Manga Xanadu

As usual, Yen Press has an eclectic list of new licenses. Not a lot really interests me. I never got into Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so an original title by the artist doesn’t do much for me. Neither does work from the creators of Sword Art Online and Deadman Wonderland. But there are a few that have piqued my interest. Big Order might have some potential, if the characters are interesting enough. Rokka – Brave of Six Flowers has a lot more going for it. Action, Fantasy and Mystery; I’m sold. Can’t wait for both the light novel and manga.

Viz Media made their debut at Anime Boston this year, snubbing the closer west coast con Wondercon for an east coast outing. They brought some new licenses including two new hardcover deluxe releases. Tomie is a horror manga by the master Junji Ito that hasn’t seen print in over a decade. It truly deserves the deluxe treatment. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders already had a print run here in the US, where it barely made an impression. Just a decade later, the stardust has been re-ignited with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 and 2 not only selling gangbusters, but as deluxe hardbacks as well. It seems only right that Part 3 get the same treatment. Not having matching releases on the bookshelf can be maddening, and you don’t want to make Jojo fans mad. They might pose furiously at you.

Over Valentine’s Day weekend, publishers showed fans some love with new license announcements. Vertical Comics, in a panel at Katsucon announced three manga and one novel, while Seven Seas Entertainment made their announcement as a treat on Valentine’s Day.

Yen Press warmed the hearts of many manga and light novel fans with more announcements, some of which have already seen their first release.

Continuing their licensing bonanza, Seven Seas Entertainment announces another 7 titles to add to their eclectic library. Like the week before, one license a day was released, with the exception of Monday and Friday that got bonus announcements.

To celebrate the holiday season, publisher Seven Seas Entertainment decided to give a gift to manga fans. Well, 10 days of gifts, as over the last two weeks, they made at least one announcement per week day.

Yen Press surprised manga readers last Friday, when it announced that they had rescued the license for Fruits Basket, as well as two other titles by creator Natsuki Takaya, Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, and Twinkle Stars.

It’s a question that’s been plaguing manga readers since Tokyopop quit publishing in 2011. Who would get the license to Fruits Basket? I don’t think there’s been much doubt that the title would be picked up again. It was Tokyopop’s license to print money back in the early aughts, and kept the company afloat throughout the decade. It was a Kodansha title, so that seemed a sure bet, but the last four years have been a wasteland of news. But Yen Press gave readers an early Christmas present by announcing the return of the shojo series. I missed it the first time around, so I will be picking it up.

Maybe “announce” is a strong word, since in 2 of the 3 titles announced in the last few weeks have been from fans discovering listings on Amazon. Only one was officially teased and announced at an event.

New York Comic Con saw its largest number of manga publishers not only attending the show, but in having panels and making announcements! And manga publishers really made this last major con of the season count.

At the last big convention of the season, New York Comic Con, manga publishers appeared to make their last big announcements for the next year.

This last week was New  York Comic Con, the last big con of the season. All of the major publishers were here, as well as some online newcomers. Everyone had something to announce, from new licenses to something a little more home-grown.