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Show Us Your Stuff: Night Rose’s Manga Shrine

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It’s Thursday, which means that it’s time for another installment of Show Us Your Stuff. Our featured otaku is NightRose, who’s been collecting manga since 2008. She counts Arina Tanemura, Svetlana Chmakova, and Natsuki Takaya among her favorite artists, though she reads all kinds of manga: shojo, shonen, seinen, josei. Among the more unusual items in her collection is an art book for Alice in the Country of Hearts. Here’s what she has to say for herself, and her growing manga library. -Katherine Dacey

Hi, I’m NightRose, or Night, or Rose, or Chibi-chan, or Mili-chan, or… you get the point. I’m your typical shy girl with a love for manga and anything related to Japanese shtuff. I live in the USA currently and am a senior in high school, where I lead my school’s anime club. I’ve tried cosplaying, I’ve been to anime conventions (if you’ve been to ACen, I’m the girl with the big “Free Hugs” sign), and I’m trying to improve my drawing skills. Oh, and I like gaming and all that fun stuff. I also read anything that’s everything — I’m not that picky.

What first got me started into anime/manga was anime on TV. When I was little I was addicted to Cartoon Network (and some other cartoon channels I forgot the names of); I loved Cartoon Network with a passion. (Now I don’t have cable and Cartoon Network sucks anyway.) Then going into grade eight, my library had a “read 5 books get one free” program. I looked at the free books they had and I found Fruits Basket. I thought, “What the hell, why not?” I read it and loved it. I went back the next day to get more of the series and other manga. After a while I wanted to collect manga for myself, and here I am today with a mom nagging me about my collection.

How long have you been collecting manga?
I started to collect manga in 2008. When I almost finished all the manga series in the library (over 40+), I started to seriously collect in 2009.

What was the first manga you bought?
The first one I owned was Fruits Basket, but that was free from the library. The first one I bought… I think it was either Full Moon,  Naruto, or Cherry Juice. I’m pretty positive it was Full Moon, though.

How big is your collection?
404 volumes at the moment.

What is the rarest item in your collection?
I’m not sure what you mean by “rare”. But what I think of it, it would be my Alice in the Country of Hearts art/guide book. My then-boyfriend got it for me when he went to Japan. I also have several volumes of Kingdom Hearts manga that are hard to find. Another rare item I have is my Final Fantasy VII PS1 Video Game. That game is what made me start collecting all the Final Fantasy games for the PS1.

What is the weirdest item in your collection?
My maid dress! My ex-boyfriend got it for me as a joke. In terms of manga, I have The Otaku Encyclopedia. Sadly enough, it helped me with a lot of terms I didn’t know.

How has your taste in manga evolved since you started your collection?
When I first started to collect, I would just get anything I found at the store. I didn’t care what it was; I just wanted a lot of manga and to read more in different genres. When I discovered Half Price Books, I started to get different series that you don’t really see in stores. After I’d been collecting for a while, I started to get picky with what I bought. That said, I’m open to any genre besides yaoi, yuri, hentai, or anything in those categories.

Who are your favorite comic artists?
I don’t really have one per se… I like Arina Tanemura’s art but not her story lines, and I also love Svetlana Chmakova’s plots but not her art. Dramacon is amazing; if you haven’t read it then go read it now!

What series are you actively collecting right now?
Anything that’s not completed yet in my collection. I don’t follow what just came out. If I see a volume in a store that I need and I have money, I’ll get it.For example, I’d get Shugo Chara volume 3 if it’s available.

Do you have any tips for fellow collectors (e.g. how to organize a collection, where to find rare books, where to score the best deals on new manga)?
When you’re first getting into manga, I suggest reading a few different genres to know what you like.

If you don’t care about the condition of your books, find a used bookstore near you and see if they have any manga. Some of them are pretty good, like Half Price Books. Manga costs $2.00 – $5.00 there! Prices vary from store to store, however. I went to a used bookstore and was disappointed to see that not-so-new-looking manga was only $2.00 off the retail price. I would recommend going to used bookstores if you can’t find something you want, especially Tokyopop or CMX titles, older series that aren’t published anymore, etc.

If you want something newer, go to the bookstore (Barnes and Nobles) and get it. You can also get some deals like 10% off or the buy four get one free. You can also try eBay; people sell manga in bulk and sometimes it’s dead cheap.

Last but not least, when you get a bookshelf, make sure there are multiple holes on the sides so that you can add more shelves or make some of the spaces smaller/bigger.

I hope these tips help! Have fun collecting.

Show Us Your Stuff is a regular column in which readers share pictures of their manga collections and discuss their favorite series. If you’d like to see your manga library featured here, please follow the directions on this page.

BL Bookrack: March 2012

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Welcome to the March installment of BL Bookrack! This month, MJand Michelle take a look at two debut volumes from the Digital Manga Guild, Tweeting Love Birds and You & Tonight. In Brief: About Love from Digital Manga Publishing’s Juné imprint, and volume one of My Darling Kitten Hair from JManga.


Tweeting Love Birds, Vol. 1 (Kindle) | By Kotetsuko Yamamoto | Digital Manga Guild | Rated YA (16+) – Thanks to a back cover summary that made one of the characters sound intensely annoying, I wasn’t expecting much from Tweeting Love Birds. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, but that’s not to say that the book is riveting or unique.

Daisuki Ohtaka started playing baseball because his grandfather was a fan, and even goes so far as to enroll in his grandpa’s alma mater. He doesn’t seem to have much personal love of the game, however, and once he arrives and discovers the shabby state of the team, he immediately wants to leave. After the small and cute captain, Suzume Morino (aka “Tweetie,” a nickname derived from the fact that his name means “sparrow”), blackmails Daisuke (whom he promptly christens “Taka”) into staying, he finds himself becoming more intrigued by Tweetie and experiencing jealousy when others give him attention, even while maintaining that he is straight.

Yes, this might be another “only gay for you” story, but so far it’s kind of charming. It has a slice-of-life feel that I appreciate, with any baseball action firmly in the background, and sometimes it’s even funny. I snickered out loud, for example, when a drunk Tweetie proclaims, “Taka touched my boobies.” There’s nothing much original about the plot or its execution, but neither is there anything glaringly offensive. The adaptation by DMG group Boys’ Love Bang Bang is also flawless, with no errors or awkwardness to detract from one’s reading experience.

I’m a little surprised that Yamamoto-sensei was able to squeeze enough material out of this setup for a second volume, but there is indeed one more installment to go before the series is complete. Despite first impressions, I’ll be coming back for more.

– Review by Michelle Smith


You and Tonight, Vol. 1 (Kindle) | By Keiko Kinoshita | Digital Manga Guild | Rated YA (16+) – Rikuro has spent ten long years hiding his feelings for his straight best friend, Yasutaka, only to discover that Yasutaka gave in and slept with a male coworker after he begged and cried. Though the news gives him sudden hope, it also makes him begin to panic that his time is running out. But can his friendship with Yasutaka really survive the truth?

I’ve developed a bit of a love affair with Keiko Kinoshita’s work as of late, and this series has only deepened my feelings. Written in the same vein as her earlier two-volume series Kiss Blue, You and Tonight is a thoughtful, quiet manga about the delicate balance between love and friendship, and how two lifelong friends deal with the complications that arise when that balance is disturbed. Also like Kiss Blue, You and Tonight lets its characters process this sloooowly, which is one of the things that makes Kinoshita’s romance work so well. She isn’t afraid to let her characters wallow in uncertainty, and she certainly takes her time, but there’s never a sense that the story is dragging. On the contrary, there is tension in each moment, even the quietest ones.

Kinoshita’s artwork has always been on the understated side, but her expressiveness really shines here in this volume. She makes the most of her characters’ body language and subtle facial cues, working as much emotion into them as she does into her equally understated dialogue. Both Rikuro and Yasutaka process most everything on the inside, making their moments of visible weakness even more powerful. A single panel of Rikuro breaking down, alone in an elevator, springs immediately to mind. It’s an image that’s stuck with me for days after reading this volume. Digital Manga Guild localizing group Cynical Pink does a lovely job, too, providing a clean, lyrical adaptation that suits Kinoshita’s tone perfectly.

For fans of Keiko Kinoshita, this series is a must-read. For everyone else… it’s a must-read too. Highly recommended.

– Review by MJ

In Brief:

About Love (Kindle) | By Narise Konohara | Digital Manga Publishing/Juné | Rated YA (16+) – I’m late to the party on this title, and I can only say that with the deepest regret. With its complicated characters and slow-building romance, About Love is absolutely my type of BL. Mangaka Narise Konohara weaves an unlikely love story between two seemingly unremarkable characters—a fresh-faced newlywed and the insecure young wedding planner who discovers the truth behind his smile—and she does it with the utmost subtlety and care. From its expressive, melancholy cover to the very last page, About Love is thoughtful, moody, and stunningly poignant. The only downside is that this title is not yet available digitally, but if any recent BL title is worth the shelf space, this is it. Highly recommended. – MJ

My Darling Kitten Hair, Vol. 1 | By Haruko Kumota | JManga/Libre Publishing | Rated Mature – This title came to my attention by way of JManga’s ABC of BL/yaoi and I could not be more grateful for the introduction. This adorable manga follows the romance between a slovenly young writer and his salaryman boyfriend who has just come to live with him (in a charming, Maison Ikkoku-like setting) after maintaining a rather chaste, long-distance relationship for six years. It’s not often we see a romance manga that begins in the middle of the relationship, and even less often that the main pairing is surrounded by convincingly queer characters who feel authentic as part of the story and not just as glorified set pieces. Even more encouraging, the series is still ongoing in Japan, which means there is some hope of us having a good, long time with it. Honestly surprising and highly recommended. – MJ

Some review copies provided by the publishers.

Disclosure: MJ is currently under contract with Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, as necessitated for her ongoing report Inside the DMG. Any compensation earned by MJin her role as an editor with the DMG will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Other recent BL reviews at Manga Bookshelf: Ata (Digital Manga Guild)

A Comic Beam of Light

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“Monthly Comic Beam A Magazine for the Comic Freaks!” reads the tagline of Enterbrain’s Comic Beam magazine.(コミックビーム)

At a mere 25,000 copies sold every month, Comic Beam is not a contender in sales in any category of manga magazine, but that’s not a concern for the creators and editors of Beam – instead, they are playing to the small, but hardcore comics-reading audience,people who don’t care what category a manga is but just want to read good stories. Nominally listed as “seinen” (for young men,) along with Kodansha’s Morning 2, Shogakukan’s IKKI and Hakusensha’s Rakuen Le Paradis, Ohta’s Manga Erotics F, Comic Beam can easily be considered part of a small, but slowly growing genre of manga not limitedby gender or age, but is targeted to “whoever reads it.” I have taken to referring to these magazines in my head as the “fifth column” (i.e., not shoujo, shounen, josei or seinen.)

Comic Beam is the home of a number of stories that have been published in English. Kaoru Mori’s story about love between different classes in Victorian England, Emma, wasthe first to make its way here, through CMX’s beloved but unfortunately unsuccessful edition. Astral Project (Marginal and Syuji Takeya), Bambi and Her Pink Gun (Atsushi Kaneko), King of Thorn (Yuji Iwahara), and Fancy Gigolo Peru (Junko Mizuno) have allbeen released in English. Eagerly received, and from Fantagraphics is Takako Shimura’s award-nominated tale of tweens dealing with gender transitioning, Wandering Son. Currently running (and adorning the cover of the image above) is Mari Yamazaki’s award-winning Thermae Romae, a story that whimsicallycombines modern Japan and ancient Rome through their shared cultures of bathing. (This series is about to be launched as a  a live-action drama and anime in Japan.) I was both surprised and pleased to find Izumi Takemoto contributing a charming little Heidi-esque romp, Akane Kono Mahou, to the current lineup.  Kaneko Atsusuhi’s dark speculative fiction manga Soil has generated some press on both sides of the ocean as well.

Enterbrain has a website, mostly to provide information for potential contributors.There are no chapter previews and currently no downloads. It’s a sparse, somewhat depressing site. Given the “experimental” nature of the work in Comic Beam, it would probably be a good choice to offer example chapters, but then, the audience already knows what it likes.

Taken as a whole, it’s easy to label Comic Beam an “art house” comic magazine. There’s room for the sweet, the grim, the wacky, the serious, real and fantastic, all with room to explore artistic stylings and story telling techniques. Comic Beam is indeed a comic for comic freaks. People who prefer their stories formulaic and predictable need not bother. The light from Comic Beam will appeal to few, but for those few, it will be a beacon illuminating the world of manga magazines.

Comic Beam from Enterbrain and Kadokawa Group Publishing: http://www.enterbrain.co..jp/ad/html/media14.html

*Originally published on Mangacast.

Niche market

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A big thank you to everyone who has commented over the past few days about where they like to buy manga, and what manga would entice them into a special trip to a comics shop. Unfortunately, Johanna Draper Carlson doesn’t think you are the sort of customers a comics shop wants. Boo! It is true, though, that the shopkeeper probably wants to stock what sells—the popular titles—while the customer may be going to a specialty comics shop precisely in order to find books that are not available in chain bookstores. Since manga readers are not likely to fall for that thing Western comics readers do, pre-ordering their comics in advance sight unseen, shop owners are left with a certain amount of risk.

I picked the best manga from a slim selection of this week’s new releases at MTV Geek.

Erica Freidman gives the JManga site a thorough workout, and while she admits her biases (her publishing company ALC partners with JManga to publish yuri manga), she makes a lot of good points, and she provides individual reviews of a number of manga titles on the site.

David Brothers pens a lovely essay on Twin Spica and the nostalgia it evokes for the stargazing boy he once was.

AstroNerdBoy has some thoughts on the end of Negima, which has just ended in Japan.

News from Japan: Barefoot Gen is being used as a textbook for elementary school students in Hiroshima. Tozen Ujiie will start a new series in Kodansha’s Magazine Special next month. Flex Comics has put the comedy Hyakko on hold without warning or much of an explanation.

Reviews

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of 20th Century Boys (The Comic Book Bin)
Danica Davidson on vol. 8 of Butterflies, Flowers (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 6 of The House of Five Leaves (The Fandom Post)
angela Eastman on vol. 7 of Kamisama Kiss (The Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 27 of Skip Beat! (ANN)
Ash Brown on A Zoo in Winter (Experiments in Manga)

Fannish Inquisitions: Countering Assumptions About Fandom

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Happy 6th anniversay, KAT-TUN! Thank you for providing us this useful visual metaphor for what often happens when other communities and fandom, er, collide!

 

Hi, MB! This is the first of a series of posts about fandom being written in response to a series of posts about fandom. The romance review site Dear Author is holding a week-long examination of fandom and fanfic—with somewhat confusing results. It’s my goal, through these posts, to argue for a more contemporary view of fandom and fanwork that falls more closely in line with a) how fans actually act in fandom, b) how fanwork actually operates and what it actually does, and c) the actual status of fanwork under the law.

Starting with the first post in the DA series, we have “How I Came to Appreciate Fan Fiction.” This is, overall, a fairly positive post, but it has a lot of outdated assumptions about fandom that I’d like to unpack.

To give Sunita D, today’s contributor, credit where it’s due, there’s probably always a moment of shock upon a first encounter with fanfiction, or doujinshi or yaoi, just like there is with any new concept. Like sporks! Or literal cloud computing! We might think of this first encounter as a moment of simple culture shock. Sunita even describes hers:

Of course I’ve hated certain books’ endings, I’ve wished for sequels, and I’ve thought about the off-page lives of favorite characters. But I’ve never written to authors to ask them to keep writing about a particularly loved protagonist. And I’ve never wanted to write my own versions of books. Not because I thought doing so would be wrong, but because it just never occurred to me.

Whoa, hold on a tic. Already we’ve run into the first of what will be many false assumptions about fandom and especially fanfiction in general throughout the Dear Author series on fanfic.

False assumption #1: All fans long to interact with creators.

“I’ve never written to authors to ask them to keep writing about a particularly loved protagonist.”

Okay, but most fans haven’t either. Most fans don’t need to, because our interaction with a canon has very little to do with what’s going on in the author’s head. This is a key aspect of fandom that many people outside of fandom get wrong. Many fans get very nervous and gunshy when the prospect of interacting with creators comes up, because those fans prefer as little contact with the makers of their canons as possible. Please note that this impulse is often not, not, NOT out of shame or embarrassment or fear of reprisals, but rather from a desire not to have the gatekeepers poking their noses in our business. There are exceptions, of course, especially in RPF fandoms; we are seeing something of a cultural shift happen as Twitter puts celebrities and fans in touch with each other on a daily basis. But for the most part, fans go about their business with little regard for TPTB (The Powers That Be). Which brings me to the next mistaken assumption:

False assumption #2: Fanfiction = Do-Over.

“I’ve never wanted to write my own versions of books. Not because I thought doing so would be wrong, but because it just never occurred to me.”

Most fans don’t want to write their own versions of books either. That’s not what fanfic is. Many people think of fanfiction as the practice of trying to prove a creator got it wrong. Not at all. For most fans, most of the time, fanfiction is not about rewriting canon.

Sure, a fan can write fix-it fic—but then they’ll turn write around and write something completely different. Fans explore their canons and play around with the worlds they’re engaging with in order to do something completely new. Take, for example, what may be the most popular narrative genre of all: the post-canon fic. The canon ends—you write about what happens after. But that’s a story that can be told and retold forever, because the possibilities are endless.

In general terms, fanworks are about expansion, not re-creation.

Happily, this is also the conclusion Sunita arrives at: This path isn’t just about creating new romantic relationships or changing unhappy endings to happy ones. What if you think the most interesting character in the Harry Potter novels is Luna Lovegood and you want to read more about her?…. Even if you adhere strictly to canon, there’s plenty of scope for your imagination.

From this point on, Sunita’s post is a plain, fair and positive view of fanfiction; but it’s a simplistic one. It justifies rather than celebrates. Which leads me to…

False Assumption #3: Fanfiction is just a simple, fun creative exercise that has no serious repercussions!

 

My main problem with all of this justification/explanation of fanfic is that it’s just SO DATED. I have been hearing people “defend” fanfic or try to “explain” fanfic in exactly this way for the last ten years. Two thousand-fracking-two, folks (and incidentally those defenses were on the front page of the NY Times, hardly out of mainstream cultural earshot).

And yes, everyone’s experiences are different, and I’m sure Sunita’s explanation is helpful for many people. But REALLY. TEN YEARS, GUYS. COME ON. CAN WE MOVE THIS DISCUSSION FORWARD A LITTLE? How’s this for an advancement:

  • Fanwork is dangerous because it challenges your worldview and makes you think critically about pop culture, literature, art, and the world you live in.
  • Fanwork has serious repercussions because it operates outside of traditional modes of access to ideas, and it is predicated entirely on a culture of free exchange and non-monetary systems of value.
  • Fanwork is complex and diverse. It opens minds, educates, and introduces new cultural experiences to the fan participant. It is anything but shallow.

SHIT JUST GOT REAL AKA THIS IS THE COOL PART OF THIS POST

In lit-crit terms, fandom is the living, breathing embodiment of Bakhtin’s ideas about dialogic imagination. Canon is monologic, expressing a single worldview, because usually canons have single or very few creators with one narrative goal in mind. But fandom? Fandom creates fics within communities, fics that are partly meta-commentaries, fics that arise out of passionate debates, fics that get reworked and turned into original fic, fics that offer serious literary critique, fics that seek to actively engage other fans in responding to them. Fandom is dialogic imagination.

Canon has to stick to the narrative parameters that define its medium. (Unless you are Homestuck and you are your own medium. Yeah, yeah, we know.) But fandom has no defined parameters and expresses itself any way it wants. Fics written in fictional languages? Have several! Fanart? totally and 100% canon compliant! Fanvids? How much is that geisha in the window, Joss?

Fandom constantly critiques privileged narratives, challenges established sociocultural ways of thinking, and expands the parameters of a particular established worldview. Have some of my favorite examples of fics that critique canonical narratives:

WTF is this b.s. about fanwork being derivative? To quote Lev Grossman in his amazing Time magazine article, which you don’t get a link to because you have to SLOG YOUR WAY THROUGH THIS MESS WITH ME FIRST, these works “talk back to canon.” And they show their teeth.

We could have ended this post here (and I could have saved you 500 words, look, I tried, guys), because Sunita was on the right track! We could have worked with this! ugh, we were doing so good, Sunita. we could have been pals.

Except then we arrive at the money quote:

“Whether the changes authors introduce to these characters are sufficient to make the jump from derivative to transformative is not something we can usually predict in advance, but I think it’s important to have a conversation about what such a transformation entails and think about conditions in which authors might succeed or fall short.”

what. I mean. WHAT.

 

lsjdfksadjklad you don’t suddenly GAIN TRANSFORMATIVITY BY BEING THE SPARKLIEST OF ALL THE FANFIC PONIES IN DERIVATIVELAND, WTF.

(this is one of the results I got when I googled “fanfic pony.” Looks legit.)

False Assumption #4 & #5: Fanwork is Derivative / Fanfiction May Or May Not Be Legal.

I hope that at the end of the week Rebecca Tushnet will come along with her shining orb of Transformative Justice and articulate this idea as part of the DA series much better than I ever could (ETA: YESSSS she has!), but in her stead: There are absolutely no court rulings on whether a work of not-for-profit fanfiction is legal or not. None. That means all fanfiction is legal under the fair use clause of U.S. copyright law, safe and legal until proven otherwise. This protection will most likely last as long as the Fair Use clause exists. To quote the OTW, “current copyright law already supports our understanding of fanfiction as fair use.” And as long as current copyright law supports fanfiction, fanfiction is legally transformative.

It’s dishonest to talk about fanworks as if they pussyfoot around the law when they don’t. The ‘sliding scale’ train of thought implies that “transformative” fics have narrowly succeeded in evading the clutches of copyright law while “derivative” fics are just hanging around waiting to be slapped with a Cease & Desist. This train of thought implies shame, illicitness, wrongdoing, and flat-out genre snobbery and elitism. Most importantly, since presumably all fanfics (in the U.S.) currently enjoy legal protection, many fans don’t act as though they’re engaged in something that’s illegal. So the “sliding scale” perspective doesn’t even apply to us.

For comparison, look at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. You don’t see them going “Manga is not a crime! Except for the really, really dirty yaoi, and the shota, and okay, maybe we could really really do without the vore and the bukkake because honestly, people.” Their argument is simple: either all licensed manga, in all its forms, is legal and deserves protection, or none of it does.

By the same token, fanwork does not “succeed” or “fall short” by managing or failing to qualify as transformative.

And here’s the ultimate kicker—a concept that this series of DA posts sadly seems to completely miss: the meaning of ‘transformative’ creative work extends beyond purely legal contexts. It involves the power of creative expression to change the creator and the audience. To many fans, the act of conceiving and creating fanwork is a transforming act, before you ever write the first word. They are transformative because they transform the reader. You and me.

 

Fanworks Cited:

arboretum. “A Resolution of Territory.” Livejournal. May 5, 2008.

Dhobi ki Kutti. “Promise of the पुरवाई.” An Archive Of Our Own. June 30, 2010.

electrumqueen. “i am the hero of this story (i don’t need to be saved).” Livejournal. August 14, 2010.

eruthros. “Ephemera from the Avatar Collection at Republic City University with notes and commentary by the archivists.” An Archive Of Our Own. February 7, 2012.

Glock. “one last thing about Supernatural fanwork” and “Sam and Dean Winchestgopal.” Dreamwidth. June 15, 2010 and July 1, 2010.

Lierduoma. “How Much is the Geisha in the Window? (Firefly).” Youtube. July 24, 2009. (Fanlore listing.)

Shirozora. “So if Castiel was Zoe Saldana…” Dreamwidth. June 10, 2010.

Various authors. “Victorsverse Art and Artifacts. including the Ars Atlantiadae as well as Earth documents.” trickster.org. February 16, 2011.

Manga the Week of 3/28

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A nice array of stuff this week, as… wait, what… could this be?

Legend speaks of an ancient and mysterious manga series, that detailed the exploits of a team of heroes whose job it was to embrace the dead and take on their causes for the betterment of all. Long thought to be a mere myth, the volumes were passed down from generation to generation in hopes that one day… ONE DAY their children’s children might someday see it. And now, that day is here! From Dark Horse, you thought it was gone, you thought it was sitting next to Translucent Vols. 4 and 5, YOU WERE WRONG!

Assuming that you are all buying this (You *are* all buying this, right?), there is actually SOME other stuff coming out next week. Gen Manga has Vs. Aliens, a collection of this series in complete form, and a great way to check out the alternative manga publisher if you haven’t already.

Kodansha has a trio of series. There’s Volume 4 of Animal Land, Vol. 5 of Deltora Quest, and the 3rd volume of cute 4-koma adventures of Shugo Chara-chan! None of which I follow. So, um, insert witty quip here!

When I looked at Midtown’s list about 1:30pm, they had listed the re-releases of Drawn & Quarterly’s three Tatsumi books: The Push Man, Abandon the Old in Tokyo, and Goodbye. Now that I look at it at 7pm, those releases were removed. So perhaps they are getting re-released next week… or not.

Lastly, Vertical gives comic shops its new re-release of Dororo, now in giant-sized brick format. Impress your girlfriends with how well you can bench press Dororo! To really show off, put A Drifting Life in your other hand!

So that’s it. Aside from Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 12, what appeals to you?

2011 Autumn Manga Bestsellers

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales
for the 15 Weeks Ending Sunday 1 Jan 2012

last quarter’s charts
about the charts

The Quarterly chart is a bit different from the usual weekly post: There are five times as many volumes in the Manga Bestsellers (a full 2,500 volumes listed & ranked) and the Series/Property list is twice as long, with a top 100 listed & ranked. Secondary charts – New Releases, Preorders, Manhwa, and BL/Yaoi – are each a Top 50.

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↑7 (8) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [6,786.2] ::
2. ↑27 (29) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [6,751.5] ::
3. ↑83 (86) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [5,652.8] ::
4. ↑80 (84) : Naruto 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2011 [5,270.6] ::
5. ↑9 (14) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [5,245.3] ::
6. ↑262 (268) : Vampire Knight 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [5,210.3] ::
7. ↑2 (9) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [4,968.6] ::
8. ↑73 (81) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [4,744.6] ::
9. ↑457 (466) : Yotsuba&! 10 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [4,613.5] ::
10. ↓-9 (1) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [4,601.5] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 2500:

Viz Shonen Jump 358
Viz Shojo Beat 319
Yen Press 277
Del Rey 171
Tokyopop 152
Dark Horse 144
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 130
Viz 118
Viz Shonen Sunday 104
DMP Juné 81

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↑4 (5) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [16,019.7] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [11,156.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [10,796.1] ::
4. ↓-3 (1) : Black Butler – Yen Press [10,697.3] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [10,208.8] ::
6. ↑4 (10) : Pokemon – Vizkids [8,073.2] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Negima! – Del Rey [7,508.1] ::
8. ↑4 (12) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [7,375.6] ::
9. ↑5 (14) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [6,987.1] ::
10. ↓-2 (8) : Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [6,748.6] ::

[more]

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

2. ↑27 (29) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [6,751.5] ::
3. ↑83 (86) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [5,652.8] ::
6. ↑262 (268) : Vampire Knight 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [5,210.3] ::
9. ↑457 (466) : Yotsuba&! 10 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [4,613.5] ::
11. ↑344 (355) : Black Butler 7 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [4,587.9] ::
16. ↑848 (864) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [3,916.5] ::
21. ↑856 (877) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 6 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2011 [3,541.3] ::
22. ↑536 (558) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [3,475.2] ::
28. ↑217 (245) : Negima! 32 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [3,110.0] ::
34. ↑760 (794) : Skip Beat! 25 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [2,942.3] ::

[more]

Preorders

8. ↑73 (81) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [4,744.6] ::
18. ↑53 (71) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [3,804.1] ::
19. ↑698 (717) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [3,646.3] ::
84. ↑3143 (3227) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [1,711.9] ::
93. ↑355 (448) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [1,593.5] ::
117. ↑1056 (1173) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [1,330.1] ::
121. ↑475 (596) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 11 – Seven Seas, Jan 2012 [1,319.7] ::
128. ↑531 (659) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [1,217.8] ::
136. ↑1025 (1161) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [1,135.5] ::
145. ↑731 (876) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [1,066.0] ::

[more]

Manhwa

278. ↑3072 (3350) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [581.2] ::
309. ↑1838 (2147) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [523.9] ::
492. ↑649 (1141) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [307.7] ::
584. ↓-105 (479) : Jack Frost 4 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [242.6] ::
684. ↓-26 (658) : March Story 2 – Viz Signature, Apr 2011 [188.2] ::
685. ↓-535 (150) : Bride of the Water God 8 – Dark Horse, May 2011 [188.2] ::
784. ↓-14 (770) : Jack Frost 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [152.9] ::
794. ↓-408 (386) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [150.2] ::
818. ↑new (0) : Black God 14 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [141.7] ::
822. ↓-9 (813) : Angel Diary 13 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [140.2] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

50. ↑40 (90) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [2,511.1] ::
90. ↑48 (138) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [1,667.9] ::
145. ↑731 (876) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [1,066.0] ::
160. ↑359 (519) : Secrecy of the Shivering Night – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [1,003.2] ::
187. ↑new (0) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [883.5] ::
191. ↑227 (418) : About Love – DMP Juné, Nov 2011 [848.0] ::
217. ↑672 (889) : Only Serious About You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [725.7] ::
224. ↑757 (981) : Storm Flower – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [696.4] ::
244. ↑186 (430) : Private Teacher 1 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [649.5] ::
262. ↓-177 (85) : Maelstrom (Kindle ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [611.1] ::

[more]

Readers: What manga would draw you to a comic shop?

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In response to the ICv2 article we linked to yesterday, comics retailer Todd Merrick says he has seen a small increase in manga sales in his store, and he hopes to build on that. Part of the problem for retailers is not knowing which manga to stock, so he’s sticking with the popular titles for now.

That actually raises an interesting question: You can buy Naruto anywhere, but Twin Spica is hard to find in a bookstore—I would make a special trip for that, but I can see the opposite point of view as well—retailers want to stock what sells. So let me throw this question to the readers: Which manga would entice you to do your shopping in a comic shop?

At Manga Worth Reading, Ed Sizemore rounds up the first day’s worth of contributions to the Jiro Taniguchi Manga Moveable Feast.

Reviews

Kate Dacey on Benkei in New York (The Manga Critic)
Kristin on Bleach Official Character Book 2: Masked (Comic Attack)
Ken Haley on vol. 2 of Erementar Gerade (Sequential Ink)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Kodoku no Gourmet (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Phillip Anthony on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon (Manga Bookshelf)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-4 of Shiki Tsukai (Manga Xanadu)
Anna on vol. 27 of Skip Beat (Manga Report)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Soulless (ICv2)

Kodoku no Gourmet, Vol. 1

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By Masayuki Qusumi and Jiro Taniguchi. Released in Japan by Fusosha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Spa!. Released in the United States by Fusosha on the JManga website.

It’s Jiro Taniguchi month at the Manga Moveable Feast, and I thought I would contribute (as I’m sure many are) by looking at his new title released on the JManga website, a foodie manga called Kodoku no Gourmet, which translates as ‘Solitary Gourmet’ (I have been told JManga is working on getting permission to actually translate titles, but it hasn’t happened yet). This is a collaboration between Taniguchi (providing the art) and another writer, and this is probably a good thing, as the repetitive nature of this series (like a lot of foodie manga, honestly) would likely be overbearing were it not for Taniguchi’s impeccable craft.

Our hero has a name, but it’s only used once in the entire volume, and I had a tendency to refer to him as “Sad Sack’ due to his general demeanor. He’s an importer of foreign goods who spends half of his time moving heavy objects in warehouses, and the other half selling them to interested parties. This leaves him a) in very good shape, and b) hungry a lot of the time. As a result, whenever he’s wandering around various neighborhoods all over Japan, he’s constantly on the look out for something to eat. Not necessarily a new exciting taste sensation – this has gourmet in the title, but is not about rare and unusual foods. Instead, he’s after the staples of Japanese diet, and each chapter shows him at a different eatery, getting different food and taking it in by himself.

There’s a backstory that we only get a tiny hint of here. The character, as the title would suggest, is always eating by himself, and though he’s not necessarily glum or depressed, there’s a consistent air of despondency about him. His work seems to be his life, and the occasional relationships he’s had in the past are shown to be long since ended. Taniguchi really captures the essence of the man in his art, with the few smiles we see from him mostly being wry self-effacing grins. He is very passionate about food, I will admit – clearly the huge amount of heavy lifting he does for his job is the only thing keeping him from ballooning up. Well, that and the judo practice. He also has no tolerance for folks who interrupt the serenity of his meal, as we see in the most startling chapter of the book. I hope as the series goes on that we discover more about his past, though given it apparently has one volume that came out in 1997 and nothing since, I may be out of luck.

As for Taniguchi’s art, as always I find it a tactile experience more than an intellectual one. Food serves him well here, though as you’d expect we also see a lot of our protagonist walking around and looking at the sites. Taniguchi’s art inspires me to remember smells and tastes in what it shows, and I think that’s deliberate – he works with the writer to make sure that each menu choice in each neighborhood evokes a different mood from the reader. Sometimes it’s nostalgic, such as when he returns to a scenic view he’d been to with a girlfriend long ago. Sometimes it’s informative, as when he goes to an industrial section of Tokyo he’d never seen before, and we see a lot of the built up factories. Taniguchi’s works in general, and this one in particular, are not something that you simply read with your eyes – you need to use all five senses to give the best impression, or else it will become dull.

JManga’s translation is pretty decent – as with most foodie manga, it’s hard to screw up folks reacting to the dishes. I wish I had a physical copy to read, but then I also wish I had a pony, so digital is probably as good as I can get right now. As for Kodoku no Gourmet, even if we never get a 2nd volume, I’m pleased we got this. The writer gives us a melancholy yet comforting story, and Taniguchi’s art is the perfect complement. Just like a good meal, in fact.

Introducing Fanbatte!

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As many of you know, I came into the manga blogosphere by way of fandom. And when I say “fandom” I mean Fandom, with a capital F(anfiction). I’ve talked about this here a bit, most recently in Manga Bookshelf’s fanfiction roundtable with Sean and Michelle, where I mentioned that my fandom experience happened pretty much entirely on Livejournal, which is where I learned to blog as well.

There are some things I don’t miss about Livejournal fandom, and some things I really do (though that fandom has largely moved away from LJ these days, and on to new blogging communities). I miss the passionate creativity, the female-dominated discourse, and the inevitable fandom meta inextricably linked to the discussions of the stories we were so passionate about.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been struggling with ways to bring some of my old fandom into the new, including bringing on quite a number of my favorite writers from those days to write at Manga Bookshelf. Now I’ve taken an even bigger step in that direction by inviting my good friend Aja Romano to act as a sort of fandom correspondent, in her new column Fanbatte! (A Beginner’s Guide to Cross-Cultural Fangirling).

She begins her column with an introduction to her and to fanfic, with the smart, joyful vibe I valued the most during my years in fandom.

So please, welcome Aja, take a look at her, inaugural post, and look for more as the week goes on!