Most of us know Minekura-sama from her Saiyuki Series, which is fine since that is how I first found her. As a result of my adoration of the Anime and Manga I began looking for some of her Illustration books. Lucky for me, I was able to purchase Backgammon Remix in June 2004. I LOVED it!! But I noticed some other images that were not Saiyuki. They intrigued me so much that I went on a hunt to find out who and what they were. Fortunately, I found some wonderful sites, which I have included on the links page, that were able to enlighten me. (^_^)

The first I found was Bus Gamer(pronounced Biz.) The title is actually short for Business Gamer and deals with the dirt of large companies. The basic premise is that these large corporations pit two teams against each other, each team comprised of 3 people, in order to compete for their secrets. The battlefields are prechosen as well as the start and end times. During the course of a match the [HOME] team had to protect their company's disk filled with their secrets while the [AWAY] team tries to steal it. The newly formed [AAA] team find out that this is more than just a game.

Next, is Wild Adaptor. We first join the story when Kubota Makoto is recruited by the Yakuza to lead their Junior devision. He's not thrilled by the offer but accepts anyway. By the end of the first book, we find that Kubota no longer wishes to keep his position and is let go. As he's walking home he finds a 'stray cat' that he decides to take in and care for. We learn that Kubota's 'stray cat' has a very mysterious past. Tokito Minoru can remember nothing of what happened to him before he meets Kubota, only that it was not a pleasent time. His only real clue is his right hand, which is more like a hairy animal's hand than a human's. And it is this clue that has sent them on a strange hunt. A new drug has hit the streets of Yokahama. No one knows where it came from or who's distributing it. However it's strange side effect of it's users gives it it's name, Wild Adaptor. Most of the people who have used WA end up dead with their inner organs exploded and their physical appearence altered, giving a limb animalistic attributes. It is this connection that has Kubota and Tokito searching for information of this drug, in hopes of discovering Tokito's past.

Lastly, is a short story called Stigma. It takes place in post apocolyptic Japan where the sky has turned grey and many animals were lost, particularly birds. The main character doesn't know who he is or where he came from, only that he woke up naked on a garbage heap with a suitcase full of money in his hand. We follow him as he tries to piece his past together. He soon bumps into a young boy who is looking for birds. They pair up and decided to look together. This is a rather sad story. I just recently received a copy of the Manga which is stunning! A translation can be found for this at Aestheticism. All colour, all beautiful!(^_^)

There are a few other things out there, but I have very little information on them. I will try and get up any bits I can. I have acquired a copy of Just! and Brothers and will do my best to get more information on those up as soon as possible. I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy of ZeroSum's Quarterly magazine Ward so I can learn more about Honeycomb. I have added a "News" page to let you know what's happening in Japan in case you are interested.

Anyway, more detailed descriptions are available on their respective pages. I hope you find them informative. Thanks for stopping by and since I am still in the process of building this site, please drop me a message or sign my guest book to let me know what you think and how I can improve it!! Domo!! (^_^)