Manga Xanadu

I have really grown to like digital manga. Considering the lack of space I currently have, and the difficulty I have in letting things go, being able to stack digital files is a lot easier than physical books. And they’re a lot easier to carry. I can carry several different titles to suit what ever my mood is in just my tablet, and it’s a lot easier to eat and read on a tablet that can stand on its own and doesn’t need one of my hands to hold it open. The Vizmanga app has been one of these platforms that I’ve been buying my manga on, though reluctantly lately. One of my problems with it is that there is no way to back up the titles I purchase. They can only be downloaded and viewed through the app. This isn’t so much a problem if something happens to my device. I can just download them again on the new one. But what if something happens to Viz and their servers go down? They say everything will still be available and working through the app. Well, that’s not entirely true. Viz’s mature titles are not available to download and read through…

Viz’s Select line adds 2 former Tokyopop titles that I’m familiar with, but met with two different ends. Grenadier is a five-volume series I picked up because a friend has seen the anime, and told us about the most intriguing element of the story. The lead, a buxom blond, kept her bullets in said bosom and would reload her gun with some jiggling. Not joking. I picked up Red Hot Chili Samurai because it was a historical detective series. In the end, I gave Grenadier to said friend, and chased down the last two volumes of Red Hot Chili Samurai I could find. Tokyopop published 5 of the 8 volumes, but only four were easily found. I guess I’ll be finishing up the series with Viz.

Every week, the New York Times and Amazon posts the top ten bestselling books. The New York Times gets their numbers from print sales from retailers, while Amazon and Vizmanga.com calculates their own numbers. Once a month the Nielsen Bookscan posts their top twenty graphic novels of which manga is included. Offered here is a listing of these books with their status this week compared with the previous week, and some way-off analysis of the activity.   New York Times Bestseller List for the week ending April 11, 2015. One Piece Vol 74     ∗ Big Hero Six Vol 1     ↔ Attack on Titan Vol 15     ↓ 2 Fairy Tail Vol 47     ↑ 2 Soul Eater Vol 25     ↓ 2 Food Wars! Vol 5     ∗ Assassination Classroom Vol 3     ∗ Attack on Titan Before The Fall Vol 4     ↓ 4 Attack on Titan Vol 1     ↓ 4 Sword Art Online Fairy Dance Vol 3     ↓ 1 The mighty titans are unseated by a bunch of pirates! One Piece Vol 74 debuts in the top spot this week. Big Hero Six Vol 1 keeps itself at #2 for its third week. While…

Easter weekend was a busy one for conventions. On the east coast was Anime Boston, and on the west coast, Wondercon was held in Southern California and Sakura-Con up north in Washington State. Manga publishers split up to cover the anime cons, with Yen Press taking Sakura-Con. Yen Press has already been busy this year with the manga and light novel announcements, and their appearance at Sakura-Con was no different. They stuck with just manga licenses this time, announcing a whopping 13 titles to be released in either print of digital. Starting with print manga, one of the biggest announcements and surprise was Yowamushi Pedal. This is not only a sports manga, but also a long running series, currently at 39 volumes, features that tend to make publishers shy away from a title. Yowamushi Pedal though is already fairly well-known among Western readers. The anime was streamed by Crunchyroll, and fujoshi have been obsessing over the manga for a while. The story is about Sakamichi Onoda, an otaku whose passion for figures and anime was so great that he would ride his bicycle 60-miles round trip to Akihabara to shop there. His bicycling skills get him into competitive bike racing. I’ve…

While Yen Press was kicking it up in Seattle at Sakura-Con, Kodansha was staying cool at Anime Boston. They had announcements for 5 new titles as well as news about current titles.   Starting with the new titles, Kodansha picked up Ninja Slayer Kills. This is another adaptation of the novel series Ninja Slayer, about salary man Kenji Fujikido, who is possessed by the Ninja spirit Naraku. Kenji’s wife and child was killed in a ninja turf war, and his thirst for vengeance matches Naraku’s lust for killing. Together they become Ninja Slayer. Veritcal Comics already announced another adaptation, Machine of Vengeance. It’s not surprising Kodansha picked up one as well, especially with an anime set to run this year. This series has two volumes out so far and is ongoing. I will probably pass on this one, since ultra violence just isn’t my thing. A title I am excited about is Cat Diary: Yon and Mu by horror manga creator Junji Ito. A semi-autobiographical comedy, it is about a horror manga artist and his fiance’s cats. I’ve been interested in this title since I heard about it in 2009. Ito’s creepy art combined with the mysteries of cats who are probably…

On Thursday, Digital Manga Publishing announced their next Tezuka-in-Print kickstarter. They are being modest again, with a single series anthology, Clockwork Apple. It features 8 short stories of speculative fiction that were written between 1968 – 1973.  DMP describes the volume as such: In this collection of speculative fiction a man finds a wonder drug, a robot has a baby, a town is subjected to control by substance, a robber runs away from murder, a man searches for his mysterious love, American school kids are kidnapped, an activist takes part in political intrigue, and space hippies defy peace conventions. It is recommended to fans of the TV show The Twilight Zone and the comics Creepy and Eerie, due to similar tone and themes. Considering what a classic those titles are, that is high praise for this volume. DMP is looking for $13,500 to publish the book with the digital tier hitting at $15, and the print tier at $20. The book will be a little thicker than most manga volumes, coming in at 284 pages, and DMP is saying they will use heavier stock paper, which is what probably puts the print book at the near MSRP of $19.99. There are…

It’s another short week, but with some variety at least. Digital Manga Publishing’s last Tezuka kickstarter before officially starting the “Tezuka World” kickstarters, Captain Ken is released to the general public this week. Backers have already received their books and rewards, so now it’s everyone else’s turn to pick up this space western. Set on Mars, the new frontier, a mysterious gunslinger, Ken, and his sidekick-gadget-horse Arrow, arrive on the red planet and they end up getting caught between the Earthling settlers and the Martian natives. If you missed the kickstarter, now is your chance pick up vol 1. Dark Horse has a new series starting this week as well. Oreimo Kuroneko is a spin-off of the original Oreimo, also published by Dark Horse, and features Ruri “Kuroneko” Goro as the protagonist; a big otaku who prefers action/fantasy and dresses in Goth Lolita. While the series title sounds off-putting, the actual plot seems interesting. Vertical Comics makes the week though with the release of the second volume of their all ages comedy My Neighbor Seki. I loved the first volume and can not wait to get the second and see what new misadventures await Seki and Yokoi. Seriously, this series is…

At the beginning of March, Yen Press announced three new manga via their Twitter feed. They had teased the announcements in February and finally ended the suspense with the official announcement on March 1. The first title they whipped out was Rose Gun Days Season One. This is another series by Ryukishi07, the creator of the visual novel games Higurashi When They Cry and Umineko When They Cry, both of which Yen Press has licensed and published the manga adaptations. Rose Gun Days is another visual novel game adaptation. This time, the story takes place just after the end of World War II. Devastated and defeated, the Japanese government accepts the allies’ reconstruction plan. Japan begins to recover, but the United States and China taken control through the local governments. Chinese and American immigrants flood in, making the Japanese a minority in their own country. Rose Haibara works at Club Primavera, helping out her countrymen. Leo Shishigami is an repatriated soldier with a reputation with the ladies. Everything begins to change when Rose and Leo meet in the spring of 1947. This series is different from Ryukishi07’s other works, as it is more of an action romance. The first season is…

Gyo is one of those titles, that just one look inside stays with you forever. The story of nature gone horribly wrong features some the most disturbing images, such as fish running around on crab/lobster/spider legs, as well as some of the most absurd, like a man being stalked by a shark. A shark head peering around a corner is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Together, you get a title that is quite frankly unforgettable, and well deserving of the hardcover deluxe omnibus Viz is giving it.

Every week, the New York Times and Amazon posts the top ten bestselling books. The New York Times gets their numbers from print sales from retailers, while Amazon and Vizmanga.com calculates their own numbers. Once a month the Nielsen Bookscan posts their top twenty graphic novels of which manga is included. Offered here is a listing of these books with their status this week compared with the previous week, and some way-off analysis of the activity.   New York Times Bestseller List for the week ending April 4, 2015. Attack on Titan Vol 15     ↔ 2 Big Hero Six Vol 1     ↔ 2 Soul Eater Vol 25     ↑ 2 Attack on Titan Before the Fall Vol 4     ∗ Attack on Titan Vol 1     ↑ 3 Fairy Tail Vol 47     ∗ Attack on Titan No Regrets Vol 1     ↵ 18 Naruto Vol 69     ↓ 5 Sword Art Online Fairy Dance Vol 3     ↓ 3 All You Need Is Kill     ↓ 3 Another new Attack on Titan title seems to bring they all out of the woodwork. Attack on Titan Vol 15 keeps control of the top spot while Attack on Titan…

Words are powerful. Insults and rumors can derail a career; a bit of encouragement can give someone the strength to pursue their dreams. When a high school boy skipping class to sketch shoe designs and a taciturn woman drinking a morning beer meet in a Tokyo park, they say little, but the woman bids farewell with an ancient tanka poem. Will the boy figure out the poem’s meaning-and its corresponding response-before it’s too late? The Garden of Words Written by Makoto Shinkai; Art by Midori Motohashi Publisher: Vertical Comics Age Rating: Teen Genre: Drama Price: $12.95 Rating: The Garden of Words is based on an anime movie that was released in 2013. It takes place over a short period of time, just a few months in the summer, during Japan’s rainy season. But in that short period, two people find enough to say to give flight to the hopes and dreams for both of them. This story focuses on two people, Akizuki, a high school boy who dreams of being a shoe maker, and Yukino, a young woman who seems lost and without purpose. These two meet one rainy day under a gazebo in a Tokyo park, and continue to do so…

Due to Diamond shipping Viz’s shonen and shojo titles early last week, this week is looking very bare. Only three titles are coming out this week, one of which is from Viz’s BL line Sublime. One Peace Books is a small boutique publisher that has gotten into manga just recently. They’ve had some good word of mouth with Whispered Words, a yuri title. Their new title to be released this week is much more of a shonen action title, Aquarion Evol. It is the sequel to the anime Genesis of Aquarion which had some elements that could be called problematic. This series might be traversing the same road. We’ll see. Vertical Comics continues its release of the action-horror title Ajin with Volume 4 this week, but looks close to catching up to the Japanese release. Ajin keeps getting good word of mouth press from readers and critics, so hopefully sales are matching even with Crunchyroll running new chapters digitally. Kei Nagai’s trials continue to intrigue, and with more demi-humans coming out of the woodwork with this volume, the story can just only get more intriguing. While I don’t fully endorse the Vizmanga app, they do have some good bundle sales going. This…