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Title: The Book of Five Rings (五輪書 Go Rin No Sho)
Author: Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵?, c. 1584 – June 13, 1645)
Genre: Martial arts, Philosophy

The Book of Five Rings is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts in general, written by the samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645. There have been various translations made over the years, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists: for instance, some business leaders find it to be relevant to their work.
Musashi establishes a "no-nonsense" theme throughout the text. For instance, he repeatedly remarks that technical flourishes are excessive, and contrasts worrying about such things with the principle that all technique is simply a method of cutting down one's opponent. He also continually makes the point that the understandings expressed in the book are important for combat on any scale, whether a one-on-one duel or a massive battle. Descriptions of principles are often followed by admonitions to "investigate this thoroughly" through practice rather than trying to learn them by merely reading.
These books are actually the teachings which Musashi preached to his students in his own dōjō. Despite taking some ideas from others, the books are not based on any other school of teaching. They were written down by Musashi near the end of his life and finnshed upon his death bed.

The five "books" refer to the idea that there are different elements of battle, just as there are different physical elements in life, as described by Buddhism, Shinto, and other Eastern religions. The five books below are Musashi's descriptions of the exact methods or techniques which are described by such elements.

The Book of Earth chapter serves as an introduction, and metaphorically discusses martial arts, leadership, and training as building a house.
The Book of Water chapter describes Musashi's style, Ni-ten ichi-ryu, or "Two Heavens, One Style". It describes some basic technique and fundamental principles.
The Book of Fire chapter refers to the heat of battle, and discusses matters such as different types of timing.
The Book of Wind chapter is something of a pun, since the Japanese character can mean both "wind" and "style" (e.g., of martial arts). It discusses what Musashi considers to be the failings of various contemporary schools of swordfighting.
The Book of the Void chapter is a short epilogue, describing, in more esoteric terms, Musashi's probably Zen-influenced thoughts on consciousness and the correct mindset.

Rating: Highly Recommended! This is an invaluable book for anyone interested in martial arts but also philosophy as it talks about a way to guide ones life. It also gives great insight into the mind and life of perhaps the most famous duelist from Japanese history.

Title: Hellsing
Author: Kouta Hirano
Genre: Action supernatural fiction (manga)



Hellsing chronicles the efforts of the mysterious and secret Hellsing Organization, as it combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes who threaten England. Hellsing is named after and centered around the Holy Order of Protestant Knights, originally led by Abraham Van Helsing. The mission of Hellsing is to protect Queen and Country from the undead and other supernatural forces of evil. This organization is currently led by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, who inherited the leadership of Hellsing as a child after the death of her father. She is protected by the faithful Hellsing family butler and former Hellsing "trashman," Walter C. Dornez, and Alucard, the original and most powerful vampire that swore loyalty to the Hellsing family after being defeated by Van Helsing one hundred years before the story takes place. These formidable guardians are joined early on in the storyline by former police officer Seras Victoria, whom Alucard turned into a vampire.

As the scale and frequency of incidents involving the undead escalate in England and all around the world, Sir Integra discovers that the remnants of a Nazi group called Millennium still exist and are intent on reviving the Third Reich by creating a battalion of vampires. Millennium, Hellsing, and the Vatican section XIII Iscariot clash in an apocalyptic three-sided war in London, and Millennium reveals its true objective: to destroy the vampire Alucard, ending a feud begun during World War II.

All 10 volumes have been released and there are two anime series released/being released about the series.

Rating: Highly Recommended! For those that enjoy the supernatural, horror and monsters acting like real monsters. It has a unique story and look with an excellent cast of characters.

Title: Excel Saga
Author: Rikdo Koshi
Genre: Action, Parody, Science Fiction

A manga series written and illustrated by Rikdo Koshi. It has been serialized in Young King OURs since 1996, with individual chapters collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shōnen Gahosha. The series follows the attempts of Across, a "secret ideological organization", to conquer the city of Fukuoka as a first step towards world domination. The titular character of the series, Excel, is a key member of the group working towards this goal, while the city is defended by a shadowy government agency led by Dr. Kabapu.

Believing the World to be corrupt, the secret organization Across plans to conquer the world. The first step in the plan for world domination is to begin by focusing on one city in order to minimize setbacks. Across consists of the leader of the organization, Il Palazzo, and officers Excel and Hyatt. Excel and Hyatt live in an apartment building in the city, along with their pet dog Menchi, who is also their emergency food supply. Living in the neighboring apartment are three guys: Iwata, Sumiyoshi and Watanabe, and other building dwellers such as co-worker Matsuya, and later Ropponmatsu, who all work for the Department of City Security under Dr Kabapu, who intends to stop Across. Eventually the members of Across begin making appeals directly to the City's citizens before Il Palazzo publicly declares the existence of Across and its intentions to the public.

The manga was adapted into an anime television series by Victor Entertainment. Directed by Shinichi Watanabe and featuring animation from J.C.Staff, the series premiered on TV Tokyo in 1999. TV Tokyo only aired twenty-five of the series' twenty-six episodes, with the finale having been intentionally made too violent and obscene for public broadcast. As such, it was only included in the DVD release of the series, although it has since been broadcast in other markets.

The series has enjoyed some critical success coupled with respectable sales.

Rating: Highly recomended to those who love absurd humor. This is a series about grandiose plans that are always ineptly executed(usually by morons) resulting in hilarious failure.

Title: Hagakure
Author: Yamamoto Tsunetomo (as compiled by Tsuramoto Tashiro)
Genre: Martial arts, philosophy



Hagakure (Kyūjitai: 葉隱; Shinjitai: 葉隠; meaning Hidden by the Leaves or hidden leaves), or Hagakure Kikigaki (葉隠聞書) is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to Nabeshima Mitsushige, the third ruler of what is now the Saga prefecture in Japan. Tsuramoto Tashiro compiled these commentaries from his conversations with Tsunetomo from 1709 to 1716; however, it was not published until many years afterwards. Hagakure is also known as The Book of the Samurai, Analects of Nabeshima or Hagakure Analects.

The book records Tsunetomo's views on bushido, the warrior code of the samurai. Hagakure is sometimes said to assert that bushido is really the "Way of Dying" or living as though one was already dead, and that a samurai must be willing to die at any moment in order to be true to his lord. His saying "the way of the warrior is death" was a summation of the willingness to sacrifice that bushido codified.

After his master died, Tsunetomo himself was forbidden to perform junshi, a retainer's ritual suicide, by an edict of the Tokugawa Shogunate combined with his master's disapproval of the tradition. Hagakure may have been written partially in an effort to outline the role of the samurai in a more peaceful society. Several sections refer to the "old days", and imply a dangerous weakening of the samurai class since that time.

The Hagakure was written approximately one hundred years after the start of the Tokugawa era, a time of relative peace. With no major campaigns to fight, the samurai were transforming from a warrior to an administrative class. His work represents one approach to the problem of maintaining military preparedness and a proper military mindset in a time when neither has much practical application.

Recomendation: This is a good book for someone who wishes to know what samurai ideas, code and values from this period of time. Many still consider it to be one of the essential readings on bushido. Recommended for those who enjoy history, philosophy or wish to know more about the samurai of that particular time.

Titles: The 'Darksword' series.
Authors: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Fantasy, Science fiction

The Darksword series of books, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (cover art by Larry Elmore), which tells the story of a young man, born without magic in a world where everyone is born with it, who has been prophesied to destroy the world in which he lives. The series consists of the initial three books (The Darksword Trilogy), a supplemental role-playing volume, and a single-volume sequel. The books are published by Bantam Spectra (The Science-Fiction division of Random House).

The Darksword Trilogy
Forging the Darksword (January 198 cool
Doom of the Darksword (May 198 cool
Triumph of the Darksword (September 198 cool

Subsequent Volumes
Darksword Adventures (December 198 cool
Legacy of the Darksword (June 199 cool

Recommendation: Recommended. I really enjoyed these books. They are far from the 'typical' sword and sorcery' fare, however. Those who like 'light fantasy' may not enjoy the the deep plot(s), background and political/religious aspects of the books as they are very different from other fantasy stories. There aren't many 'fantasy' series like this one. If you enjoy the different then I highly recommend.