5 Centimeters per Second


Makoto Shinkai - 2007
    Now life seems to move at the speed of light. Our memories are captured and shared with the world on social media platforms. And love, which is already capricious, can feel like it is moving at terminal velocity.In Makoto Shinkai’s defining work, the internationally renowned director and animator unfolds a love story that is as timeless as it is fleeting. Yukiko Seike’s rendition of this modern classic adds a new level of emotion and intimacy that is unique to its source material.

Ceres: Celestial Legend, Vol. 1: Aya


Yuu Watase - 1997
    Their "birthday present" turns out to be a mummified hand--the power of which forces an awakening within Aya, and painful wounds all over Aki's body! Grandfather Mikage announces that Aki will be heir to the Mikage fortune, and Aya must die! But Aya has allies in the athletic cook and martial artist Yûhi, and the attractive, mysterious Tôya. But can even two handsome and resourceful guys save Aya when it's her own power that's out of control?

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vol. 1


Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - 1994
    1, contains a Japanese sound FX glossary plus special bonus commentary by series mecha designer Ikuto Yamashita, as well as the famous "confession letter" written by director Hideaki Anno in the months before the original TV series premiere that laid out his deeply personal motivations to make Evangelion.

Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Vol. 1


Shimoku Kio - 2002
    Should he fulfill his long-cherished dream of joining an otaku club? Saki Kasukabe also faces a dilemma. Can she ever turn her boyfriend, anime fanboy Kousaka, into a normal guy? Kanji triumphs where Saki fails, when both Kanji and Kousaka sign up for Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture.Undeterred, Saki chases Makoto through various activities of the club, from cos-play and comic conventions to video gaming and collecting anime figures - all thew while discovering more than she ever wanted to know about the humorous world of the Japanese otaku!

Beastars, Vol. 1


Paru Itagaki - 2017
    Who among them is a Beastar—an academic and social role model destined to become a leader in a society naturally rife with mistrust?

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 1


Shūzō Oshimi - 2009
    And his favorite book right now is Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil. While the young man may often be seen lost in thought as he rabidly consumes page after page, Takao is not much of a student. Actually when we are first introduced to the middle school teen, we find him sneaking some reading as he receives and F on a recent language exam. Nakagawa is known as the class bully. When she is not receiving zeros she is usually muttering profanities to those around her. While she doesn't care for books or their readers, she does have a thing for troublemakers. Takao may not be one, but having read over his shoulder a few times, she knows he is not very innocent. If anything he is bored and aware of it. Together, by chance, they shake up their entire rural community as Takao tries to break out of his shell in a random moment of passion and affection...not directed towards Nakamura. And contrary to Takao's predictions, the girl he was falling for, Nanako Saeki, responds by eventually accepting the bibliophile for who he is. Or at least, who she thinks he is.And therein lies the conflict. Takao is not a hero. He is not trouble-maker, either. He is a regular teen who through equal moments of cowardice and chivalry takes a long step towards adulthood as he desperately tries to cover up a dark secret. Takao Kusuga has stolen an item precious to someone he is attracted to, and if he doesn't form a "contract" with his new best friend, she is going to tell.

Full Moon o Sagashite, Vol. 1


Arina Tanemura - 2002
    However, Mitsuki's life turns around when two shinigami appear to grant her a temporary reprieve from her illness--and give her singing career a magical jump-start.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1


Isuna Hasekura - 2008
    But this monotony screeches to a halt when, one night, he encounters a harvest goddess in the guise of a beautiful young girl...with wolf ears and a tail! Longing for the northern lands of her birth, Holo the Wisewolf joins Lawrence as he follows the ebb and flow of trade through the countryside. And when the two come across a compelling but suspicious opportunity for profit, will Lawrence with his mercantile chops and Holo with her ancient instincts be able to separate the truth from the lies--and make some coin while they're at it?!

Twin Spica, Volume: 01


Kou Yaginuma - 2002
    And yet, every time she looks up to the stars there is a sense of melancholy in her heart. A sadness surrounds Asumi, as space exploration itself has profoundly impacted her life for as long as she can remember. But she is not alone...A young man wearing a lion's mask is always beside her. He speaks of the constellations and galaxies as if he they were like home. He knows what it is like to love the stars--slightly bitter and yet always so warm and inviting. Truth is he has gone through much of Asumi is just experiencing. And now in spirit he will forever be with Asumi guiding her on her path to space.

Saturn Apartments, Vol. 1


Hisae Iwaoka - 2006
    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.

David Boring


Daniel Clowes - 2002
    When he meets the girl of his dreams, things begin to go awry: what seems too good to be true apparently is. And what seems truest in Boring's life is that, given the right set of circumstances (in this case, an orgiastic cascade of vengeance, humiliation and murder) the primal nature of humandkind will come inexorably to the fore.

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 1


Kaori Tsurutani - 2018
    When she returns to the bookstore to buy the next volume, the high school girl working there--Urara, a seasoned BL fan--notices a budding fangirl when she sees one. When Urara offers to help Ichinoi explore this whole new world of fiction, the two dive into BL fandom together, and form an unlikely friendship along the way.

Comics Underground -- Japan: A Manga Anthology


Kevin QuigleyCarol Shimoda - 1996
    Some of the dozen artists included in this anthology will be familiar to followers of manga; others make their American debut in these pages. The richly imaginative stories in this volume show a great range of graphic style, from painstakingly detailed craftsmanship to exuberant, maniacal renderings. At the heart of each work in this anthology is a unique personal vision and a fierce artistic compulsion–these manga artists are the misfits of the art form, and they are its visionaries.Included stories are:1. "Hell's Angel" by Yoshikaze Ebisu2. "It's All Right if Yiu Don't Understand" by Yoshikaze Ebisu3. "Steel Pipe Melancholia" by Masakazu Toma4. "Future Sperm Brazil" by Takashi Nemoto5. "A Love Like Lemons" by Carol Shimoda6. "Selfish Carol's Summer Vacation" by Carol Shimoda7. "Mercy Flesh (Jiniku)" by Kazuichi Hanawa8. "Don Quixote #1 & #2" by Yasuji Tanioka9. "Planet of the Jap" by Suehiro Maruo10. "Mary’s Asshole" by Hanako Yamada11. "Volvox" by Pan Migawa12. "Bigger and Better" by Muddy Wehara13. "Laughing Ball" by Hideshi Hino14. "Cat Noodle Soup" by Hajime Yamano & Nekojiro

Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!! Vol. 1


Yasuhiro Nightow - 1995
    Created by Yasuhiro Nightow, this compound of genre-bending ingredients has turned the Trigun animation into a wildly popular series, and finally, the long-awaited manga comes to America.Somehow the past has placed a sixty billion double dollar bounty on Vash's head, and the gunslinging pacifist can't seem to get away from money grubbing, itchy-trigger-finger citizenry. Find out why Vash is worth so much money dead! Feel the clumsy worry of the unfortunate citizens of the pulverous planet! Follow the follies of an unlikely hero in a forbidding world! Join Vash the Stampede - with his troubled past and an uncanny ability to dodge a gazillion bullets - and a cavalcade of unlucky characters on a dusty, desert planet in the distant future.

Lost at Sea


Bryan Lee O'Malley - 2003
    A cat stole it – at least that's what she tells people – at least that's what she would tell people if she told people anything. But that would mean talking to people, and the mere thought of social interaction is terrifying. How did such a shy teenage girl end up in a car with three of her hooligan classmates on a cross-country road trip? Being forced to interact with kids her own age is a new and alarming proposition for Raleigh, but maybe it's just what she needs – or maybe it can help her find what she needs – or maybe it can help her to realize that what she needs has been with her all along.