When gorgeous transfer student Kazuma moves in to the ramshackle Akeboshi High Boys' Dorm #2, he immediately attracts the interest of resident airhead-with-a-heart-of-gold Masaji. Kazuma relentlessly rebuffs and abuses the other boy, but Masaji refuses to give up! After all, he just wants to be friends. Determined (for some reason?) to keep trying, Masaji chips away at Kazuma's abrasive aura, but could this sweet-and-sour feeling be what he thinks it is?! A super go-get-'em boy and a hot-and-cold beauty in a coming-of-age rom-com that includes a cast of colorful characters! -- VIZ Media

"Boys' love," a male-male homoerotic genre written primarily by women for women, enjoys global popularity and is one of the most rapidly growing publishing niches in the United States. It is found in manga, anime, novels, movies, electronic games, and fan-created fiction, artwork, and video. This collection of 14 essays addresses boys' love as it has been received and modified by fans outside Japan as a commodity, controversy, and culture.

I had to accept that I wasn’t just Arthur Leywin anymore, and that I could no longer be limited by the circumstances of my birth. If I was going to escape, if I was going to go toe-to-toe with the most powerful beings in this world, I needed to push myself to my utmost limit...and then I needed to push even further. After nearly dying as a victim of his own strength, Arthur Leywin wakes to find himself far from the continent where he was born for the second time. Alone, broken, and with no way to tell his family he’s alive, Arthur must rebuild his strength to survive. As he ascends through an ancient dungeon filled with hostile beasts and devious trials, he discovers an ancient, absolute power - a power that will either ruin him or take him to new heights. But the dungeon won’t give up its knowledge easily. Before he can plunder its depths, Arthur must learn to untangle the threads of fate. He must band together with the unlikeliest of allies if he hopes to escape with his life.

• Reviews of more than 900 manga series • Ratings from 0 to 4 stars • Guidelines for age-appropriateness • Number of series volumes • Background info on series and artists THE ONE-STOP RESOURCE FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN THE BEST AND THE REST! Whether you’re new to the world of manga-style graphic novels or a longtime reader on the lookout for the next hot series, here’s a comprehensive guide to the wide, wonderful world of Japanese comics! • Incisive, full-length reviews of stories and artwork • Titles rated from zero to four stars–skip the clunkers, but don’t miss the hidden gems • Guidelines for age-appropriateness–from strictly mature to kid-friendly • Profiles of the biggest names in manga, including CLAMP, Osamu Tezuka, Rumiko Takahashi, and many others • The facts on the many kinds of manga–know your shôjo from your shônen • An overview of the manga industry and its history • A detailed bibliography and a glossary of manga terms LOOK NO FURTHER, YOU’VE FOUND YOUR IDEAL MANGA COMPANION!

A collection of intertwining stories covering four not-quite lovers as they find what links them together. Akiha plays the piano and ponders his relationship with Yahiko, a friend with benefits he can’t quite bring himself to call his lover regardless of how freely Yahiko cares for him. Despite their constant bickering, Sado and Nakajo appear close enough to be lovers. But Nakajo has convinced himself he can never have Sado, which leads him to seek out reasons to hate him even as he stays by his side. Shibata is an overly friendly older man who rather insistently hits on Sekiya, a socially awkward radio DJ. Even with his DJ persona, Sekiya has a hard time expressing the roiling emotions within him. A stray cat brings Kameda and Ogikawa together. The two spend lazy days eating, drinking, and playing with their cat, all without calling it love. -- VIZ Media

Outside Japan, the term ’manga’ usually refers to comics originally published in Japan. Yet nowadays many publications labelled ’manga’ are not translations of Japanese works but rather have been wholly conceived and created elsewhere. These comics, although often derided and dismissed as ’fake manga’, represent an important but understudied global cultural phenomenon which, controversially, may even point to a future of ’Japanese’ comics without Japan. This book takes seriously the political economy and cultural production of this so-called ’global manga’ produced throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia and explores the conditions under which it arises and flourishes; what counts as ’manga’ and who gets to decide; the implications of global manga for contemporary economies of cultural and creative labour; the ways in which it is shaped by or mixes with local cultural forms and contexts; and, ultimately, what it means for manga to be ’authentically’ Japanese in the first place. Presenting new empirical research on the production of global manga culture from scholars across the humanities and social sciences, as well as first person pieces and historical overviews written by global manga artists and industry insiders, Global Manga will appeal to scholars of cultural and media studies, Japanese studies, and popular and visual culture.

Awkward Yoshida is hated by all the girls in school for his perceived closeness with hot guy Sato, who uses hanging out with Yoshida as an excuse to turn them all down. If Yoshida is merely an excuse, why does Sato taunt him in private about “his favorite”? Is it possible Sato’s feelings run deeper than friendship? And what could he possibly see in the funny-looking Yoshida? Watch Yoshida’s life turn upside down with hilarious results! -- VIZ Media

On his way to his morning classes, college student Feng Ming heroically jumps in front of a speeding truck to save a toddler in its path. When he comes to, he finds himself in an ancient Chinese palace with servants calling him “Your Highness”! Before he’s had time to make sense of what’s happened, the handsome yet cruel Ren Ting sweeps in and pins him to the bed! Though at first disdainful, Ren Ting becomes fascinated with Feng Ming’s modern knowledge and with Feng Ming himself. No sooner have the the two grown closer when an unforeseen event rocks the entire kingdom of Xilei! -- VIZ Media

A collection of contemporary work on pornographic film and video, edited by one of the founders of the field.