Best Drama Manga of 1999

As the 20th century approaches its end, people all over the world are anxious that the world is changing. And probably not for the better. Kenji Endou is a normal convenience store manager who is just trying to get by. But when he learns that one of his old friends going by the name "Donkey" has suddenly committed suicide and that a new cult led by a figure known as "Friend" is becoming more notorious, Kenji starts to feel that something is not right. With a few key clues left behind by his deceased friend, Kenji realizes that this cult is much more than he ever thought it would be—not only is this mysterious organization directly targeting him and his childhood friends, but the whole world also faces a grave danger that only the friends have the key to stop. Kenji's simple life of barely making ends meet is flipped upside down when he reunites with his childhood friends, and together they must figure out the truth of how their past is connected to the cult, as the turn of the century could mean the possible end of the world.

Tomomi Nomiya, former captain of his high school's basketball team turned delinquent, decides to drop out of school after he is crushed by the guilt of ruining a young girl's life in a traffic accident. As he dedicates his free time to helping her, he stumbles upon Kiyoharu Togawa, a former sprinter who has lost the use of his right leg and now plays wheelchair basketball as an alternate outlet. After challenging Kiyoharu to a one-on-one game, Tomomi is completely defeated. Inspired by this encounter, he realizes that he can't let his love for basketball die so easily and decides that he will do what he can to help others while striving to become a professional player. Meanwhile, Hisanobu Takahashi, Tomomi's replacement as the high school's team captain, gets into an accident and finds himself permanently paralyzed below the waist. Real tells the touching tale of these three young men as they struggle to overcome their disabilities and inner conflicts in order to achieve their dreams while igniting a passion that will bring them together.

Haunted by a space flight accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife, Yuri finds himself six years later as part of a team of debris cleaners on a vessel called the Toy Box charged with clearing space junk from space flight paths. The team consists of Hachimaki, a hot shot debris-man with a sailor's affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a chain-smoking tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job.

After two eccentrically dressed individuals ambush her, high school student Yukari Hayasaka promptly passes out due to shock. She soon awakens to find herself surrounded by even more strangely dressed people in the basement studio of Paradise Kiss—a fashion design club composed of four students from Yazawa School for the Arts. Although it seems like Yukari has been kidnapped, the older students explain that they only approached her to see if she would model their collection for an upcoming fashion show. Being a senior with a busy schedule, Yukari furiously rejects the group's offer. But when she drops her student passbook in her haste to leave, the ringleader of the group, George Koizumi, picks it up and uses it as a means to coerce Yukari into considering their request. After hearing about the other members' unbridled ambition, Yukari is inspired to reevaluate her own circumstances and eventually agrees to help them out. Now as Paradise Kiss' model, Yukari must learn to balance her new responsibilities with her hectic personal life. However, the more time she spends with George and the rest of the team, the harder it becomes for her to avoid getting swept up in the glitz and glamor of the fashion world.

Shuji and Chise are two Hokkaido high school students barely starting a relationship with each other. Then, with no warning, a squadron of bombers from an unknown country destroy the city of Sapporo. All hope is lost when suddenly, the bombers are destroyed by a small red light floating across the sky. At this point, Shuji finds out that the one responsible for eliminating the enemy forces is Chise, who reveals herself as a cyborg engineered for mass-destruction.

Blonde, hip, pragmatic and cool, Ginji Amano has the power to generate currents with his body like an electric eel. Brunette, equally hip, bespectacled and rambunctious, Ban Mido has the mystically mysterious 'Evil Eye,' the power to create illusions in the minds of his foes. Together, they are the GetBackers, the best retrieval team in the world. They can get back anything taken from clients, and their success rate is (almost) 100%! However, first they have to get some clients—and soon—or this spry detective duo will starve on the streets!

In a surreal world of abundant wonders, Gil is a workshop town specialized in mechanical craftsmanship, boasting the largest population in the land of Piril. People lead simple lives with little to no advancement in technology, worshipping Marie, a mechanical Goddess who keeps vigil of Piril from the sky. Daughter of the top mechanical artisan of Gil, Pipi is a cheerful and popular young girl. She likes her childhood friend, Kai, who has an extraordinary ability to hear sounds inaudible to the human ear. He is the only one in town who can listen to Marie's "music." The soothing sounds that come from her are said to retain the peace and harmony of the land. Kai's affection for Marie deepens as he continues to experience these sounds and see visions of himself through her eyes. Exploring the fantasy world of Kai and Pipi, Marie no Kanaderu Ongaku tackles concepts of religion, technology, and what it truly means to be happy.

Ayumu Narumi has lived all his life in the shadow of his famous detective brother, Kiyotaka. However, Kiyotaka disappeared two years ago, leaving behind his wife Madoka and Ayumu himself, along with a cryptic message about the "Blade Children." One day, a girl at Ayumu's school suddenly dies. What seemed like a suicide at first glance turns out to be a murder, and Ayumu is the prime suspect. While investigating the person responsible for framing him, he discovers that the mysterious Blade Children are involved—and they somehow know Kiyotaka personally. Ayumu soon finds out just how dangerous the Blade Children are and learns that, in reality, he and Kiyotaka are intertwined more closely than he had ever believed.

Sergeant Keroro is the Captain of the Space Invasion Forces Special Advance Team of the 58th Planet of the Gamma Storm Cloud System, sent to the planet Pokopen (aka Earth) to collect intelligence for his planet's invasion force. He is also a frog. After his ship crash-lands in the planet earth, he takes shelter in the Hinata household, but the two kids, Fuyuki and Natsume, find him and take away his alien weapons. When his people discover that the Pokopenians are aware of him, Keroro is abandoned - left to fend for himself in this hostile world. But he's not alone - four other pre-invasion agents were are also lurking on Earth.

A young girl named Rahzel is booted out of her house one day by her father with the instructions to 'see the world.' And so her journey begins, However, she won't be doing it alone...for she befriends a stoic young man named Alzeid seeking revenge for his father's murder. Alzeid and Rahzel are like oil and water...but even still, they feel strangely drawn to one another. This could be either the result of an underlying attraction—or their shared powers with magic. And so, the two reluctant allies travel from town to town, using their powers to help the helpless, while discovering their own respective places in the world.

A small five-year-old girl named Subaru no longer has time for friends and play. Why is this? Her twin brother Kazuma is dying...and gradually forgetting everything. Even Subaru. And so the girl visits him every day, talking with him and dancing for him, trying to make him remember her. And he always does by the end of the day. Encouraged by a friend to join ballet classes, the girl does so and falls in love with the dance.

Hina's new high school is strange to say the least. She moves back to her old home town only to find that the high school is run by two opposing factors, and students identify themselves based on the color of their school uniforms: Black for the followers of the loud, violent Nishizaki, and white for the followers of quiet, clean-freak Isshiki. And then there are the "grays," who wear street clothes. Hina finds herself stuck between the leaders of the two factions, and it seems to be turning violent. As one might guess from the girly art and the Ribon publisher, the plot develops a romance element pretty early on in the series. There's a love triangle involved among two of the group leaders. Who will Hina choose?

What if it's possible to extract some two or more years of a person's memories (projected onto visual display for all to see) from the brain after the person's death? It would certainly be beneficial for solving difficult murder cases since the memories would display the victims' last moments. But at what cost? What of the dead's privacy as strangers poke about in their most private memories? What about the effects the imageries may have on the persons whose jobs require going through psychotic murderers' minds and experience whatever emotions and feelings these murderers felt as they skin and disembowel their victims? In The Top Secret, Shimizu-sensei explores the idea of re-displaying images of decedents' memories from their brains.

A chance encounter with a mysterious character named Goodfellow leads Ryang to spring where faeries are bathing. Here, Ryang meets Fanta, a faerie who wants nothing more than to stay with him in the human world. Living with a faerie can be especially trying, but Fanta makes it worse when her rival curses him to a string of 108 doomed relationships!