This week’s big story is the launch of the VIZ Manga app. For a monthly fee of $1.99, the app gives subscribers access to a library of 10,000+ chapters from series like Call of the Night, InuYasha, NANA, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. Not everything in the VIZ catalog is included; as Dean Simons reports, “mature rated books and series will not be available on the app due to content restrictions.” Also debuting this week is Kodansha’s K MANGA app. Kodansha’s approach is a little different than VIZ’s; instead of charging users a flat monthly fee to access its digital vault, Kodansha is using a ticket-and-point system that sounds, frankly, like a needlessly complicated way to offer freemium content.
In other news, the winners of the 47th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards were just announced… Dark Horse will be re-issuing Kohta Hirano’s Drifters in a new omnibus edition… anime tourism is on the rebound… fans just can’t get enough of Oshi no Ko… and manga sales remain robust, even if buyers’ enthusiasm for Chainsaw Man has cooled a bit. Looking at the April 2023 Circana Bookscan data Brigid Alverson observes, “There are 15 different series on the April chart, a far cry from January, when 10 of the 20 slots were taken up by Chainsaw Man and an 11th by another book by the same creator. In fact, there is only one volume of Chainsaw Man on the April chart, and like most of the other handful of backlist titles, it’s Volume 1.”
AROUND THE WEB
Patricia C. Baxter pens an essay about SHWD and She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, “two very different series [that] showcase plus-sized sapphic women as people worthy of respect and desire.” [Anime Feminist]
Over at The Wonder of Anime, Lisa De La Cruz examines her complicated emotional response to BJ Alex. [The Wonder of Anime]
ICYMI: artist Harmony Becker makes a list of 7 Manga Titles Perfect for Any Young Adult Reading List. [New York Times]
If you missed the Leiji Matsumoto panel at Anime Boston, Samantha Ferreira has the next best thing: a detailed summary. [Anime Herald]
Visiting Japan this summer? Don’t miss “BL Evolution: From Pioneers to Global Phenomenon ―Tracing the 50 Year History and Impact of Boys’ Love through Manga, Literature, and Media.” The show opens on May 20th at the Kadakowa Culture Museum and closes on July 16th. [Otaku USA]
Brigid Alverson previews July’s best new manga. [ICv2]
Harry reflects on the phenomenal success of Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima. [Honey’s Anime]
Before Cross-Game, Touch, or H2, there was Nine, Adachi Mitsuru’s first major foray into baseball manga. Ichi offers good insight into why this particular series hasn’t aged well, or been translated into English. [SportsBaka]
Anita Mowete explores the deeper themes of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man. “If there was one question that captured the essence of Chainsaw Man, it would be: What does it mean to be human?” she argues. “Every storyline and character set about different ways of answering this question.” [How to Love Comics]
LISTENING IN
Check out Mangaroos, a brand-new podcast with a great logo and a growing library of great episodes! Their latest conversation focuses on Shuzo Oshimi’s psychological thriller Blood on the Tracks, a series filled with “deeply creepy mom stuff.” [Mangaroos]
Kory, Apryll, and Helen discuss I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, But I’m Fine and I Want to Be a Wall. [Taiiku Podcast]
Should you read Rooster Fighter? King and Jones weigh in on the first two volumes. [The Manga Men]
Go Berserk with Matt, Sam, Jae, and Jacob, as they dissect Kentaro Miura’s perennially popular series. [OverMangaCast]
Elliot and Andy compare notes on Yuri Is My Job! and Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You. [Screentone Club]
On the latest episode of We Appreciate Manga, hosts Steven and Will “are perplexed by the plot” of Welcome to the NHK. [We Appreciate Manga]
What’s new at Glacier Bay Books? Morgana, Seamus, Darfox and dakazu share their thoughts on three recent releases: PANDORA, Mothers, and A Favorable Wind on Full Sails. [Manga Machinations]
REVIEWS
If “passionate Amish yaoi manga” is your thing, Danica Davidson has the title for you: The Scene of My Rumspringa… Josh reviews the first three volumes of Dandadan!, “a madcap paranormal adventure that keeps raising the bar for how weird it’s willing to go”… Nicholas Quah gives solid marks to Apple TV’s “very loose” adaptation of The Drops of God… Erica Friedman reviews the final volume of Catch These Hands!… Megan D. takes the first volume of Kaze Hikaru for a spin… and the latest Reader’s Corner has the low-down on The Art of Haikyu!!, I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, and more.
New and Noteworthy
- Boy’s Abyss, Vol. 1 (Dallas Marshall, CBR)
- Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Dark Gathering, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, Vols. 1-2 (MrAJCosplay, ANN)
- The Girl Who Can’t Get a Girlfriend (Adam, No Flying No Tights)
- How to Grill Our Love, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Love’s in Sight, Vol. 1 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Love, That’s an Understatement, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Magical Girl Incident, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk)
- My Girlfriend’s Child, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Parallel World Pharmacy, Vol. 1 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Parallel World Pharmacy, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- The Remarried Empress, Vol. 1 (Kaley Connell, Yatta-Tachi)
- Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, Vol. 1 (Karen Gellender, The Fandom Post)
- Sunbeams in the Sky, Vol. 2 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- Unintentional Love Story (Eve Healy)
- Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Castle, Vols. 1-3 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Yokohama Station SF, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series
- Blue Period, Vols. 11-12 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Crazy Food Truck, Vol. 3 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Cross, Vol. 1 (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
- Doomsday with My Dog, Vol. 2 (Sakura Eries, The Fandom Post)
- Flock of Angels, Vol. 1 (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
- In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 3 (Kate O’Neill, The Fandom Post)
- Josephine the French Rose, Vol. 1 (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
- Maid in Heaven, Vol. 1 (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
- Nyankees, Vol. 2 (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
- Phantom of the Idol, Vol. 5 (SKJAM! Reviews)
- Pokémon Special Sun & Moon, Vols. 1-6 (Vonmandelbrot, The Taishō Café)
- Run Away With Me, Girl, Vol. 2 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included, Vol. 2 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Unico (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)