A 33-volume collection of award-winning oneshots put out by Kodansha from 2002-2012. Some of these would later get serialized or collected in other volumes. ... more>>

Serialized or otherwise collected:

AKABOSHI Tomo

AKIZUKI Risu

ARAI Hideki

ARAMAKI Keiko

ASADA Torao

ASHINANO Hitoshi

Endo Hiroki

ENOMOTO Shunji

IGARASHI Daisuke

IRIE Kiwa

IRIE Noriko

KIMURA Kon

KITOH Mohiro

KOMAI Yu

MATSUMOTO Taiyou

NIHEI Tsutomu

OHARA Shinji

SAMURA Hiroaki

SOUJI Hajime

TOUME Kei

TOYODA Minoru

TSUCHIDA Seiki

URUSHIBARA Yuki

WAKANA Shouhei

Other:

Hiramatsu Kannosuke

ABE Yoshitoshi

Eshikawa is a man who has lost sight of his life and stumbles through it, with no clear meaning or purpose. One day, he is informed that his ex-girlfriend committed suicide, which sets his brain on retrospect mode. He goes on a journey of self-revelation and contemplates upon the myriad of human emotions, the joys and sorrows of normalcy.

YAMAZAKI Ren

The daily, average life and interactions of some of a ship’s crew as they depart to explore space. Winner of the Jiro Tanaguchi Special Award for manga in the 2010 Four Seasons Award Anthology.

NADEGATA Nazuna

On a remote island, a skilled swordsman who honed his craft on the local population attempts to atone for his sins and lift a curse by hunting and killing demons. Winner of the Hagio Moto Special Award for manga.

KIBA Kouichi

As the protagonist is returning home one night, she runs into a man who had just been in a car crash. As he is dying, he asks her to throw a certain package into the sea.

JOUYAMA Yui

A butcher with a dark secret finds a little girl. <<less

To what distance would you go for your one true love?... more>>

In a future filled with a boundless potential for interstellar peace and prosperity, Mikako joins a research team to explore the recent contact between humans and alien races. She ventures out into space, leaving behind Noboru, the one young man she loves. As she travels deeper into this new frontier, her only connection with her boyfriend is through cell-phone text messages. But the years pass, and Mikako barely ages in the timelessness of space--while Noboru grows older and considers moving on with his life.

In this timeless romance between star-crossed lovers in the most tragic of settings, there are some places man may not be ready to go. <<less

Shima Akio and Soma Yoshino are lovers, facing the reality of their fourth year in university. No matter how much they try and think things... more>> over, they can’t quite figure out what to do about their parents, their friends, or even their own relationship. This is the story of their youth. Youth fraught with pain and regret. <<less

These stories are told with the same bold, kinetic art style and brilliantly paced storytelling that Samura's Blade of the Immortal epic is famous for.... more>> The main offering, "Ohikkoshi," follows the turbulent paths of several twenty-something art students as they fall in love, fall in lust, play in rock bands, ride motorbikes, eat, sleep (together), and try to avoid making life decisions while drunk. This romantic comedy is a "Japanese art school confidential" packed with absurd humor, obscure death metal references, and some expertly placed, dramatic revelations. "Luncheon of Tears Diary" is a vibrant, genre-busting tale that also peppers its humor with sharp, dramatic moments. Natsumi Funabashi, a virgin, is an aspiring manga creator on a quest for love and a fulfilling career. Along the way, she has to cope with overzealous men, gang warfare, a mahjong addiction, and a lascivious manga editor. This collection is rounded off by Samura's hilarious "Kyoto Super Barhopping Journal: Bloodbath at Midorogaike," a rare, autobiographical travel piece. <<less

On a night out drinking to get over being duped and ditched by her last boyfriend, Koda Minare ends up providing a massive drunken rant--while blackout drunk--for Matou, the director of a radio station. The next day, she is shocked to hear her own voice being broadcast on the radio! She rushes to the studio, leaving her job at a curry soup and bread restaurant in jeopardy. However, her drunken rant and the next day's impromptu damage-control live broadcast end up earning her an invitation to try working at the radio Station.... more>>

Note: Nominated for the 9th and 13th Manga Taisho Award in 2016 and 2020. <<less

As detective Musubi Susono investigates a series of child kidnappings, her own partner is viciously murdered. But when the investigation takes a brutal turn, she is suddenly confronted by the killer--and his vicious Silicon Creature...... more>>

Also includes Blame, one-shot prototype for Blame! <<less

Kishi Keiichirou is a pathologist who advises doctors on their diagnoses and whose judgement is widely accepted. Though an eccentric that few people can stand... more>> to associate personally, Kishi is passionate about the lives of his patients and a genius at his job. <<less

After her grandfather's death, Mikura chose to continue their island express courier service. With her seaplane and her adventurous cat, Endeavor, she lives life as... more>> she chooses. Soon, Mikura becomes very interested in a mysterious island that seems to move around, according to local legend. After some extensive effort to determine the island's whereabouts, she manages to get a brief glimpse of it from the sky. Now that she knows it's real, she's determined to find the island again, no matter what it takes! <<less

This story begins in the paradise/heaven, where souls, before being born, can choose their mothers. The protagonist notice a girl who has run away from... more>> home, and he decides to down to earth and become her son. <<less

In 1661, Yasui Santetsu is a member of the Yasui House of the Four Houses of Go. However, he's beginning to doubt that Go is his true calling. Outside of the Go house, he goes by the name Shibukawa Harumi, and he's fascinated by mathematical and astronomical problems. Specifically, Harumi is pouring all of his energy into creating a new Japanese calender.... more>>

The story is based on the actual astronomer and calender-reformer Shibukawa Harumi (1639-1715). In Harumi's time, the Japanese used the Chinese lunar-solar Xuan-ming calendar, which had not been updated in nearly 800 years. At that point, there was already a two-day delay in the winter solstice. He reformed the calendar based on his careful astronomical observations. [tethysdust]

Adapted from Tow Ubukata's award-winning novel (won the 31st Yoshikawa Eiji Bungaku Shinjinshō award and received the first place award at the 7th Honya Taishō in 2010). <<less

Chihiro has been cursed with bad luck all his life, but all that changes when he wins a mysterious lottery that earns him a spot... more>> at the prestigious Rikkyoin High School, a strange place where everything is decided by chance - even who gets appointed to the student council. Although Chihiro has drawn the winning ticket, this is no ordinary honor. Each day the student-council members must risk their lives to save the school from various forces of evil. <<less

Tells the story of a female ghost who lives on a couch and it's the debut work of Q Hayashida as mangaka.

N/A

Fukano-kun, a middle school student, has trouble remembering things; however, there is one thing that he can really remember...

A girl finds a strange tiny man riding a bee.

First issue of a canceled series; collected (in thumbnails) in Blame and So on (Artbook)

Chiisaku Furikabutte, lit. “Small Windup”, was published in Afternoon between the tankobon publications of volumes 15 and 16 and during the 2011 hiatus, and it... more>> is a series of specials about the lives of Oofuri characters. (Nice Pitching!) <<less

Twelve children go to an abandoned hospital planning to kill themselves. In the room where they meet, an unknown boy is already lying dead...

A girl falls into a coma and finds herself at an unusual "convenience store" managed by a talking dog. In the land where dreams are... more>> made, suspended somewhere between life and death, she watches and learns from the various souls she encounters. <<less

In a town filled with the most beautiful of beings, Tinker is the ugly freak who lives on the fringes of society. One day, one of these beings visits his workshop in order to have a trinket fixed, and it is this seemingly innocuous occurrence that sets into motion a series of unfortunate events…... more>>

Winner of the Four Seasons Award in Winter 2017. <<less

The first chapter, Birthgrounds, is about a mystical creature that makes pottery. ... more>>

The second chapter, Spirits flying in the sky, is about a girl who is cursed by an owl, and begins to fuse with a chicken spirit she killed by accident. But then she meets a girl just like herself, who helps her become normal again.

The third chapter, The tears of Tarou, is a story about a boy called the „Bear Killer“, who meets a girl who has been chosen to become the guardian deity of her village.

The fourth story, Covered in sand, is about a young girl who meets a girl with a mysterious disease while on a trip to the ocean.

The fifth chapter, le pain et le chat (The bread and the cat), is about a baker who decides to care for a girl whose parents have left her.

The last chapter, Still winter, is about a man who climbs a mountain that belongs to the gods, and is not made for man to climb. (Savino) <<less

A butcher with a dark secret finds a little girl.... more>>

Oneshot that was included in Afternoon’s 2012 Four Seasons Award anthology (v28). <<less

N/A

A jaded young woman finds solace at a Chinese restaurant.

Nanako Kobayashi, a 17-year-old teenager, has an ugly face who seems to not have a care for the world. One day, she got a call, only to be given two choices to answer a question. A devil suddenly appears, taking the form of her teddy bear. The devil is willing to grant her three wishes; each based on two options; What wishes will Nanako choose?... more>>

"Once upon a time I dreamed I was a butterfly,

fluttering hither and thither,

to all intents and purposes a butterfly.

I was conscious only of following my fancies as a butterfly,

and was unconscious of my individuality as a man.

Suddenly I woke, and there I lay, myself again.

Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly,

or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man."

(Zhuang Zhou Meng Die (庄周梦蝶 )) <<less