New licenses from Viz at NYCC

The Viz folks announced a series of new licenses this morning, including some new works by tried-and-true creators.

The big announcement of the session came right at the end: Viz and Shogakukan will be publishing Rumiko Takahashi’s new series in the U.S. sometime in 2009.

Here’s a quick rundown of new titles for fall:

GoGoMonster, by Tekkonkinkreet creator Taiyo Matsumoto, $24.99, out in November.

All My Darling Daughters, a josei manga by Fumi Yoshinaga, out in January 2010, $12.99, rated T+.

What a Wonderful World, by Solanin creator Inio Asano. Vols. 1 and 2 will both be out in October. $12.99, rated T+.

Not Simple, by Natsume Ono, a seinen creator—from the cover, this one should have some unusual art. Out in January 2010, $14.99, rated M.

Natsume’s Book of Friends, by Yuki Midorikawa, out in January, $8.99, rated T

Butterflies, Flowers, an office romance by Yuku Yoshihara, due out in December, $8.99, rated M.

Jormungand, by Keitaro Takahashi. Tagline: “Death is their business, and business is good.” In Japan, this one runs in the same magazine as Black Lagoon, so expect a similar tone. Due out in November, $12.99, rated M.

Beast Master, by Kyousuke Motomi, due out in November, $8.99, rated T+

YuGiOh! R, story and art by Akira Ito, vol. 1 out October 2009 and subsequent volumes released quarterly. $7.99, rated T. Every volume will have trading cards.

Boys Over Flowers Jewelry Box—really volume 37 of the long-running series, this picks up the story one year after the end of the main story. Due out in October, $9.99, rated T.

The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross: Arina Tanemura Illustrations, an art book (including two exclusive pieces of art) with author commentary to be released in November. $19.99.

Did you enjoy this article? Consider supporting us.

Comments

  1. Cool! I’ll definitely be checking out Rumiko Takahashi’s new series. Maison Ikkoku was lots of fun, and I really liked Inuyasha before it started to flag. I’m kinda surprised she’s launching a new series so soon, though. Didn’t Inuyasha, like, just end?

  2. Danielle Leigh says

    The Yotsuba license from Yen Press is certainly big and welcome news but I have to say, I’m really impressed by Viz’s choices recently. More Fumi Yoshinaga is always a good thing, but also more Asano / other seinen works? And more mature josei?

    Holy cow. Just, wow. If they started publishing yaoi, Viz could take over the entire world…scary!

  3. Wow, so much seinen and even some josei! Many of these look really interesting, and I’m also very happy we’ll get volume 37 of Boys Over Flowers.

  4. Cool, I’ve been waiting for an official version of What A Wonderful World since they Viz first announced they were licensing Solanin. Now if only someone would license Nijigahara Holograph….

  5. Mecque Thompson says

    Hurray! I’ve been wondering why we hadn’t heard about Natsume Yuujinchou being licensing yet. It has two seasons of anime, and is, like, the best thing to happen to shoujo in a long time. It’s really wonderful, and I’m glad it’s been licensed.

    However, I’m very surprised by Butterflies, Flowers. It’s smutty josei, and a really weird pick for Viz. I’ll definitely be picking it up.

    I’m also happy that something by the always quirky Kyousuke Motomi has been picked up. This is a good day for shoujo manga fans.

  6. Yuku Yoshihara? Do you/they mean YuKI Yoshihara, the prolific josei sex comedy mangaka? Because she’s hilarious and ACTUALLY writes women comics for ACTUAL women, and we could use some good josei over here that isn’t appealing to the kiddie side of the industry and/or portraying adult women as little better than children (Honey and Clover, Nodame).

    And Natsume’s Book of Friends = YESYESYESYES. I just hope Viz’s script for it has a little bite.

  7. Oh, I’m so glad that Yoshinaga’s been picked up! It’s incredibly uneven, but the stories in there that I do love, I love a lot. Also, it’s always nice to get more feminist manga.

  8. Inio Asano’s name definitely caught my eye.

  9. Yuki Yoshihara has had three series released in France and Germany so far: “Ai Suru Hito” (4 vol.), “Darling wa namamono ni tsuki” (8 vol.) and “Itadakimasu” (4 vol.), but this is apparently her first license in the US. This series, “Butterflies, Flowers” / “Chou yo hana yo” (at least 7 vol.), is also currently being published in France, as “Ma petite maîtresse”.

    I’ve read all of those, and yes, her series are almost all smutty shojo/josei. They’re also hilarious and her use of SD has to be seen to believe it.

    German links:
    http://www.tokyopop.de/buecher/manga/love_triangle_aisuru_hito/band1.php
    http://www.tokyopop.de/buecher/manga/vernasch_mich/band1.php
    http://www.tokyopop.de/buecher/manga/ohnmaechtig_vor_glueck/band1.php

    French links:
    http://www.paninicomicsfrance.com/Titolo.jsp?IdTitolo=22771
    http://www.paninicomicsfrance.com/Titolo.jsp?IdTitolo=23118
    http://www.soleilmanga.com/lire_manga.php?id_manga=284
    http://www.soleilmanga.com/lire_manga.php?id_manga=356

  10. “Solanin” was flat out the best thing I have read in a very long time. From what I’ve read of “What a Wonderful World” it lacks the depth and emotional weight of Solanin… it sort of cliched nihilism. Still, great creator and worth a look.

Trackbacks

  1. […] has been heading off in some unexpected new directions. In February, at New York Comic-Con, they unveiled a slate of manga that was largely aimed at older, more sophisticated readers, from Fumi […]