THE LIBRARY
Collector guides, cover censuses, and edition answers, documented issue by issue. Every page answers one specific question, completely.
BAROQUE
13 shelves
The Baroque Gallery
Every version of Baroque, Sting's 1998 Saturn roguelike, shelf by shelf: the Saturn original, the PlayStation port, the PS2 and Wii remake, iOS, and the 2020…
What Is Baroque?
Baroque is a 1998 Sega Saturn roguelike RPG by Sting Entertainment: a mute, amnesiac boy descends the Neuro Tower to purify a maddened god, and every death…
The History of Baroque
How Baroque happened: Kazunari Yonemitsu leaves Compile, founds Sting, prototypes on PC-98 in 1996, moves to Saturn for 3D, and ships the darkest game of his…
What Was the Blaze in Baroque?
The Blaze of 14 May 2032 explained: the Order of Malkuth, the Consciousness Orbs, the Archangel who stole God's pain, and why a mute boy with a rifle is sent to…
Why Does Dying Advance the Story in Baroque?
In Baroque, death is the save system for the plot: each death unlocks scenes and dialogue, grows the Neuro Tower, and moves the story forward, years before…
How Does the PlayStation Port of Baroque Differ from the Saturn Original?
Baroque on PlayStation (1999), subtitled Distorted Delusions: rebalanced floor generation, a new town vendor, lowered difficulty, a post-game Hell dungeon,…
How Does the Baroque Remake Differ from the Original?
The 2007 Baroque remake against the 1998 original: first person becomes third person, Hyoju Mu's designs are redrawn by Kenjiro Suzuki, Masaharu Iwata's score is…
Who Made Baroque?
The makers of Baroque: director and writer Kazunari Yonemitsu, character designer Hyoju Mu, CGI designer Eisaku Kito and his tarot of Grotesques, American studio…
Baroque Strategy Guides and the World Guidance
Yes, Baroque has official guides: the 1998 Kanzen Guide Book for the Saturn game, Koei's 1999 Official Guidebook for the PlayStation port with a designer poster,…
Baroque Syndrome, Shooting, and Typing: The Spin-Off Shelf
Baroque's strange second life: Syndrome, the 2000 visual novel prequel from Mariko Shimizu's novella; Shooting, the 2000 PC shooter; Typing; the iOS Baroque FPS;…
Is There a Baroque Manga or Anime?
Baroque has a manga and no anime: Shinshuu Ueda's Baroque: Ketsuraku no Paradaimu ran in Monthly GFantasy, three Square Enix volumes from 2001 to 2002, reprinted…
Why Did Baroque Fail, and Why Do People Still Seek It Out?
Baroque failed commercially in plain ways: a dying console, Japan only, Famitsu at 25 of 40, a remake critics called fiendish and muddled, and a $17 bargain-bin…
Collecting Baroque
Collecting Baroque with prices as dated history: the Japanese Saturn original complete at roughly $39 against the PAL PS2 remake at roughly $194 on PriceCharting…
BASTARD
15 shelves
The Bastard!! Manga Gallery
Every Japanese tankobon cover of Kazushi Hagiwara’s Bastard!!, volumes 1 to 27, Jump Comics, Shueisha, 1988 to 2012, each with its arc, release date, and ISBN.
The history of Bastard!!
From a 1987 one-shot in Weekly Shonen Jump to the Netflix revival: the publishing history of Bastard!!, Kazushi Hagiwara’s heavy metal dark fantasy, 1988 to today.
What inspired Bastard!!?
Devilman, Dungeons & Dragons, Dragon Quest, the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and a record collection: the documented ingredients of Bastard!!’s world.
Who is Kazushi Hagiwara?
Kazushi Hagiwara (born 1963): the Kimagure Orange Road assistant who built Bastard!!, ran a doujin-famous studio, and designed armor for Final Fantasy XI.
How does Kazushi Hagiwara draw Bastard!!?
Screentone taught to a six-assistant studio, cosplay photographs, figurines, Copic markers, and two full redraws: how the look of Bastard!! was built and rebuilt.
What is Studio Loud In School?
Kazushi Hagiwara’s assistants publish as Studio Loud In School: their Wonderful Megadeth doujinshi, fighting-game books, and Bastard!! manuscript collections.
Why is Bastard!! full of heavy metal names?
Dark Schneider is named for Accept’s singer, the capital is Metallica with the serial numbers filed off, and the spellbook is a record shelf: Bastard!!’s naming…
What is Wizard!!, the Bastard!! pilot?
Wizard!! Bakuen no Seifukusha (1987): the one-shot that became Bastard!!, and its 2023 remake by Tatsuya Shihara in Ultra Jump.
What are the Bastard!! Complete Editions?
Shueisha’s nine-volume Bastard!! Complete Edition (2000–2009), with its redrawn early art, and the nine-volume bunkoban of 2014: the re-drawn editions, documented.
What happened to Bastard!! in English?
Viz Media’s Bastard!! (2002–2009): nineteen of twenty-seven volumes, flipped then unflipped, with the band names transliterated twice. The partial English…
How was the 1992 Bastard!! OVA made?
AIC’s six-episode Bastard!! OVA (1992–93): Katsuhito Akiyama directing, Kohei Tanaka scoring, and the manga’s first seven volumes compressed into three hours.
What is the Bastard!! Netflix anime?
Liden Films’ Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (2022–23): 39 episodes across two seasons, Coldrain opening both, and the first full adaptation of the manga.
What Bastard!! video games are there?
A Super Famicom 3D fighter (1994), a PlayStation RPG by Opus for Seta (1996), and the cancelled Bastard!! Online: the complete, short history of Bastard!! in games.
Why did Bastard!! slow down?
Weekly for eighteen months, then quarterly, then irregular, then silent since 2010: the documented publication rhythm of Bastard!!, and what Hagiwara has said…
What are the Bastard!! novels and Data Book?
The Jump J Books novels, including Ninja Master Gara Gaiden, the official Bastard!! Data Book, and the drama CDs: the series’ bibliography beyond the manga.
BERSERK
14 shelves
The Berserk Manga Gallery
Every Japanese tankobon cover, volume by volume: the current Young Animal Comics editions 1 to 43, with the 1990 first cover beside its successor.
Which Young Animal issues have Berserk on the cover?
Seven verified covers in twenty-nine years: the 1992 debut, the 2012 film cover, and the 2021 memorial, each checked against the cover itself.
What inspired Berserk?
Kentaro Miura’s own itemized list, from his official guidebook.
What is the Berserk prototype?
The 48-page student one-shot from 1988 that won a prize and became a series: what was already there, and what changed.
Why is Berserk volume 41 different?
The last volume of Miura’s own chapters: a memorial chapter, a Christmas Eve release, and a special edition built around his canvas art.
Who is making Berserk now?
Studio Gaga draws it, Kouji Mori supervises it, and the rule is strict: only the story Miura told his friend will be told.
How can you tell a first printing of Berserk?
The colophon test, the Jets Comics banner, and the 2016 renewal that gave the first thirty-seven volumes new faces.
What are the Berserk Deluxe Editions?
Dark Horse’s fourteen oversized hardcovers: three volumes apiece, and a guidebook where a forty-second volume would go.
How was the 1997 Berserk anime made?
Twenty-five late-night episodes from OLM, and a score by Susumu Hirasawa, the composer Miura listened to while he drew.
How did Kentaro Miura draw Berserk?
Art school, an apprenticeship under George Morikawa, and the densest pen line in the business: the method behind the pages.
Why is Guts’s sword called the Dragonslayer?
Forged as a blacksmith’s joke, named by a child, feared by demons: the biography of a heap of raw iron.
What is Young Animal?
The twice-monthly seinen magazine that inherited Berserk from Monthly Animal House in 1992 and has carried it since.
What Berserk video games are there?
Three in twenty-six years: a Dreamcast original story, a Japan-only PS2 epic, and a Warriors crossover.
How did Berserk change video games?
Miyazaki’s acknowledged debt, an Artorias pose traced to a volume 28 cover, and the Dragon’s Dogma armor that made it official.
BIOSHOCK
9 shelfs
The BioShock Gallery
Rapture and Columbia, covers first: the Big Daddy portrait and its Japanese recomposition, the sequel's publisher switch, and Booker in front of the flag, with the full stories behind them.
The History of BioShock
Irrational builds Rapture as System Shock 2's successor: the making, the Spike Japanese edition with its full dub, a 96 on Metacritic, and the art-form legacy.
The History of BioShock 2
The sequel Levine passed on: 2K Marin returns to Rapture with you as the Big Daddy, Minerva's Den, and a CERO Z Japanese edition from D3 Publisher.
The History of BioShock Infinite
Five troubled years to Columbia in 1912: Elizabeth, the Tears, Burial at Sea's return to Rapture, a 94 on Metacritic, and 11 million copies.
What is the BioShock reference hidden in HBO's Westworld?
A Sander Cohen lookalike in Dr. Ford's workshop, documented by four outlets. HBO never confirmed it.
What inspired BioShock?
Rand, Orwell, Rockefeller and System Shock 2, in the creators' own words.
Why does BioShock Infinite have 1980s pop songs in 1912?
Tears in the fabric of time, and a music supervisor who arranged them for 1912.
What does 'would you kindly' mean in BioShock?
A conditioning trigger, and the twist it was hiding. Spoiler warning on the page.
How was BioShock released in Japan?
Spike published it, a full Japanese dub sold it, and the sequel changed publishers.
BLACK CLOVER
16 shelves
The Black Clover Manga Gallery
Every Japanese tankobon cover of Black Clover documented: all 38 volumes, 2015 to 2026, with release dates, ISBNs, and the grimoire cover system explained.
The history of Black Clover
The history of Black Clover from the 2014 one-shot to the 2026 finale: two magazines, 392 chapters, 170 anime episodes, a Netflix film, and 25 million copies.
Who is Yūki Tabata?
Who is Yuki Tabata? Black Clover's creator spent seven years assisting Psyren's Toshiaki Iwashiro, lost his first series Hungry Joker, then built Asta from his…
What was Hungry Joker?
What was Hungry Joker? Yuki Tabata's first series won the 2011 Golden Future Cup, was cancelled after 24 chapters, and taught him the lesson that produced Asta.
Why did Black Clover move to Jump Giga?
Why did Black Clover move to Jump Giga? Tabata said the weekly schedule no longer fit his writing, so the final arc ran quarterly from December 2023 to the May…
How did Black Clover end?
How did Black Clover end? Chapters 390 to 392 ran together in Jump Giga on May 1, 2026: Asta against Yuno for the Wizard King title, then volume 38 and the…
The 170-episode Black Clover anime
The Black Clover anime ran 170 episodes without a seasonal break, October 2017 to March 2021: Pierrot, directors Yoshihara and Tanemura, and one pandemic…
Why did the Black Clover anime stop in 2021?
Why did the Black Clover anime stop in 2021? It had caught up with the manga, so Pierrot ended the run at episode 170 and moved the franchise to the Sword of the…
Black Clover's second season: the return
Black Clover's second season was announced at Anime Expo 2025 and premiered October 3, 2026, nine years after the first, with director Ayataka Tanemura returning.
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King, the 2023 Netflix film: Tabata supervised, Conrad Leto returns, 6.4 million views in three days, and a Best Film nomination.
What are the Black Clover English editions?
The Black Clover English editions: Viz's Jump Start debut in 2015, print from June 2016, every Viz volume with its date and ISBN, and the Manga Plus simulpub.
How many Black Clover books are there?
How many Black Clover books are there? 38 volumes and 392 chapters, plus the Quartet Knights and Asta-kun spin-offs, three novels, two guidebooks, and Volume 23.5.
What Black Clover video games are there?
The Black Clover games: Quartet Knights on PS4 and PC (2018), Phantom Knights and Rise of the Wizard King on mobile with their service-end dates, plus Jump Force.
Was Black Clover inspired by Berserk?
Was Black Clover inspired by Berserk? Yes: Yuki Tabata has said Berserk was a heavy influence and he wanted a shonen equivalent, alongside Dragon Ball and the…
The Black Clover OVA and stage play
The Black Clover OVA came first: Xebec Zwei's 2016 Jump Festa episode bundled with volume 11, plus Squishy! Black Clover and the 2023 stage play with Keisuke Ueda.
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL
16 shelves
The Blade of the Immortal Manga Gallery
Every Japanese tankobon cover of Blade of the Immortal, volumes 1 to 30, Afternoon KC editions with release dates and ISBNs, from the pencil-drawn debut of 1994…
The History of Blade of the Immortal
From a 1993 prize-winning one-shot in Monthly Afternoon to a nineteen-year run: the publishing history of Blade of the Immortal, its novel, its complete edition,…
Who Is Hiroaki Samura?
Hiroaki Samura (born 1970): the classically trained painter who left art school for Monthly Afternoon, drew Blade of the Immortal for nineteen years, and built a…
Who Is Manji?
Manji, the Killer of 100: the outlaw samurai made immortal by the kessen-chu bloodworms, bound to kill 1,000 evil men to buy back his death, and the arsenal he…
Who Is Rin Asano?
Rin Asano, heir of the Mutenichi-ryu: the girl who hired an immortal bodyguard to avenge her parents, the unusual weapons she carries, and how her quest changes…
What Is the Itto-ryu?
The Itto-ryu, Anotsu Kagehisa's school of victory by any technique: its doctrine, its campaign against the dojo world, its core fighters, and its mirror image,…
How Does Hiroaki Samura Draw Blade of the Immortal?
Pencil before ink, hatching before tone: Hiroaki Samura's drawing method in Blade of the Immortal, the style switching between panels, and the painted covers…
What Is the Symbol on Manji's Back?
The mark on Manji's back is the manji, an ancient Buddhist emblem of peace that marks temples on Japanese maps, and the source of the hero's name: the facts,…
Why Does the English Blade of the Immortal Read Left to Right?
Samura forbade flipping his art, so Dark Horse cut every page into panels and pasted them back in reverse order: the nineteen-year cut-and-paste method behind…
What Are the Blade of the Immortal English Editions?
Dark Horse's English Blade of the Immortal: 131 monthly issues (1996 to 2007), 31 trade paperbacks (1997 to 2015), ten omnibuses and ten deluxe hardcovers, and…
What Is The Art of Blade of the Immortal?
The 2008 Japanese illustration collection Glittering Waves and its expanded 2010 Dark Horse edition: 160 oversized pages of Samura's covers and paintings, a Geof…
What Is the 2008 Blade of the Immortal Anime?
Bee Trains thirteen-episode adaptation of 2008: Koichi Mashimo directing, Kow Otani scoring, Tomokazu Seki as Manji, and why it covers only the opening movement…
What Is the 2019 Blade of the Immortal Anime?
Liden Films complete adaptation of 2019 to 2020: Hiroshi Hamasaki directing, Eiko Ishibashi scoring, Kenjiro Tsuda as Manji, all thirty volumes in twenty-four…
What Is the Blade of the Immortal Film?
Takashi Miikes hundredth film (2017): Takuya Kimura as Manji, Hana Sugisaki as Rin, a Cannes premiere, an $8.4 million theatrical run, and Samura's verdict on…
What Awards Did Blade of the Immortal Win?
The Afternoon Four Seasons Grand Prize of 1993, the first Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award of 1997, the 2000 Eisner for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign…
BLAME!
13 shelves
The Blame! Manga Gallery
Every Japanese tankobon cover of Blame!, volumes 1 to 10, Kodansha Afternoon KC editions 1998 to 2003, with the first volume beside its Tokyopop English edition.
The History of Blame!
The history of Blame!: the 1995 prize one-shot, the 1997 to 2003 Monthly Afternoon run, the 2003 net anime, the 2015 Master Edition and the 2017 Netflix film.
Who Is Killy in Blame!?
Who is Killy in Blame!: the silent wanderer, his Gravitational Beam Emitter, and the Net Terminal Gene, the lost genetic key to the Netsphere and the City.
What Is the Megastructure in Blame!?
What is the Megastructure in Blame!: the City explained, its layers, its Jupiter sized room, the Builders, the Netsphere, and why architects keep citing a manga.
Why Is Blame! Almost Wordless?
Why is Blame! almost wordless: Nihei’s visual storytelling, the prize judge who praised his paneling, and how the City does the talking in manga’s quietest quest.
Who Is Tsutomu Nihei?
Who is Tsutomu Nihei: the construction worker from Fukushima who studied design in New York and drew Blame!, Biomega and Knights of Sidonia.
What Is NOiSE, the Blame! Prequel?
What is NOiSE: Tsutomu Nihei’s one volume Blame! prequel, Officer Susono Musubi, the Order, and the origins of Silicon Life and the Megastructure.
What Is Blame Academy!?
What is Blame Academy!: Nihei’s school parody of Blame!, the Blame Gakuen! and So On collection, and the one-shot sequels NSE and Blame! squared.
What Is the 2017 Blame! Film?
The 2017 Blame! film: Polygon Pictures, director Hiroyuki Seshita, Nihei’s original story for the screen, the Netflix release and the VFX-Japan awards.
What Are the Blame! English Editions?
The Blame! English editions compared: Tokyopop’s ten volumes of 2005 to 2007 against Vertical’s large format Master Edition of 2016, plus the Killy and Kyrii…
How Did Blame! Influence Games and Design?
How Blame! influenced games and design: NaissanceE and the rise of architectural game worlds, the Halo team’s recruitment of Nihei, and the Megastructure in…
How Can You Tell a First Printing of Blame!?
How to tell a first printing of Blame!: the Kodansha colophon test, the ISBN record for all ten Afternoon KC volumes, and the volume 7 limited edition.
Collecting Blame!
Collecting Blame!: the whole shelf mapped, Japanese tankobon and Master Edition, Tokyopop and Vertical in English, NOiSE, Blame Academy, the artbooks and the…
BLEACH
4 shelves
Was Bleach cancelled?
Kubo's own account says no: his health failed in year ten, a reader's last letter steadied him, and he drew the ending he had planned from chapter one.
Why did the Bleach anime end in 2012?
It stopped after the Lost Agent arc with the final arc six weeks old in print. The announcement, the decade wait, and the 2022 return, dated.
Does Tite Kubo design his characters before the story?
Yes, in his own words: a stock of characters drawn in a group, with the Bleach story built around them, and the Zombiepowder lesson behind the method.
What inspired Bleach?
GeGeGe no Kitaro, sketched as a child, and the kimono Kubo wanted to draw a Soul Reaper wearing, in his own cited influences.
BREATH OF FIRE
9 shelves
The History of Breath of Fire IV
The history of Breath of Fire IV (2000): one god in two bodies, Ryu and Fou-Lu, the front-and-back-row battles and combo system, its editions from PlayStation to…
The History of Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter
The history of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (2002): the underground reinvention, the Scenario Overlay and D-Counter systems, the Sakimoto score, its editions,…
How Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter Reinvented the Series
How Dragon Quarter reinvented Breath of Fire: what it removed, the Scenario Overlay restarts, the D-Counter one-way clock, the PETS battles, and why the design…
How Capcom Became an RPG Maker
How Capcom, the action house of Street Fighter and Mega Man, built an in-house RPG line: Destiny of an Emperor, Sweet Home, Tokuro Fujiwara's console…
The Fishing in Breath of Fire
The fishing in Breath of Fire: the first game's wells and the Dragon Sword, the Manillo merchants of II, III and IV, the mobile game the minigame outgrew,…
The Art of Breath of Fire: Tatsuya Yoshikawa
Tatsuya Yoshikawa, the artist of Breath of Fire: handed the first game's characters after Keiji Inafune, he drew every Ryu and Nina for a decade, then…
What Happened to Breath of Fire 6?
What happened to Breath of Fire 6: the 2013 announcement, the Japan-only online RPG of 2016, the shutdown of September 27, 2017 after six of eight episodes, and…
The Breath of Fire Manga
The Breath of Fire manga: Hitoshi Ichimura's five-volume Utsurowazarumono and its third ending for Breath of Fire IV, the Breath of Fire 6 prequel webcomic,…
Breath of Fire in English: The Publishing Map
Breath of Fire in English: why Square Soft published Capcom's first RPG in America in 1994, the rough ride of II, the cuts and detours of the PlayStation…
