Archives for May 2011

At their Fanimecon panel this past weekend, Viz reps announced that they will publish two “film books” based on Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty the Borrower (Karigurashi no Arrietty), which is based on the English children’s book The Borrowers.

Animate USA has released four new yaoi manga for the Kindle.

Derik Badman rounds up the last of the Manga Moveable Feast posts at The Panelists.

The Manga Village team picks the best of the past week’s new releases.

In their latest Let’s Get Visual post at Soliloquy in Blue, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith explore the idea of mono no aware, a certain wistfulness brought on by the realization of the transience of life.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest Yuri Network News and then adds a late-breaking item about a new yuri title, Blue Friend, being licensed in Germany.

Here’s a fun bit of holiday reading: Queenie Chan’s online comic Sister Holmes: Detective Nun. Enjoy!

New blog alert: Vicki Pauli, whose Twitter handle is wikivic, is jotting down her thoughts on manga at Manga Bubbles. Vicki has a nice, clear style, and her reviews are well worth a look. Welcome to the world of manga blogging, Vicki!

News from Japan: Maki Murakami is resuming Gravitation EX after a two-year hiatus; it will be carried by Gentosha’s online magazine Web Spica.

Reviews

Kinukitty on Crimson Snow (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Carlo Santos on vol. 9 of Detroit Metal City (ANN)
Vicki Pauli on Emma (Manga Bubbles)
Connie on vol. 2 of Grand Guignol Orchestra (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Gunslinger Girl (omnibus edition) (Comic Attack)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Connie on vol. 51 of One PIece (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Practice Husband (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 6 of Sensual Phrase (Slightly Biased Manga)
Nicola on vol. 5 of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (Back to Books)
Connie on vol. 1 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Shaenon Garrity on vol. 1 of Wandering Son (The Comics Journal)
Kate Dacey on A Zoo in Winter (The Manga Critic)

Hey, everyone, sorry about the spotty posting the past few weeks. I’m up to my neck in my biggest project of the year, my city’s Memorial Day parade, which actually happens on Sunday. That and sundry other things have conspired against me. However, once the parade is over, normal posting will resume. In the meantime, here’s an oversized post with lots of good reading for the long weekend. Enjoy!

I put together a Sailor Moon primer at MTV Geek, for those who are wondering what the fuss is all about, and I also took a look at Tokyopop licenses that are likely to be rescued (OK, some are wishful thinking). No sooner had I done this, then two publishers picked up two licenses that I never would have guessed were in play: Vertical has acquired the license to the Great Teacher Onizuka prequel, Shonan Junai-gumi, and the sequel, Shonan 14 Days, and marketing director Ed Chavez held out the possibility that they may license the GTO series as well; and Cryptozoic put the World of Warcraft and StarCraft manga on its iPad app.

In other publishing news, DramaQueen has announced it will release Shushushu Sakurai’s one-shot BL manga Junk on June 1. ANN spots some new books on Amazon: Yakuza Cafe from Digital and The Innocent from Yen. And Digital Manga continues to live up to its name by expanding onto yet another platform, Google Books.

At Anime Vice, Tim Beedle talks about his time at Tokyopop, and how things changed over the years he was there. If you’re curious what went wrong there, this is a great place to start.

Shaenon Garrity steps in for Jason Thompson this week and explains why she loves Club 9 so much in the latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Always a step ahead of the rest of us, Sean Gaffney looks at next week’s new manga releases and finds… none. Johanna Draper Carlson has some recommendations from this week’s batch, which should tide us over.

The Manga Moveable Feast continues with reviews and commentary on Mitsuri Adachi’s Cross Game; check out all the links at host blog The Panelists.

Melinda Beasi convenes the final session of the Breaking Down Banana Fish roundtable at Manga Bookshelf.

At Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson bemoans the loss of Tokyopop’s Warriors manga, which were global manga based on Erin Hunter’s tween novels about clans of cats. I’m sure she’s not the only one, as Warriors was Tokyopop’s best-selling series last year by a healthy margin, and they had more volumes scheduled to come out; perhaps someone will rescue that license as well.

Manga Therapy continues its mental health month theme with a guest post by Ricky Alvarez on the Fruits Basket character Kyo Sohma.

License request: David Welsh would like to see some of Cross Game creator Misturi Adachi’s shoujo manga. Also, David reaches the letter Q in his Josei Alphabet.

Feeling lucky? Ash Brown is giving away a copy of Natsume Ono’s Gente.

Job Board: Digital Manga is has a few openings.

Blogging note: Manga expert Jason Thompson is abandoning his LJ and will now be writing and drawing at Mockman.com and kingofrpgs.com.

News from Japan: All sorts of creativity is being unleashed at the moment, and hopefully some of it will make its way over here. est em, the creator of Seduce Me After the Show and Red Blinds the Foolish, has begun a bullfighting manga titled Golondrina. Ai Yori Aoshi creator Kou Fumizuki has launched a new series, Itadaki! about a new student who joins a school’s mountain-climbing club. Shueisha has revealed the manga-ka who will have serials in their new Jump X magazine, and they include Nodame Cantabile creator Tomoko Ninomiya, who will start a new series. Tanbishugi has the official cover of the new CLAMP manga, Gate 7. Helen McCarthy shows off some pretty Rose of Versailles stamps from Japan Post. And since China won’t allow comics made by foreign artists into the country, Kadokawa got together with a Chinese publisher to do a homegrown comic adaptation of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Reviews: Omar whips up some brief reviews of recent manga at About Heroes. At All About Manga, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber gives quick impressions of some Tokyopop manga she picked up at their garage sale. Michelle Smith and Melinda Beasi discuss their latest reading in their Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Michelle Smith on vol. 6 of Alice in the Country of Hearts (Japanese edition) (Soliloquy in Blue)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 5 of Arata: The Legend (Kuriousity)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of A Bride’s Story (The Manga Critic)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 1 of A Bride’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 1 of A Bride’s Story (Genji Press)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-4 of Full House (Soliloquy in Blue)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Gente (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
TSOTE on vol. 7 of Geobreeders (Three Steps Over Japan)
Marcus Speer on Higurashi When They Cry: Demon Exposing Arc (Japanator)
Leroy Douresseaux on vols. 1-3 of Kekkaishi (omnibus edition) (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on The Manga Guide to Relativity (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Negima! (I Reads You)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 29 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Jennifer LeBlanc on Open the Door to Your Heart (The Yaoi Review)
Clive Owen on vol. 3 of Rosario + Vampire, Season II (Animanga Nation)
Carlo Santos on vol. 3 of Saturn Apartments (ANN)
Bill Sherman on Scarlet (Blogcritics)
Kristin on vols. 5 and 6 of Seiho Boys’ High School (Comic Attack)

At About.com, Deb Aoki goes over some of the questions left by Tokyopop’s closing and asks her readers: Which Tokyopop series would you like to see rescued? Deb also has a look ahead to FanimeCon, which happens this weekend.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their pick of the week, and they lean heavily toward Kaoru Mori’s A Bride’s Story. The Manga Village team looks at the past week’s new releases.

Manga Therapy posts a podcast of Natsume Ono’s appearance at Kinokuniya in New York earlier this month.

The Manga Moveable Feast continues with David Welsh’s list of ten things he loves about Cross Game. There’s a whole lot of writin’ going on, so be sure to check out the archive post at MMF host The Panelists.

News from Japan: Kadokawa is launching a new manga magazine that will start out with five anime-based series. Welcome datacomp has a trip report on Comiket 79.

Reviews: Carlo Santos brings us up to date with the latest manga in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown summarizes a week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf bloggers make quick work of a stack of manga in their latest Bookshelf Briefs column.

Anna on vol. 1 of A Bride’s Story (Manga Report)
Dave Ferraro on A Bride’s Story (Comics-and-More)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 12 of We Were There (The Comic Book Bin)

Over at MTV Geek, I celebrated the 100th birthday of bluesman Robert Johnson with a look at Me and the Devil Blues, and I also checked out the seven manga that have been nominated for Eisner Awards. David Welsh also handicaps the Eisners at The Manga Curmudgeon.

Digital is now making their manga available for the Kobo e-reader, along with the Kindle, the Nook, and their own eManga site.

Publishers Weekly has an exclusive preview of the new CLAMP manga, Gate 7.

At The Comics Journal, Ryan Holmberg continues his series on gekiga manga with a look at Saitō Takao and his studio.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast is all about Cross Game, and The Panelists is hosting. Derik Badman kicks it off with an introduction to the series, Alex Hoffman explains why the characters are not tsundere, David Tai posts an appreciation of Cross Game at A Case Suitable for Treatment, and Kristin reviews vols. 2 and 3 at Comic Attack. Check back at The Panelists for more updates all week long.

May is Mental Health Month, and Manga Therapy blogger Tony Yao is inviting all bloggers to contribute their thoughts on anime and manga characters who have dealt with mental illness. He kicks it off with an example (warning: Spoilers!) of two characters dealing with depression in Rurouni Kenshin.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu, and she discusses censorship of manga and anime, by the Tokyo government and the makers of hardware, on the Otaku in Review podcast.

What are the classic manga everyone should read? Molly McIsaac has a good list at iFanboy.com.

Rob McMonigal continues his year of Rumiko Takahashi posts with a look at humor and breaking the fourth wall in vols. 18-20 of Ranma 1/2.

David Welsh asks his readers to name their favorite sports manga.

Publishers take note: Michelle Smith has a guest license request at The Manga Curmudgeon: Crazy for You, by Karuho Shiina (Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You). At Manga Widget, Alex Hoffman wants to see someone rescue The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko, which was published by Tokyopop until its recent demise.

Speaking of which, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber reports in on her shopping spree at the Tokyopop garage sale.

News from Japan: Gakuen Prince will come to an end in the July issue of Bessatsu Friend, and a new series by Girl Got Game manga-ka Shizuru Seino begins in the June issue. Shin Takahashi (SaiKano) is launching a new series, Yuki ni Tsubasa (Wings in the Snow), in the July 16 issue of Young Magazine. Two more new series are starting in different issues of Young Magazine: Green Blood, a western, by Masasumi Kakizaki, and Mascara, a romantic comedy, by Nobuto Hagio.

Reviews: Lori Henderson and Alex Hoffman discuss vol. 1 of Oresama Teacher at Manga Village. Michelle Smith and Melinda Beasi take a look at some recent yaoi releases in their latest BL Bookrack feature at Manga Bookshelf.

Connie on vol. 14 of 20th Century Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of Arisa (Soliloquy in Blue)
Erica Friedman on Avare Senki (Okazu)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Bakuman (Kuriousity)
Kristin on vols. 4 and 5 of Black Butler (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 20 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 3 of Bunny Drop (Read About Comics)
Connie on vols. 5 and 6 of Butterflies, Flowers (Slightly Biased Manga)
Danica Davidson on vol. 2 of Cat Eyed Boy (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Jennifer LeBlanc on vol. 2 of Close the Last Door (The Yaoi Review)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 4 of Demon Sacred (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Genkaku Picasso (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
TSOTE on vol. 6 of Geobreeders (Three Steps Over Japan)
Kate Dacey on Ginga Legend Weed (The Manga Critic)
Connie on vol. 4 of Itazura na Kiss (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Jormungand (Okazu)
Rob McMonigal on vol. 3 of Karakuri Odette (Panel Patter)
Connie on vol. 1 of Mister Mistress (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Moon and Blood (The Manga Critic)
Diana Dang on vol. 2 of Nightschool (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Shannon Fay on vol. 1 of Oresama Teacher (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Otomen (The Comic Book Bin)
Sophie Stevens on vol. 1 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (Animanga Nation)
Katherine H. on Sakura No Sono (Okazu)
Connie on vols. 1 and 2 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Seiho Boys’ High School (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-9 of Shugo Chara! (Soliloquy in Blue)
Lori Henderson on vol. 11 of Slam Dunk (Manga Village)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of The Story of Saiunkoku (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on vol. 14 of Yukan Club (Okazu)

Sean Gaffney takes an advance look at next week’s new manga.

Jason Thompson talks about one of my favorite manga of all time, Chikyu Misaki, in his latest House of 1000 Manga column. And speaking of Jason Thompson, the second volume of his King of RPGs graphic novel is coming out, and he is celebrating with launch parties at Seattle’s Green Lake Games on May 26 and San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum on June 4.

A Feminist Otaku has a new URL. Update your bookmarks and RSS feeds accordingly!

Ash Brown has some kind words for this site at Experiments in Manga. Thank you!

News from Japan: ANN has a list (NSFW) of the first manga to face restrictions in Tokyo under the new law, along with the stated reasons for the restrictions. A Nagoya man has been arrested for illegally uploading games and manga (Strawberry Marshmallow). ANN also has the latest Japanese comics rankings and notes that two Madoka Magica side stories made it into the top five.

Reviews: Ash Brown wraps up a week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Arisa (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Chi’s Sweet Home (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 16 of Gakuen Alice (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Anna on vols. 1-3 of Genkaku Picasso (Manga Report)
Dave Ferraro on Lychee Light Club (Comics-and-More)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1-3 of Naruto (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ed Sizemore on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (Comics Worth Reading)

Lori Henderson has the list of the past week’s all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids, and the Manga Village crew looks at all the past week’s new manga.

Erica Friedman updates us on the world of yuri in the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

At Anime Sentinel, James Fleenor surveys the post-Tokyopop mangascape and lists the series he hopes will be picked up by another publisher.

The recent news that someone has taken over Go! Comi’s website and is asking for donations to restart the company (don’t do it—it’s a scam!) has David Welsh asking his readers which Go! Comi series they would like to see continue, and he revisits an old Flipped column about some of his favorites. David’s latest license request is the train-travel manga Karechi.

News from Japan: Big news for yaoi fans: Hinako Takanaga has announced she is ending The Tyrant Falls in Love. Cross Game creator Mitsuru Adachi has just started a new baseball manga, Asaoka Kōkō Yakyū-Bu Nisshi – Over Fence (Asaoka High School Baseball Team Journal – Over Fence), and Club Sunday has a preview up in Japanese. Lelouche Lamperouge is a convenience store clerk in the latest Code Geass spinoff, which is a 4-koma manga. The Strike Witches doujinshi is now available in both Japanese and English. Gantz manga-ka Hiroya Oku drew a one-shot spinoff for the latest issue of Weekly Young Jump. And Monochrome Factor is coming to an end.

Reviews: Adam Stephanides analyzes Shintaro Kago’s Fraction at Completely Futile. Anna looks over some recent Harlequin manga at Manga Report.

Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of Black Butler (ANN)
Connie on vol. 18 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on vols. 1-3 of Blood Alone (The Manga Critic)
Jennifer LeBlanc on vol. 1 of Close the Last Door (The Yaoi Review)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Dengeki Daisy (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 9 of Detroit Metal City (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kristin on vol. 5 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage and vol. 5 of Biomega (Comic Attack)
Ken Haley on vol. 2 of Fafner: Dead Aggressor (Sequential Ink)
Sarah Sammis on vol. 1 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Puss Reboots)
Christopher Mautner on Yoichi Yokoyama’s Garden (Robot 6)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso (The Comic Book Bin)
TSOTE on Geobreeders, Atomic Attack (Three Steps Over Japan)
Todd Douglass on vol. 2 of Haruhi-Chan (Anime Maki)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Jormungand (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1-3 of Kekkaishi (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on No Touching At All (Comic Attack)
Animemiz on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (Anime Diet)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Otomen (Manga Widget)
Shannon Fay on vol. 10 of Otomen (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Otomen (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 9 of Rasetsu (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Saturn Apartments (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 14 of Sgt. Frog (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on vol. 1 of Vagabond (omnibus edition) (Manga Report)