estranged palace.

But what will Nakaba do when she foresees an event pertaining to Prince Caesar's demise? Will she save him? Or let him die in return to all the hate directed towards her by the people of Belquat?

If You Liked Reimei no Arcana You Might Also Like:

• Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen: The long-lasting war between the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms is unbearable. So the northern Prince Johane and the southern Princess Euda decide to tell everyone they are in love, because their marriage can stop the war. But the truth is they don’t get along at all!
• Otomegatari: Set along the Silk Road that connected Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe in the 19th century. The story of Amira, a woman skilled in archery and horsemanship, sent to marry Karluk, a boy from another village who is 8 years younger than her. But all is not well, as her village decides to take her back...
• Akagami no Shirayukihime: Shirayuki was a young girl born with unique apple-red hair. She meets a famous but foolish Prince Raji, who falls in love with her at first sight and orders her to become his concubine. With nowhere else to go, Shirayuki cuts her hair and escapes to a neighboring country. While traversing through the forests, she meets a young boy, Zen, who helps her after she boldly cures his wounds but then gets poisoned by an apple given to Shirayuki. Meanwhile, Prince Raji sends out henchmen to search for her. What will happen to Shirayuki? What is Zen’s true character? A refreshing fantasy story between an optimistic heroine and a prince who constantly stays on her watch.
• Saiunkoku Monogatari: Shurei Hong, destitute but of noble birth, has always dreamed of working as a civil servant in the imperial court of Saiunkoku, but women are barred from holding office. The emperor Ryuki, however, refuses to take command, leaving everything to his advisors. Shurei is asked to become a consort to the emperor to persuade the ne’er-do-well ruler to govern.
  
  Shurei enters the palace as Ryuki’s consort, but he has yet to seek her out. It is rumored that men, not women, share the emperor’s bedchamber. Shurei must think of a way to stop the emperor from shirking his responsibilities, but she has to find him first!

---------- Post added June 10, 2011 at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was June 02, 2011 at 01:53 PM ----------

Magic Peddler Roma
Featured Manga: June 10-June 17



Darker than it would appear, Magic Peddler Roma peers into the selfish, greedy id of adolescence. With each chapter, character after character is overcome by their unchecked desired. Roma looks on, part antagonist, part judge. Imagine a sinister Kobato, that is Magic Peddler Roma.

Roma is a mysterious girl that is on a mission to collect “human greed” through the use of various magical objects that have unique powers. When humans use these magical items to satisfy their own personal emotions, such as love, their greed level increases and Roma is able to steal their excess greed.

The people that use Roma’s objects seem to always let their greed destroy themselves, putting themselves in a worse situation than before.

If You Liked Magic Peddler Roma You Might Also Like:

• xxxholic: Watanuki Kimihiro is haunted by visions of ghosts and spirits. Seemingly by chance, he encounters a mysterious witch named Yûko, who claims she can help. In desperation, he accepts, but realizes that he's just been tricked into working for Yûko in order to pay off the cost of her services. Soon he's employed in her little shop- a job which turns out to be nothing like his previous work experience!
• Mirai Nikki: High school 2nd year, Amano Yukiteru, is a boy who has problem making friends. He thinks of himself as a bystander and will always write down everything he sees in a cell phone diary.
  
  Tormented by solitude, Yukiteru began to imagine things like a friend called Deus Ex Machina who is apparently the Lord of Time & Space. Seeing Yukiteru's miserable state, Deus gives him a new ability. His diary will now record events that will happen in the near future. Yukiteru is then forced to participate in a game which the winner will become Deus's successor
• Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro: The Demon Neuro has a raging hunger for ‘mysteries.’ Being dissatisfied with his current regime in hell, he’s come into the mortal realm in order to satiate his ever-growing appetite. The murder case of a young girl’s father seems to be sufficiently enticing for the Demon’s needs.. But what else might happen between these two? Find out in this disturbingly good murder-mystery series.

---------- Post added June 22, 2011 at 08:44 PM ---------- Previous post was June 10, 2011 at 08:34 PM ----------

Blame!
Featured Manga: June 22-June 19



Nihei Tsutomu's cyberpunk classic is a dizzying, dystopian world of endless, empty corridors, murderous silicon creatures, and malfunctioning safeguards. A former architect, Nihei designed a megastructure of unimaginable scale. One of my favorite manga, by one of my favorite mangaka and one of the few I have read every series by, Blame is an essential modern manga classic!

Killy is a man of few words. He wanders, seemingly endlessly, through a lonely, gargantuan labyrinth of concrete and steel, fighting off cyborgs and other futuristic nightmares, searching only for something called Net Terminal Genes. And he has a very powerful gun, which he uses without hesitation whenever anything resembling danger rears its ugly head.

Who is this quiet, violent, determined man and what are these Genes he seeks? The small communities he finds tucked into the crevices of this towering, dystopic ruin hardly give him leads on his treasure, driving him to find larger enclaves of civilization where people can reveal more about the world he lives in and the quarry he seeks.

If You Liked Blame! You May Also Like:

• Battle Angel Alita: Alita is a powerful cyborg with a soft heart and a mysterious past. Her second lease on life isn't easy: her heart is broken, she gains and loses friends to the cruel world of the Scrapyard far below the Utopian city of Tiphares, and she serves many masters in her quest to protect the innocent and create a new life for herself.
• Ghost in the Shell: In a near future, technology has firmly taken root into society at large. Cybernetic implants are nothing uncommon and robots roam as plentiful as humans, all connected through their "ghosts" to the electronic datastreams of the net. Major Motoko Kusanagi and the Public Security Section 9 find themselves in a constant battle with the newly created wave of technological terrorists and cyber-hackers. But things take a turn once Motoko gets involved in a certain case involving an extremely dangerous "ghost" hacker nicknamed the Puppeteer, as she dives deeper and deeper into the limitless reality of the net, to reach her own startling conclusions.
• Eden: It's An Endless World: In the panic surrounding a worldwide pandemic which kills 15 percent of the population and cripples many more, a secret organization, the Propater, topples the UN and seizes control of much of the world. A boy and a girl, raised in an abandoned virology research center, immune to the virus, are attacked by the Propater and escape.
• SaiKano: Shy Chise and nervous Shuji are high school seniors in a small town and have just started dating. But everything changes when Shuji discovers that Chise has been engineered by the Japanese Self Defense Force to transform into the Ultimate Weapon! Soon Chise is torn between realizing her potential as a devastating fighting force and her desire to share a bowl of ramen with her new boyfriend!
• Mardock Scramble: Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Rune Balot, would ever have…as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for a private investigator and his self-aware Universal Tool, Œufcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot has not only physical powers, but the ability to disrupt social environments. She chases after Shell, his partner-in-crime Boiled, and faces down a variety of insane villains in this pulse-pounding cyberpunk noir adventure.

---------- Post added July 01, 2011 at 03:37 PM ---------- Previous post was June 22, 2011 at 08:44 PM ----------

Blade of the Immortal
Featured Manga: July 1 - July 8



Blade of the Immortal is a blood drenched parable of guilt, mortality, courage, redemption, and living a rich, fulfilling life. The specter of death is never far away, as the characters grapple with the implications of being professional killers. Like Berserk, Blade of the Immortal (known in Japan as Mugen no Juunin) is a violent action series on it's surface, but with complex story telling, rich in symbolism and metaphor, more akin to a novel than manga. Begun in 1993, the art is still ahead of it's time. This is not a manga for everyone, it is extremely violent and rarely uplifting. But fans of Berserk, Vagabond, and Vinland Saga will love Blade of the Immortal.

"To end his eternal suffering, he must slay one thousand enemies!" Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality. To rid himself of this curse and end his life of misery, he must slay one thousand evil men! His quest begins when a young girl seeks his help in taking revenge on her parents' killers... and his quest won't end until the blood of a thousand has spilled!

If You Like Blade of the Immortal You May Also Like:

• Shingeki no Kyojin: Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by giants. Giants are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of giants.
  
  Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a giant in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a super giant that appears out of thin air. As the smaller giants flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single giant and take revenge for all of mankind.
• Kurozuka: Escaping from a brother who had just ascended the throne, Yoshitsune, along with his servant, comes across a house in the middle of a desolate mountain. Oddly enough, only a young woman lives there, who seems to possess a very dark and ominous past.
  
  This long journey of more than a thousand years focuses on our main protagonist Kurou. It can be somewhat confusing at the beginning, but once you understand the plot this story can be quite entertaining.
• Shin Angyo Onshi:Based on historical setting of Korea during the Josun Age. Long ago, in Jushin, secret royal inspectors named "Angyo Onshi" wandered the country and restored the order. But now that Jushin is destroyed, only one is still wandering...
• Sidooh: During the political upheavals and social strife at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan (1855), two parent-less brothers Yukimura Shoutarou and Yukimura Gentarou struggle to survive in these turbulent times. With their only possession being their deceased father's sword and clinging onto the wisdom of their mother's final words, the brothers seek to embark on the Path of the Warrior: Sidooh.

[igotthegoods]

Chihayafuru
Featured Manga: Week of July 9-16

Summary:

From J-SiS:

All her life, Chihaya's dream was to see her model sister become Japan's best... That is, until a quiet, unassuming transfer student named Arata tells her otherwise. A dream, he explains to her, is something she needs to work at herself.

Arata plays a competitive version of a traditional Japanese card game--known as Hyakunin Isshu--in a way Chihaya has never seen before. After taking Arata's place in a game, Chihaya discovers she has a passion for it. Now Chihaya wants to become number one in the world, the Queen of Karuta.

Chihayafuru won the 2nd Manga Taisho Award. Winner of the 35th annual Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shoujo.

If you liked Chihayafuru, you might also like:

1. Honey And Clover: Takemoto lives in a run-down student apartment, where his greatest worry is when he'll next be able to afford to eat meat and whether he'll get to class on time. Although he's away from home and living on his own, Takemoto is far from finished growing up. Along with his crazy cast of friends, Morita, Mayama, Yamada, and Hagumi, Takemoto sets out to discover life and his true self.
   
2. 3-Gatsu no Lion: Kiriyama Rei is a 17 year old professional shogi player and very good at it, but in real life, he has nothing. Quiet and not very social, Rei has no family, no friends, and he doesn't go to school. He is acquainted with a neighboring woman named Akari who is single-handedly raising her two younger sisters, Momo and Hinata.
   This is a slice-of-life-ish seinen manga, with strong monologues and reflections by Rei.
   
   Nominated for the 2nd Manga Taisho Award (2009) and the 4nd Manga Taisho Award (2011). Winner of the 35th Kodansha Manga Awards for Best General Manga with Uchuu Kyoudai(2011)
   
3. Hikaru no Go: A regular school boy, Hikaru Shindo stumbles upon an old GO board while looking through his grandpa's old storage room for something worth money. From inside the board came an old spirit named Sai who once dedicated his life to GO. Together, Sai continues to search for the move people call "The god's hand" while Hikaru slowly began interest in this ancient game and walks down the road of GO.
   
   Hikaru no GO received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 2000 and creators received Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2003 for the series.

[Kaiten]

Lovely Complex
Featured Manga: Week of July 16-23



Looking for the defining shoujo manga of the last ten years? It's Lovely Complex. Taking a less flowery, saccharine approach to romance, Lovely Complex dispensed with many of the tropes associated with shoujo. Instead, mangaka Nakahara Aya placed the focus on the chemistry between the two lead characters. Funny, sweet, and written with plenty of wit, Lovely Complex will be an instant hit with fans of more recent romantic comedy such as Kimi ni Todoke.

Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Otani, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo.

If You Liked Lovely Complex You Might Also Like:

• Hana Kimi: Japanese-American Mizuki has gotten herself into a high school in Japan... but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she's going to an all-guys' high school... and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they're more than classmates... they're roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates--and the school doctor--must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own orientation...
• Kaichou wa Maid-Sama: Ayuzawa Misaki is the student council president of the former all-boy school, Seika High School. In order to protect the girls, she battles the boys everyday. On the other hand, she secretly works at a "Maid Cafe". But a popular boy from school, Usui Takumi, found out! Living in between the double identity of a Maid and a student council president~
• Suki-tte Ii na yo: Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she drop-kicks a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!
• Dengeki Daisy: After orphan Teru Kurebayashi loses her beloved older brother, she finds solace in the messages she exchanges with DAISY, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. Meanwhile, Teru meets and forms a strange friendship with mysterious Tasuku Kurosaki, her school's janitor. For some reason, Kurosaki always seems to be around whenever Teru needs help which leads Teru to wonder: Could DAISY be a lot closer than she thinks?

---------- Post added July 24, 2011 at 06:57 PM ---------- Previous post was July 16, 2011 at 06:58 PM ----------

Shuna no Tabi
Weekly Featured Manga: 7/24-7/31



Beautifully written and illustrated in full color, Shuna no Tabi is a single volume manga by anime and manga pioneer Miyazaki Hayao. Like his better known Nausicaa, Shuna no Tabi is a fairy tale about the often hostile, often symboitic relationship between humanity and nature. As with all of his manga and anime, Shuna no Tabi is a timeless, moving story sure to appeal to everyone.

Shuna is a prince of a very poor country. His people have very little that they can grow on their poor land, and are starving. Shuna hears of the Land of the Gods and of the Golden Wheat growing there, and so he journeys there to bring the seeds back to his people. After a very long and hard journey, he finally reaches the Land of the Gods, and steals some seeds. But he is severely punished for his crime. However he is nursed back to health by a girl whom he once rescued from slavery, and who now lives in a mountain village. She also plants Shuna's seeds and protects them from the elements. Eventually, the crop season comes, and she now has to choose a husband...

If You Enjoyed Shuna no Tabi You May Also Like:

• Sabaku no Tami: Is a manga which Miyazaki wrote for a newspaper targeted for children. It is more of a graphic novel than a manga, since most of the text are written outside of the frames and there are very few dialogue bubbles (though towards the end of the story, it moved closer to the traditional manga style).
  
  The surprisingly dark story deals with the devastation of war, betrayal, and the ugliness of the human nature under desperate situations, including deaths of several characters. One can see the influence of TEZUKA Osamu in the art style of this manga (as in most of the manga written in this time), but you can also clearly see the style and motives you find in Miyazaki's later works such as "Nausicaä". In a sense, this is a prototype of "Nausicaä".
• Aqua: After 150 years of terraforming, Aqua, the planet formerly known as Mars, now has over 90% of its surface covered by water. A young girl named Akari Mizunashi arrives at the city of Neo-Venezia, an exact replica of the old Italian city of Venice, hoping to become an Undine, the most coveted job on Aqua. Follow Akari's adventures as she discovers the wonders of Aria in this prequel to the popular Aria anime and manga series.
• Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: This is the story of Alpha Hasseno, an Alpha 7 M2 series robot. Left by her owner, she appears and acts fully human while running a small coffee shop named Cafe Alpha. It is a light-hearted story about the people Alpha comes into contact with behind the backdrop of a futuristic country-side in Japan. As we meet Alpha, she makes a shopping trip to Yokohama.
• Hoshi no Koe: To what distance would you go for your one true love?
  In the midst of a war with an alien race, Mikako joins the resistance, leaving behind the one young man she loves. As she goes deeper into space, Mikako's only connection with her boyfriend is through cell-phone text messages. The war rages on and years pass, but Mikako barely ages in the timelessness of space while Noboru grows old. How can the love of two people, torn apart by war, survive?

---------- Post added July 31, 2011 at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was July 24, 2011 at 06:57 PM ----------

Zero
Featured Manga: Week of July 31 - August 6



Zero is one of Matsumoto Taiyou's earliest manga, and unjustly overlooked. Not as famous as subsequent manga such as Tekkon Kinkreet and Ping Pong, Zero shares the same sharp story telling, and crisp, flowing art as it's successors. New comers to Matsumoto sensei's art style may be put off by the seemingly childish qualities of his art, just look a little harder to discover the intense detail, an the schematic brilliance of his composition. Matsumoto Taiyou is one of the greatest mangaka of the last twenty-five years and Zero is a great introduction to his work. There is much more to the story than boxing, being a sports fan is not necessary.

Goshima is a boxer who has held the world championship title for years and never once lost a match - thus earning himself the nickname 'Zero'. His coach, Araki, describes him as 'a flower that blooms only within the ring'. But with his 30th birthday approaching, everyone begins to question Goshima's worth. Thus he decides to look for the ultimate opponent to give him his final match.

If You Like Zero You May Also Like:

• The Walking Man: Who takes the time these days to climb a tree in bare feet to rescue a child’s toy? To stop and observe the birds? To play in the puddles after a storm? To go down to the sea to put a shell back? The Walking Man does as he strolls at random through urban Japan – often silent, often alone – with his vivid dreams that let time stand still.
• Kinderbook: An anthology of ten short stories, all done in the Nouvelle Manga style. Each story stands alone, the only things linking them all being the low-key slice-of-life settings and the fact that they all have a female protagonist including a young child facing the break-up of her family and seperation from her friends; a lonely divorcee managing a bar; an elderly art dealer in the process of retiring; a mistress and her lover rehearsing their mutual suicide; an adulterous wife; a teenage girl on the day of her graduation from high school and the author herself (appearing in a couple of autobiographical pieces).
• Nasu: Short stories all related through a common medium: Eggplant.
• The Yellow Book: Published by Kodansha in 2002 and awarded the prestigious Tezuka Cultural Prize, Fumiko Takano’s The Yellow Book is one of those rare works which you enjoy reading in order to feel the tender familiarity that arises between the protagonists and yourself. This collected volume was named after the longest of the four stories that it contains: a drama about an adolescent girl who falls in love with Roger Martin du Gard’s saga, Les Thibault. The remaining stories capture various fragments of everyday life with tenderness and humor. Through the kaleidoscope of its feminine views, The Yellow Book touches the readers heart by attending to what, in sum, makes up life—the little things of our every day.

---------- Post added August 07, 2011 at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was July 31, 2011 at 08:34 PM ----------

Mardock Scramble
Featured Manga: Week of August 7-14



Based on a series of acclaimed science fiction novels, Mardock Scramble mixes drama, revenge thriller, science fiction, and cyber punk. Action shounen fans looking for something more intense, more adult, and more sophisticated than the usual fantasy fare should give Mardock Scramble a try.

Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Rune Balot, would ever have…as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for a private investigator and his self-aware Universal Tool, Œufcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot has not only physical powers, but the ability to disrupt social environments. She chases after Shell, his partner-in-crime Boiled, and faces down a variety of insane villains in this pulse-pounding cyberpunk noir adventure.

If You Like Mardock Scramble You May Also Like:

• Bokurano: In a summer vacation, a group of 15 children discovered a mysterious man living in a seashore cave, along with his high-tech gadgets. The man claimed to be a game developer creating a video game with a giant robot defending Earth from 15 alien invaders, and asked those children to test the game for him. The kids agreed happily at first, but soon they began to find the game horrifying, not only because of its realism but also because the first fatality among them happened right after their first victory. Worse yet, they had no idea how to stop or leave the "game."
• Elfen Lied: The story involves human mutations called "dicloniuses," who grow horns on their heads and possess telekinetic powers, in the form of invisible "arms" called vectors. The tendency for violence among dicloniuses varies among characters. Certain scientists contain them in a Facility in cells, where they are subject to inhumane experiments to test their abilities or where they await execution for being too dangerous.
• Uncivilized Planet: A story of three childhood friends - Colo, Cookie, and Naomi - who grew up in a sleepy backwater town on an uncivilized planet. They struggle to get by while holding on to their dreams of leaving town and finding a better life... but can their friendship endure the tests of time? Can it withstand invading armies, broken dreams, conflicting ambitions, divided loyalties, jealousy, and even betrayal?
  
  Note: This manga contains adult content. For mature audience only.
• Hoshi no Koe: To what distance would you go for your one true love?
  In the midst of a war with an alien race, Mikako joins the resistance, leaving behind the one young man she loves. As she goes deeper into space, Mikako's only connection with her boyfriend is through cell-phone text messages. The war rages on and years pass, but Mikako barely ages in the timelessness of space while Noboru grows old. How can the love of two people, torn apart by war, survive?

---------- Post added August 17, 2011 at 06:36 PM ---------- Previous post was August 07, 2011 at 01:11 PM ----------

Ahiru no Sora
Weekly Featured Manga 8/17-8/24



One of the staples of Kodansha's Weekly Shounen Magazine, Ahiru no Sora blends two venerable manga genre's: sports and delinquents. Hinata Takeshi's story of underdogs, hell bent on being the best no matter the odds is timeless, drawing on sixty years of manga traditions. But the art is pure 21st century: rough, unorthodox, not always pretty, yet always dynamic. Shounen Magazine is well known for producing great sports manga. Along with Ace of Diamond, Ahiru no Sora is the current standard bearer. Ahiru no Sora is gritty, fast paced manga well worth trying even for those who do not think they will enjoy sports manga.

He’s short, weak, and has just transfered to a new school. Kurumatani Sora is the main character in this story who loves basketball. He has been shooting hoops ever since he was little and has been trying to grow tall just like his mother, who “used” to be a basketball player. What happened to her and what Sora will do at the new school is all up to you to find out!

If You Liked Ahiru no Sora You Might Also Like:

• Rookies: Koichi Kawato is the new Japanese teacher at the ill-famed Futakotamagawa high school, whose baseball club is composed of thugs and bullies who have been suspended for a year from all school competitions, for causing a brawl during an official match. The newly appointed teacher finds that the club members left are only interested in women, smoking and doing nothing until, under Kawato's guidance, they discover a new dream called the Koshien. However, the road to the Koshien is far from easy as many obstacles await them.
• Ace of Diamond: It is a manga of high-school baseball. The main character, who is a pitcher from a country high school, accidentally gets teamed up with a catcher from a school with an elite baseball team. He decides to quit his school to attend the school that this catcher plays...
• Ashita no Joe: Joe Yabuki is a young man living in the slums of Tokyo. But, one day he meets Danpei Tange, a former boxer, who discovers his potential in boxing and tries to make him into a champion. Due to petty crimes, Joe is sent to a juvenile prison. There Joe mets Toru Rikiishi, a promising boxer, who knocked him out with one blow when he attempted to escape prison. Slowly but surely, Joe realizes his own potential. Joe begins his boxing life, step by step, with only one goal in mind... To Defeat Toru Rikiishi !!
• Subaru: A small five-year-old girl named Subaru no longer has time for friends and play. Why is this? Her twin brother Kazuma is dying... and gradually forgetting everything. Even Subaru. And so the girl visits him every day, talking with him and dancing for him, trying to make him remember her. And he always does by the end of the day. Encouraged by a friend to join ballet classes, the girl does so and falls in love with the dance.

---------- Post added August 29, 2011 at 11:29 PM ---------- Previous post was August 17, 2011 at 06:36 PM ----------

Ranman
Weekly Featured Manga: August 29-September 5, 2011



A funky mix of manga, bande dessinée, and Saturday morning cartoons, the micro stories of Ranman are the perfect introduction to the weird world of Katou Shinkichi. One of alternative manga's warmest, most inviting artists, Katou's works riff on life, love, dignity and literary puns. Ranman is a collection of short, often eight pages or less, stories. Some are jokes, some out of context references to classic literature, while others are philosophical vignettes. All are sharp, witty, and completely original. Katou is one of my favorite artists and Ranman is my favorite of his translated works. Give it a try, it's one of the truly original manga experiences!

If You Liked Ranman You Might Also Like:

• Mysterious Girlfriend X: One day, a strange transfer student appears before Tsubaki. Urabe Mikoto is an antisocial girl, whose hobby is just sleeping during class-breaks. One day, Tsubaki goes to wake her up and accidentally tastes her drool... And gets hooked on that!
  
  After that, he starts going out with her and gets to know her better. Her second hobby, as it turns out, is carrying around scissors in her panties and cutting paper into flowers...
• Palepoli: Palepoli goes beyond the framework of standard four-panel manga and views its structure in new ways. Actually, Furuya knew nothing of conventional manga styles and methods when he started Palepoli. As a result, he created something that bore little similarity to other manga. Furuya notes that he selects his subject matter and methods with clear and precise intentions. I find it extremely rare for a manga artist to be this deliberate.
• Human Clock: "When I talk about ‘warped manga from a warped mind’, I always think of this incoherent story.
  
  The Human Clock is a lot simpler to summarize than to understand. The hero is Yubi Chizuo again; he’s a student like before, but this time round he’s also a dropout. He stays in his house, which is a family shop selling watches and clocks. He gazes and gazes at them, and little by little, turns into one himself. That is the entire story. It reminds me of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis."
• Tokyo Zombie: A horror-comedy manga about two blue-collar factory workers and jiu-jitsu experts who deal with a zombie uprising in Tokyo. When the story begins, Fujio and Mitsuo dream of training in martial arts overseas and becoming famous. When they accidentally kill their overbearing boss, they bury him at a man-made garbage mountain known as Dark Fuji, where tons of rotting garbage have been contaminated with industrial waste which, naturally, transforms the bodies of the dead into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies.

[Kaiten]

Looking for something new to read? Come here every week for a new manga recommendation. Don't forget to browse the Otaku Finder forum for additional, member generated recommendations. Anyone is welcome to start a thread of their own to promote their favorite manga, manhwa, anime, and more!

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Shinobi no Kuni
Featured Manga: Week of September 5, 2011



Strange as this may sound, Shinobi no Kuni is a shounen about ninja who have no magical powers. No eye jutsu, shadow clones, and definitely no tailed beasts. More akin to Vinland Saga than that other shounen about ninja, Shinobi no Kuni is as focused on the politics of warfare as the combat. The story centers on the motivations, shifting alliances, and the power politics of the famed ninja of Iga province. The fighting is fast and violent, centered around the confrontation between Iga Shinobi and the forces of Oda Nobunagu. A great unheralded series, fans of historical action will love Shinobi no Kuni.

Based on a novel by Wada Ryou, Shinobi no Kuni brings a story that blends history and fiction as it shows the struggles happening during the 16th century in Iga, a region famous by the Iga Shinobi, the ninjas from Iga.

If You Like Shinobi Kuni You May Also Like:

• Historie: Historie takes place in ancient Greece and follows the life of Eumenes and his childhood, who would later in his life grow up to be the secretary and general to Alexander the Great.
• Rurouni Kenshin: 140 years ago in Kyoto, with the coming of the American "Black Ships," there arose a warrior who, felling men with his bloodstained blade, gained the name Hitokiri, man slayer! His killer blade helped close the turbulent Bakumatsu era and slashed open the progressive age known as Meiji . Then he vanished, and with the flow of years, became legend.
  
  Ten years later, a young woman's life is saved when she happens upon a strange wandering swordsman named Kenshin. The young woman accepts the wanderer into her dojo, despite his secretive past, and the two become fast friends. As their relationship grows, they meet and make more friends (as well as enemies), and they grow accustomed to their life together.
• Honorable Baek Dong Soo: Some corrupted high ranked officers within the palace are accusing the crown prince Sado of high treason and ask for his death! What will the Emperor do to save his son?

[Kaiten]

Shingeki no Kyojin
Mangahelpers Weekly Featured Manga: September 15, 2011

Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by giants. Giants are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of giants.

Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a giant in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a super giant that appears out of thin air. As the smaller giants flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single giant and take revenge for all of mankind.

Nominated for the 4th Manga Taisho Awards (2011) and winner of the 35th annual Kodansha Manga award for Best Shounen.

Shingeki no Kyojin may already be to hyped, to well known to feature. I expect many, many manga fans have heard of it already, since it ascended to smash hit status in Japan earlier this year. But Shingeki is one of my favorite series, along with One Piece and Berserk it may be my favorite ongoing series. Starting with the ending of chapter one, Shingeki gets more and more intense, never letting up on the reader. It is rare to find an action manga that makes the reader fear for the characters, to put aside their own disbelief and really worry a character could meet a gruesome end. Rather than the usual plucky action hero the characters in Shingeki are aware they are in mortal danger, that hard work and a can do attitude are not enough. The story is even more harrowing for allowing the characters to contemplate their own deaths. The action is fast and rarely stops, those looking for a fast paced read with a deep story need to try Shingeki no Kyojin.

Past Featured Manga are Available Here.

[Kaiten]

Boku wa Beatles
Featured Manga of the Week: September 22 - September 29, 2011



Where does inspiration end and imitation begin? Where is the line between hero worship and enmity drawn? Is there a difference between influence and competition? Drawn by manga legend Kaiji Kawaguchi (Zipang, Battery, Seizon - Life), Boku wa Beatles poses the question: what happens when an artist is given the opportunity to be their idles? Boku wa Beatles is a manga about artistic inspiration, the line between influence and imitation. While less than a volume has been translated Boku wa Beatles is such a well written, intelligent drama well worth reading.

This is the tale of two members of a Beatles cover band who find themselves transported back in time to 1961 – to a time before anyone had ever heard of the Beatles – and decide to take the mantle of the world’s greatest rock band for themselves!

[Kaiten]

Choujin Gakuen
Mangahelpers Weekly Featured Manga: October 2 - October 9, 2011



Imagine an alternate reality where Tezuka Osamu came back from the dead and his zombie and Soul Eater mangaka Ohkubo Atsushi joined forces to collaberate on the ultimate action/fantasy/school life/comedy shounen. The result would be Choujin Gakuen, one of the most off beat supernatural shounen manga I have come across in a long time. For a manga this strange and funky, minor details like character development and plot take a back seat to eye popping fun. Fortunately Choujin Gakuen is full of interesting characters and has an interesting, original plot to go with it's Tezuka meets Soul Eater art. Any one looking for a fun, fast paced, entertaining, supernatural action should give Choujin Gakuen a try!

[igotthegoods]

3 AM Dangerous Zone
Mangahelpers Weekly Featured Manga: October 12 - October 19, 2011



Momoko, who dreams of becoming an illustrator, finds employment in an ultra fast-paced office that specializes in designing pachinko parlors!! With the office running a yazuka-like business and employing a designer, who has a habit of suddenly stripping in the middle of the night, Momoko believes that the company employees are a bit... no, definitely eccentric!! She continues pulling all-nighters, unable even to return home... And in the midst of cigarette-filled fumes, where women's authority takes a step back, she asks herself, "Why am I here?"

[Josef K.]

Bakune Young
Mangahelpers Weekly Featured Manga: October 21 - October 28, 2011



As a great fan of Matsunaga I truly recommend this series as one of his greatest. It is an older work by him, but certainly follows themes that would be explored in his latter work. It's a wonderful mix of action, violence and oddness. Brilliant story telling and at times surreal moments follow the plot nicely. Supporting themes and art that is rare and unconventional. Nice flow and comedy on top of everything.

It started with a brutal beating at a pachinko parlor, and now Bakune Young-maniac, moron or mastermind -- has taken Japan's biggest crime boss as a hostage as Step One of his plan to rule the world! Soon, yakuza, police, hapless detectives and Bakune's former gym teacher collide as Bakune holes up with his hostage in Osaka Castle, and the manly men of the Japanese mob vow to do anything to rescue their boss! Can Russian-roulette-playing police chief Sorigami salvage the situation with his highly trained army of human robots? Will Johnson Membodeath, the ninja, stop the madness by killing everyone in sight? Savage satire of the action-violence manga genre!

[Kaiten]

Aozora Yell
Mangahelpers Weekly Featured Manga: 11/4 - 11/11/2011



The latest series by High School of Debut manga Kawahara Kazune, Aozora Yell nearly matches her previous hits joyous energy. Following in the grand tradition of Margaret Comics leading ladies from Aihara Kotoko to Sawako Kuronuma, leading lady Ono Tsubasa is adorable, shy, and earnest. She's as easy to like as any character in manga. Ultimately Aozora Yell is as much about believing in yourself, over coming insecurity, and trying your hardest even if the results are not the best as it is about falling in love. Fans of slice of life manga, school life, and comedy will love Aozora Yell!

Aozora Yell centers on Tsubasa, a girl who saw an inspirational brass band performance at the finals of the Japanese high school baseball championships one summer. Tsubasa vows to join the band when she enters high school, and she happens to meet a certain boy there.