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Must-Read Manga Short-story Compilations and Single Volume Complete Collections
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items There are quite a few short-story collections and single volume collections (also known as omnibus) that have been released in North America. I really enjoy these because sometimes they're nicely done for fans of the author or series, convenient to r...
Sections
3
Short Story Compiliations
Complete Collections
Stand-Alone Books
Short Story Compiliations
These are collections of short-stories by a single manga-ka (manga creator).
I adore Moto Haigo's work and she has a distinctive art style. This collection features several short manga stories from between 1971-1991 presented in a beautiful hardback edition. Moto Haigo's stories are always refreshing and sometimes boundary te...
A Drunken Dream and Other Stories - Moto Haigo
Clockwork Apple includes six short stories by Osamu Tezuka and each focuses on aspects of mortality and immortality. Several of the stories really stuck with me and honestly none are bad.
Clockwork Apple - Osamu Tezuka
Times Two is a collection of five short stories that focus on teenage love.
This is sadly out of print but you can find it for a reasonable price on amazon or in thrift shops.
This is sadly out of print but you can find it for a reasonable price on amazon or in thrift shops.
Times Two - Shouko Akira
This is a collection of 12 short stories by the Clamp team. Each story focuses on love and relationships and some pack quite the punch.
The paperback version is very out of print (and expensive) but it has been made available for kindle.
The paperback version is very out of print (and expensive) but it has been made available for kindle.
The One I Love - Clamp
From famed manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi comes a collection of several short stories by her. This is a must-read for fans of her work.
Came the Mirror & Other Tales - Rumiko Takahashi
SOS is a collection of three short stories about love, with “Organ” being particularly memorable.
This is sadly out of print but is cheap on amazon and ebay.
This is sadly out of print but is cheap on amazon and ebay.
SOS - Hinako Ashihara
Complete Collections
These are books that compile multiple of a (shorter) series into one complete volume.
This is a very good dark mystery manga that's a fun ride all the way through. It also has two spin off books: a spin-off/prequel Another: Episode S/0 and Another 2001 which is a direct sequel.
In Another, a transfer student named Kōichi Sakakibara arrives at Yomiyama North Middle School and becomes entangled in a chilling mystery surrounding Class 3-3, where students and teachers are plagued by gruesome, unexplained deaths. As he grows clo...
In Another, a transfer student named Kōichi Sakakibara arrives at Yomiyama North Middle School and becomes entangled in a chilling mystery surrounding Class 3-3, where students and teachers are plagued by gruesome, unexplained deaths. As he grows clo...
Another - Yukito Ayatsuji (writer) and Hiro Kiyohara (Artist)
A Distant Neighborhood is a well-written and illustrated time travel manga that explores themes of reflection, satisfaction and regret and if we would change our decisions to change the future.
A Distant Neighborhood tells the story of Hiroshi Nakahara, a middle-aged salaryman who accidentally boards a train to his childhood town and, after visiting his mother’s grave, mysteriously wakes up inhabiting his 14-year-old body—armed with all the...
A Distant Neighborhood tells the story of Hiroshi Nakahara, a middle-aged salaryman who accidentally boards a train to his childhood town and, after visiting his mother’s grave, mysteriously wakes up inhabiting his 14-year-old body—armed with all the...
A Distant Neighborhood - Jiro Taniguchi
Journal of My Father is another well-written and illustrated story by Jiro Tanaguchi.
Journal of My Father follows Yoichi Yamashita, who returns to his hometown after many years to attend his estranged father’s funeral. Through conversations at the wake and childhood memories—of his father’s barber shop, a devastating fire, and his parents’ divorce—Yoichi...
Journal of My Father follows Yoichi Yamashita, who returns to his hometown after many years to attend his estranged father’s funeral. Through conversations at the wake and childhood memories—of his father’s barber shop, a devastating fire, and his parents’ divorce—Yoichi...
A Journal Of My Father - Jiro Taniguchi
In This Corner of the World is one of my all-time favorite manga. The story is heart-wrenching, the characters memorable and the art style gorgeous. It takes not take the horror, hope and hardship of WWII and cultural expectations in Japan lightly.
It follows Suzu Urano, a cheerful young woman who marries into a family in Kure, near Hiroshima, and strives to maintain hope and normalcy through daily life during the escalating hardships of World War II. As air raids intensify, food becomes scarce...
It follows Suzu Urano, a cheerful young woman who marries into a family in Kure, near Hiroshima, and strives to maintain hope and normalcy through daily life during the escalating hardships of World War II. As air raids intensify, food becomes scarce...
In this Corner of the World - Fumiyo Kouno
This is a fasinating story Osamu Tezuka, also known as the godfather of manga.
Apollo’s Song follows Shōgo Chikaishi, a psychologically scarred young man whose abusive upbringing instills in him a deep hatred for love—so much so that he reacts violently at the sight of affection. After undergoing electrotherapy, he encounters t...
Apollo’s Song follows Shōgo Chikaishi, a psychologically scarred young man whose abusive upbringing instills in him a deep hatred for love—so much so that he reacts violently at the sight of affection. After undergoing electrotherapy, he encounters t...
Apollo's Song - Osamu Tezuka
Dororo is the story of the son of a samurai lord who in exchange for power bartered away his newborn son's organs to forty-eight demons. Despite the disadvantage, his infant son survives thanks to a medicine man who equips him with prosthetics. As he...
This is a fantastic story which has seen a couple of adaptations. If you have a chance, I cannot recommend the anime series that came out a few years ago enough.
This is a fantastic story which has seen a couple of adaptations. If you have a chance, I cannot recommend the anime series that came out a few years ago enough.
Dororo - Osamu Tezuka
This is a collection of the original series and “sequel” series that retains the same characters. It's a fun science fiction story that features Moto Haigo's boundary-breaking stories (for the 70s).
In They Were 11! Ten elite space cadets, from different races across the galaxy are assigned to board a decommissioned spaceship as their final test. They are tasked with surviving as long as possible but they quickly discover there's an additional (...
In They Were 11! Ten elite space cadets, from different races across the galaxy are assigned to board a decommissioned spaceship as their final test. They are tasked with surviving as long as possible but they quickly discover there's an additional (...
They Were 11! - Moto Haigo
This is a heart-breaking story that tackles themes of friendship and loss.
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas centers on a reserved high school boy who discovers a classmate’s secret: she’s suffering from a terminal pancreatic illness. Over the course of their unlikely friendship, filled with both humorous adventures and bitterswe...
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas centers on a reserved high school boy who discovers a classmate’s secret: she’s suffering from a terminal pancreatic illness. Over the course of their unlikely friendship, filled with both humorous adventures and bitterswe...
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas - Yoru Summon
Gyo was my first manga by horror manga-ka Junji Ito and after reading it at the library at Katsukon, immediately ordered it. It's not his most popular manga but its chilling and well-written.
Gyo is set in a world in which rotting, mechanical-legged fish crawl out of the sea, spreading a horrific stench and a deadly infection across Japan. As the plague evolves into a grotesque nightmare involving weaponized corpses and biological terror,...
Gyo is set in a world in which rotting, mechanical-legged fish crawl out of the sea, spreading a horrific stench and a deadly infection across Japan. As the plague evolves into a grotesque nightmare involving weaponized corpses and biological terror,...
Gyo - Junji Ito
Uzumaki is a horror manga by Junji Ito that tells the story of a small seaside town cursed by a mysterious and escalating obsession with spirals. As the spiral phenomenon spreads, warping reality and driving residents into madness and grotesque trans...
This has also been adapted into a short series (in black and white) and movie.
This has also been adapted into a short series (in black and white) and movie.
Uzumaki - Junji Ito
Paradise Kiss follows Yukari, a straight-laced high school student who gets swept into the dazzling world of fashion after meeting a group of eccentric art school designers. As she models for their brand "Paradise Kiss," Yukari undergoes a journey of...
Paradise Kiss - Ai Yazawa
Stand-Alone Books
These are often adaptations of anime movies in manga form that are only a volume long.
This is a gut-wrenching story about two teenagers afraid to tell each other their feelings that end up separated by time and space. As they drift further apart by time the only thing that connects them is texting but as the distance grows so too does...
Voices of a Distant Star - Makoto Shinkai (story) Mizu Sahara (art)
This is a beautiful story about a young woman, Miyu, and her cat, Chobi. This is a beautifully illustrated story that will is captivating and powerful.
She and her cat follows Miyu as navigates the world of adulthood, and Chobi. Chobi is our narrator, who learns of the outside world through her actions.
She and her cat follows Miyu as navigates the world of adulthood, and Chobi. Chobi is our narrator, who learns of the outside world through her actions.
She and Her Cat: Stories
This is the manga adaptation of the critically acclaimed film of the same name. It has a very peaceful energy to it and is an easy, smooth read.
Garden of Words follows Takao Akizuki, a 15-year‑old aspiring shoemaker, who skips school on rainy mornings to sketch in Shinjuku Gyoen Park, where he meets Yukari Yukino, a 27‑year‑old woman quietly nursing her own sorrows over a beer. Though they s...
Garden of Words follows Takao Akizuki, a 15-year‑old aspiring shoemaker, who skips school on rainy mornings to sketch in Shinjuku Gyoen Park, where he meets Yukari Yukino, a 27‑year‑old woman quietly nursing her own sorrows over a beer. Though they s...
The Garden of Words - by Makoto Shinkai (story) Midori Motohashi (art)
Ichirui Hanri is a young man working as an accountant. However, he is ordered to commit hara-kiri after being entangled in trouble in his master's house although he is innocent. Seeing his plight, a witch named Sudama appears. She signs a contract wi... obtain his soul in exchange for fulfilling three of his wishes.
One Hundred Tales - Osamu Tezuka