Manga Mania, Week 4

Manga is a term used to describe comics and graphic novels created in Japan.  Since the boom of the United States' manga distribution in the mid to late 2000s, many series have found their home on our shelves.  And with so many titles to go through, Manga Mania is a 4-part series of articles where we go through a few titles for different age groups!  We conclude the series this week with a hodgepodge of titles that didn't quite fit the other genres listed but are still excellent.

A couple things to consider when looking for the right manga--
1) Most manga titles are published in their original Japanese orientation.  What this means is the story will read right-to-left instead of left-to-right.  The best indicator of this is if the book looks "backwards," or if the cover is printed on what we would consider the back of a book.  Volumes will usually have a reading guide in case a reader needs help on where to start, located in the back of the book (what we would consider to be the front).

2) Many publishing companies will include a rating on the back of the book to indicate the minimum age group a series would appeal to and reasons for the rating if needed.  It's like MPAA ratings, but for books.

So without further ado, let's get to the list!

Death Note
Light Yagami is the very definition of a perfect student, and he's bored out of his mind. So when he finds a notebook that claims to kill anyone whose name is written inside, it's almost too ridiculous to take seriously. There's no way that could happen, right?

Emma
A romantic period piece set in the Victorian era.  Social gentleman William Jones meets Emma while visiting his old governess, and they are instantly smitten.  However, Emma is a maid, and in a time when social standing is of high priority, some matches are unacceptable.  Can Emma and William find a way to be happy together, or will they submit to societal pressures and remain apart?

Genkaku Picasso
Class artist and social introvert Hikaru Hamura has survived an accident that cost his best friend her life.  Now her ghost is haunting him and says that if he wants to continue living he must use his drawing abilities to help his fellow classmates.

Saturn Apartments
A young child adjusts to the daily task of window washing and experiences an outsider's perspective in a world where man's home is sky-bound.

Bokurano
A group of teenagers make an agreement with a strange man to play a new video game.  The premise?  A single robot fights a hoard of alien attacks.  But something about this game is off...

Are there any titles that interested you?  Are there others that you would want to add to the list?  Let us know in the comments, and thank you for reading!