Reads R to L (Japanese Style).

In a dump in the lawless settlement of Scrapyard, far beneath the mysterious space city of Zalem, disgraced cyber-doctor Daisuke Ido makes a strange find: the detached head of a cyborg woman who has lost all her memories. He names her Alita and equips her with a powerful new body, the Berserker. While Alita remembers no details of her former life, a moment of desperation reawakens in her nerves the legendary school of martial arts known as Panzer Kunst. In a place where there is no justice but what people make for themselves, Alita decides to become a hunter-killer, tracking down and taking out those who prey on the weak. But can she hold onto her humanity as she begins to revel in her own bloodlust?

Reads R to L (Japanese Style).

The inspiration for the outrageous hit anime series, the anime's director told ANIMERICA magazine that the manga contains scenes he knew he'd never get away with! EXCEL SAGA is a charm offensive that's guaranteed to offend. Today the city--tomorrow, the world! That's the plan of Il Palazzo, the haughty, pretty-boy leader of ACROSS, a secret society based somewhere deep beneath the streets and sewers of Fukuoka, Japan. It's a good thing he's starting small, because ACROSS begins its bid for global domination with just two members--Il Palazzo and Excel, the teenaged girl smitten with him. After setting up house in a cheap apartment, Il Palazzo explains that the budget for world conquest and the budget for room and board must regrettably be kept separate. Their neighbors are a trio of regular guys, whom they hope will all overlook the irregularities of their comings and goings; not to mention the sound of screams, struggles, and gasoline explosions!

Stories the director himself said they didn't dare put in the anime! Q: What happens when you try to act like an anime character in real life? A: EXCEL SAGA. Two groups of neighbors in an apartment building lead secret lives. One thinks they're trying to take over the city of Fukuoka. The other thinks they're trying to defend it. Only their bosses, would-be conqueror Lord Il Palazzo and obsessed bureaucrat Dr. Kabapu, know the truth behind this increasingly dangerous private game... Too bad neither will let their underlings in on it! Dr. Kabapu be ILLin', as the stunning success of Il Palazzo's eponymous electronics firm is turning him literally sick. But even while ILL's president--the stylish, corporate Excel--carries out her CEO's directives, kindhearted Umi discovers another version of her: a woman in a torn prison outfit with little memory of her past. Dressing the stranger from her extensive cos-play wardrobe, Umi brings the mystery girl into the Shiouji household, only to let her fall into Aunt Miwa's clutches. And that's not a figure of speech!

Appropriate for any public library collection, this book provides a comprehensive readers' advisory guide for Japanese manga and anime, Korean manhwa, and Chinese manhua. Japanese manga and anime, Korean manhwa, and Chinese manhua are Asian graphic novels and animated films that have gained great popularity in the last ten years and now are found in most public library collections. Mostly Manga: A Genre Guide to Popular Manga, Manhwa, Manhua, and Anime is the first readers' advisory guide to focus on this important body of literature. This guide provides information on all of the major manga and anime formats and genres, covering publications from the early 1990s to the present. It identifies important titles historically and provides a broad representation of what is available in each format. Selected major titles are described in detail, covering the general plot as well as grade level and pertinent awards. The author also discusses common issues related to manga and anime, such as terminology, content and ratings, and censorship.