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Comics shops: The new Borders?

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ICv2 finds an interesting trend in comics sales: Sales of manga in comics shops have gone up in the past year. As those of us who have tried to buy manga in the local capes-and-tights emporium well know, many comics shops are not friendly to manga, but they do have the ability to offer books you can’t find in Barnes & Noble (which seems to have shrunk its graphic novel section drastically, at least in the store I visit). Borders had a huge selection of manga and catered to a wide variety of tastes, and ICv2 points out that the demise of the chain could be an opportunity for comics retailers. While a lot of folks buy their manga online, you can’t replace the immediacy of picking up the book in your hands and buying it right away, and a comic shop would be a great venue for that—if they have the foresight to stock the books.

Lissa Pattillo gives us a bit of background on Digital’s new licenses at Kuriousity.

Matt Blind looks at the manga best-sellers from the week of Feb. 19.

Time for another peek inside a Japanese manga magazine: Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at Weekly Manga Times.

Reviews: Ash Brown takes us briskly through a week in manga at Experiments in Manga.

Erica Friedman on the March issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of The Earl and the Fairy (Comics-and-More)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Hana-Kimi (omnibus edition) (The Comic Book Bin)
Drew McCabe on vols. 54 and 55 of Naruto (Comic Attack)
Philip on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (Eeeper’s Choice Podcast)

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 19 February

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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 [468.0] ::
2. ↑2 (4) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [420.0] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [398.4] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [389.3] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [387.1] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [384.3] ::
7. ↑3 (10) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [366.4] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [358.3] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [355.3] ::
10. ↑12 (22) : Bleach 38 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [294.5] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 98
Yen Press 73
Viz Shojo Beat 68
Kodansha Comics 38
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 30
Seven Seas 21
DMP Juné 20
Vizkids 17
Dark Horse 13
Del Rey 13

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,107.5] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [843.6] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Black Butler – Yen Press [787.5] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [581.5] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [565.3] ::
6. ↓-2 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [564.3] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [515.9] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Pokemon – Vizkids [499.5] ::
9. ↑2 (11) : Blue Exorcist – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [446.8] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [441.5] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [468.0] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [398.4] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [387.1] ::
14. ↓-1 (13) : Highschool of the Dead 5 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [272.7] ::
15. ↑10 (25) : Omamori Himari 6 – Yen Press, Feb 2012 [269.9] ::
18. ↑2 (20) : Black Bird 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2012 [254.1] ::
20. ↓-5 (15) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 7 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jan 2012 [251.7] ::
23. ↑24 (47) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [239.0] ::
24. ↑30 (54) : Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus 3 – Dark Horse, Feb 2012 [237.2] ::
25. ↑3 (28) : Blue Exorcist 6 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Feb 2012 [236.4] ::

[more]

Preorders

4. ↓-1 (3) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [389.3] ::
10. ↑12 (22) : Bleach 38 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [294.5] ::
11. ↑40 (51) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [287.6] ::
17. ↑1 (18) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [254.1] ::
30. ↑4 (34) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [229.0] ::
39. ↓-12 (27) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [215.4] ::
40. ↓-31 (9) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [204.8] ::
63. ↑1 (64) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [146.6] ::
74. ↑9 (83) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [133.1] ::
92. ↑36 (128) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [111.7] ::

[more]

Manhwa

225. ↑238 (463) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [50.4] ::
340. ↓-34 (306) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [33.2] ::
384. ↑5 (389) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [28.3] ::
403. ↑46 (449) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [26.5] ::
590. ↓-71 (519) : March Story 2 – Viz Signature, Apr 2011 [15.3] ::
699. ↑229 (928) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [11.3] ::
784. ↓-194 (590) : Bride of the Water God 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [8.7] ::
787. ↑ (last ranked 2 Oct 11) : Very Very Sweet 8 – Yen Press, Nov 2010 [8.7] ::
875. ↓-521 (354) : Black God 15 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [6.8] ::
901. ↑359 (1260) : King of Hell 12 – Tokyopop, Feb 2006 [6.2] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

22. ↑1 (23) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [240.3] ::
52. ↑6 (58) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [172.6] ::
62. ↑10 (72) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [147.3] ::
74. ↑9 (83) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [133.1] ::
76. ↑141 (217) : Ice Cage (ebook) – Yaoi Press, Feb 2012 [132.6] ::
84. ↑13 (97) : Only Serious About You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [121.7] ::
111. ↑169 (280) : Trapped Wizard (ebook) – Yaoi Press, Feb 2012 [92.3] ::
130. ↓-30 (100) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [79.7] ::
132. ↑50 (182) : Maelstrom (ebook) 3 – Yaoi Press, Jul 2011 [79.6] ::
134. ↑47 (181) : Maelstrom (ebook) 5 – Yaoi Press, Jul 2011 [78.9] ::

[more]

Ebooks

62. ↑10 (72) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [147.3] ::
76. ↑141 (217) : Ice Cage (ebook) – Yaoi Press, Feb 2012 [132.6] ::
77. ↓-4 (73) : How to Draw Manga (ebook) Lesson 1 Eyes – Japanime’s Manga University, May 2011 [132.0] ::
99. ↓-25 (74) : Vampire Cheerleaders 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2011 [106.6] ::
110. ↑23 (133) : Kanji de Manga 1 – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [93.0] ::
111. ↑169 (280) : Trapped Wizard (ebook) – Yaoi Press, Feb 2012 [92.3] ::
122. ↑69 (191) : Vampire Hunter D (manga) 6 – DMP, Nov 2011 [81.8] ::
132. ↑50 (182) : Maelstrom (ebook) 3 – Yaoi Press, Jul 2011 [79.6] ::
134. ↑47 (181) : Maelstrom (ebook) 5 – Yaoi Press, Jul 2011 [78.9] ::
138. ↓-47 (91) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [77.2] ::

[more]

Bookshelf Briefs 3/19/12

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This week, Kate, Michelle, & Sean take a look at recent releases from Yen Press, VIZ Media, Seven Seas, and Kodansha Comics.

13th Boy, Vol. 11 | By SangEun Lee | Yen Press – Reviewing the penultimate volume of a series is always a challenge. Divulge too little, and long-time readers might wonder if the story is building to a satisfying conclusion; divulge too much and incur the wrath of the Spoiler Police. I’ll try to find a middle ground here by saying that SangEun Lee uses volume eleven to explore the relationship between Whie-Young and Hee-So in greater depth — a relationship that may come at a price too great for Whie-Young, Hee-So, and the long-suffering Beatrice, who owes his existence to Whie-Young’s magic. The major plot developments of volume eleven are related with Lee’s customary mix of slapstick humor and sentiment; few writers can tack between the two extremes with such grace as Lee, who uses those sudden tonal shifts to underscore her characters’ emotional volatility. I have no idea if the story will turn out the way I want it to, but I’m confident that whatever happens in volume twelve will feel like the right outcome for this odd, magical manhwa. -Katherine Dacey

Ai Ore!, Vol. 4 | By Mayu Shinjo | VIZ Media – This is the point in the series where Mayu Shinjo had her big falling out with Shogakukan, and as a consequence Ai Ore! moved to Kadokawa Shoten, starting to serialize in their magazine Asuka. Asuka not being nearly as porn-oriented as Shoujo Comic can get, there’s a definite change in mood. Akira has continued his slide towards being less horrible, which is a good thing. His relationship with Mizuki has also gotten far more chaste – they’re back to hand-holding. In its defense, the humor is just as sharp as prior volumes, and the best parts show a mangaka not taking anything seriously. (Mizuki in a cage will make you boggle.) On the down side, Mizuki continues to be the weak part of this series, even needing to be rescued here. But then, by now no one is reading the series for Mizuki anyway. Still sort of recommended-ish.-Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 3 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa | Seven Seas – First off, we get the end of the battle between Misaki and Harumi, and it’s as brutal as you’d imagine. The backstory given is heartbreaking, especially since it involves children, and one hopes that this is not the last we see of it. Railgun is at its best doing serious and exciting action sequences – both with this and with the flashback showing a younger Kuroko in training – and given this is the majority of this volume, that makes it easily the best volume to date. Especially given the suggestion of more to Misaki’s destiny than she’s likely to be comfortable with. (Uiharu is also fantastic, lest I forget her.) I still think Kuroko is at her best when nowhere near Misaki, but that’s a minor point by now. Great action packed thriller manga.-Sean Gaffney

Mardock Scramble, Vol. 3 | Created by Tow Ubakata, Manga by Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – If you asked me to summarize my response to volume three of Mardock Scramble, my one-word answer would be “grim.” (My two-word response: “really grim.”) Rune Balot plays cat-and-mouse with four of Boiled’s henchmen, dispatching each with gory zest. Though the plot flirts with moral complexity in later scenes — Balot seems to be enjoying her new-found powers in unexpected ways — that ambiguity feels unearned; Balot is such a flat, affectless character that her transformation feels too abrupt to be genuinely persuasive. A few startling images breathe life into the action scenes, but on the whole, volume three is so relentlessly brutal that few readers will want to continue with the series. -Katherine Dacey

Nabari No Ou, Vol. 9 | By Yuhki Kamatani | Published by Yen Press – Sometimes a volume of manga is good simply because it furnishes one with long-sought-after information. Volume nine of Nabari No Ou is just such a case, as it focuses primarily on Yukimi’s efforts to find out more about Yoite’s past. The momentum of the story is such that I was untroubled by that feeling I sometimes get with this series that it never quite manages to coalesce, and just simply enjoyed the revelations as they came. I still really don’t care about the search for five scrolls of secret ninja arts, but there are some good character moments in this volume that exemplify why I keep reading the series. The final pages are especially nice. Also, what I thought was going to be a depressing encounter with a malnourished kitten turned out to have a happy outcome. So, bonus points for that. – Michelle Smith

Rin-Ne, Vol. 8 | By Rumiko Takahashi | VIZ Media – By now readers should know that this is a manga where plot developments, if they happen at all, happen on a glacial scale. Shoujo writers, when they semi-retire, seem to gravitate to family stories in josei magazines for housewives. Takahashi seems to prefer going back to her roots, as this volume is filled with comedic one-to-two parters regarding Rinne and Sakura and their wacky soul-reaping adventures. We do get a longer arc involving Shoma, a young brat in the best Takahashi tradition (hi, Jariten), and this gets briefly serious when genuine innocent souls appear to be headed to hell. But for the most part, this manga is as calm and placid as its heroine, and is for fans who have read Takahashi for so long that they really have to keep reading her.-Sean Gaffney

Soul Eater, Vol. 8 | By Atsushi Ohkubo | Yen Press – It needs to be said right off the bat – if you hate snakes, or hate mental violation of children, do not read this volume of Soul Eater. Medusa’s takeover of Rachel is easily the most creepy and disturbing scene we have seen in the entire manga to date, and may honestly give nightmares. That said, Medusa and Arachnae’s confrontation is top-notch, and makes you want to see more of the two villains fighting for supremacy. Otherwise, it’s a fairly sedate volume of Soul Eater. Black*Star grows by tiny increments, and Crona discovers the warmth of friendship – very, very briefly. I’ve come to like this series for more than its art style, but it still leaves a weird feeling in your head as you read it – a sense that too much exposure might leave you ask insane as most of its characters. Recommended to those not easily squicked.-Sean Gaffney

Celebrating Taniguchi

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Erica Friedman adds an op-ed page to this week’s Yuri Network News with her commentary on the CBLDF manga case, Apple and Amazon’s content restrictions, and the difficulty of selling yuri manga in print.

Ed Sizemore kicks off the Manga Moveable Feast at Manga Worth Reading. This month’s featured creator is Jiro Taniguchi, and Ed hosts a review of Taniguchi’s The Walking Man by JE Latosa.

Johanna Draper Carlson looks at the most promising manga from this month’s batch of new releases.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their pick of the week.

Lissa Pattillo has some background on Viz’s latest license rescue, 07-Ghost, as well as the news that Amazon is carrying listings for omnibus editions of the early volumes of Loveless. Yen Press announced at NYCC last year that it had rescued Loveless, but they only revealed plans to publish the volumes not already published by Tokyopop, so this is something new.

Connie continues her look at the Eroicaverse (the world of From Eroica with Love) with an article about Der Freischütz, a side story from 1982.

Matt Blind compiles another list of manga best-sellers, looking at online sales, from mid-February. Six of the top ten volumes are Sailor Moon or Codename Sailor V.

News from Japan: As Skip Beat celebrates its 10th anniversary, there are 10 million copies of its 30 volumes in print in Japan. A new Devilman spinoff, Devilman G, will be previewed in the May issue of Champion RED. And Kotaku catches a blooper in the latest issue of Comic Yurihime.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team kicks off the week with a new set of Bookshelf Briefs. Other reviews of note:

Sweetpea616 on Angel Gunfighter (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Chobits (omnibus edition) (Blogcritics)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of The Earl and the Fairy (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of The Earl and the Fairy (Manga Village)
Philip on vols. 1-4 of Kingyo Used Books (Eeeper’s Choice Podcast)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Library Wars (The Comic Book Bin)
Dan Morrill on Nadesico (Comics Forge)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 9-11 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 13 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Swan (Blogcritics)

Pick of the Week: Boy, Bunny, & Bride

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There’s a wealth of new manga shipping in to Midtown Comics, including popular titles from Kodansha Comics, VIZ Media, and Seven Seas. But it’s Yen Press who manages a clean sweep of the Battle Robot’s picks this week.

MJ: This week is really brutal on the pocketbook, or at least it is on mine. I see several must-buys on the list, including the latest volumes of favorites like House of Five Leaves, Bunny Drop, Sailor Moon, and Pandora Hearts, none of which I’d be willing to miss. And A Bride’s Story, for heaven’s sake! I couldn’t possibly pass that up! But for my pick this week, I’ll continue on in my endless crusade for SangEun Lee’s supernatural romance manhwa 13th Boy. I’ve followed this series rabidly since the beginning, and now that we’ve reached its penultimate volume, I’m bursting with anticipation. Though the series’ romantic destination has been clear (to me, anyway) from the start, the journey has always been the point, and I’m dying to see how Lee plans to take us there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

MICHELLE: I’m in the same boat! I’ve touted both Sailor Moon and 13th Boy in the past, and love both with equal fervor. The tie-breaking factor, then, must come from how awesome the story is in each series at the present moment. Sailor Moon has just embarked on a new arc while 13th Boy is approaching its end, with all sorts of attendant drama. Put in that perspective, I think 13th Boy is the clear, “can’t miss” winner.

SEAN: I think we can all basically toss up a picture of Sailor Moon every time it comes out, and then say “in addition to this”. For me, my “in addition” is the 5th volume of Bunny Drop, the heartwarming josei manga about single parenthood. I’d noted when reviewing Volume 4 that I felt the series needed to shake things up a bit, and clearly Unita agreed with me – as the cover and back copy both note so no complaints – and so this volume timeskips ahead ten years to find Rin in high school, and Daikichi… well, just as single as he was. We’re going to have a whole new host of questions to wonder about and things to talk about. Hopefully this series can continue to keep the same high quality that has greeted us every time, even with this new development.

KATE: Tempting as those other titles are, my heart belongs to the third volume of A Bride’s Story. Kaoru Mori’s manga is awesome on many levels: it’s meticulously researched and meticulously drawn. It boasts a diverse, compelling cast of female characters who range in age from thirteen to seventy. And it has some of the funniest, weirdest omake of any series on the US market. (Seriously! Mori’s omake might be even better than Yellow Tanabe’s delightfully self-deprecating strips.) What really sold me on this title, however, is Mori’s ability to suggest the rhythm of daily life in nineteenth-century Central Asia; yes, the drama is compelling, but damned if I don’t find those chapters on weaving and bread-baking just as entertaining as the Big Confrontations.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei, Vol. 13

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By Koji Kumeta. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

It was recently announced that Zetsubou will be ending in Weekly Shonen Magazine in about two months, making it a total of 28-29 volumes long. As a result, this volume manages to not even be halfway through the series, something that I’m sure worries Kodansha Comics here in North America more than it does the average reader. Still, let us read on to see what we can glean from this volume.

Indeed, the last short gag comic in this volume talks about the fact that, after the anime has aired, the cast has lost all motivation to continue to excel. Lots of cute little gags here – we see Kiri and Matoi in regular school uniform, and Nozomu in a T-shirt, as they just can’t be bothered to care. Naturally, this is a reflection of Kumeta-san’s own misgivings. He had been tortured back when Katteni Kaizo was running with the promise of an anime… which never materialized (at least not then.) Now that Zetsubou has gotten an anime series, he’s at a loss for what to wish for now. As the manga demonstrates, a live-action series would probably simply be ridiculous – for one thing, the violence would have to be toned way down.

Speaking of violence, for a while it seemed as if Chiri was slacking a bit in her role as Zetsubou’s favorite psycho. Luckily, she’s back on top form here, as she kills the cast and buries them under the floor in one chapter (then returns home to parents it’s hinted she’s also killed…) and in another chapter simply incites the rest of the girls to slaughter a number of prison guards in order to rescue their teacher. Kafuka has lost a bit of focus as the series has gone on, with Chiri’s stronger, more insane personality becoming more popular. But as ever, Kafuka shows who’s really in control of events here – I’m positive that’s her dressed as the girl giving Nozomu a love letter.

Another consequence of the series getting an anime is that it led to the manga getting new readers that would likely not have picked it up before – the otaku fan. Indeed, going to pixiv, a Japanese art site, shows a truly staggering number of questionable art of Kiri Komori, who was quickly singled out as the most ‘moe’ of the cast. Kumeta attacks these types of fans with even more vitriol than usual, especially in the chapter devoted to ‘honey traps’. Whether it be the average watcher of Haruhi and Lucky Star, or the man who buys character sheets and body pillows, no one is spared. Of course, as Kafuka cynically undercuts, they’re perfectly happy to have fans buying Zetsubou-sensei merchandise.

Chapter 129 has one of the stranger endings of the entire series, and even though Joshua Weeks (congratulations on lasting more than four volumes, Josh!) does endnote it, it’s worth looking at. Kumeta got his start at Shogakukan’s Shonen Sunday, and worked there for years. His most popular series there was Katteni Kaizo, which ran from 1998 – 2004… the period right before Zetsubou-sensei. Indeed, it was an argument with Shogakukan about the series (and the anime that never seemed to happen) that led to him leaving for Kodansha. (His assistant, Kenjiro Hata, elected to stay at Shogakukan, and was given his own series, Hayate the Combat Butler. Needless to say, ‘friendly rivalry’ doesn’t begin to describe things…)

Katteni Kaizo is a high-school gag manga about a boy who is convinced that he is a cyborg, his friend Umi who knocked him onto his head as a child, and their many,m many insane friends. When Kumeta deliberately cut it short, he decided to end it by showing Kaizo and Umi waking up in a mental hospital, where they had been imagining the entire series. Now “cured”, they go out into Tokyo to start life anew. The fan reaction was basically “…”, as you might imagine. One of the minor characters, Yoko, had, towards the end of the series, sealed herself in a wall by accident (something that is quite typical of this character). Whether Kumeta did this deliberately in order to write this precise chapter of Zetsubou-sensei 7 years later is unknown (I tend to doubt it), but it ends up looking quite clever.

I’m not sure what the future of Zetsubou-sensei is in North America. Vol. 14 is scheduled for April, but after that Kodansha’s schedule (up through November on Amazon) does not show it. You might argue “but it’s a New York Times bestseller!”, but aside from the fact that the NYT list frequently bears no resemblance to reality, the question is whether Zetsubou’s sales are worth the stress of having to translate this monster. More jokes than ever before in this volume are simply “this is funny if you’re Japanese, trust us” jokes, and the minimal endnotes only help a little. On the other hand, it could simply be that the series is taking a short break, possibly for the translator to recover his frazzled mind, and will continue down the road. Obviously I’m hoping for the latter. In any case, this is another solid volume of the series.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 12 February

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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 [471.0] ::
2. ↑3 (5) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [424.8] ::
3. ↑7 (10) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [410.3] ::
4. ↓-2 (2) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [407.5] ::
5. ↓-2 (3) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [398.5] ::
6. ↓-2 (4) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [376.5] ::
7. ↑2 (9) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [363.8] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [363.0] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [343.5] ::
10. ↑10 (20) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [338.0] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 90
Yen Press 76
Viz Shojo Beat 70
Kodansha Comics 42
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 32
Seven Seas 21
Dark Horse 17
DMP Juné 17
Vizkids 16
Del Rey 10

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,104.9] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [909.3] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Black Butler – Yen Press [825.7] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [669.2] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [631.8] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [561.4] ::
7. ↑10 (17) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [518.8] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [504.1] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Pokemon – Vizkids [475.2] ::
10. ↓-2 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [470.5] ::

[more]

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

3. ↑7 (10) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [410.3] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [343.5] ::
22. ↑19 (41) : Bleach 38 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [266.2] ::
25. ↑95 (120) : Omamori Himari 6 – Yen Press, Feb 2012 [238.5] ::
28. ↑77 (105) : Blue Exorcist 6 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Feb 2012 [225.1] ::
46. ↑97 (143) : Bakuman 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2012 [188.8] ::
47. ↑8 (55) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [188.1] ::
51. ↑10 (61) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [180.8] ::
54. ↑9 (63) : Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus 3 – Dark Horse, Feb 2012 [172.1] ::
68. ↑351 (419) : Kamisama Kiss 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Feb 2012 [130.8] ::

[more]

Preorders

18. ↑1 (19) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [288.8] ::
27. ↓-1 (26) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [232.8] ::
34. ↑26 (60) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [207.5] ::
64. ↑5 (69) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [144.5] ::
128. ↓-5 (123) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [85.9] ::
135. ↓-4 (131) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [80.7] ::
168. ↓-13 (155) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 4 – Yen Press, Aug 2012 [64.6] ::
173. ↓-33 (140) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [63.7] ::
189. ↓-27 (162) : Toradora! 4 – Seven Seas, Apr 2012 [57.3] ::
204. ↑138 (342) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [53.6] ::

[more]

Manhwa

306. ↓-38 (268) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [39.0] ::
354. ↓-175 (179) : Black God 15 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [32.5] ::
389. ↑62 (451) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [28.0] ::
449. ↓-93 (356) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [23.4] ::
463. ↑610 (1073) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [22.7] ::
519. ↑147 (666) : March Story 2 – Viz Signature, Apr 2011 [18.9] ::
590. ↑385 (975) : Bride of the Water God 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [15.0] ::
719. ↑ (last ranked 16 Oct 11) : Pig Bride 5 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [10.4] ::
755. ↑ (last ranked 22 Jan 12) : Jack Frost 4 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [9.8] ::
928. ↑242 (1170) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [5.8] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

23. ↑24 (47) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [240.7] ::
58. ↑18 (76) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [160.9] ::
72. ↑8 (80) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [126.9] ::
83. ↑21 (104) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [112.6] ::
97. ↑120 (217) : Only Serious About You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [102.0] ::
100. ↑1 (101) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [97.1] ::
118. ↑202 (320) : Private Teacher 1 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [88.7] ::
143. ↓-33 (110) : Seven Days Friday-Sunday – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [76.0] ::
146. ↓-8 (138) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [74.2] ::
160. ↑141 (301) : The Tyrant Falls in Love 5 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [66.5] ::

[more]

Ebooks

72. ↑8 (80) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [126.9] ::
73. ↑15 (88) : How to Draw Manga (ebook) Lesson 1 Eyes – Japanime’s Manga University, May 2011 [126.3] ::
74. ↑10 (84) : Vampire Cheerleaders 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2011 [126.2] ::
91. ↑7 (98) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [105.0] ::
108. ↓-31 (77) : Amazing Agent Luna 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2005 [93.0] ::
123. ↓-4 (119) : The Outcast 1 – Seven Seas, Sep 2007 [87.1] ::
132. ↓-26 (106) : Amazing Agent Luna 2 – Seven Seas, Jul 2005 [81.8] ::
133. ↑18 (151) : Kanji de Manga 1 – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [81.0] ::
140. ↓-10 (130) : Dragon Ball Z Legend: The Quest Continues – Cocoro Books, May 2004 [76.9] ::
155. ↑2 (157) : Manga Moods – Japanime’s Manga University, Mar 2006 [68.0] ::

[more]

Digital back on the Kindle

by

It was bad news, then good news for Digital Manga, which was informed earlier this week that Amazon was suspending their Kindle account. Digital has been publishing quite a bit of manga in digital format, including Kindle, so this would be a blow to them and their readers; furthermore, as they point out in their blog post, there is a lot of other adult content on Amazon that doesn’t seem to be threatened. The good news is that they were informed yesterday that their account has been restored, although Amazon cautioned that it could be terminated at any time if their content violates Amazon’s guidelines.

Sean Gaffney looks forward to next week’s new manga. And Lori Henderson has the list of this week’s all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

License rescue news! Viz has confirmed with ANN that they have licensed 07-Ghost, a shonen fantasy series that was originally published in English by Go! Comi. Lori Henderson explains why that’s awesome at Manga Xanadu.

Jason Thompson takes on Pretty Face, the story of a boy who fell in love with a girl—and woke up looking like her twin sister—in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN. Thompson also guests on the ANNcast, talking about his years as a manga editor, his own graphic novels, and what he thinks of the industry now.

The next Manga Moveable Feast is coming up; it will feature the work of Jiro Taniguchi and will be hosted at Manga Worth Reading.

Anna has been checking out some manga-themed podcasts at Manga Report.

AstroNerdBoy looks at the fates of several different series and wonders whether bad endings or the time lag between Japanese and U.S. publication hurt some manga.

Derek Bown’s latest Combat Commentary focuses on a recent chapter of One Piece.

In case you were wondering what Stu Levy has been up to since the implosion of Tokyopop, here is an L.A. Times article about his experiences during and after the Japan earthquake and the movie he made about it.

Manga fan Neokitty shows off her manga stash to The Manga Critic.

If you’re heading to WonderCon this week—or maybe just thinking about it—Deb Aoki has a rundown of the attractions for manga and anime lovers.

Kanata Konami, the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home, will make her first North American appearance at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May.

News from Japan: Ai Kano has announced a spinoff to Your and My Secret, which will run as a webcomic on Mag Garden’s Web Comic Beat and will feature the four main characters from the original story.

Reviews: Melanie Valdivieso, Tommy Pfeiffer and Omar Valdivieso post some quick reviews of recent manga at About Heroes. Other reviews of note:

Anna on vol. 7 of Blade of the Immortal (Manga Report)
Leroy Douresseaux on Bleach MASKED: Official Character Book 2 (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate Dacey on vols. 2 and 3 of A Bride’s Story (The Manga Critic)
Jocelyne Allen on Chokodoshujin (Brain Vs. Book)
Anna on vol. 3 of Dawn of the Arcana (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Earl and the Fairy (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Hoshikawa Ginza Yon-choume (Okazu)
Anna on vol. 12 of Otomen (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Poor Poor Lips (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (ANN)
TSOTE on vol. 21 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Three Steps Over Japan)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Tony Yao on solanin (Manga Therapy)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Soulless (Comic Attack)

A Bride’s Story, Vols. 2-3

by

Around the age of ten, I had a brief but intense love affair with historical fiction. It began with Little House in the Big Woods — required reading for all American girls of a certain age — and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I then discovered Johnny Tremain, made an unsuccessful attempt to read The Last of the Mohicans — way over my head, I’m afraid — and devoured Summer of My German Soldier.

The books that had the greatest claim on my heart, however, were Lois Lenski’s American regional novels: Strawberry Girl, Cotton in My Sack, Blue Ridge Billy, Mama Hattie’s Girl, and Shoo-Fly Girl. Looking back on these books now, I can see that they weren’t as meticulously crafted as Roll of Thunder or Johnny Tremain; Lenski’s writing was, at times, pedestrian, and her characterizations thin. What Lenski did well, however, was help young readers imagine what it was like to live in rural areas before television, telephones, and electricity were fixtures of the American home. Her books were filled with vivid descriptions of everyday activities: baking pies, picking crops, making dresses from patterns, canning vegetables, feeding chickens, washing clothes. From my sheltered point of view, Lenski’s characters led exotic, fascinating lives: who wouldn’t want to turn a bolt of calico into an actual dress, or spend the day picking berries? (The answer turns out to be me, as I flunked Home Economics.)

Though I’ve read my share of historical novels in the intervening years, I’ve seldom loved those books with the same fierce intensity as I did Strawberry Girl. Some of that disenchantment could be chalked up to adolescence: as a teenager, music superseded books as my most important form of escapism, and I read far fewer novels. And some of my disenchantment reflected my academic training: as a college student, I majored in History, taking courses that gave me the tools for exploring other places and times. Reading A Bride’s Story, however, reminded me how powerful good historical fiction can be.

A Bride’s Story depicts everyday life in a long-ago setting — in this case, Central Asia in the nineteenth century, where the fictional Eihon clan herd sheep and make textiles. To give readers a better understanding of the period, Kaoru Mori devotes entire chapters to describing how her characters live. In chapter 6 of A Bride’s Story, for example, Mori documents “oven day,” a communal event in which women prepare and bake bread. Mori captures the scene in meticulous detail, showing us how the women shape and stamp the dough into elaborate patterns. At the same time, however, Mori uses this gathering to explore the social dynamic within the Eihon clan; though none of the women are overtly hostile to new bride Amir, her inexperience and outsider status make it all but impossible for her to join the circle.

Other rituals are depicted with similar care. In chapter 10, for example, British anthropologist Henry Smith observes the Eihon women embroidering linen. Smith is a clever device: he serves as a natural reader surrogate, neatly anticipating the reader’s questions about the materials and cultural significance of the patterns. His questions serve another equally important purpose: they prompt Balkirsch, the clan matriarch, to identify the author of each design, explaining who she was and where she came from, in the process giving an informal history of the village.

Even in volume three, which introduces a new romantic subplot, Mori continues to document everyday activities in painstaking detail. Once again, Henry Smith serves as our eyes and ears, this time during a brief stay with two women he meets on the road to Ankara. Mori does a superb job of contrasting these women’s existence with the Eihons’: unlike the Eihons, who live in a thriving village, these women live alone on the edge of a vast plain, occupying two modest yurts with little in the way of possessions. Talas, the younger woman, must do the work of two people, grinding grain by hand, spinning wool, preparing meals, and tending a flock of sheep, following them on foot for miles each day. Though her face is youthful, her body language is not; in stark contrast to the physically robust Amir, Talas’s stooped shoulders and downcast eyes suggest the physical toll her daily labors exert.

Though Mori punctuates these moments of quiet reflection with dramatic, juicy scenes — a nighttime raid on the Eihon compound, an interrogation by Cossack soldiers, an angry confrontation between suitors — A Bride’s Story is at its best when it focuses on women’s daily lives. As this reviewer observes, Mori is not critiquing Central Asian society so much as depicting it in its full complexity. Mori never shies away from showing us how vulnerable women are in a patriarchal culture, as Talas’ situation demonstrates: without a father to arrange a new marriage for her, her late husbands’ relatives may claim her as property.

At the same time, however, Mori recognizes that women find small but meaningful ways to exercise their agency in such cultures, carving out a sphere of influence for themselves. She celebrates their wisdom and resilience, honoring their hard work by documenting it in minute detail. Perhaps that’s why I love A Bride’s Story so much; like Strawberry Girl and Little House in the Big Woods, A Bride’s Story helps me imagine what my daily life as a woman would have been like, warts and all, had I been born in another place and time. Highly recommended.

Review copy of volume three provided by Yen Press.

A BRIDE’S STORY, VOLS. 2-3 • BY KAORU MORI • YEN PRESS • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)

A Bride’s Story, Vols. 2-3

by 14 Comments

Around the age of ten, I had a brief but intense love affair with historical fiction. It began with Little House in the Big Woods — required reading for all American girls of a certain age — and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I then discovered Johnny Tremain, made an unsuccessful attempt to read The Last of the Mohicans — way over my head, I’m afraid — and devoured Summer of My German Soldier.

The books that had the greatest claim on my heart, however, were Lois Lenski’s American regional novels: Strawberry Girl, Cotton in My Sack, Blue Ridge Billy, Mama Hattie’s Girl, and Shoo-Fly Girl. Looking back on these books now, I can see that they weren’t as meticulously crafted as Roll of Thunder or Johnny Tremain; Lenski’s writing was, at times, pedestrian, and her characterizations thin. What Lenski did well, however, was help young readers imagine what it was like to live in rural areas before television, telephones, and electricity were fixtures of the American home. Her books were filled with vivid descriptions of everyday activities: baking pies, picking crops, making dresses from patterns, canning vegetables, feeding chickens, washing clothes. From my sheltered point of view, Lenski’s characters led exotic, fascinating lives: who wouldn’t want to turn a bolt of calico into an actual dress, or spend the day picking berries? (The answer turns out to be me, as I flunked Home Economics.)

Though I’ve read my share of historical novels in the intervening years, I’ve seldom loved those books with the same fierce intensity as I did Strawberry Girl. Some of that disenchantment could be chalked up to adolescence: as a teenager, music superseded books as my most important form of escapism, and I read far fewer novels. And some of my disenchantment reflected my academic training: as a college student, I majored in History, taking courses that gave me the tools for exploring other places and times. Reading A Bride’s Story, however, reminded me how powerful good historical fiction can be.

A Bride’s Story depicts everyday life in a long-ago setting — in this case, Central Asia in the nineteenth century, where the fictional Eihon clan herd sheep and make textiles. To give readers a better understanding of the period, Kaoru Mori devotes entire chapters to describing how her characters live. In chapter 6 of A Bride’s Story, for example, Mori documents “oven day,” a communal event in which women prepare and bake bread. Mori captures the scene in meticulous detail, showing us how the women shape and stamp the dough into elaborate patterns. At the same time, however, Mori uses this gathering to explore the social dynamic within the Eihon clan; though none of the women are overtly hostile to new bride Amir, her inexperience and outsider status make it all but impossible for her to join the circle.

Other rituals are depicted with similar care. In chapter 10, for example, British anthropologist Henry Smith observes the Eihon women embroidering linen. Smith is a clever device: he serves as a natural reader surrogate, neatly anticipating the reader’s questions about the materials and cultural significance of the patterns. His questions serve another equally important purpose: they prompt Balkirsch, the clan matriarch, to identify the author of each design, explaining who she was and where she came from, in the process giving an informal history of the village.

Even in volume three, which introduces a new romantic subplot, Mori continues to document everyday activities in painstaking detail. Once again, Henry Smith serves as our eyes and ears, this time during a brief stay with two women he meets on the road to Ankara. Mori does a superb job of contrasting these women’s existence with the Eihons’: unlike the Eihons, who live in a thriving village, these women live alone on the edge of a vast plain, occupying two modest yurts with little in the way of possessions. Talas, the younger woman, must do the work of two people, grinding grain by hand, spinning wool, preparing meals, and tending a flock of sheep, following them on foot for miles each day. Though her face is youthful, her body language is not; in stark contrast to the physically robust Amir, Talas’s stooped shoulders and downcast eyes suggest the physical toll her daily labors exert.

Though Mori punctuates these moments of quiet reflection with dramatic, juicy scenes — a nighttime raid on the Eihon compound, an interrogation by Cossack soldiers, an angry confrontation between suitors — A Bride’s Story is at its best when it focuses on women’s daily lives. As this reviewer observes, Mori is not critiquing Central Asian society so much as depicting it in its full complexity. Mori never shies away from showing us how vulnerable women are in a patriarchal culture, as Talas’ situation demonstrates: without a father to arrange a new marriage for her, her late husbands’ relatives may claim her as property.

At the same time, however, Mori recognizes that women find small but meaningful ways to exercise their agency in such cultures, carving out a sphere of influence for themselves. She celebrates their wisdom and resilience, honoring their hard work by documenting it in minute detail. Perhaps that’s why I love A Bride’s Story so much; like Strawberry Girl and Little House in the Big Woods, A Bride’s Story helps me imagine what my daily life as a woman would have been like, warts and all, had I been born in another place and time. Highly recommended.

Review copy of volume three provided by Yen Press.

A BRIDE’S STORY, VOLS. 2-3 • BY KAORU MORI • YEN PRESS • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)