With the Fourth of July right around the corner, and two big conventions on the horizon, there were only a handful of real news stories this week. The biggest? Tokyopop just launched an imprint for romance manga called LoveLove, which will offer “age-appropriate content for readers ranging… from 13+ to older teens (16+) to ones aimed strictly at mature readers (18+).” The first title—The Black Cat & The Vampire—arrives in stores on October 12th… Jujutsu Kaisen has sold a staggering 80 million volumes worldwide… Masashi Kishimoto is hard at work on a new Naruto story… and the NBA will be introducing a line of t-shirts, satin jackets, and hoodies that allow fans to express their love of My Hero Academia and their favorite basketball team.
AROUND THE WEB
Kate Sánchez praises Netflix’s new adapation of Ōoku: The Inner Chamber for “staying true to the original manga” while “using animation to bring Yoshinaga’s vision to life with a vibrancy” that “can only be done in animation” [But Why Tho?]
Laura Grace posts a new installment of the Shojo Alphabet with a list of great series beginning with the letter “I.” [ Beneath the Tangles]
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Barefoot Gen, Asahi Shimbun traces out the publication history of Keiji Nakazawa’s classic drama. [The Asahi Shimbun]
Over at Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman interviews Ryo Sumiyoshi about his fantasy series Centaurs. [ANN]
Also worth a look is Christopher Farris’ interview with Jun Mayuzuki, author of After the Rain and Kowloon Generic Romance. [ANN]
Alex, Vrai, and Tony dedicate the latest episode of Chatty AF to Yuri Is My Job!. [Anime Feminist]
If you’ve been curious about the Mangamo! digital platform, check out Gee and Ray’s in-depth review. [Read Right to Left]
Not manga, but relevant: Kazuma Hashimoto traces out the history of the JRPG label, noting the degree to which it influences consumer behavior in the video game marketplace. “It’s clear that the mainstream only courts a specific idea of Japan as being acceptable — often reinterpretations of feudal Japan, largely spanning from the 1500s to late 1800s, when the samurai were still part of Japanese society,” he observes. “This extends to what Japanese-made games Western publishers will support… and this diminishes the rich tapestry of games released under the ‘Japanese role-playing game’ umbrella in order to fulfill a fantasy for non-Japanese consumers.” [Polygon]
For more commentary on the “othering” of Japanese media, see Tony Yao’s essay on how Americans perceive manga, and perceive Japanese culture through manga. [Drop-In to Manga]
REVIEWS
Over at The Comics Journal, Tegan O’Neill reviews Minami’s Lover, new out from Fantagraphics, while Hagai Palevsky tackles the Eisner-nominated horror series PTSD Radio. Elsewhere on the web, Tony Yao gives a “shout out” to Manga in Libraries: A Guide for Teen Librarians… Adam Symchuk reviews two indie titles, The Rabbit Game and Words Bubble Up Like Soda… and the crew at Beneath the Tangles offer pithy assessments of Bloody Sweet, Heavenly Delusion, and Scribbles.
New and Noteworthy
- Bloody Sweet, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Boy’s Abyss, Vol. 1 (Jay Gibbs, Anime Corner)
- Carole & Tuesday, Vol. 1 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- Centaurs, Vol. 1 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Dandadan, Vol. 1 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- From the Red Fog, Vol. 1 (SKJAM! Reviews)
- Goodbye, Eri (Tamara Lazic, Anime Corner)
- Goodbye, Eri (Rory Wilding, AiPT!)
- Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese, Vol. 1 (Richard Gutierrez, The Fandom Post)
- Oshi no Ko, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- TENPINZ!, Vol. 1 (Jay Gibbs, Anime Corner)
- Tista, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- Until I Love Myself, Vol. 1 (Jay Gibbs, Anime Corner)
- Wonder House of Horrors (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- The Yakuza’s Bias, Vol. 1 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- YashaHime: Princess Half-Demon, Vols. 1-2 (Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic)
Complete, Ongoing, and OOP
- Cherry Magic!! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 7 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Fairy Tail: 100 Year Quest, Vols. 11-12 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 11 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, Vol. 19 (Antonio Miereles, The Fandom Post)
- Tomb Raider King, Vol. 2 (Noemi10, Anime UK News)
- Tomb Raider King, Vol. 3 (Noemi10, Anime UK News)
- Tomb Raider King, Vol. 3 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 3 (Demelza, Anime UK News)