The year is 20XX, and Shinichi Kanou is a pretty typical otaku: he loves anime, manga, games, and light novels, but his devotion to the two-dimensional hasn't always made him the most popular guy around. What he doesn't know is that Japan has discovered a portal to another world in the vicinity of Mount Fuji. The people of the Eldant Empire, though, only have eyes for one of Japan's traditional exports: pop culture. Enter Amutech, a purveyor of "general entertainment" that's secretly run by the Japanese government. Shinichi lands a job as the company's general manager. Now he finally has a chance to put his nerd know-how to good use spreading the otaku gospel in the Eldant Empire. And wait... he has to work with a half-elf maid, an empress, AND a female soldier to get the job done?

The myth of the Scrapped Princess lives on in volume 2 As Pacifica and her siblings continue on their travels, a stop in a frontier town leads to a confrontation with a ruthless assassin...

In the kingdom of Linevan, it was prophesized that the king and queen would bear twins–one male and one female–and that the female child, on her 16th birthday, would cause the world to end and therefore must be immediately executed. The queen, who could not bear to murder her daughter, sent her to live with a family friend and his two children outside of town. This Scrapped Princess, now named Pacifica, grows up with two siblings: a powerful sorcerer named Raquel and a robust warrior named Shannon. She knows nothing about her past, other than that she was adopted and that someone has killed their father. When the truth of her heritage is revealed, she, Shannon, and Raquel set out to avenge their father's murder and see if the ominous prophecy is true. Tokyopop's aspiring entry into the fiction market is a decent story, although it uses conventions more typical to manga than to fantasy. Some of the dialogue is laced with sexual innuendo–not unusual for Japanese manga, though not as prevalent in fantasy. The setting, an anachronistic blend of a medieval world with futuristic weaponry, would work well visually depicted, but obfuscates readers' clear perception of where and when the story takes place. Inspired by the anime series, this first title in a 13-volume run will most likely appeal to teens because of its tie-in and manga-style illustrations, and fans of the original manga will be intrigued about the characters' pasts.–Jennifer Feigelman, Goshen Public Library and Historical Society, NY>

The year is 20XX, and Shinichi Kanou is a pretty typical otaku: he loves anime, manga, games, and light novels, but his devotion to the two-dimensional hasn't always made him the most popular guy around. What he doesn’t know is that Japan has discovered a portal to another world in the vicinity of Mount Fuji. The government sees a great chance to make a profit, if they can keep the secret long enough to corner the market on exports to the Holy Eldant Empire, their point of first contact with this new land. The people of the Eldant Empire, though, only have eyes for one of Japan’s traditional exports: pop culture. When it quickly becomes evident that government bureaucrats and “Japanimation” don’t really mix, the bigwigs realize they’re going to need help bringing “otaku culture” to the Eldant masses. Enter Amutech, a purveyor of “general entertainment” that’s secretly run by the Japanese government. Shinichi lands a job as the company’s general manager, whereupon he learns the state’s biggest secret. Now he finally has a chance to put his nerd know-how to good use spreading the otaku gospel in the Eldant Empire. And wait... he has to work with a half-elf maid, an empress, AND a female soldier to get the job done?