Daniella Orihuela-Gruber winds up her 2011 manga gift guide. While gift-giving season is pretty much over, it’s a good resource for those who are wondering what to do with all the gift cards they got.

Sean Gaffney looks back at the manga scene in 2011 and sees a mixed bag; he also has some wishes for the future. And congratulations to Sean on his second anniversary as a blogger! Sean is also hosting this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, which will feature Sailor Moon.

Erica Friedman posts her picks for the best yuri manga of 2011 and her wish list for 2012.

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

Ouch! Dave Ferraro includes Animal Land in his three worst comics of the year.

The China Post has a good overview of the comics scene in Taiwan, where Japanese manga are huge—so huge that Shueisha recently sponsored a new talent competition there, and the editor of Weekly Shonen Jump flew over for the awards ceremony.

News from Japan: Huge news for Rurouni Kenshin fans: Creator Nobuhiro Watsuki is bringing the series back in the June issue of Jump Square, at least for a few episodes. Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at the manga magazine Monthly Shonen Ace.

Reviews

Sakura Eries on vol. 2 of Ai Ore! (The Fandom Post)
Margaret O’Connell on Anesthesiologist Hana (Sequential Tart)
Connie on vol. 2 of Bad Teacher’s Equation (omnibus edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 19 of Claymore (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on vol. 8 of Dengeki Daisy (Manga Report)
Connie on Finder Series 05: Truth in the Viewfinder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 16 of Higurashi: When They Cry (ANN)
Connie on vol. 11 of Kimi ni Todoke (Slightly Biased Manga)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 2 of No Longer Human (Genji Press)
Kristin on vol. 59 of One Piece and vol. 4 of Tenjho Tenge (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 2 of Redmoon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on Stargazing Dog (The Manga Critic)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Tenjho Tenge (The Comic Book Bin)

I took a look at this week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo goes over her list in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney looks ahead to next week’s new releases at A Case Suitable for Treatment.

Here’s the deal of the holiday season: Digital is offering vols. 1-5 of Vampire Hunter D for free via its eManga site from December 24 through January 8. Volume 6 comes out on December 28, so I guess they want you to be caught up.

Two publishers announced new yaoi licenses this week: Viz has the license for the first three volumes of Yebisu Celebrities, which will be published digitally under its new SuBLime imprint (old-timers may remember that BeBeautiful had the license for this series at one time), and Digital just announced two new titles, Secretary’s Job and vol. 3 of Private Teacher. SuBLime also unveiled their shiny new website.

Gottsu-Iiyan posts some photos of artwork from Takehiko Inoue’s new book, Pepita: Inoue Takehiko Meets Gaudi.

News from Japan: Lots of new series are launching next month: Three new series based on older properties will launch in the March issue of Shonen Sunday (due out on Jan. 25): Colorful Hayate no Gotoku (Colorful Hayate the Combat Butler), Meitantei Conan: Seiki matsu no majutsushi (Case Closed: The Last Magician of the Century), and a new Mobile Suit Gundam AGE story. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, who was the character designer for Mobile Suit Gundam and the artist for the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga, has started a new series of his own, Ten no Kechimyaku, a historical drama set in 1903, in the days before the Russo-Japanese war. It will launch in the March issue of Afternoon magazine. Monthly Shōnen Ace has announced a new series based on the television mystery series Hyoka and a Eureka Seven sequel. creator of Flowers of Evil and Drifting Net Cafe, is launching a new series, Shino-chan wa Jibun no Namae ga Ienai (Shino Can’t Say Her Own Name) in the online manga magazine Poco Poco.

In other news, Mainichi profiles Dr. Vivian Wijaya, an Indonesian doctor-turned-manga-ka whose first manga, Kokkyonaki Gakuen (Campus Dwellers Without Borders) debuted on Shogakukan’s Club Sunday website last month. Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at yet another seinen manga magazine, Young Champion. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss some recent yaoi releases in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf.

Connie on vol. 8 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Andre Paploo on vol. 11 of Bamboo Blade (Kuriousity)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Dawn of the Arcana (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 27 of Fullmetal Alchemist (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie Opipari on vol. 2 of Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of My Boyfriend is a Vampire (ANN)
Matthew Warner on vol. 59 of One Piece (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 7 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Pokemon: Black and White (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Rakuen Le Paradis (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on vol. 2 of Stellar Six of Gangacho (Manga Report)
TSOTE on vol. 2 of Yuukoku no Rasputin (Three Steps Over Japan)

I posted my look at this week’s new manga—including the last volume of Fullmetal Alchemist—at MTV Geek.

Viz is expanding its digital footprint to new platform: Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet and Nook Color.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Weekly Shonen Jump has posted the first chapter of the comedy manga Nisekoi, by Double Arts creator Naoshi Komi, online for free. In order to read it, you must download their manga reader, which only works on Windows XP or Vista, so Mac users like me are out of luck.

JManga has added Hiroki Kusumoto’s historical drama King’s Moon -The Life of Akechi Mitsuhide to its lineup, priced at $8.99 (but discounted to $4.99 as part of an ongoing sale). Kusumoto is the creator of Wild Butterfly and Vampire’s Portrait, which are also hosted on the site. (Via ANN.)

News from Japan: Seven manga creators have filed suit in Tokyo district court against two shops that scan print books and convert them to digital form. While the scanning is purportedly done for personal use, the manga creators feel that it is a step towards piracy. Koji Ahara, creator of Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga, is launching a new series, Shimoneta de Kangaeru Kakumon, in the second 2012 issue of Futabasha’s Manga Action magazine.

Reviews: Ash Brown has the highlights of a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Anna on vols. 7 and 8 of Basara (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Beauty Pop (Blogcritics)
Connie on The Book of Human Insects (Slightly Biased Manga)
Dave Ferraro on The Book of Human Insects (Comics-and-More)
Chris Beveridge on vol. 7 of Chi’s Sweet Home (The Fandom Post)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Erica Friedman on vols. 3 and 4 of K-ON! (Okazu)
Lori Henderson on The Manga Guide to the Universe (Manga Xanadu)
Kristin on vols. 5 and 6 of Oresama Teacher (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Pokemon: Black and White (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Poor Poor Lips (Okazu)

Jason Thompson sings the praises of Ai Morinaga’s gender-bender Your and My Secret in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

At Otaku Champloo, Khursten Santos waxes just as enthusiastic about the work of Kaoru Mori, creator of Emma and A Bride’s Story.

Margaret O’Connell kicks the tires—and then some—at JManga.com and finds it’s not bad but could use some streamlining.

Connie posts a wonderfully quirky best-of-2011 list at Slightly Biased Manga.

The Manga Village team recommends the best of two weeks’ worth of new manga, and Lori Henderson checks out the past week’s all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

Erica Friedman has the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu, and at Manga Bookshelf, she takes a look at Kodansha’s Evening magazine, the stay-out-late big brother of Morning, Morning Two, and Afternoon magazines.

News from Japan: Saturn Apartments won the Japanese government’s Media Arts Award in the manga division. Two new series will debut in the first issue of Young Gangan: Iroha-saka, Agatte Sugu (The Iroha-saka Path Is Up Ahead), by Hanamaru Kindergarten manga-ka Yuto, and Donyatsu, a sci-fi series featuring cute animal-food hybrids, by Speed Grapher creator Yuusuke Kozaki.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss a handful of recent releases, mostly of the fluffy kind, in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. Three Steps Over Japan posts a few short reviews of miscellaneous manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vols. 5 and 6 of Basara (Manga Report)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 11 of Black Bird (ANN)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of A Bride’s Story (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 19 of Claymore (The Fandom Post)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of Codename Sailor V (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Thomas Zoth on vol. 2 of Dorohedoro (The Fandom Post)
Kate Dacey on vols. 1 and 2 of The Drops of God (The Manga Critic)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of The Drops of God (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of The Drops of God (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Emily on Futari no Himitsu (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of House of Five Leaves (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on The Innocent (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of K-ON! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson on vol. 6 of Kurozakuro (Manga Village)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Love Hina (Blogcritics)
Sakura Eries on vol. 8 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (The Fandom Post)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Mr. Tiger and Mr. Wolf (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 59 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Princess Knight (ANN)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Sailor Moon (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon (ANN)
Sakura Eries on vol. 5 of Sakura Hime: The Story of Princess Sakura (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 19 of Slam Dunk and vol. 41 of Case Closed (Comic Attack)
Sweetpea616 on The Vision of Escaflowne (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

I took a look at manga series that ended (or will come to an end) in 2011 at MTV Geek.

Sean Gaffney looks ahead to next week’s new manga.

At PWCW, Danica Davidson talks to Robert McGuire, the editor of the monthly digital manga magazine GEN, which is now available via downloadable PDFs and on the Graphicly platform.

News from Japan: Linebarrels of Iron creators Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi had a good run with their Kamen Rider doujinshi Hybrid Insector, but Toei, which holds the rights to Kamen Rider, is making them stop after nine chapters. (As of this writing, though, the existing chapters are still up.) GCU manga-ka Umetarô Saitani has a new sports/comedy series in the works, Gosling, featuring the exciting game of badminton. It will run in Manga Times. We Were There (Bokura Ga Ita) is coming to an end in the March issue of Betsucomi. Elfen Lied creator Lynn Okamoto has a new series in the works, Kiwaguro no Brynhildr, which will run in Young Jump. The sixth volume of Attack on Titan hit the top of Oricon’s manga chart, the third volume in the series to do so. (Kodansha USA has licensed it for U.S. release.) And ANN has last week’s manga rankings.

Reviews: Ash Brown has been reading lots of manga from the library at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 18 of 20th Century Boys (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 7 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on vols. 3 and 4 of Basara (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 2 of Betrayal Knows My Name (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Finder 4: Prisoner in the Viewfinder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Gate 7 (ICv2)
Rob McMonigal on Stargazing Dog (Panel Patter)
Connie on vol. 4 of Tenjho Tenge (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on Tesoro (Read About Comics)