Dust off your boombox and set the dial—we’ve arrived at the final stop on our time warp: the 1990s! Before instant downloads, we were hunting down these All-Star classics page by page. They built the foundation of manga culture, and they still totally rule!
Battle Angel Alita – 1990
In a dump in the lawless settlement of Scrapyard, far beneath the mysterious space city of Zalem, disgraced cyber-doctor Daisuke Ido makes a strange find: the detached head of a cyborg woman who has lost all her memories. He names her Alita and equips her with a powerful new body, the Berserker. While Alita remembers no details of her former life, a moment of desperation reawakens in her nerves the legendary school of martial arts known as Panzer Kunst. In a place where there is no justice but what people make for themselves, Alita decides to become a hunter-killer, tracking down and taking out those who prey on the weak. But can she hold onto her humanity as she begins to revel in her own bloodlust?
Blade of the Immortal – 1993
To end his eternal suffering, he must slay one thousand enemies! Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality. To rid himself of this curse and end his life of misery, he must slay one thousand evil men! His quest begins when a young girl seeks his help in taking revenge on her parents’ killers… and his quest won’t end until the blood of a thousand has spilled!
Dragon Head – 1994
The end of everyone was just the beginning … Minetaro Mochizuki’s classic 90s head-trip disaster manga is back! Returning home by train after a class trip, Teru Aoki takes a most frightening ride inside a mountain tunnel. When the train derails, nearly everyone aboard is killed. Amidst the bloody carnage, Teru discovers two survivors—but salvation is far from their grasp. As they try to dig out from the wreck in order to come up with a plan to stay alive, the lack of light and food, combined with the stench of death and decay, will lead one member of the group down a dark and demented path. And with sudden, violent earthquakes shaking the tunnel, escaping to the outside world may lead them to an even greater danger …
Initial D – 1995
Tak Fujiwara spends a lot of time behind the wheel. His tofu delivery job sends him racing down the treacherous roads of Mount Akina, and without even realizing it, Tak has mastered racing techniques that take most drivers a lifetime to learn. Of course, none of his friends realize this. They’re all too busy watching the Akina Speed Stars, the local street racing team. When the legendary Red Suns show up to challenge the Speed Stars, it looks as if the Trueno Eight Six that has been seen racing through the mountain roads. The question remains … who’s the driver of this phantom car?
MARS – 1996
Super popular motorcycle racer Rei and shy, neurotic art student Kira are worlds apart… until one fateful day brings them together. Rei stumbles upon Kira in the harassing hands of her sleazy art teacher and saves the quiet girl from his clutches. And when the resident school pretty boy plants a kiss on a statue of Mars in the studio, Kira finds herself drawn in and even summons up the nerve to ask him to model for her!
BLAME! – 1997
In a future version of Earth, there is a city grown so chaotically massive that its inhabitants no longer recall what “land” is. Within this megastructure the silent, stoic Kyrii is on a mission to find the Net Terminal Gene—a genetic mutation that once allowed humans to access the cybernetic NetSphere. Armed with a powerful Graviton Beam Emitter, Kyrii fends off waves of attacks from fellow humans, cyborgs and silicon-based lifeforms. Along the way, he encounters a highly-skilled scientist whose body has deteriorated from a lengthy imprisonment who promises to help Kyrii find the Net Terminal Gene, once she settles a score for herself …
Love Hina – 1998
When Keitaro Urashima fails his entrance exams to get into Tokyo University for the second time, he’s officially an unemployed and uneducated slacker. To make things worse, his parents have kicked him out of his house. Fortunately, his grandmother owns the fabulous Hinata Lodge and has agreed to take Keitaro in as caretaker. What he doesn’t know is that the lodge is actually a girls’ dorm and he’s the only guy around! Most guys would kill to live with five sexy ladies, but if Keitaro’s not careful, this job will kill him.
Peach Girl – 1998
It’s not easy being beautiful. The envy, the jealousy, the vicious rumors spread by your best friend. That’s life for young Momo. While everyone thinks that Momo is a wild party girl, the reality is that she is shy and honest. Can Momo confess her love to her classmate Toji, or will her best friend Sae steal him away? It’s a bittersweet drama of growing up and fitting in that will charm girls everywhere.
Beck – 1999
Fourteen-year-old Yukio Tanaka is one heck of a boring guy. He has no hobbies, weak taste in music, and only a small vestige of a personality. His shy and somewhat neurotic personality makes him his own worst enemy. Little does he know that his life will be forever changed when he meets rocker Ryusuke Minami, an unpredictable sixteen-year-old with a cool dog named Beck. Ryusuke has just returned to Japan from America, and when he inspires Yukio to get into music, the two begin a journey through the world of rock ‘n’ roll dreams! Lace up your Docs and head to the mosh pit—Harold Sakuishi’s manga series that spawned the hit anime is back!
Mushishi – 1999
Some live in the deep darkness behind your eyelids. Some eat silence. Some thoughtlessly kill. Some simply drive men mad. They are known as mushi—creatures that came into being shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze. They still exist parallel to our own lives and can only be seen by a select few. As a mushishi, Ginko is one of the few who are aware of their existense, and this young man with a sardonic smile roams from place to place with the knowledge and skill to aid those unwittingly affected by mushi.
That’s a wrap on our trip through manga history! From Y2K to the 2010s and back to the 90s classics, which era built your ultimate reading list?
