Manga Xanadu

It is the distant future, and giant beings known as Titans who have a taste for human flesh have decimated the planet. Humanity has been beaten back into a three walled city where for 100 years they felt safe and became complacent. The sudden appearance of a 150 meter tall Titan changes everything as humanity loses a wall to the Titans. One boy to survive the initial attack is Eren Yeager, whose hate for the Titans makes him work hard and join the Survey Corps, so he can face and fight the creatures that destroyed his home and family. But in his first battle, he is eaten. When all seems lost for his unit, something happens that changes everything. Attack on Titan Volume 1-7 By Hajime Isayama Publisher: Kodansha Comics Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Fantasy/Horror Price: $10.99 Rating: I thought I was going to be able to let the Attack on Titan bandwagon pass me by. I wasn’t wowed by the first chapter, so I felt no inclination to look further into it. But curiosity and some review copies got me to crack open a volume and I was hooked from that moment on. I thought I could make do without going…

This week is a good week for shojo readers. Kodansha releases the 4th volume of Say I Love You, their new shojo title that I was surprised I not only liked but also managed to distinguish itself from other titles by taking a more direct approach to teens, their relationships and feelings. Viz Media has a lot of shojo titles I like, and this week releases three that are high on my list. My Love Story is a new series that I’m hoping will end my bad luck with romantic comedies. Volume 2 is out this week. Natsume’s Book of Friends is a title I would call a comfort manga. It’s relaxing story and engaging characters is perfect to relax to after a rough day. Volume 17 is out this week. Happy Marriage?! is a shojo for a more mature crowd. I’ve enjoyed watching Chiwa’s and Hokuto’s relationship get over the bumpy spots and grow. It’s sad that the series is almost done with Volume 8 now out, but I’m looking forward to a Happy Ending. It’s not all shojo this week, as the title of this post says. Seven Seas Entertainment releases a title that has me curious but…

Yen Press has been pushing out the licenses hard and fast this year. Their last big license announcement a month ago featured mostly light novels for their Yen On line. This last weekend at New York Comic Con it was time to spotlight the manga. Nine titles were announced, most of them being new, with one surprise/not so surprising license rescue. As Yen has been want to do, two of the manga titles are adaptations of light novels they have already announced. A Certain Magical Index light novel series got a lot of cheers from fans for Yen with its license, and now its manga adaptation is joining the party. This adaptation started a while ago, back in 2007, and there are 13 volumes so far. It follows Touma Kamjou, a boy made remarkable by his complete lack of ability in a city filled with super powered students. Touma just wants to keep a low profile, but when a nun named Index stumbles into his life, things get more complicated and dangerous than ever! I’d give this first volume a shot. Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is another light novel series adaptation. It’s…

Yen Press continues its pattern of licensing manga of light novels and vice verse. Along with these crossovers are some surprises that will make almost every fan happy. Read on for the good news! Yen Press Announces New Licenses at New York Comic Con NEW YORK, NY (October 10, 2014) – At its panel at New York Comic Con today, Yen Press announced a number of highly anticipated forthcoming manga publications. The light novel series Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? and A Certain Magical Index were already on the new Yen On list, specializing in translated light novels. Today, Yen Press announced the acquisition of the manga series as well. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is by Kunieda; the original story is by Fujino Omori and the character design by Suzuhito Yasuda. A Certain Magical Indexis by Chuya Kogino; the original story by Kazuma Kamachi and the character design by Kiyotaka Haimura. Also announced were Emma by Kaoru Mori, author of the acclaimed A Bride’s Story and Kaoru Mori: Anything and Something, also published by Yen Press; and Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova, author of Nightschool and…

Last week, the official website for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump announced that Naruto would be ending in this year’s 50th issue of the magazine out November 10. Creator Masashi Kishimoto has been hinting that the series would be winding up soon. Back in 2012 he had stated the series was reaching its climax, and would be ending in about a year and a half. Finally, that end is in sight. Naruto follows the adventures of a boy by the same name who lives in the ninja village of Konoha. After a difficult childhood and being shunned by the people of his village, Naruto becomes a ninja and joins his fellow teammates Sakura and Sasuke to go on jobs assigned to them. Naruto is determined to earn the respect of Konoha and become the Hokage, leader of the village. Naruto started in 1999, and became wildly popular both in Japan and here in the US through fan subs of the anime and scans of manga. Viz Media licensed the manga and it joined their newly launched Shonen Jump print magazine in January of 2003. The manga was one of the first to receive an acceleration in releases as Viz released 12…

If you’ve been waiting to pick up any Takeshi Obata manga, now is the time to do it! Hikaru no Go is a title every manga fan should know and read, and Bakuman is a great inside look at many of the inner workings of the manga industry. All titles are on sale, with starting volumes at rock bottom prices! Or if you’re like me and couldn’t make it to New York Comic Con where Obata did a signing, you can still win some autographed books to stare at and treasure. Keep reading for more information. VIZ MEDIA SPOTLIGHTS TAKESHI OBATA AND DETAILS NEW DIGITAL MANGA DEBUTS AND UPDATES FOR OCTOBER Digital Premiere Of WORLD TRIGGER And Updates To More Than 20 Other Series; Celebrate Takeshi Obata’s New York Comic Con Appearance With A Sweepstakes And Special Digital Pricing VIZ Media announces a substantial digital manga update to open the Fall 2014 reading season with a host of new titles and a special promotion celebrating the work of artist Takeshi Obata for his first-ever U.S. appearance at New York Comic Con 2014. VIZ Media highlights several updates this month including the digital debut of the sci-fi action series, WORLD TRIGGER, with…

Every week, Viz Media and the New York Times posts the top ten bestselling books. For Viz Media, it is the bestsellers on their site, Vizmanga.com. The New York Times gets their numbers of print sales from retailers. 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.   Vizmanga.com for the week of September 30, 2014 Chibi Vampire Vol 14     ∗ Kyo Kara MAOH! Vol 1     ∗ Fate/Stay Night Vol 10     ∗ Nisekoi Vol 9     ↓ 3 Lucky★Star Vol 3     ∗ Trinity Blood Vol 6     ∗ St. Lunatic High School Vol 2     ∗ Miyuki-chan in Wonderland Vol 1     ↓ 4 D • N • Angel Vol 13     ∗ Library Wars Vol 12     ∗ New digital Select titles means a nearly brand new list this week. The final volume of Chibi Vampire debuts at #1, which isn’t really a surprise if you’ve been watching it on the list. New license rescue, Kyo Kara MAOH! debuts at #2. This was another former Tokyopop title that did well in the day, and I suspect will do well in digital…

Sona-G is one of the most popular bands on the scene with a strapping vocalist and a hunky guitarist! Masumi, on the other hand, has all the trust in the world with her technical skills on the guitar, but she’s just been dumped and the world looks grey indeed. Then one day, Masumi finds herself playing second guitar for Sona-G! What’s going to happen to her decision not to fall in love…? This volume also features another two wonderful stories! Sona-G Series Volume 1: Heaven is Not Needed By Yuriko Matsukawa Publisher: Digital Manga Guild Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $7.95/eBook only Rating: Sona-G Series is a one volume anthology featuring three stories by creator Yuriko Matsukawa. The stories are all romances featuring girls finding love when they aren’t looking for it. While all three stories are entertaining and even fun reads, none are really compelling. “Heaven is Not Needed” is the main story of this anthology as well as giving it its name. It is about high school girl Masumi Murakami who is asked by the wildly popular duo Sona G to play acoustic for them on a big gig coming up. But because her crush left her…

Black Bird is a series I wanted to like, but had some systemic problems that kept it from being a regular read for me, which is too bad because I loved Sakurakoji’s first series here, Backstage Prince. There were a lot of elements of the plot surrounding the Senka Maiden that I was interested in, but the icky feeling I got from the series in general made it hard to follow regularly. If you can get past, or aren’t bothered by those parts, then Viz has some great news for you! Keep reading for the details! VIZ MEDIA’S BLACK BIRD MANGA SERIES TAKES FLIGHT IN A NEW BOX SET EDITION  Catch The Entire Romantic Supernatural Adventure In This Complete Box Set; Release Also Features Exclusive Bonus Hardcover Art Book  San Francisco, CA, September 25, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, ignites the passions of readers with the release on October 21st of the manga (graphic novel) box set for creator Kanoko Sakurakoji’s hit supernatural fantasy series, BLACK BIRD. The BLACK BIRD Complete Box Set features the entire series run of 18 volumes and will be released under…

Every week, Viz Media and the New York Times posts the top ten bestselling books. For Viz Media, it is the bestsellers on their site, Vizmanga.com. The New York Times gets their numbers of print sales from retailers. 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.   Vizmanga.com for the week of September 23, 2014 Nisekoi Vol 9     ∗ Future Diary Vol 6     ∗ Chibi Vampire Vol 13     ↓ 2 Miyuki-Chan in Wonderland Vol 1     ∗ One Piece Vol 72     ↔ Suki Vol 1     ∗ Food Wars! Vol 3     ↓ 1 One-Punch Man Vol 4     ↵ Seraph of the End Vol 2     ↵ It’s another strong week for digital only/digital first titles. The newest Nisekoi volume takes over the top spot and is followed by the new volume of Future Diary. CLAMP shows its older works still have pull as new rescues for the Select line, Miyuki-Chan in Wonderland and Suki debut on the list. One Punch Man and Seraph of the End made conspicuous returns as well.   New York Times Bestseller List…

Since it is now officially October, it’s time to start breaking out the spooktacular stories! I have long proclaimed by love of Yokai, so I couldn’t pass up this story about a poll asking Japanese women to vote for their favorite anime and manga yokai. There are a lot of familiar names on the list. All but one title were manga before becoming anime. What’s really cool about the list, is that of those manga titles, we have access to all but three! Jigoku Sensei Nube, which placed 4th in the poll, is a Shonen Jump title from the 1990s, the same era as Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, and Ruroni Kenshin. Jigoku Sensi Nube follows elementary school teacher Meisuke Nueno, aka Nube, who not only teaches his students, he also is a skilled exorcist. He protects the town of Domori from supernatural threats with the help of a powerful demon sealed in his left hand, a technique he calls the Demon’s Hand. This horror comedy ran for 31 volumes and had an anime made of it. It’s returned to the limelight recently with a live action drama set to debut this month. I would live to read this title, but it has…

Gen Tsukiomi appears to be a normal high school student but there is more to him than meets the eye. So when his old caretaker asks him for help in protecting his current charge, Hikari Kuze, Gen wonders what is going on. Besides being a ditzy junior high school student, is Hikari like Gen, with a secret of her own? In what often feels like a comedy of errors, Gen tries to figure out who is after them while struggling to maintain his quickly dwindling control over the situation. As if that wasn’t enough, a new romantic rival appears! But which one of them is he actually after? Moonlight Kreuz Volume 1 By Yasumi Hazaki Publisher: Digital Manga Guild Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $7.95/eBook only Rating: Moonlight Kreuz had an interesting sounding premise with romance, comedy and werewolves. But the first warning was there, with the female leading being described as  “ditzy.” And though I keep trying romantic comedies, I’ve yet to find one I really enjoy. This volume wasn’t a bad read, but neither was there anything that made want to pick up more. The lead characters, Gen and Hikari, needed first and foremost to be interesting to me….