The heir to the most powerful company in Japan has grown up with the family motto drilled into his head: never owe anyone. So when a girl who lives under a bridge saves his life, he has to do anything she says in order to repay the biggest debt of all. She wants to know what it’s like to fall in love, so he agrees to be her boyfriend and live under the bridge with her. He’s re-christened as “Recruit” or Rec for short, and he meets the rest of the residents with their strange behaviors. Nino, his new girlfriend, claims to be from Venus; the Mayor is a man in a kappo costume; Hoshi wears a star mask that hides his secret identity, which is a moon mask; Sister is a man dressed like a nun who might have a secret-agent past in England; and so many more interesting people. Everyone has a job and contributes to the community, except Rec, who now must find a way to be useful and not continue to be indebted to all these people.
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Adapted by Haiji Nakasone
Rentt is a mediocre adventurer trying to get ahead in a dungeon, when he accidentally finds a dragon on a level where there should be no dragons. He wakes up much later, but his body is strange, and his voice isn't working. He realizes that he has woken up as a skeleton after the dragon has finished devouring him! Unsure of why he was reborn this way, Rentt puts his (absent) nose to the grindstone yet again in order to level up, but this time as a monster. He hopes he can level far enough to gain back a body and a voice. Along the way, he stumbles across another adventurer from his guild who he hopes can help him re-integrate into society and possibly figure out why he woke up as a monster.
Illustrated by Rowan MacColl
Alexa moves in with her grandpa in Savannah after her parents are arrested for nonviolent offenses. Her google-able past makes her an instant target for the school bullies, but she also finds some friends a group of three girls: Chloe, Skye, and Fae. The four blow off some steam after school one day with a drunken bonfire in the forest, and they come back with more than they bargained for. All four start exhibiting signs that they've delved into the Fae world and are slowly transforming into fairies. To make it worse, Alexa's grandpa starts dating a woman who also seems like she has fairy magic, and she's not leaving Alexa's family and friends alone until she restores a powerful fairy to the Fae world - someone she feels is in Alexa's friend group.
In volume 2, Yatora attends a summer prep academy to help hone his skills for the TUA (Tokyo University of the Arts). The classes focus on oil paintings, which is one part of the lengthy admissions process to get into the university. The instructor, Ooba-sensei, doesn’t pull any punches when letting Yatora know that his art is lacking in composition, originality, and expression. She urges him to study composition, and to look at art to figure out what he likes. Yatora goes to a couple of museums with some classmates and finds a few pieces he likes. He also practices with tons of different art pieces and enrages his classmates with his lack of understanding of composition, but by the end of the volume, he's done a lot of hard work and improved moderately in these important aspects of creating art.
Shiraishi has a problem; people often can’t see him or don’t notice him. The teacher often skips right over him during roll and never calls on him to answer questions. But there’s one person who can always see him and always finds him; his seat neighbor, Kubo. She teases him about his invisibility and tries to “help” him be more seen by raising her hand and telling the teacher he has the right answer, even if he doesn’t. She also tries sitting on him for a length of time to see if other students notice and speak up. Kubo invites Shiraishi to spend part of Christmas together, which is a romantic gesture in Japan. She shows up with a gift for Shiraishi and gives him time to find her one at a shop nearby.
Kanade and Munechika have been friends for their entire life. Kanade has feelings for Munechika that he'll never express because Chika is an Alpha, and Kanade is a Beta. In this world of the Omegaverse, Alphas and Omegas most often become mates for the procreation of the human race, but it's very rare an Alpha and a Beta would. One day, Kanade becomes suddenly very ill with a fever, fatigue, and weakness. A trip to the doctor's office reveals he's in heat - he's actually an omega! The doctor gives him some suppressants, but the only thing that can truly make him feel better is by coupling with an Alpha, and Chika is there to support his friend. The two move in together and their moms hope they become mates, but neither can bring himself to admin their true feelings for fear of trapping the other into a mated couple they don't wish to be part of.
Nagate has lived in the inner belly of Sidonia his whole life, but the death of his grandfather forces him out into the upper layer of the colony ship where the rest of the human race lives. After the destruction of Earth and the Solar System by the Gauna, Sidonia is now home to the only remaining humans in Space, searching for a new home and a refuge away from the aliens who still threaten them. Nagate is given a terribly strong weapon and becomes a pilot for a large robot space suit. He and a team of pilots are sent on a routine mission to mine an asteroid, but things go sideways when they find a Gauna under the surface.
Illustrated by George Schall
A company in Korea specializes in creating “proxies”, life-like robots that have taken the place of some human children for families where conceiving has been difficult. A programmer, in his spare time, has possibly unlocked a key of artificial intelligence. He experiments with one unit and sends it out into the world. As she is later named, Jesse is sent to a family in Texas, where she starts to devour every book in the house, and quickly move on to the library where her mom works. She decides she wants to try going to school and being a “normal” child. Jesse’s innocence quickly gets her swept up with the wrong kids, and she finds herself an accessory to a school shooting. The programmer comes back to reclaim Jesse and raise her as his own daughter, but back in Korea, Jesse struggles with her identity and wanting to not be a girl child. Some short stories are also included that are supposed to bring more to the world of proxies
Illustrated by Luca Panciroli & Ryan Showers, colored by Pamela Poggiali & Heather Breckel, lettered by Joel Rodriguez & Jacob Bascle
Lawrence, a professor of theology, loses his son to a drug overdose. He finds the grief too much to bear, and he has a nagging feeling that his son's soul is lost, that he needs his father on the other side to help guide the way. As Lawrence crosses over, he meets with his departed father who tries to counsel Lawrence away from seeking vengeance on those he feel is responsible for his son’s death. Lawrence's father gives him a staff that he hopes he will use for good, but he instead uses it for revenge. Along the way, he gets a companion - a fierce wolf who follows his lead and seems to want revenge as well.
In continuing the theme that every powerful person who meets Freya’s falls in love with her, we somehow run into the Sigurdian prince on a ship where Freya is bound for the kingdom of Nacht to secure the first of many alliances against Sigurd. Prince Dimitri decides to entertain himself by trying to get Freya to go to bed with him, but she skillfully avoids his advances. Once they land in Nacht, Freya and her hand-picked band of retainers learn that the Queen, who was a Sigurdian princess, sends her servants to the town to select young, beautiful men to be her evening’s entertainment. Of course, Julius stands out among the rest, and they all get an invitation to the castle. They discover that there’s more to her request than companionship and a dinner guest. The queen has actually been seeking a brave soul to save her kingdom from a vengeful person, and she begs Julius to be that soul.
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About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this siteRatings, Audience, and Subject Tags
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