Manga Xanadu

Collecting One Piece can seem like a daunting task when you look at all the individual volumes and see those numbers up in the seventies. Fortunately, Viz Media is making it easier by releasing box sets, and this latest features what I think was the best arc so far; Waters Seven. If there was ever a run from One Piece that was a must, this one is it. VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ONE PIECE MANGA BOX SET 2  New Box Set Edition Features The Continuing Adventures Of The Straw Hat Pirates With Vols. 24-46 Of The World’s Bestselling Manga Series  San Francisco, CA, October 23, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, delivers a special treat to fans with the latest Box Set installment for the world’s most popular manga series – ONE PIECE. The ONE PIECE Manga Box Set 2 will be released on November 4th and is rated ‘T’ for Teens. The set contains Volumes 24-46, which comprise the series’ third and fourth story arcs – Skypiea and Water Seven – and will carry an MSRP of $185.99 U.S. / CAN. The Box Set also…

All You Need Is Kill already got a print release for those who didn’t want to wait, but this omnibus edition includes some extras that fans of the series and/or Obata won’t want to pass up. It makes a great present for the coming holidays. VIZ MEDIA PREMIERES OMNIBUS PRINT EDITION OF ALL YOU NEED IS KILL MANGA  Sci-Fi Action Manga By Takeshi Obata, Creator Of DEATH NOTE, Adapts The Award-Winning Japanese Novel That Inspired The Summer Blockbuster Film Edge Of Tomorrow  San Francisco, CA, October 22, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces the print launch of famed manga artist Takeshi Obata’s latest manga (graphic novel) masterpiece with the release of ALL YOU NEED IS KILL as an oversized omnibus edition on November 4th. ALL YOU NEED IS KILL collects both volumes into this complete edition and features color inserts, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will be available under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint with a print MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. Digital editions for the pair of individual volumes are also available for $6.99 each across all platforms serviced by VIZManga.com…

Resident Evil is a Video Game franchise that has been haunting gamers since CAPCOM released it for the Playstation back in 1996. The story has grown and evolved over the years, and with the latest game, it goes back to the beginning to explain where it started. This manga series goes back on step further to set it up. A preview of this manga was offered as part of Halloween Comicfest, which you may have been lucky enough to get if you had a comic shop near you that had it. For the rest of us, there’s the digital preview. VIZ MEDIA UNLEASHES THE TERRIFYING RESIDENT EVIL MANGA SERIES AND OFFERS A SPECIAL FREE PREVIEW FOR HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2014 Discover The Source Of The Outbreak Of The Deadly C-Virus In The Gritty Manga Prequel To CAPCOM’s Popular Resident Evil® 6 Game Property San Francisco, CA, October 16, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, gives gamers and action fans a special FREE sneak preview of its forthcoming RESIDENT EVIL: THE MARHAWA DESIRE manga (graphic novel) series as part of the company’s participation in 2014 Halloween ComicFest. The terrifying…

One Peace is a boutique publisher that has been bringing over an eclectic selection of books from Japan, from novels, to craft books to manga. Among their manga selections are Manga Classics (no relation to the Udon Entertainment series), Crayon Shin-Chan, and this year, Whispered Words and Raqiya. Last month they announced two more titles to expand their manga catalog. Aquarion-Evol is an adaptation of the anime of the same name, which is itself a sequel to the anime Sousei no Aquarion. 12,000 years have passed since the events of Sousei no Aquarion, and a new enemy, the “Abductors” have to Vega to steal its people away. The organization known as Neo-DEAVA is there to stop them. Young men and women, know as elements, pilot massive robots in separate teams, stop the Abductors. Amata Sora and Mikono Suzushiro are both members of Neo-DEAVA. To save his friend and his planet, Amata must use a power he has kept secret all his life to being the men and women together to bring the legendary giant robot Aquarion back. I wasn’t too sure about this title when it was announced. I found the first anime rather…problematic in its transformation, and skipped the second…

At New York Comic Con earlier this month, publisher Kodansha Comics held a panel where they announced four new titles to join their already extensive catalog of titles. Two of the titles are related to existing titles they are currently publishing and two are brand new. The first new title is a shojo. L DK follow high school students Shusei and Aoi. Shusei is his school’s “Prince” with a reputation for coldly turning down girls who want to go out with him. Aoi’s best friend becomes one of these girls, earn Shusei her disdain. When disaster strikes Shusei, and his apartment burns to the ground, he ends up being Aoi’s roommate. I’m not sure how I feel about this title. I really don’t care for stories that throw the characters into improbably situations like this. The series is currently 14 volumes and has had a live action movie. There was no word on when Kodansha would release the first volume, but I would guess late 2015. Inuyashiki is a sci-fi series by Hiroya Oku, the creator of the violent and gory Gantz. It is about Inyushiki, a salaryman with a wife and two children who don’t care about him. He learns…

Indulge your love of supernatural romance with this new series from Viz Media. I wasn’t too keen on the license when it was originally announced back in February, but I’ve been wrong before. Keep reading to see if you feel it’s a must get next week. VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES NEW PARANORMAL SHOJO MANGA SERIES KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS  A Mystical Girl Brings Forth Four Magical Knights To Help Her On A Quest To Save The World From The Forces Of Evil San Francisco, CA, October 22, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces a thrilling new paranormal shojo manga (graphic novel) adventure with the launch of Aya Shouoto’s KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS on November 4th. The new series will be available for the first time digitally as well as in print under the Shojo Beat imprint. KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry a print MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. A digital version of KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS, Vol. 1 also will debut on November 4th for $6.99 (USD/CAN) from VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA…

I asked for it and I got it! With the end of the “Yellow Scarves Arc” manga in Japan, I recently lamented that with no new announcement, there weren’t any more DRR manga to look forward to. Square Enix fixed that as they announced a new DRR title would be starting in the December issue of GFantasy Magazine. The series will get a new artist Aogiri. It will continue to chronicle the adventures of our favorite characters in our favorite area of Tokyo, Ikebukuro. The ward is thrown into chaos again with authority from shady places, assassins from overseas, delinquents from Saitama and a underclassman who knows Mikado’s secret. All the while Izaya Orihara watches over the chaos, laughing. I really hope this is an adaptation of the 4th light novel. I can’t tell, but if Square Enix continues to follow suit, then it should be. I’m also not so sure about the change in artists. I really like Akiyo Satorigi’s work in the last three series’. But, at least he gets on last hurrah, as GFantasy as also announced that Satorigi will be doing a special chapter also in the December issue. This one shot is tentatively titled “Durarara!!…

Viz Media performs a balancing act with the two new licenses they announced at NYCC; one for the Signature line and one for the Shojo Beat line. Shojo Beat has been getting a lot of new titles lately. It’s good to see the Signature line get more. We need more of those titles. VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF MANGA LICENSES FOR TOKYO GHOUL AND SO CUTE IT HURTS!!  North America’s Leading Manga Publisher Thrills Fans At New York Comic Con 2014 With The Announcement Of A Harrowing New Action Horror Series And A Hilarious New Shojo Manga Title  San Francisco, CA, October 9, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announced the acquisition of a pair of exciting new manga (graphic novel) titles during panels held during the recent New York Comic Con 2014. Fans attending the East Coast’s biggest pop culture and comics event enthusiastically welcomed the announcement of the Summer 2015 launch of creator Sui Ishida’s horror action series, TOKYO GHOUL, which will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint, as well as Go Ikeyamada’s cross-dressing comedy, SO CUTE IT HURTS!!, set to be published…

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…