Sweetness and Lightning, Vol. 1


Gido Amagakure - 2013
    He's pretty bad at cooking and doesn't have a huge appetite to begin with, but chance brings his little family and one of his students, Kotori Iida, together for homemade adventures. With those three cooks in the kitchen, it's no wonder this dinner table drama is so delicious.

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 1


Satoru Noda - 2015
    With only a cryptic map and a native Ainu girl to help him, Saichi must also deal with every murderous cutthroat, bandit and rogue who knows about the treasure! Immortal Sugimoto, a survivor of the assault on 203 Meter Hill during the Russo-Japanese War, now scratches out a meager existence in the post-war gold rush in the wild frontier of Hokkaido. A chance encounter in the woods puts a map to a hidden fortune of Ainu gold in his hands, but Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it!

Lamu: Urusei Yatsura, 1


Rumiko Takahashi - 1989
    Ataru is confident he can win by grabbing her horns, but then finds out Lum can fly. The game lasts for 10 days, and Ataru can't seem to catch her. When things are looking grim for the humans, Shinobu (Ataru's girlfriend) promises to marry him if he wins, so Ataru figures out a how to steal Lum's top, thereby getting her to fly close enough for him to grab her horns.As he is celebrating his win, he shouts, "Now I can marry her!", Lum promptly takes this as a marriage proposal and moves into his bedroom closet, much to the annoyance of Shinobu.Thus starts one of the most popular manga series of all time, and the series which put Rumiko Takahashi firmly on the path to becoming the most popular and richest female manga artists in Japan.This is first volume of the "wide" edition, and contains the first 19 chapters (かけめぐる青春 (Kakemeguru Seishun) through 女になって出直せよ (Onna ni Natte Denaose yo)).

Paradise Kiss, Vol. 1


Ai Yazawa - 2000
    One afternoon, however, she is kidnapped by a group of self-proclaimed fashion mavens calling themselves "Paradise Kiss." Yukari suddenly finds herself in the roller coaster life of the fashion world, guided by George, art-snob extraordinaire. In a glamorous makeover of body, mind and soul, she is turned from a hapless bookworm into her friends' own exclusive clothing model.

Japanese Cuisine


Tetsu Kariya - 2006
    To commemorate its 100th anniversary the heads of newspaper Tozai Shimbun come up with a plan to publish the “Ultimate Menu”. The assignment is given to journalist Yamaoka Shiro, the protagonist of the series. With the help of a female coworker, Kurita Yuko, Yamaoka starts off on what can only be termed an epic saga to find the dishes hat will go into the “Ultimate Menu”. The subject of volume 1 is Nishon ryori, or Japanese cuisine, featuring stories on subjects like how to prepare a proper dashi (broth that is one of the building blocks of Japanese cooking), or matcha (the powdered green tea used in the tea ceremony), or red snapper sashimi. The subjects of the later volumes are: 2) sake, 3) fish, 4) vegetables, 5) rice dishes, 6) udon, and 7) izakaya or “pub” food.

A Drifting Life


Yoshihiro Tatsumi - 2008
    A Drifting Life is his monumental memoir eleven years in the making, beginning with his experiences as a child in Osaka, growing up as part of a country burdened by the shadows of World War II.Spanning fifteen years from August 1945 to June 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, the manga artist Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy, Apollo’s Song, Ode to Kirihito, Buddha)—with whom Tatsumi eventually became a peer and, at times, a stylistic rival. As with his short-story collection, A Drifting Life is designed by Adrian Tomine.

BLACK TORCH 1


Tsuyoshi Takaki - 2017
    But in addition to that, he also has the ability to talk to animals. One day when he rescues a strange black cat named Ragou, he learns that the world is filled with spirits called mononoke that can take the form of both people and animals. However, their meeting is cut short when they are attacked by a hostile mononoke who is after Ragou's power.

Mushishi, Vol. 1


Yuki Urushibara - 2000
    Some eat silence. Some thoughtlessly kill. Some simply drive men mad. Shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze, these deadly creatures, mushi, came into terrifying being. And they still exist and wreak havoc in the world today. Ginko, a young man with a sardonic smile, has the knowledge and skill to save those plagued by mushi . . . perhaps.

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 1


Karuho Shiina - 2006
    With striking similarities to a haunting movie character--jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor--she's mistakenly called Sadako by those around her. But behind her scary façade is a very misunderstood teenager. Too shy to fit in, all she wants to do is make some friends. But when the most popular boy in class befriends her, she's sure to make more than just that--she's about to make some enemies too!

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1


Kamome Shirahama - 2017
    But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem…

The Drifting Classroom, Vol. 1


Kazuo Umezu - 2004
    While parents mourn and authorities investigate, the students and teachers find themselves somewhere far away...somewhere cold and dark... a lifeless, nightmarish wasteland in which their school stands like a lone fortress. As panic turns to terror, as the rules start to fall apart, a sixth-grade boy named Sho and his friends must fight to survive in an alien world...

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 1


Kintetsu Yamada - 2018
    and that line is where Asako -- a woman who sweats copiously -- met Koutarou -- a perfume developer who can't get enough of Asako's, er, scent. Don't miss a romcom manga like no other!Yae's living her dream, working at the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. Little do her coworkers know, the reason she loves the company so much is that she's ashamed of her body odor, and their soap is the only thing that does the trick. So when the company's lead product developer, a perfuming genius, approaches her in the lobby and wonders what "that smell" is, she's terrified... but could it be... that he likes it? And, even more surprising to Yae... does she like him?The hilarious ups and downs of an office romance at a personal care products company are the subject of this sexy, strange romp. Sweat and Soap combines the odd-couple chemistry of Wotakoi, the "too real!" workplace comedy of Aggretsuko, and a heavy dollop of office steaminess!

Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist


Asumiko Nakamura - 2010
    Her debut title UTSUBORA was being pitched about to a number of editors and at least one person felt it was set to propel her into stardom. However, before she could ever have her book published, the young woman was found dead. Some believe it was a suicide, but those close to her feel there is something more sinister involved in this young talent's death. Aki's death has become something straight out of a mystery. Much like the story behind UTSUBORA, there is something more to Aki, Sakura and their relationship with an author named Mizorogi than meets the eye. And it is possible that the only way to solve this mystery may be to uncover all their secrets.

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1


Io Sakisaka - 2015
    When lady-killer Rio and the oblivious Kazuomi join their ranks, love and friendship become quite complicated!

MPD Psycho, Vol. 1


Eiji Otsuka - 1997
    Enjoy the 11-volume MPD-Psycho series for all of its absurd twists, sci-fi touches and inventive torture scenes, but you’ll also be mesmerized by the plethora of odd conspiracies and case files found in Otsuka and Tajima’s uncontrollable, urban horrorshow. In MPD-Psycho Volume 1, police detective Kobayashi Yousuke’s life is changed forever after a serial killer notices something "special" about him. That same killer mutilates Kobayashi’s wife and kick-starts a "multiple personality battle" within Kobayashi that pushes him into a complex tempest of interconnected deviants and evil forces. Earning praise for its consistently shocking plotlines and Tajima’s clean, arresting art style, MPD-Psycho is the manga event of the decade!