What is Shonen Sunday?  Shonen Sunday is one of the largest weekly manga magazines in Japan.  Containing some of the latest and hottest boys' manga series in Japan, Sunday has hosted such notables as RANMA 1/2 and the currently popular MEITANTEI CONAN.

Selected news from this issue:

A new series begins in this issue: TUXEDO GIN, by Matsuura Tokihiko (who previously worked on the series WARP BOY). More information is below!

Selected Overview Tuxedo Gin Matsuura Tokihiko This new series begins Issue 15 with several pages of splashy full color, and launches into 47 pages of fast-paced events. Overview of Episode One: Our hero is riding his motorcycle down the road and nearly crashes into a young woman who has darted out after a cat. Luckily for both of them, our hero is struck by how cute she is, and consequently loses control of his bike and crashes.  Both come out safely, except that our hero has fallen instantly in love with the young woman. "Our hero" is Kusanagi Ginji, a young man about to launch his pro boxing career.  Normally tough as nails, his one weakness is women, around whom he's shy and clumsy.  With his friend Kondou Musashi's help, he manages to set up a date with the young woman he nearly ran over:  Sasebo Minako.  They are to meet the next day at the Aquarium, because Minako loves penguins. Unfortunately, Ginji does not realize that some local troublemakers are out to get revenge on him and Musashi as a result of a previous fight.  That night, Ginji's pro boxing debut ends successfully with a knockout in the first 25 seconds (in the name of love).  As he heads home on his motorcycle, however, he encounters a man who throws a bagful of pachinko balls.  Ginji finds himself hurtling over the side of a bridge. He wakes up to find himself floating over his body, replete with halo and wings.  A squat Buddhist priest spirit (also with Western-style halo and wings), offers him one chance to get back.  Since his body is alive, but his connection to it is cut, Ginji must use an esoteric process to get back to his body: he must reincarnate as some kind of animal and live through its life; only then would he be able to return to his own body. The next morning, Ginji, while still waffling about what animal to become, sees Minako, sitting on a bench where they were supposed to meet, crying.  But Ginji is inspired now and requests his new animal incarnation.  He wakes up in a cramped, uncomfortable darkness.  Enraged, he bursts out of his confines -- and discovers he is a newly hatched penguin chick. Readers familiar with such stories as NOSIDE, YUU YUU HAKUSHO, and HISOKA RETURNS have seen similar set-ups before.  Our hero temporarily dies and, as he is informed by some sort of spirit helper, must eventually return to his body, but to do so he must first either travel around as a ghost, or must run around in someone else's body. Rarely, however, does our hero wind up as a penguin.  It will be interesting to see how Ginji and Minako's relationship develops.

Selected Brief Updates Inuyasha Takahashi Rumiko Overview: Kagome is a seemingly normal student who finds herself in fifteenth or sixteenth century Japan, where she meets the strange boy Inuyasha.  Now, they are on a quest to retrieve the fragments of the Shikon no Tama, whose powers are sought by evil beings. This issue: Inuyasha's older brother, taking a black pearl from Inuyasha's right eye, has used the pearl to travel to a different space in order to take the sword Tetsusaiga from the giant skull of their demon-dog father.  But he cannot remove the sword, thanks to a magical barrier. Inuyasha and Kagome arrive, but Inuyasha cannot remove the sword, either, even though the barrier does not affect him. While Inuyasha and his brother fight, Kagome accidentally pulls up the sword herself.

Me Gumi no Daigo Soda Masahito Overview: Asahina Daigo is a young firefighter with the "Me" Company, who has an unusual ability to find and rescue people in danger. This issue: Daigo has "snapped"; disobeying every rule in the book, he has used a pump truck to ram through the side of the burning meeting hall.  He reaches the passed out members of the Rescue Team, and begins hauling them back.  Other firefighters enter the building and help bring the victims out.  Gomi orders Daigo to leave the premises immediately.  Later, as Daigo waits at the hospital to hear whether the Rescue Team members will survive, a coworker of his mulls over the situation:  Daigo cannot possibly pass the Rescue Team written entrance exam since he does not know or go by the book; he "snaps" unpredictably; he's unfit to be a firefighter --- and yet, without him, the fire's victims would have died.  In the end, all the firefighter can think is, "I can't tell what's right and wrong any more!"

Love Ishiwata Osamu Overview: Takagi Ai ("Love") is a girl who, in a bid to have a rematch with her old tennis rival, has entered a high school tennis club disguised as a boy. This issue: Love and company receive sudden and unexpected bad news: Sazanami, in challenging a fellow Wimbledon hopeful, has knocked himself unconscious at an impromptu tennis match.  Sazanami's teammates react with shock, recollecting how, although Sazanami is (they say) a real obnoxious jerk, he has helped them to become the strong tennis players they are now.  Later, they learn that his injuries are serious enough to keep him off the Inter High School competitions.  This leaves Love the new position of having to compete in the "group competitions".

Grooming Up! Yuki Masami Overview: Although originally a city boy, young Kuze Shunpei has taken to working as a farm hand at the Watarai racing horse breeding farm; he also has taken to Watarai Hibiki, one of the Watarai daughters. This issue: Shunpei, Hibiki, and other Watarai farm hands watch Strike Eagle's race.  For some reason, Strike Eagle insists on running on the outside edge of the track, irritating his jockey.  Strike Eagle loses; he comes in second, after Aero Force. But shortly after the race, Strike Eagle's jockey is unexpectedly informed that he should go to the winner's circle.

Ghost Sweeper Mikami Gokuraku Daisakusen!! Shiina Takashi Overview: Mikami Reiko is a money-hungry, gorgeous female ghost buster, aided by her sex-starved and underpaid male assistant Yokoshima Tadao, as well as kind and gentle female ex-ghost O-kinu. This issue: Mikami, Yokoshima, and the daughter of the visiting royalty (Karat) visit the framed Seijyou in prison.  Unfortunately, since Yokoshima is also a wanted criminal, they are quickly recognized.  With the help of Karat's spirit beast, now under Mikami's control, all four escape.  Mikami, riding on Karat's spirit beast, instructs O-kinu to go burn the records of Mikami's tax evasion, and soon thereafter is attacked by fighter jets.  O-kinu, meanwhile, in going to Mikami's offices, discovers a strange bag.  As she opens it and discovers masks of Yokoshima and Seijyou, a figure behind her makes ready to strangle her with wire.

Major Mitsuda Takuya Overview: It has been 4 years since Honda Goro put together the Mifune Little League.  Now in junior high school, he is reunited with his old friends and is faced with a new baseball crisis. This issue: Honda has gone to confront Yamane, who seems intent on destroying the baseball club of the school.  Meanwhile, Komori and his friend find out what demons of the past are tormenting Yamane.  Yamane himself experiences a flashback to the past, in which other students had purposefully slammed a door on his elbow.  Even as Honda finds Yamane and prepares to fight him, Komori, Oobayashi, Sawamura and Shimizu are racing to go stop him.