Everybody's talking

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

I was the guest on ANN’s Chicks on Anime roundtable this week, and I enjoyed a lively discussion of girls and fandom with hosts Bamboo Dong, Casey Brienza, and Sara Pocock. Also, at Robot 6, I give some free advice on site design for webcomics from a reader’s point of view.

David Welsh and Kate Dacey check out this week’s new comics.

Interviews abound! At Good Comics for Kids, Eva Volin and Snow Wildsmith chat with VizKids editor Traci Todd (part 1, part 2). ICv2 talks to Hideki Egami, editor of Ikki magazine, the Japanese source for Viz’s SIGIKKI online comics site. And Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier, writers of X-Men: Misfits (among other things) had a live chat with their fans at Suvudu; you can read the transcript here.

Fruits Basket translators Alethea and Athena Nibley take another stab at literal translation in this week’s column at Manga Life.

Did you know that Manga University has a regular series of Meet the Manga-Ka videos? Shinozaki Yu is the guest on the latest episode.

What’s your favorite Fumi Yoshinaga manga? Vote at The Manga Critic.

Podcast time: The Ninja Consultants discuss webcomics, Japanese and otherwise, in their latest podcast with guest star Chris, creator of The Ego and the Squid. And John Thomas puts in his two cents on Dororo and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service in the latest Sci-Guys podcast.

News from Japan: ToLoveRu, Noramimi, and Freesia are all coming to an end, and several new manga series will launch in coming months, according to ANN.

Reviews: Unabashed Fumi Yoshinaga fan David Welsh explains why exactly he likes Ooku so much at The Comics Reporter. Melinda Beasi has some suggestions for the best picks from Netcomics, which is having a sale at RightStuf right now.

Joy Kim on vol. 2 of Bamboo Blade (Manga Life)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 2 of Beauty is the Beast (i heart manga)
Julie on vols. 2 and 3 of B.Ichi (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Kinukitty on Black Sun (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Dinosaur Hour (Comics-and-More)
Katherine Farmar on vol. 2 of Don’t Blame Me (Comics Village)
Ken Haley on vol. 2 of Faust (Manga Recon)
Connie on vol. 11 of Golgo 13 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 4 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (i heart manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu (Comics Should Be Good!)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 5 of Mixed Vegetables (Manga Life)
asamisgirl on Mr. Flower Groom (The Yaoi Review)
Connie on vol. 7 of Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Ooku: The Inner Chamber (The Manga Critic)
Connie on vol. 4 of Silver Diamond (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 2 of Sunflower (Manga Jouhou)
Scott VonSchilling on vol. 1 of A Tale of an Unknown Country (The Anime Almanac)
Emily on Ten yori mo Hoshi yori mo (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Bill Sherman on vol. 1 of Venus Capriccio (Blogcritics)
Diana Dang on vols. 1 and 2 of Venus Capriccio (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Connie on vol. 6 of Wild Ones (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie on vol. 1 of X-Men: Misfits (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of X-Men: Misfits (Kuriousity)
Erica Friedman on vol. 17 of Yuri Hime (Part 2) (Okazu)
Shevaun Morrison on vol. 6 of Zombie-Loan (Kuriousity)

Posted in Mangablog | 5 Comments

Life imitates manga, Tezuka appreciation, Mizuno interview

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

The Manga Recon folks have an interesting and thought-provoking roundtable on which manga their life most resembles—and which ones they wished it resembled. Good stuff!

Lori Henderson presents another solid summary of the week’s manga news at Manga Xandu, and Erica Friedman has a yuri-focused roundup at Okazu.

Lori also has a nice essay on why she likes Osamu Tezuka.

Deb Aoki interviews manga artist Junko Mizuno at About.com.

ICv2 has its annual interview with Paul Levitz, the CEO and publisher of DC Comics (parent company of CMX manga); as in previous interviews, he doesn’t spend much time on manga, although he does blame it for the drop in graphic novel sales.

Felipe Smith has a video update on Peepo Choo, his comic that’s running in Kodansha’s Morning 2 magazine in Japan. (H/T Deb Aoki, via Twitter.)

Gia Manry has a new feature at Anime Vice: Manga Watch List, in which she looks over the hot manga in Japan and discusses three that are ripe for licensing over here.

At Same Hat!, Ryan shows off his latest purchase, a Japanese manga called Cyber Blue that he picked up at the closing sale of Cafe Mika, San Francisco’s first and only manga cafe.

There aren’t any manga on my list week, but check out What Are You Reading? for some good recommendations from me and the rest of the Robot 6 bloggers.

Tokyopop is giving away a copy of Domo: The Manga every day from now till Sept. 1. Details on how to enter are here.

News from Japan: Ed Chavez posts last week’s manga rankings from Taiyosha and doujin rankings from Toranoana at MangaCast. Canned Dogs reports that the ToLoveru manga is ending, and some other series may be on their way out as well. Also, on Tuesday, Yoshitaka Amano will be drawing his own versions of ascii art from 2chan live on nico nico douga.

Reviews: The Manga Recon team posts another set of brief reviews in their Manga Minis column. Other reviews of note:

Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Animal Academy (Good Comics for Kids)
D.M. Evans on vol. 1 of Astral Project (Manga Jouhou)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 1 of Barefoot Gen (Read About Comics)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of the Battle of Genryu (Stop, Drop, and Read)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Beauty is the Beast (i heart manga)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 4 of B.Ichi (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Laura on vol. 1 of Black Bird (Heart of Manga)
Carlo Santos on vol. 7 of Black Lagoon (ANN)
Michelle Smith on vols. 29-35 of Boys Over Flowers (Soliloquy in Blue)
Kris on vol. 3 of breath (Manic About Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 7 of Comic (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Connie on vol. 1 of The Dark-Hunters (Manga Recon)
Julie on vol. 1 of Four-Eyed Prince (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Julie on vols. 2 and 3 of Flower of Life (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Nikita on vol. 1 of Games With Me (Boys Next Door)
Shannon Fay on vol. 1 of Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 2 of Ikigami (Slightly Biased Manga)
Ed Chavez on vol. 1 of KimiKiss (MangaCast)
asamisgirl on vol. 1 of Kirepapa (The Yaoi Review)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Manken (Okazu)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Nightschool (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Ninja Baseball Kyuma (Manga Jouhou)
Julie on vol. 1 of Noodle Shop Affair (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Shojo Flash on vol. 1 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Shojo Flash)
Lori Henderson on vol. 3 of Otomen (Comics Village)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Pokemon Adventures (Kuriousity)
Clive Owen on vol. 7 of Rosario+Vampire (Animanga Nation)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Samurai 7 (Comics Worth Reading)
Shannon Fay on Suggestive Eyes (Kuriousity)
Snow Wildsmith on Swallowing the Earth (Fujoshi Librarian)
Nick Popio on Uzumaki (Girlamatic)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Vampire Knight (i heart manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of X-Men: Misfits (Comics Worth Reading)
Erica Friedman on vol. 17 of Yuri Hime (Part One) (Okazu)

Posted in Mangablog | 3 Comments

Review: Four-Eyed Prince, vol. 1

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Four-Eyed PrinceFour-Eyed Prince, vol. 1
By Wataru Mizukami
Rated T, ages 13+
Del Rey, $10.99

Four-Eyed Prince is a cliché-ridden story of a girl who admires a classmate from afar, confesses her love, gets rejected, and goes home to find out that he is her stepbrother. Sachiko is yet another of those plucky orphans who is being dumped on a random family member, in this case, the mother who abandoned her as a baby. The prince, Akihiko, is your usual spectacles-wearing manga guy, cool and aloof, and he wants nothing to do with his klutzy, emotional new stepsister. (Note: Although they go to the same school, Sachiko had no idea this guy was her mother’s stepson until she walked in the door of their house. He, of course, knew it all along. Like life, manga isn’t fair.)

Warning: Spoilers and indignation after the cut

Akhiko disappears, Sachiko goes out after him, it rains, and she winds up, soaking wet, in a bar where the cute bartender, Akira, fixes her some hot milk with brandy, feels her up a bit, and takes her for a walk. On this walk, she unburdens herself of all her feelings about Akihiko, then passes out and wakes up naked in Akira’s bedroom….

… which is in her new apartment….

… because Akira is Akihiko’s secret identity. Like Superman, he changes so profoundly when he puts on glasses that even the woman who has been obsessing over him for months doesn’t recognize him.

And of course he doesn’t “take advantage” of her, because Akihiko may be a jerk, but he’s not a cad. Being a jerk, he calls her “easy” and says all girls are sluts. And Sachiko, well, she’s left to make the best of it.

So, at this point in the story, I was wondering whether the life of a manga-ka is so hard that none of them ever get to be in a real relationship. The setup is so lacking in any kind of emotional authenticity that it’s hard to understand why anyone thought it would be a good idea to write it down in the first place. Yes, it mixes up a lot of shoujo-manga tropes, but most of them aren’t very good tropes to begin with. What’s worse, the only character who expresses genuine emotion, Sachiko, is mocked and put down for it.

Then the clouds part a bit. Akihiko confesses that he is deliberately putting on different personalities to hide his real self. Abandoned by his father, Akihiko was taken in by Sachiko’s mother, his stepmother, who is working hard to pay off the gambler’s debts. Akihiko took on the bartender job so he could become financially independent. It’s still as full of holes as a fishing net, but having been a teenager once, I know that “you don’t know the real me” thing is gonna resonate.

Sachiko decides she wants to get to know her new stepsibling better, and what better way than to enter the two of them in the “Coolest in School” contest, dressed as a pirate and a kidnapped princess? Sachiko wanted Akira to play the part, but Akihiko shows up, glasses and all, and they announce to the entire student body that they are stepsiblings. Everyone starts laughing and jeering, but when Akihiko whips off his glasses and sweeps Sachiko into his arms, the audience turns to jelly and they win the contest handily.

Ah, the power of spectacles.

On the way to the hot springs, Akihiko accuses Sachiko of flirting because she talks to another guy. Then he mocks her looks and takes off with the other guy’s girlfriend. When Sachiko gets frustrated and pushes the girlfriend, Akihiko slaps her in the face. It’s all OK, though, because it turns out the other girl was dissatisfied with her boyfriend because he was too kind and considerate, and she asked Akihiko to come on to her to make him jealous. When the cuckolded boyfriend tries to punch out Akihiko (and gets tossed ignominiously into the pool), well, then, his girlfriend is all hot for him again. In case we don’t get it, Akihiko spells out the moral of the story for Sachiko: “When you consider the lengths that girl went to, it must mean that she really cares about him, right?”

Yup, and if a guy hits you, it’s probably your fault for being too demanding. Sheesh!

There are people who argue that books like this are bad for teenage girls because the girls are such terrible role models. (“His words are usually harsh,” Sachiko says as Akihiko yells at her for dropping a dish, “but underneath it all, my Four-Eyed Prince really is kind to me.”) I actually think this is a good story for teenage girls, because they will react with such indignation to Akihiko’s jerkiness that it will be even harder for the next guy to push them around. (In case you don’t have any teenage girls around, let me tell you that indignation is pretty much their default emotion.) In fact, I have nothing but pity for the poor spectacles-wearing guy who tries to hit up a girl right after she reads this. His earth will be scorched.

Furthermore, Akihiko is actually a good depiction of an abusive boyfriend; he’s charming one minute, cold and controlling the next, and just when Sachiko is totally frustrated, he lets a bit of his real, vulnerable self slip through. It’s a textbook case, especially the business at the hot spring.

The volume ends with a “bonus” story that’s basically more of the same—emotionally aloof rich guy, spunky part-time housekeeper, you know the drill. Let’s just say, it’s no Emma.

While it’s safe to say this book is not for everyone, it’s also safe to say that no one outside the target audience is going to read it anyway. Mizukami’s style is best described as extreme shoujo: The eyes are enormous, the main character goes chibi about every third panel, and flowers and sparkles are everywhere. It’s vaguely reminiscent of Arina Tanemura—less crowded but just as energetic. Tanemura’s heroines usually have more backbone, though.

Although I think it’s intended as a romantic comedy, Four-Eyed Prince reads like cautionary tale to me; while Sachiko will probably get her man in the end, it’s unlikely that American readers are going to think it was worth it.

(This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher, who probably bitterly regrets that decision right now.)

Posted in Reviews | 1 Comment

What you're missing if you don't read Japanese

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Lori Henderson lists this week’s all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

Deb Aoki talks to Tokyopop marketing director Marco Pavia and Earthlight creators Stuart Moore and Chris Schons about Tokyopop’s online global manga program.

Jason Thompson gives us a glimpse of the “the most emo man in Japan,” the heretofore untranslated Shigeyuki Fukumitsu.

David Welsh has another license request, and it sounds tempting: Delinquent Girl Detective.

Jonathan Clements updates us on the “manga murder” in Belgium two years ago. They still aren’t even sure it’s a murder.

Attention students: Viz is looking for fall interns. (Via Japanator.)

News from Japan: Yubisaki Milk Tea will resume after a long hiatus.

Reviews: Kate Dacey continues her liveblog of the SIGIKKI site at The Manga Critic. At Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson interviews her daughter Krissy about Animal Academy and Kilala Princess. Elizabeth Shupe presents part two of her look at the early works of Mitsukazu Mihara at Girlamatic.

Joe McCulloch on vol. 1 of A Distant Neighborhooddown (Jog – The Blog)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Dogs: Bullets & Carnage (MangaCast)
Julie on Domo the Manga (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 6 of Goong (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
asamisgirl on vol. 2 of Hey, Class President! (The Yaoi Review)
John Thomas on vol. 1 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Comics Village)
Connie on vol. 10 of I”s (Slightly Biased Manga)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Juline (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Connie on vol. 3 of Jyu-Oh-Sei (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (i heart manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Love Control (The Comic Book Bin)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 4 of Mars (i heart manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Nightschool (Manga Recon)
Isaac Hale on vol. 1 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Manga Recon)
asamisgirl on Part-Time Pets (The Yaoi Review)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Pluto (Kuriousity)
Grant Goggans on vol. 10 of Ranma 1/2 (The Hipster Dad’s Bookshelf)
Tangognat on Rasetsu and Tail of the Moon Prequel (Tangognat)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Rosario+Vampire (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate Dacey on Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! and Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (The Manga Critic)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Emily on Vampire Crisis (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Venus Capriccio (Comics Worth Reading)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vols. 1-6 of Yotsuba&! (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)

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New manga, Comiket primer, Eyeshield 21 creators interviewed

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Red Baylon lists the week’s new releases for you at Japanator.

Chih-Chieh Chang is one of a group of reporters who interviewed Eyeshield 21 creators Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata in Taipei recently.

David Welsh ponders possible manga remakes of classic superheroes at Precocious Curmudgeon.

Akibanana has a nice primer on Comiket. (Via Journalista.)

San Francisco’s first manga cafe is closing, Deb Aoki reports, and they are selling off their stock at fire-sale prices.

News from Japan: ANN has the latest comics rankings from Oricon and Tohan. Ryan shows off some pages (warning—not for the faint of heart) from Suehiro Maruo’s Imomushi at Same Hat. V.B. Rose creator Banri Hidaka is launching her Berry Berry series in Hana to Yume.

Reviews

Grant Goodman on vol. 6 of Bizenghast (Manga Recon)
Ed Chavez on vol. 1 of Doujin Work (MangaCast)
Julie on vol. 1 of Higurashi When They Cry: Cotton Drifting Arc (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Megan M. on vols. 4 and 5 of Mixed Vegetables (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Connie on vol. 6 of Record of a Fallen Vampire (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 6 of Yotsuba&! (Kuriousity)

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Online manga news and reviews

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

In this week’s Unbound column at Robot 6, I talked to Psy*Comm creator Tony Salvaggio and Tokyopop Director of Marketing Marco Pavia about Tokyopop’s online manga program. Some of the things they said may surprise you.

Melinda Beasi kicks the tires on Digital’s eManga.com, and Kate Dacey liveblogs her impressions of Viz’s SIGIKKI site.

IDW will be doing a comics adaptation of the Astro Boy movie. Hey, wait a minute…

Reviews: Michelle Smith takes a look at four recent Shonen Jump titles at Comics Should Be Good.

Snow Wildsmith on Alone in My King’s Harem (Fujoshi Librarian)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Ballad of a Shinigami (Kuriousity)
Clive Owen on vol. 4 of Black Lagoon (Animanga Nation)
Julie on vol. 2 of B.O.D.Y. (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Emily on Bokura no Pink (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Brian Henderson on vol. 1 of Broken Blade (Manga Xanadu)
Grant Goodman on vol. 1 of Cat Paradise (Manga Recon)
Billy Aguiar on CSI: Intern at Your Own Risk (Prospero’s Manga)
Katherine Farmar on Ka Shin Fu (Comics Village)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Magic Touch (Manga Jouhou)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 1 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Manga Life)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vols. 11 and 12 of S.A. (Manga Life)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (Comics Worth Reading)
Snow Wildsmith on Utahime: The Songstress (Good Comics for Kids)
Oyceter on vols. 1-5 of Venus Capriccio (Sakura of DOOM)
asamisgirl on You Will Drown in Love (The Yaoi Review)
Lexie on Zombie Loan (Poisoned Rationality)

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