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NANA Project Special Edition!

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The NANA Project takes on a special topic this month (or rather, last month a little bit late), following some internet brouhaha around pages that were removed from volume four of Viz’s edition of NANA.

Join Danielle Leigh, Michelle Smith, and me over at Comics Should Be Good as we hash out trademark law, fan entitlement, publisher negligence, translation, adaptation, the meaning of “censorship,” and the power of “love.” And don’t forget to flame us in comments.

We’ll return in June with discussion of volumes 11 & 12 of NANA. Meanwhile, check out our special edition here!

Moving Day

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Hello readers! I’m going to be moving over the next week, which means updates here may be sporadic until we’re finally all in place (and with working internet service). One point of interest: I hadn’t quite realized just how large my manga collection had grown until I packed it all up this morning. Also, wow were those boxes heavy!

On deck we have the upcoming edition of Manhwa Monday as well as reviews of Ode to Kirihito, One Fine Day, Vol. 2, Hikaru no Go, Vol. 19 and as much more as I can manage in between all the hauling.

In the meantime, check out my blogroll for links to all of my favorite blogs.

More from Manga Bookshelf soon!

Mushishi Moveable Feast This Week!

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Manga Bookshelf has been on hiatus this week, thanks to an unexpected hospital stay for a key member of the household. We’ll be back on track starting tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out Ed Sizemore’s introductory post for this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, featuring one of my favorite series, Mushishi.

I have a lot to say about this series, and I admit I’ve already said quite a bit of it. I’ve reviewed two volumes of this series so far, volume six at Comics Should Be Good, and volume seven here at Manga Bookshelf. With my household’s recent turmoil, this may well be my entire contribution to the Feast, but be sure to keep an eye out for what I expect to be an exciting batch of discussion and reviews from around the manga blogosphere this week.

Enjoy!

Bakuman finally makes US debut!

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Everybody knows what a big Takeshi Obata fangirl I am (or at least they should), and it’s no secret that I’ve been anxious for the US debut of Bakuman, his latest collaboration with Tsugumi Ohba, author of Death Note.

Finally that day has come! Not the first volume (we’ve got a ways to go for that), but in the May issue of Shonen Jump, available now at an otaku-friendly newsstand near you. Check out the press release from Viz:

San Francisco, CA, April 14, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the upcoming release of the manga series BAKUMAN。. The series, rated ‘T’ for Teens, will be released on August 3rd under VIZ Media’s popular Shonen Jump imprint and will carry a MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. …

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Viz Releases Kingyo Used Books

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Press Release: VIZ MEDIA TRANSPORTS READERS TO
KINGYO USED BOOKS – A FANTASTIC PLACE WHERE READERS FIND THEIR DREAMS IN MANGA

A Charming Bookshop with a Special Inventory Becomes a Place Where Lives Are Changed Through Manga

San Francisco, CA, April 15, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, transports readers to an unassuming store that stocks all the manga a fan could ever desire with the release of KINGYO USED BOOKS on April 20th. The new series, by Seimu Yoshizaki, will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN.

In KINGYO USED BOOKS, a businessman discovers how his childhood memories …

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Con Report: Anime Boston 2010

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Last weekend I attended Anime Boston–just Saturday (for the first time ever), which turned out to be the perfect way to go. AB is notoriously thin on manga content, and attending just for one day allowed me to take in most of what was there without becoming frustrated by what was not.

My day began in the best way possible: lunch with my favorite con buddies, Brigid Alverson and Robin Brenner, after which we headed over to see Roland Kelts talk about “Anime, Manga, and More,” in a panel sponsored by the Japanese consulate.

Despite its generic title, Kelts gave a riveting lecture on what makes Japanese comics unique, including a discussion on “superflat” technique (simple enough even for artistically impaired types like me to understand) and a philosophical look at the mouthless persona of Hello Kitty (“she should feel like you do”). …

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The Gentlemen’s Alliance† Finale!

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See today’s press release from Viz Media:

April 6, 2010 – VIZ Media will bring on the conclusion of Arina Tanemura’s acclaimed shojo drama THE GENTLEMEN’S ALLIANCE† with the release of Volume 11 today.

Haine goes to Shizumasa and Takanari’s grandfather, the head of the Togu family, to ask him to release the twins from their fate. But he tells her that she must pass the same trial the twins went through for determining the rightful Togu heir. Haine agrees, but little does she know that a former friend is now out for her life!

Published under the Shojo Beat imprint, THE GENTLEMEN’S ALLIANCE† (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) has helped to define the shojo genre of manga, selling more than 2.5 million copies in Japan. …

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Hello Anime Boston!

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It feels a bit ridiculous to make a post explaining an upcoming absence when I’ve already been absent most of the week, but that’s what I’m here to do!

It’s been a crazy few days behind the scenes at Manga Bookshelf, and tomorrow morning I head off to Anime Boston!

Saturday’s programming includes an industry panel from Vertical, the only manga publisher to present one this year (which makes one more than last year), and an evening “Manga Mania” panel featuring some of my favorite manga bloggers (like Brigid Alverson & Erin Finnegan), moderated by Ed Chavez.

I’ll be at the con all day Saturday (and possibly some of Sunday), so please track me down to say hello!

Comics about women, by women

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Just a quick link to today’s recommended book list from Flashlight Worthy Books, Graphic Novels: About Women. By Women. The list is just one of several from FWB celebrating Women’s History Month, standing alongside categories like historical fiction, crime fiction, and young adult fiction.

Since graphic novels are such a broad medium, recommendations range from Alison Bechdel (The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For) to Fumiyo Kouno (Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms) and everything in-between, including two titles from Fumi Yoshinaga. It shouldn’t be too surprising to hear that one of those, All My Darling Daughters, was recommended by me.

Quite a few manga made the list (including another of my personal favorites, Ai Yazawa’s NANA), but as FSW’s Peter Steinberg points out, the list is much less dominated by manga than one might expect. …

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Lunchtime Link-blogging

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There have been some great articles and bits of news posted over the past few days (and I promise they aren’t all Fantagraphics-related). Time to share!

Just to get the Fantagraphics stuff out of the way, here are a few choice links: First of all, The Comics Journal has now published all four parts of Matt Thorn’s 2005 interview with Moto Hagio online (previously only available in print or on Matt Thorn’s blog). Click for parts one, two, three, and four.

While we’re at TCJ, you should also check out Shaenon Garrity’s recent post about Moto Hagio, I also like her creepy vampire kids. Meanwhile, Deb Aoki interviews Fantagraphics’ president Gary Groth at About.com.

One last piece of related info: Regarding all the press floating around about Shimura Takako’s Wandering Son, I was very gently informed by a transgender reader …

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More From Fantagraphics

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As you all know, the manga blogosphere exploded yesterday with the news that Fantagraphics is launching a new manga line, edited and curated by Matt Thorn. Thorn is widely acknowledged as the west’s leading authority on shojo manga, particularly the works of The Year 24 Group/Magnificent ’49ers, very little of which has ever been translated into English.

For shojo fans (and indeed serious manga fans as a whole) this announcement is beyond exciting, a fact plainly demonstrated by the massive outpouring of joy between manga bloggers and fans yesterday afternoon on Twitter. Many have expressed speechlessness over the news. At The Manga Curmudgeon, David Welsh is keeping a running list of blog reactions and official news.

In the wake of the initial announcement, both Fantagraphics and Matt Thorn have come forward with further details, including a list of stories …

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Fantagraphics Makes Dreams Come True

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A thousand giddy manga bloggers just raced to their keyboards in rapturous joy. Why? Because Dirk Deppey has announced officially in his blog that “Fantagraphics has signed an agreement with Shogakukan to launch a full manga line edited and curated by Matt Thorn.”

What does this mean? MOTO HAGIO, that is what it means. The first item being listed by Amazon is A Drunken Dream and Other Stories. I, for one, am counting the days until September when I can own this volume for myself. So little of Hagio’s work has been available in English up to this point, exactly none of which remains in print. This is truly a crime.

For more background and further understanding of why this is so significant for fans of shojo manga, take a look at this brilliant 2005 interview with Hagio…

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Viz debuts Arata: The Legend

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One of this month’s most interesting releases is the first volume of Yuu Watase’s recent shonen series, Arata: The Legend. Arata has been serialized online at Viz’s Shonen Sunday website since July of last year. This is its first print release.

I have mixed feelings about Watase’s classic Fushigi Yugi, though much love for its current spinoff, Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden. A quick glance at Arata proves that Watase’s art style lends itself well to shonen, which comes as no surprise at all. One of Genbu Kaiden‘s strengths is its energetic but clear action sequences–a rare virtue in shonen manga.

There are few reviewer reactions to refer to at this point, though Connie at Slightly Biased Manga seems to have enjoyed the first volume. Fortunately, readers can preview the series for free themselves, now up to eight chapters at Shonen Sunday. Here’s the full press release from Viz: …

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Links: Shojo Manga FTW!

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Time for some quick mid-week linkblogging!

First of all, Rob at Panel Patter has been reading/reviewing Yumi Tamura’s classic shojo series Basara, a favorite series of mine (and quite possibly Michelle Smith‘s most-loved manga series of all time). Since Michelle is always right, I feel compelled to share Rob’s reviews with the world. He’s just finished volume two. Click here to check out what he has to say so far.

Over at The Manga Curmudgeon, David Welsh presses on with his Shojo-Sunjeong Alphabet, now on letter “T“. I went over to express support for CLAMP’s Tokyo Babylon (probably my second-favorite of all their work) and Moto Hagio’s They Were Eleven, both on which I’ve reviewed for my Tokidoki Daylight column at CBR’s Comics Should Be Good. These two series probably couldn’t be more different, but I love them both very much. …

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Countdown to Banana Fish Roundtable!

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Calling all fans (and future fans) of Akimi Yoshida’s shojo classic Banana Fish! Coming up later this month, I’ll begin hosting an ongoing Banana Fish roundtable, featuring a number of my favorite manga critics. As with The NANA Project at CSBG, we’ll be discussing two volumes at a time, every two months. Why am I telling you this now? So you have time to track down the books for yourselves!

If you’re not certain about Banana Fish, check out this post for (hopefully) persuasive discussion, including a short preview of the series. If I can’t convince you, maybe Shaenon Garrity can. If you were addicted to S.E. Hinton novels as a teen, you may love Banana Fish. If you’re into current manga series like Wild Adapter or manhwa epics like One Thousand and One Nights or Let Dai, you may love Banana Fish. …

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