CATDOLL: Comics Catch-up Guide "Complete Comics Awards 2014" list is released

Recently, the list of "Completed Manga Awards 2014" selected by Japanese media has been released. This list is a popularity survey of manga completed in 2014. It can also be used as a guide for friends who don't want to catch up and want to finish all in one go. Everyone knows that there is a major manga that has been completed this year, that is "Naruto". Maybe everyone thinks that Naruto will be the undisputed top of the list with so many years of accumulation and the sorrow at the end. But everyone is wrong; maybe some people think it is EVA, after all, it is called an unsurpassed masterpiece, but everyone is wrong again... Always remember that the tastes of the people in District 11 are different from those in China.

1. Tokyo Ghoul (Ishida Sui) – 14 volumes

This is the first one, not including Tokyo Ghoul:re.

Editor's Comments:

·Maybe everyone always thinks that "Tokyo Ghoul" is really over? This is not surprising, after all, the 2014 animation brought a new impact to everyone's memory.

· This work is the same as the nominated "The Other Shore: The Last 47 Days", both of which start a new series immediately after the "end". Maybe everyone will think this is too cunning, but after all, the end is the end, no matter if it is the first or the next part.

2. Naruto (Masashi Kishimoto) – Volume 71

Editor's Comments:

After 15 years of serialization, those who wanted to wait for the comic to be completed before reading it have finally had their wait.

Like One Piece and Hunter x Hunter, Naruto is also one of the reasons why people spend money to buy Jump. One Piece started serialization in 1997, Hunter x Hunter in 1998, and Naruto in 1999. The ending of any of these can bring deep feelings to everyone.

·For this kind of fighting work, it is really refreshing to watch it all in a row. We should enjoy the end of the serialization of "Naruto" with joy.

3. 81diver (Shibata Yokusal) – 35 volumes

Story summary:

The protagonist Kentaro Suda was taught by a professional shogi player, but he suffered a setback on his way to becoming a professional shogi player, and from then on he became a shogi player who only played for gambling. However, after he met the Jurchen swordsman "Akihabara Defense", he was constantly defeated. During a certain battle, he remembered his master's words, and sneaked into the chessboard with one heart, thus reversing the game. After that...

Editor's Comments:

Due to the Den-O War, the frequency of Japanese shogi appearing in people's vision increased greatly in 2014. Therefore, this not-so-conspicuous category of shogi comics has also maintained its popularity. This work also put a lot of effort into the character settings so that readers will not give up halfway.

I bought about 17 volumes at first, then stopped for a while, and read it all in one go after it was finished. "81diver" was praised by Mr. Umino Chika (author of "Honey and Clover" and "March Comes in Like a Lion") as "a thunderous naming skill".

· Mr. Shibata's development of each episode is completely unpredictable. This time he did not draw fighting but drew shogi instead, which made people think "this is the world's strongest fighting skill"! This comic has such a boldness. Even if you don't know anything about shogi, it doesn't matter. Both experts and laymen can enjoy the work!

4. あさりちゃん（Muroyama まゆみ）——100 volumes

I'm very puzzled that a comic with 100 volumes has not even been translated in the country...

Story summary:

A funny girl's manga that shows "the energetic Asari-chan's great activity!" It currently holds the world record for "the most volumes published by a female manga artist".

Editor's Comments:

To be honest, every time I see it, I am surprised that it is still being serialized. When I first saw it, I called the protagonist "sister", but now she can be my daughter.

·The series began in 1978 and was adapted into an anime in 1982. I still remember the long story in which Seajack first appeared. The 36-year history is truly impressive. So I bought the commemorative editions from volume 1 to volume 100.

·This long-running manga, which has been serialized since 1978, has been completed without incident at all 100 volumes, which is truly cause for celebration.

5. PEACH-PIT – 10 volumes

Editor's Comments:

The series was announced to be terminated in 2007, then resumed in 2008, and now it has finally come to an end... Is it really the end?

· There are two versions of this work, "Rozen Maiden" and "Rozen Maiden" (the original text is in katakana here). The "Rozen Maiden" that was originally serialized in "COMIC BUS" suddenly died, and then a new serialization started in "Weekly Young Jump" under the name of "Rozen Maiden". I have to sigh at the bitterness of the real world. However, it is better to end without any problems.

·When the story reached the middle, I kept thinking, "Who won the Alice game in the end?" After reading the final chapter, I felt relieved. If the covers of all ten volumes are listed together, they can be called works of art.

6. "Little Love Story (小さな情のものがたり)" (みつはしちかこ) - 43 volumes in total

Story summary:

The story describes Kiki's sad, unrequited love that lasted for 50 years.

Editor's Comments:

None. (I am so willful)

PS: This comic has nothing to do with DOTA.

7. My Goddess (Kousuke Fujishima) – 48 volumes

Story summary:

The stage is located in Nekomi University of Technology and its surroundings in Nekomi City, Chiba Prefecture. In addition, the place name "Nekozane" actually exists in Nekomi, Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture. The story begins when the protagonist (at the beginning of the series) Morisato Hotaru, a student of Nekomi University of Technology, makes a wrong call to "My Goddess Agency".

Hotaru panicked when she found out that she had dialed the wrong number. The first thing that came out of the phone was "I'll come right over now", and then a goddess who called herself Belldandy appeared in the mirror. Belldandy asked Hotaru what her wish was, and Hotaru said, "I hope a goddess like you can stay by my side forever." This wish was granted by the heavens. Since then, Hotaru has lived with Belldandy. Although Hotaru thought that she had dialed the wrong number, it was not the case. It was the inevitable result of the function of the World Tree to save Hotaru.

8. All You Need Is Kill (Takeuchi Ryosuke, Obata Takeshi) – 2 volumes

Story summary:

"Isn't attacking the same thing as a test of strength?"

The moment the enemy bullet pierced his body, Kiritani Cage returned to the day before the attack.

Far to the south of Tokyo, there is a small island called Kotoi Ushi, which is a fierce battle zone. There, the tragedy of the loser's death is staged every day.

Attack and die. Attack and die.

——Death became Cage's daily routine. When this cycle reached the 158th time, Cage met a woman on the battlefield filled with smoke...

This is an incredible and sad sci-fi drama about reincarnation and combat that depicts the growth and choices of a soldier.

9. "あぶさん" (Mizushima Shinji) - 107 volumes in total

Story summary:

It has been 37 years since he joined the Nankai Eagles baseball team, and the legendary alcoholic substitute "Abu-san" is still alive today. The legendary story of the fictional baseball player who came from the professional baseball world and has always walked his own path has now begun.

10. AZUMI/Girl Killer Azumi (Yuu Koyama) – 18 volumes

Story summary:

The main plot of the manga revolves around the fictional heroine Amo, and the story begins several years after the Battle of Sekigahara. As Amo fulfills her mission, the manga inserts her fictional character into multiple historical events, such as the initial mission to assassinate several daimyo who are the core of the Toyotomi faction and are most eager to provoke a war with Tokugawa Ieyasu. The manga implies that several leaders of the Toyotomi faction who died of illness or accident before the final battle were related to Amo's assassination, making readers believe that Amo is real.

Amo is the only woman among the ten disciples of Master Obata Tsukisai. These ten people have become the "selected warriors" of the master since childhood. They receive harsh training every day in a valley far away from the world, and will eventually leave the valley to complete their "mission" - assassinating the daimyo who intends to provoke a war. This day has finally arrived, and their first task is to form a team of two people according to their own preferences without knowing it, and then the two people in the team will fight each other under the order of the master. Amo's teammate is his best friend Nachi (なち), and Nachi was eventually killed by Amo, and this incident has become a permanent pain in Amo's heart. The second task in the comics is to massacre a ninja village, including all women and children. Through these two tasks, their master told them that as a killer, they cannot choose who to kill, and everything is based on their "mission".

Later, the five people who survived followed their master to complete their mission. As the plot developed, this work raised a lot of philosophical and ethical issues for readers to think about. For example, is their assassination indiscriminate killing? Can it really save this turbulent era? These issues have been mentioned many times in the work: In the middle of the comics (probably Vol. 8-19), Amo killed many bandits. These bandits burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Therefore, even readers did not question Amo's behavior at all, but thought it was very satisfying. But in the later part of the comics, the political reasons for the bandit phenomenon were revealed, that is, the ruling Tokugawa family exiled or even eliminated many opposition daimyo, causing the retainers and samurai under these former daimyo to lose their source of livelihood. Without jobs, they can only rob to save their lives. Therefore, Amo began to question whether the previous killing was a sin.

The comics even tend to deify Amo, comparing him to a bodhisattva. The people killed by Amo, whether they were daimyo seeking war or his ninjas and samurai, were driven by a secular desire, some of which was blind faith, some of which was religious dependence, and some of which was simply a desire for war, wealth or honor. These desires were portrayed as demons in the works, and were all killed by Amo. The only one who survived was Amo himself, who was extremely indifferent to the secular world and desires.