2009 Best New Manga

Author and Artist: Daisuke Igarashi
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Read a review of Children of the Sea Vol. 1
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Ruka is a tomboy who’s spending the summer at the aquarium with her oceanographer father. It’s there that she meets Umi and Sora, two boys who are especially attuned to the sea and its creatures. As fish around the world begin appearing where they shouldn't or disappearing, Ruka wonders if Umi and Sora are connected to these ominous events.

With its mix of nature science, myth and mystery, Children of the Sea is an uncommonly beautiful and mesmerizing manga that rises above the usual plot and character clichés. It's a story that will seduce and surprise you at every turn.

Author and Artist: Masayuki Ishikawa
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Read a review of Moyasimon Vol. 1
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Take a college freshman with the uncommon ability to see and talk to some very cute bacteria, throw him into an agricultural college where livestock mingle with co-eds, professors wax poetic about fermentation and grad students try to brew sake on the sly. Yep, you're not in the land of American comics anymore -- welcome to the world of Moyasimon, the most strangely educational yet entertaining manga you'll ever read.

Crisp, distinctive art and one-of-a-kind humor makes Moyasimon a quirky read that I've read and re-read over and over with pleasure. More please!

Author and Artist: Hiroyuki Asada
Publisher: Shonen Jump / VIZ Media
Read a review of Tegami Bachi Vol. 1
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Amberground is perpetually cloaked in darkness, a land where the rich, poor and middle-class live divided by their proximity to the light, and travel between territories is filled with danger. Without email or phones, the people of Amberground depend on Letter Bees to deliver their letters. After being transported by a Letter Bee, Lag Seeing is determined to become a Letter Bee so he can be reunited with his mother who was taken from him years ago.

While it's occasionally overly sparkly, Tegami Bachi is full of magic, adventure, monsters and drama - an engaging read for both boys and girls.

Author: Darren Shan
Artist: Takahiro Arai
Publisher: Yen Press
Read a review of Cirque du Freak Vol. 1
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Darren and Steve are two pals who are fascinated by horror movies. When a strange circus comes to town, the two boys attend and experience a show like no other. But their trip to the Cirque du Freak lead them to make some fateful choices that change their lives and friendship forever.

Based on the novels by Darren Shan, the manga version of Cirque du Freak is full of surreal twists and freaky freaks that remind us that not all vampires are sparkly and romantic. This teen-friendly horror series is sometimes over-the-top, but in this case, it works.

Author and Artist: Aya Kanno
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Otomen Vol. 1

Asuka Masamune is handsome, athletic and he never loses his cool - but under his stoic, macho exterior beats the heart of an otomen - a guy who has a weakness for cute things, plus domestic diva skills that would put Martha Stewart to shame. Things get complicated when Asuka falls for a girl who's cute, but a complete disaster in the 'womanly arts' department. Asuka is tormented: Can he be true to himself without giving away his secret?

With its wicked satire of shojo manga clichés and absurd plot twists, Otomen is a goofball romantic comedy that tweaks gender roles with subversive glee.

Author and Artist: Julietta Suzuki
Publisher: TokyoPop
Read a review of Karakuri Odette Vol. 1
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Odette is an advanced android who decides that she wants to learn about being human. With the permission of her creator, Odette enrolls in high school and discovers that being human is a lot more complicated and confusing than she thought.

From its simple, straightforward art to its sci-fi theme and slice-of-life humor, Karakuri Odette is not your typical shojo story. It's a surprisingly sensitive, funny and thought-provoking series that reminds us that shojo manga isn't just about romance -- it's also about relationships that touch the heart.

Author and Artist: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Read a review of Pluto Vol. 1
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In this mind-bending remix of a classic Astro Boy story, master storyteller Naoki Urasawa turns Osamu Tezuka's adventure story for boys into a sci-fi murder mystery for grown-ups. To do this, Urasawa takes an unusual approach: he retells the story through the eyes of a character who only appeared briefly in Tezuka's original tale.

Pluto was a close contender for best manga of the year, mostly because it does what few manga or comics bother to do anymore: it makes you care about the fate of each character, and makes you think long after you've finished reading.

Author and Artist: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for 20th Century Boys Vol. 1

As children, Kenji and his friends wrote a book called "The Book of Prophecy" that foretold of a disaster that would destroy Tokyo. Now grown, Kenji and his friends have settled into lives of working-class mediocrity. But a religious cult lead by a masked man named "Friend" is on the rise, and some of Kenji's play prophecies are poised to become reality. Can Kenji and his friends save the world, or are their efforts too little, too late?

Like a Japanese version of Watchmen, 20th Century Boys pays tribute to comic book adventures of the past and reflects them back through a dark, sometimes satirical lens of today's reality.

Author and Artist: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Ooku Vol. 1

In this alternate version of Japan's feudal era, a plague kills off most of the male population, including the Shogun. As a result, the patriarchal society is turned inside out as female Shogun take charge. Accordingly, the Ooku, or the inner chambers of the Shogun's castle are filled with male attendants and concubines who are every bit as conniving and manipulative as their female predecessors.

Yoshinga's manga are known for its smart dialogue, wry humor, and sensual encounters, and Ooku delivers on all of those fronts -- but its social and historical commentary takes the whole package to another level of storytelling excellence.

Author and Artist: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Butterflies, Flowers Vol. 1

Choko grew up surrounded by luxury, but due to the collapse of the real estate market, her once aristocratic family has fallen upon hard times. Choko finds a job as an office worker, but gets stuck with a manager who seems determined to make her life a living hell. But to her surprise, Choko discovers that her hard-case manager was once her servant/childhood playmate.

Funny, romantic and sometimes a little ridiculous, Butterflies, Flowers is a grown-up love story geared for shojo manga readers who are ready to move on from high school crushes to office drama with a touch of "only in Japan" humor.