Deb Aoki of About.com interviews mangaka Keiko Takemiya, the creator of To Terra and Andromeda Stories, about her work and what it was like being one of the first female shoujo manga creators. Also: Deb’s readers pick Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms as the best josei manga of 2007.
Japan Focus translates an interview with Barefoot Gen creator Keiji Nakazawa. (Via ComiPress.)
Noah Berlatsky e-mailed me to let me know he has posted an online symposium on the topic of The Gay Utopia that includes several manga-related items: Nishizaka Hiromi’s take on Little Red Riding Hood, translated by Matt Thorn; Bert Stabler’s discussion of femininity in shoujo manga (vis a vis the Shoujo Manga: Girl Power show); and slash fiction writer Kinukitty’s article on slash and yaoi.
The San Francisco Examiner profiles Viz founder Seiji Horibuchi. (Via ANN.)
Elizabeth Tai of The Star of Malaysia talks to SelfMadeHero publisher Emma Hayley about her company’s manga versions of Shakespeare’s plays. And if you’re reading this in Malaysia, there’s a contest, too.
Shuchaku-East blogger Chloe Ferguson has a new column at ComiPress: Panelosophy, which will “look at the philosophy behind manga here and abroad.” She kicks it off with a look back at cover design in 2007.
Carlo Santos has a new Right Turn Only!! column up at ANN, he’s adding something new: A Readers’ Choice section, where you can send in your own reviews.
The Wapshott Press is looking for submissions for the Journal of Women on Comics, a print compilation of writings from the web and print sources.
Reviews: Erica Friedman makes some interesting points in her review of vol. 1 of Strawberry Panic, which focuses on Seven Seas’ translation and adaptation. Sakura Eries checks out a new series from Viz, vol. 1 of Sand Chronicles, at Anime on DVD. At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie reviews King of the Lamp and vol. 3 of Uzumaki. I haven’t been by the Lincoln Heights Literary Society in a while, and I guess I’ve been missing the action. They have lots of reviews up: Catya W on Love Share and Ryes on Crushing Love, Cute Beast, and vol. 2 of Invisible Boy. Matthew Brady looks beyond mere cuteness to explain the appeal of vol. 2 of Yotsuba&! at Warren Peace Sings the Blues. Carlo Santos critiques vol. 1 of Aria at ANN. Jan reviews Basara, which is drawing to a close, at Dear Author. Emily checks out two Japanese-only titles, Love Triple and Koko ni Iruyo! at Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page. The folks at Anime Pulse have a podcast review of three classic manga, Lone Wolf and Cub, Path of the Assassin, and Samurai Executioner. Kitty Sensei reviews Reptilia at The Star of Malaysia. Matthew Brady reads the February issue of Shojo Beat at Warren Peace Sings the Blues.
Is Town of Evening Calm actually josei? I’d been under the impression it was seinen.
Oh, I’m aware that Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms was originally published in a seinen magazine, and the same goes for Inubaka. But I offer these two points as my rationale for including it in the josei poll. 1) The main protagonists in Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms are both female, and the stories have a definite female, adult point of view. It doesn’t mean that men can’t enjoy it — and in fact, I’m glad that both male and female readers had a chance to read it. That should happen more often, IMHO.
Reason #2 is that I was pretty much hurting for new josei nominees — I had no problem coming up with 10 each for the seinen, shojo and shonen polls, but had a distinct lack of choices for the josei poll. This will probably change this year, with Aurora / LuvLuv coming out with more distinctly josei manga — but 2007 was pretty slim pickin’s for new josei.
The classifications for what genre of manga is what can be somewhat difficult to pin down, so it’s convenient to use the point of origin, e.g. the original magazine’s audience to do so. That’s fine, and that works for the most part — but I’m finding that some manga is not easily defined by only for men, women, boys or girls and that’s a good thing.
I don’t disagree; there are titles I love from each of the four major demographics. I was just surprised to see it classified thusly. :)
I also lament the lack of licensed josei. Unfortunately, the LuvLuv offerings don’t appeal to me a great deal. I’d rather see more workplace and family dramas. Maybe those’ll come in time.
Hey, thanks for the link to J WOC. GM
My pleasure, Ginger! I’m a big fan of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.