I’ll put the big news first: Vertical will be publishing Mw, by Osamu Tezuka. Alert Tokyopop blogger Andre spotted the listing on Amazon.ca, and at MangaCast, Dirk Deppey confirmed it. Vertical has two other titles, Andromeda Story, by Keiko Takemiya, and The Guin Saga Manga: The Seven Magi, by Keichiro Ryu, in the works. All three were mentioned in the previews section of The Comics Journal this month.
Meanwhile, there were some other announcements. DMP announced two new yaoi titles in its June line, Don’t Say Anymore Darling, by Antique Bakery manga-ka Fumi Yoshinaga, and Not Enough Time, by Shoko Hidaka. Digital has also licensed the comedy manga Heroes Are Extinct, by Ryoji Hido; Ed has the press release and cover scan up at MangaCast.
And Yaoi Suki has confirmed two new Yoshinaga titles from Blu, Truly Kindly and Lovers in the Night.
In the Manly Manga for Manly Men category, Ed notes approvingly that Tokyopop has licensed Brave Story, by Miyuki Miyabe and Youichirou Ono. And he hears that Tokyopop has licensed another title from the same publisher, Coamix, which prompts him to offer a guess and some suggestions.
Actually, Brave Story is a fantasy adventure for children, at least going by this plot summary of the anime. Miyuki Miyabe, who wrote the novel on which the manga is based, is a best-selling novelist in Japan, and three of her books have been translated into English, all mysteries for adults. A translation of the Brave Story novel is scheduled to be published here in July, according to Amazon; oddly, it’s being published by Viz, not Tokyopop.
Hey Adam. Just to clear some issues up here.
Miyabe’s novel iwasn’t really a children novel per se and not a light novel either when it came out. This just happened to a be a fine fantasy adventure that was turned into a manga a few years before the movie came out. The movie is marketed as a childrens cartoon here but this was actually around the same level as some of the latest Ghibli films without the nudity.
The manga is definitely for mature readers. It is called Brave Story: the New Story in Japan and has a lot of graphic violence and mature situations. It takes the best of the novels as far as adventure and alternative universes are concerned and adds good action and a pretty deep plot that moves from one world to the other smoothly. The movie distributed by WarnerBros and produced by GONZO is a little more removed from the book (as is often the case with dorama and animated film). Which is why after the film was released another publisher decided to make a manga for kid’s with the film’s character designs.
Viz announced the novel last year. According to ANS TP has confirmed the manga from Coamix and are now making hints at a few titles from this publisher.
Thanks for clearing that up, Ed. I like the Miyabe books I’ve read, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for both the novel and manga. (Did Miyabe write the manga?) But would you describe it as a “Manly Manga for Manly Men,” or not?
The novel should be a good read for readers of all ages. It should do well for Viz.
Miyabe is only credited as the director for the manga, so Ono has control of the writing and drawing. In these cases directors provide guidance and continuity (sometimes add more to the canon if need be) to the project but are not really in on the actual work.
Would I call this MM4MM… This is definitely not shounen. The violence is beyond that, there are some interesting situations about sexuality and relationships in later volumes as well. This is not Berserk or Crying Freeman but I would put it on the same level as seinen title Record of Lodoss Wars or Banya the Explosive Delivery Man. Banya isn’t really manly but considering what gets brought over this is relatively manly.