2008 Readers Poll: Best New Shonen Manga

Author & Artist: Takehiko Inoue
Publisher: Shonen Jump / VIZ Media
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Hanamichi Sakuragi is a red-headed thug who can kick butt in a fight, but is a total loser with the ladies. When class cutie Haruko asks him if he likes basketball, he immediately says yes. Ignoring the fact that he barely knows how to play the game, Sakuragi signs up for the basketball team. While he doesn't initially impress his teammates, Sakuragi begins his transformation from street thug to team player.

Author & Artist: Hiro Mashima
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
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In a world where wizards are the local politicians and celebrities, Fairy Tail is a guild featuring some of the most legendary and free-spirited magic-wielders in the land. Aspiring wizard Lucy joins the crew, and together with fire-breathing wizard Natsu, ice wizard Gray and the armored and dangerous woman warrior Erza, this mismatched crew take on jobs big and small, and save the day in a very Fairy Tail way.

Author: Ryukishi07
Artist: Karin Suzuragi
Publisher: Yen Press
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Keniichi moves to the rural town of Hinamizawa, and is almost instantly befriended by a group of cute and fun-loving girls. But as Keniichi learns more about his new hometown, he discovers some dark and troubling secrets, and he starts to fear that the girls he once thought were his friends are out to make him their next victim.

Author: Tatsuya Hamazaki
Artist: Yuzuka Morita
Publisher: TokyoPop
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In this latest installment of the .hack//G.U. franchise, the stakes are raised in The World, a Massively Mulitplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) where players take on fantastic personas to wage war against other online players. Haseo is determined to find and defeat a fearsome yet mysterious player named Tri-Edge, whose online encounter with Haseo's friend Shino has left her in a real-life coma.

Author: Yuki Amemiya
Artist: Yukino Ichihara
Publisher: Go! Comi
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Teito has risen from his days as a slave to become a star student at the Barsburg Military Academy, mostly because his ability to wield the magical art of Zaifon. But when he encounters the man who killed his father, Teito is forced to flee and take refuge in a church. There he gets caught in the middle of an ancient war between a god, seven ghosts and three clerics. As if they weren't already, things are about to get very complicated for Teito as he begins to remember more about his once-forgotten past.

Author: Nagaru Tanigawa
Artist: Gaku Tsugano
Character Designer: Noizi Ito
Publisher: Yen Press
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Kyon starts high school thinking it's just going to be a few years of sheer boredom. But that was before he met Haruhi Suzumiya, his cute, eccentric and headstrong classmate who is determined to meet espers, time travelers and space aliens. What Haruhi doesn't know, and what Kyon eventually finds out is that the excitement she seeks is closer than she thinks.

Author: Tsuneo Takano
Artist: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced / VIZ Media
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Raised in darkness since he was an infant, Ral grew up with only two companions: his tutor Mio and Ral, the shadow dragon that shares his body. When malevolent shadows threaten Ral's kingdom, the king reluctantly releases Ral and Grad from their dark prison so they can go to battle against these dark forces. Their handsome reward if they succeed? For Ral, there's nothing he likes more than smothering himself in Mio's heaving bosom.

Author & Artist: Akihisa Ikeda
Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced / VIZ Media
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After flunking all of his high school entrance exams, Tsukune is left with the one school that would accept him: Yokai Academy. But almost as soon as he starts class, Tsukune discovers that he's enrolled in a heap of trouble, because he's the only human in a high school for monsters. The one bright spot? Moka, one of the cutest girls in school has a thing for him... and his yummy blood.

Author & Artist: Kazunari Kakei
Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced / VIZ Media
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Nora is a very powerful, but very disobedient young demon. When he crosses the leader of the demon world one time too many, the Dark Liege sends him to the human world, and puts him under the care of straight-A student Kazuma. Only slightly impressed by his new "pet," Kazuma is out to teach this demon dog some new tricks -- whether he likes it or not.

Author & Artist: Yuko Osada
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
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Kakashi grew up in a small island town, but he burns with the desire to see the world like his globe-trotting dad. When a dirigible lands in town, Kakashi stows away, gets held hostage by bandits, adopts a puppy and befriends a girl named Dorothy. And that's just for starters, as Kakashi finds out that the army is after his puppy, and that his new pet is much more than it seems.