Finally there is some news this week. It’s not a lot again, but it’s pretty juicy! We have license announcements from a surprising source, an online manga store opening, and some publishers throwing their weight around. And then there are the regular features of the NYTBSL, podcasts, and a roundup of what happening at Manga Village.
In the news this week; the November/December Manga Movable Feast begins! Critics become critical of the manga blogging community, but not in a constructive way, more digital news from both sides of the Pacific, news from Japan, podcasts, and the Manga Village Roundup. So make with the click-y…
It was a slow news week for manga, as companies and bloggers alike prepared for NYCC/NYAF. But there was still a few items that flew across the internet, including news about Del Rey, Kodansha, license announcements and of course, the first day of NYCC/NYAF.
I learned about this title from a review on a podcast of the live action j-drama tv series. My husband and I watched the j-drama and enjoyed it a lot. It’s 11 episodes and was filled with great action and dramatic scenes, and lots of unexpected twists to keep the story moving. Having enjoyed the j-drama, I had to find out about the manga. The manga, complete at 11 volumes, is about Fujimaru Takagi, a second year high school student and member of the Newspaper Club. Unknown to everyone but his father, the PSIA (Public Security Intelligence Agency) and the newspaper club, Fujimaru is also known as Falcon, a prodigy hacker who exposes corrupt people’s crimes to make them pay. The series starts with Fujimaru being recruited by the PSIA to help them decode a memory stick that may have information on an incident in Russia where a segment of the population was killed off by a possible poison gas. And that gas may be now in Japan. The story follows Fujimaru as he gets pulled further into the investigation and conspiracy. His father is accused of murdering his superior. A teacher at his school is trying to stop him…
Kodansha Letting Licenses with Tokyopop Lapse Brigid Alverson of the Manga Blog reported on Monday something that’s been suspected for a while in the mangasphere, and has finally been confirmed by Tokyopop. Kodansha, one of the big Japanese publishing houses, is not renewing its licenses with Tokyopop. David Welsh provides a quick, convenient, if possibly incomplete list of the titles affected at his own blog Precocious Curmudgeon. This news dominated much of Monday and Tuesday. Check the Manga Blog for a full roundup of commentary. This wasn’t an unexpected move, as Tokyopop’s relationship with Kodansha has been rocky at best. Two years ago, Kodansha made a deal with Random House and Del Rey Manga has been reaping the benefits. While this doesn’t come as a big surprise, it is kind of painful for those of us that were reading unfinished titles that are now left in limbo. I’ve been beating the drum loudly for Dragon Voice‘s last volume and lamented the incompleteness of Kindaichi Case Files. All we can do now is wait and see what Kodansha’s next move will be. Considering how long this took, it may be a very long wait for the next one.