Mikage, Eiji

Tetsuo

Kazuki Hoshino values his everyday life above all else. He spends the days carefree with his friends at school, until the uneventful bliss suddenly comes to a halt with the transfer of the aloof beauty Aya Otonashi into his class and her cold, dramatic statement to him immediately upon arrival:

"I'm here to break you. This is the 13,118th time I've transferred. After so many occasions, I have to say that this is all starting to grate on me, which is why this time I'm spicing things up with a proper declaration of war."

And with those puzzling words, the ordinary days that Kazuki loved so dearly become a cycle of turmoil and fear—Aya's sudden appearance signals the unraveling of unseen mysteries surrounding Kazuki's seemingly normal friends, including the discovery of mysterious devices known as "boxes."

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria

The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria

空ろの箱と零のマリア

Ha, Il-Kwon

There is a rumor that a magician lives in the tent by the abandoned theme park; some even say his magic is real. However, before he starts his show, he always asks his audience: "Do you believe in magic?"

For Yoon Ah-ee, magic seems like a distant memory. Faced with the harsh reality of poverty, she spends all her time studying, working, and taking care of her younger sister in the absence of their parents. She no longer believes in the wonders of magic, just like her skeptical classmate Na Il-Deung, who has been brought up to believe that a good education is the only way to approach life.

When Ah-ee stumbles into the abandoned theme park and has a chance encounter with the magician, her life is changed forever. Annarasumanara reveals a philosophical, heartwarming, and thought-provoking story of what it means to grow up into the person you want to be.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Annarasumanara

안나라수마나라

Hotaru, Takana

Piro, Shiki

"Irises" are unique abilities most people are said to possess from birth. These powers manifest themselves in the form of visual cues and range from lie detection to danger prediction. Unfortunately, high school student Tooru Mizushima is one of the very few without an Iris. As an "Iris Zero," he is frequently bullied, and therefore, he tries to stand out as little as possible.

However, when the popular schoolgirl Koyuki Sasamori comes crashing into Tooru's life, his motto of minimal exposure is brutally shattered. Koyuki's Iris allows her to identify the most qualified person for a certain task—and she determines Tooru to be the most capable person to help her find the next student council president.

Tooru refuses to become involved in such a public affair, but Koyuki's cheerful persistence ultimately prevails. And so, Tooru's lonely life as an Iris Zero slowly changes as he comes to meet more people and utilize his exceptional deduction skills to solve various mysteries.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Iris Zero

アイリスzero

Tatsumi, Yoshihiro

Over four decades ago, Yoshihiro Tatsumi expanded the horizons of comics storytelling by using the visual language of manga to tell gritty, literary stories about the private lives of everyday people. He has been called "the grandfather of Japanese alternative comics" and has influenced generations of cartoonists around the world. Now the visionary creator of "The Push Man and Other Stories" and "Good-bye" has turned his incisive, unflinching gaze upon himself. Over ten years in the making, "A Drifting Life" is Tatsumis' most ambitious, personal, and heart felt work: an autobiographical bildungsroman in comics form. Using his life long obsession with comics as a frame work, Tatsumi weaves a complex story that encompasses family dynamics, Japanese culture and history, first love, the intricacies of the manga industry, and most importantly, what it means to be an artist. Alternately humorous, enlightening, and haunting, this is the masterful summartion of a fascinating life and a historic career.

(Source: Drawn &amp; Quarterly)

Gekiga Hyouryuu

A Drifting Life

劇画漂流

Mizushiro, Setona

Mashiro Ichijou, an attractive and popular high school student, has always lived his life as a boy. However, nobody notices that deep down, he resents the fact that his body is half female. He has decided to conceal his femininity from those around him, while in reality, he is insecure about who he is supposed to be.

One day, an unfamiliar nurse asks Mashiro to follow her to the school's infirmary in the basement—an office that has never existed until now. Little does he realize that the moment he steps into the mysterious room, he will never be capable of returning to being the person he was before.

As he struggles to find his true identity, Mashiro must face the disquiet in his own heart, all while protecting himself from the prying eyes of his classmates. Slowly but steadily, the unbecoming truth of the world is laid bare: all its lies and deceit engulfed in nightmares that only unfold in broad daylight.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Houkago Hokenshitsu

After School Nightmare

放課後保健室

Tezuka, Osamu

From time immemorial to the age of space colonization, there is one legend that has stayed unchanged in every history book—the tale of the immortal bird Phoenix. A being whose blood is said to grant eternal life or wisdom, the radiant figure ensures the continuation of sentient life in the universe as it oversees human civilizations and their development.

Yet, mankind remains a slave to its habits; from happiness and sorrow, to wrath and love, a myriad of emotions continue to play an integral part of human life. Simultaneously, time and time again, certain beliefs and agendas persist over the centuries to disturb the fragile equilibrium of the world's preordained nature and principles. It appears that fate, with its dynamic variables, can manifest itself in many ways—and oftentimes exhibits a bizarre sense of humor.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Note: This is an incomplete series due to Tezuka's death.

Hi no Tori

Phoenix

火の鳥

Arakawa, Naoshi

At a very young age, Kousei Arima was strictly taught how to play the piano and meticulously follow the score by his mother, to the point where he dominated every competition he entered with ease. He earned the title of "Human Metronome" for performing almost perfectly. Every musician of his age looked up to him. However, after his mother suddenly dies, he became tone-deaf due to the shock and then disappeared, never to be seen onstage since.

Two years later, Kousei lives a monotonous life with his childhood friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari supporting him. He continues to cling to music, although performing is still an impossibility for him. This is until his unexpected encounter with Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who performs freely without the dictations of a score. A story of friendship, love, music, and a single lie, Kousei's life begins to change and gain color as Kaori helps him to take up music again.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Your Lie in April

四月は君の嘘

Adachi, Mitsuru

Kou Kitamura is a fifth grader whose family runs a sporting goods store. One of the regular customers of his family's store is the Tsukishima Batting Center, and so he gets to know the four daughters of the Tsukishima family (Ichiyo, Wakaba, Aoba, and Momiji) very well. Since Kou has spent so much time practicing in their batting cages, he has become a genius hitter, but has no knowledge of any other aspect of baseball. This is in contrast to Aoba, who, despite being a year younger, is an adept pitcher and hitter. Wakaba is a classmate of Kou's, and she seems fully intent on marrying him when she grows up. All seems idyllic in their world, until tragedy strikes. The story then skips ahead to four years later, as Kou has continued the training he began four years ago, but has not played in a baseball game since. As he finally begins playing again, it remains to be seen whether or not he will live up to the expectations of those who know the true talent he has been hiding all this time.

(Source: ANN)

Cross Game

クロスゲーム

Takeuchi, Tomo

With no particular dreams or plans for the future, third-year middle schooler Tatara Fujita yearns to find something that he can pursue wholeheartedly. Initially often bullied and extorted for his lack of confidence, Tatara's life changes when he is saved from delinquents by a man named Kaname Sengoku. His savior, a motorcycle-riding dance instructor, proceeds to drag Tatara to Ogasawara Dance Studio, mistakenly believing that the boy was looking at the studio's flyer.

Tatara is then partnered with his schoolmate and skilled dancer Shizuku Hanaoka when he agrees to a trial lesson. The next day after being bullied and only to be saved yet again, he asks the studio to teach him dancing in hopes of changing his image. Now entering a bright and fast-paced new world, Tatara dedicates his time to dancing as he sweeps over the dance hall.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ballroom e Youkoso

Welcome to the Ballroom

ボールルームへようこそ

Touch is a shounen story about two twin brothers, a pretty girl next door, and that good old pastime of baseball. The manga was written by one of the most well known manga-ka out there, Adachi Mitsuru in the early 80's (1981-1986). He's a wonderful writer who tends to write stories that are related to baseball and Koshien, the stadium where the All High School Baseball Tournament is held.

(Source: MangaProject)

Touch

タッチ

Fujisawa, Tooru

Eikichi Onizuka and Ryuuji Danma are members of infamous biker gang, Oni Baku. When not out riding around, they can be found in school, trying to pick up young women. This is the story of the young Onizuka, who would later become the greatest teacher in Japan.

(Source: ANN)

Shonan Junai Gumi!

GTO: The Early Years

湘南純愛組！

Hiro has two loves: baseball and porn. But due to an elbow injury he gives up baseball choosing a school with no baseball team. His childhood friend Hikari attends a different school with baseball ace Hideo and the two wish Hiro had not given up baseball. Hiro joins the soccer team but meets Haruka, a very clumsy girl, who is manager of the unofficial baseball club. When the soccer team challenges the baseball club to a game, with hopes of humiliating them, the baseball club nearly loses until Hiro, disgusted by the soccer team`s arrogance, switches to the baseball club.

(Source: MU)

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