Manga / Anime

Here are some of Rafi's favorites. All listed below are actual manga and anime from Japan, Korea or China -- those from western creators are listed in the other sections; those that are "shounen ai", "yaoi" and "yuri" are listed with the gay / lesbian comics.

Rumiko Takahashi (unofficial)
http://furinkan.com/
Another legendary woman cartoonist; creator of well-known manga and anime series like "Urusei Yatsura", "Maison Ikkoku", "Ranma 1/2" and, her latest sensation, "Inuyasha".

One Piece (sites in Japanese unless specified)
Manga: http://www.j-onepiece.com/ (official)
Anime: http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/onep/ (official)
Unofficial: http://www.arlongpark.net/ (English)
"The Mod Squad" on water -- a gripping tale of Luffy, a stretchable young man who can't swim, but wants to become "King of the Pirates". Both the manga and the anime are great, but don't, for the love of God, watch the American 4Kids version of the anime -- try to find the Funimation version, or the Japanese DVDs (or the boots thereof) instead.

Kiyohiko Azuma (in Japanese)
http://www.azumakiyohiko.com/
http://www.yotuba.com/
Official site of the creator of offbeat, yet lighthearted, mangas -- "Azumanga Daioh" and "Yotsubato!".

Ebichu
Manga: http://www.futabasha.co.jp/ebichu/ (in Japanese)
Anime: http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/awaawa/ (in Japanese)
Bizarre anime and manga about a housekeeping hamster who gets frequently abused by her master. The anime site is for "Anime Ai no Awa Awa Awa", an anthology series that featured "Ebichu".

Crayon Shinchan (in Japanese)
http://www.futabasha.co.jp/sinchan/
A popular anime and manga series about a 6-year old kid who always gets in trouble.

Lupin the Third (all unofficial)
http://www.lupinencyclopedia.com/
http://www.droni.it/enrico/Lupin/
Grandson of master thief Arsene Lupin, Lupin the Third is a master thief with a thirst for women, adventure, and just about anything valuable that can be stolen. And there is practically nothing that Lupin can't steal.

yoshitoshi ABe
http://homepage.mac.com/abworks/ (Japanese official)
http://cff.ssw.net/ (Haibane Renmei, English unofficial)
http://pinoyotaku.com/haibane/ (Haibane Renmei, English unofficial)
ABe could be seen as a Japanese Norman Rockwell, as his art style is warm and detailled. He is a creator of anime hits like "Serial Experiments Lain", "Niea Under 7", "Haibane Renmei" and "Technolyse". The top link is his official website; the other two are fan sites for Haibane. In our opinion, Niea and Haibane are the best.

Nausicaa.Net
http://www.nausicaa.net/
An unofficial site featuring Studio Ghibli, Japan's finest animation house, founded by master animator, Hayao Miyazaki.

Shonen Jump
Japan: http://jump.shueisha.co.jp/ (in Japanese)
US: http://www.shonenjump.com/
"The World's Most Popular Manga"; the US version offers heavy doses of manga every month in each issue, while the original Japanese version does it every week.

Jared Hodges and Lindsay Cibos
http://www.jaredandlindsay.com/
Not quite Japanese manga, but an incredible simulation -- Hodges and Cibos are authors of "Peach Fuzz", about life through the eyes of a ferret.

(So far, Rafi personally recommended all in this list. If there are some she had reservations about, but is still worth reading, you'll find it here.)