TEACHER OF DARKNESS Meet the most melancholy high school teacher in Japan: Nozomu Itoshiki, whose fashion sense is strictly nineteenth-century, whose personal goal is self-annihilation, and whose signature phrase is "I'm in despair!" He's similar to Franz Kafka and Jean-Paul Sartre-if Kafka and Sartre had had to deal with a classroom of short-skirted, lovesick students. And to make matters worse, Itoshiki's family wants him to get married. Forget the bride, here comes the gloom! The first translated work by Japan's most savage satirist, Koji Kumeta! Includes special extras after the story!

Our sorry hero, his reformed girlfriend, and the amnesiac class president have all graduated from their high school out in the boondocks, and self-described Sapphist and ex-basketball ace Kanbaru, retired by reason of an “injury,” is starting her senior year and the narrator of this volume—her voice far more introspectivethan the smutty jock’s we thought we knew. Bereft of the company of her beloved mentors, the only other person around her with any working knowledge of aberrations the junior Ogi Oshino, apparently a relative of the Hawaiian-shirted folklorist, she feels a bit alone and blue, and sick with dread that the devil residing in her left arm courtesy of the Monkey’s Paw might act up again while she sleeps. Investigating a rumor that she fears might lead back to her, the former star ends up peering into an abyss of negativity called Roka—a “wax flower” to take the characters’ meaning. Trapped in a pit the like of which could only be escaped by the one girl who was able to pull off slam-dunks in her basketball nationals, can the penitent Kanbaru, however, still be aggressive?

DELUSIONAL SELF-BLAMING DISORDER ? Those suffering from this peculiar condition, according to Zetsubou-sensei, blame themselves for everything that goes on around them. But as Zetsubou-sensei explores this affliction, he realizes that he himself is a victim! Luckily, the sensei has a foolproof plan for putting an end to Delusional Self-Blaming Disorder-which happens to involve a long rope dangling from a tree. Could this be the end of Zetsubou-sensei?

• 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!

You can run, but you can't hide... After pulling off a successful coup d'état for the Elkian throne, Sora and Shiro take their devil-may-care attitude to running a pharmacy. One of their first customers is the leader of the eighth-ranked race, the Dwarves, who comes to blows with the two of them over the bill for his drugs and taunts, "Why did you run from your old world?" At the same time, the gamer siblings are saddled with a runaway Dwarf girl named Til...who also has a bone to pick with the Dwarf leader! With so much conflict at hand, will Sora and Shiro have time to run a business?!

Fresh off the excitement of her camping trip, Yotsuba initiates a very productive session of sandbox play in which she instructs Fuuka how to properly run a bakery. But even more exciting is a visit from Grandma! Yotsuba learns how to value and enjoy cleaning, how not to be rude when hoping for souvenirs, and most important, how to cope when Grandma leaves. But don't worry, she'll be back someday!

Kakushi Gotou is a single father with a secret: He’s a top-selling manga artist of a raunchy series that perhaps isn’t suitable reading material for his young daughter, Hime. So he does what any doting father would do—he hides it all from her, no matter the hijinks that ensue!