At Publishers Weekly, I talked to Digital Manga Publishing CEO Hikaru Sasahara about their ambitious Kickstarter, which would have raised over half a million dollars to publish 31 volumes of manga by Osamu Tezuka. I also talked a bit about their new Kickstarter, which is closer to the older model. At Eeepers Choice, Phillip questions the wisdom of their plans to hold another Kickstarter to fund a new printing of Unico, Swallowing the Earth, and Barbara.
The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases.
Volume 72 of Naruto will be the final volume; it will be out in February in Japan and sometime in 2016 in the U.S. Also, Shueisha has announced the full list of post-manga Naruto novels, which will continue the story and feature art by manga-ka Masashi Kishimoto.
One Piece is taking a one-week hiatus from Shonen Jump (in Japan, so presumably from Viz’s Shonen Jump as well) so author Eiichiro Oda can do some research.
Erica Friedman brings us up to date with a new Yuri Network News post at Okazu.
Lori Henderson posts the weekly top ten lists from Viz’s digital site and the New York Times, plus a list of the manga that appeared in BookScan’s top 20 list for November.
Lori also posts a Manga Gift Guide at Manga Xanadu, and she gives her take on the past week’s new manga.
News from Japan: Da Vinci magazine revealed its list of the top manga of the year, based on votes by over 4,000 readers, retailers, and reviewers, and Attack on Titan was number one for the second year in a row. Inio Asano is taking a break from his current series, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededededestruction; it will return to Big Comic Spirits in the spring.
Reviews
Erica Friedman on Ashita no Kimi ni Hanabata wo (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Attack on Titan (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Dan Greenfield on vol. 1 of Batmanga (13th Dimension)
A Library Girl on vols. 1-4 of Durarara!!! (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Drew McCabe on E-Robot (Comic Attack)
Erica Friedman on Himitsu no Kakera (Okazu)
Laura on vol. 1 of Kiss of the Rose Princess (Heart of Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 7 of Mobile Suit Gundam (Experiments in Manga)
A Library Girl on vols. 1, 2, and 5-18 of Monster (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Lori Henderson on vols. 15-21 of Pokemon Adventures: Ruby and Sapphire (Good Comics for Kids)
Anna N on vol. 3 of Seraph of the End (Manga Report)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 5 of Sherlock Bones (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on Showa 1944-1953: A History of Japan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Spell of Desire (Comic Attack)
TSOTE on vol. 2 of Swallowing the Earth (Three Steps Over Japan)
Josh Begley on vol. 4 of Vinland Saga (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Yukarism (I Reads You)