THE LIBRARY
Collector guides, cover censuses, and edition answers, documented issue by issue. Every page answers one specific question, completely.
FAIRY TAIL
19 shelves
The Fairy Tail Manga Gallery
All 63 Japanese Fairy Tail tankōbon covers, pictured and documented with Kodansha release dates and ISBNs: Mashima's eleven-year run, cover by cover.
The History of Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail's history: the 2002 pilot one-shot, the August 2006 Weekly Shōnen Magazine launch, 545 chapters without a hiatus, 63 volumes, 72 million copies.
Who is Hiro Mashima?
Hiro Mashima: born 1977 in Nagano, rookie prize winner at 21, creator of Rave Master, Fairy Tail and Edens Zero, and the fastest famous hand in Weekly Shōnen…
Rave Master, Fairy Tail, Edens Zero: One Universe
The Mashima universe: how Rave Master, Fairy Tail and Edens Zero share creatures, faces and seasonal heroes, and the crossovers where they meet on the page.
How Fast Does Hiro Mashima Draw?
Mashima's documented speed: three chapters in one issue two weeks running (128 pages), 17-hour days, eleven years of Fairy Tail without a hiatus, 26 years…
The Fairy Tail Anime, Era by Era
The Fairy Tail anime eras: Satelight and A-1 Pictures (175 episodes, 2009–13), Bridge joins (102, 2014–16), CloverWorks and the final series (51, 2018–19). 328…
What Is Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest?
Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest: the official sequel, storyboarded by Mashima and drawn by Atsuo Ueda since July 2018; 24 volumes, a 25-episode J.C.Staff anime.
What Are the Fairy Tail English Editions?
Fairy Tail in English: Del Rey's twelve volumes, Kodansha USA's takeover and completion, the five Master's Editions that stopped early, and the 3-in-1 Omnibus line.
What Fairy Tail Video Games Are There?
Fairy Tail games: Konami's PSP Portable Guild trilogy and DS fighters, Gust's 2020 console RPG and its sequel, and Mashima's indie contest that produced a…
Are Fairy Tail Covers the Same in Japanese and English?
Fairy Tail's Japanese and English covers compared: the same Mashima paintings in both markets, re-dressed, with volume 1 and volume 63 shown side by side.
How Many Fairy Tail Books Are There?
The Fairy Tail census: 63 main volumes, 24 sequel volumes, Zero, Fairy Tail S, and eight spin-off series: 116 Japanese tankōbon in all, counted line by line.
What Is Fairy Tail Zero?
Fairy Tail Zero: Mashima's one-volume prequel about Mavis Vermillion and the founding of the guild, serialized in Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine, 2014–15.
What Are the Fairy Tail Spin-Off Manga?
The eight Fairy Tail spin-off series: Zero, Ice Trail, Blue Mistral, Fairy Girls, the Side Stories trilogy, Happy's Heroic Adventure and City Hero, with authors…
How Can You Tell a First Printing of Fairy Tail?
Identifying a first printing of Fairy Tail: the colophon page method for Kodansha tankōbon, why the ISBN cannot tell you, and volume 1 worked as the example.
The Fairy Tail Movies
The two Fairy Tail films: Phoenix Priestess (August 18, 2012) and Dragon Cry (May 6, 2017), and the manga-bundled anime DVDs that fill out the screen catalogue.
FAMICOM
4 shelves
Why did the Japanese Famicom look different from the NES?
After the 1983 crash America would not stock a game console, so the NES arrived disguised as a VCR.
What was the Famicom Disk System?
The floppy drive under the Famicom: rewritable games, Disk Writer kiosks, and Disk Fax contests.
Why were some Famicom games on floppy disks?
Cheaper than chips, roomier than 1986 cartridges, and writable enough to hold a save file.
Did Zelda and Castlevania debut on floppy disks?
Yes, and both lost features, a microphone trick and a save system, on the way to American cartridges.
FATAL FRAME
9 shelfs
The Fatal Frame Gallery
The Japanese and American boxes side by side for four games: Zero in Japan, Project Zero in Europe, Fatal Frame in America, with their histories and questions behind them.
The History of Fatal Frame
Miku Hinasaki in Himuro Mansion, 1986: Shibata's dreams, the black and white design, the camera that arrived late, the editions, and the scores.
Is Fatal Frame based on a true story?
The box said Based on a true story. The record says the claim was marketing: what Tecmo added, what Shibata actually cited, and the quote that needs its label.
Why is the camera the weapon in Fatal Frame?
The Camera Obscura was not in the first design at all: ghosts repelled by light, a producer who objected, and a German military camera.
What inspired Fatal Frame?
Dreams and hauntings, Japanese horror and war films, and Daijiro Morohoshi's Yokai Hunter, with two labelled footnotes.
Why is Fatal Frame called Project Zero?
A codename, a title that means nothingness and can be read as ghost, and three names for one series across three markets.
The History of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
The Amakura twins in Minakami Village: the dream the plot came from, The Shining, Tsukiko Amano's Cho, and the scariest game lists.
The History of Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Rei Kurosawa in the Manor of Sleep: the nightmare the house came from, a manor with no music in it, and the trilogy's close.
The History of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Yuri Kozukata on Mount Hikami: the Wii U GamePad that became the Camera Obscura, the fear of being wet, and the 2021 return.
FIGHTING GAMES
104 shelves
The Fighting Games Gallery
Twelve games that turned the couch into the arcade.
The History of Tekken 3
The game that rebuilt Tekken from scratch and became the PlayStation's defining 3D fighter.
Why Is Tekken 3 Considered the Best Fighting Game on the PlayStation?
Because the reviews, the depth, and the living room all agreed at once.
Who Is Gon, and Why Is a Tiny Dinosaur in Tekken 3?
He is a manga star on a one time license, not a Namco character.
Who wrote Tekken 3's music?
Nobuyoshi Sano and Keiichi Okabe turned Tekken electronic, techno and breakbeat over the ring.
The History of Street Fighter Alpha 3
The Alpha series ended by trying to be three fighting games at once, and mostly succeeding.
What Is the World Tour Mode in Street Fighter Alpha 3?
An RPG campaign wrapped around arcade fights, built only for the home versions.
Why Does the PlayStation Street Fighter Alpha 3 Have More Characters Than the Arcade?
Because the home version was built to outdo the arcade, not just copy it.
The History of Soul Blade
The weapon fighter that started the Soulcalibur line.
Why Is Soul Edge Called Soul Blade in America?
It was a trademark dodge, not a rebrand.
What Is Edge Master Mode in Soul Blade?
A story mode that paid you in swords.
Why does Soul Blade have three soundtracks?
Arcade, arranged, and the Khan Super Session: three complete switchable scores in one PlayStation box.
The History of Mortal Kombat on Consoles
The port that split an industry in two.
Why Did the SNES Mortal Kombat Have Sweat Instead of Blood?
Because Nintendo required the blood to go.
Why Did the Genesis Mortal Kombat Outsell the SNES Version?
Players bought the version that let them turn the arcade game back on.
FINAL FANTASY
19 shelves
The Final Fantasy Gallery
Two beginnings, ten years apart: the 1987 Famicom original and Final Fantasy VII, each with its Japanese and American covers side by side.
The History of Final Fantasy VII
The move from Nintendo 64 to PlayStation, the full motion video bet, and a 92 on Metacritic.
Why is it called Final Fantasy if it never ends?
Not the bankruptcy legend. Hironobu Sakaguchi has debunked it himself, twice.
What is the difference between the Final Fantasy Ultimania books and the Ultimania Archive books?
A 75-plus volume Japanese per-game line against a three-volume English archive of one memorial trilogy.
The History of Final Fantasy
Square's seven person A-Team, the side view battle, the Chaos time loop, and two million copies: the 1987 original behind the name.
The History of Final Fantasy II
The Japan only sequel that threw out experience points, debuted the chocobo and Cid, and divided its players for good.
The History of Final Fantasy III
The job system, the largest cartridge on the Famicom, 1.4 million copies at home, and a sixteen year wait for the West.
The History of Final Fantasy IV
The first 16-bit Final Fantasy: Active Time Battle debuts, Cecil earns the light, and America gets the game as Final Fantasy II.
The History of Final Fantasy V
The job system's deepest cut, Sakaguchi's favorite, and the masterpiece Japan kept to itself for seven years.
The History of Final Fantasy VI
Kitase and Ito's ensemble epic: fourteen heroes, a world that ends halfway, and the last 2D mainline game, sold in America as Final Fantasy III.
Why does Final Fantasy VI have an opera scene?
Kitase wrote it into the scenario, Uematsu composed the aria, and the sound chip could not sing it, so it almost did.
The History of Final Fantasy VIII
Kitase follows a phenomenon: the Draw and Junction system, Eyes on Me, 2.21 million copies in a day in Japan, and reviews that were all over the place.
The History of Final Fantasy IX
Sakaguchi's reflection on the series, made in Hawaii: the highest Metacritic score in Final Fantasy, and sales that ran behind the reviews.
The History of Final Fantasy Tactics
Matsuno brings the Ogre Battle team to Square and invents Ivalice: a tactical RPG about class, buried history, and a million copies in Japan in year one.
Final Fantasy X (2001)
The History: 100 people, 4 billion yen, the first voiced Final Fantasy, and a 92 on Metacritic.
FIRE EMBLEM
20 shelves
Why was Fire Emblem: Awakening almost the last Fire Emblem game?
Producer Hitoshi Yamagami on the record: the 250,000 copy threshold, the culmination the team built under it, and the 242,600 copy first week that cleared it.
Why did Fire Emblem stay in Japan for thirteen years?
Six games stayed home on text, difficulty, and expected sales, until Advance Wars and Marth and Roy in Melee changed Nintendo's mind.
Why does Fire Emblem have permadeath, and why did Casual mode arrive?
Kaga in 1990, on gravity and seriousness, and the four month staff argument that added the off switch in 2010 and carried it worldwide in Awakening.
What did Shouzou Kaga do after Fire Emblem?
Tirnanog, Tear Ring Saga on PlayStation, a 76 million yen court fine with no copyright breach, Berwick Saga, and a free game in 2016.
Fire Emblem's Two Eras: The Kaga Years and What Came After
Fire Emblem's two eras: Shouzou Kaga headed the first five games (1990 to 1999) before leaving Intelligent Systems; Tohru Narihiro, Kouhei Maeda, supports, the…
The Archanea Games
The Archanea games documented: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990), Mystery of the Emblem (1994), the Satellaview Archanea Saga (1997), the DS remakes,…
The Jugdral Games
The Jugdral games: Genealogy of the Holy War (Super Famicom, May 14, 1996) with its two generations, weapon triangle and love system, and Thracia 776 (1999),…
The Elibe Games
The Elibe games: The Binding Blade (GBA, March 29, 2002), Roy's Japan-only sequel-generation war, and its prequel The Blazing Blade (2003), the first Fire Emblem…
The Tellius Games
The Tellius games: Path of Radiance (GameCube, April 20, 2005), Ike and the laguz war, and Radiant Dawn (Wii, February 22, 2007), its multi-army sequel with a…
The Fódlan Games
The Fódlan games: Three Houses (Switch, July 26, 2019), the Koei Tecmo co-developed monastery epic and the series' best-selling single entry, and Warriors: Three…
How Melee Brought Fire Emblem West
Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001): the documented near-removal from the Western version, Nintendo of America's decision to keep them, Roy's debut…
What Did Awakening Change?
What Awakening changed, distinct from its sales rescue: Pair Up, roster-wide marriage and children revived from Genealogy, Robin the Avatar, Casual mode going…
The Weapon Triangle and Durability
The weapon triangle (swords, axes, lances) and trinity of magic, introduced together in Genealogy of the Holy War (1996), the Fates color reorganization,…
Who Designed Fire Emblem's Characters?
Fire Emblem's character designers era by era: Katsuyoshi Koya (Mystery, Genealogy), Mayumi Hirota (Thracia), Kaneda and Wada (GBA), Senri Kita (Tellius),…
How Much Money Has Fire Emblem Heroes Made?
Fire Emblem Heroes' economics from Sensor Tower estimates, carefully dated: almost $300M in year one, $656M by January 2020, $1B crossed in Q1 2022 (a Nintendo…
FIST OF THE NORTH STAR
21 shelves
The Hokuto no Ken arcade games
Hokuto no Ken in the arcade: Konami's Punch Mania / Fighting Mania (2000), the punch-pad cabinet that made the player the successor, and Arc System Works' 2005…
The Hokuto no Ken Famicom games
Toei Animation's eight Nintendo games of Hokuto no Ken: the four Famicom titles (1986 to 1991), the NES Fist of the North Star by Taxan, the Game Boy's 10 Big…
The Hokuto no Ken manga gallery: all 27 Jump Comics covers
All 27 original Jump Comics covers of Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star), Shueisha 1984 to 1989, painted by Tetsuo Hara, verified volume by volume with…
How can you tell a first printing of Hokuto no Ken?
How to identify first printings of the Hokuto no Ken Jump Comics volumes: the Shueisha imprint and ISBN blocks, the colophon printing line, matching the release…
How did Hokuto no Ken influence video games?
Hokuto no Ken's influence on video games: Double Dragon's wasteland, the fatality finishing move Mortal Kombat inherited, the Famicom Shinken column and Yuji…
How does Tetsuo Hara draw Hokuto no Ken?
Tetsuo Hara's method on Hokuto no Ken: twenty pages a week, painted covers, death cries invented as comedy, an editor who never praised him, and the eye disease…
How many editions of Hokuto no Ken are there?
The Japanese editions of Hokuto no Ken counted and explained: 27 Jump Comics volumes, the 15-volume aizoban and bunkoban, the 31-volume Bunch World set, the…
How was the Hokuto no Ken anime censored?
How the Hokuto no Ken anime was censored: the TV series' toned-down, discolored violence, the complaints in Japan and France, the 1986 film's ultra-violence and…
The history of Hokuto no Ken
From two Fresh Jump one-shots in 1983 to a five-year Weekly Shonen Jump run, 27 Jump Comics volumes, 152 anime episodes and over 100 million copies: the…
What are the English editions of Fist of the North Star?
The three English editions of Fist of the North Star: Viz Communications' unfinished monthly comics of 1989 to 1997, Gutsoon's colorized Master Edition (nine…
What Fist of the North Star video games are there?
The Fist of the North Star games counted: from Enix's 1986 PC adventure and the Sega and Famicom games of the 1980s, through the Arc System Works arcade fighter…
What Hokuto no Ken anime came after the TV series?
The Hokuto no Ken anime after the 1984 TV series: the 1986 film, New Fist of the North Star (2003), the Legends of the True Savior films and OVAs (2006 to 2008),…
What inspired Hokuto no Ken?
The documented inspirations of Hokuto no Ken: Mad Max 2 and Blade Runner, Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, Bruce Lee and Yusaku Matsuda, an acupressure anecdote found in…
What is Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise?
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (Hokuto ga Gotoku, 2018): Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's PS4 action adventure, an original story in the city of Eden, Yakuza's…
What is Hokuto no Ken: Ken's Rage?
Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage (Hokuto Musou, 2010) and Ken's Rage 2 (Shin Hokuto Musou, 2012): Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors treatment of the manga,…
FRIEREN
17 shelves
The Frieren Manga Gallery
Every Japanese tankobon cover of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, volumes 1 to 15, Shogakukan Shonen Sunday Comics, with volume 1 shown beside its Viz Media…
The History of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
The history of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, from the April 2020 Weekly Shonen Sunday debut to 35 million copies, a landmark Madhouse anime, and the 2026 second…
How many Frieren books are there?
How many Frieren books there are: 15 Japanese tankobon volumes and 147 chapters as of December 2025, with Viz Media English editions, the anthology, fanbook and…
Who writes and draws Frieren?
Who writes and draws Frieren: Kanehito Yamada writes and Tsukasa Abe draws, a pairing arranged by the Weekly Shonen Sunday editors after Yamada's solo work…
How did Frieren begin?
How Frieren began: as storyboards for a gag manga that turned out not to be a comedy at all, rescued by an editor who had believed in Kanehito Yamada's unsold…
Frieren and the hero party
Frieren and the hero party: Himmel, Heiter and Eisen, the companions whose ten-year quest ended before the story began, and whose memories structure every arc of…
Fern, Stark and Sein: Frieren's new party
Fern, Stark and Sein in Frieren: how the new party was assembled one inheritance at a time, Heiter's apprentice, Eisen's apprentice, and a priest who joined late…
How was the Frieren anime made?
How the Frieren anime was made: Madhouse, director Keiichiro Saito, scripts by Tomohiro Suzuki, designs by Reiko Nagasawa, and a second season under Tomoya Kitagawa.
Evan Call and the music of Frieren
Evan Call and the music of Frieren: a two-disc, seventy-track soundtrack recorded with Hungarian musicians, plus YOASOBI's Yusha and milet's Anytime Anywhere.
Why did Frieren premiere with four episodes?
Why Frieren premiered with four episodes: a two-hour special on September 29, 2023 in Nippon TV's Kin'yo Road Show, the first television anime ever to open in…
Why is Frieren ranked number one?
Why Frieren is ranked number one: the Madhouse anime dethroned Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on MyAnimeList and held the top for an extended run, scoring…
How many copies has Frieren sold?
How many copies Frieren has sold: over 35 million in circulation by January 2026, up from two million in March 2021, with volume 14 carrying Shogakukan's largest…
Frieren's hiatuses, explained
Frieren's manga hiatuses explained: the documented breaks of 2023, 2024 and 2025, the returns that followed, and the indefinite hiatus announced in October 2025…
Frieren's English editions
Frieren's English editions: Viz Media's North American run from November 2021, the Viz Manga simulpub, and Shogakukan Asia's Frieren: Remnants of the Departed.
Frieren: the anthology and spinoff stories
Frieren's spinoff stories: the five Sunday Webry one-shots of May 2023 collected as The Anthology, and the Marumaru no Maho mini-anime shorts, with the yonkoma…
FROMSOFTWARE
45 shelves
What is FromSoftware?
FromSoftware, the Tokyo studio behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring: founded 1986 by Naotoshi Zin as a business software company, King’s Field in 1994, Kadokawa…
The FromSoftware Box Art Gallery
Verified cover art for Demon’s Souls, the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, Nightreign, Armored Core and Otogi, with the Japan and West…
What was King’s Field?
King’s Field, FromSoftware’s first game (December 16, 1994): the Japan-only original, the Western renumbering of II and III, King’s Field IV, the Sword of…
What is Demon’s Souls?
Demon’s Souls (PlayStation 3, February 5, 2009): the troubled FromSoftware and Japan Studio project Hidetaka Miyazaki took over, its Boletaria, World Tendency,…
Why did Demon’s Souls become a cult hit in the West?
How Demon’s Souls conquered the West without a Western publisher: Sony’s pass, the import wave, Atlus in North America (October 2009), Namco Bandai in PAL (June…
How are Dark Souls and King’s Field connected?
The documented line from King’s Field (1994) through Demon’s Souls (2009) to Dark Souls (2011): spiritual succession at each step, Miyazaki’s own cited…
Who is Hidetaka Miyazaki?
Hidetaka Miyazaki: born 1974 in Shizuoka, Keio graduate, Oracle account manager turned FromSoftware planner in 2004 after playing Ico, director of Demon’s Souls,…
How did Miyazaki become president of FromSoftware?
Hidetaka Miyazaki’s promotion to FromSoftware president in May 2014, following Kadokawa’s purchase of the studio: the unprecedented ten-year rise, Zin’s move to…
What inspired Dark Souls?
The documented inspirations of Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls: Miyazaki’s childhood library reading, Sorcery! gamebooks, Ico, Dragon Quest, Zelda, King’s Field,…
What is Dark Souls?
Dark Souls (2011): FromSoftware’s spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls for PS3 and Xbox 360, the Lordran setting, bonfires and bloodstains, the Prepare to Die…
How was Dark Souls designed?
The design of Dark Souls: Lordran’s interconnected structure, bonfires that reset the world, bloodstains, asynchronous multiplayer, and the real architecture…
How does Dark Souls tell its story?
Dark Souls’ storytelling method: item flavour text, environmental detail and NPC dialogue in place of cutscenes, and Miyazaki’s stated preference for player…
Why is Dark Souls so difficult?
Why Dark Souls is difficult, in Miyazaki’s documented words: accomplishment through tremendous odds, death as a learning tool, the scrapped permanent-death idea,…
What is Dark Souls II?
Dark Souls II (March 2014): the trilogy’s only non-Miyazaki-directed entry, directed by Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, designed by founder Naotoshi Zin, set…
What is Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin?
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (April 2015): the compiled edition with The Lost Crowns DLC trilogy, remastered visuals on PS4 and Xbox One, revised…
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
20 shelves
Why does the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime end differently from the manga?
Because Arakawa asked for it: 28 chapters in, the weekly anime outran her monthly manga, so Bones built Dante and an original ending under her guardrails.
Why is there a second Fullmetal Alchemist anime, Brotherhood?
To adapt the manga faithfully and in full: announced in volume 20 in 2008, 64 episodes, ending weeks after the final chapter.
What inspired Fullmetal Alchemist?
Her parents' Hokkaido dairy farm, in her own words: Equivalent Exchange began as farm bookkeeping, before alchemy books and industrial Europe built the world.
Who is Hiromu Arakawa?
The Hokkaido dairy farm kid who drew one of the best selling manga of all time, signs her self portraits as a cow, and then did it again with farming manga.
How is the Fullmetal Alchemist manga collected?
One complete story, three main English formats and one deluxe Japanese line: tankobon, Vizbig omnibuses and the hardcover Fullmetal Edition explained.
How many volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist are there?
The answer depends on the format: 27 tankobon, 18 in the complete edition, 9 omnibuses, plus novels and guidebooks that sit outside the main count.
What is the Fullmetal Alchemist Fullmetal Edition?
Viz's hardcover line based on Japan's kanzenban: larger pages, restored color, new Arakawa covers and the prototype chapter. The deluxe way to own the manga.
What is the Fullmetal Alchemist Vizbig edition?
Nine thick paperbacks that hold the whole manga for the price of a few singles: what Vizbig includes, what it leaves out, and who it suits.
How do the Japanese and English Fullmetal Alchemist covers compare?
Same Arakawa art, different dressing: obi strips, logos and jacket design separate the Square Enix originals from Viz releases at a glance.
What order should you watch Fullmetal Alchemist in?
Two complete television series, two films and one manga ending: the sensible orders for first time viewers, completionists and returning fans.
Who designed the characters for the Fullmetal Alchemist anime?
Arakawa drew the manga, but Bones animators translated her cast to screen: Yoshiyuki Ito in 2003 and Hiroki Kanno for Brotherhood.
What is Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa?
The 2005 film that ends the 2003 anime: Edward stranded in our world's Munich, a Thule Society plot, and the closure Brotherhood never needed.
What is The Sacred Star of Milos?
Brotherhood's standalone film: a prison break, a hidden valley and a new philosopher's stone plot that fits beside the series instead of after it.
What are the Fullmetal Alchemist light novels?
Six prose adventures by Makoto Inoue with Arakawa illustrations: where The Land of Sand came from, and why one novel episode appears in both anime.
What Fullmetal Alchemist video games are there?
A PlayStation 2 action RPG trilogy, handheld spin offs and a short lived mobile game: the playable Fullmetal Alchemist, region by region.
