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A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 1

January 24, 2012 by Michelle Smith

By Miyoshi Tomori | Published by VIZ Media

The back cover blurb of A Devil and Her Love Song contains the following lines: “Meet Maria Kawai—she’s gorgeous and whip-smart, a girl who seems to have it all. But when she unleashes her sharp tongue, it’s no wonder some consider her to be the very devil!”

And in my mind, this built up the expectation for a comedy, but that’s not what A Devil and Her Love Song is at all. It’s much more serious and sad than I had anticipated, but if I had done my research beforehand and realized that it originally ran in Margaret, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Beautiful Maria Kawai has been expelled from her prestigious Catholic school, St. Katria’s, and must now enroll in a new school. She carries a lot of mental baggage from her experiences at St. Katria’s, most notably the fact that someone she regarded as her best friend told her “You taint everyone around you.” And, as if to lend credence to these words, Maria stirs up hostilities amongst her classmates almost immediately. The problem is that she’s so perceptive, and so blunt in her delivery, that she points out personality attributes that her classmates would rather not acknowledge, like the fact that they’ve been gossiping about her prior to her arrival, or that one boy is pushing himself to be liked by all even though he is not naturally a people person. Over the first week of school, matters escalate to the point where Maria is shoved down a flight of stairs and a truly odious teacher is telling her she’s “rotten to the core.”

And yet, there are certain lessons from her St. Katria’s days that serve Maria well in tough moments, like “those who believe will be saved,” which provides her encouragement to get through bullying encounters with a group of Mean Girls in her class. But she’s not taking solace from a religious implication of these words; instead, she seems to feel that if she believes in people’s good intentions, has faith that one day they will accept her, that this will actually come to pass. And so, even though she knows the girls have it in for her, she puts herself in the path of their harassment in the hopes that one day, she’ll win them over. As I said, it’s really rather sad and makes her far more sympathetic than I ever expected a sharp-tongued heroine to be.

I regret to admit I made another snap judgment of the series based on the chapter one title page, which depicts Maria and a couple of boys, one a cheerful blond and the other a surly-looking brunette. I assumed these would be her stereotypical shoujo love interests, but though both boys are definitely interested in her, they are far more complicated individuals than I had assumed they would be. The brunette, Shin, is grumpy, rebellious, and not really friendly with the rest of the class, but has a kind heart. It unsettles him that Maria can so clearly see through him, and he’s terrified of what would happen if she could discern what he’s feeling about her, but he still comes through with her when no one else will. There’s one especially nice scene where she’s so happy and scared by his kindness that she can’t even find the words to explain, so she sings instead.

On the other hand, you have Yusuke, who is trying so hard to be everyone’s friend that he’s actually no one’s real friend at all. His philosophy is the “lovely spin,” which is a survival mechanism he tries to impart upon Maria with little success. Turn everything into something palatable and nice, even if you’re being untrue to yourself, is the basic gist. It’s probably good for her to master this subterfuge, to avoid further confrontations and to effect the personal change she seeks, but why is he doing it? Just as he helps her master the art of diplomacy, one wonders whether she will help him drop the charade.

I mean no slight to shoujo comedies when I say that A Devil and Her Love Song is much better, richer and more deep, than I anticipated. To say that I am looking forward to reading the rest of this story would be a gross understatement.

A Devil and Her Love Song is published in English by VIZ Media. The first volume will officially be released on February 7, 2012. The series is complete in Japan with thirteen volumes.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast: Roundup One

January 24, 2012 by Ash Brown

It’s the first roundup for the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast!

On Sunday I posted an introduction to the Feast, which includes a brief biography of Usamaru Furuya and an overview of what to expect at Experiments in Manga this week. Yesterday was My Week in Manga, a regular feature here at Experiments in Manga. I took the opportunity to present quick takes of most of Furuya’s manga available in English as well as some the films in which he has been involved.

Justin of Organization Anti-Social Geniuses wins the prize for being the first and only person other than myself to contribute to the Feast, so far. (At least, that I know of.) Thanks, Justin! Justin reviews No Longer Human, Volume 2, noting that Yozo is a difficult character to really like, but that Furuya’s work is still compelling:

There’s no doubt however that panel after panel [Furuya] continues to make the characters stand out in a way where you will feel a powerful emotion, whether it is dislike or sympathy, and that of course makes the work a solid read every time, along with following Yozo’s story.

The Feast may be off to a slow start, but it is still early in the week. I have high hopes that things will pick up as the Feast progresses. If you know of any Feast content that I have missed, please let me know! I’d like to keep the archive as up to date as possible.

Jason Thompson on what went wrong with manga

January 24, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

Here’s your must-read manga post of the day: Editor, creator, and all-around manga pundit Jason Thompson pens a thoughtful essay at io9 titled Why Manga Publishing Is Dying (And How It Could Get Better). Jason’s description of the reasons for the decline of manga publishing is impeccable, but I’m not sure I’m on board with his suggestions for improving the picture. Be sure to read the comments for some more pointed criticism.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers (myself included) discuss their Pick of the Week.

At The Beat, Torsten Adair looks at some of the new manga due out this month.

Attention translator wannabes: The digital manga site JManga is having a translation contest! Do your best translation of a four-koma strip from JManga title Young-kun and send it in, and you could win a copy of the full book plus 1,000 points. You have to have a JManga account to enter, which means you must live in North America.

The competition will be judged by veteran translator William Flanagan, and JManga also has an interview with him in which he talks about the finer points of manga translation.

News from Japan: Crunchyroll has the list of winners of the Shogakukan Manga Awards, with nice cover images and a summary of each one—none are licensed in English yet. Shin Mashiba, creator of Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun, is working on a new series set in Kyoto in the Heian era. Utau! Heian-kyō will debut in the March issue of Square Enix’s Monthly G Fantasy magazine. Boys Be… Next Season will come to an end in the Feb. 20 issue of of Kodansha’s Magazine Special.

Reviews: Short takes on new manga are the order of the day in this week’s Bookshelf Briefs column at Manga Bookshelf. At Experiments in Manga, Ash Brown takes a break from hosting the Usumaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast to present a weeks’ worth of manga reading that, not surprisingly, includes a lot of Furuya’s work.

Erica Friedman on vol. 15 of Hayate x Blade (Okazu)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Hyakusho Kizoku (The Manga Critic)
Victoria Martin on vol. 4 of K-ON! (Kuriousity)
Ken Haley on vol. 1 of Princess Knight (Sequential Ink)

Combat Commentary: Belated Introduction

January 24, 2012 by Derek Bown 4 Comments

It occurred to me, after reading Philip’s new column, that I had been remis in my priorities. I should have realized that an introduction was in order, otherwise how could readers know what I was trying to do, let alone who I am. I will rectify that mistake right now.

Most of you probably don’t know me from my blog, Burning Lizard Studios, where I review anime and manga (among other things), though mostly anime, because for some reason I decided reviewing every single series I watched would be a good idea. But since my real love is manga, I’ve been wanting to write more about it. I’ve done a few reviews, and participated in some of the Manga Movable Feasts, but writing about manga is too easy to push to the side when I have episode after episode of unreviewed anime pilling up.

To force myself into writing about manga more often, and because I wanted to expand my audience a bit more, I responded to MJ’s call for contributors. My original idea was to write comparisons between manga and their anime adaptations. I thought that perhaps if I connected what I was already writing about to what I wanted to write about, it would make the transition easier. But that idea was far too similar to an existing column, so I had to think of some new ideas.

It took me a little while, and when I first came up with the idea for Combat Commentary, it was mostly something that I was throwing towards MJwithout much hope that it would be accepted. But, she liked it, and while spending the past month preparing to write this column weekly, I started to fall in love with it too.

The majority of my manga experience comes from shounen manga. I’ve explored shoujo, seinen, and josei a bit, but never found anything that quite caught my attention as much as shounen did. I could go on for a while about why exactly I prefer shounen over other types of manga, but I’d rather simply summarize it: Shounen manga is all about fun.

Most shounen manga (not all) tend not to delve too deep into serious issues. The main purpose is to entertain, and sometimes morality tales are slid in among the pages. I’m not a big fan of drama, though I can appreciate the power a well told tragedy can have. When I read I like to have fun. But not mindless fun, because that is not in my personality, so I tend to overanalyze what I read.

The major genre of shounen—the one most people know it for—is battle manga. The way I look at battle manga is similar to the way I look at a well-written novel. While some seinen series may have deeper characters and a greater focus on storytelling, shounen to me is the graphic medium in its purest form. Rather than rely on a large amount of text, good shounen take full advantage of the form to tell their stories. Most of the story is told with the pictures, and nowhere else is that clearer than during battle scenes.

Letting pictures do the talking is, in my opinion, the purpose of all graphic novels. And because battle scenes rely on pictures to tell the story so much, I consider them to be the heart and soul of shounen manga. Because of this, we can easily tell whether a battle manga is good or bad based on the creator’s skill at rendering battle scenes.

My intent for Combat Commentary is to examine various battle scenes throughout several different shounen (and non-shounen) series and evaluate their effectiveness. The purpose is not to pass judgement on the series as a whole based on the battles, though I do put a great deal of weight on them.

If anyone has any suggestions or requests of series and battles for me to look at, I’d be glad to hear them. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am willing to look at anything, even non-shounen series. While other genres of manga don’t focus on battles as much as many shounen do, my theory is that the skill to draw a good battle scene translates into other areas of creating manga. So I hope that you like my new column, and that I don’t ever run out of battles to review.

Read this week’s Combat Commentary: Bleach, Vol. 2, Ch. 9-12.

Combat Commentary: Bleach Vol. 2, Ch. 9-12

January 24, 2012 by Derek Bown 3 Comments

Bleach is similar to Naruto, in that it’s a popular series that has lost a lot of fans in recent years. Like Naruto, there is a tendency for people to dismiss Bleach as another overhyped series that has outstayed its welcome. And this would not be entirely untrue, but again, like Naruto, Bleach would not still exist if it had been a bad series to begin with. So it must have done something right. And as with many shounen manga, the answer lies in one of the most crucial aspects of the genre: its fight scenes.

(click on images to enlarge)

As a monster of the week series, it was essential for Bleach in its early days to capture an audience with interesting villains, and to find ways for those villains to be defeated in a manner that showed off its characters’ strengths and got the reader interested in reading the next chapter. To do this, some writers rely on cliffhangers, or introduce a new element at the end of the story to lead readers on to the next. Bleach, on the other hand, enticed the reader back each week by providing well-contained short stories that stood out on their own.

Chapters 9–12 provide the climax to a completely self-contained story. Instead of introducing a new thread at the very end of the story, Kubo instead finishes it and lets it stand on its own. He banks on the story being well-written and well-received enough that the reader will want to read more, not just because he wants to find out what happens next, but because he anticipates the next story being just as good.

Prior to the final battle, Ichigo’s friend Chad has been running from an unseen enemy. Rukia and Ichigo manage to find him, and engage the enemy (a Hollow) in battle. The scale of the fight is small, but even a more intimate fight can take on real gravitas if the author sets the right stakes. In this case, the stakes are the lives of not only Chad (someone Ichigo has a personal connection to), but also that of a small child. In these chapters, the Hollow reveals that he was a serial killer in real life who died after the child, Yuichi, tripped him off a balcony. As revenge, he’s been tormenting Yuichi with false promises of returning his dead mother.

This Hollow is more distinct than the series’ previous enemies. He is not a mindless monster, consuming souls on instinct alone, nor is he fueled by resentment against a loved one. He is the first real monster that Ichigo encounters as a Soul Reaper—one that was evil, even as a human. He is built up by the narrative only to be hated, which makes his eventual defeat all the more cathartic.

Kubo knows well how to represent motion with his drawings and panel layout. He gives the scene an almost cinematic quality, and unlike in his later work, he wastes no space just for the sake of looking good. Still, he knows when to indulge in a little more space to make particular movements dynamic. Ichigo’s final blow against the Hollow easily ranks among the better final blows in manga. His sword itself is not seen. Instead, the entire focus is on the motion, allowing the reader’s mind’s eye to truly see the motion of the blow.

The downside of this fight is that Kubo robs the Hollow’s “leech bomb” attack of some of its threat by allowing Rukia (who has none of her spiritual powers at this time) to survive two blasts, so that later, when Ichigo is covered with these attacks, there is no real sense of danger. He is in so little danger, one can imagine the HP bar hovering above his head. So even though the vision of Ichigo shoving a handful of leeches into the Hollow’s mouth is the epitome of badass, its effect is weakened by our knowledge that he could have just let the blast go off and would have come out of it, at worst, slightly singed.

Kubo knew what he was doing, early on, when he chose to focus on individual fights with their own mini arcs. His style complemented this “all battles all the time” approach. And chapters 9–12 are prime examples of what Kubo looked like at his best. He knew how to put the right stakes on the line, and even if it was clear that Ichigo would not lose, there was still enough “cool” to keep that lack of danger from dampening the enjoyment of the chapters’ climax.

But even the obvious “plot armor” surrounding Ichigo in this fight only served as set up for the next major confrontation he would face…

Remember to check out the awesomeness that is Derek’s Blog. Burning Lizard Studios.

Hyakusho Kizoku, Vol. 1

January 23, 2012 by Katherine Dacey

Drawn in a loose, improvisational style, Hiromu Arakawa’s Hyakusho Kizuko may remind readers of the gag strips that round out every volume of her wildly successful Fullmetal Alchemist. That’s not a knock on Hyakusho, by the way; like her fellow sister-in-shonen Yellow Tanabe, Arakawa’s omake are every bit as entertaining as her more polished stories, offering her a chance to riff on favorite characters, complain about her job, and reflect on her previous career as a dairy farmer.

In Hyakusho Kizuko, however, the focus is squarely on the joys and hardships of farm life, rather than the pressures of bringing a popular comic to press. Arakawa shares humorous anecdotes about her ongoing war with the Hokkaido squirrel, a skilled crop thief, as well as her family’s penchant for using animal medicines to cure their own ailments. She also waxes poetic about the temperament of cows — apparently, they make great pets — and celebrates Hokkaido’s important role in feeding the rest of Japan. (As she notes in chapter seven, Japan’s dependence on imported food would rise from 50% to 80% if Hokkaido stopped supplying the other islands with its agricultural products.)

Arakawa doesn’t neglect her life as an artist; throughout the stories, we see her interact with her editor, who’s decidedly skeptical about the marketability of agricultural manga. “How come you’ve written about poop two chapters in a row?” her exasperated editor asks. “In a farmer’s story, poop is your friend,” Arakawa cheerfully counters. Besides, Arakawa notes, her manga explores other topics: “I also mention cow teats,” she declares.

As these matter-of-fact exchanges suggest, Arakawa is eager to educate Japanese readers about where their food comes from. She drops facts about food consumption, discusses cow bloodlines, decries government interference in dairy production, and describes what happens to animals that don’t contribute to a farm’s bottom line. She does so with a light hand, however, interspersing the more serious discussions about sustainability with sight gags involving wild bears, foolish tourists, and barn cats.

None of these passages would be entertaining (or edifying) were it not for a solid adaptation. I’ve complained in the past about other JManga titles, which sometimes suffered from overly literal translations; witness Otaku-Type Delusional Girl, better known in English as Fujoshi Rumi. Hyakusho Kizuko, however, is a pleasant surprise; the translator has done an excellent job of rendering the text in fluid, conversational English that’s a genuine pleasure to read. In fact, the best compliment I could pay the translator is to note that I actually laughed out loud reading several passages.

I’d be the first to admit that Hyakusho Kizuko won’t be every FMA fan’s idea of a good read; folks who like Arakawa best when she’s staging magical combat may find the information-dense passages too didactic for their tastes. For curious city dwellers, however, Hyakusho Kizuko will be a revelation, offering them an entertaining look at the day-to-day operations of a working farm. Highly recommended.

HYAKUSHO KIZOKU, VOL. 1 • BY HIROMU ARAKAWA • SHINSOKAN PUBLISHING CO., LTD. • 139 pp. • NO RATING

Hyakusho Kizoku, Vol. 1

January 23, 2012 by Katherine Dacey 16 Comments

HYAKUSHO KIZOKU, VOL. 1 • BY HIROMU ARAKAWA • SHINSOKAN PUBLISHING CO., LTD. • 139 pp. • NO RATING

Pick of the Week: Expect the Unexpected

January 23, 2012 by Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith, Brigid Alverson, Sean Gaffney and MJ 6 Comments

There’s plenty of good manga coming in to Midtown Comics this week. Check out picks from the Battle Robot below!

KATE: I think I was the only person in the mangasphere who liked Nao Yazawa’s Moon and Blood, so I was happy to see the second volume on Midtown Comics’ shipping list this week. What charmed me the most about this jokey horror-romance was its retro vibe: Yazawa’s characters seem to have stepped out of a shojo manga from the late 1980s/early 1990s. There’s an imperious, handsome boy who’s an ace at everything (and looks like the lead in Itazura na Kiss); a ditzy but energetic heroine with long, curly hair; a dumb but kind thug who’s loved the heroine since childhood; and a child-vampire who looks like a refugee from an early Rumiko Takahashi story. The script won’t win any prizes for originality, but it’s brisk, funny, and — most importantly — never takes itself too seriously. For folks who have OD’ed on angstful horror-romances — and I count myself among that number — Moon and Blood is a great palate cleanser.

MICHELLE: There’s actually quite a bit on this list that I can see myself picking up at some point in time. Perhaps the most obvious pick is the third volume of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, but I think I’ll choose volume six of Arisa this time, for a little variety. Even though I’m not entirely convinced that mangaka Natsumi Ando knows where her story is going, it is nevertheless the fast-paced and suspenseful tale of a girl masquerading as her twin sister to find out what made her attempt suicide. I don’t know a lot about Nakayoshi, the magazine in which this is serialized, but it’s darker fare than I’d generally expect to find there, all while looking as stereotypically shoujo as can be. An interesting mix, to be sure!

BRIGID: I’m going to go with Michelle’s choice and pick up vol. 6 of Arisa. I find Natusme Ando’s manga strangely addictive, despite her wholesale embrace of shoujo manga cliches. I think it’s because she throws in a twist now and then to keep me guessing. I’m really enjoying Arisa, even more than Kitchen Princess, so this week’s choice is an easy one for me.

SEAN: It’s tough for me as well, as this week features volumes of two of the most essential shoujo series available in English. Tempted as I am to pick Sailor Moon – which is awesome – I’m going to make my pick the third omnibus of Cardcaptor Sakura. Back in the days when CLAMP didn’t need to confuse its audience, this is still one of their best and most heartfelt series, and Sakura is still one of the quintessential shoujo heroines. This omnibus begins the second half of the series, where the reader wonders where the manga can go now that she’s collected all the cards (answer: quite a long way), and also begins to move forward her cute romance with Syaoran. Great stuff, and Dark Horse’s package is wonderful.

MJ: It’s not too often that I choose a BL title for this column, but I admit I’m pretty psyched to see the second volume of Kai Asou’s Only Serious About You finally making its way to Midtown Comics. I enjoyed volume one immensely, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating its continuation. Good romance is so difficult to write, and in a genre where shoddy writing is so widely-tolerated, it’s no wonder few writers really make the effort. Fortunately, Asou is one of the few. She’s the kind of skilled writer who is able to make standard genre tropes feel fresh again, and perhaps even reminds us why they became”standard” to begin with. Though this was officially released in December, Midtown and I are equally behind the times, as I hadn’t realized it was already available. It’s just become this week’s must-buy manga! My only regret is that it isn’t yet available by way of DMP’s iPad app.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 1/23/12

January 23, 2012 by Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith and Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

This week, Kate, Michelle, & Sean look at new releases from Kodansha Comics, Viz Media, and Yen Press.

Animal Land, Vol. 3 | By Makoto Raiku | Kodansha Comics – What a difference a volume makes! Now that Taroza can walk, talk, and kick butt, Animal Land has taken a turn for the better. The action sequences are imaginatively staged, allowing Taroza to display a wider range of abilities and fight more formidable opponents. Volume three is also noteworthy for the introduction of the series’ second human character, a feisty blond girl who’s allied herself with a pride of hungry lions. While the interactions between her and Taroza are predictable (Capri is puzzled by her attraction to Taroza), Makoto Raiku manages to eke some fresh laughs out of their awkward courtship. A good choice for the middle-school crowd, in spite of the 13+ rating. – Katherine Dacey

Bokurano: Ours, Vol. 5 | By Mohiro Kitoh | Viz Media – I hadn’t originally planned on reading this right away, figuring it might be nice to have several volumes of this series to consume sequentially. But then I read that there’s a major revelation in this volume, and I just couldn’t resist. Actually, for a series about children who are conscripted into piloting a giant mecha with their life force, this is what passes for an upbeat volume, in that one boy successfully completes his mission then donates his heart to a very ill friend and one of the girls is able to catch a glimpse of her newborn baby brother before passing away. I thought the “major revelation” was telegraphed a bit too strongly beforehand, so it wasn’t as shocking as it could’ve been, but it’s certainly an intriguing twist. Kitoh’s sketchy, minimalist, and distinctive art style is growing on me, as well. Definitely still recommended. – Michelle Smith

Gon, Vol. 3 | By Masashi Tanaka | Kodansha Comics – If you dutifully purchased all seven volumes of Gon in late 2000s, fear not: the new Kodansha version is nearly identical to the old CMX Manga edition, save for the trade dress. If you missed out on Gon, however, now is a perfect time to explore this delightful series. As you’ve probably heard, Gon features a small orange t-rex who has a ten-year-old boy’s penchant for causing mischief. In volume three, for example, Gon floats down the Amazon, accidentally ingests some hallucinogenic mushrooms, and goes mano-a-mano with a tiger. All of Gon’s escapades are rendered in breathtaking detail; Masashi Tanaka’s linework is impeccable, capable of suggesting the texture of a reptile’s skin or a pine tree’s bark. Tanaka also has great comic chops; only Chuck Jones is his peer when it comes to drawing funny animals. Highly recommended. – Katherine Dacey

Kimi Ni Todoke, Vol. 12 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media. – We continue to focus on Sawako and Kazehaya’s new relationship, and how neither of them are quite sure what to do now. Sure, they’re dating and all, but how do two basically shy people go about holding hands, or even *gulp* kissing? To add to Kazehaya’s nervousness, Sawako’s parents now know they’re together. Luckily Kazehaya is a sweetie pie – indeed, her father is irritated that he can’t forbid Sawako to date him as he’s basically swell. There’s also a fantastic chapter showing how Chizu and Ayane met – Chizu, who always speaks before she thinks, makes a wonderful contrast to Ayane’s calculated speech and cognizance of the way others think. One could argue very little really happens in this volume, but who cares? Still fantastic.-Sean Gaffney

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 8 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – As we approach a volume count in the double digits, we’re starting to get plenty of information about the past, including some significant revelations about Alice. My reactions to this material can best be summed up by one of the characters, who says, “Hrm… ‘twould all seem to make sense, but not quite.” Here’s another applicable quote: “It’s been one crazy story after another, so my head’s still working on catching up.” After demonstrating some sympathy for her readers with this dialogue, Mochizuki gets back to the present, sending Oz to a local festival while suggesting that Gilbert’s about to go all crazypants. Rounding out the volume is the original one-shot concept for the series which is, I am sorry to say, both confusing and dull, but offers some entertainment in the form of familiar characters in unfamiliar situations. – Michelle Smith

Psyren, Vol. 2 | By Toshiaki Iwashiro | Viz Media. – I always find these mid-range Jump series difficult. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Psyren – the hero is fun in a Jump way, he contrasts nicely with his more competent friend, and the heroine is cute and more sensible than her other two friends. Still, there’s nothing here that demands I go out and get the next volume IMMEDIATELY, as I always feel with One Piece. It’s not a great series, it’s merely pretty good. Still, pretty good isn’t that bad. Matsuri is a fun addition to the cast, and there’s some great humor here with Ageha completely failing to use his psychic powers… then overdoing it when he finally gets it. The fighting scenes aren’t really as interesting yet, though. Given it’s a Jump manga, I hope that gets sorted out soon. Again, recommended if you like the Jump style.-Sean Gaffney

ALC and JManga partner to bring new yuri online

January 23, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

Here’s an intriguing new development: A partnership between the small yuri manga publisher ALC and the digital manga portal JManga. The two are working together to bring the yuri manga Poor Poor Lips to North American readers—and alas, only North American readers, as JManga is available only in this region. Erica Friedman announced the news at Okazu, and she devotes most of her Yuri Network News post to answering some criticisms and reminding readers that the manga scene is evolving, and this is just one moment in that evolution.

Ash Brown is hosting this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, which focuses on the works of Usumaru Furuya, at Experiments in Manga.

At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie puts the spotlight on the popular shoujo manga creator Arina Tanemura.

Deb Aoki guests on the latest edition of Crunchyroll’s internet-TV show The Live Show, which focuses on Manga Maniacs.

Matt Blind crunches the numbers and comes up with the best-selling manga for the week ending January 1, and he also looks at some up-and-coming titles in his latest Manga Radar post.

Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at one of the lesser-known seinen magazines, Grand Jump.

Khursten Santos explores the manga scene in the Philippines, and she makes some recommendations as well.

News from Japan: The Japan Times has an interesting piece on two prefectures that are trying to grow a local manga industry: Kochi, the home of AnPanMan creator Takashi Yanase, and Tottori, the home of Shigeru Mizuki (GeGeGe No Kitaro, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths) Meanwhile, lots of new projects are under way: Bunny Drop manga-ka Yumi Unita will publish a series of manga essays focusing on technique in Kodansha’s online magazine Digital Kiss. Miki Yoshikawa (Yankee-kun to Megane-chan) will launch a new series in Kodansha’s Monthly Shonen Magazine next month. Cloth Road artist okama is also working on a new series, Tail Star, which will start next month in Shueisha’s Ultra Jump. And yuri manga creator Milk Morinaga has wrapped up Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo (Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink), but she has a new series in the works that will launch in the June issue of Comic High!

Reviews: MJ and Michelle Smith discuss three yaoi manga from Digital in the latest edition of BL Bookrack at Manga Bookshelf. Michelle also checks out three shoujo series from Kodansha at Soliloquy in Blue. Daniella Orihuela-Gruber discusses some older manga series she just finished reading at All About Manga. Lori Henderson posts some short takes on recent reading at Manga Xanadu.

Justin on vol. 18 of 20th Century Boys (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Chobits (Blogcritics)
Kristin on vols. 5 and 6 of Kamisama Kiss (Comic Attack)
Queenie Chan on Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Queenie Chan)
Justin on vol. 2 of No Longer Human (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Rebecca and Jennifer Silverman on One Piece Color Walk Art Book 2 (ANN)
Lori Henderson on vol. 4 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Xanadu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 26 of Skip Beat! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Julie Opipari on vol. 6 of Stepping on Roses (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Chris Kirby on vol. 6 of Tegami Bachi (The Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (ANN)