Alley is the latest short story collection from horror icon Junji Ito to be published by VIZ Media. The first story, the titular “Alley,” is a creepy tale where a young man moves into a boardinghouse near an alley and thinks he hears kids. But …Read more »
There’s a subgenre of manga where yakuza, known as tough gangsters, are shown as being something other than what you would expect. Think of things like The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting. Mobsters in Love is a zany manga that fits perfectly in this subgenre. Aki, …Read more »
BL First Crush Anthology: Five Seconds Before We Fall in Love is a collection of 29 BL short stories. And by that, I mean very short stories. The following mangaka took part: Agri Uma, Akihito Sato, Azusa Banjo, Bimita, Chiruko Furuya, Fujisaki Moe, Hana Hasumi, …Read more »
Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown is a laid-back, wholesome, uncomplicated manga that takes place in a fantasy world. The main character, Hana, grew up in an orphanage where she did what she could to help the children. Now her tailoring skills have gotten her …Read more »
In Gannibal, Daigo Agawa has become a police officer for a small Japanese village called Kuge, where one would think there would be very little crime. Agawa moves in with his wife and little daughter. The daughter has lost the ability to speak, which hints …Read more »
Fool Night is a manga with a fascinating premise that looks really promising, judging by the first volume. It takes place in the future, and the sun has been blotted out from earth by clouds that never leave, plunging the world into constant winter and …Read more »
Hirayasumi is a laid-back slice-of-life that follows two cousins who are living together, but who have very different lifestyles and views about the world. Hiroto is 29, has a part-time job, and once tried to make it as a professional actor. He got some bit …Read more »
Let’s Do It Already! is a case of opposites attracting. High school students Yuri and Keiichiro are totally different from page one. Yuri doesn’t care about rules or traditions. Keiichiro very much cares about rules and traditions. The two are really into each other and …Read more »
A couple first moving in together is going to have its ups and downs, and It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too is a charming, honest and endearing look at the situation. It starts with Yuya Aida, who is 25, asking his girlfriend Rio Aihara, who is …Read more »
Victoria’s Electric Coffin opens with David Douglas strapped to the electric chair, ready to be executed for his many crimes. It’s 1920s New York. David, who grew up in the slums, regrets ever being alive. But when he’s asked if he’ll donate his body to …Read more »
My Gemini is a manga that takes inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the classic novel, the narrator is Gabriel John Utterson. In the manga, John Utterson is the main character. He’s small and awkward, goes …Read more »
In her past life, the main character of The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love was a woman in her 30s who obsessively played the dating game Cinderella and the Kingdom of Magic. She didn’t have any real relationships to speak of, so the …Read more »
In You and I Are Polar Opposites, teen Miya Suzuki is chatty, perky, and concerned with what people think. Her crush, Tani, is mild-mannered, likes to read, and doesn’t concern himself with what people think. In other words, as the title indicates, they are polar …Read more »
Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way with You is a long title, but it does get across the basic premise of the story. Agnès has been engaged to Prince Lucilleur since they were kids, and he’s someone who’s sometimes kind — but …Read more »
Stitches by Hirokatsu Kihara and Junji Ito is a collection of short horror stories and urban legends that are allegedly based on real happenings. It consists of nine prose stories with illustrations from Ito, then you turn the book the opposite way and read a …Read more »
Danica Davidson
