Manga Xanadu

Well, what do you know? I’ve managed to record a podcast two weeks in a row, and get them posted! This week I look at some of the manga that is available in digital legally. This will most likely be a weekly segment, or mostly weekly at least. I also review the sci-fi title Knights of Sidonia from Vertical, Inc. Disclaimer-Review copy provided by publisher. Show Notes: Viz Manga: From Far Away, Please Save My Earth, Red River Viz on the Nook Yen Press on the Nook and Google Play Square Enix: Just don’t go there Knights of Sidonia Music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpsiode02/MangaDomeEpsiode02.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I’ve finally done it. I’ve thrown the idea around for several years, but with help and encouragement from my husband, I have recorded my first podcast. In this first episode I talk about several recent news stories as well as a few manga I’ve read recently. In the future I will have more extensive reviews, and maybe even a guest or two! Have a listen. Comments and suggestions are strongly encouraged. The First Episode! Show Notes: Vertical Digital Manga Interview with Ed Chavez at Good E-Reader Asahi Shimbun Article on Jmanga Wondercon Anaheim Yen Press and Dark Horse at Sakuracon Viz Media manga app on 10″ Android devices Manga I’m Reading: Until Death Due Us Part Volume 2 Umineko: When They Cry Volume 1 Knights of Sidonia volume 1 Paradise Kiss Volume 3 Music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode01/MangaDomeEpisode01.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

When publishers started to seriously bring manga over from Japan, they started with the creme-of-the-crop. For a lot of people that meant titles from Weekly Shonen Jump. Just in the last thirty years, that has included a lot of manga. But if we look at this article from Rocket News, which looks at the top 20 Shonen Jump best sellers of all time, there are a lot of familiar titles to American readers. Death Note (20), Rurouni Kenshin (12), One Piece (2), and Dragon Ball (1) are among the titles featured on the list. In fact  of the 20 best-of-the-best sellers 14 have been released in the US, and have (mostly) been completed. Of the Viz Media releases, only Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventure (7) did not get a full release. Only the third part of the story, “Stardust Crusaders”, which was 16 volumes on its own, was released. But at least the whole part was released. So that leaves 6 titles, but haven’t we see some of these non-Viz released titles? Sacrilege you say? How could anyone other than Viz have released Shonen Jump titles? Back when Shonen Jump was just starting, another manga magazine was starting as well; Raijin…

Researcher Mr. Smith has left the Eihon family and is on his way to Ankara. As he awaits his guide in a village, he meets the widow Talas, but his honorable intentions toward her are not seen that way by her uncle who has his own plans for her, and lands the Englishman in jail. Rescued by some familiar faces, his journey takes him through a fishing village along the Aral Sea, where a pair of twins are plotting to land themselves some rich, healthy brothers as husbands. By Kaoru Mori Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Historical/Slice of Life Price: $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-316-21034-8/978-0-316-23203-6 Rating: These two volumes of A Bride’s Story leaves Amir, Karluk and the Eihon family behind, and follows Mr. Smith as he travels across the desert on his way to Ankara, where a colleague waits for him with an item he’s been searching for. We meet two different kinds of brides in these volumes, the five-time widowed Talas and the over-eager twins Laila and Leily. While I still enjoyed these volumes, the new characters didn’t grow on my as much as the Eihons did in the first two volumes. Mr. Smith gets the spotlight…

In Victorian England, a young girl named Emma is rescued from a life of destitution and raised to become a proper British maid. When she meets William, the eldest son of a wealthy family, their love seems destined. But in this world, even matters of the heart are ruled by class distinctions. By Kaoru Mori Publsiher: CMX (OOP) Age Rating: Teen Genre: Historical/Drama ISBN: 978-1-4012-1132-5 Price: $9.99 Rating: I didn’t expect to like Emma. I have a split track record with Kaoru Mori’s work. I loved A Bride’s Story, but wasn’t impressed with her short story collection Say Something and Anything, especially the maid stories. But as I started reading, I couldn’t help being enchanted by the charming characters she populates the series with, and sets up so simple an obstacle, but it still seems just as insurmountable. Emma starts with the unceremonious meeting of Emma and William, the former student of Kelly Stownar, who was William’s governess, and is Emma’s employer. William is immediately smitten with Emma, which Kelly picks up on, while Emma seems not to notice. But William is not the first or only man to be drawn to her, as the pile of love letters she…

Along the nineteenth-century Silk Road, Amir Halgal, a young woman from a nomadic tribe, is betrothed to a twelve-year-old boy eight years her junior. Coping with cultural differences, blossoming feelings for her new husband, and expectations from both her adoptive family, and her birth family, who now wish to see her wed to another, Amir strives to find her role as she settles into a new life and a new home in a society quick to define that role for her. By Kaoru Mori Publsiher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Historical/Slice of Life ISBN: 978-0-316-18099-3/978-0-316-19446-4 Price: $16.99/ea Rating: I remember when this title was first announced and how excited people were to get a new Karou Mori title. Having not read anything by her at the time, I didn’t see what the excitement was about. But after hearing some discussion of the title, I decided to check out the first volume. I absolutely loved it, and had to buy volumes 2 and 3 immediately afterward. The charming characters and immersion into 19th century Central Asia was a delight to read. These volumes start by introducing Amir and her young husband, Karluk Eihon. They first meet on their wedding…

Ding-Dong! Dead-Dong! Class is about to begin, and you don’t want to be late on your first day of school! Join Tsugumi Harudori in the “NOT” class at Death Weapon Meister Academy, a school dedicated to training transforming weapons like Tsugumi and the Meisters who will wield them. Many “NOT” (Normally Overcome Target) students aspire to join the elite “EAT” (Especially Advantaged Talent) class, but it may take Tsugumi some time to find her confidence — and a partner — at this crazy school! By Atsushi Ohkubo Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Slice-of-Life/Fantasy/Action Price: $11.99 Rating: Soul Eater NOT! is a spin-off series of another Yen Press title, Soul Eater. Soul Eater was a debut title for Yen’s manga magazine Yen Plus, starting its US serialization there. I didn’t care for Soul Eater, so I wasn’t sure what my reaction to Soul Eater NOT would be. I was pleasantly surprised by the slice-of-life story, that moved a slower pace and had some likable characters. Not interesting, just likable. If the characters weren’t used for mostly fan service, I would like this title a lot more. Soul Eater NOT! starts by introducing Tsugumi Harudori. She is just starting…

I have some good news and bad news…which do you want first? The good news? Okay! According to ANN, over in Japan, the official Gundam portal site has announced the return of the Gundam Seed Astray manga side stories. Gundam Seed Destiny Astray R and Gundam Seed Destiny Astray B will be returning and will feature the characters Lowe Gear, a member of the Junk Guild, and Gai Murakumo, a mercenary with their respective Astray suits. More details about the titles and their starting dates will be in the new issues of Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby Magazine later this month. The Gundam Seed Astray manga were published in the US by Tokyopop back in the mid 2000s. I have all of the Astray side stories and really enjoyed them. They fit very well within the Gundam Seed Universe and the characters are a lot of fun; at least in Frame A and B, with Lowe and Gai. They are definitely worth tracking down if you are a fan of the Gundam Seed Universe. They much better than the Del Rey Gundam Seed Destiny manga. It’s too bad though that Gundam doesn’t have the audience to warrant they being licensed…

Earthquakes are a way of life when you live along the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean. This is true for those of us along the West Coast of the US, just as it is for the Japanese. So it should come as no surprise that there have been several manga titles about disasters caused by earthquakes. With end of the world scenarios being so popular lately, this seems like a good time to look at some of them. Metro Survive is a two-volume series published by DR Master in 2008. It’s about Mashima, a repairman who works in Exopolis Tower, a new and popular high-rise in Tokyo. Trying to get home for his son’s birthday, he gets trapped in the subway with several other people who were waiting for the train as well when an Earthquake hits. Thanks to shotty constructions, the Exopolis has collapsed, so it’s up to Mashima to lead the people out of the subway and to find a way out. But as rescue seems less likely, and food starts to run short, the survivors start to turn against each other. It’s up to Mashima to keep the group together and alive until help arrives….

After twenty years of searching, Celty, the headless black rider, has at last found her missing head bobbing through the streets of Ikebukuro on someone else’s neck! Though Celty prsues, the girl escapes on the arm of Mikado Ryuugamine, taking refuge in his apartment. Both the legendary rider and Yagiri Pharmaceuticals come bearing down on Mikado and the scarred girl. But when Yagiri crosses the line, the true leader of the Dollars steps forward to take command of the vast network of members at his disposal. though this unobtrusive boy holds a disturbing degree of power in the palm of his hand, Celty is preoccupied by the powers that still control her head. At the end of the day, will her search all have been for naught? Or has she found something even more precious along the way? Story by Ryohgo Narita; Art by Akiyo Satorigi; Character Design by Suzuhito Yasuda Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Supernatural/Romance ISBN: 9780316209328; 9780316209335 Price: $12.99 Rating: With such a large cast, it’s hard to believe that these last two volumes of Durarara!! could tie everything up easily, but that’s precisely what it does. All of the relationships are resolved (for…

Vertical joined the licensing mania from last week when they announced two new titles at their panel at Katsucon. In Vertical’s typical style, they are not your average manga, but fit perfectly into the catalog they’ve been building for the last couple of years. Kaikisen, also known as Tropic of the Sea is by re-known anime director Satoshi Kon, who passed away in 2010. Kaikisen was Kon’s first manga. In a seaside town there is a legend of a “sea people” who exist nearby. The townspeople made a promise to these legendary people, but resort developers now threaten to force the town to break their promise. This title is just one volume long and is scheduled to come out in September. Several of Kon’s anime have been released in the US, but this is his first manga. I’m intrigued by the premise of this title, so it’s getting a “can’t wait!” Sickness Unto Death is a two-volume series by the creative team Hikari Asada, writer, and Takahiro Seguchi. It is about a young man, Kazuma, who has come to room at a mansion as he attends school, where he is studying clinical psychology. Also living in the mansion is a…

It started with Kodansha announcing they licensed Sherdock, and then the unconfirmed (but hopefully true) license by Seven Seas of Dictatorial Grimoire. But starting on Valentines Day, February 14, it started to rain manga licenses from Viz Media and Seven Seas Entertainment (officially). Viz announced at total of 5 titles, 4 shojo/josei and one shonen. The two shojo titles are by creators who have already been published in the US. Yoroshiku Master, or Sweet Rein as Viz is calling it, is by Sakura Tsukuba. Two of her titles, Land of the Blindfolded and Penguin Revolution were originally published by CMX. It’s a 3 volume title about a girl and boy who bump into each other and become bound together, and the boy tells the girl, Kurumi, that is a Santa Claus and his master. This one looks a little shaky for my taste. I don’t quite get the obsession the Japanese seem to have to make Santa Claus a cute girl, so this one will have to get a “wait and see.”  This title will be available in November. Seems appropriate to come out right before Christmas. Voice Over! Seiyuu Academy has a little more appeal to me. This 11…