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NYCC/NYAF 2011, Day Three

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The final day of Comic Con was also the quietest, with only two events that I was interested in.

First up was Viz Media’s regular old panel, which followed the special press-only announcement of Shonen Jump Alpha on Friday. Much of the 2nd half of the panel was indeed devoted to that, but there were also a few other announcements. The manga title I was most interested in was Jiu Jiu, which is the new title from the author of hiatused Tokyopop series Clean Freak Fully Equipped, Toya Tobina. It’s about a female demon hunter and her two hot bishie familiars, and looks to be a lot of fun! It ran in Hana to Yume for a period, but the publisher/author has now moved it to the 6 times a year The Hana magazine instead. It’s 3 volumes and still ongoing.

The second and final manga announcement was a license rescue – the 2nd of the con! Yes, Viz has picked up Loveless from Tokyopop, and will be releasing it starting with Vol. 9, which is where it left off. This title runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic Zero-Sum, and is another of those “not quite BL but has many BL elements” series. It’s still running in Japan, and I think fans will be excited about this.

Other than that, there was a lot of discussion of their VizKids properties. Mameshiba is quite popular, and they’re doing a series of graphic novels next summer. The trailer was adorable. There’s also a new series of books based around Mister Men/Little Miss, and more Voltron Force books as well. They’ve partnered with Netflix to bring anime fans all of Naruto up to Shippuden, as well as the first Bleach movie and the 4 Inu Yasha movies. They also confirmed – finally – the Final Inu Yasha TV series, which will be out next year.

And yes, they too are working on an Android app. :)

After this, I mooched around the con for a while before it was time for the Classic Warners and MGM cartoons on Blu-Ray panel. I knew the San Diego Comic Con presenters wouldn’t be there, but they managed to get a nice all-star cast of panelists. The moderator was Gary Mariano, WB Home Video’s marketing director. On the panel was Will Friedwald, co-author with Jerry of the most famous WB cartoon books out there (The Warner Brothers Cartoons and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies); Greg Ford, director of The Duxorcist and Blooper Bunny; Doug Compton, who was an animator on Blooper Bunny and has also been an animator on Doug, Pinky and the Brain, etc.; David Levy, director of the film Grandpa Looked Like William Powell; and Bill Plympton, famous animator and director of Academy Award nominated short Your Face.

They mentioned the Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes Platinum collections are out in 2 weeks and 1 month, respectively. The LT sets are numbered, so some lucky fan may end up with #1 if they buy it from Amazon. They showed some clips of the restoration work, with Flirty Birdy being the T&J clip and the Looney Tunes being represented by Feline Frame-Up. I’m no great judge of differences between the current DVDs and the Blu-Ray, but I thought the slips looked great.

There was then a brief casual discussion of Warners cartoons – it was clear the audience liked Tom and Jerry, but were there for Bugs and Daffy. Same with the panelists. Ford mentioned he liked Chuck Jones’ ‘dark’ cartoons such as Fresh Airedale and Chow Hound. Plympton likes Clampett and Avery, of course, and Levy warmed my heart by talking about Frank Tashlin, my own favorite WB director. They noted the fact that the personality of each director was so easily visible – you look at a cartoon and you KNOW it’s Jones or Clampett, without even needing a credit. They also likened the animators to jazz bebop groups. The music was also mentioned, with Mariano noting the long sequence of St. Louis Blues in Flirty Birdy, and his suspecting MGM had to pay a royalty for that. Carl Stalling was mentioned, and his relationship with Milt Franklyn was likened to Duke Ellington’s with Billy Strayhorn. It was also noted by Ford that music students listening to Stalling were reminded of Prokofiev.

We then watched The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, which was as fantastic as ever, even if the audience seemed a bit subdued. Q&A followed, though I had to duck out early. Yes, someone asked about the Censored 11. Mariano said he had nothing to announce now, though when some audience members booed he noted he was not saying “No plans at this time” – they have plans, they just aren’t ready yet. There was also discussion of Mel Blanc, and the new shorts being made using his old records.

After that I went and had a nice dinner with friends, and then after much public transport wackiness (those who know my Ryouga Hibiki-esque sense of direction can guess what happened), I am now back home.

Comic Con was a lot of fun, though its size is very daunting. I’m not claustrophobic, but the time spent on that show floor was enough to make me a bit edgy – it’s just a huge crush of people. I was very appreciative of the anime panels – at least the industry ones – being on the north side of the center like all the other panels – it made for far less walking. And I think I will simply have to accept arriving an hour before each panel to wait in line as something I need to do from now on. Still, I will definitely be going back again, and I thought they did a good job at keeping everything manageable.

And thanks to all my fellow manga bloggers, as well as my friends Merc, Alan and Richard, for their delightful company. Also, thanks to the representatives at Viz, Yen and Vertical for not having their eyes glaze over *too* visibly when I went on about what magazine series debuted in or exactly why I think Beelzebub is still unlikely to be licensed.

Any other Comic Con thoughts? Comment away!

X, Vol. 1

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As a child of the 1970s, I appreciate a good disaster flick, whether the devastation is local or global, natural or man-made. There’s something immensely satisfying about watching the world go up in flames, only to walk outside the theater and be reassured by the presence of stop lights, busses, coffee shops, and pedestrians going about their business. Small wonder, then, that I adored CLAMP’s X back in 2003. Not only did it have an impossibly large cast of attractive characters, it also boasted awesome scenes of destruction — scenes worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.

When VIZ announced that it would be reissuing X in a deluxe edition, however, I had misgivings about the project: would the apocalypse be as good the second time around?

In 2003, I’d swooned over the illustrations, re-read favorite scenes, and marveled at the fact that all the characters dressed like refugees from a 1980s music video. Though my inner snob normally disdained anything so purple, I secretly loved the all-caps dialogue, the swirling lines and wind-swept hairdos, and the melodramatic death scenes, not to mention the eerie, post-apocalyptic dream sequences that were sprinkled throughout the series. X read like a hybrid of The Seventh Sign (not to be confused with The Seventh Seal, a much classier flick), Götterdämmerung, and Captain EO, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

At the time I was collecting X, I hadn’t read much else, save a handful of manga by CLAMP and Rumiko Takahashi. The very qualities that drew me to X — angstful conversations, tortured characters — soon had the opposite effect on me: I started to avoid comics in which the emotional volume was cranked up to eleven on every page, as I found them exhausting, the manga equivalent of Tristan and Isolde. Re-reading Tokyo Babylon, for example, I was mortified by my initial enthusiasm for the story, which now seemed hopelessly overripe to me; not since I’d re-read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe had I been so disappointed by a favorite text.

Revisiting X proved a more rewarding experience, though the series’ structural flaws were more readily apparent on a second reading. The dialogue, for example, is often unintentionally hilarious: bystanders comment on the main characters, helpfully telling us how wonderful they are (“Last week, he saved my son from drowning in the river,” one anonymous mother says of Fuma), while the main characters introduce themselves to one another as if they’re networking, not preparing to kill each other. (Sample: “The name’s Sorata Arisugawa! A cute ‘n’ fun-lovin’ high school senior!” “Allow me to return the favor. I am Yuto Kigai. A humble public servant in the local ward office.”) Kotori, the first major female character to be introduced, embodies the Mary Sue concept to a tee; not only is she beautiful, kind, and long of hair, but she’s also very delicate, beset with a heart so weak that she collapses whenever someone frowns. More amusing still are the characters who materialize at the very moment they’re needed: witness the introduction of Tokiko Magami, a school nurse who just so happens to be Kamui’s sole surviving relative, and a fount of information about Kamui’s mother.

Yet these moments of narrative clumsiness are overpowered by the sheer force of the imagery. The battle scenes are kinetic and violent, as characters leap across rooftops, level buildings, and plunge their swords into one another; few licensed shojo or shonen titles can match the gory zest with which CLAMP executes these moments of hand-to-hand combat. The dream sequences, too, are shockingly graphic: characters are dismembered, crucified, impaled, and engulfed in flames, often right before their loved ones’ eyes. Though these images teeter on the brink of kitsch — in one dream, Kamui cradles Kotori’s severed head in his arms — they underscore one of the series’ most important points: sacrifice and loss are a fundamental part of becoming an adult, whether that sacrifice means leaving one’s family (as Sorata and Lady Arashi have done) or losing them (as Kamui, Fuma, and Kotori do in the early chapters of the manga).

The series’ other major theme — that humans are poor stewards of Mother Earth — is less successfully illustrated; three volumes in, it still isn’t clear what, exactly, the Seven Seals are charged with doing: preventing nuclear war? staving off pollution? protecting spotted owls? What will happen if the Seals fail, however, is evocatively rendered; CLAMP draws a post-apocalyptic Tokyo worthy of Katsuhiro Otomo, a landscape of twisted skyscrapers and rotting corpses slowly engulfed by sand dunes.

The fact that these images appeared in Monthly Asuka and not Young Magazine is what makes X so remarkable: it may not be the best shojo fantasy ever written, but it certainly is one of the bloodiest, a fierce, angry blast of emotion that scorches everything in its path. I hesitate to suggest that X‘s body count is an achievement, but it is sharp and welcome rebuke to the idea that female readers strongly prefer conversation and character development to butt-kicking and carnage. Count me in for volume two.

Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC.

X, VOL. 1 • BY CLAMP • VIZ MEDIA • 580 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)

X, Vol. 1

by 19 Comments

As a child of the 1970s, I appreciate a good disaster flick, whether the devastation is local or global, natural or man-made. There’s something immensely satisfying about watching the world go up in flames, only to walk outside the theater and be reassured by the presence of stop lights, busses, coffee shops, and pedestrians going about their business. Small wonder, then, that I adored CLAMP’s X back in 2003. Not only did it have an impossibly large cast of attractive characters, it also boasted awesome scenes of destruction — scenes worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.

When VIZ announced that it would be reissuing X in a deluxe edition, however, I had misgivings about the project: would the apocalypse be as good the second time around?

In 2003, I’d swooned over the illustrations, re-read favorite scenes, and marveled at the fact that all the characters dressed like refugees from a 1980s music video. Though my inner snob normally disdained anything so purple, I secretly loved the all-caps dialogue, the swirling lines and wind-swept hairdos, and the melodramatic death scenes, not to mention the eerie, post-apocalyptic dream sequences that were sprinkled throughout the series. X read like a hybrid of The Seventh Sign (not to be confused with The Seventh Seal, a much classier flick), Götterdämmerung, and Captain EO, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

At the time I was collecting X, I hadn’t read much else, save a handful of manga by CLAMP and Rumiko Takahashi. The very qualities that drew me to X — angstful conversations, tortured characters — soon had the opposite effect on me: I started to avoid comics in which the emotional volume was cranked up to eleven on every page, as I found them exhausting, the manga equivalent of Tristan and Isolde. Re-reading Tokyo Babylon, for example, I was mortified by my initial enthusiasm for the story, which now seemed hopelessly overripe to me; not since I’d re-read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe had I been so disappointed by a favorite text.

Revisiting X proved a more rewarding experience, though the series’ structural flaws were more readily apparent on a second reading. The dialogue, for example, is often unintentionally hilarious: bystanders comment on the main characters, helpfully telling us how wonderful they are (“Last week, he saved my son from drowning in the river,” one anonymous mother says of Fuma), while the main characters introduce themselves to one another as if they’re networking, not preparing to kill each other. (Sample: “The name’s Sorata Arisugawa! A cute ‘n’ fun-lovin’ high school senior!” “Allow me to return the favor. I am Yuto Kigai. A humble public servant in the local ward office.”) Kotori, the first major female character to be introduced, embodies the Mary Sue concept to a tee; not only is she beautiful, kind, and long of hair, but she’s also very delicate, beset with a heart so weak that she collapses whenever someone frowns. More amusing still are the characters who materialize at the very moment they’re needed: witness the introduction of Tokiko Magami, a school nurse who just so happens to be Kamui’s sole surviving relative, and a fount of information about Kamui’s mother.

Yet these moments of narrative clumsiness are overpowered by the sheer force of the imagery. The battle scenes are kinetic and violent, as characters leap across rooftops, level buildings, and plunge their swords into one another; few licensed shojo or shonen titles can match the gory zest with which CLAMP executes these moments of hand-to-hand combat. The dream sequences, too, are shockingly graphic: characters are dismembered, crucified, impaled, and engulfed in flames, often right before their loved ones’ eyes. Though these images teeter on the brink of kitsch — in one dream, Kamui cradles Kotori’s severed head in his arms — they underscore one of the series’ most important points: sacrifice and loss are a fundamental part of becoming an adult, whether that sacrifice means leaving one’s family (as Sorata and Lady Arashi have done) or losing them (as Kamui, Fuma, and Kotori do in the early chapters of the manga).

The series’ other major theme — that humans are poor stewards of Mother Earth — is less successfully illustrated; three volumes in, it still isn’t clear what, exactly, the Seven Seals are charged with doing: preventing nuclear war? staving off pollution? protecting spotted owls? What will happen if the Seals fail, however, is evocatively rendered; CLAMP draws a post-apocalyptic Tokyo worthy of Katsuhiro Otomo, a landscape of twisted skyscrapers and rotting corpses slowly engulfed by sand dunes.

The fact that these images appeared in Monthly Asuka and not Young Magazine is what makes X so remarkable: it may not be the best shojo fantasy ever written, but it certainly is one of the bloodiest, a fierce, angry blast of emotion that scorches everything in its path. I hesitate to suggest that X‘s body count is an achievement, but it is sharp and welcome rebuke to the idea that female readers strongly prefer conversation and character development to butt-kicking and carnage. Count me in for volume two.

Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC.

X, VOL. 1 • BY CLAMP • VIZ MEDIA • 580 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)

NYCC/NYAF 2011, Day Two

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Day 2 of NYCC began with the help of Starbucks, providing me with the tea I needed to keep going. I arrived early expecting lines for the Bandai panel, and I was right, though it wasn’t as bad as later lines. Bandai themselves had no new announcements, though they’re clearly very revved up about Gundam UC. The highlight (lowlight?) of the panel was the Q&A, where I was once again reminded that fans think Bandai USA makes the shows, not Japan. They asked about new Geass, they asked about Star Driver Season 2. The moderator said “Go to the Sunrise panel to ask about that.”

The panel that did have a HUGE line was Archie, which was in a smaller room than last year, for some odd reason. Archie was one of the highlights of last year’s con for me, and this year was no different. Alex Segura moderated, and was excited about the reintroduction of the old Archie superheroes, who are returning – though not getting rebooted, the panel was quick to note. Unlike last year, CEO John Goldwater was a full participant, and his enthusiasm for everything Archie shone through. They announced a new Sabrina animated series, as well as one for Little Archie, both animated by Moonscoop, which should be out next fall.

As for titles already running, Kevin Keller appears in Life With Archie’s ongoing plot. He’s getting married, having met his partner – a doctor, every mother’s dream – after getting wounded in a battlefield. Kevin also has his own series, where he’s Class President and dealing with modern high school issues – dating, proms – and it was noted by Dan Parent that they hope to make Kevin as “flawed” as all the other Archie characters. Archie’s own comic has a 100% profits-to-charity issue, to benefit Ronald McDonald House, with an appropriate plotline. The following issue guest stars football player Michael Strahan, another big Archie fan.

Archie meets KISS sounds really dumb at first, but the trailer they showed and the followup Q&A made me far more interested. The plot of the 4-issue mini will involve Sabrina, Josie, a huge cast – and zombies. And I mentioned the old original Archie superheroes – they’re also bringing back Pureheart the Powerful and the Superteens, discussing making a more realistic take on the characters – why would Veronica restrict herself to just ONE superhero outfit, it was noted? They also discussed the huge success of Life With Archie, and Valerie returning from a Pussycats tour to reunite with Archie from their earlier storyline. I also asked about the Dark Horse and IDW Archive books, and John Goldwater noted they were doing “exceptionally well”, though my suggestion of Josie and Bob Bolling collections was met with a safe “anything’s possible” answer.

And yes, Android app soon.

Then I had a lot of time, so braved the show floor – I’m not claustrophobic, but that many people in one area makes me nervous. I spoke with Craig Yoe briefly at the Archie table, as he was promoting the Archie’s Mad House collection. He also showed me his new Barney Bear comic book collection, which looks fantastic. I did get the Archie the Married Life collection 1, as I had gotten a lot of old titles recently and wanted to support their newer stuff. I also got stopped by several My Little Pony fans. I had bought a “Pinkie Moon” T-shirt from Welovefine on Friday, and it apparently had sold out soon after, so I had many people admiring the hot item.

After dinner, it was time for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund to discuss Defending Manga. This was an excellent panel, highlighting the fact that all of us read things every day that, if we showed them to a “non-fan”, they might not understand what we take for granted. It can be very easy to run afoul of the current attempts to “protect the children”. They discussed the Overfiend sting in Texas, Christopher Handley and the current Canadian Border Guard controversies, and of course Bill 156. It was noted that most “moe” character types look like children – it’s the design. Heck, I reviewed both Love Hina and Negima this week – both have nude girls, one 12 and one an ancient vampire in the body of a 10-year-old girl. Both have hit bestseller lists here in the States, too. It could be anything, because we forget that most folks think all manga is the same – it’s “that Japanese porn”.

One more day to go. What news will Viz have besides Shonen Jump Alpha? And how much will I love the Classic Cartoon panel?

Coming soon

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We’re in a phase when there’s more occasion for license requests than license news, so it seems appropriate to take a break and celebrate some very exciting announcements. Leave it to Vertical to keep giving manga fans reasons for joy.



Now, how did I go through all those license requests without ever hitting upon Moyoco (Hataraki Man) Anno’s Sakuran? Looking back, the one-volume title from Kodansha’s Evening received only a scant mention in The Seinen Alphabet. Let’s pretend that I’ve been begging for it all along, because it certainly feels like a request fulfilled.

Once upon a time, Viz published Osamu Tezuka’s Adolf. Vertical will pull the title from limbo under the title Message to Adolf. It’s a seinen murdery mystery set in pre-World War II Germany featuring a bunch of guys named Adolf, including the obvious. Crazy Tezuka noir and a license rescue all in one joyous package!

For our wild-card entry, Vertical offers the two-volume 5 Centimeters Per Second, Yukiko Seike’s adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s animated motion picture. Under normal circumstances, an adaptation of this nature isn’t an especially promising prospect. This case is slightly different, as it ran in Kodansha’s Afternoon, which is a reliable source of quality, often ambitious manga (though not as reliable as Kodansha’s Morning). There’s also Vertical’s taste level to consider: 7 Billion Needles was one of the most pleasantly surprising unknown quantities of the last couple of years, so there’s no reason this should be different. Plus, that cover positively oozes mono no aware. (Could it just be Ed Chavez’s plot to have vertical dominate the numerical entry in The Favorites Alphabet? I wouldn’t put it past him.)

 

 

 

NYCC/NYAF 2011, Day One

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This was always going to be the most exhausting day of Comic Con, and sure enough, it was. It started for me at 9am with a special Viz Media press panel where they introduced their new digital initiative, Shonen Jump Alpha. This takes the place of the print Shonen Jump magazine, which will be ending this March. The digital magazine will be catching up to only 2 weeks behind the Japanese release (any earlier and they run into quality issues), and will cost $25.99 for a year or .99 for a month. Obviously this will involve digital speed ups of the big titles that will be doing this – Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Toriko, Nura… Viz is calling it a ‘warp’ rather than a speedup this time around. Given the minimal time delay, this would also see the digital chapters out before the print collections.

I asked about possible new content, such as Beelzebub and Medaka Box, as well as possible rescues of series such as Gintama. While acknowledging that it would be a goal, Viz noted the difficulty in speeding up to Japan with a “new” series that is still gaining readership and a fanbase here. They also noted this was USA and Canada only – there are still licensing issues with the UK and other English-speaking countries. They were also asked about the extras that run both in Japan – they mentioned the editorial process would be evolving to work with the digital market. (Note Viz has another panel on Sunday.)

Next up I went back to Unusual Manga Genres, a fan panel run by Erin Finnegan which is always interesting. Pachinko manga 4tw! The next big panel for announcements was Yen Press, who had some fantastic stuff. They’ve license rescued Alice in the Country of Hearts, and will be releasing it in a 3-volume omnibus all in the same month, so those who bought 5 of the 6 volumes from Tokyopop aren’t waiting around. They have The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, the new Haruhi spinoff based on the ’emotional’ Yuki from the 4th movie. A big surprise for me was Shi Ga Futari o Wakatsu Made, a Young Gangan manga still running in Japan. Coming out over here as Until Death Do Us part, it will be in 2-volume omnibus collections, as it’s 15+ volumes in Japan. They also announced the Madoka Magica manga, which currently runs in Manga Time Kirara Forward. I think Kyubei made them license it. Lastly, they picked up Soul Eater Not, which isn’t surprising, but are doing simultaneous chapter releases with Japan, which is. This is a big thing for them, and should pave the way for more series like this if it goes well.

I asked about the Higurashi Massacre arc, and they are doing it, but don’t have the contracts worked out enough to give dates yet. JManga was also mentioned, and it was pointed out that a lot of the North American companies wanted to keep the digital rights for their titles to themselves, rather than give them to another company to make money off of. And for fans of Witch and Wizard and similar projects, they’re also doing GNs for Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel series and Sherrilyn Renyon’s Chronicles of Nick.

Dark Horse had no manga news to announce, so I got some much needed lunch, then went to wait in line for Funimation. The first of two very long lines. Funi’s big announcement was their partnership with Japan’s Nico Nico, and more simulcast series from Japan’s new season. They announced 8 new series, including the finale of Shana, the new Last Exile, and Future Diary. They’re also very excited about Dragon Ball Z in HD, which has Japan impressed as well. And the Hetalia movie trailer was a lot of fun. :)

Next was Kodansha, and the 2nd long line of the day, as this was the Hiro Mashima panel as well. The majority of the panel was devoted to the Fairy Tail author, who was very nice and did a fantastic spontaneous Natsu sketch while we watched. He noted the long hours involved in being a manga artist – 17-hour days, 6 days a week. There was a bit of controversy as some attendees asked questions about plot points not out in America yet – these were quickly defused. As for Kodansha’s new announcements themselves, they have omnibus editions of Genshiken and Kitchen Princess out in May and June. The Phoenix Wright manga ends in March, and they confirmed the Edgeworth manga will follow it. The most exciting title announced was Shingeki no Kyojin, AKA Attack of the Titans. This Bessatsu Shonen title has gotten tremendous online buzz, and people were waiting to see who would get it here. the answer is Kodansha themselves. Lastly, they announced their iPad app, which 4 titles available now – Arisa, Fairy Tail, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, and Full Moon, It’s iPad only for now, but if you have one, give it your support! $4.99 price point.

The last big industry panel of the day was Vertical. It was noted that The Book of Human Insects hit the NYT bestseller list. Drops of God has an article coming out about it in Wine Spectator. Ed noted that they’ve only licensed the first 8 volumes (4 omnibus editions), but may do more if sales are strong. Since everyone is still confused, it was mentioned again that Princess Knight is the Nakayoshi version, not the Shojo Club edition. The final Black Jack, 17, will have a timeline of the stories in order of publication. No Longer Human is L to R, but Furuya drew that himself, especially for the Western Market. Chi’s Sweet Home 8 apparently mentioned Vertical in its content. And they mentioned a possible special Black Jack book after the series is finished, with the extra chapters in the hardcover 1-3 and other interesting content.

As for new licenses, beyond Flowers of Evil (announced at AWA), they numbered 3. 5 Centimeters Per Second, which ran in Kodansha’s Afternoon, will be coming out complete in one omnibus volume. Sakuran by beloved manga artist (well, more of a cult classic beloved) Moyoco Anno. It ran in Evening, and will also be one volume, with many color pages and in a hardcover. And the big Tezuka news was the re-release of Adolf, first published by Viz ages ago but long out of print. Vertical will do it as two huge 620-page volumes, covering the whole series. It ran in Big Comic Special starting from 1983, and is the story of several men named Adolf – including Hitler. This will also be a hardcover release.

And that was Day One. The other days will be much less busy. Thank God. Still, there was lots of great stuff, and it’s clear that digital manga is where everyone is headed.

Manga Bestsellers: 2011, Week Ending 09 October

by 2 Comments

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [469.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [438.8] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2011 [436.3] ::
4. ↑2 (6) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [405.5] ::
5. ↑19 (24) : Vampire Knight 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [383.4] ::
6. ↑7 (13) : Negima! 31 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [365.5] ::
7. ↑28 (35) : Skip Beat! 25 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [356.0] ::
8. ↑20 (28) : Blue Exorcist 4 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2011 [351.1] ::
9. ↑18 (27) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 6 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2011 [340.8] ::
10. ↓-6 (4) : Fullmetal Alchemist 26 – Viz, Sep 2011 [323.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shojo Beat 78
Yen Press 76
Viz Shonen Jump 72
Kodansha Comics 39
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 35
Vizkids 34
HC/Tokyopop 23
DMP Juné 18
Tokyopop 18
Viz 14

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,055.5] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [758.6] ::
3. ↑4 (7) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [728.6] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [674.8] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [649.3] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Black Butler – Yen Press [601.7] ::
7. ↑8 (15) : Blue Exorcist – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [554.7] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Pokemon – Vizkids [546.0] ::
9. ↓-5 (4) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [544.8] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [498.9] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [469.1] ::
4. ↑2 (6) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [405.5] ::
5. ↑19 (24) : Vampire Knight 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [383.4] ::
6. ↑7 (13) : Negima! 31 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [365.5] ::
7. ↑28 (35) : Skip Beat! 25 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2011 [356.0] ::
8. ↑20 (28) : Blue Exorcist 4 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2011 [351.1] ::
9. ↑18 (27) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 6 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2011 [340.8] ::
10. ↓-6 (4) : Fullmetal Alchemist 26 – Viz, Sep 2011 [323.8] ::
11. ↑5 (16) : xxxHolic 17 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [318.2] ::
14. ↓-9 (5) : Black Bird 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2011 [304.9] ::

[more]

Preorders

2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [438.8] ::
12. ↓-5 (7) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [317.9] ::
20. ↓-9 (11) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [278.3] ::
27. ↑13 (40) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [239.0] ::
28. ↓-2 (26) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [230.9] ::
59. ↑3 (62) : Negima! 32 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [144.4] ::
84. ↑20 (104) : xxxHolic 18 – Kodansha Comics, Dec 2011 [115.4] ::
94. ↓-3 (91) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [109.7] ::
105. ↓-31 (74) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [95.5] ::
119. ↓-47 (72) : An Even More Beautiful Lie – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [86.1] ::

[more]

Manhwa

286. ↑381 (667) : Pig Bride 5 – Yen Press, Jul 2010 [38.5] ::
329. ↓-55 (274) : Evyione: Ocean Fantasy 2 – Udon, Sep 2008 [33.6] ::
448. ↑32 (480) : Goong 12 – Yen Press, Sep 2011 [22.1] ::
632. ↓-186 (446) : Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo 3 – Yen Press, Nov 2006 [14.0] ::
640. ↓-184 (456) : Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo 2 – Yen Press, Jul 2006 [13.8] ::
653. ↓-186 (467) : Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo 4 – Yen Press, May 2008 [13.3] ::
692. ↓-513 (179) : Jack Frost 4 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [11.8] ::
706. ↑178 (884) : Priest vols 1-3 collection – Tokyopop, Jun 2011 [11.5] ::
748. ↓-181 (567) : Comic 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2008 [10.1] ::
753. ↓-257 (496) : Bride of the Water God 8 – Dark Horse, May 2011 [10.0] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

29. ↓-20 (9) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [225.3] ::
77. ↑9 (86) : Maelstrom (Kindle ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [124.5] ::
105. ↓-31 (74) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [95.5] ::
119. ↓-47 (72) : An Even More Beautiful Lie – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [86.1] ::
123. ↑3 (126) : About Love – DMP Juné, Nov 2011 [84.4] ::
149. ↓-8 (141) : Secrecy of the Shivering Night – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [72.5] ::
150. ↓-2 (148) : Mr. Convenience – DMP Juné, Nov 2011 [70.8] ::
211. ↑17 (228) : Maelstrom (Kindle ebook) 4 – Yaoi Press, Jul 2011 [52.5] ::
237. ↑12 (249) : Only Serious about You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [47.4] ::
238. ↓-1 (237) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [47.3] ::

[more]

Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 1

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Do you remember Wonder Woman? From an adult perspective, the show was dreadful, marred by ham-fisted scripts, low-budget special effects, campy plotlines, and wooden performances. From a child’s perspective, however, Wonder Woman was magical: the heroine had a secret identity, wore a cool crime-fighting outfit complete with nifty, crime-fighting accessories, and fought bad buys. Better still, she could transform from civilian to superhero by extending her arms and twirling a few times, a transformation made even more dramatic by a blinding flash of light and a musical flourish on the soundtrack.

Codename: Sailor V irresistibly reminded me of the old Wonder Woman show. Judged by adult standards, it’s repetitive, hokey, and poorly drawn; judged by a child’s standards, however, it’s an appealing fantasy in which an ordinary girl can assume a new, powerful identity in order to defeat bullies, robbers, and aliens who like to impersonate idols. (More on that in a minute.)

Sailor V follows a well-established shojo template in which a seemingly ordinary girl discovers her true identity as a soldier, priestess, or princess. For perky tomboy Minako Aino, her alter ego is Sailor Venus, a glamorous, sailor-suited warrior tasked with protecting the Earth from the Dark Agency, a nefarious band of aliens using the entertainment industry to enslave humanity. With the aid of Artemis, a talking cat, Minako begins mastering her two secret weapons: a magical pen and a crescent-shaped compact, both of which enable her to overwhelm opponents with the light of truth.

What distinguishes Sailor V from other magical girl manga is Minako’s can-do spirit. Minako may flunk math quizzes and miss homeroom, but when the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, she embraces her responsibility with cheerful resolve. “I feel liberated! I’m overflowing with power!” she declares after her first successful mission. Even when the missions fall into a predictable pattern, Minako’s enthusiasm and competence prove irresistible: she delivers high-flying kicks with graceful precision, discovers new powers in the heat of battle, scolds evil-doers for evading the tax code (no, really), and experiments with different personae. (In one story, she transforms into a handsome male idol; in another, she poses as a military commando.)

Put simply, Minako kicks butt and has fun doing it.

I’m less enthusiastic about the artwork, which is a riot of busy screentones, arm-flapping chibis, and noseless characters. The visual flow is often choppy, with abrupt shifts in perspective and setting that can disorient the reader. The character designs, too, leave something to be desired, as the villains all have blank, doll-like faces and enormous foreheads, while Minako and her friends have saucer-shaped eyes. Only the fight scenes are well executed; using undulating lines and balletic poses, Takeuchi does a fine job of distinguishing Minako from Sailor V, showing us how a plucky teen transforms into a strong young woman.

And therein lies the key Codename: Sailor V‘s appeal: the series allows young girls to try on a grown-up persona, to imagine what it might be to like to be a strong, smart, and capable woman who’s free to realize her full potential. At the same time, however, Sailor V honors a young girl’s ideas of femininity, recognizing that it’s perfectly possible to save the day while wearing a cute outfit. Small wonder, then, that the Sailor Moon franchise proved so popular among young girls on both sides of the Pacific: who wouldn’t want to be a princess and a warrior?

CODENAME: SAILOR V, VOL. 1 • BY NAOKO TAKEUCHI • KODANSHA COMICS USA • 272 pp. • RATING: TEEN (13+)

Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 1

by 4 Comments

Do you remember Wonder Woman? From an adult perspective, the show was dreadful, marred by ham-fisted scripts, low-budget special effects, campy plotlines, and wooden performances. From a child’s perspective, however, Wonder Woman was magical: the heroine had a secret identity, wore a cool crime-fighting outfit complete with nifty, crime-fighting accessories, and fought bad buys. Better still, she could transform from civilian to superhero by extending her arms and twirling a few times, a transformation made even more dramatic by a blinding flash of light and a musical flourish on the soundtrack.

Codename: Sailor V irresistibly reminded me of the old Wonder Woman show. Judged by adult standards, it’s repetitive, hokey, and poorly drawn; judged by a child’s standards, however, it’s an appealing fantasy in which an ordinary girl can assume a new, powerful identity in order to defeat bullies, robbers, and aliens who like to impersonate idols. (More on that in a minute.)

Sailor V follows a well-established shojo template in which a seemingly ordinary girl discovers her true identity as a soldier, priestess, or princess. For perky tomboy Minako Aino, her alter ego is Sailor Venus, a glamorous, sailor-suited warrior tasked with protecting the Earth from the Dark Agency, a nefarious band of aliens using the entertainment industry to enslave humanity. With the aid of Artemis, a talking cat, Minako begins mastering her two secret weapons: a magical pen and a crescent-shaped compact, both of which enable her to overwhelm opponents with the light of truth….

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