Widower Inuzuka is very busy teaching and raising his young daughter, and he relies often on food from the Konbini (convenience store). While at a park celebrating the bloom of the Sakura trees, Inuzuka runs into a young woman who has a delicious picnic lunch from her professional chef mother. She invites the two of them to the restaurant to try the food for themselves. One night, Tsumugi, Inuzuka’s daughter, asks for something delicious, and he rushes to the restaurant only to find it closed. Kotori, the girl from the park, is there and laments that her mother is often too busy now to keep the restaurant open. The two come to find out that neither one knows how to cook very well, and after some goading from Inuzuka, they decide to get together once a week to practice cooking. Inuzuka is also embarrassed to find out Kotori is in his homeroom class, and he didn't recognize her!
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Illustrated by Kyle Strahm
Twig is late for his very first day of his new job as a Placeling, and he just might destroy the planet because of his error! Twig is tasked with placing a jewel but nothing goes right, and the light in the jewel is gone. Now, he has to journey across the world to find the way to light it up again, and he has a very short amount of time to do it in. With his trusty friend, Splat, Twig gathers components and meets new creatures, some more helpful than others, in a journey that is part self-discovery and 
Hayakawa and his pet Penguin, Pen-chan, live in a normal apartment while Hayakawa attends university classes. Pen is an amazing pet - he helps around the house, does the shopping, cooks delicious and elaborate meals, cleans the apartment and does Hayakawa's laundry, and tries to do everything he can to make Hayakawa happy. But, most days, Hayakawa doesn't notice what Pen-chan has done for him! Hayakawa's friends realize what a great penguin he has, but Pen's owner remains oblivious.
Sakura, Li, Kero-Chan, and Yue all feel it - the presence of Clow Reed. But how is that possible since he died so long ago? Sakura continues to fight a formless enemy who always uses another creature or creates a natural phenomenon that Sakuramust subdue. Each time she does, the Clow Cards she summons to help her are transformed - Reed’s magic circle on the back is changed into a distinct one Kero-Chan believes is a representation of Sakura’s own magic. These new cards are therefore more part of Sakura than Clow. But this takes a terrible toll on Sakura; she leaves battles completely exhausted and begins to run a fever, but even sickness isn't going to stop her from saving her friends and getting to the bottom of this mystery.
We open on a castle under siege, and Lady Talli receiving the final words from her father, Lord Borin, before he sends her and her noble knight, Alan, off on into the wilderness on a speedy horse. Cunning archers see the fleeing pair, and one lands an arrow in the horse’s haunches while other soldiers on horseback pursue. Lady Talli and Alan manage to evade capture in the next town over with the help of a bumbling old man and his grandson. The two agree to take Lady Talli to the port in exchange for lots of money. Lelo, the grandson, and Pavel, the old man, have some secrets of their own - Lelo is a highly skilled fighter with unnatural speed, and Pavel used to be a famous adventurer and treasure seeker. The four are helped along the way by true believers who recognize Talli for who she really is: a descendent from the Moon Goddess, and the last Summoner.
Sakura finally collects all the Clow Cards, and doing so triggers the awakening of Yue, the Judge and second guardian of the Clow Cards whose power stems from the moon. We also get to find out what Mizuki-sensei’s roll is in all of this. Once Sakura passes the final judgment, she’s ready for some peace and quiet around Tomoeda Elementary. She goes into the 5th grade, and a new transfer student from England joins her class. Li-San was going to go back to Hong Kong, but there’s something off about Eriol, the new kid, so he’s sticking around. There’s also a new student in Tōya’s class, and she is super high energy and a little sweet on Tōya. When it starts raining only over Tomoeda for several days, Sakura sets out with her guardians to figure out what supernatural power is causing it, but she might have uncovered a new enemy in the process.
Sakura’s family goes on a weekend vacation to a lake house, and Sakura befriends a nice old man at a much larger lake house next door. He serves her tea and gives her one of his granddaughter’s dresses. It turns out that he’s related to Sakura, but he doesn’t reveal himself to her. Then, it’s time for the annual talent show, and Sakura’s class is going to put on The Sleeping Beauty play. The teachers decide to cast roles by playing the ladder game - Sakura is cast as the prince, and Li-san is cast as Aurora! But the play isn’t without incident as another Clow Card shows up to challenge Sakura. We also learn how her teacher, Mizuki-sensei, is involved with the Clow Cards as she reveals herself to Kero-Chan.
Manpachi and Momoji the Badger travel to the mountain where Manpachi was born, but Momoji also knowingly takes Manpachi away from Senzou and endangers him. When the two get to the mountain, all the creatures are sleeping and covered in snow. The two are almost immediately attacked by a dormouse in human form, who accused the two of them of disturbing the mountain’s restorative sleep. Before the dormice can fully attack Manpachi and Momoji, the goddess of the mountain reveals herself and explains why she has put everyone in a sleeping state. Manpachi give the goddess a kind of pep talk, and she has restored faith in her abilities. Later, the wolf pack investigates a murder of a cat, and suspects an illegal substance was used to cover rhe murderer’s tracks. They question Momoji and find out a stash of the substance was stolen from him when the wolves first apprehended him.
Illustrated by Mia Ikumi
Earth is under attack from aliens who are disgusted by the way humans are destroying the planet. They infect animals with chimera properties to make monsters. Ryô Shirigane, a rich high schooler, and Keiichirô Akasaka, a “café owner” and researcher, want to protect the world from these aliens. They infuse five girls with “red data” animal DNA - DNA from endangered animals - to become warriors against the chimera animals. When they’re not fighting, the girls work at Café Mew Mew as a way to gather information from customers. Ichigo is the first warrior to awaken to her transformation powers and found by the two guys, and she must find the other four teammates while fending off attacks from Kish, one of the aliens who has keyed in on Ichigo. Ichigo also has to juggle her time with her crush, Masaya, who is also interested in endangered animals and saving the planet. 
Vol 1: Disciples of Avan 1, illustrated by Koji Inada
Dai is the lone human inhabitant of Dermline Island, which has become a haven for monsters after the events of the original Dragon Quest series (which is summarized succinctly for any reader who may have missed out). Dai has befriended many of the monsters, who are mostly well-behaved wild creatures now. A few quests of adventurers find the island and try to make names for themselves or cash in on fortunes in monster bounties, but Dai thwarts them at every turn. Everything changes when a dark power reawakens and bends the creatures back into the murderous monsters they once were. A powerful hero saves Dai and the island, but even his substantial power may be no match for a reawakened Dark Lord. |
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