Archives for April 2011

Ken Akamatsu on the future of manga

Lots going on in the manga-world today! I’m collecting Tokyopop shutdown reactions in a separate post, which I will probably put up later today; feel free to send me links in comments.

Lori Henderson has the latest all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

It’s Pick of the Week time again at Manga Bookshelf, where Melinda Beasi, Kate Dacey, Michelle Smith, and David Welsh discuss their favorites from this week’s list.

Erica Friedman updates us on all the latest yuri news at Okazu.

Deb Aoki talks to the Kodansha folks about their upcoming new edition of Sailor Moon.

At The Hooded Utilitarian, Adam Stephanides takes strong exception to Drawn + Quarterly’s practice of flipping manga.

Something that got lost in all the Tokyopop talk is the fact that Viz is quietly dropping Gin Tama. Khursten Santos thinks it’s remarkable that it was ever licensed at all.

Seven Seas is adding the manhwa My Boyfriend Is a Vampire to their fall list, according to Lissa Pattillo.

Marie Mutsuki Mockett explains why Boys Over Flowers is a must-read book at NPR.

2chan.us translates a fascinating conversation between Ken Akamatsu and Kentaro Takekuma about Akamatsu’s digital manga portal, J-Comi, and the future of manga in Japan.

In the wake of Tokyopop’s demise, Matt Blind sketches out his own vision for an American manga publisher.

Mommy does the shopping, Daddy does … something else: Caddy points out the traditional gender roles in Chi’s Sweet Home at A Feminist Otaku.

If you’re going to be in the New York area on May 10, drop by Kinokuniya Bookstore: Natsume Ono, creator of Ristorante Paradiso, House of Five Leaves, and not simple, will be there.

News from Japan: Fruits Basket manga-ka Natsuki Takaya is working on a new series, Liselotte and Witch’s Forest (Liselotte to Majo no Mori), to launch in May in Hana to Yume. And Cross Game manga-ka Mitsuru Adachi is also launching a new series, another baseball story titled Asaoka Kōkō Yakyū-Bu Nisshi – Over Fence (Asaoka High School Baseball Team Journal – Over Fence)

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf gang rounds up the latest releases in their Bookshelf Briefs column. Omar posts some short reviews of recent releases at About Heroes. Ash Brown recaps a week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Anna looks at some Blu manga at Manga Report.

Deb Aoki on vol. 1 of Blue Exorcist (About.com)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Blue Exorcist (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on Claiming His Pregnant Wife (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped (ANN)
Julie Opipari on vol. 9 of Dance in the Vampire Bund (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Ash Brown on vol. 9 of Death Note (Experiments in Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Dengeki Daisy (ANN)
Connie on vol. 1 of ES: Eternal Sabbath (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 15 of Gakuen Alice (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Snow Wildsmith on vols. 1-3 of Genkaku Picasso (Good Comics for Kids)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of House of Five Leaves (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Kingyo Used Books (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Kingyo Used Books (Comics Worth Reading)
Julie Opipari on The Millionaire’s Revenge (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on A Most Suitable Wife (Slightly Biased Manga)
David Welsh on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (Comics Worth Reading)
Khursten Santos on Solanin (Otaku Champloo)
Connie on vol. 2 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on vol. 3 of The Story of Saiunkoku (The Manga Critic)
Ai Kano on vol. 4 of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (Animanga Nation)
Erica Friedman on vol. 10 of Tsubomi (Okazu)

Tokyopop stops publishing manga

Can this be? Tokyopop announced today that it was shutting down its publishing division. I did a post with the details for Robot 6, and I’ll post more here as the details become clearer.

Digital Manga Guild ramps up, Dark Horse cuts back

For this week’s PWCW, I talked to Digital CEO Hikaru Sasahara about how his plans for the Digital Manga Guild are shaping up.

David Welsh picks the best of this week’s new manga at The Manga Curmudgeon. David also reaches the letter K in his josei alphabet. Always a week ahead of the rest of us, Sean Gaffney takes a look at next week’s new manga at A Case Suitable for Treatment.

Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss some recent releases in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Dark Horse laid off seven employees yesterday, including the editors of Gantz and What’s Michael?

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao looks at two heroes with a dark side, Light Yagami and Lelouch Lamperouge.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber reflects on the difficulty of being both an editor and a blogger at All About Manga.

News from Japan: Let the purification begin! Ken Akamatsu’s site J-Comi has posted its first “purified” online manga, a file that was obtained illicitly through a file-sharing network but posted at J-Comi with the author’s consent—and paid advertising, the proceeds of which go to the creator. Meanwhile, manga-ka Masahiro Totsuka (Bamboo Blade) and Yuu Minamoto (Samurai Heaven: Asu no Yoichi) have announced they are collaborating on a new series, Haru Polish, to launch in the June issue of Monthly Shonen Champion.

Reviews: Carlo Santos takes a short, sharp look at a bundle of recent releases in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Kate Dacey posts short takes on recent releases at The Manga Critic. Kristin reviews some Harlequin manga at Comic Attack.

Rob McMonigal on vol. 4 of 20th Century Boys (Panel Patter)
Todd Douglass on vol. 3 of Bokurano Ours (Anime Maki)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 38 of Case Closed (The Comic Book Bin)
Rob McMonigal on vol. 1 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Panel Patter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped (ANN)
David Welsh on vol. 3 of Cross Game (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Clive Owen on vol. 8 of Detroit Metal City (Animanga Nation)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 22 of Excel Saga (The Comic Book Bin)
Todd Douglass on vol. 2 of K-ON! (Anime Maki)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of K-ON! (Okazu)
Todd Douglass on vol. 6 of Nabari no Ou (Anime Maki)
Rob McMonigal on vol. 9 of Nana (Panel Patter)
Rob McMonigal on vols. 13-15 of Ranma 1/2 (Panel Patter)
Todd Douglass on vol. 15 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning (Anime Maki)
Lori Henderson on vols. 4 and 5 of Tena on S-String (Manga Xanadu)

Viz goes global, pirates could go legit

Viz Media announced a slate of new kids’ manga yesterday, and interestingly, several of the titles are not Japanese but global, including a series of graphic novels based on the Mr. Men and Little Miss books. For slightly older readers, Viz also confirmed two books that have already popped up in the Amazon listings, a D.Gray-Man art book and a Naruto character guide.

Yen Press also announced a new addition, The Innocent which will run in Yen Plus magazine starting this month.

ANN’s Zac Bertschy has an interview with Kazue Kato, the creator of Blue Exorcist; Viz released the first volume last week.

Melinda Beasi, Kate Dacey, Michelle Smith, and David Welsh debate their latest pick of the week at Manga Bookshelf. David has also picked a potentially dubious manga and a boys-love title from Previews with the help of his readers.

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao reports that Gin Tama seems to be coming to an end in the U.S. and reflects on what that says about American tastes.

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

Lori Henderson is hoping Viz will break out of the “walled garden” of iOS devices and expand their digital program to Android or the Web.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber considers some reasons why Vertical is so successful at All About Manga.

At A Feminist Otaku, Caddy C looks at the lack of women behind the camera (as opposed to in front of it) in Skip Beat!

Three Steps Over Japan is re-posting some content that I’m seeing for the first time, so I thought I would link to it here. It’s all about material that is available in Japanese: Some commentary on Garo, Weekly Shonen Sunday, and Combat magazines, a review of vol. 10 of Moyashimon, and a look at Moyashimon picture books (ehon).

News from Japan: Attention penitent pirates: Ken Akamatsu is inviting people who downloaded manga and feel guilty about it to “purify” their files by giving them to him to post, with all ad revenue going to the creators—all with their consent, of course. School Rumble manga-ka Jin Kobayashi has a new series, Ichiro Heian! (Have a Safe Trip!) starting in the next issue of Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, and Yumi Unita is planning a spinoff from Bunny Drop. The Yaoi Review posts the cover of est em’s upcoming Equus, due out in August. And at Comics Alliance, Chris Sims takes a look at the new Pokemon series in which a human character actually becomes a Pokemon.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi, Kate Dacey, Michelle Smith, and David Welsh post this week’s Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf, and Melinda also reviews something a little different, Ill-Fated Relationship, a digital manhwa. Michelle also chimes in with some short takes on recent Shonen Jump releases at Soliloquy in Blue. Ash Brown takes us through another week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga. Anna checks out three Harlequin manga that all have a theme of revenge, and she reads three Viz manga for short money on their iPad app, at Manga Report.

Ed Sizemore on vols. 12 and 13 of 20th Century Boys (Comics Worth Reading)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Blue Exorcist (Comics-and-More)
Oyceter on vols. 1 and 2 of Bunny Drop (Sakura of DOOM)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Butterfly (The Manga Critic)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Eensy Weensy Monster (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 6 of Fushigi Yugi (VizBig edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of GUNJO (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Happy Cafe (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 17 of Hayate the Combat Butler (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 1 of House of Five Leaves (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie Opipari on vol. 28 of Kekkaishi (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 26 of Knights of the Zodiac (Slightly Biased Manga)
David Welsh on Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 2 of March Story (Read About Comics)
Oyceter on vols. 1-4 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Sakura of DOOM)
Anna on vols. 1 and 2 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Report)
Anna on vol. 1 of Sakura Hime (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 10 of Sand Chronicles (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Sakura Hime and vol. 5 of Stepping on Roses (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Seiho Boys High School (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Skyblue Shore (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Toradora! (ANN)
Connie on vol. 5 of Yurara! (Slightly Biased Manga)

Awards lists, short attention spans, and cheap labor

This year’s Eisner Award nominees have been announced, and Kate Dacey helpfully pulls out the nominated manga for us. Let’s just say it’s a good year for Viz, although the judges did spread the love quite a bit.

Jason Thompson sings the praises of Antique Bakery in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Sean Gaffney breaks out the extra-large type to celebrate one of next week’s new releases, but you’ll have to go to his blog to see which one. Lori Henderson lists this week’s new all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

As we head toward the weekend, David Welsh discusses some golf manga he would love to see licensed at The Manga Curmudgeon.

Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss just how much they love sleeves with big cuffs in manga in their latest Fanservice Friday post at Manga Bookshelf.

Melinda also lists three series she has stopped reading before the end, and fans chime in in the comments section with more. Wait, John Jakala stopped reading Bleach? Friends, the Manga Revolution truly is over.

Translators Alethea and Athena Nibley discuss why they sometimes work for less than the going rate.

David Welsh reaches the letter J in his Josei Alphabet.

A Borders store that’s closing posts a bitter sign of the times.

Reviews: If you only have time to read one review this week, make it David Welsh’s takedown of Tokyo Is My Garden, presented as a dialogue with a Theoretical Straight Woman Friend, at The Manga Curmudgeon. Omar posts some brief reviews of new manga at About Heroes. Caddy C. posts impressions of some manga she picked up at a discount at Borders at A Feminist Otaku.

Emily Kazanecki on vol. 6 of Cirque du Freak (Manga Life)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Butterfly and vol. 1 of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped (Blog@Newsarama)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Cross Game (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 21 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 12 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Gunslinger Girl (omnibus collection) (Mania.com)
Snow Wildsmith on How to Pen & Ink: The Manga Start-Up Guide (Good Comics for Kids)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate Dacey on Kekkaishi (The Manga Critic)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Maid-Sama! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Bill Sherman on vol. 1 of Oresama Teacher (Blogcritics)
Kate Dacey on The Red Snake (The Manga Critic)
Kiki Van De Camp on vol. 5 of Rin-ne (Animanga Nation)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 23 of Skip Beat! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Skyblue Shore (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Emily Kazanecki on vol. 4 of Sugarholic (Manga Life)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 26 of Yakitate!! Japan (The Comic Book Bin)

Just another girl-meets-girl manga

At The Hooded Utilitarian, Erica Friedman explores “Story A,” the basic story that gets told over and over again in yuri manga.

Melinda Beasi rounds up all the Korean-comics news in her latest Manhwa Monday post at Manga Bookshelf.

Melinda Beasi, Kate Dacey, Michelle Smith, and David Welsh discuss their Pick of the Week at Manga Bookshelf.

The next Manga Moveable Feast will feature the works of Rumiko Takahashi, and Rob McMonigal is hosting it at Panel Patter. Rob also continues his yearlong appreciation of Takahashi with some thoughts on One Pound Gospel.

Reviews: Ash Brown reviews a week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga. Melinda Beasi, Kate Dacey, Michelle Smith, and David Welsh present short takes on recent releases at Manga Bookshelf.

Julie Opipari on Desert Warrior (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Animemiz on Kamisama Kiss (Anime Diet)
Leroy Douresseaux on Love Lesson (I Reads You)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan and vol. 4 of Hyde & Closer (Comic Attack)
Tom Spurgeon on A Single Match (The Comics Reporter)
Julie Opipari on vol. 3 of Sumomomo, Momomo (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Dave Ferraro on vols. 1-3 of Totally Captivated (Comics-and-More)
Lori Henderson on the March issue of Yen Plus (Manga Xanadu)