Cast: Furuya Usamaru

February 23rd, 20XX.

Chronicles the events leading up to the development of the Litchi Hikari Club.The manga will be available to read for free online, but a tankobon will be published when it is finished.

A disturbing manga inspired by an even more disturbing movie of the same name (aka Suicide Club). As you might expect, they both deal with the theme of suicide. However, the plots of the manga and movie are significantly different, so don't worry about spoilers and such. Finally, I'd just like to point out that the manga isn't for the faint of heart, and the movie even more so.

"No Longer Human" paints the portrait of the life of Ooba Youzou, a troubled soul incapable of revealing his true self to others and who is instead forced to uphold a facade of hollow jocularity.

Akaba Teiichi is beginning his student career at an elite private boy's high school, which was originally renowned for producing many excellent naval officers. In its current incarnation, his school regularly turns out many important politicians and bureaucrats, and networking starts from day one. Teiichi is determined to become the school's student council president, a position which will help launch him into the political sphere after graduation. He has run his life so far by maintaining a perfect image, while never neglecting the darker side of politics.He has plenty of help to reach his goal. Teiichi's father, who is now an important bureaucrat, lost the position of student council president during his high school years, and that loss has continually hindered his career. He's determined to support his son's success in any way he can. Teiichi also has his loyal best friend and second-in-command, Koumei, helping him with strategy. On the side of emotional support, Teiichi has his little sister and mother, in addition to his girlfriend Mimiko.

From Hox: Similar to Happiness, this is a collection of oneshots, but I think it has a tighter central focus, as each chapter deals with common problems that teenagers go undergo.

A fantasy epic of truly magnificent scale with gorgeous illustrations. In just two volumes, the author manages to create an incredibly rich and fascinating world that is full of wonders and enchanting beauties. A world in which men are watched over by the mechanical goddess Marie who at times appears on the sky. Marie's music brings people happiness and harmony. Their life is free from advanced technology and the longing for progress. The main story centers around Kai, a young man who develops a deep affection for Marie. His quest for enlightenment leads him inside Marie's mechanical body where he learns the unbelievable truth about her and his own world.

A short one shot about a girl named Natsuki, who wonders about the world after the death of her father.

Paraphrased from Kotonoha:

This is a collection of eight stories (there are 9 chapters, because story 6 is composed of chapters 6 and 7).

Story 1: Teased and Stepped On, What Blooms is a Passionate Flower
Describes the relationship between a girl and her teacher.

Story 2: Lolita #7
Features the relationship between two cousins, an older male and a younger girl. One is a teacher, while the other is a student -- both at the same school. When the elder cousin doesn’t come to class for several days, the school administrators send the younger cousin to the elder cousin's home to investigate further.

Story 3: Song of the Devil

Story 4: What If?

Story 5: Happiness

Story 6: A Room of Clouds (Chapters 6 & 7)
A simple minded girl who tries to live her life the best she can.

Story 7: Indigo Elegy

Story 8: Underground Doll

In Northern France there lives a boy by the name of Nicholas. He dreams of becoming a knight like his father was, but people doubt his abilities, as his father is dead, and now he lives with his uncle, a Pig Farmer. Basically the story tells of his adventures as he strives to become a Knight Templar.

Based in year 1212.

From ANN:

February 23rd, 20XX. Looking for a job in the famous TV station at Odaiba, college senior Jin Mishima attended the recruitment orientation. Not far away from the station, Nanako Okano, a gothic lolita trying to attend a concert, found out that her friends tricked her about the concert ticket because of jealousy. The two bumped into each other and "reunited" -- they were junior high classmates -- moments before an earthquake of Richter Scale 8.1 turned the island (the entire city, in fact) into ruins.

Based on the Tokyo Grand Guignol play Litchi Hikari Club.

Litchi Hikari Club revolves around a group of schoolboys who plan to create the ultimate in Artificial Intelligence.
As the story progresses, we watch the group gradually fall apart due to internal conflict and as the boys, under corrupt leadership, involve increasingly more twisted and depraved methods to reach their goal.

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A group of nine boys (called the Hikari Club) are intent on making the Ultimate AI. The attractive leader of the club, Zera, is a twisted man polluting the minds of the club members to make them do whatever he pleases. Tamiya, the original founder of the club, wants to reclaim the club. Niko, the second in command, is pissed off at Jaibo, the one obsessed with Zera. They kidnap a schoolgirl, but the AI Raichi falls in love with her and she with him, and things get messy.

(Warning: contains guro)

A fantasy epic of truly magnificent scale with gorgeous illustrations. In just two volumes, the author manages to create an incredibly rich and fascinating world that is full of wonders and enchanting beauties. A world in which men are watched over by the mechanical goddess Marie who at times appears on the sky. Marie's music brings people happiness and harmony. Their life is free from advanced technology and the longing for progress. The main story centers around Kai, a young man who develops a deep affection for Marie. His quest for enlightenment leads him inside Marie's mechanical body where he learns the unbelievable truth about her and his own world.

Palepoli goes beyond the framework of standard four-panel manga and views its structure in new ways. Actually, Furuya knew nothing of conventional manga styles and methods when he started Palepoli. As a result, he created something that bore little similarity to other manga. Furuya notes that he selects his subject matter and methods with clear and precise intentions. I find it extremely rare for a manga artist to be this deliberate.

A portion of Palepoli was featured in Secret Comics Japan.

[From Viz]:

So just what is with this fascination for the Japanese teenage girl? We're talking about that extreme variant of her--that highly evolved creature of Japan's frantically trendy consumer culture...the ko-gal. Short Cuts is a unique and surreal Japanese comic strip that provides an illustrated journey into the ko-gal's world, created by Usamaru Furuya, one of Japan's most highly esteemed avant-garde comic artists.

A collection of standalone stories written by both Furuya Usamaru and Otsuichi. The stories all revolve around the common troubles that teenagers go through, whether it be falling out with a friend, being bullied, or dieting.