MangaBlog

ICv2 has the scoop: FMA vol. 7 topped the BookScan graphic novels chart for the week ending May 7 as well as making number 100 in the USA Today Top 150. Death Note also made it to number 126 on the USA Today list.

ICv2 mixes up the numbers a bit, so I’m going to unscramble it and post the BookScan list:

1. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 7
2. Death Note, vol. 5
3. Rurouni Kenshin, vol. 26
4. Tsubasa, vol. 9
5. Naruto, vol. 9
6. Kingdom Hearts, vol. 6
7. Fruits Basket, vol. 13
8. Black Cat, vol. 2
9. V for Vendetta
10: Naruto, vol. 1

Also noted:

All nine volumes of Naruto finished among the top 22 titles. Viz’s D Gray Man Vol. 1 is off to a great start, climbing to #14 in its third week of release.

I can testify to the strong pull of FMA, as we made a special trip to Borders to get it this week. It’s making the round of the 7th grade as I write this.

We’re having major flooding in my city, so I’m heading to the mayor’s office this morning to help handle the phones. In the meantime, there’s plenty of good stuff to read on the web:

In this week’s Flipped column, David Welsh looks at how some of his favorite series are holding up over the long haul.

Christopher Butcher at Comics.212.net has some reactions to manga-ka Mimei Sakamoto’s condemnation of moe-addicted otaku as losers and pedophiles. With so much of this material in Japan, it’s inevitably coming over here as scanlations. The question is, will mainstream publishers pick it up unedited, either because it’s profitable or because fans insist on complete authenticity? If they do, all hell’s gonna break loose; if they don’t, it still comes over as scanlations. Chris’s piece is a thoughtful reaction to Sakamoto’s entertaining rant. Read ’em both.

Pata looks at the most popular anime in Japan and who is watching them, and his results touch on the issues mentioned above.

Seven Seas has posted an interview on their site with Madeleine Rosca, creator of the upcoming release Hollow Fields.

Newsarama has more on those Tokyopop YA novels.

The globalization continues: A Russian comic book festival features manga-inspired works and S&M teddy bears. I’m not sure if this is one of the manga-inspired comics, but it certainly could be:

Petrushevskaya creates her characters with a few broad strokes: big-haired women speaking about the minutiae of everyday errands with such urgency that the comics are almost exhausting to read.

It’s all rain, all the time here on the East Coast, so it’s a perfect day to stay in and work on the stack. Here’s some recent commentary on new and older titles:

Digital Manga announced two new titles last week, and Ed at Mangacast is enthusiastic about their entire line. DMP is best known for boys love manga but publishes other mature titles as well. And I mean mature as in older readers will enjoy it, not the T-and-A “mature.” Although it’s supposed to be a josei title, Cafe Kichijouji de is a big hit with my daughters, especially the 11-year-old.

At the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Jason Yadao looks at Nodame Cantabile (a favorite of mine) and the anime Piano: Melody of a Young Girl’s Heart.

Mely has some starting points for folks interested in manwha. That’s a pool I’ve barely dipped my toe into.

The Korean version of shoujo also tends to bitchier heroines than the Japanese, which after the impossible sweetness of so many manga heroines come as something of a relief.

Maybe it’s time to take the plunge.

At BUZZSCOPE, Tania del Rio gives her take on the Victorville library controversy. See the comments thread for an excellent example of people who can disgree without getting out the flamethrowers. More dancing bunnies, please!

By the way, what is San Bernardino County Supervisor Bill Postmus doing besides making the library safe for children? Well, he’s running for county assessor, and he’s just been to court:

At a morning hearing, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Warner refused to issue an injunction against the Postmus campaign logo, which incumbent assessor Don Williamson says amounts to false advertising.

The logo – which has Postmus’ name above an American flag and the words county assessor – gives the false impression that Postmus already holds the job, Williamson’s attorney Brian Cullen told the court.

But, you know, banning that logo would be censorship, and Bill Postmus doesn’t believe in censorship (except when it suits his purposes). Heh.

In the Star of Malaysia, an aspiring artist writes about his dream of becoming a manga-ka, proving once more that not all “global manga” is American. Actually, this artist, Cikucina, seems to have considered moving to Japan as necessary to the job. And then there’s this:

My work had to be as good as the best manga being produced at the time, with intricate character designs and detailed background.

Finding it too difficult and time-consuming to draw in a similar manner, I gave up.

It was not until much later that I discovered the benchmark I set for my work was not achieved by a single artist but by the artist’s staff.

If I had the opportunity, I’d tell this young man not to give up—there’s plenty of manga being made outside of Japan, and nobody expects you to draw top-quality manga coming out of the chute. You improve by doing. I cringe when I look at some of my early newspaper articles, but with a good editor and lots of experience, my writing improved a lot.

One other piece of advice for any aspiring manga-ka (and this comes from someone with an MFA in studio art): Copying manga is a good way to learn style, but there is no substitute for drawing from life, be it a human figure or a vase of flowers. That’s one problem I have with the how-to-draw manga industry: drawing should come first, manga afterward. Life drawing adds a sureness and solidness that will never come from copying two-dimensional work. That’s why a lot of fan art looks so flimsy. So I would recommend Cikucina take some of the money he’s spending on art books and put it toward a drawing class at the local community college; it could be the best investment he ever makes.

It seems to be awards season in mangaworld.

The Tezuka Cultural Awards have been announced, and Ed at Mangacast explains that this year’s grand prize winner is unusually interesting:

Shissou Nikki by Aduma Hideo won the 9th edition of the award. Roughly translated “Disappearing Diary” is the comic version of the mangaka’s life after he temporarily left the manga industry in 1989. In some ways this story is very much a tragic tale of loneliness and self-refelction, but Aduma through his comical character designs and truthful vivid writing style was able to make even this, in Aduma-sensei’s words, “miserable story” into a comical story that readers enjoyed.

The panel of judges looks unusually diverse, including a manga store owner, a psychiatrist, and a college lecturer in addition to the usual industry insiders. Ed has scans of the other winners as well; note that a special award was given to American Comic Taizen (Encyclopedia of American Comics).

Mangacast also has the winners of the 30th annual Kodansha awards, together with cover scans, a list of judges, and a list of past winners that have been licensed in the U.S. Notable on this year’s list are Life, which is now a Tokyopop title, and Air Gear, which is licensed by Del Rey. Ed and the commenters wonder whether the two unlicensed titles, Kitchen Princess and Mushishi (Insect Master), will be licensed soon, with preference going to Del Rey.

ComiPress has the 35th Japanese Cartoonists’ Association Award Winners. I like the judges’ comment on the self-published “Aki Ryuuzan Manga Correspondence,” which won a grand prize:

We’re stunned and amazed with every issue. Then we grovel at the feet of this king of style!

Most excellent! Check out the cover scan of grand prize winner “Akai Yuki” (Red Snow)—it’s beautiful. And a special award went to what I assume is the Japanese edition of “Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators.” Fanfare/Ponent Mon has brought out the English edition, which David Welsh commented back in March was “almost certain to be one of the best books of 2006.”