MangaBlog

Today’s article about the Shonen Jump reboot comes courtesy of Deb Aoki, who talked to senior editor Joel Enos about plans to update the magazine’s design, add some new series, and provide some content online to subscribers.

Also, today is Pocky Day (11-11—think about it). Lori Henderson celebrates with a look at manga in which characters eat Pocky.

The next Manga Moveable Feast will feature One Piece, and it will be hosted by David Welsh. David also presents the latest episode of the seinen alphabet, focusing on seinin manga whose titles begin with the letter P.

Tanbishugi spots some new Tokyopop and Blu titles on Amazon. (Caveat: This is no guarantee that they are actually licensed, although it is a good bet.)

Nico Nico Seiga is translating Shuho Sato’s Say Hello to Black Jack into English. Their English site is a little clumsy, as it shows the Japanese original as a Flash slide show with English subtitles underneath. They are looking for help, so check the page if you want to join in.

News from Japan: Good news for Chika Shiomi fans: She is starting a new series, Yukarism, in the December issue of Betsuhana magazine. Over 2 million copies of vol. 60 of One Piece were sold the week it was released, which seems to be a new record. Also, ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss a handful of new releases in their latest Off the Shelf column.

Carlo Santos on vol. 4 of Biomega (ANN)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 1 of A Drunken Dream and Other Stories (Comics Worth Reading)
Ken Haley on vol. 1 of Itazura na Kiss (Sequential Ink)
Animemiz on Portrait of M&N (Anime Diet)
Kristin on White Brand and Stop Bullying Me! (Comic Attack)

ICv2 talks to Shonen Jump senior editor Joel Enos about the magazine’s “re-launch,” which seems to mean a facelift plus the addition of the subscriber-only online content. Enos seems to realize which way the world is going; as bookstores and newsstands close or downsize, it makes sense to cater more to subscribers.

Chris Sims presents Osamu Tezuka’s fire safety posters. Yes, you read that right. Just go take a look; you’ll be glad you did.

Kate Dacey, Brad Rice, and David Welsh all look over this week’s new releases and pick the ones they like the best. Melinda Beasi’s Pick of the Week is Twin Spica; check out Manga Bookshelf to find out why.

The Yaoi Review kicks off a three-part interview with Hinako Takanaga.

Jason Thompson writes about why there is no Alan Moore of global manga, someone who takes the tropes of the different genres and turns them into something new. An interesting discussion follows in the comments section as well.

Masters of Manga asks: Why do mangaka wear berets? Jirō Tsunoda supplies the answer in the latest video.

News from Japan: Shueisha is launching a kids’ manga magazine, Super Strong Jump (Saikyō Jump), in December; the new mag will include spinoffs from Shonen Jump series like Naruto and One Piece.

Reviews: Carlo Santos takes us through the latest releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Noah Berlatsky throws all kinds of theory at Moto Hagio’s short story “The Willow Tree,” from A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, but misses the story’s most fundamental problem: It’s boring.

Katherine Farmar on Cafe Latte Rhapsody (Comics Village)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Genkaku Picasso (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 1 of Genkaku Picasso (Read About Comics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 54 of InuYasha (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 3 of Kobato (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Zack Davisson on The Quest for the Missing Girl (Japan Reviewed)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 8 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Comics Worth Reading)

Deb Aoki talks to Digital CEO Hikaru Sasahara about his plans for the Digital Manga Guild and how he hopes it will change the licensing system for manga.

Melinda Beasi rounds up the latest manhwa news in her Manhwa Monday post.

Opinion pieces: AstroNerdBoy is getting impatient for his Del Rey series; Kodansha has taken back the licenses but seems to be slow getting the books out. Lori Henderson is pleased to see Asako Suzuki is back to editing manga, having moved from CMX to Tokyopop.

The Japanese company Katalyst is publishing a manga direct to iPad: Maniac Tours was released simultaneously in Japanese, English, and French on Saturday, and the first chapter is free.

News from Japan: A four-volume full-color manga adaptation of the anime Highschool of the Dead will be coming out next spring.

Reviews: Omar posts some short reviews of recent releases at About Heroes, and Kate Dacey has more short takes at The Manga Critic. Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of reading at Experiments in Manga. Other reviews of note:

Alex Woolfson on vol. 1 of Adamo Anthology (Yaoi 911)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Arisa (ICv2)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Biomega (The Comic Book Bin)
Todd Douglass on vol. 3 of Black Butler (Anime Maki)
Sophie Stevens on vol. 2 of Chobits (omnibus edition)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of K-ON! (Soliloquy in Blue)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Kuro Zakuro (Comics-and-More)
Anna on vols. 2 and 3 of Library Wars: Love and War (Manga Report)
Kristin on vol. 3 of MAOH Juvenile Remix (Comic Attack)
Michelle Smith on not simple and Ristorante Paradiso (Comics Should Be Good)
Anna on vol. 1 of The Stellar Six of Gingacho (Manga Report)
Animemiz on Yakitate!! Japan (Anime Diet)

Tokyopop has begun selling print-on-demand editions of both old and new books through its online shop. Johanna Draper Carlson looks over some of the offerings at Comics Worth Reading.

Lori Henderson takes a look at the week in manga at Manga Xanadu.

The Yaoi Review talks to Tina Anderson, global BL manga writer (and coiner of the term GloBL).

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber writes about iSee Toon, a Korean company that is publishing webtoons for the iPhone. The app is free, and so are the first two chapters.

David Welsh starts winterizing his blog by asking the readers: What are your favorite comics with snow scenes?

Marc Bernabe profiles Jiro Tsunoda at Masters of Manga.

News from Japan: The Japanese government is honoring two manga creators: Galaxy Express 999 creator Leiji Matsumoto will be one of 4,173 people to receive the The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, next week, and GeGeGe no Kitarō creator Shigero Mizuki is one of 17 to be named Persons of Cultural Merit.

Reviews: Deb Aoki takes us through the express line with short reviews of 18 manga at About.com.

Ken Haley on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 3 of Black Butler (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie Opipari on vol. 6 of Bride of the Water God (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 8 of Le Chevalier d’Eon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Cross Game (Manga Widget)
David Welsh on vol. 1 of Cross Game (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Anna on vol. 1 of Dragon Girl (omnibus edition) (Manga Report)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 12 of Gakuen Alice (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 20 of Gin Tama (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on Himeyuka & Rozione’s Story (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Kimi ni Todoke (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Cynthia on vol. 1 of Kizuna (deluxe edition) and Finder, vol. 1: Target in the Finder (Boys Next Door)
Andre Paploo on vol. 3 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Otomen (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 17 of SA (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Todd Douglass on vol. 1 of Sasameke (Anime Maki)
Leroy Douressaux on vol. 3 of Shiki Tsukai (I Reads You)
Cynthia on Stay Close to Me (Boys Next Door)
Cynthia on vol. 2 of Under Grand Hotel (Boys Next Door)
Leroy Douressaux on vols. 1-3 of Wild At Heart (omnibus) (The Comic Book Bin)

Actually, this has been on Yen Plus, their online magazine, for two months, but if you don’t subscribe, now is the time to jump in. Here are the details.

Seems it was just yesterday that Tim Beedle was saying that no one is publishing global manga any more… oh wait, it was! Yen has actually been taking submissions for a while, and they ran a short story by Queenie Chan in the print magazine. Most of their global manga are based on licensed products (Maximum Ride, Twilight, Gossip Girl) so it will be interesting to see where this is going.

I spoke to Shonen Jump senior editor Joel Enos a couple of days ago about that magazine’s new subscriber-only digital comics. Joel provided some additional details on the program and reassured me that parent company Viz is not contemplating dropping the print edition. Now ANN has confirmed that Viz has licensed Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and will start serializing it in SJ in January. And he talked a bit more what’s going on here:

When asked about VIZ’s digital and print strategies in general, Enos explained that with Shonen Jump magazine is nearing 10 years old — its first issue was released in December 2002. “It was time for a new look and feel,” he said. “The world of reading, magazines, and manga have changed a lot in the past two to three years.” He stated that Shonen Jump will integrate both digital and print distribution as much as possible rather than shifting focus away from print.

Meanwhile, at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson isn’t all that impressed with Viz’s digital news.

Sean Gaffney is first out of the gate with a look at this week’s new manga at A Case Suitable for Treatment, while Lori Henderson has this week’s list of all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

At ANN, Jason Thompson takes a fond look at Immortal Rain, which unfortunately is stuck in licensing limbo at the moment, although you can read the whole series online if you read Japanese. Here’s Jason’s summary:

Apocalypse, love, strong female characters, attractive guys, one of the greatest villains ever, and a 600-year-old reincarnation simulation game named Wakuwaku Samsara (“Exciting Samsara”) – this is what Immortal Rain is all about.

So there’s something for everyone, then.

Melinda Beasi points out three digital comics you shouldn’t miss at Manga Bookshelf, and she also takes a look at fanservice for girls in the nominally shonen manga (Black Butler, Gestalt) of Square Enix’s Monthly GFantasy magazine.

Former Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle has some thoughts on global manga and wonders why it isn’t popular despite the obvious talent of many creators.

David Welsh’s license request this week is Piece, by Sand Chronicles creator Hinako Ashihara.

Danica Davidson will be familiar to many readers of this blog, as I frequently link to her manga reviews. At the freelance writers’ site The WM Freelance Writers Connection, she writes about her work adapting manga for American readers. (Via The Manga Critic.)

Faith Erin Hicks is making fanart of her favorite manga! And posting it at her LJ!

News from Italy: Jiro Taniguchi has won Italy’s highest comics award.

News from Japan: Remember that manga on psychosomatic illnesses we mentioned yesterday? ANN found that the publisher has posted several chapters online. At Same Hat!, Ryan posts the cover of the new Shintaro Kago manga, The Dark Beast Animorphosis, along with the book trailer and some other info—sadly, in Japanese. And a Hokkaido man who illicitly shared some chapters of One Piece via the internet has been arrested.

Reviews

Caddy C on vol. 1 of Afterschool Charisma (A Feminist Otaku)
Kristin on vol. 3 of Black Butler and vol. 1 of Bamboo Blade (Comic Attack)
Julie Opipari on Che Guevara: A Manga Biography (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Daniel X (ICv2)
Ed Sizemore on vols. 4-6 of Detroit Metal City (Comics Worth Reading)
Emily on Heroine Shikkaku (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
James Fleenor on vol. 1 of House of Five Leaves (Anime Sentinel)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-4 of Maid Sama! (Soliloquy in Blue)
James Fleenor on vol. 4 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project (Anime Sentinel)
Clive Owen on vol. 2 of Rosario + Vampire: Season II (Animanga Nation)
Victoria Martin on vol. 1 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Manga Life)
Zack Davisson on vol. 8 of Tactics (Japan Reviewed)
Carlo Santos on vol. 16 of xxxHOLiC (ANN)