MangaBlog

Over at MTV Geek I took a look at the past week’s new manga and other happenings, and I wrote a short review of Mario, the one-shot gangster manga by Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto that ran in last week’s Shonen Jump.

The Manga Bookshelf team takes an advance look at this week’s new manga.

Guest blogger Shaenon Garrity writes about Moto Hagio’s A,A’ for this week’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Erica Friedman has the latest yuri update in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao explains why he is thankful for fujoshi.

Lori Henderson discusses the digital-only title Japan Sinks in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu, and she brings in some related books as well.

Lissa Pattillo catches up with last month’s announcement from PictureBox of two new manga: Seiichi Hayashi’s Gold Pollen and Other Stories and Yuichi Yokoyama’s World Map Room.

Melinda Beasi is thrilled at the news that manga-ka Kayuza Minekura is back at work on Wild Adapter after a three-year hiatus due to health reasond.

After many delays, the English edition of Suehiro Maru’s The Strange Tale of Panorama Island is now available from Last Gasp. It’s true—I saw a copy on Ryan Sands’ table at TCAF. And so did Deb Aoki, who had the presence of mind to take pictures.

Viz’s yaoi imprint SuBLime has launched a new series, Blue Morning, “an intriguing new series about aristocratic drama and the intricate relationship between the loyal butler of a noble family and a young heir he is duty-bound to look after.”

News from Japan: Galaxy Express 999 manga-ka Leiji Matsumoto has revealed nine pages of Osamu Tezuka’s unpublished work, drafts for Metropolis and other manga. The pages will go on display at Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art this summer. Kami Minai’s “bishojo x violence” manga Needless is coming to an end. Black Bird creator Kanoko Sakurakoji has a new series in the works.

Reviews

Mark Thomas on vols. 13 and 14 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 19 of Bakuman (Comics Worth Reading)
Mark Thomas on vol. 17 of Battle Angel Alita: The Last Order (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love (I Reads You)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 7 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Erica Friedman on Cirque Arachne (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on Kami no Kodomo (Brain Vs. Book)
Anna N. on vols. 1-6 of Kare First Love (Manga Report)
Sakura Eries on vol. 17 of La Corda d’Oro (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Lone Wolf and Cub, Gunslinger Girl, and Golgo 13 (Comics Should Be Good)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 61 of Naruto (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 7-9 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sweetpea on Nobody Can Hear Me But You (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Helen on vol. 1 of Off*Beat (Narrative Investigations)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Otomen (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Psyren (The Comic Book Bin)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (ICv2)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (Comics Worth Reading)

Lissa Pattillo looks over last week’s new manga in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

Lori Henderson talks about Kodansha’s publication of some older Del Rey titles and reviews the manhwa 13th Boy in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Erica Friedman, who was my roommate at TCAF, files her con report, which is filled with manga encounters of various kinds, including going to the Chromatic Press event on Friday night. Erica also has a fresh edition of Yuri Network News for us.

Also at TCAF, PictureBox announced plans to publish an anthology titled Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It. The book is scheduled for a spring 2014 release.

How do we manage to laugh even in the worst of times? Tony Yao looks at humor in darkness in Attack on Titan at Manga Therapy.

The Digital Manga folks announce their plans for Fanime.

News from Japan: Lots of manga are winding up: The yuri series Aoi Hana is coming to an end in July.

Reviews

Connie on vol. 12 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on Alive (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ken H on Atomcat (Comics Should Be Good)
Justin and Manjiorin on vol. 4 of Attack on Titan (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 21 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Connie on vol. 22 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
John Rose on vol. 9 of Cage of Eden (The Fandom Post)
Justin on chapter 31 of Cross Manage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Blogcritics)
John Rose on vol. 3 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 2 of Excel Saga (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on Fu~Fu (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of Happy-Go-Lucky Days (Comics Worth Reading)
Erica Friedman on Heart of Thomas (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Hoshikawa Ginza 4-Chome (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Ichigo Mashimaro (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vols. 3 and 4 of Loveless (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Sweetpea on Memories of Emanon (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 8 of Sailor Moon (ANN)
Kristin on vols. 26-28 of Slam Dunk (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 6 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Tokyo Zombie, Grand Guignol Orchestra, and Reiko the Zombie Shop (Comics Should Be Good)
Justin on chapter 12 of World Trigger (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

Here’s my look at the past week’s new manga at MTV Geek.

And here’s a manga-Sabrina hat trick: A preview of vol. 2 of the collected edition of Tania Del Rio’s manga-style comic (now rendered in beautiful black and white), an exclusive peek at the cover of vol. 3, and the five things you need to know to get started with this series.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss this week’s new manga and their Pick of the Week.

Lissa Pattillo notes that SuBLime is bringing back Crimson Spell and also that RightStuf is warning purchasers that Bond of Dream, Bond of Love may be seized by Canadian customs.

M. Alice LeGrow, creator of Bizenghast, has a new graphic novel out, and Crunchyroll gets a peek.

News from Japan: The Asahi Shimbun has a detailed rundown on the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Awards, including interviews with the judges and a look at the winners and competitors in each category. And the Kodansha Awards have also been announced; Makoto Raiku’s Animal Land won the prize for Best Children’s Manga. We had some hints of this and now it’s official: Gantz will come to an end after the next two chapters.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week in manga at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf bloggers keep it concise in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs.

John Rose on vol. 27 of Air Gear (The Fandom Post)
Jocelyne Allen on Bara Hiro no Ho no Koro (Brain Vs. Book)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Black Bird (The Comic Book Bin)
John Rose on vol. 13 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 22 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna N. on vol. 12 of Dengeki Daisy (Manga Report)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Gakuen Polizi (Yuri no Boke)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 30 of Hunter x Hunter (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 30 of Hunter x Hunter (The Fandom Post)
Angela Eastman on vol. 4 of Jiu Jiu (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of La Corda d’Oro (The Comic Book Bin)
Bob Temuka on Lone Wolf and Cub (Tearoom of Despair)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on Negiho: Mahora Little Girls (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Oresama Teacher (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: The Master of Gay Erotic Manga (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresssaux on Pepito: Takehiko Inoue Meets Gaudi (I Reads You)
Matthew Warner on vol. 9 of Sailor Moon</a> (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Comics Should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of We Were There (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 16 of We Were There (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1-3 of Zero’s Familiar (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

New license news: SuBLime Manga kicked off the week with the news that they have licensed the first four volumes of Ayano Yamane’s Crimson Spell. And Vertical will announce a new title at Anime Central.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new manga and their Pick of the Week. Melinda Beasi looks at the physical side of relationships in Loveless, and Michelle Smith joins her for a discussion of some recent releases in their latest Off the Shelf column. And Justin Stroman asks the readers: What’s your favorite Weekly Shonen Jump title?

Erica Friedman has the latest Yuri news at Okazu.

News from Japan: Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) is drawing an adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka’s novel series The Heroic Legend of Arslan. Give My Regards to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato will release his newest manga series, Secure Samba wo Yoroshiku, for free next week as part of Japan IT Week.

Reviews: Carlo Santos takes on recent volumes of 21st Century Boys, Knights of Sidonia, and Tokyo Babylon in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. The Manga Bookshelf team checks in with a new set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Rebecca Silverman on vols. 8 and 9 of Dawn of the Arcana (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of The Flowers of Evil (ANN)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Golondrina (Yuri no Boke)
Michael Buntag on vol. 10 of Honey and Clover (NonSensical Words)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Ichigo Mashimaro (Okazu)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vol. 4 of Kizuna (All About Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
Anna N. on Pepita: Inoue Meets Gaudi (Manga Report)
Mark Thomas on vol. 28 of Skip Beat (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (Manga Report)
Matthew Cycyk on vols. 1-3 of Summit of the Gods (Matt Talks About Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on Sunny (Brain Vs. Book)
Manjiorin on Unico (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 15 and 16 of Vampire Knight (ANN)

Busted! When one of SuBLime’s PDFs showed up on an aggregator site, fans were quick to denounce it—and report the transgression to the publisher, which took swift action.

Jason Thompson writes about the body-horror manga Franken Fran in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Reviews

Mark Thomas on vol. 12 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Beauty Pop (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Naru on The Cat in the Box (Organization ASG)
Justin on chapter 30 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Demon Love Spell (Organization ASG)
Connie C. on Dragon Head, Limit, and The Drifting Classroom (Comics Should Be Good)
John Rose on vol. 24 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
L.B. Bryant on Hiroaki Samura’s Emerald and Other Stories (ICv2)
Mark Thomas on vol. 35 of Kekkaishi (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Mega Man Gigamix (Comics Should Be Good)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (The Fandom Post)
Mark Thomas on vol. 60 of Naruto (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of The Prince of Tennis (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Skip Beat! (Blogcritics)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Tiger and Bunny (Comic Attack)
Ken H. on Unico (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie C. on What’s Michael?, Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, and Stargazing Dog (Comics Should Be Good)

This used to be heresy, but I actually think it makes sense: Japanese manga critic Kentaro Takekuma makes the argument for creating manga that reads left to right, to make it more accessible to English and Chinese readers.

The Kaori Yuki Manga Moveable Feast has wound up, but Foxy Lady Ayame has an archive page up so you can check out any posts you missed.

The Manga Bookshelf team has a digital Pick of the Week this week.

Michelle Smith and Karen Peck have undertaken The CMX Project—that’s right, they are reading all those classic manga that CMX published back in the day. The latest selection: Minako Narita’s Cipher.

News from Japan: The historical manga Kingdom has won the 17th annual Osamu Tezuka Award; it’s just the latest in a string of historical manga to take the honor. Both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gantz will be wrapping up soon.

Reviews: Three Steps Over Japan reviews Sekai no Hatedomo Mangakaki, a travel manga by Thermae Romae creator Mari Yamazaki. The Manga Bookshelf team takes a quick look at some recent releases in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown closes the books on another week’s worth of manga reading.

Victoria Erica on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Anime Expo)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Bleach (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Bunny Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Cycyk on vols. 1-5 of The Flowers of Evil (Matt Talks About Manga)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Gamerz Heaven (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Grand Guignol Orchestra (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
TSOTE on vol. 12 of Moyashimon (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 38 of Negima (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Sanshiro^2 (Three Steps Over Japan)
Derek Bown on the April 29 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Helen on vol. 1 of Sugar Sugar Rune (Narrative Investigations)
TSOTE on vols. 5 and 6 of Tamashin (Three Steps Over Japan)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Tsubasa (Blogcritics)