Manga News, Reviews and Commentary
This week I look at the news from Anime Boston and Fanime, some new license announcements from Seven Seas Entertainment, the Vizmanga.com top 10, and bid a final farewell to Jmanga. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode08/MangaDomeEpisode08.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week I have some comments on Kodansha and their position on older Del Rey titles, and have a series review of the Yen Press title 13th Boy. Review copies provided by publisher. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode05/MangaDomeEpisode05.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I check out Baka-Updates Manga for occasionally for new and interesting titles. When I see an interesting title, I throw it into my wish list so I won’t forget it. This site is especially helpful for License Season at Vertical. I few weeks ago, I saw a title go by that made me raise my eyebrows and even comment about it on Twitter; Tanteiken Sherdock. I was attracted to it because of the “tantei” in the title, denoted this as a detective series. But when I clicked on the link, I was surprised to find what it was about! Sherlock Holmes is re-incarnated as a talking dog! His Watson/side kick is a high school boy named Takeru Wajima, who can understand him for some reason. I thought it was silly, but not to surprising considering the interest in Sherlock Holmes lately. Imagine my surprise when I learned yesterday that Kodansha Comics has licensed this for the US! I was stunned, but in a good way! I’ve been bemoaning the fact that there aren’t a lot of good detective titles available in English. Detective Conan/Case Closed and Young Miss Holmes are about the only ones that come to mind. I’m thrilled…
New York Comic Con, or NYCC, was this weekend, with all the manga publishers making appearances and announcements. Vertical, Viz, Yen Press, even Kodansha and Jmanga had panels to announce their new titles and new alliances.
I’ve been making license requests ever since I started blogging. In fact, one of my first posts was a plea to see City Hunter back in print. I’ve made wishes since then when titles by a creator I know about catch my eye, or certain subjects or other media tie-ins build my interest. Just recently I’ve notices that a few of my wishes have been granted! Kodansha started things off when they announced Bloody Monday as one of their new licenses at NYCC in 2010. I wished for it a year earlier in October 2009. But I didn’t learn of the manga first. It was through the J-drama that I discovered this title and it’s manga roots. I really enjoyed the J-drama with the plus that is seems to have been faithful to the manga (so far). Another plus about this title is that it written by the same writer as Kindaichi Case Files and Drops of God, two other titles I really enjoyed. I was absolutely surprised and thrilled that this title was picked up. It’s a little over the top sometimes with the drama and suspense, but that’s part of the fun! Jmanga is becoming a genie with…
Mystery and intrigue, crime and punishment, uncovering the truth–all in a day’s work for the ace defense attorney Phoenix Wright and his beautiful assistant Maya Fey. Based on the hit game series, Ace Attorney brings new adventures to the games’ colorful cast. Can Nick successfully swing the gavel of justice or will he be crushed by the weight of incriminating evidence? Story by Kenji Kuroda; Art by Kazuo Maekawa Publisher: Kodansha Comics Age Rating: Teen Genre: Mystery Price: $10.99 Rating: There’s not a lot of mystery manga available in English (unfortunately), so when a new series does come out, I like to check it out. Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright is based on a video game of the same name, and features many of the characters from it. It’s a decent police procedural, but the goofy characters, both in design and personality throws it off-kilter for me. This first volume of Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright features one-and-two-thirds cases, which serve to introduce most of the characters. The first case has Nick defending his old friend from elementary school who doesn’t have the best luck with the ladies, as he is accused of murdering his new girlfriend’s old boyfriend. The second is…
Another San Diego Comic Con has come and gone, and it’s left us with a lot of announcements to sort through. Viz Media, Yen Press, Kodansha Comics and newcomer Jmanga all had panels filled with news and announcements. But who had exciting announcements and who were more ho-hum? Read on to find out more! Viz Media started off their first panel by announcing that their digital manga would be available on android devices. That seemed like an exciting announcement until you go to the Google Play site and get the message that the app isn’t compatible with your device. It seems Viz has made their app for only phones and not tablets. This really disappointed me, since I prefer reading comics and manga on my tablet, but at least android users can finally download their Vizmanga.com manga. They really should have just said phones instead of “devices”. That was really misleading. I’ll be satisfied when they’re available for any device. The only other big announcements from Viz was from their Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha panel. Blue Exorcist, a current title will be joining the digital magazine as a monthly title as will a new series, Takama-Ga-Hara, which just started in…
The Wallflower got off to a rough start with me, but by the end of volume 10, I was starting to warm up to the series. I still had 5 volumes left to get through, and these were going to make-or-break the series for me. I have to admit, this series is really starting to grow on me. The problems I had with the first five volumes are gone. The stories in these volume vary quite a bit, as the boys get their own spotlight instead of focusing solely on Sunako. Takenaga and Noi’s relationship takes some baby steps forward. Ranmaru continues to try to come to terms with his new fiancée Tamao. He continues his womanizing, but can be made to feel guilty about it by her honest and naive personality. There is definitely potential for them. Yuki’s younger siblings are introduced, and he is shown to be a good older brother. He also gets a boost of confidence, but of course, at the wrong time. Kyohei just keeps being Kyohei, and that’s just fine with me. Sunako starts to show some progress as well. She makes some friends at school outside of the boys and Noi. She’s able…
ANN has two news stories today that make me go “Want Want Want Want!” Two new manga series are starting, or more accurately, re-starting in Japan. And there’s probably a better chance of a snowball fight happening in hell before we see either of them in English. Kindaichi Case Files is a murder mystery series that was originally licensed by Tokyopop. They released 18 volumes and then put the series on hiatus. Then Kodansha yanked the license back, along with all their other titles, leaving fans (few as we may have been) sad and bereft. Another 18 volumes of manga exist that we will probably never see in English since the first attempt did so poorly. Though, I would lay some of that blame on Tokyopop, as they did not market the manga very well. Now, as the series turns 20, the title is returning to the pages of Weekly Shonen Magazine with the same writer and artist team. It was bad enough that I had to lament not being able to read the original series, but now there will be MORE that I won’t be able to read?! Kodansha! Bring back Kindaichi Case Files! Even if you just pick…
The first day of panels at NYCC/NYAF was certainly full of surprises. And it started right off first thing in the morning for me, at 6:30 am (PST) when news started on Twitter about Viz Media’s big announcement. Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha will be a digital manga magazine that will run new chapter of the manga Bakuman, Bleach, Naruto, Nura, One Piece, and Toriko two weeks after they run in Japan. The magazine will be available through Vizmanga.com and through the iOS apps. The price is $25.99 for 48 issues, or you can rent single issues for .99 for 4 weeks. I’m a little confused on the .99 rental though. I’ve seen it described as .99 a month, which implies only paying .99 for four issues which is a lot better than 25.99 for a year, unless of course, the year subscription means you can keep the issues permanently. Whether the weekly issues are for keeps or for a limited time as the Nura serialization is now hasn’t been clarified. The digital magazine will start in January 2012, with the print magazine ending with the March issue. I can’t say I’m thrilled with the new line up. One Piece and…
With the new release of Sailor Moon by Kodansha coming out this week, my Twitter feed has been full of tweets from people really excited by it. I know Sailor Moon is a big deal to a lot of people. It’s a classic in the magical girl genre, and it was a gateway to anime and manga for many folks. But it wasn’t for me. I never watched the anime, and new nothing about the manga release, as it was before I started reading manga seriously. I knew about it of course. I first heard about it from a friend in the 90s. He was reading the Japanese manga volumes obsessively at SDCC. I didn’t get the appeal for it then, and I still don’t get the appeal for it now. Anyway, I had the chance recently to pre-order the first volume. Twice, in fact. But, I just couldn’t do it. I will admit to some curiosity about the series. I know basically what it’s about, but I have too much doubt about how I would react to it. I’ve never been impressed by the synopses I’ve read about it. And the last thing I need is to buy a…
When a high-ranking government official is kidnapped, the Prime Minister must call in his top crime fighting force know as Section 9. Lead by the beautiful (and deadly) Major Kusanagi, the cybernetically enhanced squad must use all their skill to take down the kidnappers and rescue the hostages. But that’s only half of the mission; can Kusanagi and company find out who’s behind the kidnapping, and, more importantly, just what they’re after?
