Archives for February 2012

Good news for fans of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service: Dark Horse will have a new volume next month, the first since September 2010. Crunchyroll has the details and an exclusive preview.

On the other hand, John Jakala is wondering why Viz has released so few digital volumes of non-Shonen Jump manga lately.

Sakura Con is looking amazingly good this year; ANN has the guest lineup, which includes Kodansha editor Katsushi Ota, Toradora! artist Zekkyō, and Full Metal Panic artist Retsu Tateo.

These things are never guaranteed, but ANN has spotted a listing for a graphic adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon, presumably a followup to the Twilight graphic novels published by Yen Press.

Reviews

Lori Henderson on vols. 14 and 15 of Black Jack (Manga Village)
Connie on vol. 3 of Blue Exorcist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on The Book of Human Insects (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on Chayamachi’s Collection: BLANC (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Chobits (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 3 of Cross Game (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 12 of Kimi ni Todoke (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 6 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Tenjho Tenge (The Comic Book Bin)

It’s only February, but it already looks like this year’s trend will be digital licensing of niche properties. The latest announcement came at Katsucon over the weekend, when creator Izumi Matsumoto announced that his Kimagure Orange Road will be published in English viz NTT Solmare’s ComicFriends Facebook app as well as on Kindle and iBooks.

Meanwhile, at Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo spots some new yaoi titles in digital and in print from Digital Manga, Yaoi Press, and SuBLime.

Returning to the present, the Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast celebrates the work of Osamu Tezuka, and your host Kate Dacey kicks it off with an introduction to Tezuka at The Manga Critic. Connie adds a Guide to English Language Editions of Tezuka’s Work at Slightly Biased Manga. Rob McMonigal adds his appreciation of Tezuka at Panel Patter. Lori Henderson focuses on Tezuka in her Manga Wrap-Up post, and Kate rounds up all the MMF links in her Day One post, and here’s an odd bit of Tezuka news: The Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa is about to publish an original comic that uses Tezuka’s characters, an arrangement that sprang from the friendship between the two creators and has been blessed by Tezuka’s editor.

Michelle Smith discusses reading Viz manga on the Nook, and Melinda Beasi and Sean Gaffney review some new JManga selections, in the latest Going Digital column at Manga Bookshelf.

Erica Friedman has the latest yuri anime and manga news in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

ANN’s Brian Hanson sums up the problem with Mangastream, and all of scanlation: “Essentially, our little niche fandom has done a great job of supporting itself, but a terrible job of supporting anything resembling an actual industry.” And if you haven’t read Deb Aoki’s editorial, go check it out now, and don’t miss the lively discussion in the comments section.

Helen McCarthy has some thoughts on Eric Khoo’s film Tatsumi.

News from Japan: The nominees for the 16th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize have been announced, and they include Chica Umino’s March Comes In Like a Lion and Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan, which Kodansha Comics will be publishing in English later this year. Crunchyroll’s Mikikazu Komatsu takes a look at Kochi Indies Magazine, which is aimed at aspiring manga-ka. Also: Here are some scans of a K-ON! x One Piece doujinshi to start your week off right. Shun Matsuena is drawing a Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple spinoff for Shonen Sunday to celebrate the release of the OVA.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith turn in some short reviews of recent yaoi manga in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown discusses this week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Justin on Ayako (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (Okazu)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana and vol. 18 of Hayate the Combat Butler (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Honey Hunt (Blogcritics)
Carlo Santos on vol. 55 of Naruto (Anime News Network)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Soulless (The Manga Critic)

At MTV Geek this week, I talked to the Digital Manga crew about their license rescue of Erementar Gerad. And—exciting news for all you folks who are always posting license requests—they want to do more manga this way and are looking for your suggestions. Also at MTV Geek: My look at this week’s manga pickings, which were slim, so I went off on a tangent about Kekkaishi. Enjoy!

Jason Thompson discusses one of my favorite manga, Disappearance Diary, in his House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Tony Yao wonders what Viz will do once Naruto and Bleach have ended.

At Okazu Erica Friedman compiles a handy list of yuri manga available outside of Japan and picks up on some new yuri titles at JManga.

Derek Bown’s latest Combat Commentary focuses on a battle of wills, not fists in Bakuman.

Matt Blind is catching up with another post on manga best-sellers (online sales) for the week ending February 5 and another Manga Radar post to go with it.

Khursten Santos spots a Kaoru Mori collection she would like to see licensed.

Manga/anime/figurine collector Safetygirl shows off her dedicated Otaku Room at The Manga Critic.

If you read French, check out this 31-page preview of the Square Enix manga Lost Paradise at Manga news.

News from Japan: Manga-ka Hikaru Nakamura is returning from maternity leave and will resume work on Arakawa Under the Bridge; no word on her other manga, Saint Young Men. Three Steps Over Japan takes a peek inside the covers of Monthly Shonen Magazine.

Reviews: Omar posts some short reviews of recent manga at About Heroes.

Leroy Douresseaux on The Art of The Secret World of Arrietty (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Cardcaptor Sakura (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on Chou no you ni, Hana no you ni (Okazu)
Kristin on vols. 10-12 of Kimi ni Todoke (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1 and 2 of One Missed Call (Manga Xanadu)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
TSOTE on Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sweetpea616 on part 2 of Tramps Like Us (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (Experiments in Manga)
Kinukitty on Yakuza Cafe (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Jocelyne Allen on Yume no Q-SAKU (untranslated manga by Suehiro Maruo) (Brain Vs. Blog)

Lissa Pattillo discusses this week’s new manga releases in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney picks the best of next week’s new manga at his blog.

Kate Dacey has the 411 on Kodoku no Gourmet, a foodie manga coming soon to JManga.

Ed Sizemore talks to Helen McCarthy, Ada Palmer, and Kate Dacey about gender roles in Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight in the latest Manga Out Loud podcast.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber asks the readers: Should she make the switch to digital in the middle of a series?

Matt Blind has the latest manga best-sellers and a new Manga Radar post as well at Manga Bookshelf.

Erica Friedman looks at Shueisha’s brand new magazine Cocohana, billed as a shoujo magazine for adults.

The American miniseries I Kill Giants has won the Japanese government’s International Manga Award.

News from Japan: AstroNerdBoy has been following Ken Akamatsu’s Tweets, which contain some interesting news: Akamatsu is no longer exclusive to Kodansha (the end of his contract coincides neatly with the end of Negima!), and he has gotten his original art back for a number of series. AstroNerdBoy speculates that Akamatsu may do his next manga on his free manga site J-Comi, possibly following up with print tankoubons. In other news, the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 manga will begin serialization in Newtype Ace with a 63-page opening chapter. Futabasha is suing three Chinese companies who are using Crayon Shin-Chan on their products without authorization. The manga museum in Ishinomaki, which was severely damaged in the earthquake and tsunami last year, has put up a display of manga art in 35 local stores. The Mainichi Daily News looks at the popularity of One Piece, suggesting that its message of hope and loyalty resonates in these uncertain times. And ANN has the most recent Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: It’s time for another round of rapid-fire reviews from Carlo Santos in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

Kristin on vol. 18 of 20th Century Boys and vol. 4 of Kingyo Used Books (Comic Attack)
Alexander Hoffman on Breathe Deeply (Manga Village)
Anna on vol. 1 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Manga Report)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Drifters (The Manga Critic)
Justin S. on vol. 1 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ken Haley on vols. 1 and 2 of Gunsmith Cats: Burst (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of Hayate the Combat Butler (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate Dacey on How to Draw Shoujo Manga (The Manga Critic)
Joseph Luster on vol. 3 of No Longer Human (Otaku USA)
Kristin on One Piece Color Walk 2 and vol. 7 of Toriko (Comic Attack)
Kelakagandy on vol. 1 of Soulless (kelakagandy’s ramblings)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of The Tyrant Falls in Love (Kuriousity)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Uglies: Shay’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)

Whether you’re an expert or a beginner in Japanese, you should check out JManga’s translation contest. Translate the 4-koma manga at the link and you could win a copy of the (digital) book. Today is the last day, so if you’ve been planning to do it, don’t put it off! JManga is offering multiple prizes, so your chances may be better than you think.

And while you’re translating thought into action, drop in to Manga Bookshelf and enter their Valentines Day giveaway—you could be the lucky winner of vol. 1 of 13th Boy.

With Shonen Jump Alpha up and running, and most of the bugs shaken out, Viz is adding a stick to their carrots: Yesterday the scanlation group Mangastream announced it was dropping Viz titles under pressure from the publisher. AstroNerdBoy adds more commentary on the Mangastream affair, including his opinion on what they—and Viz—are doing wrong. Deb Aoki has a clear-eyed editorial at About.com, pointing out that as aggrieved as the Mangastream folks may be, in the end, they don’t own the content.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Reviews: It’s a new week and time for a new set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown recounts a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Amy Grockl on An Arranged Marriage (Manga Village)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Bed of My Dear King (Comics Worth Reading)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Devil and Her Love Song (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jia Li on Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll (Manga Bookshelf)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Anna on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on Seasons (Okazu)

Kristin Bomba picks the most interesting manga in the latest Previews at Comic Attack.

Erica Friedman rounds up the latest yuri news at Okazu.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has a question for her readers: What is your favorite Tezuka manga?

Do you read Bleach for the poetry? Tony Yao enjoys it, and he posts a few of his favorite Tite Kubo poems at Manga Therapy.

A Scottish fan shows off her manga collection to The Manga Critic, Kate Dacey.

Wandering Son is the first manga to make it on to the American Library Association’s Rainbow List of GLBT-friendly books.

Kimagure Orange Road creator Izumi Matsumoto will be a guest at Katsucon this weekend.

News from Japan: Ken Akamatsu is winding up Negima, and AstroNerdBoy has his Facebook post saying that the series is not being truncated, and that this will be a “good ending.”

Reviews: Jocelyne Allen takes a look at Hakoniwa Mushi, a book of short manga by Akino Kondoh, and she shows off some of the striking art at Brain Vs. Book. This manga hasn’t been translated into English yet, but I’d love to see it.

Connie on vol. 8 of Arata: The Legend (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on vol. 9 of Bakuman (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 15 of Black Jack (Slightly Biased Manga)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 17 of Black Jack (Genji Press)
Connie on vols. 1 and 2 of Blue Exorcist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 2 and 3 of Cage of Eden (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Chobits (Blogcritics)
Connie on Dost Thou Know? (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 9 of Future Diary (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Gorgeous Carat Galaxy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson and Alex Hoffman on High School of the Dead (Manga Village)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of Love Hina (omnibus edition)
Connie on vol. 1 of Love Pistols (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 9 of Mars (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on Men of Tattoos (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vols. 4 and 5 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Slightly Biased Manga)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 3 of No Longer Human (Genji Press)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Only Serious About You (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 17 of Ouran High School Host Club (ANN)
Connie on Poison (You Higuri artbook) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Ratman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Recipe for Gertrude (Slightly Biased Manga)
Carlo Santos on vol. 4 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (The Comic Book Bin)
Justin on A Zoo in Winter (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)