Manga Xanadu

While I usually do reviews for the Manga Movable Feasts, this month’s topic, manga we are thankful for, definitely calls for something more. It was hard to try to think of a particular manga I was thankful for reading. I wasn’t really introduced to manga. I was already reading coming in Jr. High, and was introduced to anime fandom in high school, and US floppy comics editions of manga came with that. I bought my first Japanese manga, Dragon Ball, after seeing my boyfriend’s (now husband) collection. I didn’t buy my first US manga Dragon Knights, until 2003, and that was while looking around at our local comic shop. So I guess the first one I am thankful for is Comic Quest, who always had, and still does have, a good selection of manga. It was through them that I was able to start my manga collection and make it grow. We didn’t have a Borders or Barnes and Noble nearby at the time, so for several years, this was my only source of manga. I am thankful to Viz for not just bringing out all the popular Shonen Jump titles, but also for their monthly magazines Shonen Jump and…

What with Thanksgiving being this week, it seems the mangasphere has taken the week off, so it’s going to be a short edition of the news. So we’ve got shopping advice, eating until you explode, OOP and doujinshi digital manga in Japan, podcasts and the Manga Village roundup, all after the bread…err…break.

Thanksgiving is a traditionally US holiday. It’s a harvest festival that has roots in a religious celebrations of family, friends and a bountiful harvest. It has since moved away from those beginnings, and today, Thanksgiving is seen as a time for families to get together, to eat lots of turkey, and to watch football. If you’re not into all of that, but still want the day to have a Thanksgiving feel, here are some manga that can put you into that Turkey-Day mood. Bread is a staple of most American meals, so no Thanksgiving can be complete without some hot rolls. And of course, there’s the stuffing for the turkey, and the weeks of turkey sandwiches afterwards. So we start with Yakitate! Japan, a battle manga about bread. Kazuma Azuma wants to create the national bread of Japan. The series starts with him going to Tokyo to work at Pantasia, and then follows his exploits with his co-workers. originally, Yakitate!! Japan explains a lot about bread making the baking industry, but as the series goes on, it gets heavily into gags, especially puns, of which the title is included. There are plenty of dishes to go with the main course…