Anime: Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki

One of Miyazaki Hayao's masterpieces, Spirited Away is a title everyone who loves Studio Ghibli should know. I know that this is a film, but it is an anime overall, so I'm going to be rewatching all the ones I have access to. This is unfortunately not one of the one that has a manga series accompanying it, like Nausicaa does. This Miyazaki film is a coming of age featuring Chihiro, a young 10 year old girl, who's family is moving to a different town. While this happens she somehow gets involved with the Spirit World. I know that most people have watched the film before but I will still put a spoiler warning just in case.

Manga: Red River by Chie Shinohara

One of my absolute favorite series makes its debut on my blog, Red River by Shinohara Chie! I cannot stress enough how much I love this manga. The series had a long run, ending with 28 volumes. It is a historical fiction manga dating back to the B.C. era in the Hittite Empire during King Suppiluliuma’s rule, really near the end of his rule. Many of the events that happen within the manga are actual events that was recorded in history, which I personally think is amazing. This manga, I believe, is the first of its kind. I have never see another manga to use this time period in this location, most mangaka write about Japanese history due to the fact that it’s what they know. You don’t normally get to read western history in manga unless it’s about Egypt, but this is not a story centered around Egypt, it is about the Hittite Empire during the peak of its reign.