RIN-NE Volume 1 By Rumiko Takahashi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Comedy Price: $9.99/Free online Rating: Ever since a childhood incident Sakura Mamiya has had the power to see ghosts. Now her life has gotten a lot more complicated with the arrival of her mysterious classmate Rinne, who seems to know a thing or two about detecting ghosts himself! Having enjoyed so far Takahashi’s shonen titles since Urusei Yatsura, I was thrilled to hear that we in the US would not only be getting her newest, Rin-ne, at the same time as Japan, but it would available for free online to read. Having now read the first volume’s worth of chapters, I have to say my initial excitement may have been premature.
Pokémon Adventures Volume 1 By Hidenori Kusaka Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Game/Action Price: $7.99 Rating: Red doesn’t just want to train Pokémon, he wants to be their friend too. Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl seem game. But independent Pikachu won’t be so easy to win over! What was the story about? This story is about a 10 year old trainer named Red. He goes through many adventures. What did you like about the story? I loved the part when Bill was picked up by Fearow. I just couldn’t stop laughing at Mr. Director. I love the part when a Pidgey poops on Professor Oak. I think the pokemon Red chose were great because they help him. What did you dislike about the story? I just hate Blue for hurting the Kangaskhan and it’s young. Would you recommend the story to kids your age? Why? Yes, because pokemon are so loveable!
Recently, Amazon quietly announced a price drop for it’s Kindle 2 e-reader. Slashing $60 from the price to $299, the Kindle is now coming closer to the price of other ebook readers. If Amazon wants the Kindle to be competitive in any way, it had too. Sony, not to be out done, not only slashed prices, but also came out with two new devices. The E-Reader Pocket for $199 and the E-Reader Touch for $299 and will be out by the end of August. The older Sony E-Reader 505 is $279, and can be found at Staples stores now. Bebook, another competitor is also $279. Cooler Books has it’s own e-reader now, the Cool Reader, which looks a lot like an iPod and comes in different colors, and is only $249.
It’s been a slow week for news, part of which can be blamed on the Twitter DDOS attack Thursday and Friday. My reading list is way down too. I spent the week writing my Black Jack thesis and reading graphic novels for Good Comics for Kids Summer Reading Challenge. I should be back to reading more manga this week. Maybe.
Sony, in an attempt to be competitive with the Amazon and it’s Kindle, announced this week it would be releasing two new versions of it e-reader and a price drop on it’s books. The Reader Pocket edition is slightly smaller than the original e-Reader, with a 5 in diagonal screen, and a price point of $199, $100 lower than the Kindle 2. The Touch Edition will have the standard 6in diagonal screen and has a touch screen with virtual keyboard. The touch screen will give the reader a more book like experience with page turns and the ability to highlight and add notes with a finger or stylus. And Sony will now match Amazon’s price on new, bestsellers of $9.99. While the drop in prices are nice, and may attract more people to Sony, it still doesn’t have a wireless connection. Users of the Sony E-Reader have to download their books to their computers and then upload them to the E-Reader. After Amazon’s “1984” fiasco, is that really a bad thing? Sure, it might be convenient to be able to download a book anytime (in the US only), but Amazon has shown it can and will take back books from…
Naruto Volume 32 By Masashi Kishimoto Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action Price: $7.95 Rating: A new ninja causes trouble among the ranks of Team Kakashi when they return from the battle against Sasori. The secrets this stranger hides could be disastrous for Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto’s old nemesis Orochimaru has troubles of his own-his stronghold may be infiltrated by a spy! After saying their goodbyes at the Sand Village, Teams Kakashi and Guy return to the Hidden Leaf. Kakashi is laid up since his new jutsu takes so much out of him, so a new leader is needed for the team as well as member to even it out to four members. There’s only six days left until the rondevou Sasori told them about. Naruto goes searching out his old friends to get them to join, and we see Choji, Shino, Kiba and Hinata. But the team has already been decided. Sai, a member of the Foundation of the Black Ops is chosen, and Yamato, also Black Ops, is chosen to lead. Sai gets on Naruto’s nerves immediately, and on Sakura’s only a few moments later. But, in order to accomplish the mission, both try to tolerate Sai.
This question came in from Kyle just this week: where can i download manga directly and for free xcept for (stoptazmo & animea)….. where can i download pig bride manhwa & captive heart for free???? pls. help me Um…no Kyle. Just….no. Pig Bride and Captive Hearts are licensed titles in the US. If you can not find scanalations to download, that is a good thing. If you want to read these titles you need to either buy the books, or borrow them from a friend or the library. Many public and even school libraries are adding and building up collections of manga and graphic novels. The value of these books is finally being recognized, not just for stories, but because they also help encourage reading. If your local library doesn’t have the books you want, ask about inter-library loan. Get your friends to ask too. The more interest librarians see in a type of book, the more likely they are to add them. If you want to read manga online, then check out Viz’s Shonen Sunday website, where new chapters of mang are put up weekly. Or you can read some new titles straight from Japan with Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen…
San Diego is over and now everyone is preparing for the New York Anime Fest. But in this week’s round up there’s still plenty of SDCC news to get out and some real thought provoking discussions going on that you don’t want to miss out on. SDCC Days 3 & 4 Manga Blog has more roundups of the manga panels from Del Rey, Dark Horse and CMX. CMX is really working to get my money, and with the sounds of their titles, they are going to succeed. Del Rey might win a few with two of their new titles Panic x Panic and Pink Innocence. Podcast: Play in new window | Download