Sora The Wingless Duck -- HINATA Takeshi

Synopsis:

Weak, dirty and short (149 cm)! That is the description of SORA KURUMATANI, a high school student who dreams of following in his mother's footsteps to become a professional basketball player. With only "wings" (worn shoes given by his mother), he tries to achieve his dream by forming a strong basketball club at Kuzuryu High School (where he goes to school). However, it turns out that this is not easy for Sora because it turns out that the male basketball players at his high school are all delinquents.

Sora's adventure begins to recruit and form a solid basketball team. This team consists of Sora himself (shooting guard), Kenji Natsume (small forward), Momoharu Hanazono (center), Chiaki Hanazono (point guard), Masahiro Chaki (point guard), Ryuhei Nabeshima (guard) and Shinichi Yasuhara (guard), and lastly Kaname Shigeyoshi (198 cm tall!). Supported by Nao Nanao, the beautiful and strategic female manager, they prepare for the official match! Follow the story of Sora and friends in Sora, The Wingless Duck...

NOTE:

• 51 Volumes (Hiatus)

Shibatora -- ANDO Yuma & ASAKI Masashi

Synopsis:

Officer Shibata Taketora works in a local koban (a small police office). He may have a child-like face on the outside, but he's more serious than anyone in his pursuit of justice! With his goal being to become a detective, Taketora confronts everyday problems that happen within the town! Various incidents within the street make him chase after and apprehend criminals!

NOTE:

• 15 volumes (END)

DIVE!! -- MORI Eto & IKENO Masahiro

Synopsis:

Tomoki Sakai is a member of the MDC. The "Mizuki Diving Club" aka: MDC is not doing very well. Their sponsors are getting ready to pull their support, but they do give the team a ray of hope. They tell them that if the new coach Kayoko Asaki can make one member enter the Olympics, that they will not pull their support. Can they accomplish this feat within a year? or just "drown in their own sorrows"?

NOTE:

• 5 volumes (END)

Beck -- HAROLD Sakuishi

Synopsis:

For the first 14 years of his life, Yukio Tanaka has been one of those boring guys. He has no hobbies, a weak taste in music, and only a small vestige of personality. He yearns for an exciting life, but his shy, somewhat neurotic personality makes him his own worst enemy. Little does he know that his life is about to change forever when he meets Ryusuke Minami, a wild and unpredictable 16-year-old new to America, who happens to be in a rock-and-roll band named after Frankenstein's patched-up dog--Beck.

NOTE:

• Won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shounen in 2002 (shared with Cromartie High School)
• 34 volumes (END)

The Ruler of Nabari -- KAMATANI Yuhki

Synopsis:

There is a Hijutsu (secret technique) that rules the world of Nabari (Shinobi) and the surface world called Shinra Bansho (creation technique). Whoever possesses this technique will rule the world. This Hijutsu now resides within Miharu Rokujo, a normal middle school student, despite his aloofness.

Miharu suddenly becomes the target of the ninja clans of the Nabari world: Banten, which seeks to seal the Hijutsu, and Kairoshuu, which seeks to exploit it.

To save the lives of his teacher and friends from Banten, Miharu is forced to accompany Yoi-te to Kairoshuu. Yoi-te then asks Miharu to master Shinra Bansho so he can eliminate him. Together with Kairoshuu, they must collect the five Kinjutsushusho (secret scrolls) from each ninja village to discover the secret of Shinra Bansho. The situation becomes difficult because Yoi-te himself is dying from the Kira technique he has mastered, and they also have to fight Kairoshuu, who is trying to separate them. What will happen to Miharu and Yoi-te next? Just read Ruler of Nabari.

NOTE:

• Japanese title: Nabari no Ou
• 14 volumes (END)

Capeta -- SODA Masahito

 

Synopsis:

Taira Capeta was a fourth-grade boy who had lost his mother when he was very young. Although he pretended to be tough in front of his father, he actually felt lonely. One day, his father brought home some junk parts from his workplace and made a racing kart. They soon went to a circuit to drive the kart. However, Capeta found that its frame was bent and it could hardly run straight. But, with his technique, he managed to drive the kart. Moreover, he followed closely behind the fastest kart on the track and nearly left it behind. The driver in the kart was Minamoto Naomi, the champion of the East Japan Junior Kart. Watching their chase, Naomi's mother, Minamoto Nanako, advised Capeta to take part in the official race.

NOTE:

• Won the Kodansha Manga Award for Shounen in 2005.

Stand By Me -- OBA Takahiro

Synopsis:

Miyamoto Tomoya, a problem student at Hino High School, secretly harbors feelings for his childhood friend, Yuki. Up until this point, it's a familiar story. But there's one difference: Japan is at war. In the year 20XX, six months after the outbreak of war, the government, struggling with a military shortage, requests that each school select volunteers for the military. Struggling to respond, Hino High School decides to forcibly send Tomoya. However, Yuki finds out about the decision before Tomoya does, and without telling him, she enlists in the Self-Defense Forces in his place. What will Tomoya do when he finds out all about it? A youthful war love story that realistically depicts the "future" that awaits us! Set in a future Japan where war has become a daily occurrence... Six months after the outbreak of war, the government, struggling with a military shortage, requests that each school select volunteers for the military. Struggling to respond, Hino High School decides to forcibly send out problem student Miyamoto Tomoya. Tomoya, unaware of the situation, is filled with thoughts of his childhood friend Yuki. But one day, he learns that Yuki has volunteered to join the Self-Defense Forces...!?

NOTE:

• 2 volumes (END)