There are a lot more changes coming to Shonen Jump, according to this latest issue. The issue starts with the first of a three part preview of the new manga Toriko. It’s a food manga done shonen style, so everything is exaggerated to the extreme. It is the Gourmet Age, with man is constantly striving to find best ingredients to make the ultimate menu. Toriko is one such man. He is a gourmet hunter. He travels the world...
Walk Down Memory Lane With most of the Year-in-Reviews done, it’s time to move on to the Decade-in-Review. The first of these comes from a conversation that started on Twitter about the most important moments in manga over the decade. Deb Aoki of Manga.about.com collects the suggestions and posts them as 25 Manga Milestones. I jump on this bandwagon to, looking back at the past decade of manga through my eyes and experiences.�...
Even though the decade isn’t technically over, the years that we call the “aughts” are, so this review is my look back at the aught years, 2000-2009. And if you had to say anything about manga in these years is that it found itself on the rise. When the new millennium began, manga was in the same place it had been in the last century. It was a niche of a niche. Trying to appeal to comics fans, most titles were pu...
Black God, Volume 2 Story by Dall-Young Lim, art by Sung-Woo Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price: $10.99 Rating: Balancing a normal existence and an unbreakable pact with a divine being is anything but easy. Much to his chagrin, Keita is discovering this the hard way. Try as he might to distance himself from recent events, Keita can’t shake Kuro, the mototsumitama who saved his life. But when the stake...
After my Christmas Haul, it’s time to make more space on my manga shelves, and that’s a boon for you! Here are the titles I have up for sale this week on eBay: Buso Renkin vol 5-8 Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President vol 1-5 (Complete) Inuyasha vol 6-10 Princess Resurrection vol 1-3 Good luck, and happy bidding!...
Having a wireless connection on an e-reader has been touted as the make-or-break deal for devices coming out. Amazon’s Kindle, which started it all, has been favored because of the ease of purchasing books from Amazon and downloading to the device. But, what are you really giving up for that privilege? A lot of your privacy it seems. As reported on BoingBoing, the EFF, the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, took a look at e-...
Honey Hunt goes on Hiatus Honey Hunt, one of the last manga to be added to Shojo Beat before Viz canceled it, is going on hiatus in Japan. Mangaka Aihara has decided to take a break from Honey Hunt and is debuting a new manga in the same magazine. This is both good and bad for fans of Honey Hunt. It’s good, because it will make catching up with the manga easier. The 6th volume just came out in Japan, and the 4th volume won...
I’ve never written a “Best of ” list since I never thought I knew enough to make such choices, but I’ve decided to make the attempt this year. All of the titles on the list are books I’ve read at least one volume of, and most started this year. The few exceptions should be obvious....
Heaven’s Will By Satoru Takmiya Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $8.99 Rating: Sudou Mikuzu has a very special talent – she can see ghosts. And because of this predisposition, she’ become a magnet for all sorts of unwelcome monsters. Luckily for her she’s just met Seto, a friendly, cross-dressing young exorcist. Sudou needs protection from all the creepy phantoms bugg...
Well, the most stressful part of the holiday season is over! Christmas has come and gone, and all that’s left are wads of wrapping paper, stray bows and lots and lots of manga! At least that’s how my Christmas turned out. Check it out! How’s that for a good haul? In fact, I missed a few! Pig Bride Volume 2 as well as Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 20-21 should have been included in that picture too. 12 volumes ...
More On Translation Shannon Garrity over at The Comics Journal weighs in on the translation issue. She brings to focus the whole issue of literal vs literary, which is really a fan vs professional debate. Fans take a more literal approach, which can be claimed to be more authenitic, though it could also be that they don’t have the writing sense to make the translations smoother. Good writing isn’t something that comes ...
Tokyopop has been under fire a lot recently, some times rightfully so. But their catalog of titles shouldn’t be. For whatever reason, some of their really good and entertaining titles haven’t gotten the love and attention they deserve. I want to rectify some of that now. Unfortunately, some of the titles in this list are out of print, and incomplete. But they may still be available through online retailers and plac...