At a glance, you will notice that Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 accounts for the majority of the shelf. Ranma was the very first manga I ever bought and read (this would have been somewhere in the mid-to-late '90s, before I graduated college), and you can see that I had started reading it before Viz had standardized the design for the series.
I kind of like the older design, where each volume was a different color. I just checked, and not only are the older ones printed right to left, but so too are volumes 22 to 31. The series actually ran 38 volumes, which means I stopped buying new ones seven volumes before the series ended with, what I assume, is the marriage of Ranma and Akane.
I'm not entirely sure why I never finished it, but I've done something similar with television shows I like...it means that it's still out there to be consumed and enjoyed at a later date. Of course, it has now been so long since I've read Ranma that I fear I would have to start over and re-read everything before I get to those last seven volumes, even tough, from what I recall, the story is pretty simple and repetitive, as Ranma and Akane fight various rivals who have a crush on one of them or the other, many of whom transform when they get wet.
I am curious how Ranma holds up in 2026, given that it is about a boy that turns into a girl on occasion. I'd definitely be curious to read a trans writer's take on it. (Perhaps less interestingly, it also revolves around an arranged marriage, so I wonder if that element marks it as old-fashioned today or not). I know that there was rather recently a new anime released, so chances are there is a whole new generation of Ranma discourse out there and I just haven't gone looking for it yet...
Just to the left of all the Ranma volumes are a couple of other Takahashi books: The first chunk of Urusei Yatsura (which I've attempted a few times but never made it all the way through), a volume titled The Return of Lum Urusei Yatsura which I haven't yet read either and the final volume of Maison Ikkoku (I read that series via volumes borrowed from the Columbus Metropolitan Library up until the last volume, which I bought from The Laughing Ogre. I remember liking that series an awful lot, but it has now been so long since I've read it that I would have to re-read it to have a decent conversation about it).
After Takahashi's work, we get to the comics adaptation of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, of which I have eight volumes. This is based on the same novel that Ang Lee's beautiful 2000 film was...and probably owes its existence, or at least its translation and importation into the U.S., to the popularity of the film. It launched in 2002 and was published by ComicsOne Corp.
The design and packaging are great, and the book is filled with gorgeous full color art. Another interesting book to revisit, I imagine. I wonder if I got the whole series or not, though; a note at the end of the eighth volume says they are working on volume 9, so I would guess not...
What else does this shelf hold...?
•Kuro Gane Vols. 1-2 In feudal Japan, a young samurai on a mission of vengeance is killed...but a "master inventor" rebuilds him with a new steel body and gives him a talking sword, allowing him to carrry on.
•Minima Vol. 1 Schoolgirl Ame's favorite toy comes to life. This volume ends with an incredible cliffhanger, I see just by flipping through, so much so that I'm kind of surprised I didn't get the next volume just to see how it is resolved.
•Gacha Gacha Vols. 1-3 Protagonist Kouhei has a crush on his lifelong best friend...who has been acting weird lately. Why? Because she apparently has multiple personalities, and Kouhei is bewildered by the changes from one to the other. Probably not politically correct, huh? There's a lot of fan service in this one, which is rated "OT" for "Older Teen", 16 and up...
•Blank Vol. 1 This is one of Tokyopop's "amerimanga", I believe, which introduced me (and, I imagine, the comics industry) to a lot of talented creators, at least one of whom is among my favorite artists working today. This one is a secret agent action comedy by Pop Mhan, who is one of those artists who moved on from Tokyopop to draw all kinds of super-comics for various publishers and with various writers. My personal favorite of his comics was probably Spyboy with Peter David; he also drew some Batgirl, but from near the end of the original series, when it had gotten pretty badly written...
•Et Cetera Vols. 1-3 I liked this one quite a lot. Another manga Western (like Gun Blaze West, covered last week), it stars cute, pig-tailed Minchao who possesses a really cool and very weird gun, which has a big spherical chamber. It's called "the Eto Gun" and it is, according to the back cover, "a mysterious weapon that uses the spirits of the Zodiac animals to fire unstoppable bullets." So, in the first volume, for example, she shoots a guy in the face with a smiling cartoon rabbit.
•Fruits Basket Vols. 1-2 This one is obviously a very popular manga, but, having given Natsuki Takaya two volumes, I just couldn't really get into it. It's about an orphaned girl who meets a family possessed by the spirits of the (Chinese) zodiac.
•East Coast Rising. Another Tokyopop book from a familiar name, this is a pirate comic by Becky Cloonan. You all know Becky Cloonan at this point, right?
•Fairy Tale Vol. 1 The art in this is great, and the character designs are strong, but it didn't hook me. It obviously went on to become quite popular though. (Flipping through it again as I write this post, I am reminded that I found that weird little snowman-like character somewhat off-putting. I kind of want to re-read this now if only to see what that guy's all about, and how he might compare and contrast with Frozen's Olaf...)
•DearS Vol. 1 This is the black spine you see. It was apparently an advance copy sent out for review. There's a girl with very long hair and big boobs and, um, that's all I remember about it. Even flipping through it isn't managing to jog my memory at all, and, because it's not the final version of the book, there's no back cover copy. It is the work of "Peach-Pit", which is the name shared by two female manga artists, although when I hear the word, all I can think of is Jason Priestly behind the counter on 90210.
•Magic Knight Rayearth Vol. 1 Another CLAMP book, this one is an epic fantasy featuring magical girl-like heroes with swords and amazing powers. I know I read more of this than I see on my shelves, so I assume I did so via the library.
•No Need For Tenchi: Unreal Genius Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block introduced me to Tenchi around 2000 or 2001, and I have to assume I found this at Half Price Books, on sale at a convention or on the shelf of a particular Columbus comic shop near campus that I am blanking on the name of, given that it's from 1996. There's a "5" on the cover and spine, but I remember reading it and not having any problem doing so; maybe because, at the time, I was well-versed in the characters and universe from the cartoon...?
•The Japanese Drawing Room: Victorian Travellers in Japan This slim non-fiction graphic "novel" is by Sakura Mizuki, Shaun Garner and Sean Michael Wilson was published by The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in 2006. The credits page says it is "based on the journal Westward from the Golden Gate by Annie Russell-Cotes. I am assuming it got to me because someone wanted me to write about it.
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