Arakawa Under The Bridge, 2

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 2 contains volumes 3 and 4 of the Japanese edition. Rec, insulted by the insinuation that he has nothing to contribute to the community under the bridge, decides to start a school. Rec's secretaries from his company in the outside world investigate his current situation, reports of which are sent back to his father, who then targets the river bank for redevelopment, threatening the idyllic lifestyle of the river bank denizens...

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.

"Arakawa Under the Bridge is a manga with a well-honed funny bone and a lot of heart [...] Underneath all its absurdity and gags is a story about family, acceptance, and choosing self over the pressures of a materialistic society." - Anime News Network