Megaman

Megaman Zero 1.5

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Hilarious Burger King Prank Call

Linkin Park - New Divide (Lyrics)

Vertical Horizon - Lonely Miracle

Stereopony - Hitohira no Hanabira(PV)

Stereo Pony - Namida No Mukou [PV]

Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi

[hakanaku mo towa no kanashi] full girl version.

Mosaic Kakera [Sunset Swish]

Mosaic Kakera [Girl Version]

【コードギアスR2新OP】 WORLD END -最高音質一部改-

COLORS - Flow

Orange Range - O2

K-on ED full [Don't say lazy]

Friends - Stephanie [Eng Sub]

Ash like Snow

The_Brilliant_Green - Ai no Hoshi

he All-American Rejects - Another Heart Calls

Bass-Blast

Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Tick-Tock

The way of Mangaka's life

The great and tasty Japanese food you can get out there on Japan's streets.

Japan's shibuya street crowded with people.

Japan's beautiful view out of the hotel's window.

A young and talented Mangaka drawing diligently.

A Mangaka's drawing table in the Manga Factory.

Picture based on how a Mangaka draw clean sketches.

Character design over here.

Its so quiet inside, everyone is so into their works!

Japanese toilets are Marvelous!!!

After rough sketches, Mangaka traces it to make sure its neat and clean.

Ten (or so) Manga Artist

Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989)

Considered the "Father of Manga", Osamu Tezuka was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1928. He's most remembered as the prolific manga-ka (manga artist)who inspired artists of all genres to follow in his footsteps. Inspired by Walt Disney, Tezuka is credited with applying those large Bambi eyes to the manga characters.

His life works are simply astounding. No other manga-ka has come close to creating as many successful classics. Among them are Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) ,Black Jack , Tell Adolf, Hi no Tori, Jungle Emperor, and buddha.

Astro Boy, which became a hit animated series from 1963-1996, is about a robot, Atom, invented by Dr. Tenma as a substitude for his son who died in a car accident. However, Atom is disowned when Dr. Tenma realizes he's a robot who will never grow or become a complete replacement for flesh and blood. Holding a pure heart and knowledge of good or bad, Atom finds a new home with another genius inventor, Dr. Ochyanomizu, who builds a younger sister, mother, father for him. Atim is equipped with super strength and machine guns on his posterior, and he can fly. Throughout the series, he fights crime and injustice.

In addiction to creating shonen manga series, Tezuka pioneered the shojo manga genre with the hit classic, Ribbon no Kishi.

Fujiko Fujio: Hiroshi Fujimoto (1933-1996) and Motoo Abiko (1934-1988)

A true manga-ka dream team, the dynamic duo of Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko formed to work under the pen name Fujiko Fujio for more that 40 years before going on their seperate creative paths.

Buddies since fifth grade, these two lit up the manga world with titles such as Doraemon, Kaibutsu-kun, Pa-man, 21 Emon, and Obake Q-no Taro. In 1956, they formed a manga alliance group with other well-noted manga-ka, Fujio Akazuka and Ishinomori Shotaro. In a megahit projects titled Manga Michi (Manga Road), Fujiko Fujio recorded their events and experiences growing up to become professional manga-ka.

Perhaps their best claim to fame is Doraemon, which first appeared in 1970 and lasted for a phenomenal 40 volumes. Its about a robot cat, Doraemon, from the future, who pops out of elementary school student Nobita's desk at home. Doraemon is here to take care of Nobita because he's quite lazy as well as a social outcast. One of the many appealing factors is that Doraemon has a mysterious pocket where he stores a lot of cool gadgets, which he uses to bail Nobita out of trouble. The series continues to live on and maintains merchandise success even after the deaths of both artists.

Rumiko Takahashi (1957-)

One of the most successful female shonen manga-ka, Rumiko Takahashi was born in 1957 in Niigata, Japan. Her claim to superstar fame came when she wrote and illustrated the satire/comedy series of Urusei Yatsura, which was published by shonen Sunday, spanning a decade from 1978-1987. It's about a high school playboy, Moroboshi Ataru, who saves the world by beating the daughter, Lum, of the head of a group of allien invaders in a game of "catch me if you can." In the process, Ataru inadvertently proposes to Lum while thinking of his current girlfriend, Shinobu. Although Lum is very pretty, for some reason, Ataru refuses to tie the knot with her and thus triggers the series of this wacky romantic comedy that spans 34 volumes and animated movies.

Rumiko Takahashi's other titles include Firetripper, Mermaid's Flesh, One or W, Laughing Target, Dust in the Wind, Bye-bye Road, Surimu Kannon, Dutiful Vacation, Maris the chojo, and many more.

Leiji Matsumoto (1938-)

A legend in the science-fiction manga genre, Matsumoto Leiji was born in 1938 in Fukuoka, Japan. Ironically, he began his career drawing shojo manga series. It wasn't until he met his wife, Miyako Maki, also a shojo manga-ka, that he got his chance at drawing shonen manga magazines.

His claim to fame with his classics space opera series in 1974, Space Cruiser Yamato (later translated as Star Blazers when the series came to the U.S). The saga went on to become a successful animated movie series. The opening premise is about Earth on the brink of death as invading aliens in search of a new living planet pummel it with radiation meteorites. Facing death, scientists engineerthe ultimate fighting battleship using the remains of the battleship Yamato, which sank during World War II. Armed with a powerful Wave Motion and warships, the crew must travel light-years away to acquire machinery that will restore Earth to its normal state. They're ultimately successful despite the fierce and devastating battles and death tolls that occur during the mission.

His fame is also manifested in the space opera work he created in 1977, titled Galaxy Express 999. His other titles include The Cockpit, Queen Millenia, Queen Emeraldas, Gun Frontier, Sexaroid, and otoko Oidon.

Takehiko Inoue (1967-)

One od the most popular young superstar manga-ka in Japan, Takehiko Inoue was born in Kyushu , Japan, in 1967. His exceptional storytellings skills, popular subject matters, and incredible artwork have made his works top sellers worldwide.

Different Genres in Manga

Kodomo Manga: Comics for little kids

Shonen Manga: Comics for teenage boys

Shojo Manga: Comics for teenage girls

Seinen Manga: Comics for young adult males

Redisu Manga: Comics for young adult females

Shojo-ai Manga: Romantic comics for teenage girls

Shojo-ai Yuri Manga: Romantic comics for lesbians

Shonen-ai Manga: Romantic comics for men

Seijin Manga: Comics for adult males

Redikomi Manga: Comics written by women for late teen to adult women, depicting more realistic, everyday accounts; literal translation: lady's comics

Dojinshi Manga: Comics written and illustrated by amateurs (usually circulated among a close group of other manga amateurs)

Yonkoma Manga: Four-panel comics, usually published in newspapers

Gekiga Manga: Comics focusing on serious topics; geared toward mature audiences

Ecchi Manga: Comics focusing on heterosexual/lesbian erotic themes (softcore pornography) read by men

Hentai Manga: Comics focusing on hardcore pornography

Tracing the Rise of Manga's Popularity

Humorous and satirical illustrations trace back to 12th century Japan. Although now understood to mean "comics originating from Japan," manga(pronounced MAHN-gah or MANG-ah) is literally translated as "whimsical pictorial," Katsushika Hokusai, a wood engraver and painter who lived from 1760-1849, coined the phrase in the Hokusai Manga, one of his many publications. IN A 15 -volume series of sketches published in 1814, he covered various topics ranging from the informative to the comical aspects of the Edo period.

Despite the rapid growth and prosperity displayed in today's manga world, in truth, manga didn't see significant growth until World War II. Under the influence of the great manga artist Tezuka Osamu(1928-1989), manga began to gain not only national but also international recognition with works such as Astro Boy, Black Jack, Buddha, and many more. In the midst of a post war economic struggle, Tezuka's manga adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island sold 400,000 copies to become the nations top-seller.

During the 1960s, the generation that enjoyed reading manga as children grew up and brought their manga books and interests with them. People no longer viewed manga as something to be enjoyed only by children-it was now acceptable for adults too. American comics at the time primarily had a huge audience of young boys idolizing superheroes whose sole mission was to defeat crime, but the japanese community developed its own audience of botrh male and female groups, ranging from children to adults.

From 1980-2000, manga saw not only an evolvement of genreand style, but also the introduction of sophisticated techniques specifically geared toward enhancing its look and effects. Technique like screen tones gave new sleek looks to the finished pages. Story lines became more complex and widespread to include more audience interests, such as science fiction, sports, politics, religion, sex, and romance. Thanks to professional computer graphic software, such as Adope Photoshop and illustrator, manga artist(reffered to as manga-ka) throughout Japan can put in more detail and all sorts of cool effects in less time. Along with the growing market appeal, scores of new big in Japan and worldwide . At the same time, the number of talented female artist has skyrocketed; many of these artists are housewives who saw the opportunity of launching their manga career in drawing manga catering to female readers. This manga is now reffered to as shoujo (young girl) manga.

Today, many successful artists, such as Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon), Matsumoto Leiji (Starblazers), Toriyama Akira (Dragon ball), Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma1/2), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk), and Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), have followed in the footsteps of Tezuka to contribute to the lucrative and popular entertainment industry.

Welcome to Manga World

Welcome to wonderful world of manga. From its humble beginnings after World War II, manga has grown to become an International phenomenon in the entertainment industry. Prestigious Japanese publishing houses release hundreds of titles translated into a multitude of foreign languages worldwide to promote the multi-billion-dollar industry.