Archives for March 2011

Love Hina and Tokyo Mew Mew are back!

Kodansha Comics announced their fall lineup yesterday, and it includes two venerable manga that were first published by Tokyopop back in the day: Love Hina and Tokyo Mew Mew. Both will be in omnibus editions (Love Hina will be three volumes for $19.99, Tokyo Mew Mew will be two for $14.99) with new translations. Tokyo Mew Mew was a favorite in my house back in the day, although I always thought it was kinda bizarre. It will be interesting to see if it resonates with a new generation of girls. Also in the lineup are two sequels: Shugo Chara-Chan!, a 4-koma comic based on Peach-Pit’s Shugo Chara, and @Full Moon, a sequel to Sanami Matoh’s supernatural boys-love manga Until the Full Moon.

Digital Manga also gets into the game with a new title announcement: Mr. Convenience, a BL title by Nase Yamato.

Sean Gaffney takes a look at next week’s new manga, including some overdue Tokyopop titles. David Welsh invites readers to help him choose a boys-love manga from the latest Previews.

Japanese publishers have been putting a number of manga online because of disruptions to transportation and supply networks after the earthquake; at Manga Therapy, Tony Yao looks at the possible long-term effects of this stopgap measure.

Ash Brown is giving away a copy of vol. 1 of Old Boy at Experiments in Manga.

Reviews: At Comic Attack, Kristin looks at some recent Harlequin e-manga.

Sterg Botzakis on vol. 1 of 20th Century Boys (Graphic Novel Resources)
TSOTE on Gantz (Three Steps Over Japan)
Snow Wildsmith on vols. 1-4 of Library Wars: Love & War (Good Comics for Kids)
Monsieur LaMoe on My Girlfriend’s a Geek (Anime Diet)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Oresama Teacher (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Rin-ne (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate Dacey on vols. 5 and 6 of Twin Spica (The Manga Critic)

Manga picks and pans

David Welsh makes his picks from this week’s new releases at The Manga Curmudgeon, and he joins fellow bloggers Melinda Beasi and Kate Dacey in a conversation about their pick of the week at Manga Bookshelf.

David also reaches the letter I in his Josei Alphabet.

Andrew Lam of New American Media meditates on how the stories in anime and manga help people cope with disasters like the earthquake and tsunami.

Erica Friedman takes a look at the Japanese josei manga magazine Kiss at MangaCast.

Alex Hoffman reminisces about his experiences with Sailor Moon at Manga Widget.

News from Japan: Manga-ka Tomomasa Takuna is preparing to sue a blogger who claimed that he plagiarized parts of his Code Geass: Shikkoku no Renya manga from another work, Yagyū Reppūken Renya. Kekkaishi is coming to an end in the April 6 issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday, and Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas is also winding up. Finder series creator Ayano Yamane has blogged that the March 11 earthquake has caused shortages of paper and ink, because a number of paper mills were destroyed; this is delaying the release of a number of books. And ANN rounds up the latest messages of encouragement from manga creators to earthquake victims.

Reviews: David, Kate, and Melinda launch a new column of short reviews, Bookshelf Briefs, at Manga Bookshelf. Carlo Santos takes us through a stack of recent releases in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown sums up a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Other reviews of note:

Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Ai Ore (The Manga Critic)
Katherine Farmar on vol. 1 of The Beautiful Skies of Houhou High (Manga Village)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 20 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 11 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 1 of Grand Guignol Orchestra (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 17 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 23 of Hikaru no Go (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on Ibara no Namida (Okazu)
Ken Haley on vol. 5 of Itazura Na Kiss (Sequential Ink)
David Welsh on vol. 3 of Kingyo Used Books (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Jeff Chuang on vol. 2 of K-ON! (Japanator)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Manga Widget)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on Sabagebu (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (The Comic Book Bin)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko (Manga Village)
Connie on vol. 13 of Slam Dunk (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kristin on vol. 15 of Slam Dunk and vol. 4 of Toriko (Comic Attack)
Diana Dang on vol. 2 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Stop, Drop, and Read!)

Special big Sunday paper edition

My big week of post-C2E2 madness is over, and I’m so far behind, I figured I would just do a big catch-up post. Think of this as the MangaBlog version of the Sunday New York Times, oversized and bulging with the week’s news, for you to peruse at your leisure over bagels and lox. Enjoy!

Jason Thompson devotes his latest House of 1000 Manga column to yaoi manga creator Hinako Takanaga (Little Butterfly), who “isn’t wildly weird like est em and Yoshinaga, but is just plain good at what she does.” It’s worth checking out the column just for Thompson’s little essay on BL at the beginning.

At The Comics Journal, Ryan Holmberg looks at “An Introduction to Gekiga Manga,” which ran in, of all places, Shonen Magazine, in 1970.

Sean Gaffney takes a look at next week’s new manga, and he doesn’t find much to be excited about. Meanwhile, the Manga Village team checks out the past week’s new releases.

Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Jennifer LeBlanc winds up her interview with Hinako Takanaga at The Yaoi Review.

Jake Forbes talks about his days as an editor at Tokyopop and his work on the Return to Labyrinth series at Words That Stay.

Comic Book Girl explains why she is so thrilled that Sailor Moon is getting a new release in the U.S. (Via Comics Worth Reading.) Anna discusses her own history with Sailor Moon at Manga Report, and Tony Yao posts his memories at Manga Therapy.

While it’s not official, Love Hina may be coming back: AstroNerdBoy spotted a listing for a new Kodansha edition at RightStuf. Bandai Entertainment has licensed two manga based on the videogame Tales of the Abyss.

Kate Dacey looks at a classic from earlier days, Marvel’s colorized and flipped edition of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Memories.

Linda, a.k.a. Animemiz, is hosting this month’s Manga Moveable Feast at Anime Diet, and Aria is the manga du jour. That link will be constantly updated as people add their own contributions, and there is already quite a bit there.

David Welsh reviews the top five license requests on his wish list and asks his readers what sort of careers they would like to see featured in manga.

The Banana Fish roundtable continues at Manga Bookshelf with Melinda Beasi, Robin Brenner, Connie C., Khursten Santos, Michelle Smith, and Eva Volin discussing vols. 14-16.

Melinda Beasi looks at three manga about the arts at Manga Bookshelf.

Led by Daniella Orihuela-Gruber of All About Manga and Michael Huang of Anime Diet, Anime and Manga Bloggers for Japan has raised over $4,000 for two charities, Shelterbox and Doctors Without Borders. Stu Levy has been asking manga readers outside Japan to send messages of encouragement, and the Ventura Star has an article about one anime club’s response.

Another manga milestone: The word “hentai” made it into the Oxford English Dictionary.

News from Japan: Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa has a new series in the works, Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji). It will launch in the April 6 issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday. The first part of the Tokyo youth protection ordinance goes into effect April 1, and Mainichi rounds up some reactions from publishers, including Tokyopop CEO Stu Levy:

Levy said that, from most foreigners’ point of view, some sexual content in manga seems to be “very shocking” and it is natural to have this kind of content restricted as it is in the United States.

The aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster continues, with some disruptions to the industry but outpourings of support from creators. Shonen Jump creators put some encouraging artwork up at that magazine’s website. Kodansha is putting six of its manga magazines online, for free and without ads; more details will be forthcoming next week. And ANN has the latest list of delayed anime and manga releases.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss some new manga that might lift their spirits at Manga Bookshelf. Other reviews of note:

Collin David on The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography (Graphic Novel Reporter)
James Fleenor on vols. 1-3 of Black Gate (Anime Sentinel)
Connie on vol. 15 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Bunny Drop (Comics Worth Reading)
Bruce P. on Bustician (Okazu)
Emily Kazanecki on vol. 6 of Cirque du Freak (Manga Life)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Cynthia on Crimson Snow (Boys Next Door)
Alexander Hoffman on Disappearance Diary (Manga Widget)
Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage (ANN)
Carl Kimlinger on vol. 1 of Eensy Weensy Monster (ANN)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 8, 9, and 10 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Girls Love (Okazu)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Goong: The Royal Palace (Comics-and-More)
Todd Douglass on vol. 2 of High School of the Dead (Anime Maki)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 23 of Hikaru No Go (Comics Worth Reading)
Kate Dacey on How to Pen & Ink: The Manga Startup Guide (The Manga Critic)
Rob McMonigal on vol. 5 of Jormungand (Panel Patter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of K-ON! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Liberty Vocational: Will Supervillains Be on the Final? (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna on vol. 4 of Library Wars: Love and War (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 3 of Lone Wolf and Cub (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Mad Love Chase (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lexie on vol. 1 of Magic Knight Rayearth (Poisoned Rationality)
Nicola on vol. 4 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (Back to Books)
Todd Douglass on vol. 8 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Anime Maki)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Crystal White on vol. 8 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Japanator)
Amy Grockl on Mistress Fortune (Manga Village)
Danica Davis on vol. 2 of Neko Ramen (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Nobari no Mori no Otome-tachi (Okazu)
Nicola on vol. 1 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Back to Books)
Connie on vol. 37 of Oh My Goddess (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alexander Hoffman on Oishii Kankei (Manga Widget)
Courtney Kraft on Oishinbo: Fish, Sushi, and Sashimi (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Michelle Smith on vols. 46-56 of One Piece (Soliloquy in Blue)
Michael Buntag on vol. 1 of Peepo Choo (NonSensical Words)
Cynthia on Pen & Ink (Boys Next Door)
Victoria Martin on vol. 3 of Pig Bride (Manga Life)
Emily Kazanecki on Romeo x Juliet (Manga Life)
Connie on Scarlet (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 4 of Seiho Boys’ High School (Slightly Biased Manga)
Christopher Mautner on A Single Match (The Comics Journal)
Alexander Hoffman on Soil (Manga Widget)
Andre Paploo on Taro and the Magic Pencil (Kuriousity)
Penny Kenny on vol. 3 of Twin Spica (Manga Life)
Ash Brown on Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide (Experiments in Manga)

Catching up after C2E2

Hey all! Sorry about the extended internet silence—I didn’t disappear, but I spent the weekend at C2E2 and the past few days writing up all my panel reports, so it has been a busy time. If you want to know how it went, check out my C2E2 con report at Graphic Novel Reporter, my overview of the kids’ and teen’s comics scene at PWCW, and my writeup of the State of the Comicsphere panel at CBR. And I took some pictures, too.

The big manga news of the weekend, of course, was the return of Sailor Moon, and the Manga Bookshelf bloggers (and frequent guest Michelle Smith) devoted a roundtable to why that is so awesome. They also took some time out to discuss their candidates for Pick of the Week.

David Welsh, The Manga Curmudgeon, asks his readers who are their favorite hard-working manga characters, and he also checks out this week’s new manga and reaches the letter H in his Josei Alphabet.

Sean Gaffney also takes a look at the week’s new releases as well as Kodansha’s September lineup.

Melinda Beasi reports from inside the Digital Manga Guild, where things have been quiet except for the announcement that DMP has signed 487 books for the fan-translation service, although they would not reveal any of the titles.

Reviews: Melanie checks out an interesting selection of recent releases at About Heroes. Kate Dacey posts short takes on her recent reading at The Manga Critic. Ash Brown files the weekly manga report at Experiments in Manga. Other reviews of note:

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Aqua (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on vol. 1 of Beast Master (Manga Report)
Ken Haley on vol. 1 of The Beautiful Skies of Houhou High (Sequential Ink)
David Welsh on vol. 1 of Blue Exorcist (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Butterfly (ICv2)
Clive Owen on vol. 7 of Detroit Metal City (Animanga Nation)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Eensy Weensy Monster (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Eensy Weensy Monster (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 1 of Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sesho on vol. 18 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 9 and 10 of Higurashi When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Julie Opipari on vol. 2 of Library Wars: Love and War (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 1 of March Story (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie Opipari on Marriage at a Price (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Kristin on My Bad and vol. 3 of Kabuki (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 1 of Peepo Choo (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on Pokemon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (The Comic Book Bin)
James Fleenor on vol. 1 of The Witch of Artemis (Anime Sentinel)

Sailor Moon is back!

I’m working the floor at C2E2 today, so I won’t be checking in until late, but this news is too good to keep: Kodansha Comics is bringing back Sailor Moon. Go, read, and I’ll be back later with all the other manga news.

Quick links (in transit)

I’m on the train on my way to C2E2, so my internet access is limited, but I wanted to catch up with a few quick links.

I gathered up the latest stories about Japan and the anime/manga community at Robot 6, including a number of blogger and artist fund-raising initiatives.

Rob McMonigal continues his year-long appreciation of Rumiko Takahashi with a look at One-Pound Gospel.

David Welsh reaches the letter G in his josei alphabet. Also, David gives his take on About.com’s 2011 Manga Readers Choice Awards.

David, Melinda Beasi, and Kate Dacey discuss their pick of the week at Manga Bookshelf.

Reviews: Ash Brown chronicles a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Kristin looks at Digital’s Harlequin manga at Comic Attack. Other reviews of note:

Julie Opipari on Accidental Mistress (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Amnesia Labyrinth (Comics-and-More)
Ash Brown on vol. 5 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Butterflies, Flowers (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 2 of Cross Game (Manga Widget)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 7 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Genkaku Picasso (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Hayate the Combat Butler (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 25 of Knights of the Zodiac (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow wildsmith on Tale of a White Knight and vol. 1 of Wolf God (Good Comics for Kids)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Toriko (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 9 of Yotsuba&! (Read About Comics)
Connie on vol. 4 of Yurara (Slightly Biased Manga)