A Certain Scientific Railgun

Basically, this is Japanese. By that, I don’t mean that it’s from Japan - although obviously it is. I mean it’s... Japanese. Suffice to say that this book is full of little girls with short skirts and super powers, said little girls beating up men twice their age with said super powers, oh and gratuitous shower scenes.

Afterschool Charisma

While on the surface this all looks quite cheery, some of the topics covered - such as the rights of a cloned individual, self-harm and suicide - can actually be quite shocking.

Air Gear

Air Gear tells a tale full of action, love, gang-warfare and fan-service. All carried out whilst on crazy futuristic Rollerblade-thingies called “Air Treks”.

Alice in the Country of Hearts

Now, this is an interesting idea. Take something popular - in this case, Alice in Wonderland - then move it completely into a different genre - in this case shojo manga. It has taken a bit of skill and the willingness to completely change a few of the original characters to pull this off in a new format, but amazingly this series has turned out really well.

Ark Angels

If you’ve never read anything from Korea then this series might come as a bit of a shock to you. Not only are a lot of the usual Korean cliches in place, but the author just assumes that the cliches are a given and uses them without explanation.

Chibi Vampire (Karin)

The main plot involves the deepening emotions between a vampire named Karin (who is the titular character in the original Japanese version which was named after her) and Kenta, a normal human.

Dr. McNinja

When you first hear about it, the concept of a ninja-doctor will probably make no sense whatsoever. That and most of the plot. What does a ninja-doctor actually do?

Well, action comedy of course!

Lum (Urusei Yatsura)

Rumiko Takahash is a famous name in Manga, both in the Western world and in Japan - mostly for the Ranma ½ and InuYasha Manga series. Not everyone in the West knows about some of her older works, however.

Murder Princess

Murder Princess is mostly an action story, but the action is generally well paced and mixes in quite well with character development and plot progression. The characters are all slightly unrealistic and very slightly crazy.

My Cat Loki

Apart from the whole fantasy, “I‘m imagining that my cat can talk” thing there is a very normal story being the Manga. There are no aliens invading the planet, there are no people with superpowers, it’s just an artist and his relationships with people, plus his journey to overcome his emotional withdraw.

Oh My Goddess!

The standard Harem Manga format:

The (male) lead character, though some unlikely course of events, winds up rooming with several girls, who are always attractive, and usually supernatural. Cue romantic comedy.

Peach Fuzz

Peach Fuzz tells the story of Amanda, a little girl who's mother buys her a pet ferret to try and keep her happy, and Peach, a ferret princess who is kidnapped from her kingdom and imprisoned in the room of an evil nine-year-old girl.

Princess Ai

The titular character, Ai, is a Princess from a fantasy Kingdom. Chased by demons and suffering from amnesia she has come to Earth, and must recover her memories, discover who she is and work out what she is doing before she can return home.

Shoulder a Coffin Kuro

The title of this Manga seems an odd contrast: A coffin is a dark and somber object, but to carry one around is a bit silly. But in a way this does do the series some justice; Shoulder a Coffin Kuro frequently switches between lighthearted and dark stories.

Sluggy Freelance

Sluggy stars Torg, a goofy young man who is often between jobs, Riff, an inventor whose inventions tend to drive or at least trigger most of the plot-lines, and Bun Bun, a violent, slightly misanthropic, badass anti-hero who just happens to be a small lop rabbit.

Suzunari!

Put simply, Suzunari! is one nice long double-act. Suzu is a totally OTT character; Kaede is the “straight man” - um, I mean, “straight woman”. Suzu is kind of an “odd person out” in the Manga; the main humour comes from Suzu’s reactions to everything, and Kaede’s reaction to Suzu’s antics.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

In The Girl Who Leapt Through Time the protagonist can leap through time at will, and can uses this to start playing around. For example, she does things like cheat on a test, by traveling back in time and using her knowledge of the answers to get a perfect score.

Vampire Game

Well, there’s Vampire this and Vampire that. Just like television, Manga seems to have gone through a phase where Vampires are in fashion. We seem to be starting to come out of it now, however as I’m not making any attempt to do...

Van Von Hunter

The titular character, Van himself, has a mission in life. He hunts down evil... stuff. If that description sounds a bit silly and vague, then it suits both the character and the style of the book.

Venus vs Virus

Venus Versus Virus really seems to be about cliches. The series has a few very good ideas, surrounded by a layer of cliches.

We Shadows

We Shadows is an Original English Manga, but one so twisted it leaves most of Japan's offerings in the dust. Prepare to meet talking horses, characters talking entirely in rhyme and talking mushrooms.