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Last week at Manga Bookshelf, 7/29-8/04

August 7, 2012 by MJ Leave a Comment

Here’s what you may have missed at Manga Bookshelf last week, July 29th-August 4th!

After the previous week’s outpouring of CLAMP, last week belonged to Manga Bookshelf’s regular contributors and their diverse collection of topics.

From the main blog:

The Battle Robot shared our Pick of the Week and filed a new installment of Bookshelf Briefs.

On August 1st (aka “Yaoi Day”), I blogged about BL manga and privilege.

Matt Blind checked out online manga bestsellers from the weeks ending July 8th, July 15th, and July 22nd.

This month in “Magazine no Mori,” Erica Friedman talked about the “slightly eccentric” Young King Ours.

In the latest installment of “It Came from the Sinosphere,” Sara K. shared her thoughts on Jin Yong’s wuxia novel The Fox Volant of Snow Mountain.

Anna, Emily, Eva, and Nancy take on the K-drama Big in their latest edition of “Bringing the Drama.”

In last week’s “Combat Commentary,” Derek Bown gave us an overview of the fighting in One Piece.

Angela Eastman compared the novel and graphic novel versions of Darren Shan’s Cirque Du Freak in her latest “Comic Conversion” column.

And guest contributor Justin Stroman talks about Olympic gymnast Kouhei Uchimura in Manga, and the Olympic Inspiration.

From The Manga Critic:

Kate reported on Vertical’s license announcements from Otakon and VIZ’s summer manga sale, and reviewed volumes 3-5 of Dawn of the Arcana.

From A Case Suitable for Treatment:

Sean reviewed Soul Eater Not!, Vol. 1 and Jiu Jiu, Vol. 1. He also took a look at Manga the Week of 8/8, and shared some news about the upcoming Looney Tunes Platinum Collection 2.

From MangaBlog:

Brigid’s linkblogging last week included Looking back at Kodansha’s first year and Happy Yaoi Day!

Bleach takes a break

August 7, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

It’s Manga Moveable Feast time again. (Again!) This time the main dish is Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and the host is Philip, of Eeeper’s Choice Podcast. His Call for Participation is up now, so get your keyboards ready!

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their picks of the week.

Deb Aoki has all the details on JManga’s translation contest at About.com, and she should know—she’s one of the judges.

Erica Friedman takes a look at Young King Ours, which styles itself “The Most Eccentric Manga Magazine,” at Manga Bookshelf.

You knew there had to be a manga tie-in to the Olympics, right? Here you go.

Also at Manga Bookshelf: Matt Blind breaks out the spreadsheet once more to compile the list of manga best-sellers for the week ending July 22.

News from Japan: Tite Kubo is putting Bleach on hiatus for a few weeks due to illness; the series, which is in its final arc, is expected to return on August 20. Natsume Ando’s Arisa, a MangaBlog favorite, ended last week. Dance in the Vampire Bund and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days are also drawing to a close. And One Piece continues to shatter records, with vol. 67 getting a print run of 4.05 million copies.

Reviews: What has Ash Brown been reading this past week? Check out Experiments in Manga to find out! Angela Eastman compares the novel and manga versions of Cirque du Freak at Manga Bookshelf.

Ash Brown on The Astro Boy Essays (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 45 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 19 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Tom Spurgeon on Sakuran (The Comics Reporter)
Robert Stanley Martin on vols. 1-3 of Wandering Son (Pol Culture)

It Came From the Sinosphere: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

August 6, 2012 by Sara K. 3 Comments

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin does not have a subtle opening. It wastes no time in telling the audience that this is a kung-fu flick.

Ah, the screenplay is by Ni Kuang. Ni Kuang is an extremely prolific writer of science fiction and wuxia, and a personal friend of Jin Yong. I am sure I will bring him up again in this column, so I’ll postpone giving him a proper introduction.

All of this has nothing to do with the plot, it’s just assuring the audience that ass will be kicked over the course of the flim.

Background

Shaw Brothers Studio was the biggest movie company ever based in Hong Kong, and the 36th Chamber of Shaolin is one of their most famous titles. Before their demise in the 1980s, the Shaw Brothers Studio produced over 1000 films. These included titles such as “Hong Kong 73,” “My Name Ain’t Suzie,” “Tropicana Interlude,” “Mr. Funny-Bone Strikes Again” (adapted from a manhua) and “Sexy Girls of Denmark”. However, the Shaw Brothers studio is now best remembered for their martial-arts flicks.

This is the move which launched its lead actor, Gordon Liu, to stardom. In addition to starring in later Chinese-language martial arts flicks, he also performed in the Kill Bill movies as well as in a Bollywood movie.

I admit I am a Shaw Brothers newbie. My explorations are just beginning, and I still don’t completely understand their system of stars and directors. However, I am sure I will review other Shaw Brothers films for this column, so I hopefully will be able to offer deeper insights then.

Story

San Te is a student while the Manchus are oppressing the people. After the Manchu government kills his family, he realizes that book-learning is useless and decides to learn martial arts so he can fight back.

San Te watches his father being assaulted.

So he travels to Shaolin temple to become a monk and learn their martial arts techniques.

San Te arrives at Shaolin Temple in a basket full of vegetables.

Hey, why is there a man in our bok choy? We’re vegetarians.

At the Shaolin temple, he spends a year sweeping leaves before his martial arts training commences. And it is a brutal training regimen. He has to pass through the 35 chambers, each taxing his physical capacities in a new way.

Monks life buckets of water to increase their strength.

This is the 34th “chamber”.

After passing through all 35 chambers, San Te requests permission to create the 36h chamber—a chamber where he can teach laypeople martial arts so they can resist the oppressive Manchus.

The Fighting

The fighting in this moving is essentially dancing. It’s choreographed, it shows off the performers’ physical capacities, it is intended to be visually impressive, and it communicates a message. And it is good dancing.

It was actually really hard to get decent screenshots of the fight scenes. It’s all about how the actors move, and the screenshots do not show that.

For example, there is a really cool fight with bamboo stakes, but it is impossible to convey the coolness in screenshots. What makes it cool is that it doesn’t just show off the actors’ ~~dance~~ stage fight skills, it’s also imaginative. It’s not a generic weapon fight. The bamboo stakes are used in unexpected ways. It builds on the training at the Shaolin temple—letting the audience recognize how elements from different fights fit together is pretty sweet.

Another imaginative fight – San Te fights a bunch of goons with lanterns:

On the second viewing, I noticed how much the movie makes use of water. Water is used in many ~~other~~ dance films too.

If you find the prospect of free tickets to the ballet more exciting than free tickets to a pop concert (me), watched MGM musicals for the dance sequences (me again), or have ever attended a dance film festival (that’s also me), you should try some of these kung-fu flicks.

Gordon Liu’s Performance

The thing which most impressed me about Gordon Liu’s performance was how he portrayed San Te’s development. It is difficult to show the passing of years in a film that is less than 2 hours long, but the way Gordon Liu showed how San Te changed made me feel that years had passed.

This is Gordon Liu as a student:

I realize you can’t tell from the screenshot, but in the beginning of the film, San Te doesn’t seem like somebody who can kick ass.

This is San Te after he has graduated from the Shaolin training regimen.

Again, you can’t tell from the screenshot, but San Te moves with such stillness (oxymoron, I know) and stands with such poise that I really felt that he had matured a great deal.

The Chambers

This, of course, is the highlight of the movie. The various chambers are even more imaginative than the fights. As a viewer, I learned to look forward to each chamber, wondering what bizarre new training technique I would see next.

This is my favorite chamber. San Te has to learn how to move his eyes without moving his head.

San Te has to keep his eyes on the candles.

If San Te moves his head, he will get burned by one of those incense sticks.

Commentary on Contemporary Buddhism

One of the points made in the film is that it’s wrong for the Shaolin temple to hoard its martial arts techniques while the common people suffer outside under the cruel Manchu dynasty. I am no expert on Buddhism, but I know there have been various calls in the past century that Buddhism became too disconnected from the problems real people suffer, and people have tried to reform it to increase the involvement of laypeople and make more concrete efforts to improve the human condition.

The example of this I am most familiar with is the Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation in Taiwan. It was founded by a Buddhist nun, Cheng Yen, after she saw a poor woman die in childbirth. It is the largest charitable organization in Taiwan, and in addition to providing quality medical care in areas of Taiwan where medical care is otherwise difficult to get, they run recycling centers, provide relief for disasters, and run at least one organic tea plantation which is open to the public (I’ve visited that tea plantation—the views are beautiful).

I don’t know if the filmmakers were consciously putting this message into the film, but I can’t help but think that it is a reflection of modern attitudes towards the religion.

Something Else I Want to Mention

Dropping a lot of flour upon horse riders is cool.

That is all.

Availability in English

It is really easy to get a DVD with English subtitles. This movie is probably better known in the English-speaking world than anything else I have discussed in this column so far. And that observation leads me to my conclusion.

Conclusion

Chinese-language martial arts movies are far more available in English than the novels, TV shows, or manhua. For most people in the English-speaking world, almost all of what they know about Chinese-language martial arts fiction comes from these movies (this, by the way, also applied to me before I started studying Chinese).

Basing one’s knowledge of Chinese martial arts fiction solely on these movies would be like basing one’s knowledge of English-language science fiction solely on blockbuster Hollywood sci-fi movies. Sure, movies such as The Matrix, The Terminator, Forbidden Planet, and so forth certainly represent some of English-language science fiction. But individual 2-hour movies cannot support long, complex plots, nor can they employ the literary devices available to novelists. Even the Star Trek movies don’t demonstrate what makes the Star Trek TV series so outstanding. And blockbuster Hollywood sci-fi movies certainly don’t give viewers a sense of what novels like 1984, The Dispossessed, Dawn, or Diaspora or the short stories of James Tiptree Jr. offer.

This, of course, is not the movies’ fault. But in this column, I certainly hope to poke a hole through the language barrier so English-speakers can peek at just how broad Chinese-language martial arts fiction is.

As for this movie, I actually liked it even more after I saw it for the second time. This is a very good sign. Recommended.

Next time: The Celestial Zone (manhua)

Sara K. thinks it’s a pity that there is no kung-fu musical staring Gene Kelly and Gordon Liu. At least the dream sequence in The Pirate offers viewers a clue what a Gene Kelly kung-fu movie would be like.

My Week in Manga: July 30-August 5, 2012

August 6, 2012 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I had three posts for you all last week here at Experiments in Manga. First was the announcement of the Love Hina Giveaway Winner which also includes a brief list of some of the harem and reverse harem manga that have been licensed in English. I also posted July’s Bookshelf Overload. I managed to restrain my impulse buys over the last month (for the most part). And finally, I reviewed Frederik L. Schodt’s The Astro Boy Essays. I actually haven’t read or watched much Astro Boy, but Schodt’s book is a fantastic introduction to Astro Boy and Osamu Tezuka.

Many boys’ love fans celebrated “Yaoi Day” on August 1st, or 8/01. (With a little Japanese wordplay, 801 can be pronounced as “yaoi.”) I saw a lot of love for est em last week, and for a good reason–she’s a fantastic creator. Jocelyne Allen translated and posted a portion of her interview with est em from 2010 at her site Brain Vs. Book. Over at Otaku Champloo, Khursten Santos had a special spotlight on est em. And, while not part of the yaoi day celebrations, Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga featured est em a few weeks back.

Also! The call for participation for August’s Manga Moveable Feast has been posted! Later this month the manga blogging community will be taking a closer look at Eiji Ōtsuka and Housui Yamazaki’s The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.

Quick Takes

Fist of the North Star: Master Edition, Volumes 7-9 written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. Gutsoon Entertainment was only able to publish nine volumes of Fist of the North Star before going defunct. I would absolutely love to see more of the series available in English. When I first started reading Fist of the North Star, it seemed like the series was heading towards a bad-guy-of-the-week sort of story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I was very happy to see it evolve an engaging overarching plot. Plus, I love the gloriously over-the-top martial arts. These last few English volumes further develop Kenshiro and his brothers’ backstories and introduces one of the primary antagonists of the series.

My Cute Crossdresser by Mitohi Matsumoto. A part of Digital Manga’s new hentai imprint Project-H, My Cute Crossdresser falls into the genre known as otokonoko. Generally written for a male audience, otokonoko features cross-dressing guys, often in somewhat compromising situations (it is ecchi, after all). I quite enjoyed My Cute Crossdresser. For the most part, the sexual content is actually fairly mild. The first and longest story, “Raising Decoy,” in which a guy dresses as a girl to catch gropers on the train in order to bring them to justice, ends up being rather sweet. “Spilled Milk” and “Leo and the Night Sky of Summer” are partially excuses for suggestive crossplay. The collection also includes “An Angel’s Flight” and “Actress.” The volume is fun and even a bit fluffy.

Sexy Voice and Robo by Iou Kuroda. It’s difficult for me to adequately capture my response to reading Sexy Voice and Robo, or to even describe what this manga actually is about. It’s a strange and rather unusual story, but I found it be appealing and immensely enjoyable. Nico, aka “Sexy Voice,” is a bright fourteen-year-old girl who wants to be spy when she grows up, or maybe a fortuneteller. She finds other people intensely fascinating and can’t help but meddle in their affairs, often putting herself in some very dangerous situations as a result. The endearing and hapless “Robo,” who is frequently caught up in her escapades, is one of many men she met while working for a tele-club dating scam.

Tactics, Volumes 1-2 by Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama. First published by ADV Manga, then Tokyopop, and now available through JManga, Tactics is one of the few manga that I’ve read that takes place during Japan’s Taishō era. Kantarou is a young folklorist who is occasionally called upon to exorcise yokai that are causing problems for people. The plot moves a little too quickly at times and is nearly as hyperactive as its protagonist. The stories tend to be fairly benign even when they include slightly more menacing elements. Personally, I prefer my yokai tales to have a little more bite to them, but there were parts of Tactics that were genuinely fun. I was particularly amused by the tengu Haruka’s extreme attachment to his rice bowl.

Yaoi fans celebrate their special day

August 6, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

I took a look at the past week’s new releases at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo covered them in her On the Shelf column for Otaku USA as well. Meanwhile, Sean Gaffney looks forward to this week’s new manga.

Erica Friedman has another installment of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Jocelyne Allen celebrated yaoi day (8/01) by running a 2010 interview with est em, the creator of Seduce Me After the Show and Red Blinds the Foolish. And she follows that up with a review of Gad Sfortunato, a yaoi title by Natsume Ono (writing under her pen name, basso) that has yet to make it into English.

And as a service to her fujoshi readers, Kimi-Chan posts a list of free BL manga and webcomics. Khursten Santos also runs a list of recommended yaoi webcomics, and she shines the spotlight on est em as well.

At Heart of Manga, Laura posts the list of new shoujo titles for August.

Matt Blind’s best-seller lists are gaining on us: His latest is the best-selling manga (online sales) for the week ending July 15.

Takamasa Sakurai noticed more Japanese people than ever at the most recent Japan Expo in Paris, which is a good thing:

Meanwhile, overseas events provide Japanese guests with an opportunity to communicate with each other. In Japan, they part as soon as they finish work. But overseas, they have plenty of time to speak to each other. They can meet for dinner or go out together after events. It’s rare in Japan for artists and staff from various genres to get together, but outside Japan, they’re “Team Japan.” By sharing similar experiences, they can build friendships.

News from Japan: Crunchyroll has some photos of the National High School Manga Championship. You knew there had to be one.

Reviews

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Awkward Silence (I Reads You)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 11 and 12 of Bakuman (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Cactus’s Secret (Blogcritics)
Connie on Cigarette Kisses (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on vols. 3-5 of Dawn of the Arcana (The Manga Critic)
Connie on vol. 1 of Dousei Ai (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 19 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Jiu Jiu (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on est em’s Kine In! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kimi-Chan on Love Soul (The Kimi-Chan Experience)
Erica Friedman on vol. 8 of Lucky Star (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 2 of Scent of Apple Blossoms (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 23 of Slam Dunk (I Reads You)

Pick of the Week: Flowers of Evil, GTO, Lizzie Newton

August 6, 2012 by MJ, Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

MJ: Though Midtown Comics’ selection is pretty limited this week, I still find myself a bit torn. I’ve been a big fan of Tohru Fujisawa’s GTO: 14 Days in Shonan—much bigger than I’d ever expected, in fact—so that’s certainly a major draw for me. But I think my real vote goes to the second volume of another Vertical title—Shuzo Oshimi’s The Flowers of Evil. The series’ first volume offered up a thoughtful take on some of the awkward realities of teenage sexuality, portrayed with a level of honesty (especially regarding its young, male protagonist) that I really hadn’t anticipated. I was surprised by my own reaction to this series, and I am really looking forward to more.

SEAN: Tempted as I am to ignore Midtown’s list and pick one of the pile of Viz coming out everywhere else this week, I will refrain. Instead, let’s go with Vol. 13 of GTO The Early Years, which doesn’t get as much critical praise as its sequels, but is just as much fun. The first half is an epic high school battle involving what a man has to do. After that we get to see exactly what it’s like to be Onizuka’s mother (answer: not all that fun), and find out what the dangers are of claiming to your gang that you’re so badass you can defeat anyone and anything. And the last two chapters are filthy and hilarious. It may seem retro, but just like GTO, its heart is in the right place.

KATE: I second both of MJ’s recommendations—GTO: 14 Days in Shonan for being much funnier than it has any right to be, and The Flowers of Evil for being more complex and real than Sundome, the manga it most closely resembles. If I had to choose one of the two, Flowers nudges out GTO simply because it’s weirder and less formulaic than 14 Days in Shonan. The ending of volume two is amazing—it gives new meaning to the term “blow-out”—and pushes the plot in a new and unexpected direction.

MICHELLE: I too recommend GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, but since that’s already been touted by my compatriots I will instead mention a title that’s due on August 7th according to Amazon, but which is absent from Midtown’s list, and that’s the debut volume of Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, a new manhwa coming from Seven Seas. I suppose its plot isn’t too original—headstrong lady is more interested in solving crime than in marrying advantageously—but it still sounds pretty fun to me!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Book Girl and the Wayfarer’s Lamentation

August 6, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Mizuki Nomura. Released in Japan by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen Press.

This volume of Book Girl does not introduce a new situation of tragic consequences that resonate with our hero’s own past and causes him to grow and change a little more. We’re done with that. Instead, we tie the previous four books together and bring things full circle, as Konoha must confront his past head on, deal with the return of his objectified girl, and realize that despite all the growth he’s made in this last year, he still has quite a ways to go.

These books are all told from Konoha’s point of view, and thus sometimes things can happen around him that he is unaware of. This is especially true of this volume, but Nomura-san is very skilled at letting the reader in on things that Konoha either doesn’t know or is deliberately deluding himself about. Those who have been frustrated by Konoha’s attitude in the past are not going to find this book any easier to delve into. Indeed, as a reader I found myself identifying more with Akutagawa, who is clearly sympathetic to Konoha, but also can’t stand what he’s doing to Kotobuki (and himself). There’s a wonderful scene where Akutagawa lays everything out for Konoha to see, with an expression on his face that says “you aren’t going to believe this or care but I am doing it anyway, dammit.” When his frustration boils over into violence, it’s very cathartic.

Speaking of Kotobuki, I think I’m finally coming to like her. It’s taken a while – she was very stereotypical to start with – but as she’s opened up we’ve seen more of her inner turmoil, and here we see her risking everything in order to protect Konoha. It’s inspiring, but also rather sad, as I think by the end of the book, despite what he may say, he’s no closer to Kotobuki than he was when the book began.

And then there’s Takeda. I’d mentioned in my review of the third volume that it was rather refreshing seeing how in this series, people’s issues aren’t magically fixed by page 235. And indeed, we see that sometimes they aren’t fixed at all. Takeda still puts on a mask of happiness to hide her confusion and sorrow, and now has even taken to self-harm. It’s quite interesting how she actually takes up with Ryuto, a boy who seems to delight in girls with issues, so to speak. Even by the end of the book, after another cathartic moment, we’re not sure if she’ll be OK.

And then there’s Miu. I was predisposed to liking her because of my nature (I find myself drawn to and supporting unlikeable characters), and felt that I was correct when I read the scene with a young Miu meeting Konoha, and telling him a story. Konoha’s narration of it is beautiful, and you believe that it shows you the real Asakura beneath all the anger, hatred and manipulation we’ve seen. And then, later on, that beautiful scene is thrown back at us, as we get it from Miu’s point of view and see the horrible pedestal Konoha has placed her on, leading to writer’s block and her desperate cribbing of stories from other sources. I’m not sure it makes up for everything she’s done, but at least I look forward to seeing if she can finally move on and begin to heal.

I haven’t talked all that much about the book as a book, but that’s mostly as I’m so drawn into the character’s lives. It’s a good book. Frustrating at times, but that’s the frustration of a reader towards the characters doing dumb things, not the author. I do wish we’d had more of Maki – she’s the only supporting character whose story didn’t tie into the others, and her presence at the end seems to be nothing more than ‘I need the whole cast here’ – but she apparently features heavily in Book 6, so I’ll let it go. I also haven’t mentioned Tohko, the titular Book Girl, but that’s because Tohko’s story is still so diffuse. Yes, she’s studying to get into university – barely – but she’s the one who helps others, the detective who puts everything together. We haven’t had her own story yet – clearly that will be Books 7 and 8, the finale. For now, all we get are suggestions and small tastes.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 05 August

August 5, 2012 by Matt Blind Leave a Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↑2 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [402.7] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [401.0] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [385.7] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [381.9] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Vampire Knight 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [348.8] ::
6. ↑2 (8) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [330.5] ::
7. ↑6 (13) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [326.8] ::
8. ↓-7 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [324.0] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 9 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jul 2012 [316.8] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [314.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 93
Yen Press 92
Viz Shojo Beat 62
Kodansha Comics 48
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 38
DMP Juné 26
Dark Horse 17
Seven Seas 17
Vertical 13
Viz Signature 12

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,096.9] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [820.4] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [566.0] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [559.2] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [523.2] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [505.5] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [505.0] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Alice in the Country of Clover – Seven Seas [484.7] ::
9. ↑2 (11) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [463.9] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Fairy Tail – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [449.2] ::

[more]

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

4. ↑1 (5) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [381.9] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Vampire Knight 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [348.8] ::
7. ↑6 (13) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [326.8] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 9 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jul 2012 [316.8] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [314.8] ::
14. ↓-4 (10) : Fairy Tail 20 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [284.1] ::
18. ↑148 (166) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2012 [266.8] ::
20. ↑1 (21) : Highschool of the Dead 7 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [262.9] ::
26. ↓-9 (17) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 1 – Seven Seas, Jul 2012 [236.0] ::
27. ↑2 (29) : D. Gray-Man 22 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jul 2012 [234.6] ::

[more]

Preorders

13. ↓-1 (12) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [289.0] ::
16. ↔0 (16) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [279.0] ::
19. ↑4 (23) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [263.3] ::
28. ↑6 (34) : Sailor Moon 10 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2013 [234.0] ::
39. ↑4 (43) : Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise 3 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [187.0] ::
55. ↑4 (59) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [145.1] ::
72. ↑1 (73) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [122.4] ::
84. ↓-1 (83) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [110.5] ::
89. ↑15 (104) : Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 2 vol hardcover box set [complete] – Viz Ghibli Library, Nov 2012 [105.3] ::
92. ↓-7 (85) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [103.6] ::

[more]

Manhwa

428. ↑74 (502) : Time & Again 6 – Yen Press, Jul 2011 [26.2] ::
433. ↑74 (507) : Time & Again 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [26.0] ::
489. ↑189 (678) : Time & Again 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [22.0] ::
578. ↓-17 (561) : Time & Again 2 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [17.5] ::
588. ↓-179 (409) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [17.0] ::
589. ↓-95 (494) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [17.0] ::
760. ↓-60 (700) : Time & Again 5 – Yen Press, Mar 2011 [9.9] ::
865. ↑119 (984) : One Thousand & One Nights 7 – Yen Press, Apr 2009 [6.9] ::
947. ↓-42 (905) : Let Dai 11 – Netcomics, Feb 2008 [5.5] ::
1012. ↑207 (1219) : One Thousand & One Nights 11 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [4.3] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

7. ↑6 (13) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [326.8] ::
59. ↓-4 (55) : Samejima-Kun & Sasahara-Kun – DMP Juné, May 2012 [141.6] ::
84. ↓-1 (83) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [110.5] ::
85. ↓-17 (68) : In These Words – 801 Media, Jun 2012 [110.2] ::
92. ↓-7 (85) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [103.6] ::
154. ↓-53 (101) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [74.8] ::
162. ↑30 (192) : Awkward Silence 1 – DMP Juné, Aug 2010 [70.0] ::
180. ↓-89 (91) : The Tyrant Falls in Love 6 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [65.8] ::
203. ↑32 (235) : Hybrid Child – DMP Juné, Aug 2006 [59.5] ::
212. ↑32 (244) : His Arrogance – 801 Media, Dec 2008 [57.3] ::

[more]

Ebooks

4. ↑1 (5) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [381.9] ::
25. ↔0 (25) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [243.0] ::
37. ↑2 (39) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [196.7] ::
41. ↑1 (42) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [186.3] ::
51. ↑6 (57) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [156.1] ::
58. ↓-5 (53) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [142.9] ::
68. ↓-4 (64) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [125.3] ::
73. ↓-3 (70) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [119.9] ::
90. ↑58 (148) : Blue Exorcist 2 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jun 2011 [104.5] ::
99. ↑19 (118) : Blue Exorcist 6 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Feb 2012 [99.7] ::

[more]

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 29 July

August 4, 2012 by Matt Blind Leave a Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↑1 (2) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [420.5] ::
2. ↓-1 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [415.5] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [414.3] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [408.8] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [390.0] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Vampire Knight 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [357.5] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 9 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jul 2012 [335.8] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [327.5] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [300.3] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Fairy Tail 20 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [294.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 91
Viz Shonen Jump 88
Viz Shojo Beat 58
Kodansha Comics 47
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 36
DMP Juné 32
Dark Horse 20
Seven Seas 14
Vertical 13
Vizkids 11

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,139.3] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [824.3] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [649.1] ::
4. ↑2 (6) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [555.2] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [540.4] ::
6. ↓-2 (4) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [525.0] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Alice in the Country of Clover – Seven Seas [508.3] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [499.1] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Pandora Hearts – Yen Press [485.8] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Fairy Tail – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [481.5] ::

[more]

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

5. ↔0 (5) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [390.0] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Vampire Knight 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [357.5] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 9 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jul 2012 [335.8] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [327.5] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [300.3] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Fairy Tail 20 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [294.8] ::
13. ↑16 (29) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [287.9] ::
14. ↓-4 (10) : Ouran High School Host Club 18 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2012 [280.4] ::
17. ↓-2 (15) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 1 – Seven Seas, Jul 2012 [275.1] ::
20. ↓-6 (14) : Bleach 42 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [261.4] ::

[more]

Preorders

12. ↑1 (13) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [292.3] ::
16. ↑2 (18) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [275.9] ::
23. ↓-3 (20) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [259.8] ::
34. ↔0 (34) : Sailor Moon 10 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2013 [228.5] ::
43. ↑4 (47) : Avatar: The Last Airbender The Promise 3 – Dark Horse, Oct 2012 [189.0] ::
59. ↑13 (72) : Yotsuba&! 11 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [136.9] ::
73. ↑3 (76) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [120.3] ::
83. ↑3 (86) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [107.4] ::
85. ↑9 (94) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [104.0] ::
98. ↑19 (117) : Love Hina Omnibus 4 – Kodansha Comics, Aug 2012 [95.6] ::

[more]

Manhwa

409. ↓-19 (390) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [27.2] ::
494. ↓-5 (489) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [21.6] ::
502. ↓-11 (491) : Time & Again 6 – Yen Press, Jul 2011 [21.4] ::
507. ↑100 (607) : Time & Again 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [21.1] ::
561. ↑158 (719) : Time & Again 2 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [18.3] ::
678. ↓-13 (665) : Time & Again 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [13.0] ::
700. ↓-31 (669) : Time & Again 5 – Yen Press, Mar 2011 [12.1] ::
905. ↓-9 (896) : Let Dai 11 – Netcomics, Feb 2008 [6.2] ::
965. ↓-121 (844) : Totally Captivated 4 – Netcomics, Sep 2008 [5.1] ::
981. ↓-22 (959) : One Thousand & One Nights 10 – Yen Press, Apr 2010 [4.7] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

13. ↑16 (29) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [287.9] ::
55. ↑2 (57) : Samejima-Kun & Sasahara-Kun – DMP Juné, May 2012 [143.3] ::
68. ↓-3 (65) : In These Words – 801 Media, Jun 2012 [126.7] ::
83. ↑3 (86) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [107.4] ::
85. ↑9 (94) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [104.0] ::
91. ↓-12 (79) : The Tyrant Falls in Love 6 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [100.9] ::
101. ↓-12 (89) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [93.0] ::
149. ↓-18 (131) : The Tyrant Falls in Love 5 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [75.2] ::
153. ↓-70 (83) : Same Difference – DMP Juné, Jun 2012 [74.4] ::
157. ↓-28 (129) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [72.0] ::

[more]

Ebooks

5. ↔0 (5) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [390.0] ::
25. ↓-6 (19) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [250.3] ::
39. ↓-2 (37) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [202.3] ::
42. ↓-3 (39) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [197.9] ::
53. ↔0 (53) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [146.8] ::
57. ↑3 (60) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [139.8] ::
64. ↑3 (67) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [129.7] ::
70. ↓-8 (62) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [123.5] ::
99. ↓-1 (98) : Naruto 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2011 [93.5] ::
105. ↓-5 (100) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [91.7] ::

[more]

Manga, and the Olympic Inspiration

August 3, 2012 by Justin Stroman 4 Comments

I’m always kind of waiting for the good news. I’m tired of hearing about athletes getting in trouble and seeing scandals that ultimately question the actual humanity inside of a person. In the case of athletes, there’s always someone at fault and it usually involves the athlete themselves, and I can’t stand it since those who do get in trouble are pretty fortunate: they have a far more secure standing than most, and have made tons of money that they earned due to their talent and day and night training so they can make their living. Now, when the Olympics roll around every four years, I don’t pay attention to all of the sporting events; I especially don’t pay attention to it when NBC decides to tape delay it. However, I’m always up for hearing some great stories involving a participant in the games, and usually, while the Olympics does hold some controversy, there are moments that take place that can make a person and a community smile, just a little bit. And with Kouhei Uchimura’s story, this is one that manages to involve the manga community in its own little way.

While growing up, you’re most likely to have read a work that tells you to shoot for your dreams, and you’re most likely to have watched a cartoon or show with the theme inspiring you to never give up. Then you become an adult, and suddenly realize it’s not feasible to accomplish what you wanted to do as a child. Only a few out of the billions of people on Earth grow up to eventually accomplish what they want to do; Kouhei is part of that few, or more specifically, one of that few to have read a work and let that guide him throughout the 2012 Olympics. Kouhei began taking Gymnastics at his parents’ sports club in Nagasaki Prefecture at the age of 3. In 1994, Shogakukan launched Ganba! Fly High, a manga illustrated by Hiroyuki Kikuta and written by Shinji Morisue in Weekly Shounen Sunday. Ganba! Fly High tells the story of high school gymnast Shun Fujimaki who wants to compete in the 2000 Olympic Games. He eventually is able to rise through the competition and win a gold medal.

What is the correlation you ask? Shinji Morisue happened to be a participant in the Olympic Games—in fact, in the 1984 Summer Olympics, he left Los Angeles with three medals: a bronze in team combined exercises, a silver in vault, and a gold medal in horizontal bar. Uchimura will leave London with the gold in all-around competition. When I saw the original ANN link to the news, I was pretty touched, as it seemed to be right down my alley: an athlete saying how a manga he either read as a child or as a teen was one of his inspirations in making it to the Olympics, and it just so happened the author of the said manga he had read was the last to have won the gold in the same sport’s all-around event. As it turns out (clarified in the news link), Morisue did not win all around gold in 1984—that was a different Japanese gymnast, Koji Gushiken—but it doesn’t really diminish the real story.

The real story involves a manga created and based on what Morisue knew about Gymnastics, and how it managed to inspire an athlete to shoot for gold. Yes it’s kind of cheesy and Uchimura didn’t have to mention it, but he did. In case we might have forgotten inspiration can come from entertainment or literature, this can serve as a reminder. It’s still probably a rare occurrence, but it is certainly possible. The Olympic Games can mean a lot of things, but if there’s one thing people can take from it is that it’s an athlete-driven event that not only has highly paid superstars representing their respective countries, but also high school and college students who love to play their sport and get salaries comparable to a regular day job. It means the stories these athletes have are actually genuine, and worthy of great admiration.

Kouhei Uchimura has won events before, securing wins at numerous competitions prior to the London Olympics, so he has received good money for his accomplishments. I still find it cool to see that there was a manga that inspired him to keep on pushing, as attempting to be an athlete means pushing through all the good times and the bad times. As for Ganba! Fly High, to know of a work that did inspire someone to make a mention of it reminds me of how we always hear manga artists tell us who inspired them to create their works. It also makes me want to see more athletes share their stories in manga form, whether it’s a success story, one that doesn’t end as it should, or another athlete inspired by a manga. We all get inspiration from something, though, so it’s not exclusive to sports. So do you guys have something that inspired you, or have a story that you thought was pretty cool? Do you know of other manga works that athletes have written and shared aside from Ganba! Fly High? And what do you think of Uchimura’s story?

You may check out more of Justin’s work at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.