So, which of this title will you be getting this week?
(It’s OK, wait till November, the Manga Avalanche Month.)
Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews
by Sean Gaffney
by Sean Gaffney
By Yun Kouga. Released in Japan by Ichijinsha, serialized in the magazine Comic Zero-Sum. Released in North America by Viz.
Another license rescue, this time of a very popular josei-ish series that’s still running, albeit at a crawl, in Japan. So I picked up the first omnibus thinking, why not? Generally I don’t read much BL, if any, but the author herself has said she doesn’t think it’s BL. Actually, if I’m honest, there’s not only a huge genre of ‘BL only not quite’, but several magazines devoted entirely to it, of which one is Comic Zero-Sum. (The most famous is probably Shinshokan’s Wings, whose manga I always classified as ‘whatever Wings is’ back in the day.) Given the cover, however, which features what seems to be an abused catboy being aggressively fondled by an unseen party, I’m going to guess that Loveless falls into ‘it may not be BL, but its fans sure are’. You know, like Naruto.
That aside, Loveless is basically a fantasy thriller with psychological overtones. Our hero, Ritsuka, is trying to start his life over after his older brother was apparently brutally murdered. He also has amnesia, and so is trying hard to figure out what he used to be like – something not helped by his mentally unstable mother, who keeps assuring him over and over again that he’s wrong and horrible and she wants her son back. To make matters worse, he ends up being stalked by another guy, who was close to his brother. Now he has to fight various members of an evil organization, figure out why his brother was killed, and deal with these strange feelings he gets whenever he’s around Soubi, the aforementioned stalker.
There’s very little setup here, with the author deciding it would be easier to simply drop you into the middle of her world and let you figure out how it works. So far it’s crossing between high school drama and fantasy. In this world, virgins have cat ears and a tail, which fall off after they lose their virginity. This mostly seems to be an easy way to mark off who’s meant to be innocent and naive and who isn’t so far, including Ritsuka’s ‘Christmas Cake’ teacher, Hitomi. Notably, she’s the only one actively mocked for said virginity, if only by the villains. Aside from this, there’s a lot of battle sequences where Ritsuka and Sougi must pair up to defeat whoever’s attacking them. This was easily the poorest part of the manga, with generic combat and spells/power words/whatever. The idea of your partner taking whatever damage you get could lead somewhere in the future, but at the moment it just seems to be there to make Ritsuka suffer more nobly.
When the manga isn’t focused on combat, it’s a lot better. Ritsuka is a messed-up young kid, and his hot-and-cold running emotions, even for a teenager, are jarring. He’s not quite sure about this whole ‘love’ thing, or why he’s so attracted to Sougi, but then again he’s not all that good at friendships either – it’s cute seeing him have to deal with someone as bright and talkative as Yuiko, the tall girl in his class who slowly befriends him. In case anyone’s curious, I absolutely loved Yuiko. I knew going in she was a heavily bashed character, so those who know me probably guessed this, but even more than that, she helps to lighten up the book and prevent the psychological drama from getting too depressing. I hope (but am not optimistic) she sticks around as events ramp up.
Loveless is a very odd duck, and I kept alternating between being fascinated and creeped out by its storyline. Soubi, who I barely mentioned at all, is likely the main reason for this – I just don’t like him yet, and thus it’s hard to see his disturbing devotion to Ritsuka, who is meant to be 12. The shotacon aspects are partly intentional, of course, but I’m pretty sure it’s only meant to be partly – which disturbs me. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Still, there’s no denying that the author has skills and power to draw you in. It’s easy to see why this series is popular. And I do wonder what happens next. (Will Ritsuka abandon his shotacon stalker for cute tall-girl love? Mmmmmmm, probably not…)
by Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith and MJ Leave a Comment
This week, Sean, Kate, MJ, and Michelle look at recent releases from Kodansha Comics, VIZ Media, Yen Press, and Vertical, Inc.
Cage of Eden, Vol. 7 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Yes, the fanservice is still as gratuitous as ever. That said, there’s a lot to like here. For one, we get more casualties, reminding us that the longer everyone stays on the island, the more the cast is going to be culled. The fact that the group is taken out by what turns out to be ticks is quite chilling. Akira’s open show of determination and leadership, meanwhile, gives everyone inspiration and makes them want to keep up with him. This then takes a much darker turn, as we see the consequences of everyone not wanting to be dragging the group down – the cast getting altitude sickness that nearly kills them because no one will rest. And finally the cast start to hallucinate (a genuine symptom of altitude sickness) – which allows for a cliffhanger involving more horrific extinct animals. Shonen madness! – Sean Gaffney
A Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 5 | By Miyoshi Tomori | VIZ Media – Maria’s first instinct when confronted with conflict is still brutal honesty, and I admire the fact that the manga shows this remains ultimately a good thing. Indeed, it’s not just Maria in this volume, as Shin shows off his own tendency to say exactly what he thinks. He thus ends up meeting Maria’s friend from her old school, Anna. I knew from the moment we started Volume 1 that Anna would be appearing at some point, and would be an antagonist. Thus I am once again pleased at how believable Tomori-san makes her. Maria, meanwhile, is still having trouble dealing with her feelings for Shin. This fails to surprise anyone, given how she has trouble with friendships, much less love. But I can’t wait to see what happens next. – Sean Gaffney
Fairy Tail, Vol. 21 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – There is a WHOLE lot going on in this volume. We meet most of the Fairy Tail cast doppelgangers – including Lisanna, who’s dead in Natsu’s universe – and find Erza’s working for the bad guys. Speaking of the bad guys, they’re the usual eccentric lot, ranging from obviously sympathetic to completely insane. There’s a healthy dollop of humor here, as we see Lucy’s double showing off how alike the two are and Loki ignoring Lucy’s call to battle as he’s on a date (presumably with Aries). And there are sad and heartwarming moments, such as Carla’s realization of what she’s been involved in, as well as the identity of the cats who briefly harbor them. Most of all, I’ve finally stopped thinking about how much Fairy Tail rips off One Piece when I read it. Which is quite the accomplishment. – Sean Gaffney
The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 3 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – Though I had high praise for the first two volumes of The Flowers of Evil, volume three is a weaker and less psychologically plausible installment than what preceded it. Saeki’s increasingly desperate attachment to Takao seems more like a plot contrivance than a natural progression for her character, while Nakamura’s bullying sails over the line from nasty manipulation to outright sadism. The two girls’ tug-of-war isn’t beyond the realm of possibility; nor is Saeki’s unfounded belief that Takao represents something more interesting or profound than what other boys her ages could offer. What feels wrong is the way in which that conflict manifests itself, culminating in a scene that only a teenage boy would feel was an accurate representation of how girls think and behave. I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet, but I’m no longer convinced that Oshimi has as a firm a grasp of his characters as he did in the first chapters of the series. – Katherine Dacey
The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 3 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – I wrote in my brief review of volume two that I “pretty much hated” The Flowers of Evil and couldn’t see myself continuing with it, and yet here I am. I suppose curiosity got the best of me. Volume three deals with the aftermath of Kasuga and Nakamura’s classroom vandalism, during which it becomes clear to Saeki and Kasuga’s mother that he is the one responsible. I actually did like certain things about what follows—especially Kasuga’s admittance that he was only reading Baudelaire in an effort to convince himself he’s special and that he’s scared of facing the real Saeki as opposed to his idealized vision of her—but spent a lot of time baffled by the characters’ actions and reactions. What is clear is that nobody is the person that others thought they were, which seems like a decent note upon which to end the series, but it actually continues from this point. I’m still not sure if I’ll be reading it. – Michelle Smith
Jiu Jiu, Vol. 2 | By Touya Tobina | VIZ Media – First of all, that cover is far saucier than a typical Hakusensha shojo title – something the author lampshades in one of her notes! Despite that, this title is becoming for females what Cage of Eden is for males. There’s lots of rampant fanservice of Snow and Night looking half-naked and sweaty. The plot is still a bit ‘make it up as you go along’, but I’m used to that with Hakusensha. The author hasn’t made it clear whether we – and Takamichi – are supposed to think of the two male leads as pets, or as children/family, or as love interests. It’s somewhat uncomfortable, and I think that’s at least partly deliberate. The addition of a few new cast members is nice to see, but for the most part this is still a three-hander about young people who are very bad at social interaction and the laughs and awkwardness that comes with that. Hope it continues to improve. -Sean Gaffney
Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 8 | By Hiro Arikawa and Kiiro Yumi | VIZ Media- Okay, seriously, how did Library Wars end up being so shoujoliciously good? I mean, the premise is rather silly and the characters are far from convincing as soldiers, but the past couple of volumes have been genuinely enjoyable. In volume eight, the truth of why Iku’s being interrogated regarding a book-burning incident comes to light, which ultimately leads to her finally realizing that her commanding officer, Dojo, is her prince, whereupon she freaks out in a pretty awesome way. Combined with her composure under questioning and her reaction to this news, I am finally beginning to like Iku at long last. This volume also prominently features Iku’s awesome roommate, Shibazaki, who is one of those “I am jaded and unable to fall in love but will protect my idealistic friend with all I’ve got” characters whom I always adore. I’m looking forward to volume nine! – Michelle Smith
Pandora Hearts, Vol. 12 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – As tension ramps up over Oz’s questionable origins and the return of a mysterious villain with a penchant for beheading, I’ll admit that what really makes this whole volume for me is a (presumably) throwaway section in which Oz’s younger sister Ada reveals her secret obsession with the occult. That may not sound funny on the face of it, but trust me… it’s honestly hilarious, surprisingly charming, and makes it even harder to continue to hate the supposedly evil Vincent Nightray, to whom she bares her magically-consumed soul. Too, this section highlights one of the strengths of Mochizuki’s writing. No matter how dark and complicated her story becomes, she never loses her sense of whimsy or her deep love for her odd little cast of characters. Humorous interludes aside, volume twelve is full of terrific little nuggets of characterization—just part of the series’ considerable payoff for fans who have stuck with it so far. Still recommended. – MJ
Skip Beat!, Vol. 29 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – I am probably somewhat of a broken record where Skip Beat! is concerned, because not only do I genuinely enjoy every new volume, I also always wish that I had twenty more of them waiting in the wings, that’s how much I adore it. In this volume, Kyoko has realized that she’s on the verge of sprouting feelings for Ren, which scares her very much, since he is able to slip past her defenses so easily. She’s so distracted she allows a male costar to make her over for a wrap party, which yields two developments: Kyoko becomes convinced Ren sees her as too childish to pursue and she gains confidence in her ability to transform herself for a role. That’s Skip Beat! in a nutshell—even when there’s a smidgen of romantic progress, there’s a healthy dollop of career progress for the awesome heroine to go along with it. Perennially recommended. – Michelle Smith
by Katherine Dacey, MJ, Michelle Smith and Sean Gaffney 1 Comment
KATE: Though I’m glad to see that Dark Horse is still releasing new volumes of Bride of the Water God—surely one of the most beautiful and confusing manhwa available in English—my vote goes to volume one of Keiko Suenobu’s Limit. The story focuses on a group of girls who survive a terrible bus accident. As they wait for help, the class pariah discovers she has the upper hand over her tormentors, and exploits that turn of events to its fullest. Suenobu sometimes tries too hard to make her story a parable about bullying and social dynamics, but on the whole, Limit manages to be thoughtful *and* entertaining — think Mean Girls with weapons.
MJ: I have to say, I’m with Kate this week. Though there are a number of my favorites on the list this week (I must continue to mention the ever-charming Pandora Hearts), Limit is really a must-buy.
MICHELLE: I’m going to have to chime in with a “ditto,” as well. It’s not too often that we get shoujo like this, and it’s definitely something worth checking out and supporting.
SEAN: Much as I do like the Nagato and DRRR!! spinoffs, I must chime in for Limit as well, which is simply a change of pace from ‘sweet young girl goes to high school and meets cool guy who likes her’ shoujo manga. Limit has its pacing issues, but is a gripping read with lots of high-tension emotion.
Readers, what looks good to you this week?
by Sean Gaffney
By Toru Fujisawa. Released in Japan as “Shonan Jun’ai Gumi” by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Vertical.
And so, after much delay and a rescue by our friends at Vertical, the GTO Early Years series is now complete.It’s been a ling ride, and you can visibly see how much Fujisawa has improved and refined his art – Shinomi, for one, is almost unrecognizable compared to how she looked when we first saw her, and most of the characters have that ‘GTO’ look that we’re more familiar with from the sequel. What’s more, knowing he has to wrap things up, Fujisawa devotes much of this volume to our heroes’ two love-interests, showing how each of them compares and contrasts with their man. In particular, Shinomi demonstrates that, in her own way, she can screw everything up just as much as Eikichi.
When I reviewed Vol. 14, I noted that I wasn’t sure if the cliffhanger reveal would be played for comedy or drama. Very cleverly, this is actually used in-story – Shinomi, in a fit or misplaced jealousy, is ready to mock Eikichi mercilessly, only to suddenly find that he’s far more affected by everything than she had anticipated. In fact, things get so bad so fast that she desperately confesses to him – which he seems to pretend not to hear, something that he’s very good at indeed. (Note that in GTO 14 Years he’s *still* pretending not to hear Shinomi at times…) After a heart to heart and a good cry with an old mentor, Shinomi decides to go all out and give herself body and soul to Eikichi. This ends up going horribly wrong in the best GTO tradition, and in the funniest scene of the entire book. I had always been a fan of Onizuka getting together with Azusa, given I read GTO first, but Shinomi is making me waver a bit. She’s a perfect complement to his idiocy.
Nagisa, meanwhile, is having troubles of her own. Mostly that Ryuji is using their dates to have sex with her and not much else. And the sex isn’t bad, but Nagisa is a romantic. So when a guy at a nearby high school confesses to her, she’s depressed enough to actually go out with him. Again, Ryuji has always been slightly (but only slightly) more mature than Eikichi, so it would make sense that his own complement is the same. As we see later in the book, she’s trying to study and get into college so she can become a therapist and deal with… well, people like herself. (It’s likely been long forgotten, but Nagisa has disassociative identity disorder). Getting Ryuji to realize that she’s not just there for him to stick it in is tough. Luckily, she’s still completely devoted to him, and it all works out.
And so we get to the final battles. There’s a group of new freshman entering high school, all of whom have heard about the famous exploits of the Oni-Baku Duo, and all of whom are now ready to pledge their lives to them and take over all of Shonan. This is somewhat disquieting to our heroes, who while they always unquestioningly defend their friends, and certainly enjoy being in a gang, fighting, and driving around on bikes, have never really had the ambition to take over the city. Or indeed do much at all. Ryuji sees his girlfriend’s fierce study and is blown away – he’s starting to wonder what to do with his life once he graduates. Onizuka is not quite at that stage (indeed, it will take until the start of GTO to push him there), but the two definitely realize they don’t want to be gang leaders the rest of their days, and something needs to be done.
As ever in the GTO series, events spiral out of control into complete madness, and talking everyone down is no longer an option. So the two of them decide to pull off an elaborate final fight (between each other, of course), and leave this world once and for all. Now clearly we’re not buying what they’re doing – we’ve seen GTO, after all, which shows them both as adults – but I think even readers seeing this back in 1996 knew this was all an elaborate put-on. And sure enough, it’s not even 15 pages before the reveal. Those 15 pages, though, are styled like a documentary/remembrance, with reactions ranging from anger to disbelief to genuine grief (Shinomi and Nagisa).
GTO and its prequels/sequels ran in Weekly Magazine rather than Weekly Jump, and the audiences are fundamentally different. But in the end, you can’t deny that GTO: The Early Years brings you some of the best in shonen ideals. Kids having fun, getting into goofy antics, and trying to get laid are contrasted with holding on to your dreams, always being there for your friends, and enjoying your youth while trying not to destroy it. Eikichi and Ryuji have walked a fine line between those ideals at times, but in the end have shown the main way to accomplish these ideals: a good heart. (And also possibly being a badass biker with ungodly stamina.)
by Sean Gaffney
By Milk Morinaga. Released in Japan by Futabasha, serialized in the magazine Comic High!. Released in North America by Seven Seas.
I had reviewed the first digital volume of this series when JManga released it a while back, but it’s always worth revisiting things, especially in print. This omnibus contains the first half of the series, i.e. 2 1/2 volumes. It’s a chunky read, but I think that works to the book’s favor as it helps us really get to know the two heroines before we get to plunge into their new friendship and growing romance.
You’ll note the title is split into two words, and I think that’s for the best, as the author makes it a point to show us Mari and Akko bonding as friends for an entire volume before it really starts getting into the potential yuri romance. Given Mari’s shyness and insecurities, this helps keep things realistic. It also ups the stakes: Akko is Mari’s best friend, and while the romance may take all five volumes to really break out the friendship is close and endearing immediately. Mari is a sweet and sympathetic protagonist. and Akko is outgoing, impulsive and oblivious without it becoming too irritating, as many who read one-sided crushes know can happen easily.
But of course this is a yuri manga, and so Mari’s admiration of Akko soon turns into attraction to Akko. This can be tricky, as there’s a vague line between the sort of close ‘skinship’ friendships that aren’t necessarily sexual, and those what do turn into blooming relationships. Indeed, Akko’s reaction on hearing that Mari kissed her while she was sleeping is ‘oh, girls do that *all the time*’. Of course, when Mari is a little more drunk and a lot more forceful, even Akko manages to notice what’s going on.
These are teenagers, so there’s a lot of puzzlement and ‘is this what love is really like?’ on both sides, as well as yuri’s addition of ‘it will never work out because we are both girls’. Akko has a presumed sexual past with a guy (though we quickly learn that nothing happened, of course – this did run in a seinen magazine) which adds to Mari’s dread that all she’s doing is making herself miserable for something that can’t happen. So she turns to a guy from middle school who happens to like her – and manages to get Akko jealous, though she’s not quite sure why…
This is meant to feel like a fluffy shoujo soap opera, just with two girls as the lead, and that’s mostly what it does. There are also two best friends who are also very touchy-feely with each other but clearly aren’t going to be a couple, which is a relief in a genre that sometimes has everyone pairing off with everyone else. Seven Seas’ omnibus obscures the well-times endings of the first two books (Mari thinking she kissed Akko for Vol. 1, Akko boggling at Kiss #2 in Vol. 2), but that works out fine as it gives the omnibus volume a better cliffhanger, as Mari reveals she went all the way with her new boyfriend. (Does anyone really believe her? Well, except for Akko…)
This isn’t a lights out of compulsively addictive series. But it’s fun, wtih likeable characters and as realistic a yuri romance as you’re going to get in something that’s basically “Story A”, written with little consequence besides ALL THESE FEELINGS… IN MY HEART. I hope the second volume resolves said tortured feelings.
by Sean Gaffney
After a third week that was honestly pretty puny, this week brings a more robust group of titles.
Dark Horse has a new Bride of the Water God, one of those manwha titles that always makes me wish I had more money so I could give them a try. it also has the 25th volume of Gantz, which makes me wish that the author’s earlier series, HEN, was licensed instead.
Kodansha Comics has Volume 8 of Bloody Monday, its action thriller conspiracy title that sadly doesn’t lend itself well to jokes or puns.
Vertical has its new shoujo series, Limit, from the author of Life (if anyone remembers the old days of Tokyopop). If you read Life you know what we get here. Only even more intense. HOT HOT BULLYING ACTION.
And there’s a pile of stuff from Yen. Black Butler hits Volume 11, but is no match for Black God, which is at Volume 17 (and just ended in Japan this August) (yes, it runs in Young Gangan, but the creators are Korean. Think March Story or Sun-Ken Rock). Nagato Yuki is still adorable and Ryoko is still not insane in the 2nd volume of Disappearance. Durarara!! hits the end of its first arc, but don’t worry: Yen already has the Saika arc lined up. Pandora Hearts hits a dozen volumes, and there’s also the debut of Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel, a manga version of Cassandra Claire’s novel.
Lastly, there’s Triage X. Which runs in Dragon Age. And is by the artist who does High School of the Dead. The cover is presented here without comment.
So, what’s in your manga collection this week?
by Sean Gaffney
The last day of NYCC is usually the quietest, and this year was no exception, as I only had one industry panel to cover. This is not to say that it was without interest, however. I got to see Masakazu Ishiguro and Masahiro Ohno at the JManga booth, and asked a question that was totally irrelevant to the panel they were at on Friday: what the heck happened to Geobreeders? For those unaware, despite dying fast in America, the manga had continued till 2010 or so, but has been on hiatus since then. it turns out that the author, Akihiro Ito, has had health issues. Indeed, he apparently can no longer use his right hand. The hiatus is because he is teaching himself to draw left-handed so he can finish the manga. I was impressed.
I then waited in a long line for the Viz Media panel. I expected this to be about 75% anime, and I was correct. But that doesn’t mean it was entirely without interest. They showed a clip from the new Inu Yasha anime, and I was reminded once again that when she’s on her game, Takahashi is simply better than everyone else at showing ‘I yell at you because I love’. Kagome and Inu Yasha are adorable. There were also some Naruto clips, both for a new game and a new movie. They were talking about Neon alley, the new Playstation Network that has now gone live with lots of new anime shows (and not just Viz Anime either – they have Funimation’s One Piece, for example).
On the manga front, they mentioned the new titles that have just started on Shonen Jump Alpha, and once again indicated others were coming soon (I expect Assassination Classroom fans will be happy to hear that). They talked about the Barrage GNs coming out, as well as the new Rurouni Kenshin series. They’re also doing 3-in-1 releases for both Dragon Ball and D.Gray-Man (I may pick up the latter, as I never read it when it first came out). Inoue fans will be ecstatic at hearing they licensed Pepita: Takehiko Inoue Meets Antonio Gaudi, an artbook that was inspired by a recent trip to Spain. There were also three other licenses of note: Sunny, a new Taiyo Matsumoto series that runs in Shogakukan’s Ikki (see, folks? SIGIkki refuses to die!), which is apparently about an Orphanage. Fans of Tekkon Kinkreet will not be unhappy at all. There was also a Tiger & Bunny manga announced. Fans of the series may know there are several manga spinoffs of it in various titles; the one licensed seems to be a Kadokawa property, and runs in Newtype A. Viz will also be releasing a doujinshi anthology (clean, of course) with various artists contributing work.
Viz also has two new VizKids series, done with North American artists. Monsuno is running on Nicktoons, and Viz is adapting it. And Ugly Doll Comics has a lot of different artists, including James Kochalka. Both sound like they should be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, as with the SJA panel, there was no audience Q&A, but I got to say ‘Excel Saga’ at the panelists again as they left, which I’m sure was met with bemusement.
After that I attended the Moyoco Anno signing, where she was professional and nice (and remembered me from the question I asked at her panel!). Then I went home, as I was so tired I decided against sticking around for the last late panel.
NYCC was a lot of fun this year, and I enjoyed hanging out with MJ, Bridget, and the other manga bloggers. Given the sheer size of the event, I think the showrunners did a pretty good job, and there were no line issues or security gooning that I personally noticed. There were some choices I found questionable – Sir Terry Pratchett deserved better than the open-air stage he got, and was barely audible – but I will put those down to last-minute scheduling snafus. For the most part NYCC continues to be a professional, well-run con. I look forward to next year.
by Sean Gaffney
Day 2 of NYCC started off with Vertical’s Moyoco Anno panel. For those unaware, this is the artist behind Sakuran, as well as Happy Mania, Sugar Sugar Rune and Flowers & Bees. Josei is still struggling to find a voice over here in NA, so it was nice to see Anno-san tell us about her career. She notes her uncle is also a manga artist, and she wanted to draw from a very young age. She also learned about the nuts and bolts of the business from him. She started submitting to magazines at 15, and was published at 17. Mostly teenage romance, which was what she knew – the boyfriend in her first story was based off of her own.
She moved away from shoujo as it felt too unrealistic and no one really made mistakes or screwed up. Josei gives you more leeway in that regard. Ed noted her characters tended to dress fashionably, but Anno noted that’s because they cared about it. If she had a slob she’d dress them as a slob. She’s also written seinen manga for men, such as Flowers and Bees. She tries to make it less internal as men tend to get bored more easily and don’t like the emotional monologues. When asked about future licenses, she mentioned Jelly Beans and Love Master X, two of her earlier titles, as well as her current series, Ochibisan.
Question and Answer period discussed her work habits, inspirations for the lead in Happy Mania (she was quick to note it wasn’t based on her own experience). She was asked about researching Sakuran, and noted that her husband (that’s Hideki Anno, in case you were unaware) got her a book of poetry about customers at a teahouse that she found inspiring. I asked her about writing flawed characters but making them lovable, using Happy Mania as an example. She notes she made sure to give the heroine a more down-to-earth best friend to help ground that.
After this, I went to the premiere of the Rose of Versailles anime, and we saw episode 1. My favorite moment was probably, after Oscar’s father declares stridently he will raise her as a boy, seeing all the townspeople ask about the beautiful girl Oscar who was raised as a boy. Clearly hiding her gender is not something that needs to happen quite yet. Also, that big fight between Oscar and Andre was so subtextual you needed a smoke afterwards.
After the screening, scholar Susan Napier discussed the show as well as the manga, and noted its influence on so many Japanese girls – and boys, who would steal their sister’s manga and read it. Oscar was a unique heroine at the time, and paved the way for series like Sailor Moon and Utena. The manga also has yuri subtext, as well as a scene with a couple in a bed – still mostly forbidden when it first ran.
I got to Kodansha about 2 minutes late, but managed to see most of their big announcements. A Sailor Moon art book is due out in 2013. Japan is putting together this one with material from some of the previous artbooks, along with new art. It’s coming out in different countries, each of which will have country-specific art. Including North America. There’s also a box set collecting Sailor Moon 1-6 for those who haven’t gotten it yet. (Due to differing paper stock, they can’t offer it as a box only.) I also asked about the two short story volumes – Dallas said they will be releasing them after the series proper finishes. So rest assured Minako will be farting soon.
Fairy Tail is getting a speedup, it’s going monthly in print starting with V. 24, and faster in digital form, so it can catch up with Japan.
Then we got the new licenses. No. 6 is the first, a shoujo/josei manga from Kodansha’s Aria, which has some interesting alternative titles for young women. It’s a sci-fi dystopia with lots of conspiracy and thriller elements. Sankarea, a zombie romantic comedy from Bessatsu Shonen Magazine was also announced. I don’t know much about it, but it apparently has a cute if disturbing pillow plushie out in Japan already. And – at last – there is Vinland Saga, a seinen title from the author of Planetes that runs in Afternoon. Fans have been begging for this for years.
Kodansha also noted that Air Gear is going to get omnibused starting in May, with three to a volume. Lastly, for those who were wondering about the reissue of Battle Angel Alita Last Order (which moved from Shueisha to Kodansha, and this from Viz), it will have some new content for every volume as well.
JManga was next up, and Robert Newman had plenty of giveaways that kept the audience excited – even screaming. Luckily, he also had plenty of new things to talk about. JManga 7 has debuted, with 40 volumes available and 80 by the end of the year. It will have new chapters before the volumes come out for some selected titles, and they are trying to make it as un region-locked as possible.
They announced four more Del Rey license rescues, which they note they will finish. My Heavenly Hockey Club, Gakuen Prince, Fairy Navigator Runa, and Yozakura Quartet. I was pleased to see Gakuen Prince, as I wonder just how low it can go after the first three volumes.
A new title from Shodensha, Omae ga Sekai o Kowashitai nara, which will be released translated as If You Wanna Destroy the World. It debuted in Sony Magazine’s Kimi to Boku, but was picked up by Shodensha and moved to their Feel Young josei magazine.
Some more shoujo from Shueisha! In addition to the previously announced Pride and Crazy for You, they announced My Sweet Dragon, a 7+-volume shoujo series from Betsuma, about a priestess’s daughter who awakens a sleeping dragon – or dragon boy, at least. There’s also Yasuko to Kenji, another Betsuma series about a feuding brother and sister and their intertwining love affairs.
Robert Newman from JManga then put up a quick ‘and also these!’ slide, but only mentioned a few. One I noticed was Teekyu, an Earth Star title I’d mentioned in my license request last week. The biggie was probably Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers), a yuri title that many have been waiting for that runs in Ohta Shuppan’s Manga Erotics F. Neko Ramen and Elemental Gelade are both license rescues. There was also a few titles Robert just showed, which looked to me to be various BL and yuri one-shots.
Robert discussed the Manga Translation Battle, which is now closed, and noted how popular it was. He then called for questions. Kadokawa’s titles were asked about, and Robert admitted they were there for informational purposes only – there aren’t any to purchase as of yet. My favorite question was about why they shouldn’t just go to Onemanga. I suppose you have to admire the gall. The answer was essentially “because that’s stealing”, only far more polite.
A break to recharge, and then off to Yen Press. Yen had a few issues before they even began. Due to various snafus, their panel was last minute. As a result, they were on the open-air unbound stage, and thus competing with some very loud competition. The panel also conflicted with Shonen Jump Alpha, so I only caught the first 10 minutes. Luckily, their announcements were all at the front, and I thank them for tolerating me taking off so fast.
Among the Japanese acquisitions were Doubt (which had previously been busted via an Amazon solicit), a horror/thriller with rabbit masks. It will be released in 2 omnibuses. Madoka Magica did incredibly well for them, one of the best sellers of the year, so they’ve managed to get the two spinoff sequels, Kazumi Magica and Oriko Magica, both of which ran in Houbunsha’s Manga Time Kirara Forward. Speaking of Houbunsha, they’ve announced the 2 remaining K-On! volumes, one dealing with Yui and friends in college, the other with Azusa’s new band in high school. Seeing that Alice in the Country of Hearts did well, they also found another Wonderland-style manga from Ichijinsha’s josei magazine Comic Zero-Sum. This is called Are You Alice?, and stars a young boy who ends up taking the name of Alice and getting embroiled in assassinations.
They’re doing a Soul Eater artbook, which will also have some B-Ichi stuff in it, and will have all the color pages from Gangan’s magazine chapters. They also noted the Collector’s Edition hardcovers of High School of the Dead were so popular they’re finishing the series, with help from Japan and also featuring some artbook-like extras. Lastly, they announced Square Enix was partnering with them to release titles digitally outside of SE’s own page, and so we can look forward to that soon.
I then booked over to the Shonen Jump Alpha panel, which had a long line, so it was likely for the best. The only new announcements were what we already knew about, Takamagahara and Cross Manage. That said, the BIG news was they are finally going day/date with Japan, and once that happens we should see more new titles. So don’t give up all hope, Medaka Box fans! They also discussed their digital starter packs, the 2013 Yearbook which goes out to subscribers this December, and some Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
I had mentioned I was gong to ask Katsura-san about why he’s so fixated on asses. Turns out I didn’t need to – once introduced, the panel brought it up constantly, and even said Dragon Ball’s creator Toriyama said he was famous for them. I was really starting to burn out at this point, so my notes are sparser. But I was impressed with his telling potential manga artists not to read manga, as it might make them too influenced. He also suggested reading manga they hate! He was asked about writing for shonen, and talked about Jump’s known obsession with the popularity rankings in the magazine. With seinen titles like Zetman, he doesn’t have to worry about that so much. He doesn’t use his own experience for his romance manga, but just tries to imagine how real teenagers would think. The panel also had heard that he was a fan of Western Comics, but this wasn’t true – he just watches the movie adaptations!
And then I staggered to the hotel to type this all up. Tomorrow is a very small day, but stay tuned to see what Viz Media has to say.
by Sean Gaffney
Today was, frankly, an exhausting day at NYCC, so let’s go right to the details of said day.
Started off with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund panel. They’re actually doing a 2nd panel on Sunday (which I can’t make), but this was their general panel giving a history of comic censorship and litigation in North America. It went through the topics one would expect – Seduction of the Innocent, Bill Gaines’ testimony, R. Crumb and the underground movement – but Charles Brownstein is an excellent speaker and made it all seem fresh. Because it was pro-artist, history sometimes downplays the disaster that Gaines’ testimony ended up being. As the years have gone by, litigators have gone from arresting retailers, to artists, and now to readers such as Ryan Matheson – who will be at NYCC this Sunday to tell his story.
After this I had ‘Editors on Editing’ on my schedule, but I’d already covered a very similar panel yesterday. So I briefly dropped by to see Sir Terry Pratchett, who was promoting his new non-Discowrld book Dodger. Unfortunately, they’d put Terry at an open stage, with lots of other loud con activity going on around the hall. It led to severe volume problems unless you were right near him. I could only stay a few minutes, but Dodger sounds like a lot of fun – and reminds me I need to finish that reread of Oliver Twist.
Archie promised to be full up, so I ducked into the panel before it, which was on Digital Pricing. This was very much a North American comics discussion, with no mention of JManga or the manga publishing apps. They discussed trying to experiment further as the tech improves, with things like Motion Comics, etc. DRM was a large part of the discussion – people are very paranoid a lost license will mean their content will be removed and they’ll lose it, unlike print. The creators, you could tell, got what the audience was saying, but they aren’t giving in – DRM and Cloud is how they control piracy. “People like to own things” is not really enough of an argument to them. That said, the panel ended on an upbeat note as they talked about the next big challenges, discoverability and manageability. Indexing and sorting comics, as well as making sure people can find and acquire them with ease.
Archie then came barreling in, giving out its traditional free bag of publications. The real reason to go to these, however, is the panel itself – Archie knows how to put on a show, no matter who the publicity director is, and they also known how to make their enthusiasm contagious. On the panel were stalwarts John Goldwater, Victor Gorelick, and Dan Parent, as well as Michael Uslan, Batman producer and the mind behind the Archie Marries series that led to Life With Archie’s soap-opera magazine reboot.
Archie had a pile of stuff to talk about. The new Betty and Veronica artbook, which looks gorgeous. A line of Archie Cosmetics, out soon in Department stores and MAC stores. Best of Archie Book 2 is out (I bought that at the exhibit hall earlier), with more classic stories over all 6 decades of the show. Sadly, there’s more Super Duck in it as well. Archie Meets Glee is out next year, on the heels of Archie Meets KISS. They noted it was very easy to slot the Glee cast into the Archie mode. There’s an Archie Mobile Game due out soon, for phones and tablets, that sounds very much like your typical Japanese datesim (though no doubt squeaky clean). You go after Betty or Veronica, and your choices end up affecting how the other girl sees you. Should be out in the Spring.
It’s Sabrina’s 50th anniversary, and there’s a digital exclusive 50 Stories book out now at Archie’s digital site. They showed some test footage for a new Sabrina cartoon that’s in the works for Summer 2013, which is big on thrills and adventure. It’ll be on The Hub. Tania Del Rio’s manga-style Sabrina is getting collected into 4 graphic novels, the first of which will be out in February. Great news for those who loved her take on Sabrina.
At this point the announcements were coming even faster than I could type them. Kevin Keller will meet George Takei in his series. More Storybook Land Archie, with the gang as characters from nursery rhymes and other such literature. A new Josie comic is due in 2013. In Life with Archie, we’ll see Josie as well, and Kevin Keller will be running for Senate. Little Archie is getting a cartoon series. Married Life Book 3 will be out soon. They’re doing foreign editions of their digital apps – Archie in 13 different languages, including Chinese and Japanese, and also comics in Singapore. Even Hindi!
New Crusaders had a motion comic intro, and it’s very superhero-ish. There’s also a Sonic/Megaman crossover coming. To my surprise, this had never been attempted before. Q&A then occurred, with fans asking about the Jughead series (a reimagining of the series is coming next year), Katy Keene returning, Dilton getting a short series. Archie Marries Valerie will be getting a collection, of course – they noted it was the easiest of the three to write, and an audience member said their chemistry was “scorching”. Many happy Kevin fell in love – “He needs to get some” was called the takeaway quote of the panel. An interesting question about whether other countries would be unhappy with, say, Kevin. They note they can auto-detect countries and try to keep in mind any sensitive political/censorship issues. And, of course, someone asked about Jughead and romance. The panel merely laughed. As always, great fun was had by all.
After that long diversion, it was time to get back to manga, as it was Vertical’s panel. Ed walked us through the most recent announcements, then broke out the two premiere ones. Twin Knight is the sequel to Tezuka’s shoujo classic Princess Knight, though ironically it appeared 5 years before the rewritten PK that Vertical actually released – Tezuka redid his seminal series in 1963. Twin Knight ran in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi in 1958, and stars Sapphire’s twin children, who end up running into the same enemies and have to deal with the same gender-bending issues.
Ed’s other new license is a far more adult tome, this one from famed josei publisher Shodensha. Helter Skelter is an award-winning work from the magazine Feel Young, written by Kyoko Okazaki. This was a popular license request, and fans talked it up enough that Vertical went out and got it. A harrowing look at the fashion industry and what steps the heroine will take to crawl to the top of it, this is a mature work that is a “very Vertical” sort of release.
Some other details were provided about titles previously mentioned. Paradise Kiss 2 and 3 will have additional color pages. Flowers of Evil is doing better than they expected, Ed called it a “sleeper hit”, and noted its 7th volume just came out recently. It also has an anime out soon. Ed noted that Limit is the sort of shoujo work you don’t see picked up here too often, very much a thriller/horror piece. Gundam the Origin had the audience very excited – Ed noted the creator removed a lot of the dumb comedy and slapstick from the story, leaving it as a tense serious mecha piece. The books will be hardcover and gorgeous, but also limited – no reprints, get them right away. 11 volumes total. Wolfsmund is apparently a retelling of the William Tell legend, and the artist was previously an assistant on both Emma and Berserk. I jokingly asked if the series combined the two, but Ed said it felt like it did! The artist has Mori’s sense of impeccable research.
After this came Q&A. I asked about digital manga, they’re working on it. They want to do something other than an app like the other publishers. They also said that some of their novels are out digitally.
After a quick bite for dinner, I went to JManga’s author spotlight panel, which featured the artist of SoreMachi, Masakazu Ishiguro, and the editor at Young King OURS, Masahiro Ohno. This was a very relaxed, laid back panel and both guests were in a great mood. There were also many giveaways (the audience was quite loud). SoreMachi has 9 volumes on JManga, with the 10th due out soon. Ishiguro also does art for other writers. I was interested to hear that he enjoys series, but found that he excelled at short story format when he replaced other artists who were unable to meet deadlines. One of his Short Story collections, Present for Me, also just hit JManga. He then did some live art, a picture of Kon-senpai from SoreMachi, which impressed me with its speed.
Q&A began with some questions from Robert. We were all amused to hear that Ishiguro-san did a lot of his art while soaking in the bath, which led to a few bath-related questions. I asked Ohno about how they view the NA market – Shonen Gahosha has a lot of licenses over here through a variety of publishers. He said they do think of the Japanese audience first and foremost, but he’s interested in seeing what other countries’ artists could provide – you can submit some art to info@jmanga.com and they’ll forward it to him. And he’s another in a long line of popular manga artists who grew up loving Fujiko Fujio and Doraemon.
The last panel of the day I attended was Udon’s, which was moderated by Comics212’s Chris Butcher, who is their marketing director. I was intrigued to hear that Udon does a lot of stuff totally unrelated to artbooks and Capcom, which they dub “creative services”. Art for Sucker Punch, advertizing art for Inception, World of Warcraft artwork. They work closely with companies to comb through the old vaults looking for content. They’re doing that with Namco right now. They also use their Deviantart page heavily (under UdonCrew), and the audience seemed enthused about this.
The Evangelion artbooks got a lot of positive attention, as did the Read or Die artbook, which I’ll definitely be taking a look at. The Haruhi-ism artbook apparently had some extra colors used in Japan – moren than the usual 4-color – and so they’re taking the time to use that color as well over here, noting the vibrancy jumps out at you. Speaking of Haruhi, they announced two more artbooks here at NYCC. Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter are, as you might guess, themed along seasons, and deal with anime-style art as seen in Newtype and such (whereas Haruhi-ism is devoted to Ito’s artwork). Those will be out in Spring/Autumn 2013.
They also announced a Growlancer artbook, which should appeal to Plastic Nipple… um, sorry, Plastic Little fans, as it’s by Urushihara. They do note that this is a PG-13 title, and not adult like some of the artist’s other works. There were 3 Vocaloid character-specific artbooks announced, which provides some rare official merchandizing for that media empire. Lastly, they’re teaming up with Blizzard for a World of Warcraft tribute book – similar to the Street Fighter ones – which will solicit artwork from artists to include. They’re expecting thousands of submissions. The dates are 11-1 – 1/15, if folks are interested.
And then I had to duck out, so apologies to Chris and company. Tomorrow will have even more news! Can I possibly survive? Well, yes, but to do so I will need sleep, which I will now go and do.
by Sean Gaffney
The two panels I went to on “Day 0” of New York Comic Con didn’t have any manga content, but definitely contained points of interest, particularly to me.
First I dropped by the “Editing Graphic Novels” panel, which was hosted by Heidi McDonald of Publisher’s Weekly, and featured editors from Vertigo, Lerner, First Second, Yen, and Oni. Yen talked about their Interview with the Vampire tie-in, and how to match a good artist with a story. This is, in fact, the artist’s first work. They also mentioned Nightschool, and noted Svetlana had “too many ideas” – even after pruning, it was still 4 books instead of the original 3!
Vertigo is an old hand at this sort of thing, and mentioned their new GN Right State. A graphic novel lets them get away from the ’22 pages then a cliffhanger’ problem that floppies have. Right State is political, and was timed to come out near the election. They also talked about Colleen Doran’s new work she’s doing art for, Gone to Amerikay, which is historical but also relevant to today’s world, something Karen Berger (Vertigo’s speaker) tries to work with.
Oni Press mentioned Crogan’s Vengeance, which is also a historical-themed manga with pirates. This artist actually had the first book completely thumbnailed when it was sold – when he did the third book, needing an outline first was a bit vexing. Naturally, Scott Pilgrim also came up. The editor considers it one 1200-page book that had to be put out in 6 parts. Also, as the series grew the editor was promoted, and had to find a balance between editing and the administrative aspect of Oni.
Lerner is a school and library publisher, so are usually looking for educational or younger comics. A Game of Swallows is a memoir of one harrowing night in Beirut, and was translated, but barely needed any editing. They noted they do sometimes have to censor, due to age groups – breasts, etc – but they were allowed to leave the guns in this story, of course. They also mentioned Chicagoland Detective Agency, which had the funniest part of the panel, as they came up with a ridiculous premise… that the execs loved, so they had to find a writer. Luckily, Trina Robbins loved the idea as well. Its artist is a webcomic artist, so had to adjust to the different ways of working – there’s actual editing this time! They also discussed how to give feedback and criticism to “a famous person” such as Trina.
First Second talked about its GN Sumo, and noted the way that mini-comics can be a good stepping stone to finding out if an artist can work with deadlines and larger publishers. The author, who did not really know how print runs worked, suggested each copy be hand bound – and that he could do it if needed. They talked him down from that. There’s also a comic due out next Spring, Relish – My Life In The Kitchen. It’s a biographical memoir that uses food as a bit of a mnemonic, and also has recipes.
Smaller publishers noted they mostly get creator-driven ideas, rather than farming ideas out. They also discussed working under the umbrella of a much larger company – such as First Second with MacMillan, or Vertigo with DC/Time Warner. They get to blame the “corporate overlords”. Lastly, there was a discussion of how to refer to what an editor does. Someone suggested it’s like the director/producer of a movie, and “project manager” is one one editor referred to it. More importantly, it’s a relationship between an editor and a creator – you have to make it work, know how to deal with people.
After this invigorating discussion, I waited for Hasbro’s My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic panel. At the panel were Hasbro Execs Mike Vogel and Brian Lenard, producer Jason Thiessen and writer Meghan McCarthy. I had thought, given it was a Thursday panel, that it would be more marketing oriented. Nope, this was pure 100% fan panel. They got the ball rolling by discussing Equestria itself. The show isn’t a serial, but there’s a lot of world building within the self-contained episodes. They like to do subtle visual cues that point to future episodes, rather than have actual continuity. They also like that the new series is its own thing, and doesn’t reference the earlier 80s series. Hasbro gets premises and outlines to approve, and notes they do listen to the audience – though they will not be crossing over with Transformers. They discussed doing something with a human element to it (as in actual humans in the show), but it didn’t seem to fit. It’s a magical fantasy world, so they try to keep it low tech. Unless they don’t – see the DJ equipment, etc.
It’s a mythological based world, which helps to make the show timeless – Twilight Sparkle will not be using Twitter. They also do have sometimes heated discussions about the show with Hasbro, much more than any other Hasbro property. (A clip from Hearth’s Warming Eve played here). They want to explore more of Celestia and Luna’s past, and note that there are three separate “pasts” in the show – Hearth’s Warming Eve, Discord, and Nightmare Moon – that aren’t worked out beforehand, but they try to fit together. This was not planned out in detail from the start. (At this point they joked about how it’s OK if they spoil Season 12, and noted Rarity and Spike were married after Equestria passed the Pony/Dragon Marriage Act.)
Not all the animals talk, and it was noted that what they try to convey is that it’s the “hooved animals” who can speak, while others, such as Angel Bunny, are mute/more of a normal animal type. They then discussed ensemble darkhorses, and showed a clip of Luna from Luna Eclipsed. Fans adore Luna, even though she’s barely appeared. Octavia took them entirely by surprise – they had no idea fans latched onto her. Vinyl Scratch, on the other hand, they knew would be loved. It’s all part of “the circle of pony”.
Discord, with a clip from The Return of Harmony. Dragonequus is unique to the series, and was designed by Lauren, who also suggested/requested John DeLancie in the role. It was the perfect combination of design, animation and voice acting. They noted DeLancie acts with his body like a stage actor, so sometimes managed to exhaust himself. There was lots of bits they had to cut out with Delancie, and Hasbro hinted it may be on a future DVD release. They also discussed him returning, though this read more like a troll.
Other villains were discussed, with a clip of Chrysalis from A Canterlot Wedding. Meghan scripted it, but was blown away by what the designer came up with – the holes in the legs, etc. Someone asked that she be made larger. The panel then teased about things Jason and Meghan wanted to write about in future. The griffon society was mentioned, insofar as we know nothing about their society. Luna’s abandoned moon colony? Is there something beyond Equestria? All things not yet written down (so not spoilers), but food for thought. Equestria’s map was deliberately left with unfinished bits so they could fill this in.
We then got a spoiler clip with the Crystal Empire, which I won’t spoil here, except to say that Pinkie Pie continues to be very Pinkie Pie.
They then opened the floor to questions, and discussed Lauren’s creating the pony personalities as archetypes, which makes them easy and fun to work with. Someone asked if the new season was only 13 episodes – rather than answer, Hasbro noted that everyone adores the show, and that episode number has nothing to do with popularity. Hasbro loved that this is an all-ages show that kids as well as adults can enjoy – they compare it to Pixar. Gilda was asked about, she simply hasn’t come up again yet. Star Swirl the Bearded would be hard to work with, given he’s in the past. If only they had a world with magic in it… The panel agreed that Fighting Is Magic looked really cool, though Hasbro of course cannot officially admit they have seen the awesome gameplay.
They love the bronies, but also like that they’re just a piece of an even larger all-encompassing fandom. Jason lives next to two young boys who wanted Rarity toys for their birthday, so they’re also crossing gender barriers at a young age. Even the Hasbro interns, who were very grudging about having to watch this, admitted they loved the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Official Video games and RPG-style FIM was brought up, Hasbro gave a ‘sounds like a good idea’ response. A fan asked about Fluttershy, Applejack and Scootaloo’s parents, and got no real answer, though it was noted when asked about Cadence and Shining Armor’s marriage having difficulties that that would have to be “A very special episode.”
A soundtrack CD was also brought up, and they’re considering it. Someone noted certain comparisons between Hearts and Hooves Day and Discord, and Jason noted “you know, we only do these panels with you guys to get ideas for future episodes.” They like to use Greek mythology, but note that they can also dip into other things. They are VERY excited about IDW’s upcoming comic series, and note that they’re working closely to make sure it “feels like Pony”. Pinkie Pie’s parents were brought up. “They’re still farming rocks. The rocks must keep flowing.”
Movie? “Mmmmmmaybe.” Broadway was also mentioned, the panel laughed. It was also noted that, despite using Flash rather than hand-drawn animation, it still took a great deal of time and effort. It’s all still frame by frame. They want to explore the nature of the “monarchy”, and how the power structure works. Lastly, Alicorns were brought up (or ‘pegacorns’, as they apparently called them before fans used alicorn so often they gave up and switched it in the scripts). They’re “special” ponies who will rarely be seen. Celestia’s age was not mentioned exactly, but it’s noted she is at least 1000, and looks fantastic for her age.
It was a fantastic Day 0, even with only two panels. Tomorrow, the manga coverage begins.
by Sean Gaffney
If you thought last week was tiny, wait till you get a load of this week. Tiny tiny tiny. (I blame Yen for shipping a week later than usual.)
Kodansha has the 2nd omnibus of the popular shoujo title Kitchen Princess.
Speaking of omnibuses, Viz has the 9th Tenjo Tenge omnibus, showing that we’re getting near the end. And they also have Vol. 4 of March Story, which has a Korean creator but runs in a Japanese magazine, so is manga in my opinion.
That’s it. Not even enough to make bad jokes about. Anything?
by Sean Gaffney
By Karuho Shiina. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Margaret (“Betsuma”). Released in North America by JManga.
I will admit, JManga is very good at planning their surprises. I had thought the big news for NYCC would be the Kodansha rescues, where they picked up several old Del Rey series that sold poorly enough that Kodansha Comics didn’t want to continue them, and are going to finish them off on the JManga site. And that is indeed very awesome news. But they followed it up with new, unreleased in North America titles from another of the ‘untouchable’ publishers that everyone assumed was supporting JManga quietly without actually giving them anything. Shueisha has added two older shoujo titles that Viz presumably doesn’t have an interest in, and I couldn’t be happier. Especially as one of them is an earlier series from the author of Kimi ni Todoke.
The first 3/4 of this volume is, quite simply, warm fuzzy fluffy shoujo romance. The heroine is Sachi, who is bright, bubbly, and eager to experience life, whatever it may be. She’s naive to a fault, but otherwise is quite different from Sawako, Shiina’s other heroine. Her more down-to-earth friend Akemi is arranging a get together so Sachi and her other friends can meet some guys Akemi’s boyfriend knows (the curse of all-girl schools). While there, she sees Yuki, a somewhat passive yet handsome guy, and falls almost instantly in love. The problem is that Yuki has issues. Will she be able to get through to his true self and show him her feelings? And is she really ready for love herself?
Sachi is an interesting heroine, at once incredibly naive and yet aware of her own naivete. At times in this volume she sets herself up to be hurt, knowing that even if she does it will be a good life experience and make her a stronger person. She’s also able to see that Yuki is a deeply wounded young man, though she’s unable to see exactly what those wounds are. After he initially rejects her (we suspect as she’s not the sort of girl he can casually date and drop), they become friends, but Sachi is still trying to show how much she cares for him. There’s a very awkward yet warm tone to their conversations that KnT fans will find familiar.
So, we get a cute bubbly girl and a quiet guy whose mask hides his loneliness and true feelings. We also have the cute beta couple of Akemi and her boyfriend, and another guy, Akahoshi, who is another shoujo cliche, the guy who initially is annoyed by the girl’s ditziness, but starts to fall for her as he realizes she has a truly good heart. It’s all very cute but slight. But this is six volumes long, not one, and we realize that something has to go wrong. The last 15 pages or so are a total mood swing, turning violent and dramatic, and end with a brutal cliffhanger. I suspect Volume 2 will be a lot less happy and fluffy.
(I actually liked the way all the players came together. Kimi ni Todoke’s main romantic pairings all tend to happen in parallel to each other, with no intersections (except maybe Kent). This is a giant messy pile of friendships and relationships.)
I’ve said this before about other titles, but again, this is what I want to see JManga doing. A nice, solid shoujo title that other publishers aren’t going to bother with. It doesn’t quite hit the heights of Kimi ni Todoke (the art, in particular, is less elegant and more typical shoujo), but it has a likeable heroine and an addictive plot. I want to know what happens next. Good thing Vol. 2 is also out now.
by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ 1 Comment
SEAN: It’s a mild second week at Midtown, leading to a somewhat mild choice of picks for the week. I’ll go with the first omnibus volume of Girl Friends, which JManga released digitally last year. Seven Seas is doing its own edition with a different translation. I’m happy to buy it again, as I like reading paper volumes, but it’s also a fun story. One might argue that it’s a bit too cute and fluffy – this is a far cry from angsty 70s shoujo series where one girl always has to die – but honestly I’m happy to sacrifice that for some happy endings. Not that there isn’t a fair share of fretting to be found here, but this is seinen yuri, not shoujo—so the moe is ascendant. Good stuff.
MICHELLE: My vote’s going for the second volume of Punch Up!, which is actually by Shiuko Kano and not Hinako Takenaga (sic), as Midtown claims. This series from SuBLime isn’t really my usual cup of BL tea—nothing about it is sweet or adorable—and yet I am intrigued to see where it goes from here. Plus, there is a cat!
MJ: I’m making my pick a bit frantically today, as I prepare to travel for New York Comic Con, but the title that stands out for me most on the list this week is Viz’s omnibus release of Loveless, volumes one and two. I’m a fan of Yun Kouga in general, but this is a series I missed on its first go-around, so I’m grateful to have a chance to catch up to the newer volumes Viz is releasing as well! Definitely my must-buy of the week.
Readers, what looks good to you this week?
by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and MJ 1 Comment
This week, Michelle, MJ, and Sean look at recent releases from VIZ Media and Vertical, Inc.
The Drops of God: New World | By Tadashi Agi & Shu Okimoto | Vertical, Inc. – Rather than release a fifth volume of this series, which would’ve included volumes nine and ten of the original release, Vertical has jumped ahead to this New World arc (volumes 22 and 23 of the original), which focuses on wines from regions without a long-established winemaking tradition, particularly the US and Australia. It’s incredibly easy to jump back into the story even after a gap of over a dozen volumes, since so little changes with the characters., though Issei is a lot more prominent now and his hair has mysteriously gotten cuter. Highfalutin’ descriptions of wine still abound, and still make me roll my eyes with regularity, but there’s something captivating about this series that keeps me reading. Honestly, it’s more the sports manga-like themes of perseverence and presumed eventual triumph than the subject matter or the characters, but that’s enough for me. – Michelle Smith
The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 3 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – There are a number of scenarios I might have imagined coming out of the rather stunning final pages of the second volume of The Flowers of Evil, but this series continues to be fresh and surprising in just about every way. Oshimi’s characters refuse to fall into neat categories, while still managing to ring true—in fact they feel truer with each page. Volume three is unexpectedly moving as Kasuga comes to the surprisingly insightful realization that putting his dream girl on a pedestal is not the same thing as loving her, and as all three of the series’ main characters are faced with truths they weren’t quite prepared for. If this series’ first volume read mainly as “better than Sundome” its third proves that it is really so much more. Highly recommended. – MJ
Jiu Jiu, Vol. 2 | By Touya Tobina | VIZ Media – After being so thoroughly unimpressed with the first volume of Jiu Jiu, I wasn’t expecting much from the second volume. Perhaps, then, my low expectations are the reason that I somehow now feel more kindly disposed towards the series, even though it’s still pretty generic and aimless and has weirdly proportioned art. I haven’t been moved to care more about Takamichi, Snow, and Night as characters, but I don’t hate the plot wherein the boys/dogs want to assert their independence, or that they’re prodded in this direction by Meru, a mischievous new character who spends part of his time in the form of a super-cute vampire pig. I hate to think a vampire pig is all it takes to sway me, but at least it’s something unique, which this series desperately needed. – Michelle Smith
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 11 | By Hiroshi Shiibashi | VIZ Media – In a contest for ‘Jump manga that varies most in quality’, Nura may not have any serious competition. This particular volume is mostly one long battle, which I generally don’t like to begin with, and unfortunately the author does not manage to save much of it from excessive tedium. There’s a focus in the middle on Awashima, who changes sex depending on whether it’s light or dark (so is rather grumpy about the darkness of Kyoto, keeping her female all the time), which is meant to show her accepting both sides of her, I think, but simply reads as an annoying diversion. At least towards the end we get a really nasty bad guy, who proceeds to take all our heroes and crumple them into little balls of failure. I suspect Nura will get his revenge in Vol. 12, hopefully in a more interesting way. -Sean Gaffney
The Story of Saiunkoku, Vol. 8 | By Kairi Yura and Sai Yukino | VIZ Media – It really is startling how much I’ve come to love this series. I think it’s the fact that all the court intrigue and scheming is presented in both a positive *and* negative light, with the best schemers winning because they are smarter and more devious than the bad guy. This is a series that has a lot of handsome men relying on people underestimating them, which is nice but means the author has to have them be savvy enough to back that up. It works very well here. Our heroine Shurei does very well keeping up with everyone, and is starting to chip away at the ‘she is a woman and therefore weak’ attitude in the court. Well, given the last chapter, she’s going to get a lot more chances to do that in the future. All this plus a tiny bit of romance again. Saiunkoku is simply a great story, full stop. -Sean Gaffney
Toriko, Vol. 12 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – Toriko fares much better than Nura this time around, mostly as it’s between arcs and has therefore gotten away from the standard Jump ‘2-3 volumes of people punching each other hard’ syndrome. Instead, we get to see the results of Century Soup, and then set out on a new arc, as Toriko is told he’s not really strong enough yet to take on the Gourmet World. So he does some training by climbing a ten-thousand-meter plus vine to a sky garden with the best vegetables in the world. Actually, Komatsu is the one who really impresses here – not that he does anything, but his simple willingness to carry on is amazing. Toriko is all about world building, which is what makes it so much fun – the combination of food, fighting, and larger than life characters. I also suspect our hero is in for some harsh reality soon, though… -Sean Gaffney