Brigid Alverson

Here’s a big announcement from Viz: They have licensed Naoki Urasawa’s Master Keaton. Zainab Akhtar explains why that’s awesome. And there’s more: They also announced Assassination Classroom (“A humorous and action-packed story about a class of misfits who are trying to kill their new teacher – an alien octopus with bizarre powers and super strength!”) and Naoki Serizawa’s Resident Evil, as well as a print edition of Akira Toriyama’s Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, which has been running in Shonen Jump. Lori Henderson talks about all the recent license announcements in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

ICv2 has an in-depth interview with Dark Horse manga editor Carl Horn (part 1, part 2), in which they cover the health of the manga market, which Dark Horse titles have done well, the difficulties of selling manga that don’t have an anime associated with them, and much, much more.

Volumes 1 and 11 of Attack on Titan top the New York Times manga best-seller list, with the first volume of Deadman Wonderland coming in third.

At Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, manjiorin tackles the question of different trim sizes in manga. Also: Justin Stroman interviews a number of manga letterers all at once and then one more for good measure.

Khursten Santos files her con report on the fujoshi event Room 801.

News from Japan: The nominees for the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize have been announced; they include Attack on Titan, Animal Land, and Hiromu Arakawa’s Silver Spoon.

Reviews: The folks at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses don’t just review vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland, they devote an entire roundtable to it.

Ken H on vol. 28 of Blade of the Immortal (Comics Should Be Good)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Bleach (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Ken H on vol. 1 of Brave 10 (Comics Worth Reading)
Naru on vol. 1 of Brave 10 (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
TSOTE on vol. 24 of C.M.B. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Alice Vernon on Durarara!! Saika Arc (Girls Like Comics)
Kristin on vols. 3 and 4 of Happy Marriage?! (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on Insufficient Direction (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 18 of Naruto (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (The Fandom Post)
Ken H on vols. 3 and 4 of No. 6 (Comics Should Be Good)
Angela Sylvia on vol. 17 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 12 of Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 20 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Sherlock Bones (Comics Worth Reading)
Sarah on vol. 16 of Soul Eater (nagareboshi reviews)
Justin on chapter 2 of Stealth Symphony (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 9 of Strobe Edge (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Tegami Bachi (The Comic Book Bin)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 3 of Thermae Romae (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Toradora (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ken H on vol. 2 of Vinland Saga (Comics Should Be Good)

Nine years ago today, I hit “publish” on the first post here at MangaBlog. Had I but known what that fateful act would lead to…

Seriously, MangaBlog was founded on a whim and almost died after a few months, when I was overwhelmed with family responsibilities. It has only survived this long—and I hope, will survive even longer—thanks to the support of so many people: Readers, my fellow bloggers, the publishers, creators, and of course, my husband, who set up a website for me and then added on a WordPress blog, which was a novelty to me at the time. And I also have to thank MJ, who keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes as my webmistress at Manga Bookshelf.

Thank you for reading, thank you for linking, thank you for sharing your books with me. I’m looking forward to bringing the ongoing conversation about manga into its tenth year.

On with the news!

Viz announced two new titles in its Shojo Beat line yesterday: Aya Shouoto’s Kiss of the Rose Princess (Barajou no Kiss) and Miko Mitsuki’s Honey Blood (Mitsu Aji Blood). As you might guess from the title, Honey Blood is a vampire tale, while Kiss of the Rose Princess is about a princess on a quest to retrieve a lost piece of jewelry—with the aid of four hot guys. Lissa Pattillo has some initial thoughts on both series at Kuriousity.

Kadokawa will launch a new web manga service, Comic Walker, on March 22 with a selection of manga in English, Japanese, and Chinese. The service will start out with 150 titles, 40 of them available in English, and there will be some familiar titles, including Tonari no Sekki-kun, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Sgt. Frog, although it’s not clear that they will be available in English. And this is cool: Users can select which manga they want to follow and put together their own manga magazine.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Sarah Horrocks analyzes Nijigahara Holograph in the first of a three-part series.

Xavier Guilbert talks to Gengoroh Tagame, creator of gay erotic manga (may be NSFW).

Dark Horse has announced a launch date for New Lone Wolf and Cub: The first volume will be released on June 4. They are also releasing the older, classic manga in omnibus editions (and you can get it on their digital service as well).

News from Japan: A new Neon Genesis Evangelion spinoff will launch next June in Young Ace magazine.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf writers team up to bring us a new set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown takes a look at another week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson on Another (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Blood Lad (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of A Centaur’s Life (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 14 of Goong
Johanna Draper Carlson on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Magi (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Midnight Secretary (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Mixed Vegetables (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Pink (Comics Worth Reading)
Ben Leary on vol. 25 of Slam Dunk (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Voice Over: Seiyu Academy (The Comic Book Bin)

ICv2 talks to Kevin Hamric, Viz’s media director for sales and marketing, about the synergy between manga sales and streaming anime. Back in the boom years, sales of a manga series often jumped when the anime started running on Cartoon Network and other channels; now a similar effect is showing up when the anime becomes available on streaming sites such as Crunchyroll or Viz’s own Neon Alley.

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss this week’s new releases.

Justin Stroman takes a good look at the new digital manga service Manga Box and finds a lot to like, although oddly, one of the translators tells him the Android Market is forcing them to tone down the “raunchy” jokes. And in case you don’t know where to start, he includes a list of the ten best manga on the service.

Why is nobody talking about josei manga? Khursten Santos tackles the question at Otaku Champloo.

Sarah has all the fujoshi news in her Fujoshi O’Clock feature at Nagareboshi, and Erica Friedman catches us up on the world of yuri in her Yuri Network News column at Okazu.

Dark Horse editor Carl Horn talks about two upcoming books of interest to manga fans, Hatsune Miku: Unofficial Hatsune Mix and Dragon Girl and Monkey King: The Art of Katsuya Terada, both due out in May.

Lori Henderson discusses four manga she was surprised she liked in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

A veteran of the Japanese manga industry and of American comics suggests five manga that should be published in America.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team take a look at some recent releases in their Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Junior High (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sarah on vol. 59 of Bleach (Nagareboshi Reviews)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 13 of Case Closed (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
TSOTE on vol. 22 of C.M.B. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 30 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Gangsta (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Hendreson on vols. 1 and 2 of Midnight Secretary (Manga Xanadu)
Ash Brown on vol. 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 5 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 15 of One Piece (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 13 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Xanadu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Perfect Edition) (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on the February 10 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ben Leary on vol. 24 of Slam Dunk (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Thermae Romae (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Yen Press has confirmed that it will publish the Blood Lad four-panel spinoff BuraBuratto Buradora, by Yūki Kodama and Kanata Yoshino, as the second volume of Bloody Brat.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new manga.

Jason Thompson devotes his latest House of 1000 Manga column to a primer on porn manga.

Ryan Holmberg profiles “action cartoonist” Shinohara Ushio at The Comics Journal.

Why are the pages of some of your manga turning yellow, while others stay white? Ed Chavez explains at ANN.

News from Japan: Hiro Mashima will publish four different Fairy Tail one-shots in four different magazines this spring. Ichijinsa’s WAaI! boys in skirts magazine has suspended publication “for now”; readers are instructed to follow their Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Reviews

A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 17 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Gangsta (ANN)
Maggie on vol. 1 of Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Knights of Sidonia (Girls Like Comics)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Midnight Secretary (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of My Little Monster (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Toradora! (Girls Like Comics)

Kodansha announced on Wednesday that it will be publishing Noragami: Stray God, which has been running in Monthly Shonen Magazine since 2011. Here’s the blurb:

Yato is a stray god. He doesn’t even have a shrine, not to mention worshipers! Hoping he’ll eventually raise enough money to build himself the lavish temple of his dreams, Yato accepts all kinds of jobs. Of course, he can’t afford to be picky; from finding lost kittens to helping a student overcome bullies, no job is too small for Yato, the god-for-hire! An eccentric story with a charming cast of characters!

And another new title: Ema Toyama’s GDGD-Dogs, which they will retitle Manga Dogs. Here’s that blurb:

Kanna Tezuka is a serious 15-year-old manga artist, already being published as a pro. So when she finds out her high school is starting a manga drawing course, even she gets excited. But it’s a fiasco! The teacher is useless, and the only other students — three pretty-boy artist wannabes — quickly adopt Kanna as their (unwilling) sensei. But they all have ridiculous delusions about being an artist, and if Kanna can’t bring them back down to Earth, she’ll never get any work done!

And one more: Kodansha will publish an oversized omnibus edition of Attack on Titan.

Sean Gaffney has last week’s new license announcements—and those that were announced this week as well. Lissa Pattillo has some thoughts on the omnibus edition of Attack on Titan.

Digital Manga, Inc., announced last week that they will be digitally publishing all of Osamu Tezuka’s works that haven’t already been licensed in English, and I talked to DMI president Hikaru Sasahara about the details of the deal and how it will work going forward.

The digital manga distributor Amimaru announced a new title, which is already available on its iPad and Facebook apps: A Second Love is Full of Tears (Nidome no Koi wa Namida-iro), by Hazuki, which is complete in one volume.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date on all things yuri with the latest edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu.

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 12 of Arisa (The Fandom Post)
Chris Kirby on vol. 2 of Battle Angel Alita: The Last Order (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Sarah on vol. 16 of Black Butler (nagareboshi reviews)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Bloody Cross (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vols. 11 and 12 of Dawn of the Arcana (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Gangsta (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on Himawari-san (Okazu)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Doubt (Girls Like Comics)
Lori Henderson on vols. 7-9 of Jack Frost (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah on vol. 1 of Kamisama Kiss (nagareboshi reviews)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Man of Tango (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vols. 5 and 6 of Missions of Love (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah on vol. 64 of Naruto (nagareboshi reviews)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (Comics Worth Reading)
Sarah on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame (nagareboshi reviews)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of Sherlock Bones (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 18 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 15 of Tsubasa (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Let’s kick off the week with some new-license news: Vertical announced three new series at Katsucon this past weekend: Ajin, by Gamon Sakurai; Witch Craft Works, by Ryū Mizunagi; and The Garden of Words, the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s anime.

Yen Press also announced three new titles on Friday: Accel World, based on the light novels by Reki Kawahara; Übel Blatt; and Barakamon.

The latest addition to the Shonen Jump lineup is Stealth Symphony, by Durarara!! writer Ryohgo Narita and Yoichi Amano, who was once an assistant to Gintama artist Hideaki Sorachi.

Lissa Pattillo has some info on Seven Seas’ new yuri title, Citrus.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases and their Pick of the Week.

Queenie Chan (The Dreaming, Odd Thomas) is writing a series of articles on her blog about being a professional manga artist. You can jump right in with today’s post on how she started drawing manga and first connected with Tokyopop, or you can go right back to the beginning, with her introduction and the first part of Part 1.

Here’s another insider view: Justin at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses talks to manga translator Amanda Haley, who got her start in the JManga Translation Battle and now translates Coppelion for Crunchyroll, as well as being part of the Digital Manga Guild.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has some thoughts on Hetalia and history.

Jocelyne Allen gives us a peek at a lovely manga that hasn’t been translated (yet!), Shizuka Nakano’s Shisei, which has an interesting retro art style.

Lori Henderson looks at some new series and some complicated couples in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue is putting Vagabond on hiatus until June. Boys Over Flowers creator Yoko Kamio has ended her Ibara no Kanmuri manga. Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda is starting a new series, Obake no Sally (Sally the Ghost), a children’s manga that will launch in the May issue of Shogakukan’s Shōgaku Ichinensei magazine. Hisae Iwaoka, creator of Saturn Apartments, is starting the final arc of her latest manga, Hoshi ga Hara Ao Manjū no Mori.

Congratulations to Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa on the birth of her third child.

Reviews: Ash Brown brings us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kate on Basara (Reverse Thieves)
Ash Brown on Blue (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Case Closed (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of From the New World (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Gangsta (Comic Attack)
Maggie on Good-Bye Geist (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Happy Marriage?! (Comics Worth Reading)
Ben Leary on vol. 4 of Hetalia (The Fandom Post)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 38 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Drew McCabe on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Otomen (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 20 of Pokemon Adventures (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sarah on vol. 12 of Sakura Hime (nagareboshi)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of Sherlock Bones (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Sweet Rein (Comics Worth Reading)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Takasugi-san’s Obento (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 13 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Here are some photos of Inio Asano’s Nijigahara Holograph, which is due out from Fantagraphics any day now.

Posting has been spotty because I’m busy writing up my Angouleme reports; here’s my look at the French manga market, which is very different from the North American scene.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman takes a walk on the seinen side with a look at Futabasha’s Manga Action magazine.

Matthew Kirshenblatt has written a two-part essay on the suffering-artist figure in Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix: Karma (part 1, part 2).

Competition update: George Alexopoulos, whose Go With Grace was one of the original Tokyopop OEL manga, has taken one of the Silver Awards in the Japanese foreign ministry’s international manga competition for his comic Paris. Meanwhile, on the Vertical Tumblr, Ed Chavez (I assume) explains why the Morning international manga contest is no more; basically, those interested in entering leaned toward shoujo and shonen genre manga while Morning is more varied and experimental.

I picked up that last fact from Justin’s roundup of manga and anime Tumblrs, which is very interesting and includes some news bites as well as a list of industry Tumblrs for those who want to start following them. Justin also has a helpful list of places where you can buy manga and anime.

News from Japan: Wandering Son creator Takako Shimura is working on a new series, tentatively titled Wagamama Chie-chan (Selfish Chie-chan), which will run in Comic Beam magazine. A new Saint Seiya manga, Saint Seiya Episode.G, will launch in the April 5 issue of Champion RED Ichigo magazine. Dengeki Daisy manga-ka Kyousuke Motomi has a new series, QQ Sweeper, which will begin in the April issue of Betsucomi. The Wallflower creator Tomoko Hakayawa is bringing her current series, Real Face, to an end. There are 1 million copies of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal in circulation.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team lines up a new set of Bookshelf Briefs to keep us up to date on recent releases. Ash Brown looks back in manga with a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Anna N. on vol. 2 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (Manga Report)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Manga Report)
Joe Iglesias on vols. 1 and 2 and vols. 3 and 4 of Battle Angel Alita (Eastern Standard)
Ogiue on Busou Renkin (Ogiue Maniax)
Justin on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
TSOTE on vol. 16 of C.M.B. (Three Steps Over Japan)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland (ICv2)
Maggie on vols. 1 and 2 of Don’t Tell My Husband (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 27 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Derek Bown on vol. 32 of Fairy Tail (Manga Bookshelf)
Ash Brown on vols. 2 and 3 of Genkaku Picasso (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 23 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Naru on Her Sheikh Boss (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of High School Debut (3-in-1 edition) (ICv2)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 24 of Higurashi: When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Joe Iglesias on vol. 1 of Knights of Sidonia (Eastern Standard)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of Legal Drug (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Mixed Vegetables (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on My Only King (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vols. 2 and 3 of No Longer Human (Experiments in Manga)
Philip Anthony on vol. 1 of Princess Knight (Manga Bookshelf)
Naru on vol. 1 of Raintree: Haunted (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Derek Bown on the January 27 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Short Cuts (Experiments in Manga)
Jocilyn Wagner on vol. 1 of Shrine of the Morning Mist (Manga Bookshelf)
Maggie on Start with a Happy Ending (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Justin on part 2 of Summer Wars (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Vinland Saga (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (Experiments in Manga)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Yggdrasil (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)

Hey everyone, sorry about the radio silence. I’ve been away at the International Comics Festival in Angouleme, France, where manga is still a big deal and the guests included Suehiro Maruo. I’m still recovering from jet lag (not to mention re-entry into normal life after six days in an 18th-century chateau), so this is just a quick roundup, but I will have a lot to say in the next few days, so stay tuned.

There has been a rumor making the rounds, based on an interview that Inio Asano did with a Japanese magazine, that the manga-ka wants to have a sex-change. Matt Thorn looks into it but doesn’t get much clarification from Asano’s publisher; he then turns to the original interview, which sheds a bit more light on Asano’s feelings.

Over on the other side of the channel, The Guardian has discovered manga and has a beginner’s guide with a good slate of recommended titles. Even if you’re not a beginner, it’s always interesting to see what sort of take the mass media has on the topic.

At Good Comics for Kids, we have a preview of the fourth volume of Tania del Rio’s manga-style Sabrina: The Magic Within graphic novels.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new manga and discusses the Pick of the Week.

News from Japan: Shin Kibayashi, creator of The Drops of God and Kindaichi Case Files, has started a new manga, Shinjuku DxD, which will be carried by the Manga Box app.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new releases in their Bookshelf Briefs feature. Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kristin on vols. 3 and 4 of The Earl and the Fairy (Comic Attack)
Anna N. on vol. 12 of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Manga Report)
Kristin on Helter Skelter (Comic Attack)
Drew McCabe on Pokemon: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (Comic Attack)
Chris Kirby on vol. 17 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)
Anna N. on The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress and Her Sheikh Boss (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Umineko: When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Information is finally starting to come out about the new Sailor Moon anime; it will begin airing in July and will be streamed worldwide by NicoNico and subtitled in 10 languages. The anime is not a remake of the original anime but will be a new adaptation of the manga, according to the producer. Erica Friedman has some thoughts on all this.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases and their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman updates us on all the latest yuri news in her latest Yuri Network New post at Okazu.

Lori Henderson rounds up some end-of-the-year manga news in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Erica Friedman looks at Ciao, the top-selling shoujo manga magazine in Japan.

Jason Thompson looks at ten zombie-themed manga in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Five volumes of Attack on Titan made this week’s New York Times best-seller list, including volume 10, which tops the list.

News from Japan: Wandering Son manga-ka Takako Shimura is working on a new series, a sequel to the 2012 one-shot “Musume no Iede.”

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Harry Edmundson-Cornell on vol. 3 of 20th Century Boys (Sequart)
Alex Hoffman on vols. 1-4 of 7 Billion Needles (Manga Widget)
Justin on vol. 1 of All Purpose Chemistry Club (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 11 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Carlo Santos on vol. 9 of Bokurano: Ours (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Fate/Zero (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Steve Bennett on vol. 1 of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 (ICv2)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Nisekoi: False Love (Manga Report)
Ash Brown on Oishinbo A La Carte: Fish, Sushi, and Sashimi (Experiments in Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 8-10 of Pandora Hearts (Manga Xanadu)
Michael Buntag on vol. 5 of Sailor Moon (NonSensical Words)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 12 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (ANN)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 17 of Soul Eater (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of SS Astro (Experiments in Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Summer Wars (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Takasugi-san’s Obento (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on Tropic of the Sea (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Voice Over! Seiyu Academy (Manga Xanadu)

If you have been curious about Attack on Titan and want to check out the first volume, Amazon has it on sale as of this writing for $2.99. Their prices change frequently, so I don’t know how long this will last.

This week’s issue of Shonen Jump (which is being released early, on Saturday) will be dedicated to Takeshi Obata’s adaptation of the novel All You Need Is Kill; the issue will include the first chapter of the manga, the first chapter of the novel, and some other Obata previews.

Crunchyroll has added three new titles to its digital manga service: Inside Mari, Silver Nina, and Love Theory. All three are from Futabasha.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks over this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week.

Shaenon Garrity takes a look at the long-running series Case Closed (she’s the English-language editor) in her latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Dave Ferraro lists his picks for the best manga of 2013 at Comics-and-More.

Alex Hoffman looks back on the manga news of 2013 at Manga Widget. Lori Henderson looks back on the past year as well in her latest Manga Dome podcast, and she devotes another podcast to a retrospective on Yen Plus, the digital manga magazine that recently ceased publication.

Lori also looks at some older manga that are getting a new life in digital format.

This was announced last month but it sort of got washed away with all the other news: Manga-ka est em, creator of Seduce Me After the Show and Red Blinds the Foolish, will be a guest at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) this spring.

News from Japan: Shueisha’s Margaret magazine will publish a new Rose of Versailles one-shot story by Riyoko Ikeda in May. The new Rurouni Kenshin spinoff manga will focus on the enemies in the original, according to the wife of manga-ka Nobuhiro Watsuki. Satoru Hiura will launch a new Hotaru no Hikari series in Kiss magazine. Miwa Ueda (Peach Girl) is bringing her Ariute Ikō manga to an end.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks at the past week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of A Bride’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Btooom! (Comics Worth Reading)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 5 of Love Hina (omnibus edition) (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 69 of One Piece (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Yuri☆Koi Girls Love Story (Okazu)

Fantagraphics has picked up the gay manga anthology Massive, which was originally slated to be published by PictureBox. I talked to the translators, Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins, about the book and its predecessor, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame, as well as the genre of gay manga in Japan.

Shonen Jump will run Takeshi Obata’s adaptation of All You Need Is Kill on the same day it appears in Young Jump magazine in Japan.

David Brothers writes, in depth, about two manga he really enjoyed in 2013: Slam Dunk and Bleach.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers take the long view and discuss their Pick of the Year, and they also take a look at this week’s new manga.

Freelance manga editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber writes about her struggles with depression and how that has been interwoven with her work life.

Hirofumi Watanabe, the suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball threat letters case, has given an interview to the magazine Tsukuru; the first item released is his message to users of the bulletin board 2chan, denying that he is a zainichi (foreigner).

News from Japan: Say Hello to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato is adapting Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game into manga form; it will be published on his website, Manga on Web. Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code, is the latest literary character to show up with superpowers in Bungō Stray Dogs. Suehiro Maruo is working on a new series, Tomino no Jigoku (Tomino’s Hell), which will debut in the March issue of Monthly Comic Beam. Toriko will go on hiatus for one month at the end of the current story arc. Keisuke Itagaki’s martial arts series Baki is returning to Weekly Shōnen Champion. Sora no Otoshimino/Heaven’s Lost Property will come to an end next month.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team finish out 2013 with the year’s last set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (ANN)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 8 of Aoi Hana (Yuri no Boke)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Battle Angel Alita (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Bloody Cross (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 11 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 33 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Happy Marriage?! (The Comic Book Bin)
Matt Cycyk on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Matt Talks About Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Magi (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Ash Brown on vol. 4 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 69 of One Piece (The Comic Book Bin)
Sakura Eries on vol. 15 of Oresama Teacher (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Summer Wars (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Tiger & Bunny 2-in-1 Anthology (I Reads You)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Life is getting back to normal now that the police have arrested a suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball case; the Shadow Trickster doujinshi events are back on, and the doujinshi event Comic City Osaka announced that it is scrapping its ban on Kuroko’s Basketball-themed doujinshi and merchandise. ANN also has more details on the suspect, Hirofumi Watanabe, including the apparent motive for the attacks: Jealousy.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest Yuri Network News at Okazu.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks forward to this week’s new releases.

Lori Henderson devotes her latest Manga Dome podcast to the Christmas-themed (sort of) manga Sweet Rein.

Akemi looks at the mythology and setting of Attack on Titan at Myth and Manga.

Viz’s shonen rom-com Nisekoi, which has been out in digital for a while, is making the leap to print.

Shaenon Garrity discusses Chihayafuru, a card-game manga that goes beyond the usual manga stereotypes, in the latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

News from Japan: Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is coming to an end. Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code, will become a superpowered character in Bungō Stray Dogs.

Reviews: Carlo Santos checks out the latest new releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Absolute Boyfriend (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Mark Thomas on vol. 16 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 10 of Attack on Titan (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Andrew Lee on Tropic of the Sea (The Japan Times)
Erica Friedman on Yurimekuru Hibi (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Soulless (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Sunshine Sketch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

After a year of threatening letters and cancelled events, police arrested a suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball case this week. The suspect, 36-year-old Hirofumi Watanabe, was nabbed while mailing some letters, and according to police, he has already confessed.

Yen Press has more Sword Art Online manga on the way.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Lori Henderson discusses Inu x Boku SS along with her regular features on the Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: The 20th anniversary edition of Bessatsu Margaret comes with a dust jacket featuring characters from popular shonen manga; RocketNews24 gives us a peek. The top-selling manga on Amazon Japan this holiday season is vol. 12 of Yotsuba&!, and the top-selling vol. 1 of a manga is Attack on Titan, according to the folks at Japanator.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files this week’s Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown brings us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Ash Brown on 12 Days (Experiments in Manga)
Harry Edmundson-Cornell on vol. 2 of 20th Century Boys (Sequart)
Ken H on vols. 8 and 9 of Attack on Titan (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 32 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Sarah on vols. 1-4 of Cardcaptor Sakura (nagareboshi reviews)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 4 and 5 of Hetalia: Axis Powers (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Judge (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Limit (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Alex Hoffman on Pink (Manga Widget)
Andrew T on Pink (The Beguiling)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Sweet Rein (Comic Attack)
Ken H on vols. 1 and 2 of Triton of the Sea (Comics Should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Voice Over: Seiyu Academy (The Comic Book Bin)

Roland Kelts looks at the international popularity of One Piece in an article that includes an interview with manga-ka Eiichiro Oda and the Viz editors who localize his work for American readers.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses next week’s new manga releases and this week’s Pick of the Week.

Justin presents parts 2 and 3 of his interview with Seven Seas social media maven Conner Crooks at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.

Sean Gaffney checks out the new digital manga service Manga Box.

Motion comics haven’t been as much of a thing in the manga world as elsewhere, but Manga 2.5 is offering five titles in Japanese and English; Jason Thompson checks it out in this week’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Ash Brown writes about finding manga in the library.

News from Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries announced its first round of Japan Food Culture Contents Awards this week, and Hiromu Arakawa’s Silver Spoon took top honors. Moyashimon got the Gold Award in the manga category, and Oishinbo received a Special Jury Award. Demand was so strong for the January 2014 issue of Aria magazine, which contained the first chapter of the Attack on Titan spinoff Attack on Titan: No Regrets, that Kodansha had to go back to press for a second printing. Three new manga series will launch in the February issue of Dragon Age magazine, which ships January 9. Young Ace also has some new series in various stages of development, including one by The World of Narue artist Tomohiro Marukawa.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team keeps it short and sweet in this week’s edition of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lissa Pattillo on Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Clockmaker’s Story (Kuriousity)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of A Bride’s Story (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 12 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 31 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Jocelyne Allen on Helter Skelter (Brain Vs. Book)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Magi (Girls Like Comics)
Erica Friedman on Marriage Battle! (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1-3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (ANN)
Anna N on Ordinary Girl in a Tiara and The Greek Tycoon’s Defiant Bride (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Shugo Chara! (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Zombie-Loan (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Seven Seas has Tweeted news of yet another new license; this time it’s D-Frag, a high school story about a guy who is sort of a delinquent who joins a gamer’s club that’s mostly girls. In case you missed it, Sean Gaffney rounds up all the recent Seven Seas announcements, with commentary.

Erica Friedman brings a fresh edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu. And she also presents a yuri-themed gift guide.

Suehiro Maruo’s horror manga Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show and The Strange Tale of Panorama Island are the topic of Shaenon Garrity’s latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Khursten Santos reviews the Crunchyroll manga service at Otaku Champloo.

Lori Henderson checks out the new digital manga service Manga Box in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama once thought of killing off all the characters at the series’ end, but he has backed off of that; he still wants to “betray his fans,” though.

Reviews: Carlo Santos has some quick takes on recent volumes of Btooom!, Wolfsmund, and more in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Captive Hearts (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Fuurai Shimai (Okazu)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Genshiken Second Season (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Koi ha Hisokani Minorumono (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of Nabari No Ou (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 69 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of Puella Magi Oriko Magica (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Sakura Trick (Okazu)
Matthew Warner on Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning, Side A and Side B (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Mark Thomas on vol. 7 of Vampire Hunter D (The Fandom Post)