A maki called Naruto

OK, I didn’t make it to MoCCA, but this was just as good: I had a delightful dinner last night with J. Dee Dupuy and Svetlana Chmakova at Fugakyu in Brookline. They actually did have a maki roll called Naruto, but we all agreed the best dish was Svet’s choice, Una-Coco Maki, an unlikely but delicious combination of manga, cream cheese, eel, and homemade hot sauce. And her soup, which was served in a teapot, was just adorable. In between bites we talked about Nightschool, the new book Svet is working on for Yen Press, and I got to see some glimpses of volume 3 of Dramacon. Dee does the toning for Dramacon, and she’s also the creator of the stylish webcomic OniKimono, Detectives of the Orient; watch for more from her in the future.

OK, back to blogging. David Welsh catches up on a few ongoing series in his latest Flipped column; Sgt. Frog is finally starting to wear thin, it seems, but Yotsuba&! still has the power to charm.

Nipple-Free Comix: Is that what the future holds? At Broken Frontier, David Hine ponders the possible effects of Tokyopop’s new ratings system. (Via Simon Jones, who scoffs at such things.)

Johanna lists Viz’s top-selling manga and DVDs, and surprise! They’re all Naruto. Nonetheless, she observes, ” I’m impressed that Viz puts out such a great variety of books when they make so much from only one property.”

ComiPress has a Backstage feature on Rumic World, the awesomely comprehensive Rumiko Takahashi fan site.

Seven Seas has announced their schedule for Anime Expo.

If you’re going to be in Brooklyn tonight, check out this Tokyopop round table at the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope, just down the street from my old digs on 7th Avenue. And if you’re in Vladivostok, check out their annual festival of visual arts, which will include manga classes.

Reviews: Here’s a treat to start your day: Mangaijin writes about Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Yokahama Shopping Journal), a favorite among scanlation readers. Connie starts her summer reading at Slightly Biased Manga, with reviews of vol. 14 of Tenjho Tenge, vol. 14 of Eyeshield 21, vol. 1 of Hoshin Engi, and vol. 1 of Parasyte. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood checks out vol. 1 of Yurara and Scott Cambpell takes a look at vol. 1 of My Heavenly Hockey Club. Ben Leary reviews vol. 1 of Gundam Seed Destiny and Patricia Beard looks at Picnic at Anime on DVD. At Comics Worth Reading, Ed Sizemore reviews vol. 1 of Mechademia.

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Comments

  1. funny… I probably walked right by you yesterday, Fugakyu (or The Foog as we call it) is a few blocks from where I live…their Spider Maki and Gyoza are my favorites, but everything’s good there

  2. Yeah, the Gyoza were awesome. But we didn’t even realize there was a Finale next door, or we would have had dessert there. Lucky you, living in such a great neighborhood!

  3. Umm…naruto is a kind of odeng, the kind with the spiral pattern on it. The comic was named after the food, not the other other way around. (And the food was named such for the famous whirlpools off the coast of the city of Naruto, so the character may have been named for the city, but alls I know is when someone says “naruto”, I automatically think fishcake.)

  4. thanks for making me hungry! :P