Astro Boy, known in Japan by its original name Mighty Atom, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's Shōnen from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten. Dark Horse Comics published an English translation in 2002. The story follows Astro Boy, an android young boy with human emotions who is created by Umataro Tenma after the recent death of his son Tobio. Eventually, Astro is sold to a robot circus run by Hamegg, but is saved from his servitude by Professor Ochanomizu. Astro becomes a surrogate son to Ochanomizu who creates a robotic family for Astro and helps him to live a normal life like an average human boy, while accompanying him on adventures.
Great Teacher Onizuka, officially abbreviated as GTO, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January 1997 to February 2002, with its chapters collected in 25 tankōbon volumes. The story focuses on 22-year-old ex-bōsōzoku member Eikichi Onizuka, who becomes a teacher at a private middle school, Holy Forest Academy, in Tokyo, Japan. It is a continuation of Fujisawa's earlier manga series Shonan Junai Gumi and Bad Company, both of which focus on the life of Onizuka before becoming a teacher.
Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga", "the Godfather of Manga" and "the God of Manga". Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years. Though this phrase praises the quality of his early manga works for children and animations, it also blurs the significant influence of his later, more literary, gekiga works.
Dororo (どろろ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka's childhood memory of his friends pronouncing dorobō as dororo inspired the title of the series. Dororo was first serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday between August 1967 and July 1968, before being cancelled. The manga was then concluded in Akita Shoten's Bōken'ō magazine in 1969.
Princess Knight, also known as Ribon no Kishi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pink heart of a girl. She pretends to be a male prince to prevent the evil Duke Duralumin from inheriting the throne of Silverland. The gender-bending main character was inspired by the all-female musical theater group Takarazuka Revue in which women performed both female and male roles.
Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, known in Japan as Moyashimon (もやしもん), is a Japanese manga series by Masayuki Ishikawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazine Evening from July 2004 to June 2013 and moved to the magazine Monthly Morning Two, where it concluded in January 2014. The series follows Tadayasu Sawaki, a first-year college student at an agricultural university, who has a unique ability to see and communicate with microorganisms. Del Rey Manga licensed the manga, but only released two volumes in English in North America. An 11-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by Shirogumi and Telecom Animation Film, aired between October and December 2007 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. An 11-episode live action adaptation was aired on Noitamina between July and September 2010. An 11-episode animated second season titled Moyasimon Returns aired from July to September 2012.
Saint Young Men is a Japanese slice of life comedy manga series written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura. Its plot involves Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, who are living as roommates in an apartment in Tokyo. It has been serialized by Kodansha in the monthly seinen manga magazine Morning Two since September 2006, with chapters collected in twenty-one tankōbon volumes as of March 2024. Kodansha USA has been publishing the series in English in an omnibus edition since December 2019. A-1 Pictures adapted the manga series into two original animation DVDs (OADs) and an anime film which was released on May 10, 2013. It also inspired a ten-episode live-action web series in 2018.
Space Brothers is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chūya Koyama. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning since December 2007. A 99-episode anime television series adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired from April 2012 to March 2014. The manga was also adapted into a live-action film that premiered in May 2012. An anime film, Space Brothers #0, premiered in August 2014.
The Seven Deadly Sins is a Japanese fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from October 2012 to March 2020, with the chapters collected into 41 tankōbon volumes. Featuring a setting similar to the European Middle Ages, the story follows a titular group of knights representing the seven deadly sins. The manga has been licensed by Kodansha USA for English publication in North America, while the chapters were released digitally by Crunchyroll in over 170 countries as they were published in Japan.
Hajime Isayama is a Japanese manga artist. His first series, Attack on Titan (2009–2021), became one of the best-selling manga series of all time with 140 million copies in circulation as of November 2023. He received a special award at the 50th Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023.
Those Snow White Notes is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Marimo Ragawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Magazine from December 2009 to August 2022, and has been collected in thirty-one tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Shin-Ei Animation aired from April 3 to June 19, 2021, on the Animeism programming block.
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Haruko Kumota. It was serialized in Kodansha's ITAN magazine from 2010 to 2016 and collected in ten volumes. The manga was released in North America by Kodansha USA. The manga was adapted into two original video animations by Studio Deen which were bundled with special editions of the seventh and eighth manga volumes on 6 March – 7 August 2015, respectively. It was also adapted into an anime television series which aired between 9 January 2016 and 2 April 2016. A second season of the anime television series aired between 7 January 2017 and 25 March 2017. A live-action series adaptation aired on NHK between 12 October and 14 December 2018.
The following is an overview of 2014 in manga. It includes winners of notable awards, best-sellers, title debuts and endings, deaths of notable manga-related people as well as any other relevant manga-related events. For an overview of the year in comics from other countries, see 2014 in comics.
Attack on Titan: Lost Girls is a Japanese novel written by Hiroshi Seko. The book is a spin-off of the manga series Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama. A manga adaptation began serialization in August 2015 and ran until May 2016. A three-part original animation DVD adaptation was released on December 8, 2017, April 9, 2018, and August 9, 2018, with the 24th, 25th, and 26th limited edition volumes of the original manga, respectively.
The Book of Human Insects is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It is about Toshiko Tomura, the "Woman of Talent", who is able to leech the abilities out of people, constantly reinventing herself. The manga was originally serialized in Akita Shoten's manga magazine Play Comic from May 9, 1970 to February 13, 1971. It has been published in Japan multiple times by many publishers, in either an omnibus edition or two volumes. Vertical published an omnibus edition in North America on September 20, 2011. The manga was adapted into a seven-episode live-action drama in 2011 by WOWOW.
Yoshitoki Ōima is a Japanese manga artist and writer, best known for her manga series A Silent Voice and To Your Eternity.
GTO: 14 Days in Shonan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It is a side story to the main Great Teacher Onizuka manga series. It was published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from June 2009 to September 2011, with its chapters collected into nine tankōbon volumes.
GTO: Paradise Lost is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It is a sequel to the main Great Teacher Onizuka manga series. It has been published in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine since April 2014, with its chapters collected into twenty tankōbon volumes as of November 2022.
Lovesick Ellie is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujimomo. It was serialized in Kodansha's Dessert magazine from July 2015 to May 2020. It was published in twelve tankōbon volumes. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japanese theaters in March 2024.
Sensei's Pious Lie is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akane Torikai. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Morning Two from August 2013 to September 2017, with its chapters collected in eight tankōbon volumes. A live-action film adaptation is set to premiere in Japanese theaters in July 2024.
