Viz has picked up Zone-00, originally licensed by Tokyopop, as a digital release.
Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto talks about his plans for the next few months, which include a Naruto spinoff that will launch in April, some other Naruto-related business, and spending some quality time with his wife and child. He will start working on a brand-new series in the summer, but he cautions fans that he is turning 40 and may not be up to the rigors of another monthly series.
Wondering what’s in the pipeline for next year? The Fandom Post shares VIZ’s April 2015 release list.
If you’re a Weekly Shonen Jump reader, you may have noticed that VIZ just added a new title to the mix, Takujo no Ageha: The Table Tennis of Ageha. In the coming weeks, VIZ will launch two more series: Ryohei Yamamoto’s E-ROBOT (11/24) and Nobuaki Enoki and Takeshi Obata’s Gakkyu Hotei: School Judgment (12/1).
The Manga Bookshelf gang strongly recommend the latest volume of Takehiko Inoue’s Real, which arrived in stores this week, and preview next week’s coming attractions.
The Q2 gallery in Los Angeles threw a party to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Dragon Ball‘s publication.
In her latest House of 1000 Manga column, Shaenon Garrity explores the GEN Manga catalog.
Good news: translator Jocelyne Allen is posting reviews again, focusing on offbeat, funny, and weird manga that haven’t yet crossed the Pacific. On her nightstand: Mahoshojo Ore, a series featuring magical girl men, and Yume Kara Sameta, a collection of short stories by Natsujikei Miyazaki.
News from Japan: Ken Akamatsu, Tetsuya Chiba, and Hideaki Anno were among the manga and anime insiders who were guests at the first meeting of the Japanese Parliamentary Association for manga, anime, and games, a.k.a. Manga Giren. The Association, which is mostly made up of councilors from the Liberal Democratic Party, will promote tax breaks for the industry and work toward relaunching the mothballed International Media Art General Center.
Rei Toma, author of Dawn of the Arcana, will be launching a new series in the February issue of Shogakukan’s Monthly Cheese! Also in the works: an anime adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi’s Rin-ne, which will debut in spring 2015.
Reviews: Remember Top Shelf’s AX anthology? One of the stand-out contributions, “Rainy Day Blouse and The Umbrella,” was by Akino Kondoh. Indie publisher Retrofit Comics has just published a new collection of her stories in English, with translations by manga scholar Ryan Holmberg. Alex Hoffman has a review at Sequential Slate.
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Ani-Emo (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 12 of Blue Exorcist (Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 23 of Full Metal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings on Anime & Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 16 of Goong (The Fandom Post)
Megan R. on Lovers in the Night (Manga Test Drive)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1-2 of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 24 of Naruto (Lesley’s Musings on Anime & Manga)
Nicholas Smith on Naruto (Ka Leo)
Ken H. on vols. 6-7 of No. 6 (Sequential Ink)
Mad Manga on Takujo no Ageha (Cartoon Geek Corner)
Melinda Beasi on They Were Eleven (Manga Bookshelf)
Matthew Warner on vol. 00 of Ubel Blatt (The Fandom Post)
Akino Kondoh in English? How did I miss this!? Must shop…
I had the same reaction when I stumbled across Alex’s review—I hadn’t heard anything about plans to publish more of Kondoh’s work in English, but was pleased to discover that good people were involved in the translation and design of the collection.