Arakawa Under The Bridge, 5

Description

Best-selling mangaka Hikaru Nakamura (Saint Young Men) makes her English language debut with this surreal comedy starring a 620-year-old water sprite, a man with a star for a head, a nun, and a samurai who runs a barber shop under Tokyo's Arakawa Bridge. Part 5 contains volumes 9 and 10 of the Japanese edition. The aura of craziness emanating from the Arakawa river bank keeps luring in those who want to fly their own freak flag, including, of all people, Rec's secretary Shimazaki. As the day of the launch to Venus, Nino's home planet, draws ever closer, everyone must make their preparations and say farewell to those who are earth-bound. Will the rocket, filled with the hopes of its crew, be able to make the interplanetary journey...?

Born in 1984, in the artisan filled city of Shizuoka, Hikaru Nakamura is one of the top selling manga artists today. Since 2001, when she was only 16 years old, Nakamura was already making headways in the world of manga. Her first series Nakamura Factory was a mini-hit for Japanese publishers SquareEnix. She would follow that up with Arakawa Under the Bridge, which would eventually be adapted into an animated television series. While Arakawa was her break-through, her next work Saint Young Men would take her to a level of success not seen in Japan in years Attack on Titan and Naruto in the process having sold more than ten million units. Arakawa Under the Bridge is her English language debut, but she has been published throughout Europe and Asia for years.

"Nakamura keeps to the core of what Arakawa Under the Bridge has presented since its first volume, and it doesn't seem to want to slow down in both the insane and heartfelt moments it wishes to deliver." - Boston Bastard Brigade