According to this report on ANN Tokyopop has taken over two more licenses from ADV: Aria and Peacemaker Kurogane. The report says they will release the prequels, Aqua and Peacemaker, first, so that retailers won’t have two different editions at the same time.
If this is true, I think it’s a good move for Tokyopop, picking up series that already have loyal followers. It will be interesting to compare editions and see who does a better job.
I took the day off yesterday and spent the afternoon watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2. I know you’re all wondering: What would a ninja think of this movie? Look here to find out. Warning: Attempting to drink liquids while watching this video may result in extreme damage to your monitor.
Kalinara has an interesting post on shoujo versus shonen manga that I’m still thinking about. Her point is that the heroes in shonen manga have a special power or talent, while the heroines in shoujo manga are… well, let her tell it:
The lead character is usually a c-student, klutzy, socially awkward, but naturally quite beautiful. She may or may not have a special power, but in general, she starts off unable to really use it well. She tends to be swept up into destiny. This is not to say that she’s not brave and doesn’t experience character growth. But, while her friends may correspond to “smartest”, “toughest” et cetera, she herself is downright mediocre.
That reminded me of this scan of the spread from Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga, in which the artists discuss the canonical shoujo manga. And I’ll add on that sometimes the heroine actually is very bright and talented but thinks she’s really mediocre inside (Kare Kano). Since the reader is supposed to identify with the heroine, this is problematic. But I think that’s only a small subset of shoujo manga. Sailor Moon and Tokyo Mew Mew both features girls that have super powers, and there’s the whole magical girl sub-genre. What I’m coming up blank on is any titles that are set in high school that have a heroine that isn’t a klutz. Maybe it’s just too early in the morning for me. Anyway, Kalinara’s comment may explain why so many girls read shonen. (Via When Fangirls Attack.)
I’m hoping that Bento Physics will resolve some of these issues with their series on feminism in shoujo manga.
Mely makes a list of manga that will never be licensed in the U.S., in hopes that the publishers will prove her wrong. The commenters chime in with more suggestions, making an interesting reading list for those who want to stay one step ahead.
At Four Voices.One Heart., Alexiel reports on the family dynamics of the Del Rey panel at Anime NEXT.
Seven Seas announces three new web manga: Hollow Fields, Moonlight Meow, and The Outcast. All three will be updated Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and all will be published in book form this year or next.
Aargh! For those who think that women manga-ka are a sign of how far we’ve come, check this out: a manga-ka is dressing as a maid to promote a mangafest in Japan.
Pata has some final observations on Anime Expo, including the ubiquity of Naruto and the sharp improvement in fanart.
Naruto continues his run on the USA today booklist, dropping to #107 (from 86 last week). And he has company: vol. 28 of Rurouni Kenshin appears at #150.
ICv2 informs us, with an apparently straight face, that “41,000 unique individuals” attended Anime Expo. Yes, from what I hear, they were pretty unique.
Fangirl backlash from Tainted Blog. Some nice pushback from Anime Bento, while JP Meyer explains why hatin’ on the fangirls (and boys) is just playing into society’s patriarchal norms. I’m with JP on this one. If you don’t like the way someone acts, do them a favor and tell them so. If you don’t like the way they look, STFU. They may not like it either.
Hating on Hot Gimmick, on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable. Great comments thread with this one. Speaking of HG, remember LJ poster Thomas Yan, who read volume 1 and asked if it was going to get any better? He got a couple of answers, and some suggestions for alternatives, in comments. Here’s Mely’s take:
Hot Gimmick is the one I call “The Manga of Deep Feminist Shame.” It does not get better. Skip it.
Update your bookmarks: The Beat has moved to spiffy new digs on the Publishers Weekly website.
It wasn’t announced at Anime Expo, but MangaCast has the scoop: Fanfare/Ponent Mon has licensed Shissou Nikki (Disappearance Diary), winner of this year’s Tezuka Award in Japan.
Ed also brings news of new DramaQueen licenses and a new Viz title (good discussion in the comments on this one).
PWCW explains Densha Otoko and why there are three versions being licensed in English. (Which makes me wonder how the poor creator of that fourth Japanese manga must feel—pretty left out, I guess.) Really cool: PWCW includes a link to the BBS postings that the story grew from.
It’s official: Manga is in the dictionary. From the accompanying article:
To make it into the dictionary, a word has to be more than a flash-in-the-pan fad. It needs staying power.
Indeed!
Grovel reviews vol. 3 of Tezuka’s Buddha.
Two manga-lovin’ French teenagers try to run away to Japan, but only get as far as Poland.
David Taylor heard a rumor that Vertical is licensing Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto, so he checked it out. It ain’t so, but Vertical has a pretty funny response in their blog:
We would sell a left nut belonging to one of the male Vertical-ites to get Naoki Urasawa on out roster. As of yet, all men chez nous are bi-testicled. I.e. Urasawa is still a Viz author.
Makes me happy to be female, that does! And they had a bit of good news:
We have just acquired the rights (I mean like this morning) to Takeshi Kitano’s (aka Beat Takeshi, aka bad-ass muthah) first and only novel: Shonen (Youth)!
Ian Brill gets into the atmosphere at Anime Expo. It’s a great post, especially the part where he contrasts the Dark Horse and Shoujo Beat panels. Also, check out Brill’s AX coverage for PW Comics Week, which is chock full of interesting nuggets.
At MangaCast, Ed Chavez gives his take on AX, with a complete list and this analysis:
I guess in the end this was not a show about shojo, like the LA Times and AX noted. It really was a mature manga fest! Moreover, this con should be renamed YaoiExpo as BL titles dominated.
At Love Manga, David Taylor got ahead of me today and posted info on new license announcements from June.
Newsarama is all excited about Bandai licensing Witchblade Takeru
As the AX janitorial staff sweeps out the empty halls, LiveJournal posters take a moment to reflect and remember.
Captain Nemo, vol. 1
Writer: Jason DeAngelis
Artist: Aldin Viray
Publisher: Seven Seas
Rating: Teen
Price: $10.99
Captain Nemo is a straight-up action manga with plenty of undersea adventure and touches of steampunk and romance. How can you not like that blend?
The book begins with the premise that Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo after all, and his successor is now (1893) ruling all of Europe with an iron hand. Nemo Jr., son of the Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame, is looting Napoleon IV’s ships from the safety of his underwater contraption, building a treasure trove to fund a revolution. That’s a premise with lots of possibilities, and volume 1 only begins to scratch the surface.
But wait, you say—isn’t there a comely lass mixed up in this somewhere? Mais oui! Meet Camille, the spunky and rebellious daughter of a French bureaucrat. When said bureaucrat sets out on a French ship, Camille stows away to bring some adventure into her life. She gets more than she bargained for when Nemo appears on his submarine and demands that the captain surrender his ship at once, threatening to destroy it with a giant steel spur if the crew does not comply. In the battle that follows, Camille is knocked overboard, rescued by Nemo, and ushered into life aboard the Nautilus II.
Although she resents her enforced stay, Camille soon discovers that Nemo is kind of sweet and shy and even a bit cerebral. Hoping to impress her, he takes her and the crew, clad in form-fitting diving suits, on a walk around the ocean floor. Of course she wanders off (she’s spunky, I tell you) and gets herself into danger, but she also demonstrates that she’s more than able to take care of herself. Having set up some interesting chemistry between Nemo and Camille, volume 1 winds up with a visit to Japan, while in the distance, the French bad guys plot to track down Nemo.
DeAngelis and Viray have assembled an interesting cast of side characters, including a ship’s doctor who is the daughter of Jack the Ripper and an albino second mate with a curious sense of style. The costumes are drawn with loving detail, although they seem a bit improbable, especially for Victorians. On the other hand, Nemo’s library, with its wrought-iron arches and mounted specimens, is a nice piece of fin-de-siecle excess. The only thing I really didn’t like about the art was the excessive toning, which made the book seem dark and muddy.
With its quirky combination of romance, sea monsters, and a giant steel ship-destroying spur, Captain Nemo is a great summer vacation read.
This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
