An anthology manga containing 8 short stories based around the theme "ZQN" (From "**I Am a Hero**") 1. **Even If I Become a ZQN** (Mizusawa Etsuko) 2. **Ghost of a Smile** (Yokoyari Mengo) 3. **The Place Where the Zombies are** (Ishiguro Masakazu) 4. **Adolescence of the Dead** (Ojiro Makoto) 5. **She is a Slow Walker** (Ito Junji) 6. **Mister Ogre, Over Here** (Torikai Akane) 7. **I Am Not a Hero** (Nogizaka Taro) 8. **I Am a Hero Untold Creation Story** (Yoshimoto Kouji)

Tamio Satou is an art teacher who struggles to find a stable job. Single and unhappy in love, he does not fit the model of success conveyed by society. One night, realizing how lonely he is becoming, he decides to hire prostitutes to fill the void inside him, without much success. However, everything changes when he meets Serika, a young woman from the brothel. As the days go by and a real intimacy develops between them, doesn't Tamio Satou risk burning his wings?

The series revolves around four strangers who saved the life of a 10-year-old girl who jumped from the platform of a train. Years later, Kasumi Kado, a 28-year-old office worker who was among the four strangers, encounters the now-17-year-old girl again. The four strangers must reunite to save the girl once again. (Source: Anime News Network)

Misuzu Hara is a quiet, reserved 24-year-old high school teacher whose world is turned upside down after her friend’s fiancé rapes her. Her attempt to connect with one of her students, himself a victim of sexual trauma, results in an unlikely romance, and the repercussions of these events affect everyone around them in often unpredictable ways. (Source: Kodansha USA) *Notes: Nominated to the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.*

An elegiac manga about gender, community, family, control, class, love, and what makes life worth living at the end of the world. In Akane Torikai's *Wandering Cat's Cage*, it is the near future. Only a few women are still able to menstruate, and even fewer men will be born to them. Reproduction is limited to medical intervention controlled from on high, and the structures and lives of the past hold no weight: they are only hinted at through the remaining scraps of a world that no longer exists. Life can be good, though, if you fall in line, and the women of The City live bright, happy, tightly controlled lives. But complete obedience isn't for everyone. For the women across the river, who live in a rundown shantytown, viewing the opulence of the city from afar each night, life is different. It is humble, and often dangerous, but it is free. It is here that Sanada, a young acupuncturist, lives with the mysterious Reiho, the only male she's ever met, and who sells himself to the rich women who sneak across the river for something they've never experienced… The two form a small "family," taking in other young women ousted from the city. But a real, living, breathing male might be too precious to leave to the shabby streets. When Reiho is kidnapped at gunpoint and taken to the breeding program in the city, Sanada must join with the other outcasts to try and rescue him, and learn the difficult truths of love, self-actualization, society, community, safety, and the future itself. Master manga-ka Akane Torikai has produced a stunning work of relational SF through a gender-bent looking glass. Torikai pulls no punches examining the deeply messy subjects of our day – sexuality, gender dynamics, romantic love, familial trauma, freedom, and control, through immaculately realized settings and character-rich, emotive body language. (Source: Fantagraphics)

None.

They are high school students, they may go to the same establishment... Each of them, on a daily basis, asks themselves questions of their own. On the future, on life, on love, on the very meaning of existence. But none, ever, will give up... because you always have to move forward. With her unique gaze tinged with poetry, Akane Torikai sketches the portrait of contemporary teenage girls. (Source: Akata, translated) Included one-shots: Oni-san Kochira, Ima Nochi Ima

Collection of one-shots: 1) **Ikitouto** (いきとうと) 2) **Iede Musume** (家出娘) 3) **Hakuchou Kouen** (白鳥公園) 4) **You've Gotta Love Song** (You've Gotta ラブソング)

The story follows the lives of three women. Kana is 31 years old: divorced, she grows by herself the four-year-old daughter, Kaede. Yuuri is an austere office employee, which makes her look much older than her actual age of 28 – but who has a dissolute past. At last, Nao, a 36-year-old fashion designer who is very popular with men. The three, not having other friends, decide to share the house. (Source: Animeclick) *Includes 1 bonus chapter.*

The story centers on 29-year-old Yuuka, who was just dumped by her boyfriend, and her 25-year-old younger sister Sumika. The two return to their mother's hometown of Osaka since their mother has a serious illness. Her mother suddenly gives Yuuka a "mother's order": Yuuka must move with her and Sumika to live together in Tokyo. (Source: Anime News Network)

A collection of oneshots by 6 shoujo authors. 1. **Jitensha Dorobou** (自転車泥棒) \[Machiko Sakurai\] 2. **Shissou Biyori** (失踪日和) \[George Asakura\] 3. **ROOM1/4: Junjou Egoism** (ROOM1/4　―純情エゴイズム―) \[Kayoko Shimotsuki\] 4. **Hikouki Kumo** (ひこうき雲) \[Kiyo Kumagaya\] 5. **Nichiyoubi no Soda** (日よう日のソーダ) \[Akane Torikai\] 6. **Watashi to Kimi to Kimi** (私と君と君) \[Ayahito Katsuma\]

Set in Kyoto, the manga tells the daily life of Kazuho Domoto, 25, and his two beautiful sisters, Nahoko (31) and Rihoko (28). The two women, despite being considered perfect, are completely disinterested in houseworks: it is Kazuho who takes care of everything. (Source: Animeclick)