Tokyopop Webinar staring Domo! (‘s creator)
Tokyopop’s Webinar was actually on 10/29/09, but posts about it didn’t go up until after 11/1/09. Lissa at Kuri-osity has a quick rundown of the webinar and questions for Tsuneo Goda. Deb Aoki of the About.Manga Blog has a full transcript. If you want to know more about Domo, this is a must read. I’m kind of disappointed that Domo isn’t interested in Global Domination. He certainly couldn’t do worse than the leaders we’ve had lately. And as my daughter would say, “He’s Domo!”
Zipang Manga Ends in Japan
Kaiji Kawaguchi, the creator of Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President, is ending his current running title in Japan, Zipang. It’s about a modern day Japanese destroyer goes back in time ala The Final Countdown to World War II. At at least 43 volumes, there is no way we will ever get to see this series. The anime wasn’t very successful, and (most) girls wouldn’t like to read a political or military manga (or so we’re lead to believe), and it’s too long. It really saddens me that Eagle is the only title we’ve ever seen from Kawaguchi, or ever will, despite the catalog of titles he’d done that sound fantastic. He gets into some great political themes, such as the military and immigration. I would be so cool to get some smart manga like that. Not that it’ll ever happen, unless the next story turns out to be a trend…
Who Wants Free Manga?
It’s been 52 days since the 365 Days of Manga started. That’s almost 2 months worth of reviews! Suvudu, the sponsor of the reviews has looked at some of the data they’ve been able to collect about the people who come to the site to not just read the reviews, but to enter in the contest to win some of Jason Thompson manga. What did they find after looking at 50 days worth of entries? It’s mostly the older folk, over 18, that are entering (assuming teens aren’t lying to get that yaoi), and the most popular categories are shojo/josei and seinen. That’s an interesting observation. It could mean that there is a market for titles aimed at older readers. Or it could just mean that only older readers care enough about reviews to check them out and stick with it. I would be happy if it was the former rather than the latter. Then I have a better chance of getting some more Kawaguchi titles.
Daniel X Gets Graphic Adaptation
And they just keep coming from Yen Press. In a press release, Yen Press has announced that it’s doing another adaptation of another James Patterson book series. Daniel X, which just started last year (I remember the samples they gave out for it at SDCC) is a young adults series about a 15-year-old alien hunter, who with his friends and special powers, hunts down the most dangerous aliens on “The List”. And at the top, is the name of the alien that killed his parents. Once again, Yen is tapping a Korean artist to adapt the series, just as they did with Maximum Ride and Twilight. I’m seeing people call these titles manhwa, but really, just because the art is by a Korean artist, I don’t think that automatically makes it a manhwa. That’s a title given to comics from Korean. These adaptations are being made of American books for an American audience. They are OEL/graphic novels as far as I’m concerned.
Manga to Anime
Saiyuki Gaiden
Written as a prequel to the original Saiyuki manga, this manga tells the tale of Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo as their incarnations in Heaven from 500 years ago, and the arrival of the heretic child Son Goku. Part of this manga was animated in the original Saiyuki series and became the basis for the filler arc that was the second half of the series. With Gaiden just ending in Japan, the manga will now be properly animated as an OVA series. Both the manga and the anime need to be licensed, but especially the manga! Come on Tokyopop! We need more Saiyuki goodness!
One Piece Episode 0
One Piece, that series that you just can’t get enough of, and are about to be over run with, starting in January, is getting another anime special. A special manga was created by Eiichiro Oda that tells a tale of the world of One Piece from 20 years ago, when Gold Roger still roamed the seas, in particular, Gold Roger taking on the legendary pirate “Gold Lion” Shiki. This story, called “0th” volume will be given out to the first 1.5 million movie goers to the new One Piece movie, Strong World. The anime special will be released as a limited edition DVD of only 3000. I expect that will be a hot item. The manga will also be published in Weekly Shonen Jump in it’s 53th issue. I wonder if that will be special bonus for Shonen Jump fans as well, as the One Piece speed up commences. That would be cool.
NYT Best Selling Manga
OMG! It’s a week where neither a Naruto nor Viz title is #1! Del Rey’s Negima! Magister Negi Magi vol 24 debuts at #1, pushing Naruto vol 46 back to #2. And Del Rey doesn’t stop there. Tsubasa Vol 23 and xxxHolic vol 14 come in at #3 and #4 respectively, with another Tsubasa, vol 24 lurking down at #8. That’s quite a coup for Del Rey. Yen Press takes some respectable places as well. Maximum Ride vol 2 debuts at #5, while Soul Eater vol 1 falls three to #6. Viz survives this onslaught with just three other titles. Death Note: L, Change the World novel falls three spots to #7, while Rosario Vampire vol 9 takes the longest plunge, from #2 to #9 this week. Yu-Gi-Oh! R vol 1 falls five to #10. This is quite a change in the dynamics of the list. Only one Vampire title has survived, and CLAMP is taking names with 3 titles all debuting. Del Rey and Viz are tied this week, with 4/10 each, though I think Del Rey is the winner, what with taking not just the top spot but 3 out of 5 of them!
Manga For Your Ears
Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews
Anime Today
- Episode 105: Interview with translators of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka Fredrick L. Schodt and Jared Cook
This Week at Manga Village
One Comment
I definitely agree that titles like Maximum Ride should be considered OEL and not manhwa. If the driving force in creating the title is an American publiser who is merely contracting an Asian artist, then it’s OEL.