.hack//G.U.

English Title: .hack//G.U.
Japanese Title: .hack//G.U.
Author: Tatsuya Hamazaki
Illustrator: Yuzuka Morita
Translator: Gemma Collinge
Genre: Sci-fi, Adventure, Fantasy
Original Run: 2007 – 2008
English Run: 2009 – 2011
Volumes: 4
English Publisher: Tokyopop
Volumes Published in English: 4 (COMPLETE)

MAL Entry — Forum

Synopsis: “The World” is a massively multiplayer online game played by more than twelve million people across the globe. Within this virtual world Haseo, a PK (Player Killer), continues an endless fight. Everything he does is for the sake of the girl Shino, who back in the real world, is hospitalized by an unexplained coma. However, on finally meeting with his sole lead, a PK called “Tri-Edge,” Haseo is dropped back to Level 1 by a mysterious power! Can Haseo save Shino now that he has lost all of his abilities? Tatsuya Hamazaki, writer of the scenario for the .hack//G.U. games, now turns his hand to its novelization!

: Vol 1 – The Terror of Death

: Vol 2 – Borderline MMO

: Vol 3 – Harald’s Archetype

: Vol 4 – 8-Dimensional Thoughts

Volume 1 – The Terror of Death
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Volume 2 – Borderline MMO
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Volume 3 – Harald’s Archetype
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Volume 4 – 8-Dimensional Thoughts
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Note on the .hack chronology:
.hack//AI Buster (light novels) → .hack//SIGN (anime) → PS2 video games (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine) → .hack//Another Birth (light novels) → .hack//ZERO (light novels) → .hack//Legend of the Twilight (manga) → .hack//Roots (anime) → PS2 video games (G.U. Rebirth, Reminisce, Redemption) → .hack//CELL (light novels) → .hack//Link (manga) → .hack//Quantum (anime)

More exhaustive explanations on the franchise can be found on TV Tropes and Wikipedia.

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Spice and Wolf

English Title: Spice and Wolf
Japanese Title: 狼と香辛料 — Oukami to Koushinryou — “Wolf and Spice”
Author: Isuna Hasekura
Illustrator: Juu Ayakura
Translator: Paul Starr
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Original Run: 2006 – 2011
English Run: 2010 – ongoing
Volumes: 17
English Publisher: Yen Press
Volumes Published in English: 17 (COMPLETE)
Average Price Per Volume: Paperback – $12

Synopsis: The life of a traveling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine—that is, until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail, Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of “Holo the Wisewolf” to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. What kind of businessman could turn down such an offer? Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a traveling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?

: Volume 1

: Volume 2

: Volume 3

: Volume 4

: Volume 5

: Volume 6

: Volume 7: Side Colors

: Volume 8: Town of Strife 1

: Volume 9: Town of Strife 2

: Volume 10

: Volume 11: Side Colors 2

: Volume 12

: Volume 13: Side Colors 3

: Volume 14

: Volume 15: Coin of the Sun 1

: Volume 16: Coin of the Sun 2

: Volume 17: Epilogue

Note: Some of the early volumes were originally released with a redesigned “live-action” cover. Later reprints as well as all subsequent volumes retained the original “manga-style” cover.

Volume 1
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Volume 2
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Volume 3
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Volume 4
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Volume 5
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Volume 6
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Volume 7 – Side Colors
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Volume 8 – The Town of Strife (Part 1)
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Volume 9 – The Town of Strife (Part 2)
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Volume 10
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Volume 11 – Side Colors II
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Volume 12
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