Love Hina: The Novel, Volume 1


Ken Akamatsu - 2003
    Despite the fact that he's kind of a screw-up, the competition to hook up with him is fierce, and hilarious cat-fights ensue. An already tumultuous living situation escalates to an uproar when Keitaro and the girls get the news that their home will transform into a commercial inn, with strangers from outside their school as guests!

House of Five Leaves, Vol. 1


Natsume Ono - 2006
    Hungry and desperate, he agrees to become a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a group calling itself "Five Leaves." Although disturbed by the gang's sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi's motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he's drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.

Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls, Vol. 1


Futaro Yamada - 2003
    Only the Hanzo Hattori truce has kept the two families from all-out war. Now, under the order of Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, the truce has finally been dissolved. Ten ninja from each clan must fight to the death in order to determine who will be the next Tokugawa Shogun. The surviving clan will rule for the next thousand years. But not all the clan members are in agreement. Oboro of the Iga clan and Gennosuke of the Kouga clan have fallen deeply in love. Now these star-crossed lovers have been pitted against each other. Can their romance conquer a centuries-old rivalry? Or is their love destined to end in death? From the Trade Paperback edition.

Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 1


Tsugumi Ohba - 2003
    But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Afro Samurai Vol 1


Takashi Okazaki - 2008
    And only Number 2 is allowed to challenge Number 1. Afro Samurai has assumed the mantle of Number 2, seeking vengeance against Number1, a gunman who killed his father years ago. But assassins lurk at every corner, seeking to rob Afro Samurai of the title of Number 2. Can Afro survive long enough to exact his revenge?

Appleseed, Vol. 1: The Promethean Challenge


Masamune Shirow - 1985
    That's the maxim of Olympus, the utopian city that sprung from the ashes of World War III. But Deunan and Bri, a young woman and her cyborg companion just entering the rose-tinted society, find that so long as there are different kinds of people there will be differences among them. Such is the story of Appleseed, the masterwork of manga storyteller Masamune Shirow. Beautiful art and a complex and fully realized future world rank this title among the best comics available.