7 Manga Series That Came Back from the Dead

Fruits Basket, by Natsuki Takaya
If Sailor Moon launched a shoujo manga revolution, Fruits Basket was its second wave. When this series was initially published by Tokyopop, in the mid-2000s, it was one of the top two selling manga in the U.S. (the other was Naruto), and it often showed up on regular best-seller lists alongside non-comics titles. Yen Press has re-released it in beautiful two-in-one volumes, similar to the collector’s edition published in Japan, with a larger-than-usual format, French flaps, and other nice little touches. While many adults have fond memories of Fruits Basket, this series is more than just a nostalgia trip. The story of a young woman plunked in the middle of a family that bears an ancient curse—certain individuals turn into animals when they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex—still has a lot of resonance for today’s readers. Takaya has woven a complex and moving story with characters based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac, with a strong-willed young woman at the center. After reading this, you’ll never look at a rice ball quite the same way again.

Planetes, by Makoto Yukimura
Another manga first published by Tokyopop, Planetes was widely praised by critics when it was first released, but readers tended to leave it on the shelf. Perhaps manga readers weren’t ready for sci-fi with a philosophical bent, or perhaps sci-fi readers weren’t ready for manga. Whatever the case, the four-volume series fell out of print. Then last year, Dark Horse revived it in two omnibus volumes, with a larger trim size that really lets you see the beauty of Yukimura’s art. The story revolves around a team of three space junk collectors, each of whom has a different take on what space travel means and why they do it. The stories are thoughtful, the characters are quirky and likable, and the art is amazing. Dark Horse really pulled out all the stops on this reissue, and the result is two handsome volumes that truly do the story justice.

Tomie, by Junji Ito
Tomie was originally published as three volumes by Comics One—remember them?—back in 2001, then as two volumes by Dark Horse, and now Viz has completed the coalescence of this series by publishing it in a single, massive (752 pages) volume. They have already brought back two other Junji Ito manga as hefty tomes: Uzumaki, which was originally published as three volumes, and Gyo, which was published as two. Tomie is the story of a beautiful, dark-haired woman who entices men to fall in love with her then drives them toward violence. Like all Ito’s manga, it’s intriguing but not for the faint of heart.

Emma, by Kaoru Mori
Next to Fruits Basket, this is one of the great license rescues of all time. Kaoru Mori’s story of romance between the scion of a wealthy family and a housemaid, set in Victorian England, gave her the opportunity to research and depict everything from cufflinks to the Crystal Palace. The world of Emma is a rich one, if sometimes a bit anachronistic and occasionally over the top, and Mori’s superb artwork brings it to life with lively depictions of her vibrant cast of characters in the drawing room and the servant’s quarters. This series was originally published by CMX, the now-defunct manga arm of DC Comics, and Yen has brought it back in hardcover two-in-one omnibus volumes.

Blame, by Tsutomu Nihei
This may be another case of Tokyopop being ahead of its time; certainly someone there had interesting taste in science fiction. Blame is set in a cavernous city that keeps growing of its own accord, continually being added to by robot builders who seem to have no rhyme or reason; it’s organic rather than planned. A man named Killy travels through its multiple levels and vast, dark spaces, looking for something called the “net terminal gene” that allows humans to connect directly to a vast computer network. Nihei has a special skill for depicting decay, and the setting of Blame is a good example of technology gone too far. Vertical published Nihei’s later series, Knights of Sidonia, and it is now publishing a new edition of Blame. Tokyopop’s original edition (which was nominated for a Harvey Award) ran to 10 volumes, but Vertical’s release is the same format as the Japanese “master’s edition,” six volumes with a larger trim size. An anime film is in the works for next year.

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, by Akira Himekawa
This is not really a license rescue, just a new edition, but it’s significantly different from the original. Viz’s original edition of the Legend of Zelda manga had a similar trade dress to their other manga—stripe across the top, colorful image of a character that looked like he was about to leap off the page at the reader. The new “Legendary Edition” looks like an antique book, with a dark cover, gold trim, and a small image in the center. This could be something from the Harvard Shelf of Books, not a spinner rack in a bookstore. The trim size is bigger than the original edition, and each new volume includes two of the old ones, condensing a 10-volume series to five. It’s a more dignified, grown-up kind of a look, although the insides are still the same story of Link and Zelda.

Kilala Princess, by Rika Tanaka and Nao Kodaka
Finally, we have a special case. Remember when we were talking about Tokyopop back there, and how they never really went out of business? Well, they have made a comeback, mostly publishing Japanese manga adaptations of Disney films. Kilala Princess is different—it’s an original story featuring the Disney princesses—and Tokyopop published the first two volumes of the Japanese edition as four shorter volumes in English starting in 2007. Now it’s back, and this time Tokyopop is not only republishing the series in standard size volumes but also publishing new volumes that haven’t appeared in English before. So it’s sort of a license rescue, in that Tokyopop is bringing the series back into print in a different format, together with new material.
Is there a classic series you would like to see rescued?