Tanaka is a middle-aged yakuza. Once regarded as the heir to his gang's aging boss, he has fallen out of favor and appears stuck as the head of one of the gang's sub-branches. Tanaka is not your typical gangster, though. Not obsessed with expensive suits, jewelry, or prize women, he is a convincing and heartbreaking study in memory and ambition.

Westerners familiar only with stereotypical images of bowing geisha and dark-suited businessmen will be surprised by the cast of characters translator Lane Dunlop introduces in this anthology. Lovers of fiction and students of Japan are certain to find these stories absorbing, engaging and instructive.

A boy grieving over the loss of his big sister, a high school girl with a dark secret, and an orphaned eleven-year-old trying to escape the harsh world of adults - all three of these individuals are about to have an encounter that will forever change their lives! Will it be Momo's duty as a god of death to reap their souls, or has she come for a different reason?

As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains.

"Don't be sad," Mio tells her family on her deathbed. "One way or another I will return." And one day, as promised, she does. For her husband and young son, love has miraculously triumphed over death. But the question remains: is Mio here to stay? When her husband starts looking for answers, he discovers that the secret of his wife's return is linked to the past... and the future.

When Takumi's wife suddenly returns from the grave, he can't believe his eyes. How could such a thing be possible? Is she here to stay? Has love miraculously triumphed over death? As Takumi starts looking for answers to these questions, he discovers the secret of his wife's appearance is somehow linked to the past... and the future.

Birthday is Ring-master Koji Suzuki's return to the Ring universe, a collection of short stories focusing on the female characters with a theme of birth. An exploration of extraordinary circumstances from the perspective of memorable women, this expansion of the Ring, Spiral, and Loop world was adapted into a hit movie less than a year after the book's publication.

When a young girl moves to the sleepy, forgotten town of Bizenghast, she uncovers a terrifying collection of lost souls that leads her to the brink of insanity. Only Dinah can see the ghosts that inhabit her home, where she lives with her aunt after her parents' tragic death. Dinah relies on Vincent, her sole friend, to rescue her from the clutches of the hauntings - and from the doctor who is determined to see her admitted to a mental hospital.

A young samurai by the name of Seiichiro Matsunaga, trained in sword fighting by none other than the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto, finds himself in Yoshiwara (the pleasure quarters of old Tokyo), per Miyamoto's dying wishes. In Yoshiwara, Seiichiro finds himself defending its denizens against what may be spies from the Yagyu clan, including one young woman named Oshabu, whose story runs deeper than still waters suggest.

Rendered immortal by an infusion of mystical worms that can repair any wound, the masterless samurai Manji wanders the hillsides of feudal Japan, his quest to slay one thousand evil people to atone for his past sins. By his side is the young woman Rin, an orphan who seeks vengeance for the murders of her parents. Driven in a quest for absolution, the two have faced many deadly challenges, both natural and supernatural. But can they survive their greatest battle, against the all-powerful Inugami?

Suffering from extreme amnesia, high school student Saya Otonoshi can't remember anything from her life beyond the last year. Her attempts to live a normal life are shattered when a Chiropteran, a horrific vampire-like monster, attacks her. Saved at the last minute, Saya is presented with a sword that awakens in her a warrior's skills and bloodlust and sets her on a course that will lead her to the answers of her missing memories - and into battle.

Following the traces of Diva, the leader of the Chiroptera, Saya and her group make their way to Russia. But awaiting their arrival is Diva's powerful protector Chiroptera, "The Chevalier." In the middle of the battle against this new threat, Saya is told a horrible truth: "It is because you are one of us." Is Saya a human, or something more sinister...?