News

2009 Best/Worst Picks at Manga Recon!

December 16, 2009 by MJ 1 Comment

The big news in my world today (and what kept me working down to the wire last night) is Our Favorite Manga of 2009, a list of the worst/best manga of the year as perceived by those of us on the Manga Recon staff. As I reflect on my list this morning, I’m mainly struck by all the fantastic series I was unable to find room for, both continuing series like NANA, Nodame Cantabile, We Were There, Goong, and Fullmetal Alchemist, as well as new series like Children of the Sea and Detroit Metal City. If only I could have mentioned Flower of Life, which finally concluded its short run this year, charming me at every moment!

The best thing about these lists, however, is how greatly they vary. Sure, there are a few titles that appear over and over but there are more that don’t, and some on which we quite pointedly disagree. Take Yen Press’ Nabari No Ou, for example, listed by me as “Best Manga That You Thought You Would Hate” and by Michelle as “Biggest Disappointment.” Wanna watch us duke it out? Check out the list for yourself!

NANA Project 4!

December 15, 2009 by MJ 2 Comments

For those who have been following The NANA Project or those who’d like to start, please join Danielle Leigh, Michelle Smith, and me over at Comics Should Be Good for our discussion of NANA volumes 7 & 8! Due to the events in these volumes, discussion revolves heavily around Hachi, Takumi, Nobu, and Nana, with just a teeeensy rant from Danielle on the subject of Ren and Yasu. These are a couple of pretty intense volumes encompassing events that range from euphoric to absolutely devastating, so you can imagine that the three of us have quite a bit to say. Fans of Takumi will enjoy Michelle’s near-defection to their side. Anti-fans will prefer my stubborn refusal to go along with. Either way, there is plenty to dig into, so please join us in comments!

For previous discussions, see Projects one, two, and three!

DMP BL Giveaway Winners Announced!

December 14, 2009 by MJ 1 Comment

We’ve gone a couple of days past the promised date, I realize, but the results are finally here! Better late than never, I hope? In any case, the winners of my Digital Manga BL giveaway (drawn randomly from a tupperware bowl by a visiting friend) are as follows:

Iris Sipos has won a copy of Brilliant Blue, Vol. 1!
Judi Weierhauser has won a copy of Tricky Prince!
The Moon In Autumn has won a copy of Love Knot!

Winners should e-mail mj@mangabookshelf.com with their names and mailing addresses in order to receive their books.

A post listing everyone’s fantastic BL recommendations is forthcoming, sometime in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, congratulations to the winners! Also, many thanks to Digital Manga Publishing for providing books for this giveaway!

Lucky Star, Vol. 1

December 9, 2009 by MJ 3 Comments

Good morning all! My big news for the day is my debut as a guest reviewer at Deb Aoki’s manga blog! To check it out, head on over to about.com where you’ll find Deb’s introduction, followed by my review of Kagami Yoshimizu’s Lucky Star, volume one.

As a pretty enthusiastic fan of the anime series, I was excited when Bandai announced they’d licensed the manga as well. Unfortunately, their first volume turned out to be a fairly stunning lesson on the importance of effective translation. For those who still haven’t read Matt Thorn’s recent smackdown on the state of translation in the manga industry, now would be a good time. On a positive note, the third volume of Lucky Star (which I have here in my possession) displays a change in translation credit I think many will find heartening. I know I do.

Many thanks to Deb for this opportunity! Read my full review here!

Yen Press publishes Gossip Girl adaptation

December 4, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

I’ve never read Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl series. I’ve never even seen the television adaptation. So why is this announcement so exciting to me? I’ll tell you why. Yen Press’ adaptation is being written and illustrated by manhwa-ga HyeKyung Baek, author of Bring it On! (among others), a highly enjoyable manhwa series originally brought to English-speaking readers by IceKunion and now part of Yen Press’ extensive manhwa catalogue.

Whether Baek’s adaptation can have the same impact as the original novels or the very popular TV series obviously remains to be seen, but this seems like a smart move on Yen Press’ part and I’m frankly thrilled that they continue to turn to talented Korean artists for so many of these projects. Furthermore, this license is very much in step with other recent acquisitions, particularly Lisi Harrison’s The Clique. …

Harlequin manga comes to eManga.com!

December 4, 2009 by MJ 1 Comment

Earlier this year, I took a tour of eManga.com and though my experience was overall a very positive one, the one thing I wished for was more content. Well, it looks like DMP is making that wish come true, though time will tell if this is content I’ll truly enjoy. Never having been a fan of Harlequin romances, my immediate reaction was on the negative side, but that judgement is far from fair. I’ve never read any Harlequin manga and it’s only right that I give it a shot! With eManga’s recently announced weekend promo (thanks, Michelle!) this is surely the time to start!

Regardless of my own tastes, it seems likely that this is a good move for eManga. With their primary focus being boys’ love manga, romance is clearly key and I’d expect the audiences for both types of romance to overlap quite a bit. For more insight, you may want to take a look at reviews from those who have been reading Harlequin manga, like Julie at Manga Maniac Cafe, Bamboo Dong at Anime News Network, and Craig Johnson at Manga Life. Meanwhile, check out DMP’s press release for more details:…

Season of Giving

November 23, 2009 by MJ 4 Comments

First of all, a quick link to a fantastic manhwa giveaway over at Good Comics for Kids! Five readers will each win a full set of the Kim Dong Hwa’s The Color of… trilogy from First Second Books. See this post for details!

Secondly, I’m doing a holiday giveaway here as well! Thanks to the generous folks at DMP, I have extra copies of three boys’ love volumes, Tricky Prince, Love Knot, and (my personal favorite of the three) volume one of Brilliant Blue!

To win, send an e-mail to mj@mangabookshelf.com including your name and the name of one boys’ love manga or manhwa you think I should read. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. The giveaway runs from today through December 11th, 2009. Winners will be chosen at random and announced here on December 12th. All the suggested boys’ love titles will be compiled for posting as well!

Hooray for the season of giving!

Claymore 15 & a little link-blogging

November 10, 2009 by MJ 6 Comments

To start things off, I have a review of volume fifteen of Claymore in this week’s Manga Minis column at Manga Recon. Before the eye-rolling begins over the high grades I’ve given recent volumes of Claymore, I’d like to say that I think it has really come into its own as a strong dark fantasy series and that those who dismissed it after the first few volumes are genuinely missing out. It’s true that I’m a patient reader and may enjoy a slow-burning series more than most. I love to watch multiple layers revealed over time, forcing me to continuously re-evaluate what the story is really about, and though it may seem a bit late in the game for the author to begin revealing those layers twelve or thirteen volumes in, in this case I think it’s well worth the wait. There aren’t many series from Viz’s Shonen Jump Advanced line that have endured for me as well as this one. It’s definitely worth a second look….

NANA Project #3!

October 16, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

Just a couple of quick links this morning as I sit in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for my flight home. First of all, the third installment of the NANA Project is up, in which Danielle Leigh, Michelle Smith and I discuss volumes five and six of NANA. In this installment, we focus heavily on the addition of Trapnest to the regular cast of characters, and particularly Hachi’s involvement with Takumi. If you’re new to the Project, check out our discussion of volumes one, two, three, & four and please, join us in comments!

In other offsite news, check out my review of Kamichama Karin Chu, volume 4 in this week’s manga minis, and look for my review of the second volume of Rasetsu soon in an upcoming On The Shojo Beat column to be posted over the next couple of days. (ETA: Rasetsu review is up!)

Homeward bound!

Welcome to Manga Bookshelf!

October 4, 2009 by MJ 12 Comments

Yes, you’ve reached the new home of MJ’s Manga Bookshelf, formerly There it is, Plain as Daylight. Nothing is changing over here except for the new matching name and URL, so please continue to join me for my manga reviews and discussion!

My new RSS feed is can be found here. Please note, too, my updated e-mail address.

You may find things here that still point to the old blog. I’m updating them as quickly as possible. Please let me know if you encounter any difficulties. The old blog will definitely remain but mainly for personal use, so please adjust your links to keep up with all things manga!

Thanks, and welcome to the newest chapter in my blogging life!

Return from NYAF & a Manga Mini!

September 29, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

I’m finally back from NYAF, though it’s off to work straight away! I’ll be writing up coverage over the next couple of days but in the meantime, you can check out my review of the third volume of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei in yesterday’s Manga Minis column. This is a series many people have issues with in terms of how well it translates due to frequent in-jokes and obscure cultural references that are unlikely to be understood by western readers. Though this volume is probably the most difficult so far in that sense, I still found it readable and extremely enjoyable.

I had a great time at the convention and I have a lot to say about it, so stay tuned!

Traveling again!

September 24, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

Things are going to get quiet here again for a few days as I’ll be boarding an early morning (very early morning) train tomorrow to head out to the New York Anime Festival. I had a great time last year and I anticipate more of the same! NYAF is my kind of con. It’s conveniently located, reasonably sized, and attracts a decent number of manga publishers (though I weep at the lack of Yen Press representation this year!) and since this is its last year alone before teaming up with New York Comic-Con, there’s no way I’d miss it. It’s also close to my old stomping grounds, so I’m usually able to catch up with a friend or two while I’m in town.

If you’re also attending, please stop and say hello to me over the course of the weekend! I’m very much looking forward to meeting up with other manga bloggers, reviewers, and readers, so please don’t be shy (and try to ignore the fact that I am).

I’ll be back next week with news and stories to tell!

Out of "Office" Notification

September 13, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

I’m sure you’ve all noticed it’s been a bit quiet around here lately! I promise it won’t last much longer. I greet you today from Charlotte, North Carolina, where I am attending the Southeastern Theater Conference on behalf of the company I work for. The process here tends to be long and somewhat grueling, though I’ve brought plenty of manga to read during slow moments.

Packed in my bags are copies of Yotsuba&! volume six, NANA volume 18, Pluto volume 4, and many more, so you can look forward some (likely) glowing reviews upon my Wednesday return! Meanwhile, keep an eye on Twitter for updates both on-topic and off.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Out of “Office” Notification

September 13, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Celebrating Dorrie

September 6, 2009 by MJ 16 Comments

Please excuse this off-topic post but I must take a moment to talk about Dorrie, my beloved friend and companion for the past eighteen years. Today we lost her and though my heart is truly broken, I’d like to share with you all some of what made her so special.

I first met Dorrie when I was working as a waitress at a Mexican restaurant in New York’s financial district. Another waitress was looking for a home for a six month old kitten belonging to her little sister. The girl had stopped caring for the kitten and her mom was sick of dealing with it herself, so she planned to have the kitten put to sleep. Though I already had four cats and was not looking for another, I immediately said, “Bring me the cat!” The next day, she brought me a half-grown kitten named “Princess” in a cardboard box. I re-named her “Dorrie” (though she was occasionally referred to as “The Cat Formerly Known As Princess”), hopped on the subway, and brought her back to my apartment. Dorrie was named for a character in one of my favorite books, B.J. Chute’s Greenwillow. Greenwillow‘s Dorrie was a foundling, taken in and loved by two sisters who raised her as their own. I considered my Dorrie to be much the same.

Though Dorrie had clearly been abused in her former life and it took a lot of love and patience to get her through the trauma that had instilled in her, over the years she developed into the most friendly, loving, unique cat I have ever known. There has never been another like her.

According to legend (and by “legend” I mean “my husband”), Dorrie has been many things over the years, including (but not limited to) a film star, a pitcher for the Red Sox, leader of a nation, a licensed driver, reliable transportation (later upgraded), a presidential candidate, an express delivery service (man, I wish the Dorrie Express website was still up), a donkey, a hardened criminal, burger ingredients, meat pie, a superhero, an artist’s model (that’s actually real–thanks Ellen!), valid currency, an avid writer, omniscient, possibly evil, occasionally flabby, and… okay, I don’t actually remember what this was about, capable of mind-reading, speaking English, teleportation, writing fanfiction, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. She also kept my husband warm. She definitely loved the telephone and the Kitty Kat Komb, was creative about her seating choices, and occasionally felt hurt.

Most of all, though, she was our most dear, beloved cat. I will miss her more than I can possibly express, though I feel very lucky that she allowed me to share my life with her for eighteen wonderful years.

R.I.P. Dorrie 1991-2009