books to read

Go Nagai’s groundbreaking horror classic that inspired the genre for decades.Hordes of demons, once thought entombed forever in the underworld, have now returned to Earth. Evil and corruption begin to seep into our world, as demons seize human hosts. Mankind’s only hope for salvation is to use the demons’ power against them–and only a pure-hearted man like Fudo Akira can do so without losing his humanity. Once little more than a crybaby, Akira now wields the terrible power of a devil, yet holds the innocent soul of a man–Devilman!

The entire \ Death Note \ manga story arc is now available in a box set for the first time! This custom box set includes all 12 books from the \ \ Death Note\ \ series, the information \ \ How To Read "Death Note 13"\ \ and exclusive \ \ Death Note\ \ premium gifts! The high gloss printed box set also comes with a recessed handle and velcro closure. The box set is 10% off the total retail price of 13 volumes of \ \ Death Note\ \ ! This is a perfect gift for either yourself or anyone not yet exposed to the amazing intrigue of this Obha / Obata masterpiece.   Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the \ \ Death Note\ \ , a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the \ \ Death Note\ \ to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life? Light tests the boundaries of the \ Death Note's\ powers as L and the police begin to close in. Luckily Light's father is the head of the Japanese National Police Agency and leaves vital information about the case lying around the house. With access to his father's files, Light can keep one step ahead of the authorities. But who is the strange man following him, and how can Light guard against enemies whose names he doesn't know?

Shinmen Takezo is destined to become the legendary sword-saint, Miyamoto Musashi--perhaps the most renowned samurai of all time. For now, Takezo is a cold-hearted killer, who will take on anyone in mortal combat to make a name for himself. This is the journey of a wild young brute who strives to reach enlightenment by way of the sword--fighting on the edge of death.Chapter TitlesChapter 001. "Shinmen Takezo" (新免武蔵様)Chapter 002. "Akemi" (朱実)Chapter 003. "Oko" (お甲)Chapter 004. "The Brigand Tsujikaze" (野武士辻風)Chapter 005. "Blood Game" (血遊び)Chapter 006. "The Troubles of Honi'den Matahachi at Seventeen" (本位田又八17歳の懊悩)Chapter 007. "Farewell Takezo" (さらば武蔵)Chapter 008. "Miyamoto Village" (宮本村)Chapter 009. "Fiancee" (許嫁)Chapter 010. "Left Behind" (残された者たち)

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a gang of boys who try to save the world.Failed rock musician Kenji's memories of his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.

A sleepy town on the coast of Japan is under quiet, deadly siege, not by a person or group but by a primeval spiral shape whose victims include both parents of Shuichi Saito. In this second volume of the saga, Shuichi's girlfriend Kirie becomes further involved in the town's terrible secret when schoolmates start turning up as horrible human snails and something unspeakable is discovered within the walls of the local hospital.

When Shinji Ikari's estranged father arranges a meeting with him, it's not the heartfelt meeting he was hoping for. Gendo wants Shinji to pilot the Evangelion, the only machine capable of battling the monstrous angels descending to earth. Can Shinji defeat the angels and his most fearsome enemy, his desire for his father's approval?My manga self-education continues with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Reading this right on the heels of Getter Robo Devolution provides a nice contrast. Whereas GRD felt a lot more violent, this one felt more like the beginnings of a family drama that just happens to feature violence. Any man whose father is an "alpha male" can relate to Shinji. He doesn't know how to please his father but still wants his approval. Shinji has his coming of age moment inside the Evangelion but his father is still a distant prick. The art is softer than that of GRB, which fits in with its more sensitive subject matter. The battle scenes were clear and the characters were expressive. The designs of the EVA and the angels were memorable. I'm not prepared to call them iconic just yet but I still have thirteen or so more volumes to read. I'm really curious about the future of the series. There's a little sexual tension teased between Shinji and Captain Katsuragi. We'll see where that goes.I enjoyed this volume quite a bit. Hopefully the used bookstore has the rest of them. I'm getting the hang of this reading right to left business. Four out of five stars.

Yusuke Urameshi was a tough teen delinquent until one selfless act changed his life...by ending it. When he died saving a little kid from a speeding car, the afterlife didn't know what to do with him, so it gave him a second chance at life. Now, Yusuke is a ghost with a mission, performing good deeds at the behest of Botan, the ferrywoman of the River Styx, and Koenma, the pacifier-sucking judge of the dead.

Spirals... this town is contaminated with spirals...Kurouzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral — the hypnotic secret shape of the world. This bizarre masterpiece of horror manga is now available in a single volume. Fall into a whirlpool of terror!

I found out what I hate in this manga: teeth! How ugly their teeth are drawn! They seem like a monster when they show their goddamn awfully big teeth! I wanted Murano and even Kana have some big parts in the story or some solid personalities. Still the story is about Shinichi and Migi, so I guess I have to roll with it. Now another person near to Shinichi died. I didn't feel sad or anything, so it is a minus for the story. Still I am curious what will happen to all these parasites on earth. What are they planning? Are they going to coexist with humans? I doubt so. Despite not liking manga art, I like the animation. In anime Shinichi and other characters are more modern. Hate oldie hairstyles and clothes!PS: (view spoiler)[ Kana's death in anime was more emotional. (hide spoiler)]

In a future world rife with decay and destruction, Killy is a man of few words who packs one very powerful gun. He wanders an endless labyrinth of cyberdungeons filled with concrete and steel, fighting off cyborgs and other bizarre silicate creatures. Everyone is searching for the Net Terminal Genes, but no one is quite certain what kind of power they contain. The answer may lie hidden among the scattered human settlements of this vast and desolate future world.

3.5 stars so I rounded up.Ok. So to put this bluntly, this is a manga about a douchebag, who has been made immortal, so he can redeem himself and avenge his sister's death. He meets a very naive girl, who is hellbent on revenge for her father's murder, and together, she does stupid things, and he ends up jumping in to save her. Personally, I'd rather have a badass female main character, instead of a weaker female, in need of a man to help her. This girl is good with a sword, but not as good as necessary to take on all these swordsmen. Plus she is young and her mind is weak. I'm not against having a strong male lead character, I'm simply against the trope of a simple, stupid woman, getting in over her head, and needing a man to dig her out of her hole. It was more enjoyable toward the end though, and the art is good, hence the half star and round up. This book was readable, and if a man saving a helpless woman is your thing, feel free to pick this one up. I will be giving the second volume a go, just to see if maybe I judged it a little too harshly at first. In all honesty though, if you want to read about a male samurai who is reluctant to fight, but will do so if pushed, or to protect his loved ones, and with a strong female lead, I recommend reading Rurouni Kenshin instead.

Killer 2-for-1 value on hit thriller Death Note!Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal…or his life?Contains Volumes 9 and 10 of \ Death Note\ ! Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. Will Light’s noble goal succeed, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?  

Combined for the first time here are Maus I: A Survivor's Tale and Maus II - the complete story of Vladek Spiegelman and his wife, living and surviving in Hitler's Europe. By addressing the horror of the Holocaust through cartoons, the author captures the everyday reality of fear and is able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival - and how the children of survivors are in their own way affected by the trials of their parents. A contemporary classic of immeasurable significance.

Series Description: Just when you thought it was safe to get out of the water, fish grow legs! From the mind of acclaimed artist Junji Ito comes this diabolic cross between Resident Evil and The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. Yes, it's Gyo, where terror takes the name of horribly mutated fish and sea creatures that invade, en masse, a seaside town. Sophisticated, atmospheric work by perhaps the finest horror comics working in the world today. Young couple Tadashi and Kaori are vacationing in Okinawa, but instead of enjoying their time, they bicker endlessly about such important topics as Tadashi's bad breath! But that stench may actually be something quite different. When a strange walking fish appears, Tadashi and Kaori know something's amiss. When a Great White Shark attacks -- walking -- they know they're in real trouble!

So I read volume two... and it was awesome! Yeah, I have no idea what else to say! This review is going to be me basically gushing over how awesome this manga series is... so... you've been warned. XPI was excited to get my hands on the next volume of Cowboy Bebop since I loved the first volume so much. It did NOT disappoint. Reading the chapters of this manga is like watching the individual episodes of the anime. It was great. It was fun, exciting, engaging, amazing! I loved how each chapter played out its own plot. The characters were amazing, including some of the new ones. The art style is just fantastic! Overall, I enjoyed ever aspect of this book!Nanten just keeps getting better and better! The art of this manga is so nice to look at. The characters have their own unique designs and the scenery is just astounding. You feel as if you are on a different planet! And the one who wrote the story, Hajime Yatate (I don't think I talked about them in my last review), did an excellent job again by taking the formula they used for the anime and adapted onto the manga and it flowed beautifully. Nothing seemed forced. It literally felt as if you were watching an actual Cowboy Bebop episode and I couldn't be happier.I already said how much I love Spike and the rest of the Bebop crew. In this volume, it's no different. They were all badass and lived up to my expectations. Even the new characters were great! Kazuki, a news reporter, though slightly... naive... she brought a lightness to the story that was necessary considering how dark this series can get sometimes. Linda Wise, a mentor to Faye, was fantastic! She was intelligent and kind. You can tell she really cared for Faye. The Killer... he was the butt of Ed's jokes and his end was hilarious! Finally, Allison was somewhat bland but because of her, we were able to get to see a softer side to Spike. Naturally, I enjoyed the new characters tremendously. However, no one can take the spot of my favorite character ever. That spot is reserved for Jet. God, he was so cute, amazing, epic, and wonderful in this manga! Made me laugh a few times, too! XDIf you decided, to read the first volume then I highly suggest you read this one as well. It's full of action, suspense, drama, and comedy! In fact, this volume was a bit more light-hearted tha the previous one but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great volume! It was awesome! Any Cowboy Bebop fan would LOVE to read this manga. Trust me. It is just THAT good!There's only one left... oh, no! I am not ready for this! I don't want this lovely manga to end! DX But, alas, there is but one left. Oh well... I am REALLY looking forward to seeing where this last volume is going to take me!I know it's going to be epic! >:3

How long will you stay in the game?The last thing Kei and Masaru remember was being struck dead by a subway train while saving the life of a drunken bum. What a waste! And yet somehow they're still . . . alive? Or semi-alive? Maybe it's reanimated . . . by some kind of alien orb with a nasty message . . . "Your lives are over. What you do with your new lives is up to me!" And what this orb called "Gantz" intends to do with their lives is make them play games of death, hunting all kinds of odd aliens, along with a bunch of other ordinary citizens who've recently met a tragic semi-end. The missions they embark upon are often dangerous. Many die-and die again.This dark and action-packed manga deals with the moral conflicts of violence, teenage sexual confusion and angst, and our fascination with death.Hang on to your gear and keep playing the game, whatever you do; Gantz is unrelenting.* Gantz has been one of the most popular adult anime in recent years with over 175,000 copies sold!* Dark Horse makes Gantz available in English for the first time with its U.S. debut.* Gantz has been running weekly in the Japanese magazine Young Jump, which has a circulation of over 1 million.Each volume comes shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory.

Alchemy tore the Elric brothers’ bodies apart. Can their bond make them whole again?A hardcover, deluxe collector’s edition of one of the most beloved manga and anime of all time! Fully remastered with an updated translation and completely fresh lettering, and presented with color pages on large-trimmed archival-quality paper, this gorgeous hardcover edition presents the timeless dark adventures of the Elric brothers as they were truly meant to be seen. Includes brand-new cover art, color inserts and behind-the-scenes character sketches from author Hiromu Arakawa!In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical “auto-mail” limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother’s bodies… the legendary Philosopher’s Stone!The best-selling manga Fullmetal Alchemist finally available in a high-quality hardcover collectors' edition.

\ Akira: And A Boy Shall Rule Them All... Badly. A Boy Whose Head Contains A Supernova\ 'Akira' and 'Lone Wolf and Cub' were among the first complete manga masterpieces to be published in English, and despite the mirror-imaging, were very similar to their original tankobon incarnations. Katsuhiro Otomo's SF-classic 'Akira' -- as well as it's equally brilliant predecessor, 'Domu' -- revolutionized Japanese comics. It introduced realistic, incredibly detailed artwork that merged a far more subtle manga stylization with European influences, incorporating aspects from the art of 'Metal Hurlant' regulars Moebius, Francois Schuiten, and Enki Bilal. The importance of 'Akira' is difficult to express, but it certainly rivals US contemporaries 'Watchmen' and 'The Dark Knight Returns', and it ran far longer than either title, giving it an epic scope and grandeur that exceeds both of those seminal works. If it was a decision between: Katsuhiro Otomo, 'Domu' and 'Akira'; Frank Miller, 'Batman: Year One' and 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'; or Alan Moore, 'V for Vendetta' and 'Watchmen'; I'd say that Otomo created the best and most influential works of the 1980's. That ignores some huge titles, like 'Love and Rockets' and 'Maus' and 'Raw' and 'Weirdo' and 'Yummy Fur' and 'The Incal' and 'Les Cites Obscures', etc... but I'll stand by it, with all due respect.All that hyperbole crosses without friction to the film adaptation... perhaps the best anime -- and animated -- film ever made. But Otomo wrote and directed his debut when he was only around half-way through the manga. The 6-volume, 2200+-page series is not just 'worth checking out' for fans of the anime, it's essential. The film contains less than 15% of the super-epic that inspired it, but the art, the characters, the basic plot, and the light-speed pacing will all be unmistakably familiar.On a Technical Note: While I prefer the original right-to-left orientation for translated manga, Kodansha is still using the Dark Horse translation that appeared before Japanese formatting surprised the hell out of US publishers by catching on. It's only as big a deal as you make it, in my opinion; obsessive-compulsive types are out of luck, but anyone who has recovered from the mind-blowing shock of confronting a left-handed doppelganger in the bathroom mirror will do just fine. My preference for R-to-L has to do with preserving the artist's original vision... does that sound right? Something like that, anyway. As far as accessibility, flipping the art is probably easier for weak western minds and eyeballs. I'd rather watch a film reflected in a mirror than I would one played in reverse.\ \ \ Domu: Otomo's Pre-Akira Masterpiece\ Otomo's first masterpiece is overshadowed by the grandeur of Akira, but both the art and the story display the full-range of his creative powers. In an apartment mega-complex with thousands of residents, the suicide rate has risen dramatically. An old man with terrifying psychic abilities has become senile, and is now indulging his deadly and selfish whims, manipulating the residents like puppets and sending some to their deaths. The families of the victims are baffled. The police investigating the deaths don't know what to make of it all, but as they follow the bizarre trail of clues, they get closer to a killer they're incapable of stopping. But when a little girl moves in with her family, the old man is suddenly confronted by someone determined to stop his malevolent games, a child with powers that might exceed his own. The town-sized apartment complex becomes a battlefield between two psychic juggernauts, and the old man's malicious games unleash a storm of telekinetic fury that threatens to kill hundreds of innocent people. Otomo was far ahead of his time, and his genius for graphic storytelling inspired an entire generation of young mangaka. Domu holds up remarkably well, and deserves to have a much wider audience; unbelievably, this is somehow out of print in North America. I don't know what the fuck Kodansha is thinking, but they need to publish a new edition and promote it. If you haven't read Domu, stop whatever you're doing and run blindly around the countryside screaming the title until someone finally tries to pacify you with a copy. If some asshole shows up with 'Appleseed', add projectile vomit and urine to the routine. Accept no substitutes. \ \ An Excellent Review of 'Domu: A Child's Dream' That Should Convince You Of Its Brilliance\ \ \ \ More Art-book Reviews\ \ \ \ More Comic-book Reviews\ \ \ \ More Novel Reviews\ \