Danger seems to lurk around every corner in Kyoto, and a cabal of well-hidden imperial loyalists is slaying the Shogun's supporters from the Aizu Clan. When the daimyo of Aizu contracts the Mibu Roshigumi to investigate and bring the killers to justice, it seems like the perfect opportunity for the cash-strapped group to find a powerful patron who will bring them under his wing. But how will they find an enemy hidden in plain sight, and what will the trio of boys from Kyoto-Nio, Hajime, and Taro-be able to do against grown hit men?
The year is 1863. It is a turbulent time in Japan, as rising anxieties about the modernizing world coincide with the decline of the shogunate, and the possibility of civil war looms. As disgruntled samurai flood into the city of Kyoto, a group of ronin warriors are recruited to maintain peace and protect the shogunate's interests: the Mibu Roshigumi, later known as the Shinsengumi! Despite his youth and small stature, Nio begins to turn heads among the Roshigumi with his work ethic and forthright personality. But all is not well within the group-some plot against the Roshigumi for their own interests, and their resources are scant. Fortunately, a plea to the mighty daimyo of Aizu might just gain them an audience. Will the scrappy group of misfits find themselves a powerful backer, or will they be relegated to the dustbin of history?!
It's 1863, the twilight of the shogunate, and Japan is on the cusp of monumental change. The streets of the nation's capital are soaked in blood as political upheaval and rising tensions between masterless, wandering ronin and government samurai set the stage for one of the most turbulent times in Japan's history. Young orphan Nio is no stranger to the harsh realities of the world, and yet he can't help but cling to his burning passion for justice and desire to change the world for the better. One day, he crosses paths with two men who will become central figures of the coming revolution: Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Souji, two of the founding members of a group of hated ronin known as the Miburo-who would later become known as the Shinsengumi. Inspired by the efforts of the so-called “Blues Wolves of Mibu,” Nio decides to join the ranks to help carve a path to the world he wishes to see. But with new betrayals and reversals every day, will Nio be able to stay true to his conscience?
Meet Isadora Moon! She's half-fairy, half-vampire and totally unique! Isadora Moon loves sunshine — and nighttime. She loves her magic wand — and her black tutu. She loves spooky bats — and Pink Rabbit. Isadora is half-fairy, half-vampire, and she’s special because she is different! Now Isadora’s parents want her to start school, but she’s not sure where she belongs — fairy school or vampire school? Sink your fangs into all of Isadora’s adventures! Isadora Moon Goes to School Isadora Moon Goes Camping Isadora Moon Goes to the Ballet Isadora Moon Has a Birthday
Back with Ido again, life appears peaceful for Alita--until she learns that her former bounty-hunting companion Zapan is now a wanted man seeking unfair vengeance against her! Ido, meanwhile, follows the trail of transactions surrounding Alita's old Berserker body to the exiled Zalemite scientist Desty Nova. When Nova gives Zapan the body, it turns him into a demon sowing chaos everywhere. The "Zapan" arc is chock-full of rage, love, and pathos!!
Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps is the true story of the notorious samurai corps formed in 1863 to arrest or kill the enemies of the Tokugawa Shogun. The only book in English about the Shinsengumi, it focuses on the corps' two charismatic leaders, Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo, both impeccable swordsmen. It is a history-in-brief of the final years of the Bakufu, which collapsed in 1867 with the restoration of Imperial rule. In writing Shinsengumi, Hillsborough referred mostly to Japanese-language primary sources, including letters, memoirs, journals, interviews, and eyewitness accounts, as well as definitive biographies and histories of the era. The fall of the shogun's government (Tokugawa Bakufu, or simply Bakufu) in 1868, which had ruled Japan for over two and a half centuries, was the greatest event in modern Japanese history. The revolution, known as the Meiji Restoration, began with the violent reaction of samurai to the Bakufu's decision in 1854 to open the theretofore isolated country to "Western barbarians." Though opening the country was unavoidable, it was seen as a sign of weakness by the samurai who clamored to "expel the barbarians." Those samurai plotted to overthrow the shogun and restore the holy emperor to his ancient seat of power. Screaming "heaven's revenge," they wielded their swords with a vengeance upon those loyal to the shogun. They unleashed a wave of terror at the center of the revolution--the emperor's capital of Kyoto. Murder and assassination were rampant. By the end of 1862, hordes of renegade samurai, called ronin, had transformed the streets of the Imperial Capital into a "sea of blood." The shogun's administrators were desperate to stop the terror. A band of expert swordsmen was formed. It was given the name Shinsengumi ("Newly Selected Corps")--and commissioned to eliminate the ronin and other enemies of the Bakufu. With unrestrained brutality bolstered by an official sanction to kill, the Shinsengumi soon became the shogun's most dreaded security force. In this vivid historical narrative of the Shinsengumi, the only one in the English language, author Romulus Hillsborough paints a provocative and thrilling picture of this fascinating period in Japanese history.
