Kodansha holds German licenses

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Today’s big news comes at the end of Manly Manga and More’s best of 2008 post: Kodansha has not renewed its contracts with Tokyopop Germany. The German arm of Tokyopop publishes Beck, Cromartie High School, School Rumble, Perfect Girl and Hell Girl, according to Jonathan, so all those series have been canceled. Christopher Butcher and Simon Jones have more thoughts on this, and Simon locates the announcement on a German forum.

ComiPress is celebrating the new year in a big way, with a roundup of 2008-in-review posts, a look at Oricon’s list of the top manga in Japan, and Chloe Ferguson’s year-in-review Panelosophy column. Matt Blind continues his month-by-month summaries of online sales with a look at the best-selling manga of November. And happy news for otaku: Heisei Democracy and Ikimashou are back online. Content note: HD is pretty NSFW, and I’m sure Ikimashou will be too, once Randall gets everything up and running again.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman looks at the top ten yuri phenomena of 2008.

Meanwhile, at About.com, Deb Aoki looks at 10 trends and 5 unanswered questions to watch for in 2009.

The MangaCast crew look at this week’s new manga and present their 2009 wish list as well. David Welsh points out a few highlights from the latest crop at Precocious Curmudgeon.

News from Japan: ComiPress rounds up coverage of Comiket 75. At MangaCast, Ed treats us to a look at the manga magazines’ New Years’ covers.

Reviews: Phil Guie takes a look at vol. 1 of The Flat Earth/Exchange at Manga Recon. Michelle Smith reads vols. 6, 7, 8, and 9 of Monster and takes a break to look at The Walking Man as well. Johanna Draper Carlson recommends the series Parasyte at Comics Worth Reading, but Ed Sizemore is less taken with the Genshiken Official Book. Tiamat’s Disciple has some thoughts on vol. 5 of Hissing and vol. 4 of COMIC. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie’s recent reads include vol. 3 of Human Club, vol. 8 of Hoshin Engi, vol. 5 of One Thousand and One Nights, and vol. 1 of Nora: The Last Chronicles of Devildom. David Welsh has decidedly mixed feelings about Gantz at Precocious Curmudgeon. Ed Chavez has an audio review of vol. 3 of Hanami up at MangaCast. New at Comics Village: Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Claymore and John Thomas on vol. 1 of Eden: It’s an Endless World. Julie checks out vol. 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry, vol. 16 of Skip Beat! and vol. 1 of Basilisk at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Lissa Pattillo reads The Dawn of Love at Kuriousity.

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Review: The Manzai Comics, vol. 1

Posted on January 1, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

The Manzai Comics, vol. 1
Story by Atsuko Asano
Art by Hizuru Imai
Rated T, for ages 13+
Aurora, $10.95

Manzai is a type of standup comedy, popular in Japan, that features a straight man and a goofy guy who misunderstands everything the straight man says. It’s a shame that the Aurora folks didn’t think to put in a translator’s note to that effect, because while I figured out pretty quickly that manzai was some sort of a comedy routine, I didn’t really get the whole concept until I looked it up.

The Manzai Comics is a curious mishmash of broad comedy routines and high-school drama. The story opens with an example of manzai, when Takashi, a high school student, asks Ayumu, the new kid in school, to “go out” with him. “Do it with me!” he pleads. Naturally, Ayumu thinks he’s being asked out on a date, when in fact Takashi is asking him to be his comedy partner.

If you think that’s hilarious, well, this is the book for you, as the real-life misunderstandings and the manzai routines blend into one another. I didn’t find any of it side-splitting, myself; perhaps manzai is an acquired taste.

But there’s more to The Manzai Comics than comedy. It’s really yet another story about fitting in and being accepted, with some interesting twists on the standard storyline. Ayumu is anxious to the point where he has trouble attending school, and he spends a lot of time worrying about being normal. Takashi, on the other hand, thinks Ayumu’s quirks make for good comedy material. Upping the angst level is the fact that Ayumu’s father and sister were killed in a car accident after quarreling with his mother over his inability to be “normal.” Naturally, Ayumu blames himself, and his mother is a nervous wreck. Other characters turn out to have serious family and romantic issues as well.

The Manzai Comics doesn’t shy away from cliché. The basic storyline revolves around the class play, part of the student culture festival, and Ayumu’s class decides to do a manzai version of Romeo and Juliet in which—wait for it—Ayumu is compelled to dress as Juliet. Still, the story works pretty well, mainly because of its dynamic cast of side characters: Takashi’s mother, who runs an okonomiyaki restaurant and fusses over Ayumu because he’s so cute; Kotomi, the super-intense class officer; and my favorite, the super-cute shoujo girl Meg, who constantly gets pushed aside because nobody is interested in her beauty and sweetness. To me, the most entertaining part of this book was watching Meg show up, all stars and sparkles, and immediately get pushed aside because everyone was interested in something (or someone) else.

It’s hard to write comedy and it must be hard to translate it as well. There are a few real clunkers in this book, as when Takashi’s mother comes out with expressions like “True dat!” No, please, no! Aside from that, though, the translator and adapter do a decent job of translating what must be tricky material—after all, manzai depends heavily on wordplay.

Imai’s art is sketchy but expressive. He relies on strong lines and distinct areas of black and white, with very little toning, and a lot of diagonals and zigzags give the art a feeling of energy. He also tilts the picture quite a bit, putting an individual character or a whole scene at a diagonal, a device that is best used in moderation. Each of the characters has a very distinct personality that is carried through in the art—this is not one of those manga where you have to study the niceties of hairstyle and costume to tell one person from another.

At 165 pages rather than the standard 200, this book feels a bit skimpy. The Aurora folks have done their usual good job of production, and the bright white paper shows off Imai’s art to good effect. Some translator’s notes would have greatly enhanced this volume, however, as the very concept on which it is based will be unfamiliar to many readers. A page or two about manzai, and maybe a bit of information on okonomiyaki, would have rounded out the book nicely (and added a bit of physical heft as well).

The Manzai Comics works better as a story than as comedy. Like Hitohira, another recent Aurora release, it presents a misfit who finds friendship through a drama group. I liked The Manzai Comics better, though, because the characters are more solid and the storyline has more interesting quirks. Where Mugi is wimpy and painfully shy, Ayumu is actively struggling with his affliction, and partially succeeding, with the help of a likeable group of friends. Overall, it’s an entertaining read, particularly for younger readers and those who enjoy the Japanese-culture aspects of manga.

Bonus links: Here’s an interesting article about the history and evolution of manzai and a video (in Japanese) so you can see what it looks like. Iwai’s homepage (also in Japanese) has a sample of the art and some character sketches.

(This review is based on a complimentary copy supplied by the publisher.)

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Lots of links for New Year’s Eve

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Brigid Alverson

Quote of the day:

I have had my fill of nihilistic manga and anime. Story after story shows how messed up the human race is, how prone to casual violence, how unable to connect with each other, how short-sighted, how pathetic. Religion can’t save us, and in fact usually just exacerbates these problems. And love is impossible. In most of the stories it’s less that love doesn’t exist, and more that human beings can’t trust each other enough to really be open to love. Some of these stories, like End of Evangelion, are works of genius. But man are they bleak. And the creepy misogyny doesn’t help any either. I always feel like I have to wash my eyes out after viewing these things. I’m just reaching my limit.

—Nick Mullins, who then proceeds to recommend a bleak, nihilistic manga.

At Comixology, on the other hand, Kristy Valenti has had too much of sanitized, overly inspirational biographies, and the edu-manga bios of Anne Frank, Helen Keller, and Albert Einstein that she read recently didn’t make her feel any better.

The Manga Life team collaborates on a best of 2008 roundtable. One side note that I found interesting is that pretty much everyone there is working on manga in some professional capacity as well as reviewing it. Also, Fruits Basket translators Alethea and Athena Nibley reflect on the past year in their column.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman lists her top ten yuri manga of 2008. Salimbol of The Chocolate Mud Wyvern Presents gives a rundown of the top manga and anime of 2008.

Deb Aoki is looking forward to the most anticipated new manga of 2009 at About.com.

If your resolution is to try something new in 2009, Gia has some suggestions for manga for comics readers and comics for manga readers at Anime Vice.

God Len posts this week’s new releases at Japanator. Also: DIY Pocky!

There’s some new blood at Heisei Democracy, which had been lying dormant for a while, and Seiya has an interesting piece on manga cafes in general and the manga cafe MIKA in particular. Be warned before you click, though, that there’s a lot of eroge/figures stuff so the site is quite NSFW, particularly if the people at your workplace don’t get the figures thing to begin with.

Weirdly, the Icarus blog is quite SFW at the moment, and I suggest you head over there to read the lengthy comment thread on yaoi pricing (which ends up touching on more general issues of manga pricing and quality as well).

A former fan expresses her disappointment with Tokyopop.

News from Japan: The Asahi Shimbun has an article on the National Diet Library, Japan’s national library, that touches on this problem:

Another challenge facing the institution is the preservation of manga comic magazines, which attract the interest of many overseas researchers.

The ink on manga magazines tends to smudge rather quickly, causing the pictures to blur. Under current copyright rules, preserving manga publications in digital form for wide availability requires permission from various parties concerned. It would be a tall order and require tremendous clerical costs.

I like the bit about the magazines being of interest to “overseas researchers”—aren’t Japanese researchers interested? Meanwhile, here’s a nice little piece about Glass Mask, which I would love to see translated over here. ANN has lots of manga news: Gatou Asou, who designed the characters for the Moribito anime, is launching a new manga, Tokyo Bardo, in Young Gangan magazine; seven of the series that moved from the defunct Young Sunday magazine to YS Special are ending; and High School Debut creator Kazune Kawahara is treating readers to a one-shot follow-up in the March issue of Deluxe Margaret.

Reviews: At MangaCast, Ed’s latest podcast is on vol. 8 of School Rumble (in which they finally get around to having the school fair—comedy gold!). Alex Hoffman posts an expanded version of his earlier review of vol. 1 of Croquis Pop at Manga Widget. Plenty of action but not enough story is Jason Van Horn’s verdict on vol. 33 of Naruto at The Hachiko. Connie reads Red Blinds the Foolish, vol. 4 of Ikebukuro West Gate Park, and vol. 6 of Go Go Heaven at Slightly Biased Manga. Holly Ellingwood reviews vol. 3 of Toto: The Wonderful Adventure and vol. 3 of Yozakura Quartet at Active Anime. Dave Ferraro checks out vol. 1 of Daemonium at Comics-and-More. Michelle Smith enjoys vol. 5 of Monster at Soliloquy in Blue. Tanuki at Sgt. Tanuki’s Lonely Hearts Club Blog writes about a Japanese historical manga, Hi izuri tokoro no tenshi, that buries a decent story in too much history. At Mania.com, Danielle Van Gorder reads vol. 1 of Vampire’s Portrait and Erin Jones finds the sound of a wrist being crushed to be the most interesting part of vol. 4 of Kanna. Erica Friedman finds a few things to like about vol. 1 of My-HiME, despite a “nasty edge” to the fanservice, at Okazu. Julie reads vol. 1 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and vol. 1 of Go West! at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Lissa Pattillo reviews Y Square Plus and vol. 2 of Cross x Break at Kuriousity. Tiamat’s Disciple likes vol. 2 of Very! Very! Sweet better than vol. 1, which is the opposite of my opinion, but he brings up some interesting points. At Manga Life, Barb Lien-Cooper reviews vol. 2 of Ghost Talker’s Daydream and Park Cooper gives his take on vols. 1 and 2 of Black Jack. Carlo Santos checks out vol. 3 of Black Lagoon at ANN. Billy Aguiar reviews vol. 1 of St. Dragon Girl at Prospero’s Manga. James Fleenor posts his impression of vol. 2 of Warcraft Legends at Anime Sentinel. Snow Wildsmith reviews Red Blinds the Foolish at Fujoshi Librarian. Charles Tan enjoys vol. 7 of Chinese Hero at Comics Village. And the Manga Recon team rounds out the year with Chloe Ferguson’s review of Angel’s Coffin and a flurry of Manga Minis.

Happy New Year, everyone! See you in 2009!

Posted in Mangablog | 5 Comments

ICv2’s top manga for fall 2008

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Brigid Alverson

ICv2 has posted their list of the top manga properties for fall 2008, and the chart makes interesting reading. Naruto continues to rule at the top of the charts, but Fruits Basket has been displaced from the number two slot by Vampire Knight. This is interesting as I think Vampire Knight appeals to a slightly older reader than Furuba. Bleach is number four, then comes Queenie Chan’s In Odd We Trust. Despite the fact that the series ended a while ago, Death Note is number six. Overall, the chart has a good mix of titles—everything from Beauty Pop to Berserk. In terms of publisher share, Viz dominates with 12 series, while Tokyopop and Del Rey have five titles each, Dark Horse has two, and Yen brings up the rear with just one, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, at number 25.

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ICv2 projects fewer releases; Ultimo series to launch in Japan

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Brigid Alverson

The new ICv2 Guide to Anime and Manga is out, and the number-crunchers there are predicting a 10% drop in manga releases in 2009:

In the ICv2 manga survey at the end of 2007 publishers indicated that they planned to publish 1,731 volumes of manga, an 18% increase over the 1,468 volumes released in 2006, but the actual number of manga released in 2008 appears to be around 1,356 as publishers cut titles during the second half of the year. The total from ICv2’s 2009 Manga Survey indicates that publishers are planning to release 1,224.

Watch this space, as the guide also lists the top 25 manga properties, but that link isn’t up yet.

Ultimo, the one-shot manga created by Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei (creator of Shaman King) will begin its run as a full-blown series in the Japanese Jump Square magazine in February. No word yet on when it will make the leap to the U.S., but both ANN and Gia think it will be soon.

David Welsh looks at some promising titles from the latest Previews at Precocious Curmudgeon.

Alex Hoffman posts his 2009 wish list at Manga Widget.

Casey Brienza discusses what moe creators could learn from Broadway musicals.

Things may be slow in the rest of the world, but Erica Friedman still finds some yuri news to report at Okazu.

At ComiPress, Matt Blind analyzes online sales and calculates the top manga for October.

News from Japan: In his latest MangaScope, Ed Chavez looks at some best-of lists and some promising new manga, including a new title from Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda. Ed also posts the Toranoana doujin rankings for your edification. ANN reports on a new manga from the illustrator of Slayers, Rui Araizumi, and the demise of both Sakura Taisen and the magazine that carries it, Magazine Z.

Reviews: Martin Butler reviews Junji Ito’s Uzumaki at his new blog, Mono no Aware. At Precocious Curmudgeon, David Welsh enjoys vols. 1 and 2 of Cross X Break but feels compelled to ask

Is there a name for the manga category that can be described as shônen-y shôjo done by boys’-love creators who don’t entirely abandon their primary category?

Lissa Pattillo checks out Seduce Me After the Show, vol. 6 of One Thousand and One Nights, and vol. 2 of A Gentlemen’s Kiss at Kuriousity. Julie reads vol. 5 of Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Andrew Wheeler warms up with three sexy manga, Object of Desire, Red Blinds the Foolish, and vol. 4 of Sundome, at ComicMix. Wilma Jandoc of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin takes a look at two short series, Lagoon Engine and Omukae Desu. Michelle Smith reviews vol. 3 of Time Stranger Kyoko and vol. 4 of Venus in Love at Soliloquy in Blue and is disappointed by vol. 1 of Phantom Dream, by Fruits Basket creator Natsuki Takaya, at Manga Recon. Justin Colussy-Estes, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoys vol. 1 of Go West! at Comics Village. Ed Chavez posts an audio review of vol. 2 of Black Lagoon at MangaCast. Casey Brienza gives You Higuri’s one-shot Angel’s Coffin a mixed review at ANN and reviews Gentle Cage at her LJ. Tiamat’s Disciple weighs in on vol. 6 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, vol. 3 of Croquis Pop, and Y Square Plus. Julie is not too impressed with vol. 2 of Kitchen Princess at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Kris takes a look at Red Blinds the Foolish, Anima, and vol. 1 of Kyo Kara MAOH! at Manic About Manga. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie posts reviews of vols. 9 and 10 of Let Dai, vol. 3 of With the Light, vols. 1 and 2 of Human Club, vols. 2 and 3 of Ikebukuro West Gate Park, vols. 16 and 17 of Boys Be…, and vol. 3 of Time Stranger Kyoko. New at Boys Next Door: Shards of Affection, White Brand, and vol. 3 of Hero Heel.

Posted in Mangablog | 1 Comment

Boxing Day news and notes

Posted on December 26, 2008 by Brigid Alverson

Here’s your worthwhile read for the day: At Yaoi 911, Alex Woolfson analyzes a survey of readers of translated yaoi and points out some interesting conclusions drawn from both the questions and the comments section.

The MangaCast team picks the best of this week’s new releases.

Among the missing: Ed Chavez updates his list of manga that are cancelled or simply in limbo and notes who he would like to pick up the licenses. Kris follows up with a wish list of her own at Manic About Manga.

The retrospectives are coming! The retrospectives are coming! At The Anime Almanac, Scott VonSchilling takes a look back at manga and anime in 2008 and hazards a few predictions for 2009. David Welsh lists his favorite continuing series of 2008 at Precocious Curmudgeon. Deb Aoki gives her best continuing series list as well at About.com, and she throws in her nominations for best magazine and worst manga, winding up with this trenchant comment:

Can someone tell me who are these hordes of mysterious “fans” who are clamoring for more Princess Ai, while I’m left waiting in vain for Suppli Volume 4? Siigh.

Word!

Christopher Butcher read all 18 volumes of Monster in one sitting, and he has some comments and some questions at Comics212.

In what may be an ominous sign, Johanna Draper Carlson reports that one publisher is cutting back on review copies.

The Telegraph takes a look at office-themed manga.

Yamila Abraham of Yaoi Press reflects on her decision to go with Diamond Book Distributors as YP’s distributor.

Matt Blind runs the numbers at Rocket Bomber, with a look at the top 500 manga (online sales), new releases and pre-orders (with a note that it’s awfully confusing out there right now as to what is coming out when), emerging trends report, and the rankings summary.

Translator Tomo Kimura enjoys her first taste of mahjong manga.

News from Japan: At Anime Vice, Gia reports that Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuutsi, a chibi gag manga based on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, is outselling the original. ANN reports on new launches by Minoru Toyoda (Love Roma), Yuki Tanaka (Jinja no Susume), and Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!). Here’s another one: Mai Nishitaka, creator of Venus Capriccio, has a manga in the works called Cyboy, about an attempt to create the perfect male. And in the city of Sakai, the public library has reversed a decision to restrict circulation of boys-love manga that was made after a library user complained that allowing the books to circulate freely was harmful to children and somehow constituted sexual harassment and a burden on the taxpayers as well. ANN also lists last week’s comics rankings.

Reviews: Ed Sizemore thoroughly enjoys vol. 1 of Mao-Chan at Comics Worth Reading. Ed Chavez has a podcast review up of Red Blinds the Foolish, the latest manga from est em, at MangaCast. Alex Hoffman gives vol. 1 of My-Hime a low grade but Lori Henderson gives thumbs up to vol. 1 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning at Comics Village. Connie posts reviews of vol. 14 of Hikaru no Go, vol. 10 of Monster, vol. 17 of Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 3 of Category: Freaks, vol. 4 of Variante, and vol. 1 of Sounds of Love at Slightly Biased Manga. Erica Friedman critiques vol. 2 of Day of the Revolution and Clover at Okazu. Tangognat checks out Castle of Dreams, a thick collection of short manga by Masami Tsuda, the creator of Kare Kano. Emily’s randomness generator turns up Himitsu no Oniisan at Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page. Kethylia reads the light novel Passion: Forbidden Lovers. Matthew Alexander gives a good review to vol. 1 of Vagabond (the VizBig edition) and Adrianne Hess enjoys vol. 1 of Burst Angel at Mania.com. Bill Sherman wraps up a long-running series with his look at vol. 27 of Iron Wok Jan at Blogcritics. Michelle Smith reviews vol. 4 of Monster at Soliloquy in Blue. Tiamat’s Disciple has a one-word reaction to vol. 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry: Awesome! However, he does elaborate a bit after that. Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlante reviews vols. 9 and 10 of Love*Com and posts short takes on a number of other books at Manga Life. Lissa Pattillo checks out vol. 2 of Blank Slate and guest reviewer Marsha Reid takes a look at vol. 7 of Angel Diary at Kuriousity. Julie reads vol. 4 of Parasyte and Make More Love and Peace at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Kris reviews the Dany & Dany artbook Dark Dreams as well as Black Sun and Object of Desire at Manic About Manga. At Stop, Drop, and Read!, Diana Dang gives her take on Ultimate Venus, After School Nightmare, and Bound Beauty.

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