Best Fantasy Manga of 1999

Whenever Naruto Uzumaki proclaims that he will someday become the Hokage—a title bestowed upon the best ninja in the Village Hidden in the Leaves—no one takes him seriously. Since birth, Naruto has been shunned and ridiculed by his fellow villagers. But their contempt isn't because Naruto is loud-mouthed, mischievous, or because of his ineptitude in the ninja arts, but because there is a demon inside him. Prior to Naruto's birth, the powerful and deadly Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village. In order to stop the rampage, the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside the body of the newborn Naruto. And so when he is assigned to Team 7—along with his new teammates Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, under the mentorship of veteran ninja Kakashi Hatake—Naruto is forced to work together with other people for the first time in his life. Through undergoing vigorous training and taking on challenging missions, Naruto must learn what it means to work in a team and carve his own route toward becoming a full-fledged ninja recognized by his village.

Mushi: the most basic forms of life in the world. They exist without any goals or purposes aside from simply "being." They are beyond the shackles of the words good and evil. Mushi can exist in countless forms and are capable of mimicking things from the natural world such as plants, diseases, and even phenomena like rainbows. This is, however, just a vague definition of these entities that inhabit the vibrant world, as to even call them a form of life would be an oversimplification. Detailed information on mushi is scarce because the majority of humans are unaware of their existence. So what are mushi and why do they exist? This is the question that a Mushishi, Ginko, ponders constantly. Mushishi are those who research mushi in hopes of understanding their place in the world's hierarchy of life. Ginko relentlessly chases rumors of occurrences that could be tied to mushi, all for the sake of finding an answer. It could, after all, lead to the meaning of life itself.

Fifty years ago, the wielders of the sacred Rave stones fought against an onslaught caused by demon stones called Dark Bring. This war resulted in an explosion known as "Overdrive"—a blast so powerful that it sent the Dark Bring into a deep slumber and scattered the pieces of Rave across the world. In the present, Haru Glory lives a peaceful life on Garage Island until one day, he catches the creature Plue while fishing. Plue is later recognized by Shiba Roses, an old man who happens to be the original Rave Master. Shiba explains that the Dark Bring has resurfaced, and that to stop it, assembling the scattered parts of Rave is of utmost urgency. However, before Shiba can leave on this mission, he is attacked by a soldier from the evil organization Demon Card, forcing him to transfer the power of Rave to Haru. With the fate of humankind resting on his shoulders, the new Rave Master begins his quest to find the scattered Rave fragments.

+Anima are rare and mysterious human-like beings capable of transforming their body into the form of an animal, but they are ostracised from society by humans. Cooro, a young orphaned +Anima with the abilities of a crow, struggles to find acceptance and belonging. Having been found on a church altar as a baby, he knows little of his origins and his species despite the poor reputation they receive. Thus, he resolves to search for more of his kind. Together with his newfound companions—Husky, Nana Alba, and Senri—Cooro embarks on a quest to meet other outcasts and discover their place in an unforgiving world. As the bond between the four +Anima grows to become unbreakable throughout their travels, a sense of adventure seems everlasting. However, the group soon realizes that finding somewhere to belong might prove more challenging than previously anticipated. +Anima follows the hardships and adventures of Cooro and his friends as they learn of the difficulties and prejudice experienced by their kin.

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.

500 years before the story of Saiyuki, a heretic child with golden eyes is brought into Heaven. He is given into the reluctant care of a minor deity named Konzen, the nephew of the Merciful Goddess Kanzeon Bosatsu. Konzen eventually gives the child the name "Goku." Goku becomes friends with two other minor gods, Marshal Tenpou and General Kenren of the Western Army of Heaven. He also meets a strange little boy who seems to be his own age, the War Prince Nataku. Although Goku is happy in his new home, Heaven is not kind to heretics. There are those who would use Nataku and Goku as tools in an attempt to seize the throne of Heaven, and Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren may not be able to save them.

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.

High school student Moon Bin Lee has difficulty sleeping due to a recurring nightmare: he's stranded over a thousand years in the past chasing a dark-haired girl into a deep abyss. Before long, the nightmare overwhelms him, and he is unable to tell whether he is Moon Bin, a Seoul teenager at the end of the second Millennium, or Sa Kyoung Kim, the son of a prominent warrior family in the middle of the first Millennium. People in his present-day life assume roles in his historical life as he struggles to learn exactly who he is and what he's expected to do, straddling a transmigratory portal through time and space. In the present, his school's kendo club battles to stay in the championships...but in the past, Moon Bin finds himself at the threshold of a territorial dispute on the plains of Mongolia ...

Based on the Super Famicom strategy game, Fire Emblem 4 features the son of Lord Byron of Chalphy, Lord Sigurd. Bandits from Verdane made an attack while Grandbell's armies were away, and now Sigurd rallies the remaining forces to drive the bandits out so he can save his friend, Edin... Little does he know what he leads himself into will lead into a tragic turn of events in the face of Grandbell.