Quick Reads: Manga Fewer than Ten Volumes
New to manga? Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! We’re here to help!
If you’ve already read our Beginner’s Guide to Manga, then you should be familiar with some of the basic categories that Japanese manga fall under. If not, here is a brief summary.
Japanese manga is primarily categorized first by gender and age, then by genre. There is manga specifically geared towards young boys (shonen), young girls (shojo), adult men (seinen), and adult women (josei). Of course, there are manga that cross boundaries of gender, age, and genre, however, these are the four most prominent categories. Manga is then categorized by genre. A mystery manga aimed at young boys would be categorized as a shonen mystery whereas one aimed at young girls would be a shojo mystery.
Traditionally, manga is released on a monthly or weekly chapter-by-chapter basis through a manga magazine service. Should a series prove to be popular, then the chapters will be collected into small volumes called tankōbon volumes, which usually feature a few chapters of the overall story.
Some series might even be collected into an omnibus; a collection of two or three volumes published together into one jumbo form. Older series are often reprinted in omnibus form, which might alter the listed number of volumes. For example, Junji Ito’s horror manga, Gyo: The Death-stench Creeps was originally released as two volumes, however, both volumes were reprinted into one omnibus, which is the copy the library currently owns. Omnibuses are convenient because they hold multiple volumes in one edition, however, they can sometimes be a bit cumbersome to carry due to their size.
Some series can be relatively short at fewer than ten volumes while others can balloon up to more than 100 volumes. Osamu Akimoto's Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, otherwise known as KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, currently holds the record for most volumes in a manga series at 200 volumes.
Popularity is a big factor in determining how long a series will go on for. For that reason, some of the most well-known manga series might produce dozens and dozens of volumes over the course of decades. Getting a hold of every volume might prove challenging if the series is out of print or unavailable overseas.
If you’re new to manga, then you might be intimidated out of reading some series because of the volume number. Oftentimes, well-meaning friends might recommend one of their favorite titles or a popular series without taking into consideration the length of the series or the original target demographic. For example, an adult new to manga might be recommended Akira Toriyama’s Dragonball due to the series’ long-lasting influence on popular culture. The original run of Dragonball was aimed at the shonen, or young/teen boy, audience, and the entire series clocks in at 42 volumes. You might not consider that beginner friendly.
We’ve gathered here a list of manga that are either stand-alone, self-contained omnibuses, or feature a relatively small number of volumes. Some of the manga listed here are presented in omnibus form as these are the editions that the library currently owns.
These titles are primarily intended for teens 16+ and adults, however, if you are looking for manga for younger audiences, check out our Manga for Middle-Graders post.
Single Volume
Ayako
by Osamu Tezuka; translation, Mari Morimoto.
Genre: Historical Drama
Volumes: 1
Initially set in the aftermath of World War II, Ayako focuses its attention on the Tenge clan, a once powerful family of landowners living in a rural community in northern Japan. From the moment readers are introduced to the extended family, it is apparent that the war and American occupation have begun to erode the fabric that binds them all together. The increasing influence of political, economic and social change begins to tear into the many Tenge siblings, while a strange marriage agreement creates resentment between the eldest son and his sire. And when the family seems to have completely fallen apart, they decide to turn their collective rage on what they believe to be the source of their troubles, the newest member of the Tenge family, the youngest sister Ayako.
The Bride was a Boy
(true) story and art by Chii; translation, Beni Axia Conrad; adaptation, Shanti Whitesides; lettering and retouch, Karis Page.
Genre: Non-Fiction
Volumes: 1
A diary comic with an upbeat, adorable flair that tells the charming tale of Chii, a woman assigned male at birth. Her story starts with her childhood and follows the ups and downs of exploring her sexuality, gender, and transition-as well as falling in love with a man who is head over heels for her. Now, Chii is about to embark on a new adventure: becoming a bride!
Cigarette Girl
by Masahiko Matsumoto; foreword by Yoshihiro Tatsumi; translated by Spencer Fancutt, with assistance of Atsuko Saisho.
Genre: Fiction
Volumes: 1
Originally published in 1972-74, these eleven stories now form the first English-language collection of Matsumoto's mature work. His shy, uncertain heroes face broken hearts, changing families, money troubles, sexual anxiety, and the pressures of tradition, but with a whimsy and lightness of touch that is Matsumoto's trademark.
Downfall
Story and art by Inio Asano ; translation, Jocelyne Allen ; touch-up art + lettering, Joanna Estep.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 1
Selling copies is the only thing that matters. So what if your first series just ended and you have no idea how to start the next one, your marriage is breaking up, your pure love of manga has been destroyed by the cruel reality of the industry and nothing seems to fill the sucking void inside you... Find the secret combo for a new hit manga series and everything will be okay. Right?
A Drifting Life
By Yoshihiro Tatsumi; [edited, designed, and lettered by Adrian Tomine; translated by Taro Nettleton].
Genre: Memoir
Volumes: 1
Spanning fifteen years from August of 1945 to June of 1960, Tatsumi's stand-in protagonist, Hiroshi, faces his father's financial burdens and his parents' failing marriage, his jealous brother's deteriorating health, and the innumerable pitfalls that await him in the competitive manga market of mid-twentieth-century Japan. He dreams of following in the considerable footsteps of his idol, manga artist Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy, Apollo's Song, Ode to Kirihito, Buddha)—with whom Tatsumi eventually became peers and, at times, stylistic rivals.
The Garden of Words
Story by Makoto Shinkai; art by Midori Motohashi; translation Maya Rosewood.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 1
Can a poem save your life?
Words are powerful. Insults and rumors can derail a career; a bit of encouragement can give someone the strength to pursue their dreams. When a high school boy skipping class to sketch shoe designs and a taciturn woman drinking a morning beer meet in a Tokyo park, they say little, but the woman bids farewell with an ancient tanka poem. Will the boy figure out the poem’s meaning—and its corresponding response—before it’s too late?
Giganto Maxia
Story and art, Kentaro Miura; translation, Matthew Johnson; lettering, Studio Cutie.
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction
Volumes: 1
One hundred million years after the Great Destruction, life hangs on in the wastelands with human, demi-humans, and massive creatures fighting for survival. With the Empire of Olympus using colossal beasts to crush their adversaries, only gladiator Delos, mystic Prome, and the titan Gohra they become can hope to stem genocide and heal the shattered Earth.
The Gods Lie
By Kaori Ozaki; translation, Melissa Tanaka.
Genre: Coming of Age
Volumes: 1
Natsuru Nanao, a 6th grader who lives alone with his mother, strikes up an unlikely friendship with the reserved and driven Rio Suzumura. Natsuru plays hookey from soccer camp that summer, and instead of telling the truth to his mother, he spends all his time with Rio and her kid brother at their rickety house, where a dark secret threatens to upend their fragile happiness.
Henshin
By Ken Niimura; translation, Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford.
Genre: Short story collection
Volumes: 1
I KILL GIANTS co-creator KEN NIIMURA (International Manga Award winner and Eisner nominee) brings a unique vision of life in Japan to the page in HENSHIN. The lives of a kid with peculiar superpowers, a lonely girl discovering herself in the big city, and a businessman on a long night out are some of the short stories included in this collection that will make you laugh, and even maybe shed a tear. Explore Tokyo as you’ve never seen it before under NIIMURA’s masterful and imaginative storytelling, printed here for the first time in English.
I Don't Know How to Give Birth!
by Ayami Kazama; translation by Julie Goniwich; lettering by Abigail Blackman.
Genre: Autobiography
Volumes: 1
A humorous and heartfelt autobiographical comic essay of a manga artist new to the challenges of motherhood! Follow her journey as she learns the ins and outs of pregnancy and childbirth-and the impossibility of finding comfy maternity underwear!
My Father is a Unicorn
Story & art by Monaka Suzuki; translation, Nova Skipper; adaptation, Jay Trust.
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural
Volumes: 1
Uno Issei is still in high school when his mother remarries. His mom’s new husband, Masaru, is a nice enough guy, he just happens to be a unicorn. Sometimes in the form of a talking horse, sometimes in the form of a beautiful man, Masaru is determined to run the household while his wife is away and win Issei over. For better or worse, now Issei is stuck teaching this unicorn man how to be a good dad in this idiosyncratic comedy about the magic of family.
Our Dining Table
Story and art by Mita Ori ; translation, Amber Tamosaitis ; adaptation, Marykate Jasper ; lettering, Laura Heo.
Eating around other people is a struggle for salaryman Yutaka, despite his talent for cooking. All that changes when he meets Minoru and Tane -- two brothers, many years apart in age -- who ask him to teach them how to make his delicious food! It's not long before Yutaka finds himself falling hard for the meals they share together -- and falling in love!
The Push Man, and Other stories
By Yoshihiro Tatsumi; [translated by Yuji Oniki].
Genre: Short Story
Volumes: 1
Thirty years before the advent of the literary graphic novel movement in the United States, Yoshihiro Tatsumi created a library of comics that draw parallels to modern prose fiction and today's alternative comics. The stories collected in The Push Man are simultaneously haunting, disturbing, and darkly humorous. A lone man travels the country, projecting pornographic films for private individuals while attempting to maintain a normal home life. The lives of two men become intertwined when one hires the other to observe his sexual escapades through a telescope. An auto mechanic's obsession with a female TV personality turns fatal after a chance meeting between the two.
Ristorante Paradiso
Story and art by Natsume Ono ; [translation, Joe Yamazaki]
Genre: Cooking, Drama
Volumes: 1
At the age of 21, Nicoletta travels to Rome to find her mother, Olga, who abandoned her long ago. Nicoletta finds her at Casetta dell'Orso, a charming little restaurant owned by Olga's husband. The staff of bespectacled gentlemen welcomes Nicoletta warmly, but Olga's reception is not so pleasant. Olga has never told her husband that she ever had children--and he must never know. In exchange for Nicoletta's playing "the daughter of an old friend," Olga offers Nicoletta a place to live and an apprenticeship at the restaurant. Nicoletta fits in well among the unique personalities at Casetta dell'Orso. She gets along particularly well with the kindly headwaiter, Claudio, a divorced man who, after years, has still never taken off his wedding ring. As Nicoletta's feelings for Claudio become complicated, she finds a sympathetic ear in Olga, leading the estranged pair to form a friendship neither expected. But as they grow closer, the pressure exerted by the secret they share becomes too much to bear.
Seven Little Sons of the Dragon: A Collection of Seven Stories
By Ryoko Kui; translation, Taylor Engel; lettering, Abigail Blackman.
Genre: Fantasy
Volumes: 1
Ryoko Kui, the master storyteller behind the beloved manga series Delicious in Dungeon, pens seven brand-new tales that will delight fantasy fans and manga devotees equally. Covering a broad range of themes and time periods, no two stories in this collection are alike!
There are Things I Can't Tell You
Manga by Edako Mofumofu; translator, Christine Dashiell; retouch and lettering, INKR Comics.
Genre: Boys Love, LGBTQ+, Drama
Volumes: 1
Kasumi and Kyousuke are polar opposites when it comes to personality. Kasumi is reserved, soft-spoken and shy; Kyousuke is energetic and has always been popular among their peers. As the saying goes though, opposites have a tendency to attract, and these two have been fast friends since elementary school. To Kasumi, Kyousuke has always been a hero to look up to, someone who supports him and saves him from the bullies. But now, school is over; their relationship suddenly becomes a lot less simple to describe. Facing the world -- and one another -- as adults, both men find there are things they struggle to say out loud, even to each other.
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist
By Asumiko Nakamura.
Genre: Mystery
Volumes: 1
Before her book can be published, promising young author Aki Fujino is found dead, and while some believe she commited suicide, others suspect her death may be related to her mysterious relationship with the author Mizorogi.
Series Gathered in One Volume
Gyo: The Death-stench Creeps
Story & art by Junji Ito; translation & English adaptation, Yuji Oniki; touch-up art & lettering, Stephen Dutro.
Genre: Horror
Volumes: 2 in 1 omnibusThe floating smell of death hangs over the island. What is it? A strange, legged fish appears on the scene…So begins Tadashi and Kaori's spiral into the horror and stench of the sea. Here is the creepiest masterpiece of horror manga ever from the creator of Uzumaki, Junji Ito. Hold your breath until all is revealed. Something's rotten in Okinawa.
Sazan & Comet Girl
Story & art by Yuriko Akase ; translation, Adrienne Beck ; adaptation, Ysabet MacFarlane ; layout and lettering, Karis Page, Gwen Silver.
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Volumes: 1 (omnibus)Note: Full Color
Sazan, a young man from Earth, works on other planets and has seen his share of galactic oddities. But when he meets Mina, a red-headed girl who zooms into his life on a space scooter, he knows he’s run into someone special. Mina contains shocking power within her body–a power coveted by space pirates who hope to steal it from her. Mina zooms out of Sazan’s life almost as quickly as she arrived, but Sazan is determined to find her again…no matter how far he has to chase her across the galaxy. This spectacular full-color manga–an homage to energetic space operas of years past–is entirely contained in this 500-page omnibus.
Solanin
Story & art by Inio Asano ; [translation, JN Productions].
Genre: Slice of life
Volumes: 2 in 1 omnibus
Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Shigeo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn't pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she's just not cut out to be a part of the real world.
All You Need is Kill
Original story by Hiroshi Sakurazaka; storyboards by Ryosuke Takeuchi; original illustrations by Yoshitoshi ABe; art by Takeshi Obata.
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: 2 in 1 omnibus
When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his fifth iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally—the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji's escape or his final death?
Azumanga Daioh Omnibus
By Kiyohiko Azuma; translation, Stephen Paul; lettering, Hope Donovan.
Genre: Comedy
Volumes: 3 in 1 omnibus
The best high school stories are simultaneously funny, warm, and endearing - but most importantly, the characters come alive on the page. Get to know the girls who set a new standard for the high school experience! The original phenomenon from Kiyohiko Azuma, beloved creator of YOTSUBA&!, is collected in this deluxe edition and is an absolute necessity for any manga enthusiast's library!
Tekkon Kinkreet = Black & White
By Taiyo Matsumoto
Genre: Fiction
Volumes: 3 in 1 omnibus
Street urchins Black and White have skyscraper-sized chips on their shoulders, but are fiercely loyal to each other. Black is especially quick to avenge any slight against his dim-witted pal. The result? The citizens of Treasure Town are afraid of them, the police are afraid of them--even the local yakuza gangsters are afraid of them! But when the crime boss known as the "Rat" returns to Treasure Town, it looks like there's gonna be a rumble…
Another
Original story: Yukito Ayatsuji; art: Hiro Kiyohara; translation, Karen McGillicuddy
Genre: Horror
Volumes: 4 in 1 omnibus
When he takes his seat in class for the first day of school, Koichi is unsettled by his fearful classmates. Despite this atmosphere and warnings from fellow students, Koichi is drawn to the beautiful, distant Mei Misaki, another classmate. But the closer he tries to get to her, the more mysterious she and their class become. And when a fellow student dies a disturbing death—the first of a long chain of deaths - Koichi seeks to learn the truth behind the curse of Class 3-3. But can he get answers before the curse kills him?
Series that are Fewer than Five Volumes
Blood-C: Demonic Moonlight
By Ryo Haduki; translated by Camellia Nieh; english adaptation by Philip R. Simon; lettered by Steve Dutro.
Genre: Supernatural, Horror
Volumes: 2
The prequel to the Blood-C saga from CLAMP, Production I.G, and artist Ryo Haduki! In occupied Japan in 1946, an American military investigator is sent to the Yokohama base to research a number of bizarre deaths. He soon discovers that the murderer isn’t human! Blood-C: Demonic Moonlight is the prequel fans have been waiting for!The Ghost and the Lady
By Kazuhiro Fujita; translation: Zack Davisson; lettering: Evan Hayden.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror
Volumes: 2
Deep in London's Scotland Yard sits an evidence room dedicated to the greatest mysteries of British history. In this "Black Museum" sits a misshapen hunk of lead--two bullets fused together--the key to the untold story of a wartime encounter between Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing, and a supernatural Man in Grey. The record books show Florence fought for compassion as empires' petty rivalries threatened to destroy the hopes and lives of common people. But a gues in the Black Museum knows the truth is not so simple, and the famed Lady with Lamp had a ghastly secret...
Mermaid Saga
Story and art by Rumiko Takahashi.
Genre: Horror, Romance, Supernatural
Volumes: 2
Yuta became immortal when he unwittingly ate mermaid flesh, and now he seeks a way to become human again. Hundreds of years later, he encounters a volatile and determined young lady named Mana while searching for a mermaid. Could this mysterious woman hold the key to saving Yuta’s humanity?
Moteki
By Mitsurou Kubo; translation, Ko Ransom.
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Volumes: 2
Yukiyo Fujimoto's life has been in a rut. He is about to turn 30 and has never held a steady job or had a girlfriend. When the prospects for hope seem to be at their lowest, suddenly his phone blows up! Out of the blue, he is contacted by several women from his past! His moteki-- his season of popularity-- has finally come!! Cupid's arrows have struck him repeatedly and, coincidentally, all at the same time! Yukiyo may seem to have more romantic options than he can handle, but is he ready for love? And are any of the women? The stage for love might be set, but the time might only be ripe for him to finally grow up!My Brother's Husband
By Gengoroh Tagame; translated from the Japanese by Anne Ishii.
Genre: Slice of Life
Volumes: 2
Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi's estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji's past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it's been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.
Mythical Beast Investigator
Story, Keishi Ayasato; art, Koichiro Hoshino; character designs, Lack; translation, Angela Liu; adaptation, Ysabet MacFarlane; lettering and retouch, Simone Harrison.
Genre: Fantasy, Monster Boys, Mystery, Supernatural
Volumes: 2
In a dangerous land where fantastical creatures exist, humans must live beside dragons and other supernatural monsters. That’s where Mythical Beast Investigators like Ferry come in. Ferry might look like a young girl, but she has extensive knowledge of magical creatures and dreams of creating peace between humankind and monsters. With her otherworldly bodyguard Kushuna by her side, Ferry will work to calm any conflict, no matter where that takes her!
Planetes
Story and art Makoto Yukimura
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: Originally produced as 4 volumes that were collected into 2 2-in-1 omnibuses.
It's the 2070s, and mankind has conquered space, making interplanetary travel possible and igniting the imaginations of the world. It's also vastly increased the amount of dangerous space debris, and someone has to clean it up. Hachimaki, Yuri, and Fee are a crew on that beat, each with their own goals, tendencies, and personal problems: Hachimaki dreams of deep-space exploration in his own ship, Yuri is still recovering from the death of his wife in an accident caused by orbiting debris, and Fee is secretive, but there's a lot going on under the surface!
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
(True) story & art by Nagata Kabi; translation, Jocelyne Allen; adaptation, Lianne Sentar.
Genre: Autobiographical
Volumes: 2*
The heart-rending autobiographical manga that's taken the internet by storm! My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman's exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age. Told using expressive artwork that invokes both laughter and tears, this moving and highly entertaining single volume depicts not only the artist's burgeoning sexuality, but many other personal aspects of her life that will resonate with readers.
*My Solo Exchange Diary is the sequel.
Shuriken and Pleats
Story & art by Matsuri Hino; translation, Katherine Schilling; touch-up art & lettering, Inori Kukuda Trant.
Genre: Action
Volumes: 2
When the master she has sworn to protect is killed, Mikage Kirlo, a skilled ninja, travels to Japan to start a new, peaceful life for herself. But as soon as she arrives, she finds herself fighting to protect the life of Mahito Wakashimatsu, a man who is under attack by a band of ninja. From that time on, Mikage is drawn deeper in the machinations of his powerful family.
Angels of Death, Episode 0
Original story by Makoto Sanada; art by Kudan Naduka; translation: Ko Ransom; lettering: Anthony Quintessenza.
Genre: Horror
Volumes: 3
As a prison counselor, Daniel Dickens is no stranger to odd encounters with inmates. But when a particularly aggressive prisoner enters his office claiming that his session with a priest left him 'fulfilled,' Danny, who has led an unsatisfying life, has to know more. During their meeting, Danny finds there's little he can hide from this mysterious clergyman, and when an offer comes his way, he'll have to make a decision that will change his life forever…
Emanon
Manga by Shinji Kajio & Kenji Tsuruta; translation by Dana Lewis; lettering and touchup by Susie Lee and Betty Dong with Tom2K.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 3
The year is 1967, and a young Japanese man is thinking about the future. On one side of the water, the war is raging in Vietnam; far away on the other side, the Apollo Project has just met with disaster as three astronauts die in a capsule fire. And here and now, on a long nighttime ferry ride back home, he will meet and fall in love with a mysterious young woman who carries a past deeper and more profound than his dreams and fears of tomorrow. Her name, she jokes, is no name--Emanon... and she can never be forgotten, any more than she can forget…
The Ghost in the Shell
By Shirow Masamune; translation and English language adaptation Frederik L. Schodt and Toren Smith, additional translation Stephen Paul.
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: 3
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.
Giant Spider & Me: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale
Story & art by Kikori Morino; translation, Adrienne Beck; adaptation, Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane; lettering and retouch, Jennifer Sharupa.
Genre: Post-apocalyptic, slice of life
Volumes: 3
A young girl named Nagi and a giant spider make an unusual pair in this post-apocalyptic story, but living in the mountains is lonely, and they've managed to find each other. Join them in their strangely sweet domestic bliss as they spend their days sharing tea and throwing picnics, proving that love (and delicious food) can bring together even the most unlikely of friends.
Ghostly Things
Story & art by Ushio Shirotori; translation, Nova Skipper; adaptation, Clint Bickham; lettering and retouch, Rina Mapa.
Genre: Mystery, Supernatural
Volumes: 3
With her father off overseas, Yachiho is left to move into a new house all by herself…and it’s a genuine haunted mansion, full of ghosts and spirits! But Yachiho is determined to tough it out. To learn her family’s secrets, can she brave all that lurks in the dark of night?
The Golden Sheep
By Kaori Ozaki; translation Daniel Komen.
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance
Volumes: 3
Tsugu, Sora, Yuushin and Asari were the best of friends in grade school. For a few years Tsugu moves away and returns back in high school. She is happy to be reunited and believes that her friends didn't change, but that doesn't turn out to be the case.... A story about coming of age, friendship and the growth of 4 high schoolers.
Goodbye my Rose Garden
Story and art by Dr. Pepperco; translation, Amber Tamosaitis; adaptation, Cae Hawksmoor; lettering and retouch, Kaitlyn Wiley.
Early in the twentieth century, Hanako journeys to England to follow her dream of becoming a novelist. When things don't work out quite as she planned, she finds employment as a personal maid to noblewoman Alice Douglas, who makes a most unusual request: she begs Hanako to kill her! As Hanako tries to figure out why her mistress would make such a shocking plea, their relationship grows into something far deeper.
Graineliers
By Rihito Takarai; translation, Jocelyne Allen; lettering, Alexis Ackerman.
Genre: Fantasy
Volumes: 3
In a world where the seeds of plants are imbued with various powers both great and small, young Luca makes ends meet by illegally cultivating and selling rare specimens. But anyone caught engaging in this activity without the qualifications of a government-sanctioned Grainelier does so at the price of their freedom. So when the security forces come calling, Luca assumes they're onto him...but it's actually his shut-in father, Christophe, they're after! Sent running to safety by Christophe, Luca escapes with a few rare and powerful seeds pressed into his hand...but will they do anything but make Luca's path a thorny one?
Love in Focus
By Yoko Nogiri; translation: Alethea and Athena Nibley.
Genre: Romance, School Life
Volumes: 3
Mako’s always had a passion for photography. When she loses someone dear to her, she clings to her art as a relic of the close relationship she once had … Luckily, her childhood best friend Kei encourages her to come to his high school and join their prestigious photo club. With nothing to lose, Mako grabs her camera and moves into the dorm where Kei and his classmates live. Soon, a fresh take on life, along with a mysterious new muse, begin to come into focus!
Manga Dogs
By Ema Toyama; [translation, William Flanagan; lettering, Jennifer Skarupa; editing, Ben Applegate].
Genre: Comedy
Volumes: 3
Kanna Tezuka is a serious 15-year-old manga artist, already being published as a pro. So when she finds out her high school is starting a manga drawing course, even she gets excited. But it's a fiasco! The teacher is useless, and the only other students-- three pretty-boy artist wannabes-- quickly adopt Kanna as their (unwilling) sensei. But they all have ridiculous delusions about being an artist, and if Kanna can't bring them back down to Earth, she'll never get any work done!
Our Wonderful Days = Tsurezure Biyori
Story & art by Kei Hamuro; translation, Katrina Leonoudakis; lettering and retouch, Erika Terriquez.
Genre: Romance, Yuri
Volumes: 3
As children, Koharu and Mafuyu were best buds until Mafuyu moved away to Tokyo. But now, several years have passed and Mafuyu is back, attending the same high school as Koharu. As the two girls explore their sleepy hometown, Koharu can’t help but develop a crush on her childhood best friend…
Sayonara Football
By Naoshi Arakawa; translation, Devon Corwin; lettering, Allen Berry; additional layout and lettering, Belynda Ungurath.
Genre: Sports, School Life
Volumes: 3
High-octane girls' soccer action mixes with the drama of high school in this cleats-out manga from the creator of Your Lie in April! game on. Midori and Sumire are soccer stars at rival middle schools, destined to collide : one's a striker, the other's a goalie. But the two girls end up in the same high school, with a lazy coach and a bizarre teammate, Nozomi, who brags that she's a soccer prodigy but can't seem to stop kicking the ball into her own goal. To become champions, Midori and Sumire will have to get over their rivalry and work some magic on the field--not to mention the challenges of growing up.
Your Name
Original story: Makoto Shinkai; art: Ranmaru Kotone; translation by Taylor Engel; lettering by Abigail Blackman.
Genre: Fiction
Volumes: 3
Mitsuha, a high school girl living in a rural town deep in the mountains, has a dream that she is a boy living an unfamiliar life in Tokyo. Taki, a high school boy living in Tokyo, dreams that he is a girl living in the mountains. As they realize they are changing places, their encounter sets the cogs of fate into motion.
Uzumaki
By Junji Ito; translation and English adaptation by Yuji Oniki; touch-up art and lettering by Susan Daigle-Leach.
Genre: Horror
Volumes: 3-in-1
Kurouzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but a pattern: UZUMAKI, the spiral—the hypnotic secret shape of the world. The bizarre masterpiece horror manga is now available all in a single volume. Fall into a whirlpool of terror!
Orange
Story and art by Ichigo Takano; translation, Amber Tamosaitis; adaptation, Shannon Fay; lettering and layout, Lys Blakeslee.
Genre: Fiction
Volumes: Originally published as 6 volumes that have been collected into 3 omnibuses
Everyone has regrets in life. So who wouldn't take the chance to change the past if given the opportunity? When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter, claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter informs her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and to keep her eye on him. What is Naho to make of the letter's contents and its cryptic warning?
Black Bullet
By Morinohon, artist; Shiden Kanzaki, original story; Saki Ukai, character design; Nita Lieu, translation; Abigail Blackman, lettering.
Genre: Action, Post-apocalyptic
Volumes: 4
The near future. A terrible battle against a parasitic virus called Gastrea has been fought--and lost. Humanity is cornered, and lives in despair. Rentaro and Enju face constant danger in their work as a team of specialists working for Civil Security, an agency dedicated to fighting Gastrea. Enju is one of the cursed children, who survived the virus and gained superhuman powers as a result. When a crazed former Civil Security agent threatens to destroy the final barrier that stands between Tokyo and the virus-ridden wastelands, can Rentaro and Enju protect a city that sees her as part of the problem?
The Drifting Classroom
By Kazuo Umezz
Genre: Horror
Volumes: 9 collected into 3 omnibuses
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake, a Japanese elementary school is transported into a hostile world where the students and teachers are besieged by terrifying creatures and beset by madness. Out of nowhere, an entire school vanishes, leaving nothing but a hole in the ground. While parents mourn and authorities investigate, the students and teachers find themselves not dead but stranded in a terrifying wasteland where they must fight to survive.
The Delinquent Housewife!
By Nemu Yoko
Genre: Slice of life, comedy
Volumes: 4
Tohru Komukai and his bride-to-be, Komugi, move in with his family just until they find a place of their own. Or, that was the plan, until Tohru suddenly leaves for a long-term business trip overseas, leaving Komugi to fend for herself on her in-laws’ turf. While Komugi is pretty, considerate and appears to be an ideal housewife, the truth is she doesn’t know how to do a lick of housework, and can’t cook at all. Also, she has a secret past as a member of an all-girls bosozoku biker gang! The only member of the family to learn these secrets is Dai, Tohru’s younger brother, and he helps Komugi keep up appearances until she can learn how to hold her own as a domestic goddess...
Livingstone
Story by Tomohiro Maekawa; manga: Jinsei Kataoka.
Genre: Supernatural
Volumes: 4
Every soul has a plan. But if you stray from your destined path, your soul stone, called a psycholith, becomes tainted and shatters, bringing misfortune to all that encounter it. The mission of the uptight Sakurai and the free-spirited Amano-- agents of a company called Livingstone-- is to find souls in danger of straying and keep them pure. If your life seems to be flying off the rails, and everything just seems wrong, you'd better hope this odd couple finds you in time to put events back on course-- because if they're too late, they might just have to help you along on your journey to the next life.
Moteki
By Mitsurou Kubo; translation, Ko Ransom.
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Volumes: 4
Yukiyo Fujimoto's life has been in a rut. He is about to turn 30 and has never held a steady job or had a girlfriend. When the prospects for hope seem to be at their lowest, suddenly his phone blows up! Out of the blue, he is contacted by several women from his past! His moteki-- his season of popularity-- has finally come!! Cupid's arrows have struck him repeatedly and, coincidentally, all at the same time! Yukiyo may seem to have more romantic options than he can handle, but is he ready for love? And are any fo the women? The stage for love might be set, but the time might onl be ripe for him o finally grow up!
Otherworld Barbara
By Moto Hagio; [translation, Matt Thorn].
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: 4
A nine-year-old is found with her parents' hearts in her stomach; a dream pilot discovers a phantom island; a grieving grandmother is granted temporary youth; and an eccentric clergyman may hold the secret to immortality.
Our Dreams at Dusk
Story and art by Yuhki Kamatani; translation, Jocelyne Allen; adaptation, Ysabet MacFarlane; lettering and retouch, Kaitlyn Wiley.
Genre: Drama, LGBT+
Volumes: 4
Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he had been outed as gay. Just as he's contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.
Restaurant to Another World
Story by Junpei Inuzuka; art, Takaaki Kugatsu; translation, Amanda Haley; lettering, Lys Blakeslee.
Genre: Cooking, Fantasy, Isekai
Volumes: 4
By all appearances, Western Restaurant Nekoya is a normal restaurant serving normal people--but unbeknownst to the regulars, it also attracts an alternative clientele. Every Saturday, all manner of fantastical beings come to dine, and what is familiar fare to humans can be downright exotic for visitors from beyond. To these customers, Nekoya is known by a different name: Restaurant to Another World.
Satoko and Nada
Story and art by Yupechika; script advisor, Marie Nishimori; translation, Jenny McKeon ; adaptation, Lianne Sentar; lettering and retouch, Karis Page.
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy
Volumes: 4
Satoko, who is Japanese, has a new roommate in America: a Saudi Arabian woman named Nada, who practices Islam and wears a hijab. While under the same roof, Satoko and Nada learn how to live together with very different customs and still have all the fun young women crave! Through mutual respect—and the hilarious adventures of their daily life—Satoko and Nada prove that friendship knows no borders.
Servant x Service
Presented by Karino Takatsu; translation: Amanda Haley; lettering: D. Kim.
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Volumes: 4
On any given day in a certain city, in a certain public services office building down in the Health and Welfare Department, you just might run into a clerk with a tongue twister of a name, a huge flirt, a bundle of insecurity, and a cosplay maniac?!
Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san
By Honda; translation: Amanda Haley; lettering: Bianca Pistillo.
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Volumes: 4
Ever wonder what it's like to sell comics at a Japanese bookstore? Honda provides a hilarious firsthand account from the front lines! Whether it's handling the store, out-ot-print books, or enthusiastic manga fans, Honda takes on every challenge!
Yukarism
Story and art by Chika Shiomi
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 4
Yukari Kobayakawa, an accomplished author at the age of 17, writes with amazingly accurate details about historical Japan. It turns out he has the ability to travel back in time…to his past life as a renowned courtesan in the Edo period! As he goes back and forth between the past and present, he unravels the karmic relationship he has with his beautiful classmate Mahoro Tachibana…
Blank Canvas: My So-called Artist's Journey
Story & art by Akiko Higashimura; translation: Jenny McKeon; adaptation, Ysabet MacFarlane; lettering and layout, Lys Blakeslee.
Genre: Autobiography, Slice of Life
Volumes: 5
High schooler Akiko has big plans to become a popular mangaka before she even graduates, but she needs to get much better at drawing if she ever wants to reach her goal. Looking for an easy fix, she signs up for an art class, thinking all her problems will soon be solved. She's in for a surprise: her new instructor is a sword-wielding taskmaster who doesn't care about manga one bit. But maybe this unconventional art teacher is just what she needs to realize her dreams!
Dragon Quest Monsters +
Story and art by Mine Yoshizaki; translation, Beni Axia Conrad; adaptation, Danielle King.
Genre: Fantasy
Volumes: 5
Kleo dreams of becoming a gallant, monster-slaying hero, and when a twist of fate sees him whisked off to a strange and distant land, it seems he's finally got his chance. But the king doesn't want Kleo slaying monsters--he wants him training them, preparing mighty creatures to fight against the forces of darkness. Unfortunately, the kingdom's a little short on monsters at the moment...and Kleo's journey begins with only one sassy slime to back him up. It's a quirky quest with one majorly reluctant hero!
Frau Faust
By Kore Yamazaki; translation: Stephen Paul; lettering: Lys Blakeslee.
Genre: Supernatural
Volumes: 5
More than a century after an eccentric scholar made an infamous deal with a devil, the story of Faust has passed into legend. However, the true Faust is not the stuffy, professorial man known in fairy tales, but a charismatic, bespectacled woman named Johanna Faust, who happens to still be alive. Searching for pieces of her long-lost demon, Johanna passes through a provincial town, where she saves a young boy named Marion from a criminal's fate. In exchange, she asks a simple favor of Marion, but Marion soon finds himself intrigued by the peculiar Doctor Faust and joins her on her journey. Thus begins the strange and wonderful adventures of Frau Faust!
Generation Witch
Story and art by Uta Isaki; translation Jill Morita; adaptation Janet Houck.
Genre: Fantasy, Slice of Life
Volumes: 5
In the world of Generation Witch, 1% of the population are witches. Most non-magical people look up to these witches and envy their power, but as witches already know, sometimes these abilities can be more of a curse than a blessing. When growing up already requires all the luck and effort a teenager can muster, what happens when you throw spirits, spell circles, and broomsticks into the mix?
Inside Mari
By Shuzo Oshimi; translator: Sheldon Drzka.
Genre: Mystery, Horror
Volumes: 5
College dropout Isao Komori wakes up one morning to find himself in the body of a high school girl, Mari Yoshizaki. How did this happen? Where is his body? And who exactly is this girl and what of the soul who previously inhabited the body he is possessing?
Nameless Asterism
Story and art by Kina Kobayashi; translation by Jenny McKeon; adaptation, Lora Gray; lettering and retouch, Ray Steeves.
Genre: LGBT+, Romance, Slice of Life, Yuri
Volumes: 5
Tsukasa, Nadeshiko, and Mikage have been inseparable since they began junior high, but Tsukasa has a secret she’s been keeping from her best friends–she actually has a big crush on Nadeshiko! Not wanting to risk their friendship, she planned to keep it a secret forever, but when Tsukasa learns that Nadeshiko has a crush on Mikage, her desire to support her friends now conflicts with her own feelings. First love blossoms in unexpected ways for these three young women and their circle of friends.
Paradise Kiss
By Ai Yazawa; [translation, Maya Rosewood].
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 5
When Yukari is asked to be the runway model for the clothing label Paradise Kiss, her life is turned upside down as she juggles college and career.
The Rose of Versailles
By Riyoko Ikeda; translation by Mari Morimoto; lettering and touch up by Jeannie Lee
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 5 Omnibus
Oscar François de Jarjeyes is a young noblewoman raised as a son by her father. Oscar rises to commander of Marie Antoinette's palace guard and is brought face-to-face with the luxury of King Louis XVI's court at Versailles. Oscar and the servant, André, have an inside look at the intrigue and deceit of France's last great royal regime.
Spell of Desire
Story & art by Tomu Ohmi ; English adaptation, Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane ; English translation, JN Productions.
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 5
Kaoruko Mochizuki runs an herb shop in a small seaside town. One day, a mysterious man dressed in black named Kaname Hibiki enters her shop and reveals that Kaoruko is actually a witch. And what's more, Kaoruko needs Kaname to help control her awakening power! Among the shocking news that Kaname imparts is that Kaoruko's mother is still alive and has entrusted Kaoruko with the immense power of the Witch Queen. As long as Kaoruko has that power, she will be the target of humans and demonic spirits alike. Kaname claims to be a "knight" that protects witches, but then he steals a kiss from Kaoruko!
The Summit of the Gods
Script by Yumemakura Baku; art, Jiro Taniguchi; [translation, Kumar Sivasubramanian].
Genre: Historical
Volumes: 5
'Because it's there.' George Herbert Leigh Mallory is said to have given this in reply to the question 'Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?' On his third expedition in June 1924, Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, disappeared on the North-East ridge during their ascent, having been sighted only a few hundred metres from the summit. In 1993, in a small Nepalese store, Makoto Fukamachi, photographer for a Japanese expedition to conquer Mt Everest, stumbles across an old camera -- a Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak Special. Could it be Mallory's camera? Did it hold the secret of whether Mallory and Irvine made it to the summit?
Series that are Fewer than Ten Volumes
Cells at Work!
By Akane Shimizu; translation, Yamato Tanaka; lettering, Abigail Blackman; editing, Paul Starr.
Genre: Comedy
Volumes: 6
Strep throat! Hay fever! Influenza! The world is a dangerous place for a red blood cell just trying to get her deliveries finished. Fortunately, she's not alone... she's got a whole human body's worth of cells ready to help out! The mysterious white blood cell, the buff and brash killer T cell, the nerdy neuron, even the cute little platelets -- everyone's got to come together if they want to keep you healthy!
Complex Age
By Yui Sakuma; translation, Alethea Nibley & Athena Nibley; lettering, Evan Hayden; editing, Ajani Oloye.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 6
Twenty-six year old Nagisa Kataura has a secret. By all appearances, she's an average temp-worker, but beneath her business-casual exterior she's a dovoted cosplayer. Transforming into her favorite anime and manga characters is her passion in life, and her hard work and creativity has earned Nagisa respect amongst her cosplay cohorts. But to the rest of society, her hobby is a silly fantasy, so she has to keep her two worlds separate. However, as demands from both sides of her life begin to increase, she may one day have to make a tough choice...what's more importaant to her, cosplay or being "normal"?
Girls' Last Tour
By Tsukumizu; translation, Amanda Haley; lettering, Abigail Blackman.
Genre: Science Fiction, Slice of Life
Volumes: 6
Civilization is dead, but not Chito and Yuuri. Time to hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and wander what's left of the world! Sharing a can of soup or scouting for spare parts might not be the experience they were hoping for, but all in all, life isn't too bad.
Golosseum
By Yasushi Baba; translation, Kevin Gifford; lettering, Evan Hayden; editing, Ajani Oloye.
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Surreal
Volumes: 6
Scientists discover a new material that renders people immune to all existing weapons. But these "peacemakers" instead transform world war into a martial-arts free-for-all! Rasputin plots with Russian President Putinov to control the global supply. Opposing them are the unstoppable Axe Bogan, a certain master in a jumpsuit from China, and a slew of other muscular heroes!
Immortal Hounds
By Ryo Yasohachi; translation, Yota Okutani.
Genre: Action
Volumes: 6
In another reality, humans never die. If they get sick or injured, they simply 'kill' themselves--and immediately come back to life. But then a mysterious new disease, Resurrection Deficiency Syndrome, starts spreading through the populace via Vectors. The Anti-Vector Police Task Force is determined to solve the mystery of how RDS spreads, but the Escape Artists who use violent means to rescue Vectors seriously hamper the police's efforts. And just how do the Escape Artists always beat the cops to the scene of the crime...?
NYANKEES
By Atsushi Okada; translation: Caleb Cook; lettering: Rochelle Gancio.
Genre: Action
Volumes: 6
Protecting your turf, keeping other guys from pawing at your girl, showing everyone who's boss...it's all in a day's work when you're a street thug-er, a street cat!
Psycho-Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami
By Midori Gotu; art by Natsuo Sai.
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Volumes: 6
Working within the city-regulating Sybil System, Inspectors - or detectives - fight crime in a future where a single number determines criminal tendencies and potential danger to society. Shinya Kogami is the very best Inspector the city has to offer.
Spirit Circle
Story & art by Satoshi Mizukami; [translation, Jocelyne Allen; adaptation, Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane; lettering and layout, Lys Blakeslee].
Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural
Volumes: 6
Fuuta Okeya can see ghosts. Besides that—and the bandage he always keeps on his cheek—he’s a perfectly normal 14-year old boy enamoured with the new transfer student. Unfortunately, Kouko Ishigami wants little to do with him. A strange ghost that follows her, however, seems to feel quite differently. But, when Kouko sees the strange birthmark hidden beneath the bandage on Fuuta’s cheek, she has a change of heart…for the worse. Not only does she denounce him as her enemy, but she claims that the birthmark is a curse she engraved upon his face during one of their many past lives. What happened between Kouko and Fuuta, and what is the connection to the strange, fantastical dreams that Fuuta begins to experience?
Wake up Sleeping Beauty
Story & art by Megumi Morino; translation Alethea and Athena Nibley; lettering, Lys Blakeslee; editing, Haruko Hashimoto.
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 6
High schooler Tetsu Misato is hardworking, frugal, and easily scared, but he commits to a part-time job at the mansion on the hill—the one that's rumored to be haunted. As he toils away, he notices a building separate from the estate, and the mysterious girl who lives within it: Shizu Karasawa. Tetsu slowly becomes enchanted by Shizu's lonely smile, but by their second encounter, he quickly finds himself in over his head. There's an unsettling feeling he can't quite shake, but there's love there, too.
Wonderland
Story & art by Yugo Ishikawa.
Genre: Horror, Supernatural
Volumes: 6
Teenage girl Yukko awakens to find that she has shrunken in size-but this is no rabbit hole or fairy tale-this is real life! In a desperate and bloody struggle to stay alive, while fleeing giant predators and other twisted dangers, Yukko learns that she is not the only person who has turned tiny. Can she survive long enough to learn the truth behind her curious transformation?
Blame!
(Master Edition) by Tsutomu Nihei
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: The Master Edition condenses the original 10 volumes into 6 volumes.
In a future version of Earth, there is a city grown so chaotically massive that its inhabitants no longer recall what "land" is. Within this megastructure the silent, stoic Kyrii is on a mission to find the Net Terminal Genea genetic mutation that once allowed humans to access the cybernetic NetSphere. Armed with a powerful Graviton Beam Emitter, Kyrii fends off waves of attacks from fellow humans, cyborgs and silicon-based lifeforms. Along the way, he encounters a highly-skilled scientist whose body has deteriorated from a lengthy imprisonment who promises to help Kyrii find the Net Terminal Gene, once she settles a score for herself.
Sunny
Story and art by Taiyo Matsumoto; translation by Michael Arias; lettering by Deron Bennett; book design by Fawn Lau.
Genre: Drama, Slice of Life
Volumes: 6
The story of an orphanage, the children who live in it, and the beat-up old Nissan Sunny 1200 which provides a trio of boys with a means of escape from their bleak everyday lives.
Forbidden Scrollery
Story, Zun; art, Moe Harukawa; translation, ZephyrRZ; letttering, Alexis Eckerman.
Genre: Fantasy
Volumes: 7
Where else would a girl with the power to translate any tome she sets in her lap reside except a library? Sure, some books may be more dangerous than others, but that's far from discouragement for a true bibliophile like Kosuzu Motoori!
Forget Me Not
Original story: Mag Hsu; art: Nao Emoto.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 7
After an accident on his scooter, Yusuke Serizawa awakes to find himself in a hospital bed. The cause of the accident--the sight of a familiar face that distracted him. However, it turns out that the person who distracted him was also the person who called the ambulance for him, and whoever it was won't reveal their identity. All Yusuke knows is that this person is a woman from his past--someone that he loved and possibly wronged. Now Yusuke must search his memories of the women in his life to discover the identity of his guardian angel.
If I Could Reach You
By tMnR; translation: Diana Taylor; lettering: Jennifer Skarupa.
Genre: Slice of Life, Yuri
Volumes: 7
High schooler Uta must navigate living in close quarters with Kaoru: her first crush, her childhood friend...and now, her sister-in-law. After spending a year under the same roof with her brother and Kaoru, Uta witnesses the cracks in their marriage beginning to show. And when Uta becomes Kaoru's sole comfort and ally in their home, she is torn between her duty and her feelings. She just can't get over her...not yet.
An Incurable Case of Love
Story & art by Maki Enjoji; translation, JN Productions; touch-up art & lettering, Inori Fukuda Trant.
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 7
After witnessing a handsome and charming young doctor save a stranger's life five years ago, Nanase Sakura trained to become a nurse. But when she meets the doctor again and they start working together, she finds Kairi Tendo to be nothing like the man she imagined him to be!
Phantom Thief Jeanne
Story and art by Arina Tanemura; translation, Tetsuichiro Miyaki.
Genre: Magical Girl
Volumes: 7
High school student Maron Kusakabe has a secret: she's Phantom Thief Jeanne, the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. She sneaks into private art collections to steal paintings in which demons reside. Jeanne's task is to seal the demons before they can devour human hearts. So far she's been able to evade the police on her midnight outings, but now another thief has come onto the scene--Phantom Thief Sinbad--and he's trying to take the paintings before she does!
Record of Grancrest War
Original story by Ryo Mizuno; story & art by Makoto Yotsuba; character design by Miyuu; translation, Satsuki Yamashita; touch-up art & lettering, James Gaubatz.
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Volumes: 7
When tragedy strikes during a wedding that would bring together the Fantasia Union and the Factory Alliance, Siluca finds herself with no choice but to forge a new future for the world. With the aid of Theo, a knight errant with great potential, she will go against the world’s order to achieve peace through the magical power of crests. And as Theo soon finds out, her methods are more than a little unorthodox!
Saturn Apartments
By Hisae Iwaoka; translation, Matt Thorn.
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: 7
Far in the future, humankind has evacuated the earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the earth, 35 kilometers up in the sky. The society of the ring is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. When his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father's occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu's job treats him to an outsider's view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.
A Silent Voice
By Yoshitoki Oima; [translation, lettering, Steven LeCroy].
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 7
Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can't hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children's cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?
Devil Survivor
Story by Atlus; manga, Satoru Matsuba; character design, Yasuda Suzuhito; translator, Alethea Nibley & Athena Nibley; letterer, Paige Pumphrey.
Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Video Game Tie In
Volumes: 8
After demons break through into the human world, Tokyo must be quarantined. Without power and stuck in a supernatural warzone, 17-year-old Kazuya has only one hope: he must use the COMP, a device created by his cousin Naoya capable of summoning and subduing demons, to defeat the invaders and take back the city.
Fire Punch
Story and art by Tatsuki Fujimoto; translation: Christine Dashiell; touch-up art & lettering: Snir Aharon.
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Dystopia
Volumes: 8
In the not-too-distant past, the Ice Witch blankets the world in snow, starvation, and madness, leading the inhabitants to seek their salvation in fire. With that, an unusual destiny unfolds for two young orphans, Agni and Luna, blessed with the ability to regenerate. But will this ability prove to be more of a curse than a blessing?
Gangsta
Story & art by Kohske; translation & adaptation, Katherine Schilling.
Genre: Adventure, Thriller
Volumes: 8
In the city of Ergastulum, a shady ville filled with made men and petty thieves, whores on the make and cops on the take, there are some deeds too dirty for even its jaded inhabitants to touch. Enter the "Handymen", Nic and Worick, who take care of the jobs no one else will handle. Until the day when a cop they know on the force requests their help in taking down a new gang muscling in on the territory of a top Mafia family. It seems like business (and mayhem) as usual, but the Handymen are about to find that this job is a lot more than they bargained for.
Bloom into You
Story & art, Nakatani Nio; translation, Jenny McKeon; adaptation, Jenn Grunigen; lettering and retouch, CK Russell.
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 8
Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and yearns for the day when someone might give her a love confession that would send her heart aflutter. Yet when a junior high school classmate confesses his feelings to her--she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school, where she sees the confident and beautiful student council member Nanami. When the next person to confess to Yuu is Nanami herself, has her romantic dream finally come true?
Mixed Vegetables
Story & art by Ayumi Komura; English translation, JN Productions; English adaptation, Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic.
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 8
Hanayu Ashitaba is the daughter of the celebrated Patisserie Ashitaba, but all she wants to do is be a sushi chef. Hayato Hyuga is the son of the prestigious Sushi Hyuga, and all he wants to do is be a pastry chef. It's love and leftovers in the Oikawa High School Cooking Department.
O Maidens in Your Savage Season
Story by Mari Okada; art by Nao Emoto.
Genre: Comedy, Made into Anime, Romance, School Life
Volumes: 8
As a teen, how do you start thinking about sex? This debut manga from anime legend Mari Okada (Maquia) follows five girls and their five moving, funny, and mortifying answers. Join their bittersweet (and a little spicy) journey from girlhood to … whatever comes next!
Kazusa’s first high school literature club meeting starts with five girls being asked, “What’s one thing you want to do before you die?” When one of them blurts out, “Sex,” it launches these new friends down a raucous, embarrassing, all-too-relatable path.
Pluto. 001 Urasawa X Tezuka
By Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka; co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki; [translation, Jared Cook & Frederick L. Schodt.]
Genre: Science Fiction
Volumes: 8
In a world where man and robots coexist, the powerful Swiss robot Mont Blanc has been destroyed. Elsewhere a key figure in a robot rights group is murdered. The two incidents appear to be unrelated…except for one very conspicuous clue —the bodies of both victims have been fashioned into some sort of bizarre collage complete with makeshift horns placed by the victims' heads. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case - and he eventually discovers that he too, as one of the seven great robots of the world, is one of the targets.
Sweet Blue Flowers
Story and art by Takako Shimura; translation & adaptation, John Werry; touch-up art & lettering, Monalisa De Asis.
Genre: Romance, Yuri
Volumes: 8
Akira Okudaira is starting high school and is ready for exciting new experiences. And on the first day of school, she runs into her best friend from kindergarten at the train station. Now Akira and Fumi have the chance to rekindle their friendship, but life has gotten a lot more complicated since they were kids. Fumi is glad Akira is back in her life. Even in kindergarten, Akira knew how to stand up for herself, and she was always willing to stand up for Fumi too. But Fumi's first love recently got married, and Fumi is grappling with a broken heart and the fact that her sweetheart was another woman. Can Akira's open heart help dispel the gloom Fumi has been caught up in?
Tomo-chan is a Girl!
Story and art by Fumita Yanagida; translation, Jennifer O'Donnell; adaptation, T. Campbell; lettering and retouch, Carolina Hernández Mendoza.
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, Romance
Volumes: 8
Boyish high school girl Aizawa Tomo finally manages to tell her childhood friend Jun that she's got a crush on him. Unfortunately, her confession goes right over his head-- he didn't even realize she was a girl until middle school, and even now, Jun still thinks of her as a bro! How can Tomo-chan possibly convince him otherwise and win Jun's heart?
Erased
By Kei Sanbe; translation, Sheldon Drzka; lettering, Abigail Blackman.
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction
Volumes: 9
Twenty-nine-year-old Satoru Fujinuma is floundering through life. Amid his daily drudgery, he finds himself in the grip of an incredible, inexplicable, and uncontrollable phenomenon that rewinds time, a condition that seems to only make his drab life worse. But then, one day, everything changes. A terrible incident forever changes Satoru's life as he knows it...and with it, comes a "Revival" that sends Satoru eighteen years into the past!
Everyone's Getting Married
Story and art by Izumi Miyazono; translation, Katherine Schilling; touch-up art and lettering, Inori Fukuda Trant.
Genre: Romance
Volumes: 9
Successful career woman Asuka Takanashi has an old-fashioned dream of getting married and becoming a housewife. After her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her to pursue his own career goals, she encounters popular newscaster Ryu Nanami. Asuka and Ryu get along well, but the last thing he wants is to ever get married. This levelheaded pair who want the opposite things in life should never get involved, except…
Hour of the Zombie
Story and art by Tsukasa Saimura; translation, Elina Ishikawa; adaptation, Janet Houck; lettering and cover, Nicky Lim.
Genre: Horror
Volumes: 9
Life is good for Nikaidou Akira as he spends his days at school alongside his friends and long-time crush, Kurumi. That is, until the day everything changes. Students suddenly turn into frenzied zombies, attacking and gorging themselves on one another. Then just as abruptly, they stop! Or…do they? What caused this to happen? And how can Akira and his friends possibly survive when they don’t know who will be the next to turn?
Kiss of the Rose Princess
Story & art by Aya Shouoto; Translation, Tetsuiehiro Miyaki.
Genre: Romance, Harem
Volumes: 9
Anise Yamamoto has been told that if she ever removes the rose choker given to her by her father, a terrible punishment will befall her. Unfortunately she loses that choker when a bat-like being named Ninufa falls from the sky and hits her. Ninufa gives Anise four cards representing four knights whom she can summon with a kiss. But now that she has these gorgeous men at her beck and call, what exactly is her quest?!
My Boy
By Hitomi Takano; translation, Kumar Sivasubramanian.
Genre: Slice of life
Volumes: 9
Satoko Tawada, a 30-year-old office worker at a sporting goods company, encounters Mashuu Hayami, a 12-year-old boy, playing soccer in a park at night. She was treated cruelly by a former lover, he is dealing with a high-handed and uninvolved family. Both are burdened with loneliness, and they sense that the other has something that they’re searching for…
Saiyuki: The Original Series
By Kazuya Minekura.
Genre: Adventure, Supernatural
Volumes: 9
One Man, Three Yokai, and a Dragon on a Road Trip to Hell! This hit adventure, which blends mythology from around the world into a classic adventure story, has been out of print for years! Genjo is a Buddhist priest in the city of Shangri-La, which is being ravaged by yokai spirits that have fallen out of balance with the natural order. His superiors send him on a journey far to the west to discover why this is happening and how to stop it. His companions are three yokai with human souls. But this is no day trip -- the four will encounter many discoveries and horrors on the way, and on the road, Genjo will wonder... can he really trust his supernatural companions?
The Story of Saiunkoku
Art by Kairi Yura; story, Sai Yukino; [translation & English adaptation: Su Mon Han].
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Romance, teen
Volumes: 9
Shurei, 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!
Tokyo Tarareba Girls
By Akiko Higashimura; translation, Steven LeCroy; lettering, Rina Mapa and Paige Pumphrey.
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Volumes: 9
Rinko has done everything right. She hustled her way through her 20s to make it as a screenwriter, renting her own office in a trendy Tokyo neighborhood. Everything should have gone according to plan... So at 33, she can't help but lament the fact that her career has plateaued, she's still painfully single, and she spends most of her nights drinking with her two best friends in their favorite pub. One night, drunk and delusional, Rinko swears to get married by the time the Tokyo Olympics roll around in 2020. But finding a man--and love--may be a cutthroat, dirty job for a romantic at heart.
Series that are 10 Volumes
Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima
By Keiji Nakazawa; translated by Project Gen.
Genre: Historical
Volumes: 10
This harrowing story of Hiroshima was one of the original Japanese manga series. New and unabridged, this is an all-new translation of the author's first-person experiences of Hiroshima and its aftermath, is a reminder of the suffering war brings to innocent people.
Blue Giant
Story and art by Shinichi Ishizuka; translation, Daniel Komen; lettering and retouch, Ludwig Sacramento.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 10
Dai lived a normal high school life in Sendai: a city of hot summer days and rainy nights. Between basketball, part time jobs, and an uncertain future, something was missing. And that thing was music. With his days in senior year running out, Dai swears a heartfelt vow: “I’m gonna be the best jazz player in the world.”
But what do you need to be the best? Talent? Effort? A lucky break? Or maybe just a deep, pure love for music, and too much stubbornness to know when to quit.
*Winner of The 2016 Shogakukan Manga Award and the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for Manga!
Clockwork Planet
Story by Yuu Kamiya and Tsubaki Himana; manga by Kuro; character design by Shino; translation: Daniel Komen; lettering: David Yoo.
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Volumes: 10
Naoto is a brilliant amateur mechanic who spends his days tinkering with gears and inventions. And his world is a playground--a massive, intricate machine. But his quiet life is disrupted when a box containing an automaton in the shape of a girl crashes into his home. Could this be an omen of a breakdown in Naoto's delicate clockwork planet? And is this his chance to become a hero?
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
By Haruko Kumota; translator, Matt Alt; lettering, Hiroko Mizuno.
Genre: Drama
Volumes: 10
A hapless young man is released from prison with nothing to his name, but he knows exactly what he wants: to train in the art of rakugo comedic storytelling. After seeing an unforgettable performance from one of Japan's greatest masters, Yakumo Yurakutei VIII, during his time in jail, he will settle for nothing less than to become apprentice to the best. Yakumo, notorious for taking no students, is persuaded to take him on, and nicknames him Yotaro—the fool. Yotaro has no formal training or elegance, but something about his charisma reminds Yakumo of someone from his past.
Dreamin' Sun
Story and art by Ichigo Takano; translation, Amber Tamosaitis; adaptation, Shannon Fay ; lettering and retouch, Lys Blakeslee.
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance
Volumes: 10
Shimana Kameko feels out of place in her own home. Her mother is dead and her father and step-mom only seem to care about Kameko's six-month-old baby brother. When Kameko decides to skip school and runs away to a nearby park, she stumbles upon a mysterious man in a kimono. The stranger, Fujiwara Taiga, offers Kameko a place to stay...on three conditions. The first condition is that Kameko must tell him why she ran away from home. The second is that she must retrieve his missing house key. The third condition is to have a dream and fall in love. Kameko's never been in love or had a dream of her own before, but to secure her own apartment, she's willing to try!
The Girl from the Other Side: Vol. 1, Siúil, a Rún
Story and art by Nagabe; translation, Adrienne Beck; adaptation, Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.
Genre: Dark fantasy, mystery
Volumes: 10
In a land far away, there were two kingdoms: the Outside, where twisted beasts roamed that could curse with a touch, and the Inside, where humans lived in safety and peace. The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins.
Happiness
By Shuzo Oshimi; translation, Kevin Gifford; lettering, David Yoo.
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Volumes: 10 Nothing interesting in happening in Makoto Ozaki’s first year of high school. HIs life is a series of quiet humiliations: low-grade bullies, unreliable friends, and the constant frustration of his adolescent lust. But one night, a pale, thin girl knocks him to the ground in an alley and offers him a choice. Now everything is different. Daylight is searingly bright. Food tastes awful. And worse than anything is the terrible, consuming thirst. The tiny shames of his old life have been replaced by two towering horrors: the truth of what will slake his awful craving and high school itself.
Inuyashiki
By Hiroya Oku; translator, Stephen Paul.
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
Volumes: 10
Ichiro Inuyashiki is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he’s constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he’s done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world.
Just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichiro stands. He later wakes up to find himself unscathed, but he soon starts to notice that there’s something…different about himself. However, it turns out that these strange, new changes are just what Ichiro needs to take a new lease on life and now it seems like there’s nothing to stop him from being a hero worthy of the respect that he never had before…unless, that is, there was someone else out there with these same “changes”…
Nichijou = My Ordinary Life
By Keiichi Awawi; translation: Jenny McKeon.
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy
Volumes: 10
In this just-surreal-enough take on the 'school genre' of manga, a group of friends (which includes a robot built by a child professor) grapple with all sorts of unexpected situations in their daily lives as high schoolers. The gags, jokes, puns and haiku keep this series off-kilter even as the characters grow and change. Check out this new take on a storied genre and meet the new ordinary.
RG Veda
Story and art by Clamp; English translation and adaptation by Haruko Furukawa and Christine Schilling; lettering and retouch by IHL; editor, Carl Gustav Horn.
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure
Volumes: 10 collected into 3 omnibus
RG Veda, pronounced Rig Veda, is based on the classic Indian saga of the same name. The lush, sprawling epic follows Yasha, once a mighty warrior king, but now the lord of a slaughtered people he could not save. Yasha journeys the land as the companion and protector of the genderless Ashura, even knowing Ashura's fate is wound with doom for many. Together they seek the other four of the "Six Stars," whose prophesied gathering will at least defeat Taishukuten, the evil usurper of Heaven's throne. But all prophecies are open to interpretation.
Samurai Executioner
Story by Kazuo Koike; art, Goseki Kojima; translation Dana Lewis.
Genre: Drama, Historical Fiction
Volumes: 10
Yamada Asaemon has been trained since childhood in the way of the sword. Now, the feared Decapitator Asaemon tests swords and performs executions at the shogun's behest. Asaemon is the last stop for the condemned and often becomes the final confessor as well as slayer, finding that sometimes the stories of the doomed do not end with their deaths. From Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, the legendary creators of Lone Wolf and Cub, comes Samurai Executioner, a dark, complex exploration of Edo-period feudal Japan and the depths of the human spirit.
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Book summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.