Best Fantasy Manga of 2001

Alchemists are knowledgeable and naturally talented individuals who can manipulate and modify matter due to their art. Yet despite the wide range of possibilities, alchemy is not as all-powerful as most would believe. Human transmutation is strictly forbidden, and whoever attempts it risks severe consequences. Even so, siblings Edward and Alphonse Elric decide to ignore this great taboo and bring their mother back to life. Unfortunately, not only do they fail in resurrecting her, they also pay an extremely high price for their arrogance: Edward loses his left leg and Alphonse his entire body. Furthermore, Edward also gives up his right arm in order to seal his brother's soul into a suit of armor. Years later, the young alchemists travel across the country looking for the Philosopher's Stone, in the hopes of recovering their old bodies with its power. However, their quest for the fated stone also leads them to unravel far darker secrets than they could ever imagine.

It is the Middle Ages, and the remnants of mankind are plagued by paranoia and death. Spoken in fearful whispers, the word "Yoma" cuts a clear image into the minds of all: monstrous beings with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. But fear of their gruesome appetite is dwarfed by that of their ability to shapeshift and steal the memories of their last meal. Forever vulnerable to attack, humans live in unease, even among family. There are few means to kill a Yoma. The Organization, informally known as "Claymore," is humanity's only line of defense, dispatching half-human, half-Yoma female warriors to purify villages of Yoma. A lonely and dangerous existence, death for these warriors comes with each new assignment. What time is found between trying battles and long, arduous travels is spent in ever-intensifying struggle to resist their Yoma blood and maintain their humanity. Villagers, knowing of this, pay for their security reluctantly and have only loathsome regard for their protectors. Claymore follows the stoic and low-ranking member Clare in her daunting trek as she searches for personal vengeance. Along the way, she encounters many unexpected things about the world, from the camaraderie and hope held fast by her sisters-in-arms to the sinister truth behind the Claymore Organization.

At the tender age of 12, Mitsuki Kouyama has a sarcoma in her throat. Though this rare cancer can be cured by removing her vocal cords, Mitsuki refuses because of her desire to become a pop singer and keep her childhood promise to Eichi Sakurai, her first love who left for America. Unable to both heal and keep her voice, she allows her health to deteriorate, as she accepts her tragic fate. One day, while escaping the home of her music-hating grandmother to attend an audition, Mitsuki meets two shinigami, Takuto Kira and Meroko Yui. Realizing that Mitsuki can see them, Takuto and Meroko reveal to her that she will die in a year. Moved by her plight, Takuto allows Mitsuki the chance to pursue her dream by giving her the ability to transform into a healthy sixteen-year-old girl. After being chosen for a contract with Seed Records, Mitsuki makes her debut under the stage name Full Moon and chooses to pursue her dream music career before her life's end.Included one-shot: Volume 2: Ginyuu Meika

In Jushin, there once lived secret government agents called the amen osa (or angyō onshi in the Japanese version), who traveled the countryside in disguise. They were charged by the king with finding and punishing corrupt government officials, and bringing justice to the country's citizens.

Aoyagi Ritsuka is one troubled 6th grader. Two years ago, he mysteriously lost his memory and developed an alternate personality. His mother constantly berates (and occasionally beats) him, asking what happened to the "real" Ritsuka, and his only defender and friend, his older brother Seimei, was recently killed. Suddenly, Seimei's apparent "friend," Soubi, appears. Soubi tells him that Ritsuka's true name is "Loveless," and that Soubi was assigned by Seimei to take care of Ritsuka and protect him. Ritsuka soon gets sucked into a bizzare underground society where teams of people, a "Fighter Unit," and a "Sacrifice," battle using elaborate and beautifully-phrased spells. He seeks both acceptance of himself, and the answer to the mystery of who killed his brother and why.

Ikuto Touhouin is a 14-year-old boy, who had a fight with his father and ran away from home. He later boards a ship overseas, but a huge storm hits and sinks the ship. After spending a week drifting in the ocean, he arrives in an island, with the only exception that all the people there act like people from the Meiji era, and that they are all actually females! The girls were unable to come into contact with other people, let alone males, as there were whirlpools surrounding the island, making it impossible to leave. Now that these love-starved women finally come into contact with a male, what will happen now?

Asumi Kamogawa is a small, 14-year-old girl with a burning passion for the cosmos, especially the stars. Since her early childhood, she has been learning about space from a man she calls "Lion-san," a wise and friendly ghost wearing a giant lion head. Despite a rough family dynamic, Asumi decides to enroll in the Tokyo Space School. Asumi soon makes a group of friends at school: Shinnosuke Fuchuuya, Asumi's childhood friend with glasses and somewhat brutal honesty; Kei Oumi, a very friendly girl who was inspired by Neil Armstrong's pictures of the first lunar landing; Marika Ukita, an unsociable yet beautiful girl with some secrets of her own; and Shuu Suzuki, a bold yet intelligent boy with a very laidback outlook. Set in an alternate future where Japan's first man-made rocket crashed in 2010, Futatsu no Spica is a coming-of-age story revolving around these young high schoolers and their path toward the stars.

The background is in the distant future, a post-apocalyptic world after the destruction brought about by Armageddon. The war between humans (Terran) and vampires (Methuselah) continues, as a struggle between two factions: the Vatican and the New Human Empire. Yet, amidst the bloodshed and violence, many desire a peaceful co-existence between the two species. However, standing between them and this goal is the Rosenkreuz Orden, a group of vampire extremists who manipulate the two sides and pit them against each other. To combat them, the Vatican special operations group "AX," led by Cardinal Caterina, must use everything they have—even a vampire who preys on the blood of other vampires.

For those who suffer nightmares, help awaits at the Ginseikan Tea House, where patrons can order much more than just Darjeeling. Hiruko is a special kind of a private investigator. He's a dream eater. And he'll rid you of your darkest visions... for a price.

Hisako is saved by a beautiful wolf that turns into an even more beautiful man...but can a relationship like this work!? The continuation of the story of Hisako and Yato seen in Kindan no Koi wo Shiyou and Zoku Kindan no Koi wo Shiyou!