Planet Ladder

Planet Ladder (プラネット·ラダー, Puranetto Radā) is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Yuri Narushima. Appearing as a serial in the Japanese manga magazine Crimson from the March 1998 issue to the May 2003 issue, the chapters of Planet Ladder were published by Sobisha/Shueisha in seven tankōbon volumes from December 1998 to May 2004. Planet Ladder was licensed for an English-language translation in North America by Tokyopop, and released from April 2002 to March 2005 after being serialized in Tokyopop's manga anthology Smile.

Plot
The series focuses on Kaguya Haruyama, a teenager who has lived with a Japanese foster family since she was found as an abandoned, amnesiac four-year-old. One night, two men—Idou, a monk, and Seeu, an emotionless prince—appear in her home and fight over her. Gold, Seeu's robot modeled after Kaguya's deceased brother Kagami, brings her to a world parallel to Earth on Seeu's orders. After exploring the world with Gold, she encounters Shiina Mol Bamvivrie who believes Kaguya is the "Girl of Ananai", destined to save only one of the nine parallel worlds from collision. Shiina explains that nine worlds exist: Ancient, the first civilized world that was mysteriously destroyed; Asu, Seeu's disintegrated world; Eden, present-day Earth; Telene, a small world allied with Geo; Fifth World, a politically neutral world; Geus, a peaceful world under the control of Geo; Geo, the most powerful of the worlds; Asuraitsu, Geo's rival; and the Ninth World, destroyed before the start of the series.

Shiina and Waseda, a Tokyo University student trapped in the body of a giant rooster, join her and Gold in traveling across Telene. After learning that Seeu watched his people die from an incurable virus spread around Asu, Kaguya decides to change the fate of the worlds by confronting Kura, Geo's indulgent emperor who ordered her kidnapping. Instead, while en route to Geo, Gold brings her to Seeu's floating castle in Asu and Kura captures and recruits Shiina into his army.

Kaguya later makes an interplanetary broadcast, announcing her refusal to save only one world. Instead, she plans to find a person to help her save most of the worlds and people. Kura begins to destroy other worlds to increase Geo's survival chances. Deciding to use Kaguya as a political figurehead, Kura sends Shiina to abduct her; once there, Kaguya refuses to help him. Angered, Kura divulges that the "Girl of Ananai" legend is a myth elaborated on and spread around by him and Kagami. After a brief battle with Shiina, Seeu arrives to rescue Kaguya and she realizes her love for him. Transforming into a dragon, Gold teleports everyone to Ancient; there Idou, Seeu, Kura, and Shiina are persuaded to combine their magical weapons with Gold to fix the rift in the universe, the cause of the eventual collision between the worlds. The series ends with an epilogue seven years later; Kaguya explains the fate of everyone and meets Seeu and their young son with a picnic basket.