Manga Gift Books Guide

Author: Jason S. Yadao
Publisher: Rough Guides
Compare Prices for The Rough Guide to Manga
Great for: Readers who are new to manga, or anyone eager to learn more about Japanese comics.

Anime and manga critic Jason Yadao takes on the daunting task of writing a book that explains manga to curious comics fans and graphic novel newbies. This small but mighty book gives an overview of the history of manga, Korean manhwa and Chinese manhua, the different types of manga, the movers and shakers in the US manga industry and 50 essential must-reads that every fan should know about.

Author: Andrew Osmond
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
Compare Prices for Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist
Great for: Anime fans and cinemaphiles.

There's anime that's created for pure escapist entertainment and then there's anime that's created to prove that the medium can be just as compelling, breath-taking and mind-blowing as any live action film. The latter is the realm of director Satoshi Kon, the auteur behind feature-length films such as Paprika, Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers.

This fully-illustrated overview provides background information on this anime innovator's career, his artistic philosophy and his films in a format that cinemaphiles can read and refer to over and over again.

Author: Arina Tanemura
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Compare Prices for The Gentlemen's Alliance +: Arina Tanemura Illustrations
Great for: Shojo manga readers and aspiring artists.

One of the many reasons why shojo manga fans love Gentlemen's Alliance Cross and Time Stranger Kyoko is Tanemura-sensei's intricate, lavish and pretty artwork.

While the graphic novels only feature color artwork on the covers, The Art of Gentlemen's Alliance Cross features page after page of Tanemura-sensei's lovely illustrations in glorious color, in over-sized format as they were meant to be seen.

Author: Eric Nash
Publisher: Abrams ComicArts
Compare Prices for Manga Kamishibai
Great for: Manga historians and Showa-era J-Pop culture fans.

Before TV captured children in its thrall, traveling storytellers would appear in Japanese cities and towns, set up shop and captivate audiences with their serialized stories of action, adventure and romance. The medium was manga kamishibai, a form of episodic picture theater, that proved to be a fertile launching ground for manga creators like Sanpei Shirato (Kamui Gaiden) and Shigeru Mizuki (GeGeGe no Kitaro)

This coffee table-worthy book provides an appreciation of a style of Japanese entertainment that has almost (but not quite) disappeared.

Author: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Compare Prices for The Official xxxHolic Guide
Great for: CLAMP fans and anyone wanting to go deeper into the legends and lore behind xxxHolic.

Kimihiro is a high school student who's bedeviled by restless spirits and yokai -- then one day, he wanders into the lair of Yuko the witch, and his life is never the same thereafter. As the pair (and assorted cohorts) encounter troubled souls, they try to offer their assistance, but sometimes it comes with a catch that doesn't always give their clients the solutions they expect, but more often the one they deserve.

If you've read the stories, then The Official xxxHolic Guide still shed some light on some of the secrets of this supernatural series.

Authors: Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda
Artist: Tatsuya Morino
Publisher: Kodansha International
Compare Prices for Yokai Attack!
Great for: Horror manga fans and anyone who's curious about those things that go bump in the night.

Sure, you've seen kappa, kitsune and perhaps tengu appear in manga and anime, but would you know what to do if you actually ran into one? That's where a guide like Yokai Attack! comes in handy.

Yokai afficionados Alt and Oda explain what yokai are (and aren't!), provide historical context and theories on each creature's secret origins and provide tips to outsmart yokai if you run into one on the street.

Author: M, based on characters created by Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Shonen Jump / VIZ Media
Compare Prices for Death Note: L Change the World
Great for: Death Note fans who wished the manga series was longer than 12 volumes.

You've read the manga, now go beyond the stories and follow super-sleuth L as he tries to solve his last case. He only has 23 days to live, and only 22 days to save the world from a deadly virus.

This illustrated light novel was recently adapted into a feature-length movie, but the prose version has a pretty cool, gift-worthy hardcover edition that makes it extra collectible.

Author: J.C. Amberlyn
Publisher: Watson-Guphill
Compare Prices for Drawing Manga Animals
Great for: Aspiring young manga artists, animal lovers or anyone who gets weak in the knees when they see something cute.

Art teacher J.C. Amberlyn gives young artists step-by-step instructions on how to draw absolutely cute creatures and critters. Besides showing artists the key factors necessary to make anything "chibi" (small and cute), she also explains a bit about the anatomy of animals and how to modify these rules to draw believable yet adorable animals.

Author: Shirow Masamune
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Compare Prices for Ghost in the Shell
Great for: Sci-fi readers, especially cyber-punk and mecha fans.

Shirow Masamune's seminal sci-fi epic is back, as Kodansha re-releases a new edition of the original Ghost in the Shell manga.

Whether they're reading it for the first time, or getting re-acquainted with this cerebral yet sexy cyber-punk story, Ghost in the Shell is worth picking up and reading over and over again.

Authors: Saori Takarai and Japanime
Publisher: Manga University
Compare Prices for The Manga Tarot
Great for: Teens and tweens who'll enjoy sharing their newfound divination skills with their friends.

Is romance in her future, or is good luck in the cards? Shojo manga fans can divine their destiny or impress their friends by telling fortunes with this deck of manga-inspired tarot cards. This complete gift set comes with a complete 78-card deck, a guide to the cards and various spreads used for different types of questions.