Short stories showing some of Oku Hiroya's inspirations before he created his famous masterpiece, Gantz. From Baka-Updates: This series tells us stories about the mangaka's (OKU Hiroya) favorite movies and how it helped and lead to the creation of the manga we all came to know & love - Gantz.
Takeru, who just graduated from middle school, learns that his father has suddenly remarried. While being happy for him, Takeru leads, what he believes to be a boring life. His only hobby is taking pictures of things he finds 'nice' with his cell phone. Upon entering high-school, he is taking pictures of some Cherry Blossoms, when he sees a strange foreign girl and accidentally snaps a picture of her. And thus begins Takeru's interesting new high school life.
From DrMaster: Goths Cage is an enchanting manga-esque picture book series of three short stories with a malicious twist of love and romance. It is based on Yasushi Suzuki's art series that was previously released online in Japan under the name Phantoms KADAN. Suzuki-san re-adapts his art series and transforms it into a bewitching picture book with entrancing grace and charm. Each of his gothic tales is exquisitely crafted with elegant detailed illustrations that transport readers into an enchanted world of gothic glory. In his first story, Glass Magic, Suzuki-san does a twisted take on the classic Cinderella tale. An ugly corpse-like servant girl wishes to fall in love with a prince and become a beautiful princess. Then a sinister old witch offers her a magic potion that can grant her heart's desires, but in order for the magic to work, she must abandon her soul. She gets rid of her memories, her face, and her master to become a cruelly beautiful glass princess. In another of Suzuki's splendidly dark tales, the shop keeper of an enchanted barbershop attends to his beautiful victim under the moonlight. He snips away at her thoughts and memories, mystically cutting away all her painful memories that scar her heart. However, because she is sapped of her thoughts and memories, all that is left is her pitiful vacuous body. Prepare to be mesmerized by Yasushi Suzuki's spine-chilling tales of love and entrancement this fall 2008, because this enchanting collection of spellbinding illustrations and twisted tales is a must-have! Note: 32 page hardcover volume, all in color
Having given up on both study and dreams, Meguri Sakamoto ended his lacklustre high school life. But, on the day of the graduation ceremony, the dissappearance of his ex-girlfriend and now famous musician Chika Nito, has been reported in the news?!Starting with a time leap, this is a love story about redoing one's youth.
Although the family vacation was cancelled, our heroine decides to go forward alone. However the onsen inn turns out to be an extremely weird place! Not only is the staff all male and the gorgeous managers (a pair of brothers) are constantly fighting over the right to inherit the inn, even monkeys visit the springs as though they own it! How will our heroine ever get out of this mess?
The souls of the Hakkenshi are reincarnated in the present! Inuzuka Shino is a high school student who shares the name of the legendary Hakkenshi, "Devotion". The name has caused him nothing but stress all his life. Now, because of his name, he's gotten himself wrapped up in a conflict with the Blight, creatures from a giant hole that has suddenly emerged in the city. An exciting new fantasy/action manga from Rando Ayamine, the artist who brought you Get Backers, and writers Saki and Kentaro Kurimoto.
From ANN: Kaname Okiura, a student of Prefectoral Umineko Shougyou High ("Umisho" for short), joined the school's swimming club in order to learn how to swim, but the club is filled with weirdos, let alone teaches him swimming. Then, a sunny, happy-go-lucky girl named Amuro Ninagawa who was transferred from Okinawa joined the club. Her extraordinary underwater speed and unorthodox swimming style (plus her personal habit of nude swimming—a powerful magnet to teenage boys) surprised every club member, especially Okiura, because she reminds him of a mermaid-like creature he saw only once in his early childhood.
"You, want to join the track and field club?" Kourin-senpai's words decided the outlook of Fuuko's adolescence. Discovering the joy of running, with Takeo and Kiichi who joined the track and field club together with her, under vigorous training they sweat on the track everyday. Before long, her feelings towards Kourin-senpai's changes from admiration to love... Becoming a sparkling light and running through, an adolescent athletic story starts passionately!!
From Ryuusei no Mafia: Minnie’s the only human living on an alien planet and because of that she’s rejected by almost all the other inhabitants. Then one day something falls outside of her house and it happens to be... a human prince?!
One morning out of the blue, I was given an enormous amount of wealth and a man as my inheritance by my father. Despite not meeting even knowing my father's name or face, this man who's my heritage will never disobey me....!
Touched by the Black Death, a little girl becomes a zombie. Twenty years later... Leaving the boring, repetitive work at the smithy behind, Van manages to escape the premises, only to be caught by George, standing guard at the gates. Though he receives an earful and a chase, Van still manages to escape. George had been fearing Van growing up for a while and can't help but get a bad feeling as he sees him disappear. He yells at Van to not go near the Restricted area. Though he replied "alright," Van headed towards the North Gates, a request of Edmond's. Feeling the adrenaline, as he watches the two lookouts, a man suddenly appears and kills the two, leaving the Gate open. Soon, smelling the blood, four zombies hobble in and start attacking the injured guards. Van decides that he needs to let somebody know, but was exposed to the zombies in the process. As his strength leaves his legs, the zombies catch up to him. Just when the zombies are near and Van is sure he's dying, a sudden surge of strength emerges from his body and Van starts to overpower the zombies...
"Let's be lovers when we grow up." It was a promise between Mitsuru, a boy next door, and me. One day, Mitsuru transfers to my high school! And he has a twin brother, Ryo. Then, Ryo kisses me unexpectedly...!?
The story of a boy and a girl who met in an era of witch hunts.
When she was 16, photographer Lee went to Gretna Green, the "Elopement Capital of Scotland," where she could get married without her parents' consent. However, she soon divorces, taking her daughter with her. She has had enough of men, but 13 years later, she meets Daniel, who tries everything in his power to seduce her. Meanwhile, Lee's brother is in a passionate relationship with Daniel's daughter. The two lovers decide to elope to Gretna Green just as Lee did all those years ago. Lee chases after them with a bitter feeling in her heart...
[From: InfinityScan] Anna, sweet, kind, and an angel, as Ou Bin describes, was always being bullied by Oc Ja Gang to the point where she has to rest until she recovers. Though, there are these rumor going around the school that Anna is coming back. Ou Bin, excited about the news rushes to go find her but...what he sees is someone else and not the sweet Anna.
Sakuya, the lead singer for the hard-rocking band Lucifer, is the unattainable object of desire for millions of hopeful women. Aine is the demure high school student who suddenly finds herself in the middle of a raucous rock'n'roll circus. Together they're writing the book of love — one hit song at a time!
Once Demons and Humans were at war, and special warriors were needed to defend humans. Now a peace treaty exists between demons and humans. To uphold it human warriors now protect demons from other predatory demons. The Yosogi family is given this thankless task--and it's heir is young Akira, who can't even stand up against his older sister. But only Akira can sense the presence of demons, so he must become the next Demon Defender. But their grandfather has brought in a shy girl named Matsuri--and Akira is warned in a dream he must protect her at all costs!
Ten years ago, there was an explosion at Hisano's apartment building. She would have been there, but she'd been hit by a bike ridden by a boy in blood-stained clothes. He dropped a toy scale when it happened, and she's been hanging on to it as a good-luck charm ever since. Now Hisano's in high school. One of her teachers was murdered, and the police are investigating. A young man suddenly appears carrying the toy that scale belonged to. And perhaps... can he also see the hallucinations Hisano has always been plagued with? Everything is connected as the pattern slowly rises to the surface.