Manga Xanadu

I’ve enjoyed the sports manga that’s come out such as Slam Dunk and Cross Game, but none of them really struck me until recently with Yowamushi Pedal. My enjoyment of that series has me taking another look at sports manga, and this series, Kuroko’s Basketball, has a really intriguing premise and characters that has me looking forward to its debut.

This week I check out several news stories, the top 10 department and look at some soccer manga in honor of the FIFA World Cup ending this month. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode64/MangaDomeEpisode64.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Seishu Gakuen baseball team is one win away from fulfilling Wakaba’s final dream of seeing Ko pitch in front of a packed crowd at Koshien. But they’ll have to beat powerhouse Ryuou Gakuin in the North Tokyo Tournament finals in order to get there. Meanwhile, Akane Takigawa’s health takes a turn for the worse, and she’s scheduled to have surgery…on the day of the big game. By Mitsurs Adachi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $14.99US Rating: When Cross Game first came out, it got a lot of praise. It was also featured in a Manga Movable Feast, but the first chapter preview Viz made available didn’t interest me. So, I passed on the series, until I received a copy of the final volume. I decided to give the series a shot and see what everyone was so excited about. I did enjoy the volume. It was easy to  get into, even with being the final volume, but ultimately it still didn’t make a convert out of me. This volume starts out with Ko and the Seishu Gakuen baseball team departing to play the final game that will decide who will go to Koshien. Any potential…

Shohoku has made it to the second round of the Nationals, and are matched up to play against Sannoh, last year’s National champions. While Sannoh seems to be on a whole different level from Shohoku, the boys are ready to give up on their dreams of advancing just yet, especially Sakuragi. It going to take everything they got and every trick in their book to make it through this game. The question is, will it be enough? By Takehiko Inoue Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $9.99 Rating: Slam Dunk is one of those titles that can suck you in and keep you glued to your seat whether you think you’ll like the series or not. I’ve read previous volumes and have enjoyed them all, but these volumes, some of the last before the end of the series are just amazing. There really is no other way to describe it. I know nothing about basketball and really don’t care for it, but I could not put down a single one of these volumes and had to grab the next, the game was so gripping. The entirety of these four volumes is dedicated to a single game; Shohoku’s semi-finals…

This week I check out some titles ending on the Weekly Wish List, some stories In The News, a Crunchyroll Corner warning, the Top Ten Department, and look at two different sports manga Slam Dunk and Cross Game. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode56/MangaDomeEpisode56.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    This week I look at new manga releases, new digital manga released at Vizmanga.com, and I review the first two volumes of Cross Manage. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode25/MangaDomeEpisode25.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Hollywood, Here Comes Netcomics! Netcomics, the Korean publisher that puts all their titles online for a per-chapter fee, is producing a film of their manhwa X Diary.  There’s not much news out yet, other than Variety’s report which includes the names of the writer of the script, one cast member and the producer from Netcomics.  But the news itself isn’t too surprising.  Ever since Hollywood started coming to SDCC, and they’ve found that there’s an audience for comics based books, practically every comic company has been looking to get a title into production.  Though, the premise of X Diary does make it a good candidate.  It’s about a cartoonist and musician who break up as a couple, but try to make it as friends.  It’s a topic that surpasses culture and could very well appeal to non-comic/manhwa readers.  We’ll have to wait and see how production goes.  Lots of titles get started only to stall not far into the process.

At the opening of the new Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York, Viz announced the licensing of another of Takehiko Inoue’s manga, REAL, a sports manga with a twist; Wheelchair Basketball. With the mangaka present in a rare appearance, Viz announced that this lastest manga by Takehiko would join Vagabond and Slam Dunk in the Viz library.