Yumiko Kawahara's disturbing short stories explore the strange and codependent world of dolls and the people who own them. These cautionary tales must come from some desire to teach people a lesson, for in each one there is a horrible outcome when the doll enters their homes. Volume 1 Milk at Mealtimes: A man spoils his Plant Doll, and it matures into a "woman". Potpourri Doll: A mentally unbalanced man buys his daughter a Plant Doll, and starts to obsess over the "nauseating scent" coming from it. Snow White, Part I: A jeweller tries to obtain Tears of Heaven from a Plant Doll named Snow White. Snow White, Part II: A poor man takes in a Plant Doll and dies from the exhaustion of taking care of it. In the end the doll cries. Rainy Moon: An artist with a supernatural reputation does a portrait of a Plant Doll named Rainy Moon. Lucky Doll: A man's Plant Doll, named Otohime, grants him good luck, yet his girlfriend is somewhat skeptical. The Distant Sound of Water: A man wanders the city trying to regain his memory. A Spell to Unbind Spring: A man returns to a secluded manor with a legend of a girl who drowned in a nearby lake. Volume 2 Blue Doll: A man working for a collection agency takes in a Plant Doll left behind by former clients. The Garden in the Sky: A maid gets entangled in a plot involving a fortune depending on the words spoken by a Plant Doll. The Missing Doll: A woman tries to find the Plant Doll once owned by her dead grandmother. Princess Jewel: When a boy's sister dies, his father buys a Plant Doll to help his mother deal with it. The Role of an Angel: After getting divorced, a young model buys a Plant Doll. Forbidden Fruit: Olympia is a special kind of Plant Doll, one who sings. But there is a sinister secret about this certain Plant Doll. A Voice in the Night: A woman wanders the city only to stumble upon her corpse. Volume 3 The Garden of Arcadia: A young man who is mysteriously transforming into a tree is taken to a research institute where he is comforted by many plant dolls. Circle: A group pools their money together to buy a plant doll, which they will all take care of. However, when most of the members begin to see the joy in breaking the rules of plant doll care, one member must take charge of her. Honeymoon: A young girl finds that her previously adoring father has bought a doll that is identical to her in her childhood. Dreams of Flying High in the Sky: A lonely novelist buys a plant doll to impress his editor. When she leaves to marry her sweetheart, he must raise the doll by himself. The problem is, the doll doesn't respond to him and he has never taken care of her! Emerald: A rich woman's young lover wishes to possess a plant doll. As he yearns after the doll his mistress begins to lose interest in him. The Storm: A young woman who is kept in a gilded cage attempts to escape to live life to its fullest. Volume 4 Quicksand: When a sick young boy dreams of a beautiful plant doll with aqua blue eyes, his parents are quick to purchase her when he sees it in the shop. As the boy spends more time with the doll his health begins to improve. A Gift: In the midst of refuse an angel waits to awaken. When she is woken before her time, will she ever bloom into a proper angel plant doll? Coral: A father brings home a mysterious ball of coral with a tiny plant doll inside. As the doll spends more time in the sun, the bigger she grows. The Tiara of Melancholy: A brother and sister team is hired to grow the fabled Tiara of Melancholy for a rich man. What they soon find out is that as the tiara grows it draws its energy from the doll itself.

From Tokyopop: After a generation of warfare, the Gundam boys finally secured a peace between Earth and the colonies by helping to defeat the Oz and White Fang armies. Now, out of the rubble, the surviving soldiers are re-emerging and clustering together into new factions. Hero Yuy has become a vigilante pacifist, tracking down weapons stashes and destroying them, while Relena, former Queen of the Earth Sphere, tries to maintain the peace politically. But an unmanned weapons factory has been discovered somewhere near Mars, and now the boys are going to have to dust off their mechs for one more battle to save the tenuous peace.

Dolls Fall revolves around the lives of students at Jiaiin girls dormitory, an orphanage for middle school children without families. They are greeted with open arms by the matrons and other students, taught to accept their fellow orphans as sisters and the matrons as their mothers. Jiaiin is a safe haven for students, provided that they follow two simple rules: at night, lock your door and don’t leave the room, and never enter a matron’s room

The funeral bells are ringing the day that Mikaya moves into his new apartment. However, once he arrives, he learns a startling fact: the room he's moving into belonged to the dead man, K. Strangely enough, no one ever found K's body. Where is the body, and which of his eccentric neighbors was the one who killed K...?

It started with a brutal beating at a pachinko parlor, and now Bakune Young-maniac, moron or mastermind -- has taken Japan's biggest crime boss as a hostage as Step One of his plan to rule the world! Soon, yakuza, police, hapless detectives and Bakune's former gym teacher collide as Bakune holes up with his hostage in Osaka Castle, and the manly men of the Japanese mob vow to do anything to rescue their boss! Can Russian-roulette-playing police chief Sorigami salvage the situation with his highly trained army of human robots? Will Johnson Membodeath, the ninja, stop the madness by killing everyone in sight? Savage satire of the action-violence manga genre!

Ukai Zero saves three troubled teens from a Suicide Website, and together chooses to work as 'Robin Hoods' of society. However, one of Zero's friends are caught by an organization he got in trouble with, and Zero is forced to enter a gambling competition hosted by a rich, rotten old man who is looking for talented gamblers to be his rep player. The reward money? ONE TRILLION YEN.

Trepanation is the procedure of drilling a hole in the skull. It is said to increase the blood circulation and improve pressure inside the skull. It is also said to bring out a person's sixth sense, the ability to use ESP, see ghosts, move objects with one's mind. This is speculative fiction based on the concept of trepanation.

[From Lililicious]: A story about two classmates who become friends, Sahoko and Rio. Rio is depressed and self-abusive and isn't loved by her "family" (which consists of her father, stepmother, and stepbrother), but Sahoko seems to be the bright spot in her life. Sahoko also seems to have a mysterious past and doesn't seem to have a good relationship with her parents; she lives with her aunt. It's also hinted at that Sahoko and Rio have met once before, when they were much younger...

From JanimeS: Kang Han-Se and Ban Ha-Da have known each other ever since childhood. They are close enough to sleep in the same room together, even at their current age. "Three men for you," Kang Han-Se's mother tells Ban Ha-Da, on the day of graduation. As soon as Ban Ha-Da's life as a high-school student starts, her love life begins as well.

On his way back from a business trip, the protagonist decides on a whim to take a train back to his old hometown. The moment he pays respects to his mother's grave in the transformed town, he is transported back to a summer when he was still in junior high school, only with all his middle-age consciousness, knowledge and abilities intact. On this journey across time, he understands for the first time the burdens born by his father, and his mother's tears. This is the kind of fantasy manga were made for, executed by an artist of great talent. This is a serious, delicate, and ultimately moving time travel variation.

From Viz: Delve into the tortured past of Earl Cain C. Hargreaves, charismatic heir to a wealthy family full of secrets, lies and unthinkable crimes. Follow the young Cain as he attempts to unravel the secrets of his birth, all the while solving each new mystery that comes his way. ---- In the Hakushaku Cain Series: 1) Wasurerareta Juliet Includes 2 oneshots * The Boys Who Stopped Time - England, year 1918. Rupert enrolls to his new school just a few days after the murder of a maid called Noelle. He's the type that just can't sit still, so when he meets Noelle's sister, he's determined to help her find out who murdered her sister... * Double - When they were children, Ren helped his friend Emilio start his career as an actor. But when Ren didn't have any news from Emilio for two years, he decided to go to New York to look for his friend... 2) Shounen no Fukasuru Oto 3) Kafka Includes 1 oneshot * Ellie in Summer Clothes 4) Akai Hitsuji no Kokuin 5) God Child

Houdzuki Maika is a high school girl who, in a sense, is never alone. Her twin brother Maito, who could not survive birth, lives inside of her and shares her body. They switch between who gets to live each day and they share most of their memories. However, the only times they get to see and talk to each other is when they are both asleep, where they share the same dream. Perhaps as a result of this supernatural existence, they have the ability to see ghosts. These twins will surely face many mysterious events ahead!

From Viz: Deep in the heart of 19th Century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society in which he was born. Forced to become an Earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old adopted sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.

This collection is an amalgamation of work reflecting Hiroki Endo's philosophy and his outstanding ability to draw and to tell stories.

From Tokyopop: Confidential Confessions is a shocking new manga series that deals with many of the hard-hitting issues that teens face today. Using emotionally moving storylines and multi-dimensional characters, each groundbreaking volume tackles such topics as teen prostitution, rape, HIV, stalkers, suicide, and sexual harassment. Vol. 1:: Tobira (MOMOCHI Reiko) Ch. 01-03: The Door Ch. 04: Mistakes Vol. 2:: Namida Tears Vol. 3:; Memai (MOMOCHI Reiko) Ch. 01: Our Future Ch. 02-04: Dizziness Vol. 4:: Itami Ch. 01: Pain Ch. 02: Distortion Ch. 03: Tomorrow Ch. 04: Forbidden Kiss Vol. 5:: Himitsu (MOMOCHI Reiko) Vol. 6:: Uwasa

A romantic story set in showbusiness and modeling world, CRASH reveals the influence played and the links joining the publicity, cinema and TV worlds: as a vector to the image manipulation, that tends too often to dehumanize the top model or actor, reducing him to a simple image in 2-dimension.

From Kotonoha: Seventh grader Hayashi Renei is troubled by a strange dream: Her dead brother-- killed in an automobile accident--comes back to life as Coo. The dream comes again the following night and then every night thereafter. Coo's world is a cruel one--crueler than the real world, even--with its own share of pain, suffering, and sadness. Renei is searching for her house with her brother and others whom she meets in Coo's world so that she can return to reality and the land of the living...

Vol. 1: Kooru Shakunetsu (Freezing Flame) When Hirose Katsumi discovers that his father's company is in jeopardy as their largest customer, Mimuro, considers moving to other markets, he convinces his father to meet with the heads of Mimuro. Attending the meeting with his father, Katsumi has the unfortunate luck of catching the eye of the heir, Mimuro Yoshitaka. Yoshitaka calls on Katsumi with a deal that will allow the Mimuro Corporation to continue doing business with Katsumi's father. There is one condition, though…Katsumi must put Yoshitaka's needs above all else and do anything requested. With such a tough economy, and so many employees depending on his father's company, Katsumi has no choice but to obey, and begins a life of humiliation as the possession of a cold-hearted Yoshitaka. But, who is actually the one being possessed? And what will Yoshitaka do when his pet learns how to bite back, using manipulative tricks learned from the Mimuro heir to possibly turn the tables? (from Fushichou) Vol. 2: Homura no Kusari (Chain of Flame) Vol. 3: Mitsu no Rakuin (Honeyed Brand) Vol. 4: Rekka no Shizuku (Melting Flame) The story shifts to a new couple... Vol. 5: Rekka no Shizuku (Melting Flame 2) Vol. 6: Rouraku no Hana (Twined Dragon) Vol. 7: Rouraku no Hana 2 (Twined Dragon 2)

Susumu Hayashi, his twin brother Tsutomu and Sakura Toyama are childhood friends. Tsutomu disappeared when he was ten years old. Then two years later, he reappeared—this time only in front of Susumu. And what’s more, from inside a mirror! Now, events that no one has ever experienced take place in this bizarre love triangle!! Aoyama’s love story starts off with a twist: The twin brothers Susumu and Tsutomu have been friends with the girl Sakura since they were kids. But when Tsutomu mysteriously disappears at the age of ten, Susumu and Sakura begin to drift apart. What Sakura doesn’t know: Tsutomu has returned, not as a person, but as the mirror image of Susumu. That is, whenever Susumu looks in a mirror, he sees his brother who talks to him. Thus begins a bizarre love triangle between Sakura, who torments the poor Susumu as much as she is being tormented by her peers, Susumu, who keeps thinking he has to save Sakura because he likes her, and Tsutomu, who despite being stuck in a mirror pulls everyone’s strings. Aoyama’s lively narrative and her beautifully rich artwork lend this strange story a surprisingly charming touch. Considering that SWWEEET is her first series, it’s amazing how well she did her job. From the paneling to the layout to the pacing, everything is excellently executed. If you like unusual and exotic youth love stories, you should definitely give SWWEEET a try.

This is the era of the Three Kingdoms. [Distinction between water and fish] it is said that one can't live without the other, it is the same as the relation between generals and strategists. Elite Generals and Strategists are the specialists when it comes to battle. What secrets are they are hiding about their special abilities?!

From Tokyopop: It's senior year, and Rica is seriously stressed out. She's got more homework, exams, and papers than she can handle, and was recently dumped by her boyfriend. In other words: Life sucks! One day, she's chatting online when she meets three classmates who hate school as much as she does. Together, they hatch a plan to blow up the school when no one is present. The countdown is on for X-Day ... Featured in this manga is a side story called The Last Supper.

From Tokyopop: Kotarou Oohira is a boy with the clueless touch--he has an unusual type of ESP that is transmitted via physical contact. When he accidentally gives his cousin Tatsuki the "gift", he comes to realize that there is much more to his powers than he ever imagined!

Satoru spends his days listlessly in a factory town. The old man Segawa, a former Yakuza, lives in the room next to his cheap apartment. One day, Segawa tells Satoru, "I'll give you 5 million yen to put me out of my misery." Satoru hesitates, and Segawa sees through to the madness eating away inside him and begins to have a change of heart, and yet...!? A story of the filth of society and the dark path that Satoru takes -- on the edge of sanity -- with a gun and 5 million yen.

From Tokyopop: A smoke-filled alley in Chinatown harbors Count D's Pet Shop. The pets sold here aren't your everyday variety and the Count prides himself on selling Love and Dreams in the form of magical creatures that come with an exclusive contract. But buyers beware. If the contract is broken the Count cannot be held accountable for whatever may happen. A fascinating and macabre look into the very soul of human nature.