Manga Xanadu

Misao has made the choice to forego college and a normal human life in order to be Kyo’s wife and mother to the demon child she carries. But her pregnancy is unusual, even for the demon world. The last pages of the Senka Roku will reveal the truth of the matter, but now that Kyo has it in his hands, does he really want to know…? By Kanoko Sakurakouji Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Supernatural Romance Price: $9.99 Rating: I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Black Bird for a while now. I found Kyo’s skeeviness annoying, as well as Misao’s submissiveness. A lot of that changes with this volume. After defeating his older brother Sho, Kyo has learned the final fate of the Senka Maiden, and it doesn’t bode well for Misao. Kyo sets the Daitengu to work trying to find a way to keep both mother and baby alive. A single clue left by Sho and some information from the Senka Roku just might hold the answer. There are a lot of emotions flying around this volume. Misao is faced with the prospect of either she dying or her baby. Neither are acceptable to her. But…

At Sakura-Con last week, Viz Media announced the print and digital release of World Trigger, a digital Weekly Shonen Jump only title. It looks like a fun title, so I’m glad Viz is making it available finally to those of us who don’t subscribe to WSJ. More info available after the jump.

This week I check out the Weekly Wish List, a new title at Crunchyroll, double the Top Ten Department, and the new manga licenses announced at Sakura-Con from Yen Press, Dark Horse Comics and Viz Media. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode54/MangaDomeEpisode54.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Yen Press just couldn’t want to get their new license announcements out. Just look at this list of titles, and its’ still early in the con season! What else are they going to have after announcing this impressive list?

This week I start off the second year of my podcast with a new Weekly Wish List, some stories In the News, the Top Ten Department, and the Feature of looking at some of the titles I’ve read since the beginning of the year. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode53/MangaDomeEpisode53.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week I check out some news stories, the Top Ten Department (no NYT this week, don’t know why), and look at some manga titles that show the power of books and words. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode52/MangaDomeEpisode52.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This second collection of short stories is really one long story and two ones. First Luna, Usagi’s cat falls head over feet for a human astrophysicist whose discovery of a new comet also heralds new doom from an old enemy for the Earth. Then some of Rei’s backstory is revealed is a tale of reflection and revenge, and finally in an undisclosed future, the children of Usagi and the other Sailor Scouts prove they don’t fall very far from the tree. By Naoko Takeuchi Publisher: Kodansha Comics Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $10.99 Rating: I have limited experience with Sailor Moon, but I know just enough to know who everyone is and what is going on. The stories in this volume, while not all short, are still fairly entertaining, even if all them don’t quite hit their intended mark. There are three stories in this volume, “Princess Kaguya’s Lover”, “Casa Blanca Memory”, and “Parallel Sailor Moon.” Of these three, “Princess Kaguya’s Lover” is the longest, and features the strange love triangle of Luna the cat, Kakeru Ohzora, an astrophysicist, and his childhood friend Himeko Nayotake. There were a lot of things I liked about this story. Luna getting to…

This week I look at several news stories that include some new licenses and digital news, regular departments the Weekly Wish List and the Top Ten, and then I look at the new manga app from Japanese publisher Kadokawa, ComicWalker. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode51/MangaDomeEpisode51.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor, one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued by kidnappers by a mysterious young man! Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces! By Ayuko; Original concept by Mizue Tani Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/romance Price: $9.99 Rating: The Earl and the Fairy is a title I enjoyed the first volume of, but fell behind as subsequent volumes came out. I still collected the volumes and they have been sitting on my self until I realized the series would make a good addition to my St. Patrick’s Day themed manga. With only four volumes, it would be quick read too. It was easy to get back into the flow of the story and characters, for whom…

Well, I have to say it’s about time Yen Press and Square Enix finally got on the digital bandwagon. Yen Press announced back in October at New York Comic Con that it would be announcing a digital strategy for the company, and nearly six months later, they finally have! I glad to see them moving away from proprietary apps and awful websites. Find out more after the jump.

This week I check out new licenses from Viz Media and Crunchyroll, the top 10 from Vizmanga and New York Times Bestseller list, and I look at what was new in manga 10 years ago. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode50/MangaDomeEpisode50.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

With Nanamine’s manga struggling, he proposes an interesting challenge to Moritaka and Akito. But will the duo accept and risk what they’ve worked so hard to achieve? And when the news media puts the spotlight on their series for the wrong reasons, how will it affect Akito? Written by Tsuguimi Ohba; Art by Takeshi Obata Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Comedy/Drama Price: $9.99 Rating: One of the things I’ve come to enjoy about Bakuman is all of the behind the scenes peeks it gives about the manga publishing industry. The importance of the creator-editor relationship, the support the publisher gives their creators and the shattering of the myths behind being successful are all covered in this volume. The relationship between creator and editor is a big deal in the manga world. When it doesn’t work out, the situation can get out of control such as what happens with Nanamine and his editor Kosugi. Both Nanamine and the manga suffers for it. But when it’s a strong relationship, such as with Moritaka, Akito and Hattori, the support Hattori gives them helps them, most especially Akito through a tough spot when a copycat criminal uses their manga to justify their…