MangaBlog

The big news of the past week was the launch of the JManga website; I wrote a news report, including an interview with JManga business manager Robert Newman, at PWCW, and I critiqued the site at MTV Geek. Other folks have been chiming in as well: Daniella Orihuela-Gruber goes through the pros and cons at All About Manga, Ed Sizemore bought a volume of manga and reflects on the experience, Erica Friedman comments on the organization of the site, and Rob McMonigal records his first impressions. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie checks out vol. 1 of Adekan, Sean Gaffney reads vol. 1 of Urameshiya, and the Manga Bookshelf bloggers devote their Pick of the Week to the JManga offerings as well.

ICv2 sits down with Viz honcho Alvin Lu for some frank talk about where the manga market has been and where it is going, the future of digital media, and what the kids are reading these days. Meanwhile, at Comics Alliance, David Brothers has a thorough review of Viz’s digital manga website and app.

The Manga Moveable Feast has wound up its celebration of Fumi Yoshinaga; check the archive page at Comic Attack to see a glorious buffet of writing by different bloggers about Yoshinaga and her work. Be sure to check out the roundtables at Manga Bookshelf and Manga Village.

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

David Welsh lists his ten nominees for the Hooded Utilitarians Best Comics poll.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date with the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Lissa Patillo shows off her latest manga purchases—and gifts—at Kuriousity.

Congratulations to Ash Brown on a year of blogging at Experiments in Manga!

News from Japan: Bad news for fans of Saint Young Men: Creator Hikaru Nakamura is putting the series on hiatus because she is expecting, which is, of course, good news for her. Good news for fans of Detective Conan creator Gosho Aoyama: He has a new, two-part Magic Kaito series starting in issue 38 of Weekly Shonen Sunday. A manga version of the Hakuōki game is in the works. And two series, Kyō mo Ashita mo and Ninku ~Second Stage Eto Nin-Hen~, are coming to an end.

Reviews: Ash Brown takes us through another week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf bloggers kick off the week with a fresh set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Connie on vol. 5 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 9 of Black Bird (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vols. 1-3 of Blood Alone (omnibus edition) (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Blue Exorcist (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 8 of Butterflies, Flowers http://slightlybiasedmanga.com/2011/08/16/butterflies-flowers-8/ (Slightly Biased Manga)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Cage of Eden (Comics-and-More)
Carlo Santos on vol. 4 of Dorohedoro (ANN)
Connie on Empty Heart (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-4 of Flower of Life (Manga Xanadu)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-4 of Flower of Life (Soliloquy in Blue)
Erica Friedman on vol. 14 of Hayate x Blade (Okazu)
John Rose on vols. 7-9 of Hell Girl (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of I Am Here! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on Ichigenme: The First Class Is Civil Law (Manga Report)
Carlo Santos on vol. 7 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (ANN)
John Rose on vol. 52 of Inu Yasha (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vols. 1 and 2 of Karakuri Odette (Slightly Biased Manga)
George R. on Kurogane Pukapukatai (Okazu)
John Rose on vol. 10 of Legend (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 4 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on Nozomi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Manga Xanadu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 6 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (ANN)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 11 of Otomen (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 6 of Pandora Hearts (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 6 of Rin-ne (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Seigakuin Kouka Daigaku Yakanbu (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 2 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lianne Sentar on Tired of Waiting for Love (Digital Manga Guild title) (Sleep Is For the Weak)
Connie on vol. 6 of Toriko (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vols. 11 and 12 of Tsubomi (Okazu)
Katherine Farmar on Your Story I’ve Known (Manga Village)
Zack Davisson on A Zoo in Winter (Japan Reviewed)

The JManga website launched this week with over 100 titles, some old friends (Crayon Shin-chan, Hitohira), some new manga that haven’t been published in English before. I took a quick first look at MTV Geek, and Johanna Draper Carlson, Kate Dacey and Anna give their first impressions at their sites. The site is rather dazzling, with a lot of manga listings, but not every listing leads to a digital copy; ANN helpfully posts a list of those that do.

I also took a look at some of the digital manga available via other channels at MTV Geek.

The Digital Manga Guild posted its first title this week, and I had some thoughts on that at Robot 6. At MTV Geek, I took a look at this week’s new manga releases.

I took a look at this week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo shares her opinions in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Meanwhile, Sean Gaffney gets impatient and looks at next week’s new releases—er, release.

The Manga Moveable Feast continues this month’s celebration of Fumi Yoshinaga; check out all the links at host blog Comic Attack.

It’s that time again… As the candidates assemble for the 2012 election, Jason Thompson takes a look at the classic Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Rob McMonigal continues his yearlong appreciation of Rumiko Takahashi with a look at vols. 22-24 of Ranma 1/2.

At Manga Bookshelf, guest poster Sara K continues her discussion of Why You Should Read Evyione.

GMA News looks at a manga exhibit in Manila.

News from Japan: A new magical girl manga magazine is in the works from Yosensha. The first chapter of Otometal, about heavy metal fans in a high school guitar club, is available online for free. Manga adaptations are in the works for the games Tales of Xillia and Dragon Collection and the anime Rinne no Lagrange. Maya Shinju is working on a one-shot Sensual Phrase manga. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: Carlo Santos checks out the best—and the worst—of the new releases in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Dave Ferraro and Patrick Markfort team up for a podcast review of vol. 1 of Wandering Son at Comics-and-More.

Lori Henderson on vols. 9-11 of Black Jack (Manga Village)
Leroy Douresseaux on Finder, Vol. 2: Cage in the View Finder (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Flower of Life (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 13 and 14 of Higurashi: When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Manga Guide to the Universe (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Experiments in Manga)
Anna on vol. 6 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Manga Report)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 6 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (ANN)
Shannon Fay on La Quinta Camera (Kuriousity)
Anna on vol. 1 of Scary Book (Manga Report)
Kate Dacey on Velveteen & Mandala (The Manga Critic)
Serdar Yegulalp on Velveteen & Mandala (Genji Press)

I reviewed the Square Enix online manga store at MTV Geek. Short version: If I hadn’t been writing the review, I would never have made it past the second round of registration.

The Digital Manga Guild launched its first title, Tired of Waiting for Love, yesterday; it’s an 18+ title that is available digitally at eManga.com, and Deb Aoki has already posted a review at About.com. I interviewed Kimiko Kotani, the translator of the book, and Digital Manga CEO Hikaru Sasahara and marketer Yoko Tanigaki about the Digital Manga Guild last week.

My awesome local comics shop, Comicopia, will host a Sailor Moon Midnight Release party on Sept. 13, to celebrate the release of Kodansha’s new edition of the classic series—and its prequel, Codename Sailor V.

Reviews: Ash Brown discusses this week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kimiko Kotani on vol. 1 of Border (Kimi-Chan Experience)
Carlo Santos on vol. 3 of Itsuwaribito (ANN)
Rob McMonigal on vol. 5 of Karakuri Odette (Panel Patter)
Eric on Yakuza Moon (Giant Robot)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Yu-gi-oh 5Ds (The Fandom Post)

I posted my thoughts on JManga at Robot 6, and Johanna Draper Carlson takes a critical look at three digital manga services at Comics Worth Reading.

Also, in case you were on vacation, I posted a quick roundup of the week’s manga news at MTV Geek.

This week the Manga Moveable Feast will celebrate Fumi Yoshinaga; David Welsh asks readers to name their favorite Yoshinaga manga, and he reviews the first two volumes of Ichigenme, which sounds like a yaoi manga for people who hate yaoi manga. Kristin Bomba and Animemiz are hosting this month’s feast, and you can check out all the links at their Fumi Yoshinaga index page at Comic Attack.

It’s a slow week at the comics store, but the Manga Bookshelf bloggers still manage to debate their pick of the week. At Manga Village, the denizens check out the best of the past week’s new releases.

Erica Friedman posts a fresh batch of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Kate Dacey looks at the manga in the Hooded Utilitarians best-comics poll.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber asks her readers how they keep up with new manga releases—or whether they even bother.

Translator Tomo Kimura posts a few translation notes on vol. 4 of Kamisama Kiss.

David Welsh’s latest license request is the josei manga 7 Seeds. Connie also has a license request at Slightly Biased Manga: The Star of Cottonland.

News from Japan: Attendance at summer Comiket is down by 20,000, perhaps because of the March earthquake, ANN reports. Japanator has some cosplay photos of the folks who did show up. And Three Steps Over Japan continues its look at Shonen Champion magazine.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files their Monday set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Connie on vol. 8 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of Bunny Drop (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 5 of Dengeki Daisy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 27 of Kekkaishi (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of K-ON! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Julie Opipari on vol. 5 of Library Wars: Love and War (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lissa Pattillo on Men of Tattoos (Kuriousity)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Xanadu)
Anna on vols. 3 and 4 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 7 of Yu-Gi-Oh GX (The Fandom Post)

Start your manga reading this morning with Deb Aoki’s super coverage of the JManga.com launch, with a complete transcript of the JManga panel at SDCC and interviews with the panelists.

Lori Henderson, meanwhile, is not satisfied with the Viz app because it offers more to iOS users than web and Android users.

Lori also posts this week’s all ages manga and comics at Good Comics for Kids.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers pull up their chairs for a roundtable discussion on fanfiction.

The Ninja Consultants post audio of their NYCC Culinary Manga panel.

Alex Hoffman analyzes the character Chiba in Wandering Son.

At Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo opens up the swag bag and discusses some recent finds.

Reviews

Jong Chung on Blood + vol. 1: First Kiss (Something Deeper)
James Fleenor on vol. 2 of Blue Exorcist (Anime Sentinel)
Leroy Douresseaux on Finder Volume 1: Target in the Viewfinder (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on Manga Guide to the Universe (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of Rosario + Vampire Season II (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Seiho Boys’ High School (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 6 of Toriko (Comic Attack)

Lissa Pattillo looks at this week’s new manga in her On The Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney looks at next week’s new releases and foresees a quiet week.

Tony Yao discusses his love-hate relationship with Bleach at Manga Therapy.

Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss ugliness, beauty, and the total cluelessness of Ugly Duckling’s Love Revolution in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Ed Sizemore looks at two Yen Press books (neither of them manga) and the Yen Press app at Comics Worth Reading.

It’s a manga reader’s dream: Check out CJ’s large and neatly arranged collection of manga.

Congratulations to Erica Friedman, whose yuri-focused blog Okazu is about to finish its ninth year. Send her a suggestion for a celebration and you may win a prize!

News from Japan: Over 2.1 million copies of vol. 63 of One Piece were sold in four days, breaking the record for the most copies sold since Oricon started tracking those numbers in 2008. ANN also has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Danica Davidson on vol. 2 of Ai Ore (Otaku USA)
Queenie Chan on Genshiken (Queenie Chan)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of MAOH: Juvenile Remix (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on Morita-san ha Mukichi (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 7 of Nabari no Ou (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Seiho Boys’ High School (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Twin Spica (The Fandom Post)