Manga Xanadu

Kodansha pleases male gaze fans this week with new releases of Air Gear, Cage of Eden and UQ Holder. I wish there were more female gaze, non-YAOI titles available, but few to no publishers seem to appreciate us female gaze, non-YAOI inclined readers. Viz Media releases new volumes 07-Ghost and Rin-Ne. Remember Rin-Ne, the Shonen Sunday series that started as a simultaneous release, that just faded away without a word? It’s up to volume 16! What on earth keeps this series going? It’s not really that funny, and is only mildly entertaining at best, and what irks me most; no digital releases available. People are actually paying full price for this series. Amazing! Omnibuses have really taken off with manga publishers, as is evident on this week’s list. All three publishers with releases this week have at least one omnibus of an older series coming out. Dark Horse’s only release is an omnibus of Samurai Executioner. Kodansha has two with Air Gear and  Tsubasa, and Viz Media has Fullmetal Alchemist and Ranma 1/2. I think omnibuses are a great idea, especially for older titles with a lot of volumes. What would make them better is if they were also available…

Before Digital Manga Publishing scooped up the whole Tezuka catalog, Vertical, Inc. had been cherry picking from the library and pulled out several gems such as Black Jack, Princess Knight, and Dororo. Sadly, Vertical’s licenses for print rights of these books expired, and the books have since gone out of print. But, just this last Friday, the Vertical tumblr announced that the Comics imprint had gotten the e-Book rights to their entire catalog. This is really good news, as so many of these titles are not just classics, but great books that have something meaningful to say. I haven’t had the pleasure of reading all of them, but the majority that I have read have been exciting, disturbing and fun. And with the future of the Digital Manga Publishing Tezuka World kickstarter in doubt, it’s good news to hear we will not lose the Tezuka titles already printed for good. The titles in the Vertical Comics catalog that are going to e-Book are: Apollo’s Song Black Jack Dororo Princess Knight Ode to Kirihito MW Ayako Book of Human Insects Buddha Message to Adolf The Twin Knights The titles will be appearing on the usual platforms Kindle, iBooks, and Nook, and…

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…

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 October 28, 2014 All You Need Is Kill Vol 1     ↔ Future Diary Vol 7     ∗ Kyo Kara MAOH! Vol 2     ∗ All You Need Is Kill Vol 2     ↓ 2 Naruto Vol 67     ↓ 2 Hikaru no Go Vol 1     ↵ Hikaru no Go Vol 2     ↵ Death Note Vol 1     ↵ Death Note Vol 2     ↵ Trinity Blood Vol 8     ∗ With the Obata sale coming to an end, the first volumes of most of his titles surge onto the list. Hikaru no Go returns with the first two volumes as does Death Note. All You Need Is Kill vol 1 keeps the top spot while volume 2 takes a tumble-down two. Naruto just keeps a hold on the…

It’s the beginning of the month, and that means Viz releases its torrent of shonen and shojo titles. Among the new releases are the debut of the shojo Kiss of the Rose Prince and the 2-in-1 omnibus of All You Need I Kill. For those who don’t want to pick up volumes one at a time, a prefer getting a bundle at a time, Viz has box sets just in time for the holiday season. The One Piece box set covers the “Skypeia” and “Waters Seven” arcs. This is worth looking at just for the “Waters Seven” arc, possibly the best one in the series. Vampire Knight is done, so now you can get rest of the series with the second box set. Seven Seas Entertainment releases several volumes, including the first print release of Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer, a title originally only available in digital from Jmanga. Also out are new volumes of Sacred Blacksmith and Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, but its the new Alice in the Country of Clover Knight’s Knowledge vol 3 that’s gonna get the attention. I’m personally looking forward to  Attack on Titan vol 14 from Kodansha, Pokemon Adventures Volume 25 from Viz/Perfect Square, and…

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…

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 October 21, 2014: All You Need is Kill Vol 1     ↑ 4 All You Need is Kill Vol 2     ↑ 6 Naruto Vol 67     ↓ 1 Bakuman Vol 2     ↵ Mad Love Chase Vol 1     ∗ Suki Vol 2     ∗ Trinity Blood Vol 7     ∗ World Trigger Vol 1     ↑ 1 World Trigger Vol 2     ↵ Deadman Wonderland Vol 5     ↓ 9 Well, that’s quite a reversal of fortune for Deadman Wonderland vol 5. From #1 to #10 in one week. The continuing Obata sale has again made itself felt on the list with All You Need is Kill taking over the top two spots, and Bakuman switching out vol 1 for vol 2. Naruto keeps swimming around these titles, just…

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…

Yen Press has the lion share of releases this Halloween week, but they don’t have the one title that will make me squee with joy. It’s Kodansha and their release of the second and final volume of Attack On Titan: No Regrets that has me ready to whip open my wallet. I REALLY loved the first volume, and can’t wait to see what is in store for Levi and his friends and see how Levi becomes so loyal to a man he is determined to kill. As I said previously, this is the big Yen Press release week, and there are a few titles from them I look forward to reading. A Bride’s Story vol 6, Inu X Boku SS Vol 5, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Different Story Vol 3, and Umineko When They Cry Episode 4 Vol 2: Alliance of the Golden Witch are all regular reads for me. New this week is Barakamon, a title Yen pushed heavily at NYCC. The story combines the “fish out of water” story element with a Yotsuba&! as it tells of a young calligrapher from the city who moves to a rural island and learns the ways of the island from…

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…