Best Drama Manga of 2007

Punpun Onodera is a normal 11-year-old boy living in Japan. Hopelessly idealistic and romantic, Punpun begins to see his life take a subtle—though nonetheless startling—turn to the adult when he meets the new girl in his class, Aiko Tanaka. It is then that the quiet boy learns just how fickle maintaining a relationship can be, and the surmounting difficulties of transitioning from a naive boyhood to a convoluted adulthood. When his father assaults his mother one night, Punpun realizes another thing: those whom he looked up to were not as impressive as he once thought. As his problems increase, Punpun's once shy demeanor turns into voluntary reclusiveness. Rather than curing him of his problems and conflicting emotions, this merely intensifies them, sending him down the dark path of maturity in this grim coming-of-age saga.

Fourteen-year-old Kakeru Kurosawa is an antisocial junior high school student who looks down on his classmates—but beneath his superiority complex is a hopeless young teenager who uses masturbation as a pastime. Using erotic thoughts of his female classmates as stimulus, he locks himself daily in a seldom-used girl's bathroom at school to do his dirty deed. One day during class, Kurosawa witnesses the popular girls bullying the timid Aya Kitahara. Although not one to be riled over such matters, he decides to deliver retribution with his own hands. In a daring move, he steals the uniforms of the bullies and dispenses his "white justice" over them. Although satisfied with his exploits, Kurosawa's troubles are only just beginning. While going about his daily routine, he is suddenly confronted by Kitahara, who identifies him as the culprit behind the uniform incident, and blackmails him into terrorizing the other girls in the class the same way he dealt with her bullies. Left with little choice, Kurosawa agrees, and thus begins a coming-of-age story that deals with consequences, bullying, and people's ability to change.

Through pain and arduous effort, one can reach the top of the world. Standing where no man has ever set foot before, there is an exhilarating feeling of success. This is what Mori Buntarou trains, works, and lives for. His climb to the top starts when he transfers to a new high school. Despite his lonesome and solitary nature, Mori's classmates persuade him to climb the school building. Without a harness or hesitation, he begins his scale to reach the top. Edging past the point of no return, he halts when he is faced with a final intimidating obstacle—a horizontal overhang. Adrenaline courses through him, and Mori jumps for the final hold at the summit. From there, he casts his eyes upon something that he normally would not have seen—another peak, another goal. With an awakened passion and newfound purpose in life, Mori explores the breathtaking sport of rock climbing.

Yi "Shioon" Shi-Woon's everyday life at Nine Dragons High School—which consists of beatings from fellow student Ho Chang and his gang—is far from ideal. But one day, a mysterious man named Han Chun Woo spots one of these beatings and instead of offering support, brands Shioon a coward for refusing to fight back, adding insult to injury. To Shioon's surprise, he finds out that Chun Woo is the new substitute English teacher at his school. Tired of the daily abuse, Shioon decides to enroll at a martial arts academy to learn how to defend himself. On the way there, he stumbles upon Chun Woo in a predicament—cornered in an alley by a group of angry men! Provoked, Chun Woo suddenly dispatches them using martial arts techniques, which Shioon covertly records. Later, he uses this recording to blackmail Chun Woo into teaching him to defend himself. Reluctantly, Chun Woo agrees, and Shioon is soon thrust into the world of martial arts, known as Murim. However, Shioon is naive and unaware of his master's shady past and the unseen underbelly of society. How will Chun Woo manage to teach Shioon and help him survive in the world of Murim?

Teru Kurebayashi is left all alone in the world after the death of her brother, Souichirou. Well, all alone except for "Daisy," someone that she can always talk to and who never hesitates to cheer her up. However, Teru has never met Daisy, she has no idea what he looks like, and her only means of contacting him is through a cell phone that her brother left for her. In stark contrast to the kind words and encouragement Teru receives from Daisy, she gets nothing but grief from the rude school janitor, Tasuku Kurosaki, who forced Teru to work for him after she accidentally broke a window. But while Kurosaki seems like a lazy good-for-nothing who only enjoys making her miserable, is there more to him than meets the eye?Included one-shot: Volume 16: Hetakuso Cupid (The Hopeless Cupid)

Rei Kiriyama is an extraordinary shogi player. Among the few elites to have gone professional as a middle school student, he is considered a genius. But what lies behind his prodigious facade is a teenage boy who suffers immense pressure from both his family and from the high expectations from the shogi community. Rei moves out to live a more independent life away from his family, but his unorganized lifestyle and unsociable personality show no signs of improvement. However, in a twist of fate that will prove to be a turning point in his life, Rei encounters the Kawamoto sisters—the motherly Akari, the passionate Hinata, and the energetic Momo—who take great care of him. 3-gatsu no Lion tells the story of Rei as he reshapes his melancholic life and picks up the courage to begin facing the problems he evaded during his past.

Always deemed inferior to her elder sister, the strong-willed yet aimless Chihaya Ayase has no dream of her own. In contrast to her, Taichi Mashima, the son of a surgeon, is gifted yet insecure as he is burdened by the heavy expectations of his strict mother, who wants him to be perfect in everything. However, the lives of Chihaya and Taichi soon change as they encounter Arata Wataya, the new transfer student in their class. Inspired by Arata's dream to become the best at competitive karuta—a card game based on the classic anthology of one hundred Japanese poets—Chihaya quickly falls in love with the game. Refusing to lose to the talented Arata, the prideful Taichi joins along and immerses himself in the game, aiming to one day surpass his fated rival. The three friends spend their childhood practicing karuta everyday, until certain circumstances force them to part with each other. A few years later, now in high school, the trio finds themselves reunited through the world of competitive karuta. Alongside their newfound comrades and rivals, they embark on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and romance.

Tsubaki is a girl who loves making her younger sister's hair pretty every morning, but she doesn't think that kind of style suits herself! On the day of her High School Opening Ceremony, after she failed to be the top student (who usually makes the ceremony speech), she finds herself sitting next to the actual top student of the 1st years, the worst rude guy ever, Kyouta. Because of his saying bad things to her she purposely cuts his hair. Kyota requests that Tsubaki pay him back "with her body" but Tsubaki pays him back by fixing his hair and making it even shorter! Afterwards, Kyota unexpectedly kisses Tsubaki and swears he'll make her his woman.

For as long as he can remember, Tomoki Sakurai has woken up crying to the same dream: an angel he has never met disappearing into the skies, saying, "The sky has captured me." But one day, the dream is different. Now, the angel descends from the skies, desperately asking Tomoki for his help. After falling asleep in class, his childhood friend Sohara Mitsuki, wakes him up and notices the tears in his eyes. Worried, she has him consult Eishirou Sugata, their eccentric upperclassman who is obsessed with "The New Continent"—a flying anomaly whose existence no-one can explain. With the anomaly set to pass over their town, Sugata decides the trio should meet up at midnight in a bid to solve Tomoki's dream as well as gather more information on The New Continent. Being the only one who showed up, Tomoki is about to leave when an angeloid falls from the sky and binds herself to him, declaring him her master. Shortly after, Sohara forces him to join the New Continent Discovery Club, whose sole member is Sugata. Together, they work to uncover the secrets behind The New Continent, angeloids, and the girl behind his dreams—but what they discover may be much more sinister than what anyone expected...

Somewhere in Vladivostok, Russia, a deal has been successfully completed. Danger looms over the horizon; a deadly virus—capable of killing within three hours of infection—has now fallen into the hands of a mysterious woman named Maya. Enter Fujimaru Takagi, a seemingly ordinary student at Mishiro Academy in Japan. However, very few know that he was famed for exposing crimes and corruption of high-profile individuals with his brilliant hacking powers—the infamous "Falcon" who had abruptly vanished from the cyberworld. Only members of Third-I, a top-secret division of the Public Security Intelligence Agency led by Fujimaru's father, Ryunosuke, and his friend Otoya Kujou know of his past. When a KGB agent is murdered in Japan, the only clue to his death is a memory chip found at the scene of the crime. Fujimaru is recruited by Third-I to decode the chip, which contains a video file of an event called the "Christmas Massacre." Investigating the incident further, Fujimaru's father uncovers more information about the homicide and a mysterious code, "Bloody Monday," before being framed for the murder of his superior. Now, it is up to the hacker Fujimaru to utilize his expertise to help Third-I prevent the spread of terror and destruction in Japan, while attempting to clear his father's name.

"A big brother must always stay ahead of his younger brother. That is my responsibility as the older sibling"—these are the words that have always motivated Mutta Nanba to try his best when it came to his younger brother, Hibito. So naturally, in the summer of 2006 when the Nanba brothers witness something strange in the night sky, Hibito declared that he would become an astronaut and travel to the Moon, while Mutta countered with the affirmation that he would go to Mars. That was the promise they made to each other. Now in 2025, while Hibito is working with NASA and preparing to become the first Japanese to land on the moon, Mutta has been fired from his job in an automotive development company. Having difficulty finding another job, Mutta is given a lifetime opportunity when he receives a letter from JAXA—the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—telling him that he has been accepted to participate in the next astronaut selection. As if fate has given him a chance to fulfill the promise he made all those years ago, Mutta undertakes the difficult challenge of going to space.

Losing their parents, Fumino and her brother hop from one relative to another. Getting tired of all those movings, she finally decides to quit school and work to support her brother on her own. As they sat on a park bench, her teacher appears in front of her and agrees to her demanding of marrying and supporting both her and her brother!! Is he serious or just playing around...!?Included one-shot: Volume 1: Tsuki to Himawari (Moon and Sunflower)

Every year, the Ushiromiya family attends a gathering held by the eccentric family head, Kinzou, on the island of Rokkenjima. As his health is failing, most of the family believe he doesn't have much time left. So as a typhoon rages on outside, so too does the storm in their hearts as they squabble amongst themselves over the inheritance and the claim of being Kinzou's rightful heir. Battler, Kinzou's grandson, has returned to Rokkenjima after a six year absence, expecting the gathering to go smoothly. However, his eccentric grandfather has other plans; he enacts a bizarre game, challenging everyone to find his hidden gold. The one who finds it also receives the most coveted reward of all: the leadership of the family. However, their game is beset with violence and murder when the participants are used as "sacrifices" to revive the Millennial Witch of Rokkenjima, Beatrice. Ever the skeptic, Battler doesn't believe in the occult. But when so many around him turn up dead, he is forced to question whether it was the work of magic or the machinations of someone among them.

Kaimei High School is full of eccentric individuals, students, and teachers alike. Amongst the school's many clubs is the SKET Brigade, officially known as the Living Assistance Club. Comprised of the somewhat idiotic Yuusuke "Bossun" Fujisaki, the gallant Hime "Himeko" Onizuka, and the silent but surprisingly popular Kazuyoshi "Switch" Usui, the SKET Brigade is dedicated to solving various problems on campus. However, the club rarely receives requests, so the members spend most of their time messing around with random, trivial matters. Both hilarious and heartwarming, SKET Dance is a lighthearted comedy following the daily high school lives of an odd trio of friends.

Constantly transferring schools since childhood, Kaoru Nishimi has always been seen as a social outcast when he transfers due to his intellectual nature and wealthy background. But after moving to Kyushu for his first year of high school, things begin to change. Kaoru befriends the class president, Ritsuko Mukae, and, unexpectedly, the notorious school delinquent, Sentarou Kawabuchi. While Kaoru is an honors student, Sentarou is constantly getting into fights and skipping class. However, these two opposites find a common ground in one thing—music. One day, Kaoru is invited by Ritsuko to visit her family's record store, where he finds Sentarou in the basement showcasing his skill in jazz drumming. Kaoru, being a classical pianist, knows nothing about jazz. But inspired by the performance, he begins to open his mind to the genre alongside Sentarou. The duo begin to practice in after-school jazz sessions in the record store's basement. As he spends more time improving his skills in jazz, Kaoru finds a person whom he can truly call his friend and comes to learn the joys of playing music.

Sumika Murasame is not a cute girl. Nicknamed "Violence Murasame" by her peers, the tall and imposing Sumika shows little signs of femininity. And unfortunately for Sumika, her best friend and crush, Ushio Kazama, only likes cute girls. Ushio loves to gush about her endless crushes, completely oblivious to Sumika's feelings. During their first year of high school, Sumika and Ushio encounter Tomoe Hachisuka and Miyako Tamae, two other girls of a similar orientation. Desiring to start a club for "girl-loving girls," the group attempts to find a fifth member and get their club approved. Though Sumika has some reservations about the purpose of the club, she recognizes this as an opportunity to get closer to Ushio and resolve her unrequited love.Included one-shot: Volume 6: Kamisama to Dance

L Change the WorLd is a sequel to the Death Note movie based on the popular anime. This movie is entirely dedicated to L, and his last 23 days on Earth after having caught Kira. This is a novel version of that movie and contains many events that do not take place in the film.

Soah is a girl from a small village. The Water God is upset and so a long drought has been devastating the village people. In order to appease the god, they marry Soah off to him by sacrificing her to the Water God in exchange for rain. The Water God rescues her to his Water Kingdom, where her new life begins. For Soah, this is a story of her faith...her life...her love...

Nagisa Yamada is a cold and withdrawn middle schooler living in a rural town in the countryside. Her mother works part-time jobs in her late father's stead to support Nagisa and her brother Tomohiko, who is a "hikikomori"—someone who is also extremely reclusive. Nagisa aspires to be a soldier for the Self Defense Force to finance both her and her family's needs. One fateful day, a transfer student by the name of Mokuzu Umino transfers into her school. She immediately garners the classes' attention for being the daughter of a renowned singer and her cute appearance. Claiming to be a mermaid, she seeks out Nagisa, the only person who seemingly harbors no interest toward her. Mokuzu declares that a storm is coming, and she wants Nagisa to be her precious friend. Otherwise, when the storm comes, Mokuzu will go back to the sea, turn into foam, and disappear. Satougashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai: A Lollypop or A Bullet follows Nagisa and Mokuzu, as the pair bond over real-life issues in hopes of a better world.

The long-lasting war between the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms is unbearable. So the northern Prince Johane and the southern Princess Euda decide to tell everyone they are in love, because their marriage can stop the war. But the truth is they don't get along at all!

For his twentieth birthday, Shizuka chooses to go to a hot springs alone. To his surprise, he also ends up seeing his first naked woman... a passed out drunk girl. Soon afterward he enters college, and his friend from high school convinces him to join the female dominated travel and hot springs club. Amazingly, the girl he saw naked, Ruka, is also a member of the club! Now he must interact with his club more or less normally, and pretend he doesn't imagine Ruka naked every time he sees her. He is determined that his embarrassing secret never be made public!Included one-shots: Volume 5: Katakoi Volume 10: Toori no Kado wo Magaru made

On the surface, SEES—the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—is a completely normal club at Gekkoukan High School. In reality, they are a group of students who investigate a phenomenon known as the "Dark Hour" and eliminate beings known as "Shadows." Only select individuals with "potential" can remember the occurrence of the Dark Hour while others will "transmogrify" into coffins and become susceptible to Apathy Syndrome—a condition that puts its victims in a trance-like state and causes them to lose their will to live. Transfer student Minato Arisato is one such individual who can remember the events that occur during the Dark Hour, even though he is not aware of his ability. The moment he arrives at the school, he meets a mysterious person who asks him to sign a contract saying he will take responsibility for his own actions. Afterward, he is confronted by the members of SEES, who place him under secret surveillance because they believe he possesses a potential far greater than any of the other members. One night, Minato is abruptly awakened by Yukari Takeba when a Shadow comes to attack their dormitory during the Dark Hour. Feeling compelled to fight the Shadow, he picks up Yukari's gun but, instead of shooting the Shadow, he turns it on himself, awakening his "Persona." Equipped with his newfound powers, Minato joins SEES to uncover the mystery behind the mysterious phenomenon.

East Tokyo United has been struggling in Japan's top football league for a few years. In an effort to improve their performance, ETU hires a new coach, the slightly eccentric Tatsumi Takeshi. Tatsumi was once a star player on ETU before abandoning the team, but has proven himself as manager of an English amateur team. The task won't be easy as the teams pitted against ETU have bigger budgets and better players. However, Tatsumi is an expert at Giant Killing.

Mika Tahara wants nothing more out of her high school experience than to have a fleeting romance. But while her friends have quickly matured at the start of the new school year, Mika's childish demeanor does not appeal to any of the boys in her grade. Just as her enthusiasm falters, the naive girl crosses paths with Hiroki "Hiro" Sakurai—one of the school's delinquents. Though Hiro is rough around the edges, Mika soon falls head over heels for him, and the two start dating. While the relationship seems like everything Mika imagined it would be, jealousy, deceit, violence, and tragedy threaten to tear the two teenagers apart. As they work through these new struggles alongside the volatility of young love, Mika and Hiro find they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

Two years after his memorable school trip, Kakeru Kurosawa decides to visit Osaka once again with his former companions. Among this crew are the often-bullied Pizza-tan, the cheerful otaku Keiji Nagaoka, the energetic bookworm Magister Takigawa, and the timid Aya Kitahara—the main source of Kurosawa's troubles during their time in school. The trip is off to a rocky start as Kurosawa is berated by his girlfriend for not inviting her along with the group. Coupled with drama between Keiji and Takigawa and a tense ferris wheel ride shared by Kitahara and Pizza-tan, the gathering quickly becomes more and more uneasy. Though these longtime friends reunited to rekindle their old bonds, the strains in their relationship threaten to end their meeting in total disaster.

Ryo Aihara, a shy girl who has trouble holding conversations, is the only one at her school without a cell phone. With no friends to text or call, she convinces herself that owning one is pointless. However, with a strong desire for a cell phone, she envisions an ideal one to every detail. Despite it being a made-up device, Aihara receives a call and realizes that she is the only one who hears the ringtone. Apprehensive but curious, she answers the call and hears a high school boy on the other end of the line. He introduces himself as Shinya Nozaki and claims that he is also using a phone in his head. The bizarre circumstance leads to the development of a close friendship between Aihara and Nozaki, one in which they can confide in each other.Note: Tsuzuki Setsuri also did a manga based on the same novel.

1940s Hiroshima. Suzu, a young bride, leaves her home to join her new husband, a member of the Japanese navy, at a military base in the port city of Kure. Confronted with the challenges of a new life, Suzu must also come to grips with a world at war and her beautiful home collapsing around her. Unwilling to give up hope, Suzu holds on to happiness to persevere through the trials of war.

Ilegenes—an island globally recognized for its innovation in science and technology—has monopolized the world of genetic engineering. Behind closed doors, the country invests its resources in the black market, proliferating a breeding ground for cloning and illegal profiting. Due to Ilegenes' fall from grace and unrepentant nature, the island is notoriously nicknamed after a notable research project, the "Genetic Sodom." Fon Fortinbras Littenber, a diligent student representative of Ilegenes Military Academy, is the adopted son of Doctor Michael Littenber, a well-known expert in brain research and the founder of the Genetic Sodom. Due to his parents' dreadful death, Fon seeks to avenge them by annihilating the black market. Although he desires an uninterrupted life in school, he grows close to his roommate Jacques "Jake" Berne—an outgoing 22-year-old man who holds suspicions of Fon's character. As they carry on with school, Fon must find a way to survive his academic environment while remaining true to a vow he made long ago.

Manga adaptation of the visual novel Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life. Can be taken as what happens after the Tomoyo route from the Clannad game, with Tomoyo and Tomoya being a pair.

Towako, an ojousama (daughter of a high class family), will be turning 18 years old soon. When she was very young, she was told that on this 18th birthday she is to marry the young man who was born on the same day, the same time, and the same year as she was. However, during their first meeting, Yuuga was incredibly mean to her! What's Towako to do when her husband-to-be is the shy and cool type of guy?

Rikitaro is a musician whose dream is to become a rock star just like Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison, but at the age of 27 that dream is fading away rapidly. Ooishi is a 3 time world boxing champion who recently retired and is now in the entertainment world, shooting a boxing reality show. These two unlikeliest of people cross paths one day but both of them think nothing of it until weeks later. Rikitaro is given one last shot by a record label to sign a deal but before that, they need him to get into better shape so that he is easier to sell. He stumbles upon a boxing gym which also happens to be the same gym Ooishi is filming his show. As fate’s wheels start to turn, neither man realizes that they will work together to train the best boxer ever, even better than Ooishi himself.

Ukai Zero saves three troubled teens from a Suicide Website, and together chooses to work as 'Robin Hoods' of society. However, one of Zero's friends are caught by an organization he got in trouble with, and Zero is forced to enter a gambling competition hosted by a rich, rotten old man who is looking for talented gamblers to be his rep player. The reward money? ONE TRILLION YEN.

Hotate is a 10 year old girl who was living at her grandmother's house since her mother died. One day her grandmother tells Hotate that she can't care for her anymore because of her age and that she's going to have to live at her uncle's house. After moving to her uncle's house, she attends a new school, but things aren't easy because of her special ability to see the dead. Can she make friends with students in her new class? And what's the secret behind the bond between her and her uncle...?!Included one-shot: Volume 3: Aishite Nai

Novel adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's Byousoku 5 Centimeter anime. A tale of two people, Toono Takaki and Shinohara Akari, who were close friends but gradually grow farther and farther apart as time moves on. They become separated because of their families yet continue to exchange contact in the form of letters. Yet as time continues to trudge on, their contact with one another begins to cease. Years pass and the rift between them grows ever larger. However, Takaki remembers the times they have shared together, but as life continues to unfold for him, he wonders if he would be given the chance to meet Akari again as the tale embarks on Takaki's realization of the world and people around him.

Among the quiet villages and towns of 18th century Europe, demons known as the Ill hide within the most beautiful works of art, sparked to life by the torment of their creators. Attracted by their jewel-like allure, the unwary find themselves possessed by the Ill and driven to horrific acts of violence. Only the hunters of the Ciste Vihad can dispel the Ill. March is one such hunter, tracking the Ill from town to town to find the antiques that contain the demons before they can possess anyone. If the worst has come to pass, March's full powers are unleashed to battle the fiendish Ill. Born of tragedy, the artifacts all have their own tales to tell, as do each of their victims. But March's story may be the most tragic of all.

"Geass" is a supernatural ability bestowed upon people who are worthy of its use. Its exact effect depends on its user's desires, but those who command it wield devastating power. In the far away land of Area 11, formerly known as Japan, the astute 17-year-old student Lelouch Lamperouge is granted his own Geass by the mysterious woman C.C., which gives him the absolute obedience of those it is used upon. With this, Lelouch vows to destroy the only world superpower—the Holy Britannian Empire—under the guise of the revolutionary freedom-fighter Zero, to exact vengeance on those who ruined him and his family.

In Muv-Luv Alternative, Takeru wakes up three years after the end of Muv-Luv Unlimited to find himself back in his room. Although he first thinks that everything that had happened to him was a dream, he soon feels that something is wrong, and leaves the house to find that he has been sent back in time to the beginning of the events in Unlimited. Unwilling to accept something like Alternative V, he decides to help professor Kouzuki to complete Alternative IV and save mankind.

Andou is a high-schooler who possesses the ability to force others to vocalize his thoughts—an ability similar to ventriloquism. Inukai is young man shrouded in mystery who commands the vigilante group, Grass Hopper, which appeared in a city shaken by the downtown restoration program. This is a tale of courage, resolution… and confrontation; this is a depiction of the two boys' encounter.

Narumi is an assistant to detective Alice, a NEET teenage girl who stays in her pajamas and operates within her bedroom. She uses her vast network of people and the internet to solve cases. Will Alice be able to solve them in her PJs?

Ever more uncompromising in the face of injustice, Kiichi has become a star. Known around the world for shaking the Japanese establishment, he doesn't intend to stop there. Now at the head of a big company, between school of thought and mafia, whose members number in the thousands, he wants once again to get the population moving, even if it means provoking the powerful of the country!

The second CLANNAD manga adaptation, serialized in Comi Digi+ starting June 21, 2007.

After recently moving to the rural village called Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi joins a club and makes new friends. He soon learns about the village's dark secret, Oyashiro-sama's curse, where one person dies, and one person disappears every year, and he also learns that his friends might be behind it...

The story revolves around a 16 years old boy called Nao, which is son of a music critic and has a hobby of fixing machines. On a visit to a junkyard he meets a girl which is supposed to be a piano prodigy, to their surprise, she transfers to his school and enters his life. On top of it, he has a strange senpai and his childhood friend who want him to join their band...

1. Gokusen 2008 2-4. Gokusen Kanketsu-hen 5. Gokusen Bangai-hen: Ucchi & Shiori Kyoufu no Ippaku Ryokou!! 6. Gokusen Bangai-hen: Hontou ni Attara Kowai Hanashi Gekijou

After the events of Subaru, the ballet dancer Miyamoto Subaru works in a German ballet company. However, after using pneumonia as an excuse to cancel at the last minute on her company's tour of Japan, she is forced to accept the damage she has done to her professional career. As she struggles with her sense of self-worth, she meets Nico, an amazing, handicapped ballet dancer. Nico lost his vision, in addition to his ballet partner and lover, in a tragic accident. Will Subaru be able to reach out to him, and help him to once again dance with a partner? In doing so, will she be able to find her own place in this world?

By this chapter, the reader should have an overall idea of how life in Hinamizawa is like. Once again, this chapter begins innocently, with the Watanagashi Festival again marking the start of the sinister events in Hinamizawa. An ancient curse strikes, and a pair of sisters are not what they seem. Shion Sonozaki makes her first appearance in this chapter, while Mion Sonozaki is portrayed as the villain.

In Tatarigoroshi-hen, Keiichi and Satoko develop a brother-sister relationship so when Satoko's abusive uncle returns to Hinamizawa, Keiichi attempts to help Satoko with drastic measures. However, as more and more people die, it is clear he is not the only one involved. This time, the spotlight shines on Satoko Houjou as being the "victim". Keiichi Maebara's passion to protect Satoko turns him into an unknowing villain in this chapter.