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Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 23 September

October 2, 2012 by Matt Blind 1 Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [372.2] ::
2. ↑3 (5) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [357.6] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [347.1] ::
4. ↑3 (7) : Naruto 58 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [339.8] ::
5. ↓-3 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [337.2] ::
6. ↓-2 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [329.3] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [295.0] ::
8. ↑2 (10) : Death Note vols 1-13 box set – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [288.4] ::
9. ↑6 (15) : Bleach 46 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [286.2] ::
10. ↑4 (14) : One Piece 64 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [280.5] ::

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 89
Viz Shonen Jump 88
Viz Shojo Beat 57
Kodansha Comics 45
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 37
DMP Juné 22
Dark Horse 21
Seven Seas 18
Vertical 15
Viz 13

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [978.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [760.2] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [703.0] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Alice in the Country of Clover – Seven Seas [471.5] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [469.3] ::
6. ↑2 (8) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [401.5] ::
7. ↑10 (17) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [388.7] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Yotsuba&! – Yen Press [387.3] ::
9. ↑2 (11) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [368.5] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [363.8] ::

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

2. ↑3 (5) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [357.6] ::
4. ↑3 (7) : Naruto 58 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [339.8] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [295.0] ::
9. ↑6 (15) : Bleach 46 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [286.2] ::
10. ↑4 (14) : One Piece 64 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [280.5] ::
11. ↑2 (13) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 2 – Seven Seas, Sep 2012 [280.0] ::
13. ↓-7 (6) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [275.9] ::
14. ↑5 (19) : Bleach 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [275.8] ::
19. ↑11 (30) : Loveless 9 – Viz, Sep 2012 [232.9] ::
23. ↑8 (31) : Toradora! 5 – Seven Seas, Aug 2012 [205.2] ::

Preorders

15. ↓-3 (12) : Sailor Moon 10 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2013 [260.7] ::
16. ↓-5 (11) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [257.2] ::
17. ↔0 (17) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [253.3] ::
30. ↑4 (34) : Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise 3 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [168.8] ::
52. ↑5 (57) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [136.7] ::
56. ↑6 (62) : Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 2 vol hardcover box set [complete] – Viz Ghibli Library, Nov 2012 [125.6] ::
57. ↑26 (83) : Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus 4 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [125.5] ::
72. ↑26 (98) : Naruto 59 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2012 [106.7] ::
73. ↑8 (81) : Black Butler 11 – Yen Press, Oct 2012 [106.4] ::
74. ↑4 (78) : Omamori Himari 9 – Yen Press, Nov 2012 [106.4] ::

Manhwa

530. ↑178 (708) : Time & Again 2 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [17.0] ::
544. ↑1 (545) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [16.5] ::
548. ↑136 (684) : Time & Again 6 – Yen Press, Jul 2011 [16.3] ::
566. ↑120 (686) : Time & Again 5 – Yen Press, Mar 2011 [15.7] ::
579. ↑96 (675) : Time & Again 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [14.9] ::
664. ↑116 (780) : Time & Again 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [11.3] ::
667. ↑205 (872) : One Thousand & One Nights 8 – Yen Press, Aug 2009 [11.2] ::
737. ↑152 (889) : Let Dai 11 – Netcomics, Feb 2008 [8.9] ::
741. ↓-60 (681) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [8.7] ::
779. ↑210 (989) : One Thousand & One Nights 11 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [7.8] ::

BL/Yaoi

19. ↑11 (30) : Loveless 9 – Viz, Sep 2012 [232.9] ::
35. ↓-9 (26) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [163.7] ::
196. ↑24 (220) : The Man I Picked Up – DMP Juné, Aug 2012 [59.1] ::
235. ↑13 (248) : His Arrogance – 801 Media, Dec 2008 [48.9] ::
254. ↓-68 (186) : Alcohol, Shirt, & Kiss – DMP Juné, Mar 2007 [45.3] ::
257. ↑85 (342) : Author’s Pet – DMP Juné, Aug 2008 [44.8] ::
265. ↑21 (286) : Awkward Silence 1 – SuBLime, Jul 2012 [43.4] ::
270. ↑47 (317) : Black Sun 1 – 801 Media, Nov 2008 [42.5] ::
274. ↓-48 (226) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [41.8] ::
281. ↓-76 (205) : Samejima-Kun & Sasahara-Kun – DMP Juné, May 2012 [40.6] ::

Ebooks

18. ↓-2 (16) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [253.0] ::
25. ↑15 (40) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [185.9] ::
36. ↑7 (43) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [161.2] ::
39. ↑5 (44) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [155.5] ::
54. ↑13 (67) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [129.6] ::
59. ↑79 (138) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [119.3] ::
69. ↑111 (180) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [109.8] ::
86. ↑50 (136) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [96.7] ::
95. ↑78 (173) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [93.9] ::
113. ↑15 (128) : Naruto 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2003 [85.8] ::

It Came From the Sinosphere: Manga and Manhwa Titles

October 2, 2012 by Sara K. 13 Comments

There is a famous sci-fi TV series called Yínhé Fēilóng which means “Milky Way Flying Dragon.” It’s part of a group of TV series called “Xīngjiàn Qíháng Jì” which roughly means “Tales of Strange Starship Journeys.”

What’s it about? Well. there is a starship, and the captain’s name is Ràng-Lǚkè Píkǎ’ěr. In addition to the captain himself, there are other characters, such as:
Bǎikē (who is a rénxíng jīqìrén, which roughly means “human-like machine person”)
Qiáodí Lāfújí (my favorite character)
Wò’ěrfū (who is a kèlíngòng)
Wéisīlì Kēluòxià (by sheer coincidence, Wéisīlì is also the name of the most famous character from original Chinese-language science fiction),
Díānnà Tèluòyī (who is half bèitǎrén)
Bèifúlì Kēluòxià
Wēilián Ruìkè

If you don’t recognize this TV show, take a look at one of the covers of the Taiwanese DVD set:

This is a big issue when English speakers and Chinese speakers interact with each other. The English titles and Chinese titles are often so different that it can be difficult to determine if we are talking about the same movie/TV show/book/etc.

Ok, there are some cases which are quite straightforward, such as the movie Měiguó Duìzhǎng, which literally means “Captain United States.” And it wasn’t too hard for me to figure out that Fùchóuzhě Liánméng (Avengers’ Union) is The Avengers. But without a reference, such as a movie poster, it’s difficult to make the connection between Biànxíng Jīngāng (Shape-Changing Hard Metal) and Transformers.

Not that things are any easier going in the other direction. Taiwanese people always stare at me when I explain that the most common title for Shéndiāo Xiálǚ (“Divine Eagle Gallant Companion,” alternatively “The Giant Eagle and Its Companion”) in English is Return of the Condor Heroes. And then there is Tiānlóngbābù which is often called Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils because that title is practically impossible to translate into English. An alternative English title, “The Eight Levels of the Heavenly Dragon” is more literal but misses the point, and yet another English title, “Dragon Oath,” demonstrates that the translator pretty much gave up on trying to translate the original title and instead tried to create a title which was appropriate for the work being translated.

Which raises the question … how are various manga and manhwa titles translated into Chinese? The answer is, the Chinese titles for various manga and manhwa are often as close to the Japanese/Korean/English title as Yínhé Fēilóng is to Star Trek: Next Generation, or Lǜ Yě Xiān Zōng (Traces of the Wild Green Celestial) is to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The cover of a Taiwanese manhua adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I think some Chinese manga/manhwa titles are an improvement … and some make me groan.

So I have put together a collection of Chinese titles of various manga/manhwa with a literal English translation, and another list of the official English titles. And I’ve jumbled the order. I will post the correct correlations between the Chinese titles and the official English titles when I have time. Until then, have fun matching them up yourself.

Chinese Titles / Literal English

Huǒyǐng Rěnzhě (Fire-Shadow Ninja)
Huàn Hǎi Qí Qíng (Fantastic Sea Strange Happenings)
Wǒ de Yěmán Wángfēi (My Uncivilized Royal Consort)
Hánghǎi Wàng (Seafaring King)
Rényú Liànrén (Merman Lover)
Fàngkè hòu Bǎojiànshì (After Class Nurse’s Office)
Xiāngjù yī Kè (Together for a Moment)
Quǎnyèchà ([no translation])
Yāojing de Wěiba (Tail of the Evil Spirit)
Tōutōu Àizhe Nǐ (Secretly Loving You)
Měi Shàonǚ Zhànshì (Beautiful Maiden Warrior)
Wǒmen de Cúnzài (Our Existence)
Měiwèi Dà Tiǎozhàn (Great Delicious Challenge)
Juéduì Bǐshì (Absolute Bishi)
Sǐshén (Death Gods)
Yǐn zhī Wàng (King of Secrets)
Zhànlì Shājī (Trembling Intent to Kill)
Bǎo Mǎ Wángzǐ (Precious Horse Prince)
Huálì de Tiǎozhàn (Glamorous Challenge)
Wǒ hé Tā de XXX (My and Her XXX)
Měishí Lièrén (Gourmet Hunter)
Huā Yàng Rénshēng (Flower-style Life)
Mó Kǎ Shàonǚ Yīng (Demon Card Maiden Cherry)
Pósuōluó (I ought to put this as [no translation], but just for kicks, I will translate this as ‘Whirling Gauze’)

Official English Titles

7Seeds
Absolute Boyfriend
Afterschool Nightmare
Banana Fish
Basara
Bleach
Evyione: Ocean Fantasy
Fairy Tail
Flower of Life
Goong
Hana-Kimi
Inuyasha
Maison Ikkoku
Nabari no Ou
Naruto
Oishinbo
One Piece
Princess Knight
Sailor Moon
Skip Beat
Toriko
Your and My Secret

UPDATE: The answers are posted in the comment below.

Next Time: Spirit Sword (novel)

Sara K. thinks it is wonderful that this post is going live on her birthday.

Pick of the Week: Saiunkoku, GTO, Skip Beat!

October 1, 2012 by Katherine Dacey, MJ, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

KATE: It’s VIZ dump week, in which a large and random assortment of VIZ titles arrive at Midtown Comics. Although there are several great titles to choose from—Skip Beat!, Slam Dunk, A Devil and Her Love Song—my vote goes to volume eight of The Story of Saiunkoku. The volume is worth it just for the scene of Minister Ko’s unmasking, but there’s plenty more going on as well: sexual discrimination, clan intrigue, and romance. (Remember the emperor? He factors into the story in a more prominent way in this volume.) Frustratingly tidy as Saiunkoku can be, it’s still fun to read; I’m irresistibly reminded of Yentl and Mulan every time I sit down with a new volume.

MJ: While the VIZ dump certainly has a lot to offer, I admit I’m leaning in Vertical’s direction. Arrivals this week at Midtown include my pick from last week, Paradise Kiss, but also the fifth volume of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, one of my least expected current favorites. Though nothing about the premise suggests that this series would be something I’d fall in love with, the fact is, I have, and I can’t help looking forward to each new volume. It’s definitely a GTO week for me!

SEAN: I also went with ParaKiss last week, so I’ll dip into the Viz Blitz this week and pick Vol. 29 of Skip Beat!. First of all, that cover is pure Barbara Cartland, even if no actual hot hot seduction will be happening within the actual pages. What we’ll get instead, I suspect, is more acting angst, more of Ren brooding, Kyoko freaking out about something at least once, and hopefully a shot or two of humor. At 29 volumes and counting, this is one of the longest shoujo series to be published over here, and I’ glad that it still seems to sell well. Mostly as Kyoko is simply fun to read about.

MICHELLE: I think I am going to have to go with Skip Beat!, too. It’s a special series that still makes me go, “Oh, yay! New Skip Beat!” even when we’re talking about volume 29. I could probably love this series at volume 79, actually. It’s that good, and the characters that endearing.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 10/1/12

October 1, 2012 by Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey, MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

This week, Sean, Kate, MJ, and Michelle look at recent releases from VIZ Media, Yen Press, and Vertical, Inc.

Arata: The Legend, Vol. 11 | By Yuu Watase | VIZ Media – The last time I wrote about Arata, I described it as consistently entertaining. Alas, I haven’t really been feeling these two most recent volumes. So much seems to be repeating the same pattern—Arata encounters a hostile bishounen shinsho and employs his shoujo-heroine-in-a-shounen-manga mojo to discover the fellow’s true feelings, which he soothes before the two become allies—that when important things do happen, like the revelation that a pair of characters changed places (between modern Japan and Amawakuni) in their infancy, it fails to register any sort of impact. Things begin to look up slightly towards the end of the volume, though, as the group heads into the territory of the most hostile bishounen of them all: Akachi. Somehow I doubt he’s going to want to talk about his feelings for, oh, at least two volumes. – Michelle Smith

The Drops of God: New World | By Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto | Vertical, Inc. – If Drops of God had sold better, this would be half of Vol. 11 and half of 12, and we’d be reading it a couple years from now. As it is, this is the last planned volume, and I understand the publisher in Japan asked that it jump ahead to focus on American (and Australian) wines. Honestly, there isn’t that much missed – the biggest change is that Loulan, Issei’s hookup from Vol. 4, is now in Japan and acting as his Miyabi. (It’s unclear if they’re married, still lovers, or what have you.) And Issei is the one who clearly has gotten the most character development – he almost seems like a 2nd protagonist than a rival by now, and has mellowed out considerably. Shizuku, on the other hand, still feels as if he’s lagging behind and unable to progress. Which, to be honest, is true – he’s much the same as he was in V. 1-4. I do hope we eventually see more of this. -Sean Gaffney

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 10 | By Yuu Watase | VIZ Media – In my experience, a long wait between volumes of a manga series can be either a blessing or a curse—maybe even both. On one hand, anticipation is undoubtedly sweet, and a wait of nearly three years certainly provides plenty of that. On the other hand, anticipation can shift quickly to expectation, and after nearly three years… well, you get the idea. Fortunately, Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden delivers, at least where it most counts. Despite the long wait, Watase’s well-paced storytelling and energetic artwork pull us right back into the story (and its awesomely giddy primary romance), as though no time has passed at all. On the downside (or is it?), the volume’s final pages are likely to throw readers right back into the clutches of sweet (and painful!) anticipation once again. – MJ

GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, Vol. 5 | By Toru Fujisawa | Vertical, Inc. – One of the main reasons we enjoy reading GTO is to see Onizuka kick the crap out of people as he tells them how they’re screwing things up. That said, he is meant to be a teacher, and pass on his example to others. This volume doesn’t have quite as much Onizuka in person, but it has him leading by inspiration – including a long mid-volume sequence starring Uchiyamada, the antagonistic vice-principal from the GTO series proper. It’s easy to see Onizuka dealing with young, impressionable teens. But just because folks are adults doesn’t mean they’re wise and all-knowing, or that their problems go away. So seeing Uchiyamada preparing to confront 50 gang members, or Ayame beating the crap out of a yakuza in order to confront the twins behind all this, is just as awesome as Onizuka himself. -Sean Gaffney

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 6 | Story by Isuna Kasekua, Art by Keito Koume, Character Design by Jyuu Ayakura | Yen Press – Here are eight words I never thought I’d type: I liked volume six of Spice & Wolf. Yes, there was some gratuitous nudity, and yes, there was some limp flirtation between Holo and Lawrence, but on balance, volume six delivered enough action to erase the memory of all those Economics for Dummies speeches in previous volumes. Better still, Holo spent most of the volume as a wisewolf, inflicting bodily harm on soldiers, extracting confessions from enemies, and menacing her (perceived) romantic rival Norah. I’ll take Holo in her feral form any day; she’s funny and fierce, using her physical strength, rather than her feminine wiles, to get the job done. I’m not sure that a handful of decent chapters are enough to make me revisit earlier volumes, but they did, at last, help me understand why this series has been such a phenomenon among American otaku. – Katherine Dacey

The Story of Saiunkoku, Vol. 8 | Art by Kairi Yura, Story by Sai Yukino | VIZ Media – Never underestimate the power of Cover Girl — that’s my takeaway from volume eight, in which Shurei decides her only chance of claiming her rightful position as a civil servant is to show her male peers she’s 100% woman… by donning makeup. The resolution of that conflict is a little too tidy, relying on narration rather than dramatization to show us how Shurei establishes her civil servant credentials. On the whole, however, volume eight is a solid installment in this period soap opera, serving up an appealing mixture of comedy, drama, intrigue, and romance, and ending with the kind of cliffhanger that promises to advance the story in a new and meaningful direction. Still recommended. – Katherine Dacey

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 11 | By Kiyohiko Azuma | Yen Press – It’s been nearly a year since I last read any Yotsuba&!. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until I started to read and the first chapter, in which Yotsuba invites herself into the kitchen of an udon shop to watch how it’s made, completely reminded me of everything that is great about this series. Seriously, this is the kind of manga where you suddenly realize you’re smiling and wonder how long you’ve been sitting there, doing that. Pizza, bubbles, cameras… these are a few of the things that fill Yotsuba with wonder in these pages, but the last page of the volume is the one that really made me laugh out loud and get verklempt all at the same time. Is this praise copious enough? If you haven’t read Yotsuba&!, what are you waiting for? Jeez, man. Get with it! – Michelle Smith

Dark Horse, Vertical, Seven Seas all announce new licenses

October 1, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

With NYCC still two weeks away, Dark Horse broke some big manga news at Anime Weekend Atlanta: Two new licenses, two new editions. The new licenses are Trigun: Multiple Bullets, an anthology of stories by different creators (including one by Trigun manga-ka Yasuhiro Nightow), and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Detective Diary, a detective story with characters from the original NGA set in a different universe. The new editions are omnibus editions of the original Trigun and Lone Wolf and Cub, with the latter in a slightly larger format than the originals.

Vertical also had a new license to announce at AWA: Utsubora – A Story of a Novelist, a mystery by Asumiko Nakamura.

And last week, Seven Seas confirmed that they have licensed Milk Morinaga’s Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink, a collection of 14 short yuri stories.

The Manga Village team takes a look at the past week’s new releases and picks the best.

Erica Friedman posts an interview with Hayate x Blade manga-ka Hayashiya Shizuru ~~that she did~~ whom she met during Winter Comiket, and she also posts the latest Yuri Network News roundup.

Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez is the guest on the latest ANNCast, where he delivers some straight talk on Vertical’s licenses, manga sales in general, and the one that got away.

And speaking of Vertical, they just released the first volume of their new edition of Paradise Kiss, which prompts Jason Thompson to take a long look at what makes this manga so special in his House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

MJ and Michelle Smith compare the Tokyopop and Vertical editions of ParaKiss in their On the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf, and they also take a look at vol. 20 of Kaze Hikaru and vol. 1 of Limit, the new manga from Life creator Keiko Suenobu.

Attention Wandering Son fans: If you’re willing to pay your money upfront, Fantagraphics is offering a pretty good subscription deal for the next three volumes.

Chris, the Vertical intern who is now writing their blog, discusses his relationship with Great Teacher Onizuka.

Vol. 7 of Sailor Moon tops the New York Times manga best-seller list, with vol. 58 of Naruto and vol. 22 of 20th Century Boys right behind it. Matt Blind does his own calculation of the manga best-sellers for the week ending September 9 and the week ending September 16, working from online sales.

News from Japan: Kekkaishi creator Yellow Tanabe is working on a new manga, which will run in Shonen Sunday sometime in the near future. Pokemon Reburst will end in the October 10 issue of Shonen Sunday. And there are now 17 million copies of Hayate the Combat Butler in circulation.

Reviews: Ash Brown checks out some books from the library at Experiments in Reading.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Angelic Layer (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Kleefeld on vol. 15 of Bakuman (Kleefeld on Comics)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Code:Breaker (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on Elements of Manga Style (Experiments in Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on Elements of Manga Style (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Anna on vols. 5-7 of Full Moon O Sagashite (Manga Report)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Hayate the Combat Butler (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Limit (The Manga Critic)
Joseph Luster on vol. 1 of Limit (Otaku USA)
Ken Haley on vols. 2 and 3 of Mega Man Megamix (Sequential Ink)
A Library Girl on Part-Time Pets (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Jocelyne Allen on vols. 6 and 7 of Song of the Wind and Trees (Kaze to Ki no Uta) (Brain Vs. Book)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Twin Spica (Blogcritics)

Barbara

October 1, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Osamu Tezuka. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Big Comic. Released in North America by Digital Manga Publishing.

This is one of those mature Tezuka titles that a lot of fans had been waiting to hear about. So much so that when DMP decided to start a Kickstarter project to get enough money to license it, it was an obvious choice. And I must admit, it does seem like the sort of manga you’d like to verify you have enough money to cover costs before you publish. Unpleasant, flighty, and just plain annoying at times, Barbara is fittingly very much like its main character, a muse who is various things to various people, and ends up being an alcoholic hipster when she’s inspiring our “hero”, the writer Yosuke Mikura.

You’ll note I put the word hero in quotes. Even using the term protagonist seems wrong for Mikura, who does not really inspire much sympathy throughout this book. Right off the bat we get two chapters which show him not only abusing Barbara (he beats the crap out of her the entire book) but also has serious psychological problems, leading to hallucinations. It requires a certain amount of sang-froid to trust that Tezuka will lead you through this and tell a satisfactory story, especially as the first half of Barbara seems to be composed of mostly disconnected life scenes with Mikura and his drunken companion.

Things pick up considerably when we are introduced to Russalka, an African writer and political activist who comes to Japan for a conference. It turns out he has a past with Barbara, and was not particularly happy to see her go. This is when Mikura gets the full explanation of what Barbara is, which he stubbornly doesn’t really understand at all – at least not consciously. But they don’t really have a relationship, just occasional inspiration – as muses are to writers most of the time. When he decides to marry Barbara at one point, most readers will be groaning and going “You idiot!”. If they weren’t already.

Mikura continues to spiral downward, committing murder multiple times (even if it’s sometimes only implied) and his marriage to another woman who is genuinely real seems to only make things worse for both of then. The last third of Barbara reads like an elegiac car crash, as you watch a man who was already deeply disturbed when the book began go off the deep end. In fact, that may be a fault with the book – Mikura was *so* creepy and deluded right from the start, there’s very little surprise or sympathy in seeing him get run off the rails like that. It’s less of a tragedy and more of a “well, that’s just life.” Which, given this is the early 1970s, may have been what Tezuka was going for anyway.

The artwork is excellent, with many striking scenes. He’s especially good at depicting Mikura’s hallucinations. At one point Mikura meets a woman who looks like Barbara but insists she’s a real woman named Dolmen, and Tezuka actually manages to have her look slightly different. Sometimes the art is a bit sexualized (there is much focus on Barbara’s rear end), but that’s what you’d expect from a book about a seductive muse. And the scenes in the end in the sewers and field are fantastic action sequences.

I wouldn’t say I enjoyed Barbara the way, say, I enjoy Ranma or Sailor Moon. It can be an unpleasant experience, and its lead is loathsome much of the time. If you can get past that, however, this is a striking tale well-told, and made me curious to find out more about the Japanese literary scene of the early 1970s. And hoping that if I ever get a muse like Barbara, I don’t end up the same way. But, that’s writing for you. So fickle…

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 16 September

September 30, 2012 by Matt Blind Leave a Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [363.6] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [338.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [335.7] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [319.8] ::
5. ↑12 (17) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [298.5] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [297.8] ::
7. ↑11 (18) : Naruto 58 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [288.8] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [285.8] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [273.8] ::
10. ↓-4 (6) : Death Note vols 1-13 box set – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [271.5] ::

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 88
Viz Shonen Jump 85
Viz Shojo Beat 58
Kodansha Comics 47
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 37
DMP Juné 30
Dark Horse 20
Seven Seas 18
Vertical 15
Viz 12

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [954.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [697.2] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [621.9] ::
4. ↑5 (9) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [430.8] ::
5. ↑5 (10) : Alice in the Country of Clover – Seven Seas [429.8] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Yu-Gi-Oh! – Viz Shonen Jump [383.3] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [379.2] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [377.8] ::
9. ↓-5 (4) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [368.7] ::
10. ↓-4 (6) : Soul Eater – Yen Press [360.2] ::

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

5. ↑12 (17) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [298.5] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [297.8] ::
7. ↑11 (18) : Naruto 58 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [288.8] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [285.8] ::
13. ↑15 (28) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 2 – Seven Seas, Sep 2012 [249.3] ::
14. ↑25 (39) : One Piece 64 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [246.7] ::
15. ↑27 (42) : Bleach 46 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [243.8] ::
19. ↑25 (44) : Bleach 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [231.2] ::
23. ↑6 (29) : Bleach 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [183.5] ::
28. ↓-7 (21) : Soul Eater 10 – Yen Press, Aug 2012 [168.5] ::

Preorders

11. ↑1 (12) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [253.9] ::
12. ↑2 (14) : Sailor Moon 10 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2013 [252.4] ::
17. ↓-1 (16) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [237.5] ::
34. ↓-3 (31) : Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise 3 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [158.6] ::
57. ↑4 (61) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [123.9] ::
62. ↑4 (66) : Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 2 vol hardcover box set [complete] – Viz Ghibli Library, Nov 2012 [120.5] ::
78. ↑7 (85) : Omamori Himari 9 – Yen Press, Nov 2012 [106.0] ::
81. ↓-21 (60) : Black Butler 11 – Yen Press, Oct 2012 [103.3] ::
83. ↑20 (103) : Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus 4 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [99.2] ::
89. ↑16 (105) : Negima! 37 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [95.8] ::

Manhwa

545. ↑20 (565) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [16.3] ::
675. ↑56 (731) : Time & Again 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [11.4] ::
681. ↓-62 (619) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [11.2] ::
684. ↓-66 (618) : Time & Again 6 – Yen Press, Jul 2011 [11.2] ::
686. ↑41 (727) : Time & Again 5 – Yen Press, Mar 2011 [11.1] ::
708. ↑94 (802) : Time & Again 2 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [10.2] ::
780. ↓-45 (735) : Time & Again 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [7.9] ::
872. ↑408 (1280) : One Thousand & One Nights 8 – Yen Press, Aug 2009 [5.9] ::
889. ↓-52 (837) : Let Dai 11 – Netcomics, Feb 2008 [5.5] ::
894. ↑168 (1062) : One Thousand & One Nights 9 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [5.5] ::

BL/Yaoi

26. ↓-7 (19) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [177.9] ::
30. ↑110 (140) : Loveless 9 – Viz, Sep 2012 [167.7] ::
186. ↑73 (259) : Alcohol, Shirt, & Kiss – DMP Juné, Mar 2007 [61.0] ::
205. ↓-56 (149) : Samejima-Kun & Sasahara-Kun – DMP Juné, May 2012 [56.0] ::
220. ↓-3 (217) : The Man I Picked Up – DMP Juné, Aug 2012 [52.1] ::
226. ↓-105 (121) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [51.3] ::
229. ↓-40 (189) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [50.6] ::
245. ↑28 (273) : The Tyrant Falls in Love 6 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [47.1] ::
248. ↓-34 (214) : His Arrogance – 801 Media, Dec 2008 [46.7] ::
254. ↑11 (265) : Hybrid Child – DMP Juné, Aug 2006 [45.5] ::

Ebooks

16. ↓-7 (9) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [242.6] ::
40. ↑29 (69) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [142.7] ::
43. ↓-11 (32) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [138.0] ::
44. ↓-14 (30) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [136.8] ::
58. ↑92 (150) : Blue Exorcist 2 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jun 2011 [121.6] ::
67. ↓-26 (41) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [115.5] ::
90. ↓-27 (63) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [95.3] ::
118. ↑18 (136) : Gossip Girl 3 – Yen Press, Nov 2011 [82.9] ::
125. ↓-50 (75) : Haruhi Suzumiya Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 13 – Yen Press, Aug 2012 [81.6] ::
128. ↑43 (171) : Naruto 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2003 [80.9] ::

Angelic Layer, Vol. 1

September 30, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By CLAMP. Released in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Shonen Ace. Released in North America by Dark Horse Comics.

Angelic Layer comes at a turning point for CLAMP, one where they had already shown how well they could succeed in the shoujo market and were trying to branch out and expand. And while they were still drawing X at the time they started this (and just wrapping up Card Captor Sakura), they clearly wanted a new challenge. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how well they succeeded – certainly this work is a decent enough diversion, and there’s never any desire to put it down or move on. But it doesn’t really grip you the way their best series do – and indeed, the way that their more successful series for a male audience, Tsubasa and xxxHOLIC, would later on. Angelic Layer is shonen, but it’s fluffy shonen.

If I want to be honest, there’s not even a whole lot about Angelic Layer that HAS to be shonen. Yes, the plot involves what basically amounts to a fighting tournament, but the fighters are mostly female, and they’re fighting using cute dolls, albeit technologically advanced fighter dolls controlled through willpower. But Magic Knight Rayearth was basically a series of ever-increasing battles as well. (Speaking of which, Rayearth apparently exists as an anime in this universe – Misaki’s Angel is clearly meant to be based off Hikaru from the series.) But the cute female lead who’s plucky but always optimistic, the vague romantic possibilities, the jealous rivals who want to take her out as soon as possible? This could easily have run in Asuka, except X already was taking its place.

The series has its heart in the right place, and clearly wants to be liked. Perhaps that’s why I’m not enjoying it as much as other CLAMP offerings – at times you feel it’s trying too hard. There are two wacky, comedy characters – Icchan, the mad scientist inventor of the Angels, and Misaki’s new female friend Tamayo – who are wacky! And funny! Oh so funny! Let us show you how wacky and funny and loud and funny they are! And it can be exhausting. The quieter, more sedate supporters of Misaki work much better.

That said, it also feels like I’m finding faults where I shouldn’t bother. As a light, fun comedy with lots of cool fights and amusing scenes, this fills its function perfectly. CLAMP are at the point in their careers here where they couldn’t really ruin a story if they tried. (That will change later – indeed, Angelic Layer gets made far more depressing retroactively if you read Chobits – but for now, it’s all smiles.) Misaki has enough things going wrong for her that we feel a need to see her win and be happy, but not so much that it verges into Pollyanna territory. And honestly, sometimes the wacky characters *are* funny, particularly Icchan and his sublime awareness that he gives the appearance of a creepy pedophile.

But there’s no depth to Angelic Layer at all, and depth is something that we’ve increasingly come to rely on CLAMP for (and get frustrated when it goes wrong). It’s a step forward into a new genre, but it’s still keeping too much of itself held back. If only it had an anime adaptation that took its good points and expanded on them? Hrm, that would be awesome…

Off the Shelf: Marginally glamorous

September 29, 2012 by MJ and Michelle Smith 8 Comments

MJ: I’m having an unusually domestic morning here on this gloomy New England Saturday—laundry, dishes, pet care, and general de-cluttering. It’s a little depressing, frankly, and I’d much rather be talking about manga.

MICHELLE: Pretty much the first thing I do every day is scoop the kitty litter. It’s an unglamorous life, to be sure.

MJ: It is, indeed. So, shall we glam things up a bit?

MICHELLE: I don’t know about glam, but I’ll do my best.

One notable read for me this week was volume 20 of Taeko Watanabe’s Kaze Hikaru, a series that began its run in the shoujo pages of Betsucomi in 1997 before transferring to Flowers when that josei mag came into existence. It’s the story of Tominaga Sei, daughter of a former bushi, who joins the Shinsengumi disguised as a boy to avenge her father and brother. Under the name Kamiya Seizaburo, she has been with the troop for several years now and fallen in love with her captain, Okita Soji, who is the only one who knows her secret.

This series is really a charmer, and I’m so grateful that VIZ is continuing to release it, even if at the rate of one volume per year. Watanabe breathes life and warmth into these historical figures, developing a cast of men who are simultaneously endearing and uncouth. I’m particularly fond of their flawed and idealistic leader, Kondo, who inspires intense devotion from Okita in particular. There are comedic elements aplenty (and plenty of guys who find themselves attracted to “Kamiya”), but there are also tragic ones. (I was seriously so affected by the events of volume eleven that I stayed away from the series for, like, two years.) Historical events are portrayed with admirable accuracy, but the focus is always on how this affects the characters.

In this particular volume, there are things happening in the wider world—Kondo has gone off with the member of the troop most likely to sow dissent—but the main plot revolves around Kamiya “disguising” herself as a girl in order to spy on a fellow believed to be an assassin. All this time, Okita has been staunch in his resolve never to fall in love, wishing to devote his life to Kondo, but this mission causes him to simultaneously worry about Kamiya and become even more conscious of her femininity. I love that Watanabe has taken her time in getting him to this point; it’ll only heighten the tearful squee when and if he finally admits he loves her. Seriously, I just got geekbumps typing that.

What makes this even more potentially awesome, of course, is that the vast majority of the Shinsengumi does not meet a happy end. With the series still running in Japan, and US readers so far behind now, I have to wonder whether we’ll actually see that here. But I most earnestly hope that we do.

I also most earnestly hope that you are one day able to read this series, MJ, for I think you would adore it.

MJ: I think I would, too, Michelle! And I’m especially anxious to pick it up, because though I’ve tired a bit of the whole “girl disguised as a boy” trope, I suspect that I’d love its execution in this particular series. Also, it sounds like there is some genuinely awesome heart-poundy squee to be had, which sends my romance-loving heart into spasms of true longing.

MICHELLE: If I recall rightly, I was a little dubious about the series at first because of its premise, and because Sei starts off as a bit of a hothead, but I’m glad I stuck with it. If VIZ ever transitions any series to digital-only status, I suspect Kaze Hikaru might be a prime candidate. So maybe that’ll be a way for you to catch up on it.

What’ve you been reading this week?

MJ: Well, fortunately, I’m in a position to bring on the glam!

This week, I allowed myself the pleasure of reading the first volume of Vertical’s new omnibus release of Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss, which of course is a long-time favorite for both of us.

For the uninitiated, Paradise Kiss tells the story of Yukari, a pretty, long-limbed senior at a prestigious high school. Yukari is dutifully studying for college entrance exams in order to fulfill her parents’ expectations, though she herself has no real love for academics. While “pretty” and “long-limbed” are not adjectives I’d normally use when introducing a book’s heroine, they are extremely relevant in this case, as Yukari’s journey begins with a sudden request from a group of fashion design students who scout her as a model for their final senior project. Though Yukari initially refuses, she is slowly drawn in by both the students’ radically different approach to their imminent adulthood and their charismatic leader, George. As her career interests shift and her relationship with George intensifies over the course of the first two volumes (included here in Vertical’s initial omnibus), tension mounts quickly in Yukari’s school and family lives, making some kind of breaking point pretty inevitable.

Since we’ve discussed this series here pretty extensively in the past, I’ll get right to the nitty-gritty of Vertical’s release. When it comes to manga trim size, bigger is nearly always better, and Vertical’s edition benefits heavily from its luxurious page size. The whole production feels elegant, from the silky cover texture to the book’s smooth paper. And though my scanner isn’t high-quality enough to offer any value in terms of demonstrating print quality, you can see from this set of contrasting scans that the trim size also allows us to see a bit more of the artwork in the margins of each page.

(Click images to enlarge.)

Paradise Kiss, Tokyopop Edition

Paradise Kiss, Vertical Edition

Vertical’s editions also include a brand new translation, which already demonstrates that it intends to be more up-front about things like George’s sexual kinks (even using the term “kink” regularly, rather than having Arashi repeatedly refer to him as a “pervert”). These are all good things. I’ve chosen these particular pages, however, to bring attention to some of the translation differences that work slightly *less* well for me than the TOKYOPOP editions did.

Though I don’t own the Japanese editions of this series (and wouldn’t be able to read them if I did), given what I know about the two publishers in question (and even just the aesthetic of the manga industry then versus now), I’m going to to out on a limb and guess that the TOKYOPOP translation is more liberally adapted than Vertical’s—by which I mean to say that there may be more license taken with the adaptation in favor of reaching an English-speaking audience. Many consider this type of heavy adaptation to be a negative thing, but I’ll admit that I often disagree.

Let’s take this scene, for example. Again, I’m guessing that the TOKYOPOP edition is more liberal with its wording here—choosing “friendly” over “good” for their flirty banter, and so on. But as the scene goes on, I have to admit that the Vertical translation simply doesn’t have the same punch. When I first read this series, Yukari’s final external/internal rant here pretty much blew my romantic heart to bits.

“You call that friendly? That’s not nearly enough to satisfy me. Don’t think the world revolves around you. I’ll make you so in love with me, that every time our lips touch, you’ll die a little death.”

I mean, that’s pretty awesomely dramatic. It’s strong. It’s… GAH. Yeah. That. The last line in particular is a romantic kick in the gut. In contrast, Vertical’s wording here, “I’ll make you so entranced you won’t be able to keep playing it so cool” just feels kinda… well… namby-pamby. And, frankly, kind of a mouthful. Even though I suspect it’s closer to the original meaning (folks in the know can tell me if I’m wrong), it’s just much weaker English prose.

Obviously, there’s a lot of trade-off, and overall I think Vertical’s adaptation may come out ahead. But these differences make me glad to own both versions of the series, so that I have the chance to experience both takes on it.

MICHELLE: I vastly prefer the TOKYOPOP interpretation of that scene, myself.

And, wow! Thank you for comparing these editions this way! I had been wondering whether I ought to keep my mismatched TOKYOPOP set, and now it is clear that I should. There’s room in my heart for both, I find.

MJ: Yes, well said! There is room in my heart for both as well. I highly recommend buying the lovely, new editions and also hanging on to the old ones. For a series this good, it’s worth the extra shelf space!

So, we also partook in a mutual read this week—another Vertical title, in fact. Would you like to introduce it?

MICHELLE: Sure!

The debut volume of Limit—a shoujo manga by Keiko Suenobu, also of TOKYOPOP’s Life—introduces readers to several female high school students. There are the cool ones—Sakura, the beautiful ringleader who despises “fugly” people, and her devotees—and the uncool ones, including Kamiya, a bookish and sensible girl, and Morishige, who’s rather weird. In between these groups floats Mizuki Konno, who is ostensibly part of Sakura’s group, but who is really just adept at going with the flow. She’s determined that being friends with the popular crowd will make her own high-school experience easier, so that’s what she’s doing, even though she secretly admires Kamiya’s kindness. When a bus accident on a school trip leaves Sakura dead and Morishige in charge, Konno’s capability for adapting is tested, as the girls face at least several days before rescue can be expected.

MJ: Well done, Michelle!

The series is being marketed as a mix of Lord of the Flies and Heathers, which is appropriate I suppose, but in a way I think it diminishes both its strengths and weaknesses. Despite its dark tone and heavy subject matter, Limit is in no way as thematically ambitious as Lord of the Flies, nor is it as sharply satirical as Heathers—and to be fair, I don’t think it’s attempting to be either. It does, however, have plenty of strengths of its own.

Limit‘s biggest asset at this point, in my opinion, is Konno, its difficult protagonist. I call her “difficult” because I think it’s really tricky to get an audience invested in a main character whose motives are so morally weak and self-serving, but when done well, this can be really freaking effective. As I say that, I realize this is actually one of the traits Limit indeed shares with Heathers, whose protagonist spends so much of her time participating in things she knows are shitty but keep her in the Heathers’ good graces. Author Keiko Suenobu is even more brutal with Konno, however, as she actively initiates cruelty (such as turning Kamiya’s kindness towards a collapsed man on the street into fodder for bullying) when she feels her position in the group weakening. Suenobu pulls it off, though, and as the end of the first volume comes to a close, I found myself secretly rooting for Konno, despite her questionable moral backbone.

MICHELLE: One of the things that got me to sympathize with Konno was that Suenobu immediately dives into her motivations, so that we know that she’s not unredeemably mean, but just trying to make it through school/life/etc. without getting hurt. Not everyone can manage that, but she can, so she’s taking advantage of the path that presents itself to her and not feeling too bad about it. I can’t really blame her for that, though of course some of the things this compels her to do are, as you say, shitty.

I also liked that Suenobu immediately assigns some imagery to Konno’s philosophy: the swimming goldfish and the crosswalk sign. The green light of the latter becomes a symbol for Konno going with the flow, reappearing when she’s participating in teasing Kamiya, for example. When she later realizes that Morishige is insane and that the trauma of this experience, even if she survives it, will forever prevent her life from being easy, the light reappears, this time stuck on red. That perfect little world is gone forever.

MJ: I’m glad you brought that up, Michelle, because that kind of imagery is one of the things that makes this book work so well. Actually, the artwork overall is wonderfully expressive and bold when it needs to be. I was impressed throughout by how powerful the visual storytelling is, and this was definitely a major factor in my enjoyment of the book.

MICHELLE: The swirling fishes at the beginning reminded me of Moon Child, actually, and I thought, “I bet MJwill like this art!”

MJ: You know me so well! Though it isn’t the artwork alone that sells me on this series, it definitely does a lot of the heavy lifting.

This is definitely an unusual shoujo release—at least here in North America—and it’s easy to see why Vertical picked it up since it fits in better with their catalogue than it would anywhere else, I think. I’m grateful they did pick it up, too. Though it’s the kind of premise I’d more often expect to see published in a shounen or seinen magazine (even with its all-female cast) it’s nice to see this story being told specifically for a female audience. This gives me hope, too, that we’ll see more nuance later on in characters like Morishige who, as the perpetually-bullied party, should be ultimately more sympathetic than she seems right now.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely curious to see how it plays out. Looks like it’s finished in Japan, too, with six volumes, so chances are good we’ll know the outcome by next summer. Maybe that’ll help soothe the woe over Life disappearing even before TOKYOPOP itself did.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 09 September

September 29, 2012 by Matt Blind 1 Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [379.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [369.0] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [364.4] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [351.0] ::
5. ↓-2 (3) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [343.9] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Death Note vols 1-13 box set – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [306.6] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [292.0] ::
8. ↑2 (10) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [288.4] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [270.7] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Vampire Knight 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [259.7] ::

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 87
Viz Shonen Jump 86
Viz Shojo Beat 58
Kodansha Comics 47
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 38
DMP Juné 32
Dark Horse 21
Seven Seas 15
Vertical 13
Del Rey 11

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,015.6] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [680.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [512.3] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [442.8] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Yu-Gi-Oh! – Viz Shonen Jump [433.9] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Soul Eater – Yen Press [427.6] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [416.6] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [390.2] ::
9. ↑5 (14) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [383.2] ::
10. ↑5 (15) : Alice in the Country of Clover – Seven Seas [373.7] ::

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

5. ↓-2 (3) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [343.9] ::
8. ↑2 (10) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [288.4] ::
17. ↑2 (19) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [229.2] ::
18. ↑9 (27) : Naruto 58 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [219.2] ::
21. ↑3 (24) : Soul Eater 10 – Yen Press, Aug 2012 [193.7] ::
22. ↓-7 (15) : Bleach 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [189.6] ::
23. ↑2 (25) : Puella Magi Madoka Magica 2 – Yen Press, Aug 2012 [189.2] ::
28. ↑23 (51) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 2 – Seven Seas, Sep 2012 [179.3] ::
29. ↓-9 (20) : Bleach 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [179.2] ::
39. ↑50 (89) : One Piece 64 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2012 [157.8] ::

Preorders

12. ↑1 (13) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [249.8] ::
14. ↑15 (29) : Sailor Moon 10 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2013 [236.6] ::
16. ↑1 (17) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [229.8] ::
31. ↑4 (35) : Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise 3 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [170.1] ::
60. ↑11 (71) : Black Butler 11 – Yen Press, Oct 2012 [119.3] ::
61. ↑4 (65) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [119.3] ::
66. ↑4 (70) : Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 2 vol hardcover box set [complete] – Viz Ghibli Library, Nov 2012 [116.4] ::
85. ↑7 (92) : Omamori Himari 9 – Yen Press, Nov 2012 [101.6] ::
103. ↑32 (135) : Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus 4 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [90.6] ::
105. ↑11 (116) : Negima! 37 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [90.4] ::

Manhwa

565. ↑4 (569) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [16.0] ::
618. ↓-22 (596) : Time & Again 6 – Yen Press, Jul 2011 [14.0] ::
619. ↓-2 (617) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [14.0] ::
727. ↑18 (745) : Time & Again 5 – Yen Press, Mar 2011 [10.0] ::
731. ↑20 (751) : Time & Again 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [9.8] ::
735. ↓-10 (725) : Time & Again 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [9.5] ::
802. ↓-13 (789) : Time & Again 2 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [7.6] ::
837. ↓-11 (826) : Let Dai 11 – Netcomics, Feb 2008 [6.9] ::
1006. ↑26 (1032) : One Thousand & One Nights 11 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [4.0] ::
1062. ↑62 (1124) : One Thousand & One Nights 9 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [3.5] ::

BL/Yaoi

19. ↓-3 (16) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [213.8] ::
121. ↓-40 (81) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [79.7] ::
140. ↑86 (226) : Loveless 9 – Viz, Sep 2012 [73.9] ::
149. ↓-17 (132) : Samejima-Kun & Sasahara-Kun – DMP Juné, May 2012 [72.4] ::
189. ↓-13 (176) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [58.1] ::
201. ↓-52 (149) : In These Words – 801 Media, Jun 2012 [55.3] ::
214. ↓-16 (198) : His Arrogance – 801 Media, Dec 2008 [54.2] ::
217. ↓-34 (183) : The Man I Picked Up – DMP Juné, Aug 2012 [53.0] ::
236. ↓-146 (90) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [48.1] ::
246. ↑24 (270) : Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love 1 – SuBLime, Aug 2012 [46.0] ::

Ebooks

9. ↓-1 (8) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [270.7] ::
30. ↓-2 (28) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [170.4] ::
32. ↓-1 (31) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [169.6] ::
41. ↓-5 (36) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [156.0] ::
55. ↑2 (57) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [128.7] ::
63. ↔0 (63) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [117.9] ::
69. ↑15 (84) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [114.2] ::
75. ↓-14 (61) : Haruhi Suzumiya Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 13 – Yen Press, Aug 2012 [110.7] ::
86. ↓-4 (82) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [101.3] ::
107. ↓-4 (103) : Naruto 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2011 [89.6] ::

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