Card Captor Sakura Card Captor Sakura (カードキャプターさくら) is a magical girl story about a 10 year old girl Kinomoto Sakura who has to use magic to collect cards, which have escaped from a magical book. The cards can take the form of various objects, and some of them are very powerful. Unless Sakura can gather all of these cards, there will be a catastrophe in this world. But Sakura has the help of the guardian of the cards Kerberos (Kero-chan) and her best friend Daidouji Tomoyo. The original story is a manga by CLAMP, which ran in the monthly magazine Nakayoshi.
Yotsuba&! (Literal Definition: Four Leaf To) One new manga that I read on my road trip was Yotsuba&!, by Kyohiko Azuma, the author of the funny four panel manga Azumanga Daioh. Yotsuba is a girl who is so clueless and/or innocent about the world around her that when she encounters everyday objects like a swing or an air conditioner, she misinterprets everything. In the first volume Yotsuba moves to a new neighborhood with her father and gets accustomed to her new surroundings. I was laughing out loud several times while reading this manga. I thought it was much funnier than Azumanga Daioh, and the characters are charming.	Ranma 1/2 So why do I love this manga? Is it Ranma's father who turns into a *gigantic* panda when he gets wet? Is it poor Ryoga wandering around lost for all eternity? Or maybe it's just that half the cast is in love with the other? Throw in a bunch of martial arts action (Ranma has to suffer through such fine sports as 'Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics', 'Martial Arts Chinese Restaurant Takeout', & 'Martial Arts Figure Skating') with an already zany story...how could it get any better?
	Full Metal Alchemist Imagine a world in which Alchemy is not only possible, but used frequently. Alchemy, though, is a science, and with all sciences there are laws that must be followed. Welcome to the anime, Full Metal Alchemist. The story begins about two brothers, Alphonse (left) and Edward (right) Elric. Ever since they were young they had practiced the science of alchemy. You follow their journey of being alchemists and their quest to regain that which they have lost. Their father was a well recognized alchemist, which is probably where their knack for it comes from. However, when they were young their father left, and they remained in the care of their mother. One day their mother died, and in their innocence and ignorance, they attempted what was forbidden, human alchemy. What happened next, they were obviously not prepared for, and in the aftermath the brothers lost more than just their mother. In the freak accident Alphonse loses his body, and in a moment of panic Edward ties his brother's soul to a piece of armor. Edward himself loses an arm and a leg, a costly reminder of what has happend. The story begins and details the brother's journey to find a alchemy amplifier so that they may return to their normal bodies.