I’ve been an anime and manga fan for long time, and there have been some titles that were thought to be more far off dreams than actual candidates for licensing. One of those dreams was getting anything from Leiji Matsumoto, co-creator of Space Battleship Yamato, and creator of Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, and Queen Emeraldas among many others. At best, all we had were 5 volumes of the second Galaxy Express 999 manga ...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

A couple of tweets came across my Twitter timeline making some unfavorable comments about a panel at SDCC 2016; “Comics vs Manga: Which is Better.”  The panel was supposed to have a “panel of experts” in both comics and manga, and looked to compare things such as getting started, diversity, plot, sales, and fandom. I didn’t attend the panel, but I respect the commentor’s opinion. And the description of the pan...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

I wasn’t sold on Bleach when it was first announced, but fortunately, I had a subscription to Shonen Jump back in the day, and read the first few chapters, and was hooked. I really liked the characters and the world that Kubo had created for them.  I was a huge Bleach fan, buying the books as they came out, watching the anime, and even collecting the toys from Toynami, several sets of gashapon, and the trading cards. I loved the first arc ...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

Recently, Seven Seas Entertainment released a press release announcing their renewal with Comixology and expanding to Amazon. While I think this is great and all, what I really have to ask is, what took them so long?...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

Viz Media’s digital strategy and I have not gotten along very well. For the longest time after Viz released their Vizmanga app, I couldn’t install it because Google Play kept saying it wasn’t compatible with my Android tablet. I finally had to go through Amazon’s App Store and install it through there. I had something to say about that....

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

Wondercon, for those who may not know, is a younger sibling to Comic-Con International’s San Diego Comic Con. For many years it was held up north in San Francisco, but starting in 2012 is moved down to Southern California in the LA area. It’s first four years were spent taking over the Anaheim Convention Center, but this year, the con moved up to the Los Angeles Convention Center. Since its move down to SoCal, its major manga publish...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

A few weeks ago my Twitter TL is was filled with comments about a post that went up on Vice about Tokyopop. It is a very long puff piece that espouses the virtues of the old Tokyopop, blames its fall on the economy, and then puffs it back up with all the great things they will be doing. ...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

I’ve never denied it. I’m a crazy cat lady. I’ve grown up with cats and can barely remember a time when I didn’t have a little furball as a pet. So when tweets about the Japanese game Neko Atsume, or Cat Collecting, started appearing in my time line, I had to check it out. Calling it a game might give the wrong impression. It starts out with just a typical looking back yard, and using fish as currency, you can buy toys and...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

  Recently I was tagged by Ash Brown of the Experiments in Manga blog to join in the game of Manga Tag that been making the rounds of manga blogs and vlogs. I thought it would be fun to join in and share some pictures of the manga I have stacked all over the house....

1 Comment Lori Henderson Read More

Tokyopop, the former manga publisher that ceased publication and closed its doors in 2011 has been slowly coming back to life. In the last few years it has begun showing signs it might want to return to the stage, starting with a newsletter soon after shutting down, publishing more Hetalia in conjunction with Rightstuf, and the bringing back their website and making the OEL titles they still held rights to available as eBooks. In June, the websit...

3 Comments Lori Henderson Read More

I have really grown to like digital manga. Considering the lack of space I currently have, and the difficulty I have in letting things go, being able to stack digital files is a lot easier than physical books. And they’re a lot easier to carry. I can carry several different titles to suit what ever my mood is in just my tablet, and it’s a lot easier to eat and read on a tablet that can stand on its own and doesn’t need one of my...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More

No matter what the culture, knowledge has been equated with power. For centuries, this knowledge has been stored as words in books. Whether it’s a list of names or a wizard’s tome, books have been regarded as being magical. It’s no different in manga. There are several titles that feature books and the power of words with the ability to create, transport its readers to other worlds, and even kill. Fushigi Yugi and it’s prequel...

No Comments Lori Henderson Read More
Review: Phantom Volume 4
Reviews / June 29, 2008

Phantom Volume 4 By Ki-Hoon Lee/Seung-Yup Cho Publisher: Tokyopop Rating: 13+ Genre: Sci-Fi RRP: $9.99 Rating: Eric, Athena’s sniper, rescues the beautiful female cyborg from extermination, he holes up until he can get the evidence of Iron Corporation’s dirtiest secret, the genetically-engineered cyborgs, back to Athena’s base.  Unbeknownst to him, however, the worst is yet to come as Iron unleashes their human-reptil...

This Week at Manga Village ** 6/25/08
Weekly Roundups / June 28, 2008

It’s time for another update from the Village Centre and see what’s up at Manga Village.  Our reviews start off with Dan Polley cleaning up his act with The Reformed from Del Rey.  John Thomas checks out a one shot from the creator of Blade of the Immortal with Ohikkoshi from Dark Horse.  Charles Tan is running back to sports with Eyeshield 21 Volume 3 from Viz.  And, I get a late night snack from Viz’s Yumekui Ken...

Bragging Rights
Confessions of a Mangaholic / June 25, 2008

I has them. At least I thought I did until I saw this forum thread. I’m way behind compared to some of these people. Maybe if I added in all my Shonen Jump and Shojo Beats…  Anyway, that’s not to say my manga collection isn’t still growing. This month is going to be another tough Previews order. There are a lot of not just manga but comic books that are coming out that look good. A new Doctor Who (10th Doctor), ...

Krissy's Korner: Kat and Mouse Volume 1
Family Reviews / June 23, 2008

Kat & Mouse Volume 1: Teacher Torture Story by Alex de Campi / Art by Federica Manfredi Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: 8+ (Tween) Genre: Mystery Price: $5.99 Rating: What is the story about? Kat moves in to a new city and a new school.  She meets someone named Mouse and makes friends with her. What did you like about the story? I liked Kat and Mouse’s style.  I liked the story.  It was ineresting.  There was a weird myste...

Eagle: The 2008 Election Edition Volume 2
Reviews / June 21, 2008

Eagle : The Making of an Asian-American President Volume 2 By Kaiji Kawaguchi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Drama/Politics Rating: Teen+ (16+) Price: $19.99/used only Rating: In this second volume of Kenneth Yamaoka’s campaign to be come president, more time is spent on his past, and what could have make him the person he is now. The politics takes a backseat for the first third of the volume as Takashi meets with Yamaoka’s si...

This Week at Manga Village ** 6/18/08
Weekly Roundups / June 19, 2008

Everyone’s back for this week’s reviews and picks! Charles Tan start off, and he has seen the light and is Reborn! Volume 3 from Viz. Dan Polley gets down with a little Yozukura Quartet Volume 2 from Del Rey. I got a Love*Com Volume 6 from Viz, while John loses it with MPD-Psycho Volume 5 from Dark Horse. We’ve got our picks for the week, and I’ve written an article on the Tokyopop situation (I know, not another ...

Pick of the Litter Volume 2
Reviews / June 18, 2008

Pick of the Litter Volume 2 By Yuriko SudaPublisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Comedy/Fantasy Price: $9.99 Rating: Satsuki pays an unexpected visit to Riku at his School. His mission: deliver a family picture to Riku and investigate what rival store Echigoya is doing in Japan. Meanwhile, for Riku’s birthday, Ichiya shows Riku his old room before he disappeared. But is it really his room? And if not, what is Ichiya trying to...

This Week at Manga Village ** 6/11/08
Weekly Roundups / June 14, 2008

It’s a goth week at Manga Village this week, where dark side is reigning supreme (mostly). Let’s get the little ray of sunshine out of the way, with Suzuka Volume 8 from Del Rey Manga by Dan Polley. Then John Thomas starts us done the dark path with Blood+ Volume 2 from Dark Horse. I finish up the gothic horror/suspense series with the last volume of Godchild Volume 8 from Viz. Then Charles Tan takes us on a final tour of th...

Dropping Like Flies
News / June 14, 2008

For a weekend, the news has been unusually busy. I open up Thunderbird, and find that 2 Tokyopop titles are not going to be printed. Rivkah has announced on her Livejournal blog that her series Steady Beat Volume 3 will not get a published book release, but will be put up as a web comic. Bettina Kurkoski has reported on her Deviant Art page the same for her series My Cat Loki, except she’s not even getting online publishing (Wah! ...

Muhyu & Roji's Bureau of Superntaural Law Volume 2
Reviews / June 11, 2008

Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Volume 2 By Yoshiyuki Nishi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Supernatural/Action Rating: Teen Price: $7.99 Rating: Muhyo and Roji head to the Magic Law Association for Roji’s promotion exam, where a series of bizarre incidents turn out to be the handiwork of Muhyo’s old nemesis, Enchu! New characters and information about Muhyo’s past and his connection to Enchu are revealed...

Inubaka: Crazy For Dogs Volume 8
Reviews / June 9, 2008

Worried that she’s been far too lenient with Lupin, Suguri starts him on a strict training regimen.  But then Lupin disappears, and Suguri blames herself.  When standard search methods fail, it’s time for some creative problem solving.  With a little luck and a little talent she just might be able to find her precious pooch! By Yukiya Sakuragi Publsiher: Viz Media Rating: Teen+ Genre: Slice of life Price: $9.99 Rating: Lu...

Jenny's Journal: Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Adventure Volume 1
Family Reviews / June 8, 2008

Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! Volume 1 By Ihara Shigekatsu Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Action/Adventure Rating: All Ages Price: $7.99 Rating: Storyline: Hareta, a ten-year-old boy who has been living in the wild for four years, starts his journey with Mitsumi, who is Rowan’s assistant. Hareta accidentally woke a sleeping Onix and sends out Piplup, though not in a ‘friendly’ action. Onix calmed down after many ...