From aisatsu to kaiten-zushi, Nihon is number one when it comes to things that are cool. This fun little book features full-color manga illustrations and delightful prose to offer the rest of the world a glimpse at what the Japanese love most about the country they call home.

500 Essential Anime Movies is an all-in-one guide to the best Japanese animation available today. Including everything from a blood-thirsty demon to a sixteen-year-old time-traveler to a talking hamster, 500 Essential Anime Movies is a vivid, full-color celebration of the top 500 animation films available in English.

This whimsical look at Japan's "language of no language" introduces 70 gestures that will help you hurl insults, flirt, agree, excuse yourself, cross the street, and even make promises - wordlessly! Some are deadly, some are practical, and some are wacky, but all are genuine and used today on the streets of Japan, at home, and in manga and anime. Finally, a way to tell someone at a loud party, "Hey! Your underwear is showing!" in four easy hand motions.

Head investigator Mitsukazu Hisago, investigator Mori Shimeki, his female Pomeranian Kobayashi-kun, and secretary Nagi Tsukumo have recently opened their detective agency. The title comes from the fact that the investigators' last names in Chinese characters are 135 and 753, which add up to 888 - three eights.

Alien refugees have come to Earth. They call themselves 9-Lives. Humans call them cat-boys, and force them to live as collared pets. Conri, a rebellious young 9-Life, ran away to escape this fate. But when a human named Adrian saves him from capture, Conri is torn between his desire for freedom and another desire he can't quite admit, even to himself... Can two people meet as equals in a world divided between masters and slaves?

After falling deeply in love, Ji-suk and Mi-yeon painfully go their separate ways, torn apart by the cruel turns of fate. Years later, both are married and have families of their own. But when Ji-suk finds out he has terminal cancer, he can think only of Mi-yeon and the love he was forced to give up. Ji-suk's last wish is to spend his final 90 days with Mi-yeon, regardless of the pain he knows he'll cause.

The planet had died once before... On the day of Despaira, a god appeared in the sky and saved the world. His name was King Shishioh. But now with the throne of the king empty, and a vicious battle between two brothers is unfolding. Who will ascend the throne?

The nexus of LA vice and hip-hop life is @Large, an internet gaming cafe with a notorious recording studio upstairs. Everyone comes together in the gaming lounges of @Large - geeks, rappers, techno-ninjas, thugs, wannabees and undercover cops.

The hip-hop world is always struggling to find a balance between "keepin' it real" and "payin' the bills," two concepts intrinsically at odds with each other. And on the L.A. scene, one young artist's attempt to reap a bit more cash by changing labels is about to start a war...

The final hour is approaching. It may be Armageddon for the Emcees, as True Epic and Broke have to battle the Red Coast takeover. Priest and Marks come face to face with the Russian, and Hennesy falls in love.

As a child, Hero's family was attacked and killed by a practitioner of Northern Mantis kung fu. This assassin was tasked by the affluent head of a local triad to retrieve Hero's family heirloom: the legendary Blood Sword. Barely escaping with his life, Hero has now reached adulthood. He's mastered several forms of kung fu to aid him in his one lifelong endeavor: to safeguard the family treasure. But now his enemies turn their gaze to his newborn son.

As a child, Hero's family was attacked and killed by a practitioner of Northern Mantis kung fu. This assassin was tasked by the affluent head of a local triad to retrieve Hero's family heirloom: the legendary Blood Sword. Barely escaping with his life, Hero has now reached adulthood. He's mastered several forms of kung fu to aid him in his one lifelong endeavor: to safeguard the family treasure. But now his enemies turn their gaze to his newborn son.