âTake Minami to the Koshien StadiumâŚâ The dream that twins can make reality.
Twin brothers, Tatsuya and Kazuya Uesugi, and Minami, who lives next door, grew up together since they were born. Everyone thinks that Kazuya, who is good at all sports, achieves high academic result at school and popular among girls, and Minami, a good looking girl, are the perfect couple. Tatsuya, on the other hand, is said to be no better than his brother Kazuya in any aspects. Minamiâs dream is to go to the Koshien Stadium where the National High School Baseball tournament is held. Kazuya is going to make her dream reality as the ace pitcher of a baseball team at his school. Tatsuya is also in love with Minami like his brother and Minami is secretly in love with Tatsuya.
In the morning of the regional final game of the National High School Baseball tournament, Kazuya was hit by a car trying to save a child and killed. Tatsuya decides to take over his brotherâs will, which is to take Minami to Koshien Stadium.
This is a very famous anime with a bitter romance story as a baseball themed comic. It was made into an anime and movies and became a huge hit, which was later turned into a live-action version as well.
YAWARA was not build in one day
A main character, Yawara Inokuma, is an ordinary girl, who is cute and just wants to be dressed up and have a good time with a nice boyfriend. But there was one thing that is not ordinary about her. She is a genius Judo player. The story begins where a newspaper reporter, Kosaku Matsuda, accidentally witnesses Yawara throw off the snatcher with Tomoenage.
Goro Inokuma, her grandfather and a retired Judo player, has trained Yawara since her childhood, but she shows no interest in Judo and desires to be an ordinary girl. Nevertheless, she ends up getting involved in Judo as she cannot say no when someone asks.
By associating and meeting with other unique characters, a playboy Shinosuke Kazamaturi, who is a Yawaraâs dream boy, a proud preppy girl, Sayaka Honami who eyes Yawara as a rival, a good friend at college, Fujiko Ito, and best players in the world, Yawaraâs life with judo becomes enriched.
Secret dream devices coming out from his four-dimensional pocket
Nobita Nobio is inferior in any sports and academic, and easily picked on by his friends. One day a drawer in his desk opened and appeared a robot, named âDoraemonâ. Sewashi, who is a Nobitaâs descendant and is troubled by Nobitaâs blunder, sent Doraemon to change Nobitaâs future!
Doraemon helps Nobita with devices taking out from his four-dimensional pocket and leads him to be on the right track to get married with Shizuka.
Many of you must have dreamed of having such convenient secret devices, such as âTakekoputaâ and âDokodemo Doorâ. This famous comic was appeared in childrenâs magazines and Coro Coro Comic published by Shogakukan. Even after the authors died, the anime is still on aired and movies are made every year.
The amazing world with seemingly cute animals
A comic with a story of everyday life in the wood with main characters; Honobono, an easygoing see otter who sometimes thinks philosophically, a chipmunk who has a habit of saying âteasing?â and short-tempered coon, who gets angry easily and becomes violent.
This is an amazing story with animals which usually are not used in comics. It looks idyllic at first, but if you read it closely, you may find it more often philosophical, ironic or unreasonable.
You could have a warm feeling if you read it with an empty mind.
Request to the top sweeper, Ryo Saeba with a message âXYZâ
City-hunter, Ryo Saeba is a top sweeper whose work is from a bodyguard of beautiful ladies and a hitman. Kaori Makimura, who is a sister of his best friend who is ex-cop and now dead, tries to get in a way of his work, but Ryo avoids her interferences and busy with his work and getting erections. They seem to be a bad match, but actually they are bonded with deep trust.
To request a job to City-hunter is to write âXYZâ on the message board at the station. Soon after the City-hunter will find the message and he will show his top performance. With a cooperation of his friend /rival, Umibozu and a cop who worked with his died best friend, Saeko?Ryo finishes up hard-to- solve requests made by beautiful ladies.
âI am the unhappiest girl in Japanâ
At downtown in Osaka, there was a girl who is in her 5th grade named Chie Takemoto who sells broiled pig innards. Why does she do it? Because her parents are divorced, and her fatherâs hobby is screwing money from Yakuza and gambles.
Chie turned to be a good business kid managing her own money at the age of 10. Chie, whose father is a dork and mother is very serious, lives her life very cheerfully mumbling, âI am an unhappiest girl in Japanâ
There are very unique characters to reflect the downtown Osaka; her best friend Himae Hirayama, her classmates Masaru and Takashi, who always want to get involved, a school teacher Hanai and her children and ex-Yakuzas who becomes encounters unknowingly. This human comic describing unrealistic family in downtown Osaka was made into an anime and movie. Everyone in Kansai area knows this comic.
The dialogue in this comic is written in very strong Osaka dialect. Anyone outside of Kansai area may not be able to understand some of it.
A story for baseball freaks and addicts
Goro Iwatate is a 50 years old-iron man, who keeps pitching with an ace number of 18th. He wobbles to throw balls which are super slow and have no speed. But he keeps pitching because he loves baseball too much to retire. The story begins by focusing Iwata.
First half of the story is the collection of short stories of very strong characters; Kunitachi, a Kabuki dancer, Tachibana, who is junior high graduate and goes home by 8:00, a gorilla who becomes a ball player. Second half is a long story of Mizuhara, who is a first female ball player and makes her marks by throwing magic balls.
This story contains 2 different styles of stories which have a strong appeal to baseball freaks. You donât want to miss the composition in cooperated by Machiko Satonaka, a famous female writer
Climb up to the top with efforts and guts! A hot baseball story.
Asunaro Hiroki, who always gets bullied. He loves baseball but plays bad. He belongs to the 3rd baseball team. There are a group of boys who has a very delightful character inside of him but canât play baseball well. Their love and passion for baseball is, however, stronger than anyone else. The 3rd baseball team is the place where those boys gather.
Asunaro and other boys at the 3rd team practice hard to get higher in the position at 1st and 2nd team. But the 3rd team is terminated to be dismissed. Boys are the 3rd team canât accept it and ask for one last game.
If they win the game, the 3rd team will remain un-dismissed and whole team will change the status to 1st team. They practice hard with Kayo, who is an ex-1st team player, and get ready for the last game.
What happens to the last game? Are they going to be dismissed?
Milestone of high school baseball comics.
A success story of Taro Yamada, who belongs to Meikun High School Baseball team.
A main character, Taro Yamada is a catch at Meikun High School Baseball team. He played Judo in junior high but he started baseball at high school. He plays well as a hitter and as catch and organized team and leads it to the championship.
There are very unique characters in his team; an old-fashioned boy, Iwaki who keeps a leaf in his mouth when he hits bad balls, Tonoma, who wanted to be a pianist and has very magical hittings, Satonaka, who is an underarm pitch with a beautiful face like a girl, Doi, Hohoemi and other players.
Rival players from other schools, such as Shiranui, Domon, Inukai brothers, Kagemaru and etc., stands up against Maikun High School Baseball team.
A milestone story of high school baseball. There are sequels to this story; Yamada plays at professional baseball team, and Yamada becomes a super star.
A best known boxing comic.
Everlasting challenger, Ippo Makunouchi
Ippo Makunouchi, who is very shy and gets to be picked on by gangs everyday, One day He met Mamoru Takamura, who will later become a world boxing champion. He joins Kamogawa Boxing gym, where Takamura belongs, and Ippo takes a first step to a world of boxing. This is his success story to a world famous boxer.
He gained his stamina and guts by helping house work, which makes him stronger but he never gets cocky and keeps the spirit of challenger. He keeps asking himself âwhat is strongâ and stands up at the ring.
There are also very detailed stories of some attractive characters other than a wild champion Takamura ; Ichiro Miyata, a rival to Takamura, Ryo Mashiba, other boxers from Kamogawa gym, Kimura, Aoki, Itagai.
