Manga Village

Fumi Yoshinaga was first introduced to US audiences through her BL titles. But this versatile writer has also created stories for young adults and adult audiences that both men and women can enjoy. She is also the featured creator of this month’s Manga Movable Feast. So here are the Villagers talking up their favorite Yoshinaga titles.

Fumi Yoshinaga is a creator that often has her works recommended as essential reading material  Here at Manga Village we’re not much different! Nearly every reviewer has had something to say about her titles. Some have had a LOT to say.

It’s just three publishers this week, but the list of titles is at least decent. Viz releases titles from their Signature line, as well as a new novel, based on the popular video game ICO: Castle In The Mist. Yen Press has their monthly release which also includes a light novel, Book Girl And The Captive Fool. And if you have a tween-teen named Jennifer, then Seven Seas’ lastest release may be just the book for you! The List: SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT Amazing Agent Jennifer Volume 1 GN, $10.99 VIZ MEDIA Bokurano Ours Volume 4 GN, $12.99 Dorohedoro Volume 4 GN, $12.99  **Weekly Pick** ICO Castle In The Mist SC, $15.99 Itsuwaribito Volume 3 GN, $9.99 Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys Volume 16 GN, $12.99  **Weekly Pick** Tenjo Tenge Volume 2 TP (Full Contact Edition 2-In-1), $17.99 YEN PRESS Book Girl And The Captive Fool SC, $11.99 Higurashi When They Cry Volume 14 GN (Eye Opening Arc Part 4), $11.99 K-ON Volume 3 GN, $11.99  **Weekly Pick** Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya Volume 9 GN, $11.99 Melancholy Of Suzumiya Haruhi-Chan Volume 3 GN, $11.99 Omamori Himari Volume 4 GN, $11.99 Sumomomo Momomo Volume 9 TP, $11.99 Ugly Duckling’s Love Revolution Volume…

It’s a small list this week, but a good for video game tie-ins. Bandai Entertainment releases the first volume based on the franchise Tales of the Abyss, while Udon Entertainment releases the next volume of Gigamix from the Mega Man franchise. Viz brings out their monthly batch of Shonen Sunday titles along with the US version of rival magazine Shonen Jump.

Viz dominates the list this week with their Shone Jump and Shojo Beat titles. Don’t miss out on the yearly release of Kaze Hikaru, a slow seller that Viz hasn’t given up on yet (thankfully). Dark Horse has the next Cardcaptor Sakura, and Vertical releases the next volume of Black Jack, and begins countdown to the final volume.

End of the month means a short list, and this month is no different, unless you’re a fujoshi. DMP means to satisfy women’s desire to for beautiful boys together. But there are still a few titles here and there for us non-BL readers from Bandai, Kodansha and Yen Press.

It’s just the girls this time as the Manga Villagers discuss the latest title for the Manga Movable Feast this month, Fruits Basket. This is a shojo title created by Natsuki Takaya and published by Tokyopop. This 23 volume series was among the first big hits in the US, and was Tokyopop’s biggest seller. It’s the story of Tohru Honda, a high school girl who has recently lost her mother, and through some circumstances, comes to live in a tent in the mountains, which also happens to be near the home of classmate Yuki Sohma, who is living with his cousins Shigure and Kyo. The Sohma family has a secret. They are cursed by the thirteen signs of the zodiac. Tohru accidentally learns their secret, but after promising to keep their secret, she is allowed to live with Yuki, Shigure and Kyo. What were your initial impressions of this title? Connie: (as a disclaimer, I re-read the series a few years ago, and read the ending two years ago, but haven’t picked it up since then. I didn’t have the volumes with me to re-read it for the feast. my impressions aren’t terribly fresh.) I couldn’t wait to read it…

Reviews are subjective things. A reviewer is drawing on many things when they write their review. Besides technical things such as story structure, character development and art, a reviewers personal preferences and experiences can affect their feeling about a book. And sometimes, even their gender can make a difference as to whether a book gets a good score or bad. In the following discussions, reviewers Alex Hoffman and Lori Henderson will look at different books and examine the similarities and differences they have over each of them. Dengeki Daisy Volumes 1-2 By: Kyousuke Motomi Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Plus Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 ISBN: Vol. 1: 978-1-4215-3727-6; Vol. 2: 978-1-4215-3728-3 Lori Henderson: Well Alex, now that you’ve settled down in wedded bliss, are you ready for another round? Alex Hoffman:Ready when you are, Lori! Do you want to give us the rundown on Dengeki Daisy? LH: Sure! Teru Kurebayashi is a high school student and orphan. Shortly before her only relative, her older brother died, he gave her a cell phone and told her it would connect her to “Daisy”, someone who would look after and be someone she could confide to. After being bullied…

This is great news for manga fans! Digital manga at a good price that you can read anywhere. This is just what manga needs to really expand in the digital world. Get the whole story after the cut.

While we here at Manga Village love all the new manga coming out each week, there’s over 20 years of manga releases that we love and want to recommend too! So, in each column, we will look at a genre, or creator, or even publisher to come up with the best titles that we want to recommend to you!