Ever dream of a store that has all the manga that you could ever want? Well, you could say Kingyo Used Books is that place. "But wait, how can a story about a manga store be all that interesting," you might ask. The bookstore actually acts as a focal point, where all these different stories end up being touched in some way or another by manga.

Currently running over at Viz's SigIKKI website, they've got four chapters of Seimu Yoshizaki's Kingyo Used Books available for free to read. What I found surprising is how much I was affected by just reading the first chapter. While not every character's life gets solved in 20 pages, something at the manga store inspires a change within them. And it tends to rub off on you, too.

Sure, it sounds sappy and sentimental, but I totally dig that sort of thing. When you're stuck in a rut and can't seem to get out of what you're doing wrong, Kingyo reminds you that what you're looking for might be found if you just take a break and read a bit. Escape from your troubles for just a minute, and you might be able to come back and put it all into perspective.

One of the interesting things about Kingyo Used Books is that the author seems to be part evangelist and part historian, showing how manga can affect people in good ways, and at the same time bringing to light some of the seminal titles from the 50's and 60's. It really hits home for me that there are so many great titles that I'll have a hell of a time tracking down or even understanding, but I want to read.

Viz, I'm looking forward to seeing this in print. Make it happen.