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 ...

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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...

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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 ...

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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?...

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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....

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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...

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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. ...

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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...

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  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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Paradise Kiss Volume 3
Reviews / August 6, 2013

As the much-anticipated Yaza Arts fashion show gears up, an unexpected visitor from George’s past makes an appearance. Yukari’s modeling career heats up just as George makes an announcement that shocks the ParaKiss group to the core. George is hearing the siren call of the City of Lights, but where does that leave Yukari? Will she find the key to Paradise? By Ai Yazawa Publisher: Vertical Inc. Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Fashion P...

Manga Dome Podcast Episode 17
News , Podcast / August 4, 2013

  This weeks I check out the Vizmanga top 10 for the last two weeks, and various news stories about titles ending and new titles beginning in the US and Japan, as well as more new licenses from Seven Seas Entertainment. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode17/MangaDomeEpisode17.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download...

Manga Dome Podcast Episode 15: Bleach It Out
Podcast / July 21, 2013

This week I look at some news from Japan, what’s new at the Vizmanga.com site, and I check out 9 volumes of Bleach that cover 3 story arc, and how it’s affected by missing volumes. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode15/MangaDomeEpisode15.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download...

Manga Dome Podcast Episode 14: Manga at Anime Expo
News , Podcast / July 14, 2013

This week I check out all the news from manga publishers Viz Media, Vertical Inc., Digital Manga Publishing, Right Stuf, Kodansha and Dark Horse Comics at Anime Expo and their announcements. http://archive.org/download/Episode14_201307/MangaDomeEpisode14.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download...

Manga Dome Podcast Episode 13: Too Many Alices!
Articles , Podcast / July 7, 2013

  This week I’ve got a few short news stories, the goings on at Vizmanga.com and I look at the similarities of three Yen Press titles that are based on or inspired by Alice in Wonderland: Are You Alice?, Alice in the Country of Hearts and Pandora Hearts. The podcast is on Facebook now too! Like it there too for new episodes and updates about what’s coming up! http://archive.org/download/Episode13_201307/MangaDomeEpisode...

Manga Dome Podcast Episode 10: From the Bottom of the Pile
Podcast , Reviews / June 16, 2013

This week I check out the ranking from Bookscan for May, the Vizmanga top 10 and other happenings, the new manga streaming site Manga Reborn and do some short reviews of three manga titles; Until Death Do Us Part vol 2, Rurouni Kenshin Restoration vol 1, and Kingdom Hearts Final Remix vol 1-2. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode10/MangaDomeEpisode10.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download...

Koetama Volume 1
Digital Manga , Reviews / June 6, 2013

High school junior Wakaba Sakimoto is a normal girl, no matter how you look at her. Everyone around her is thinking about the future, but Wakaba still doesn’t know what she wants to do. Then one day, she meets voice actress Touko Hosaka by accident, and Wakaba’s future changes in a big way… By Tatsunari Sakuraba Publisher: Jmanga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Shonen Price: $4.99 Rating: Koetama was another impulse buy from J...

Hanagatari Tenshion Atsuhime
Digital Manga , Reviews / June 4, 2013

Chaos reigns as the curtain descends on the age of the samurai. Atsuhime, born to the Satsuma branch of the Shimazu clan is to wed Iesada Tokugawa, the 13th shogun. However, soon after their marriage, Atsuhime’s beloved husband dies, leaving her to defend the clan as she is tossed about by the waves of history. Watch as this exceptional woman from Satsuma lives out a trouble-filled life while resolutely moving forward no matter what i...