Yotsuba the adventurer

Life can be pretty amazing when you're five years old. Just ask Yotsuba, the main character of Kiyohiko Azuma's current manga Yotsuba&! Every day is an adventure for her. She's just moved to the big city with her father and there is so much to discover. There's her new neighbors with three daughters for her to play with, and her dad who works at home, and there's always Jumbo to play with. A trip to the department story is full of surprises. A race to the top of the stairs at the local shrine reveals a magnificent view. There are fireworks with friends and a park to play at. There are doorbells to ring, pictures to draw, flowers to give away, fish to be caught, and the accursed Yanda to defend the house against. Yotsuba's life is full of wonder and discovery. As Lincoln explains, we could all learn something from her ability to enjoy everything.

Ayana and Hayate in a nutshell

Lincoln discovered Hayate Cross Blade through a wildly exuberant post at a manga forum by someone who isn't prone to wildly exuberant posts. Here it is in it's entirety:

"Hayate Cross Blade is AWESOME. Everyone needs to buy it. It's a book I'd classify as humor (and yuri) before anything else. Funny characters, great artwork (became aware of Shizuru Hayashiya thanks to the Please Teacher! manga adaptation, fell in love thanks to Sister Red), and a perfect balance of "I'll do the best I can!" and "You told me I was so great last night, too!" and "There are people I need to help!" and "Will you just get off my lap?!" and "I have to work to become better than she is!" and "Let's play with my friend, Mr. Nail Bat!" and "No logic can defeat our purpose!" and "Then you can put your thingy in my hole!"

Yuri goggles on! It's over 9000!!

Buy it. Today. Then buy it again tomorrow, too, just in case."

So Lincoln checked it out. He was right. Every single word of it.

Why can't every day be like this?

Take one 10 year-old wizard from Wales, add 31 Japanese junior high school girls, and illustrate with the best fan-service/action artist working in the business. Result? Fun. Lots and lots of fun. Just as Negi Springfield is no ordinary teacher, his class is far from ordinary: there's a ghost, a vampire, an alien from the future, a mercenary, a ninja, a mad scientist, a secret internet idol, an android, a martial artist, a swordswoman, and so many others. 

Lincoln loves Negima! with a passion that burns like a thousand white-hot suns. He writes and writes and writes about it here. Better make a sandwich before heading in.

Alpha. As beautiful on the inside as on the outside.

Every good story needs conflict. This is what I've always been told. Then why is this story so good? There's no conflict whatsoever. It's a story about a young woman who runs a quiet little coffee shop out in the countryside. We get to know her, her friends and customers, and that's about it. And yet that's about as much as it needs to be.

There are some unusual twists to the story. Alpha is a robot, for example, and she's not the only one. The Earth has suffered an unexplained natural catastrophe. The oceans are rising, and the birthrate has dropped so low humanity is dying out. Strange oversized plants with unique functions grow in the wild. There are extraordinary mysteries everywhere, and Alpha's explorations of them allow us to discover and marvel at her world along with her. Read more.