MangaBlog goes podcast

Posted on June 15, 2006 by Brigid Alverson

You got blog in my podcast!

You got podcast in my blog!

Yes, we’re combining the two great tastes of MangaBlog and MangaCast to come up with a new manga sensation: MangaBlogCast.

I’m a big MangaCast fan, and one of their contributors, Jack Tse, is a regular commenter here. So when Jack asked if I wanted to collaborate on a podcast, I was thrilled! I’ll be providing Jack with a summary of manga news and issues each week, and he’ll do the actual podcast, which is hosted on MangaCast. Program notes will be here.

For those who are new to podcasts, you can listen to them on your computer or download them onto an iPod or some other such device. I use iTunes to transfer them to my iPod, then listen to them on my morning walk. Manga and fitness, all in one!

You can comment on the podcasts here or at MangaCast, or e-mail us directly at mangablogcast@gmail.com. Here are links and notes for MangaBlogCast #1:

Viz rules the BookScan top ten
Naruto debuts at number 38 on the USA Today booklist

DMP to publish the story of Nissen Cup Ramen
(Review by the Lincoln Heights Literary Society)

Four manga nominated for Harveys
The MangaCast awards (the Yomis)

Chat about Pink Diary, an original French language manga (franga?)
Manga spreads around the world.

Tania del Rio’s Buzzscope column on what makes manga unique

New manga announcements:

Death Jr. from Seven Seas
Disgaea and Yoki Koto Kiku from Broccoli Books
Buso Renkin and Densha Otoko from Viz

Lists of the best-selling manga of all time (in Japan), from ComiPress:
Shonen
Shoujo

Business news:

CPM lays off staff, including media rep Peter Tatara, announces it is restructuring, and sends out solicitations for two new DVDs.

Libre Publishing buys the yaoi magazines published by the bankrupt Japanese firm Biblos

Upcoming:

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin writes about ADV
In comics stores this week: vol. 4 of Megatokyo and vol. 4 of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.

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Thursday links

Posted on June 15, 2006 by Brigid Alverson

I’m posting a bit late today because I’m busy reading and re-reading the finalists for the MangaCast awards. Oh happy task!

A while ago I linked, without much comment, to an unfavorable review of The Japanese Living Room. I just got a comment from the author, Sean Michael Wilson, suggesting I check it out for myself. Here is the link; let me know what you think.

At MangaCast, Ed has a few things to add to this article about the manga industry in Britain.

The Beat has some links and comments on movies based on manga.

Channel NewsAsia has a story on the Nancy Drew graphic novels that includes interviews with writer Stefan Petrucha and artist Sho Murase. Here’s why I like having women artists drawing comics for women:

“Manga is so popular right now. So, it wasn’t a problem to incorporate that into the drawings,” said Murase. What she did have a problem with, however, was agreeing on Nancy’s chest size.

Laughing, she said: “I went back and forth with the publishers to decide what size was appropriate for Nancy.”

What are people reading? At Blogfonte, Mark is enjoying two from Del Rey, School Rumble and ES, and at Comics-and-more, Dave has fallen victim to Death Note. At Completely Futile, Adam Stephanides is too intimidated to write about a good manga so he chooses CUTExGUY, a “shoujo gender-bending comedy,” instead.

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Review: Aoi House

Posted on June 15, 2006 by Brigid Alverson

Aoi House
Story by Adam Arnold, art by Shiei
Seven Seas

Adam Arnold refers to Aoi House as a “harem comedy,” which is a polite way of saying it’s heavy on the fanservice. The setup is simple: Two college students get kicked out of their dorm, and the only place they can find to live is a residential anime club. When the boys go to the door, they don’t notice that the place is called “Yaoi House” because the Y has fallen off the sign. Yes, the residents of Aoi House are all yaoi fans, all female, and all inclined to run around in the scantiest of outfits.

So why don’t I hate this book? Because it’s good-natured and funny. Yes, there is the inevitable walking-in-on-the-girl-in-the-shower scene, and a big part of the plot involves strapping a camera to the boys’ pet hamster and turning him loose in locker rooms and underwear drawers, but the girls drive the action as much as the boys. The five female residents of Aoi House all have distinct, three-dimensional personalities, and they generally have the upper hand. The most prominent is the hyperactive Morgan; the hamster-cam is actually her idea, and there is a hint of a more serious plot when we learn that she is guided by the mysterious Oniisan. (Morgan also raises giant sea monkeys in the bathtub, a fact the boys learn the hard way.) There are a handful of insider anime jokes, but anyone who reads manga will get them.

Shiei manages to convey lots of action without letting the page degenerate into chaos; the comic moves fast but stays readable. She’s not breaking any new ground, but her clean-lined style works well with the voluptuous subject matter.

Aoi House is a webcomic, and it also appears in Newtype USA. So why buy the book? Because it’s more attractive and easier to read. The cover is bright and colorful, and the art is fully toned, which makes a huge difference to both the look and the readability. Furthermore, Aoi House is a comic that you read fast. The plot pushes right along, with plenty of slapstick, and unless you have a much faster computer than I do, clicking on each page slows the experience down too much.

As a female reader, I’ll admit I’m a bit frustrated with this book. Arnold and Shiei are a talented pair, and they have created a nice set of characters who interact well with one another. In the next volume, I’d like to see them leave the underpants behind and go for a more mature storyline. I’m not sure how that would fly with the target audience, though. In the meantime, Aoi House is a light, funny read that’s just right for summer vacation.

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

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NarutoWatch

Posted on June 14, 2006 by Brigid Alverson

Naruto slips to number 42 on this week’s USA Today Top 150 books, down from 38 last week.

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Gateway drugs

Posted on June 14, 2006 by Brigid Alverson

At Crocodile Caucus, Lyle critiques the article I linked to earlier, 12 Reasons Why Manga is Not a Gateway Drug to Western Comics. In fact, he turns her arguments around and explains why, if the comics companies were smart, they would use the things that made manga successful to lure readers to their product.

His suggested strategies all make an enormous amount of sense. They are all about making superhero comics more accessible to new readers: Don’t be sexist, package your product well, promote it to people who are drawn in by the movies and TV properties. And I agree wholeheartedly with his first point: “Tell stories that can be enjoyed on their own.” Complicated backstories are fine for serious fans but not so good for bringing people into the fold.

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Rurouni Kenshin ends

Posted on June 14, 2006 by Brigid Alverson

It looks like Kenshin is finally laying down his sword: The Viz series Rurouni Kenshin is coming to an end next month with the release of volume 28. But diehard fans still have something to look forward to: The Rurouni Kenshin novel, Voyage to the Moon World, will be out in October. Can’t wait that long? Viz has picked up the license to Buso Renkin, another manga by RK creator Nobuhiro Watsuki, and will start releasing it in August. And in July Watsuki will be Viz’s guest at the San Diego Comic-Con International.

Shonen Jump magazine will be celebrating with previews of the novel and Buso Renkin, and a little something extra:

The September 2006 issue (on newsstands August 1) will contain a RUROUNI KENSHIN retrospective as well as “Yahiko no Sakabatô” (Yahiko’s reversed-edge sword), an exclusive manga one-shot from Kenshin creator Nobuhiro Watsuki, spun off from the RUROUNI KENSHIN storyline and no longer in print, even in Japan!

And there’s going to be a poster. The Viz press release notes that

Retail industry watchdog ICv2 named RUROUNI KENSHIN as the Top Manga Property of 2004 and the title was also the first graphic novel ever to make it on the USA TODAY Top 150 overall fiction list.

And just this week, volume 27—volume 27!—made the Bookscan Top Ten, so it sounds like the manga is wrapping up while it’s still strong.

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