Stand Alone Complex takes place in the year 2030, in the fictional Japanese city of New Port. The story follows the members of Public Security Section 9, a special-operations task-force made up of former military officers and police detectives. The manga presents individual cases that Section 9 investigates, along with an ongoing, more serious investigation into the serial killer and hacker known only as "The Laughing Man." When a high-ranking government official is kidnapped, the Prime Minister must call in his top crime fighting force known as Section 9. Lead by the beautiful (and deadly) Major Kusanagi, the cybernetically enhanced squad must use all their skill to take down the kidnappers and rescue the hostages. But that's only half of the mission; can Kusanagi and company find out who's behind the kidnapping, and, more importantly, just what they're after? Find out in this thrilling first volume of The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex!
Ichiro Inuyashiki is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he's constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he's done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world. But just when it seems things couldn't get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichiro stands.
Aico Tachibana is recovering from both a car accident that took her father and shattered her body, then a from a world-shaking biological disaster that engulfed her mother and brother. Her rehabilitation is like getting used to a brand-new body, but as a young transfer student shows her, that is no simile. Her body is not her own. Now she must escape shadowy forces who want to kidnap her and join a desperate mission into an organic-matter-infested valley to find the fate of her family, the truth of herself, and quite possibly, save the world. This is Hiroaki Michiaki's comic adaptation of the brand-new anime by the makers of Wolf's Rain and Space Dandy.
Tsutomu Nihei's (Knights of Sidonia) breakthrough science-fiction masterpiece is now finally back in print. In a future version of Earth, there is a city grown so chaotically massive that its inhabitants no longer recall what "land" is. Within this megastructure the silent, stoic Kyrii is on a mission to find the Net Terminal Gene--a genetic mutation that once allowed humans to access the cybernetic NetSphere. Armed with a powerful Graviton Beam Emitter, Kyrii fends off waves of attacks from fellow humans, cyborgs and silicon-based lifeforms. Along the way, he encounters a highly-skilled scientist whose body has deteriorated from a lengthy imprisonment who promises to help Kyrii find the Net Terminal Gene, once she settles a score for herself ... "The amazing thing about BLAME! is that it's such a good read even though it has almost no story or characters. It's all about the art and the experience of being there, of not knowing what will happen next, of the contrast between landscapes of endless sameness and bloody eruptions of chaos and gore." --Jason Thompson, Manga Encyclopedia
Naoto is a brilliant amateur mechanic who spends his days tinkering with gears and inventions. And the world is a playground - a massive, intricate machine. But his quiet life is disrupted when a box containing an automaton in the shape of a girl crashes into his home. Could this be an omen of a breakdown in Naoto's delicate clockwork planet? And is this his chance to become a hero?
Saki and her schoolmates enjoy what they consider normal lives in a peaceful provincial setting. Only their village cannot be of this era. Its customs differ from those of any known in modern day Japan. The landscape while familiar is also much more constrained than what modern day maps may exhibit. So when 6 friends embark on a journey of mental and physical training, this fateful journey will lead them to a series of mindshattering truthsfor these characters and for us as readers.
The Ultimate Mystery: A Girlfriend! -- Mikoto Urabe is a new transfer student in Akira Tsubaki's high school class. One day, Akira happens to find Mikoto passed out asleep on her desk after classes have ended. He wakes her and tells her it's time to go home, and discovers that she has drooled on her desk. He spontaneously reaches out to touch and taste it... and then things start getting really strange. In this surprising and sweet twist on a high school romance story, boy meets girl and they learn about each other's inner life through their highly unusual bond, and Akira learns to respect Mikoto as she sets a careful pace in the development of their relationship.
For Shion, an elite student in the technologically sophisticated city No. 6, life is carefully choreographed. School, study, and the occasional visit with his friend and classmate Safu. One fateful day, however, he takes a misstep, sheltering an injured boy his age from a typhoon. Known only as Rat, this boy is a VC a fugitive living outside the computerized tapestry of city control and helping him will throw Shion's life into chaos and start him down a path to discovering the appalling secrets behind the superficial perfection of No. 6.
Mikako Nagamine is recruited as a pilot to fight in the interstellar war against a force of alien invaders, leaving behind her one true love. Mikako's only connection to Noboru Terao, who continues living the life of an ordinary student, is through cell phone text messages. As Mikako travels light years away, it takes longer and longer for Noboru to receive her messages, until finally one arrives eight years and seven months after she sent it...
In a world inhabited by crystalline lifeforms called The Lustrous, every unique gem must fight for their way of life against the threat of lunarians who would turn them into decorations. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of gems, longs to join the battle. When Phos is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, it sounds like a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos's seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?
AD 2072. With the invention of cross-dimensional electromagnetic inductors known as Coils, the world's energy crisis has long been solved. Kyouma Mabuchi is a "Collector," someone who makes his living by recovering illegal Coils for the powers that be. When on his latest gig he crosses paths with a mysterious girl named Mira, little does he know that their meeting will bring them both closer to the secrets behind "Dimension W," the fourth dimension--beyond X, Y, and Z--that powers the world...So begins this progressive sci-fi tale, where the future of science and humanity may very well hang in the balance!
For many years, the Republic of San Magnolia has been at war with the neighboring Giadian Empire. Faced with the relentless might of the Empire's Legion of autonomous drones, the Republic counters with unmanned weapons of their own, creating a battlefield that is supposedly without casualties. However, beyond the fortified walls protecting the eighty-five Republic territories lies the "nonexistent" Eighty-Sixth Sector. The young men and women of this forsaken land are branded the Eighty-Six and, stripped of their humanity, pilot the "unmanned" weapons into battle...
Touma Kamijou just can't catch a break. He might live in Academy City, a place full of more super powered students than you can shake a stick at, but his only superpower is his supernatural lack of luck. He wants nothing more than to keep a low profile, but when a girl named Index comes into his life, it gets more complicated and dangerous than ever!
Years after a great war was waged between the portion of humanity that migrated to Mars and those who chose to remain on Earth, a tentative peace has been struck. But not everyone is happy with the status quo. When the Princess Asseylum of Mars makes a diplomatic visit to Earth in an effort to strengthen ties, some see it as an opportunity to reignite the flames of war. Can the citizens of Earth stand against the awesome might of the Martian Kataphrakts a second time?
By all counts, Ryouta Sakamoto is a loser when he's not holed up in his room, bombing things into oblivion in his favorite online action RPG. But his very own uneventful life is blown to pieces when he's abducted and taken to an uninhabited island, where he soon learns the hard way that he's being pitted against others just like him in a explosives-riddled death match! How could this be happening? Who's putting them up to this? And why!? The name, not to mention the objective, of this very real survival game is eerily familiar to Ryouta, who has mastered its virtual counterpart-BTOOOM! Can Ryouta still come out on top when he's playing for his life!?
When orphan Carole meets runaway Tuesday, an uptown girl who wants nothing more than to make music, it's as if they were fated to find each other. With their shared dream, the duo charges headfirst into the world of entertainment-but on colonized Mars, with a consumer base accustomed to "perfect" A.I.-produced songs, is there any hope their organic sound and heartfelt lyrics will reach their audience?
In a story based on the hit anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Kids on the Slope), two girls from different worlds connect through a love of music and a desire to make it big on Mars.
Karen Kohiruimaki always felt out of place in the real world. Due to her extreme height, she found it hard to make friends with other girls her age. Everything changes when she's introduced to VR and Gun Gale Online. In GGO, Karen is free to play the cute, chibi avatar of her dreams! Can Karen find friendship in this bullet-ridden MMO...?
Civilization is dead, but not Chito and Yuuri. Time to hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and wander what's left of the world! Sharing a can of soup or scouting for spare parts might not be the experience they were hoping for, but all in all, life isn't too bad...
The Nebulis Sovereignty and the Empire are embroiled in a war without end. The Ice Calamity Witch, a Nebulis mage of incredible power, and Iska, the youngest swordsman of the Empire ever to become a Saint Disciple, find themselves face-to-face on the battlefield. Each seeks to bring a close to this ceaseless conflict. Little do they know, however, that their meeting will be the catalyst that shapes the fate of the world!
All alone after the end of days, two girls ride through the desolate ruins of Japan-but they're not about to let the collapse of civilization get in the way of sightseeing!From the hot springs of Hakone to the massive Tokyo Big Sight, they've got the run of the country's most popular tourist spots all to themselves, so why not make the most of it?