Manga Xanadu

Shuiesha, the publisher of all the Shonen Jump titles released an app in Japan that allows 30 manga to be read for free. Some of these titles first run in Weekly Shonen Jump, and some in their mobile app Jump Live. This is all well and good for people living in Japan, but no so much for us here in the west. But that doesn’t mean we can’t wish. Going through the list, there are 5 titles that I would like to be able to read, or at least check out a few chapters or volumes. Rough Diamond: Manga Gakko ni Yokoso (Welcome to Manga School) – This series follows Yuuto Takatsuki, a high school boy who has already had a series published. Just as his series is ending, and he is looking forward to a normal high school, he helps out a fellow mangaka, and ends up missing one day of school too many, and isn’t able to pass his grade. Luckily, he’s offered a teaching position at a manga school. The principal will help me make his absenses disappear for teaching the class, but the only problem for Yuuto is that he has to teach students older than…

In Edo, there is a woman with incredible supernatural powers known as Oyou, the Urameshiya. She is able to banish spirits haunting humans. But her power is a double-edged sword as she is feared by the same people who ask for her help, except for the outcast pickpocket, Saji. After a chance meeting, Saji is attracted to both her beauty and ability, and together they take on the supernatural in Edo. Urameshiya Volume 1-3 By Makiko Publisher: Jmanga.com/Futabasha Publishers Age Rating: Mature Genre: Supernatural/Mystery Price: $4.99/OOP Rating: Urameshiya was among the first selections available when Jmanga went live. I had seen it recommended by fellow bloggers, but its mature rating left me with some trepidation. I put off reading it until Jmanga released their Android reader app. My misgivings were completely unfounded, as I started reading the first volume, and worked obsessively through to the third, with little desire to put my tablet down. This title combines complex characters in realistic relationships with well told tales of the supernatural to create a very entertaining manga. Oyou, the protagonist of this title, is an outcast from society. Her strong powers make her someone people fear to anger, but at the same…

High school junior Wakaba Sakimoto is a normal girl, no matter how you look at her. Everyone around her is thinking about the future, but Wakaba still doesn’t know what she wants to do. Then one day, she meets voice actress Touko Hosaka by accident, and Wakaba’s future changes in a big way… By Tatsunari Sakuraba Publisher: Jmanga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Shonen Price: $4.99 Rating: Koetama was another impulse buy from Jmanga. I’ve always been intrigued with voice acting, and after reading the scenes in Bakuman, I wanted to read more. Then Jmanga licensed this series. The characters are fun, and the premise isn’t bad, even though the whole thing comes off as feeling very generic. But being only the first volume where all the set up takes place, this is to be expected. Wakaba Sakimoto is a high school junior who doesn’t know what to do about her future goals. Her two best friends, Tomo and Serina already have goals that they are working for; Tomo is practicing karate and Serina wants to be an author. But Wakaba doesn’t have anything she feels passionate about. When Tomo, Serina and Wakaba go to an amusement park, Wakaba finds a…

Chaos reigns as the curtain descends on the age of the samurai. Atsuhime, born to the Satsuma branch of the Shimazu clan is to wed Iesada Tokugawa, the 13th shogun. However, soon after their marriage, Atsuhime’s beloved husband dies, leaving her to defend the clan as she is tossed about by the waves of history. Watch as this exceptional woman from Satsuma lives out a trouble-filled life while resolutely moving forward no matter what in this moving historical comic! By Riho Sachimi Publisher: Jmanga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Historical Price: $5.99 Rating: Well, what do you know, another historical title. What a surprise. Yes, I do love my historical titles. The last one I reviewed, King’s Moon, dealt with Japan just before the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This title, Hanagatari Tenshion Atsuhime, deals with the last years of the Shogunate, as told though the eyes of Atsuhime, the wife of the 13th Shogun. Hanagatari Tenshion Atsuhime begins with the girl Okatsu playing in the fields behind her home in Satsuma. It is decided that she is to become the next wife of the Shogun, Iesada. After a few years and several name changes, she arrives as Atsuhime. She makes…

Hiroshima, 1955. Ten years after the city was consumed by a scorching flash of light, the soul of Minami Hirano is still deeply shaken by the earth-shattering explosion that devastated her home and changed her life forever. To the weak, the victims, what did the war mean? What pieces of certainty changed and broke that morning, when the sky lit up with a fire like a thousand suns? A controversial story of the aftermath of disaster, long after conflict is over and the dead are long buried. By Fumiyo Kouno Publisher: Jmanga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Slice of Life Price: $4.99 Rating: This isn’t the first time The Town of Evening Calm, The Country of Cherry Blossoms has been published in English. Last Gasp first published it in print in 2007. Jmanga then got a hold of it and used it as one of its launch titles. It was well received originally, but it took me until the last days to get it and read it. It is a story that deserves every once of praise it received. The Town of Evening Calm, The Country of Cherry Blossoms, is essentially the story of one family over 3 generations. It follows…

The Life of Akechi Mitsuhide ― Oda Nobunaga ruled the nation with a scorching force like that of the Sun. In his shadow was his faithful retainer, Akechi, who continued his unwavering service to him. Once sharing the same vision for the future, a change of heart sets their paths forever apart. What conclusion did Mitsuhide reach following the events at Hongan-ji? From a great author, comes a beautifully illustrated historical drama full of intensity! By Hiroki Kusumoto Publisher: Jmanga Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Historical Drama Price: $4.99 Rating: I love historical dramas, so when Jmanga announced this title, that not only took place in the Warring States Era, but also featured bishonen historical figures in a historical setting without any fantasy elements, I bought it sight unseen. While I enjoyed the title in general, it didn’t really fulfill the “full of intensity” part promised in the description. King’s Moon details the life of Akechi Mitsuhide, a loyal retainer to the famous warlord Oda Nobunaga. The story begins with Mitsuhide already a retainer to Asakura Yoshikage. The retainer to Ashikaga, Hosokawa Fuijtaka, has come to Asakura to ask him to champion Ashikaga in his bid to be Shogun, but…

I have some good news and bad news…which do you want first? The good news? Okay! According to ANN, over in Japan, the official Gundam portal site has announced the return of the Gundam Seed Astray manga side stories. Gundam Seed Destiny Astray R and Gundam Seed Destiny Astray B will be returning and will feature the characters Lowe Gear, a member of the Junk Guild, and Gai Murakumo, a mercenary with their respective Astray suits. More details about the titles and their starting dates will be in the new issues of Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby Magazine later this month. The Gundam Seed Astray manga were published in the US by Tokyopop back in the mid 2000s. I have all of the Astray side stories and really enjoyed them. They fit very well within the Gundam Seed Universe and the characters are a lot of fun; at least in Frame A and B, with Lowe and Gai. They are definitely worth tracking down if you are a fan of the Gundam Seed Universe. They much better than the Del Rey Gundam Seed Destiny manga. It’s too bad though that Gundam doesn’t have the audience to warrant they being licensed…

Over at Good E-Reader, Brigid Alverson recently conducted an interview with Kevin Hamric, the director of publishing, marketing and sales about Viz Media’s digital strategy. We learn that Viz’s digital titles are selling strong on all the platforms it is available on, that digital rights are now just as important as print rights, and that recent WSJ title Nisekoi was digital only, but Viz is now going back for print rights. It was good to see that Viz recognizes that DRM is only harmful to consumers and that just making titles available in the format people want will fight piracy better than just trying to stamp out scanlation site. On the whole is a good informative article, and I was with it all the way until this quote from Kevin: The more you make it easy for everybody, the more you are going to sell stuff. We want to make our product available in any format [readers] want. Whatever way they want it, we are going to give it to them. Okay Kevin, I and a lot of other people judging from the comments on the Google Play site for the Viz Manga app, want it available on 10″ Android…

Peace Pet Rental’s Lag is a robotic dog. He can be pretty slow at times and can’t perform tasks aside from those written in his program, but despite all this, he’s everyone’s favorite dog. Soon, however, he is tackling people’s problems in ways not included in his program, and it seems almost miraculous… Something mysterious has awakened within his heart even though he’s supposed to be a machine with no emotions. What is Lag’s true nature? For those lost in despair and sorrow and those with wounded hearts comes this healing tale of love, kindness, and sacrifice. By Udou Shinohara Publisher: Digital Manga Guild Localized: Cynical Pink Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy/Shojo/Slice of Life Price: $6.95 eManga/$7.95 Kindle/Nook/Wowio Rating: While I am a big cat lover (crazy cat lady in training), I’m really a sucker for all animals, including dogs. So it should come as no surprise that when given the chance, I would read a manga featuring a dog, even if it is a robot dog. While the basic premise is far from original, Shinohara still creates an entertaining story with some quirky characters, an interesting world for them to live in, and a charming pooch to bring them…

Rikuo has successfully defended his classmates from the vicious Inugami’s mad-dog attack. But that battle is just a hint of what’s to come. The sinister Tamazuki has remained in his human form so far, but now he’s unleashing his true form: a ferocious yokai leading the 88 Demons of Shikoku, a disciplined demon horde hell-bent on taking the Nura clan out. With Nurarihyon missing, Rikuo must step up as a warrior and a leader. By Hiroshi Shiibashi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Action Price: $9.99 Rating: Rikuo really starts to step up as under-boss in this volume. With his grandfather, the Nurarihyon, gone, it’s up to him to defend the Nura territory. He finally shows some initiative when he sends Gozumaru and Mezomaru to infiltrate a Shikoku yokai gathering to gather intelligence. And he acts on that intelligence by taking the fight to Tamazuki rather than waiting for him and his forces to attack the Nura Main house. He’s pretty impressive in his night form during this fight until he gets blindsided, literally. This battle with Tamazuki really shows the cycle of the generations within the Yokai clans. Tamazuki is ambitious and hungers for power, just as his…

It’s been a year since Yen Plus went digital and things don’t seem to have changed much, at least not for the Japanese side of the magazine. It’s still meager at best, and is losing another title this month with the final chapter of The Innocent appearing. We can hope Yen Press will be able to announce something soon, otherwise having the two sides of the magazine is going to be pretty pointless.

A few weeks ago I gave Viz kudos for finally realizing there was a market for digital manga beyond the iOS platform. Their announcement of Vizmanga.com and tagline of “Buy It Once Read It Anywhere” seemed like a dream come true. Finally, I could start reading and owning digital manga. I thought Viz had really gotten the idea of “manga for all.” But after working with it, and seeing new announcements, I have come to realize the equality I thought I was getting didn’t really exist.