Naruto Volume 28-29 By Masashi Kishimoto Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action Price: $7.95 Rating: Volume 28 marks the start of Part Two of the Naruto saga. Two years have passed since the end of volume 27. Naruto returns to the Hidden Leaf Village after training with Jiraiya. No soon does he get back that he, Sakura and Kakashi are sent off on a mission. The Akatsuki have attacked the Sand Village and kidnapped Gaara, now Kazekage. Distracted from Sasuke, Naruto is determined to save him. He understands Gaara’s pain, and will do whatever it takes. On the way, Kakashi’s team, now including Granny Chiyo from the Sand Village confront Itachi while Guy’s team, sent by Tsunade to help Kakashi’s team face another Akatsuki, Kisame. They are diversions, sent to keep Kakashi’s team from reaching the Akatsuki base before they finish extracting the One-tailed demon from Gaara.
I’m gonna try and make this a weekly feature, rounding up the stories from the week I found most interesting from the web and twitter. Of course, I’ll be adding my own two cents with some commentary on the news items. Anime Expo – 7/2-7/5/09 Normally associated with anime (obviously), manga pubs usually have a presence at AX, as a booth and/or panel. Though, with the tough economy, smaller pubs seem to be fleeing the crowds and expense of SDCC, in favor of a more targeted audience. Here ae some items I want to highlight.
Gimmick! Volume 3 By: Youzaburou Kanari & Kuroko Yabuguchi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Action Age Rating: T+ (Older Teens) Price: $9.99 ISBN: 1-4215-1780-9 Rating: Gimmick! is the story of Kohei Nagase, an up-and-coming young makeup and special effects artist who loves his work and is capable of amazingly intricate work. If you ever saw the movie F/X, starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy, you get the idea. If you didn’t see it, go out, rent the movie and watch it right now. Go. I’ll wait. This volume finishes the “Over the Rainbow” story started in the last volume, plus most of a second story, “TB Confidential” and a one-shot. There aren’t any spectacular reveals in “Over the Rainbow”, it’s obvious it was simply room that prevented it from being printed in the previous volume and it’s a bit disappointing to have waited a couple of months for what is essentially wrap-up. At least this time, “TB Confidential” ended on a cliffhanger, but I can’t help wondering why they didn’t just put the complete story into this volume and move the one-shot elsewhere?
Eagle: The Making of an Asian American President Volume 4 By: Kaiji Kawaguchi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Drama/Politics Age Rating: Teen+ (16+) Price: $22.95 Rating: I know it’s been a while, but I’ve only go 2 volumes left of this series, and I’m determined to finish it! Okay, so this volume ends the cliffhanger from the last about Yamaoka possibly having an affair, and that Rachel was the result. Takashi helps clear that up, as he had a personal stake in the possibility. Then it’s on to the National Convention in Chicago. Here we see Bill Clinton step in, trying to get his wife “Ellery” the vice-president nomination. He goes to Noah first, who turns him down outright, so it’s off to Yamaoka, who seems more receptive. With the political weight of the Clintons behind him, Yamaoka takes the nomination, but instead nominates Noah for VP. With the Democratic players in place, the campaign can move to the national front, and we finally meet the Republican Candidate Richard Grant. He’s a Lt. General in the Air Force Reserve, former Astronaut and Senator from Colorado. He is also very much a flag-waving republican and supporter of the military complex. Yamaoka starts…
Gimmick! Volume 2 ByYouzaburou Kanari & Kuroko Yabuguchi Publsiher: Viz Media Genre: Action Rating: T+ (Older Teens) RRP: $9.99 ISBN: 1-4215-1779-5 Rating: Volume 2 opens with the continuation of the Alien Panic storyline, Kohei and his partner Kannazuki are hot on the trail of the criminals who tricked him into constructing a complex alien animatronic creature in the last issue. Now they’re using the prop as a diversion while they commit crimes and Kohei is none to happy about it. What’s worse, the criminals have framed Kohei for their crimes! Next, in The Mask of Del Fuego one-shot, Kohei helps a famous actor disguise himself from a stalker, only to find that she’s not the only one out to get him. Finally, in the beginning chapters of Over the Rainbow, a young woman named Mone is convinced that Kohei killed her father. He has to find the truth and discovers it’s closer than he thought. Honestly, all I can say is if you liked the first volume, you’ll enjoy this one as well, it’s more of the same entertaining stories. Kohei comes up with an endless array of nifty gadgets and gizmos, most of them pretty over-the-top, to save his…
With the manga market getting tighter, we as readers will start to see some of our favorite titles get longer times between volume releases, if at all. Slow seller are always the first to go. Despite the cries of protest from it’s small but loyal fan base, companies need to stay in the black, or else we’ll have no manga to buy at all. But, we’re not helpless in this situation. Fans can show companies what titles they want to keep coming out. The easiest way is of course through pre-orders. Whether it’s through Amazon, Rightstuf or Diamond Distributor’s Previews, ordering a title ahead of time gives publishers a good idea on the demand they can expect for a title. The lives of titles can be saved or extended through pre-orders better than all the ranting and raving on blogs and forums. We as fans have to put our money where our mouths are.
When times get tough, and bank accounts become lean, that’s when you have to start slashing the non-essentials from the budget. As much as I hate to say it, manga is one of those non-essentials. With not much hope for recovery in the next six months, or if the state will be solvent (I live in California), that’s meant I’ve had to cut down on the manga I pre-order. In happier, healthier times, my average order is 7-10 volumes, depending on who has what (ie Viz doesn’t flood me) or if there are title for others in the family (Husband and kids). With pre-order discounts, that averages around $70 a month in manga.
Zombie Powder Volume 4 By: Tite Kubo Publisher: Viz Media/Shonen Jump Manga Genre: Action Ratng: T+ (Older Teen) Price: $7.99 ISBN: 1-4215-1122-3 Rating: Wolfina fights a solo battle for her brother’s life as Emilio, his body fused to a locomotive racing across the desert, faces a fate worse than death. Luckily, Gamma and C.T. Smith manage to stop the train just before it plows into Alcantara and we get a happy ending and an obvious way for the story to continue…
For Mother’s Day, I wrote a post (and updated it) about Moms in manga and how they can affect the main characters or the story. Now, with Father’s Day fast approaching, it’s Dad’s turn. I’ll look at Manga Dad in the same context, whether they appearance/absence affect the characters and/or the story. But Dad is going to get an added level, as they seem to break down into 3 categories: Driven, Overzealous, and Creepy.
The sudden loss of Shojo Beat has left a real void in my manga reading. Even if I didn’t get to read it as soon as it arrived, I knew it was there, and had it to look forward to. Why Shojo Beat was canceled is still a bit of a mystery, since, for me at least, it did exactly what it was meant to do. Get me to read more Viz titles. While I didn’t love all the titles in Shojo Beat, I enjoyed most of them, and through previews found titles I wanted, or wanted to avoid. It really was a great marketing tool, since I could sample a lot of different titles for a low cost. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a way to do that electronically (and legally)?
What would it take to get you to buy a Kindle? Amazon’s ebook reader seems to be selling okay (not that we’ve seen any numbers), but there are a lot of people who haven’t taken to it, or any other e-book reader device. And why should they? Books work just fine, and buying them is cheaper than the electronic gadget. Amazon boasts to have thousands of ebooks, but very, very few that would interest readers of this blog, namely manga. What if Amazon tried to sweeten the deal? Would you go for it?
Zombie Powder Volume 3 By: Tite Kubo Publisher: Viz Media/Shonen Jump Manga Genre: Action Rating: T+ (Older Teen) Price: $7.99 ISBN: 1-4215-1121-5 Rating: We open with Gamma Akutabi, Elwood, C.T. Smith and Wolfina Lalla Getto hot on the heels of circus-master Balmunk who has kidnapped Wolfina’s comatose brother Emilio, hoping to recover the mysterious Ring of the Dead which has been fused inside of his body. As they face off against Balmunk, he calls upon his minions to fight against them, aiming to fight a personal battle against Gamma, with whom he apparently has a mysterious past. Who was Gamma and what link does he have with Balmunk? Can they overcome the deadliest circus performers of them all? And how can Gamma save Emilio and recover the Ring of the Dead at the same time?