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JManga the Week of 11/15

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SEAN: Nothing that makes me go squee in next week’s 4 new titles, but some interesting stuff regardless.

Takatoh-sanchi no Komatta Jijyou is another Be x Boy title from Libre Shuppan, with a smug square-jawed seme feeding his startled uke some pancakes. It’s designed for audiences who like that sort of thing, I imagine.

MJ: I tend to roll my eyes at covers like this, but I’ve also learned over the years that I can’t really judge a BL manga by its cover. I haven’t read any of Natsuho Shino’s other books, though a few of them have been released by both DMP and SuBLime. I have to admit that her (apparently unfinished) series Oh My God! (SuBLime) has one of those omyouji plotlines that tend to be kinda bullet-proof for me, even when they’re awful. Maybe I’ll check that one out first before braving the pancake cover.

MICHELLE: I haven’t read any of her stuff, either, though I must point out that back in the day, Kate kind of liked Oh My God!

SEAN: A Transparent Orange in the Lip, from Ichijinsha’s Yuri Hime magazine, is exactly the same, only for yuri audiences rather than BL. Look, vulnerable high school girls in love! (Why am I getting Kentucky Fried Movie flashbacks?)

MJ: Erica Friedman reviewed this title a couple of years ago, and… well, it’s not all that encouraging. Sadly.

SEAN: Our final two titles are both from Earth Star Entertainment, a company that has clearly made a big deal with JManga recently, as we’re seeing a huge pile of their stuff. They have a couple of magazines, and tend to have titles that run across multiple platforms, with anime, CD dramas, etc. Tokyo Cycle Girl is yuri-ish (in the same way that Zero-Sum titles are BL-ish) about a girl who tries to impress her new aloof roommate by upgrading her bike.

MJ: So does it follow then, that if I like Zero-Sum titles, I’d also like this? :D I’m hoping so, because I kinda love the premise. I hope it works out for the girl!

MICHELLE: It definitely sounds more promising than A Transparent Orange! And huzzah for more yuri and yuri-ish releases!

SEAN: You may notice that Koetama has 5 creators listed. It’s a project that was “conceptualized” by four voice actresses, who created characters based on what they would likely be cast as. Naturally, it’s a manga about aspiring voice actors. For seiyuu buffs, the creators are Nakahara Mai, Ueda Kana, Hayami Saori and Yahagi Sayuri. Intriguing, even if it looks very calculated.

MJ: This idea, while interesting, is kind of artistically suspect, though I suppose I should give it a chance.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I dunno. The cover says “not for you” in its art style, even while the girl herself is pretty cute-looking. I think I’ll wait for others’ reviews before I forge ahead.

Manga the Week of 11/14

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SEAN: I am debating how much longer I’m going to keep using Midtown’s list. I started using it because a) I get my manga mostly from a comic book store, and b) it usually has next week’s list out before anyone else. But its resemblance to what I get at my comic shop every week has been growing smaller and smaller. Next week’s has all the Viz stuff we got in today, but doesn’t have the titles Viz actually has scheduled for next week. And, as always, Midtown doesn’t like Seven Seas much at all.

So this list is my usual fusion of Diamond, asking my comic shop guys what’s out for me next week, and Amazon. With that in mind… there’s a HUGE PILE again this week.

First off, Dark Horse is releasing Vol. 3 of Blood Blockade Battlefront. The words “Nightow” and “Battle” still give me horrible flashbacks to Trigun’s action artwork, but I know this has a ton of fans who have no issues working out what stuff is flying where.

Digital Manga Publishing has a quartet of titles due out. I’m not sure if DMP is using the bunko books as sources for Bad Teacher’s Equation or not – if they are, Vol. 5 may be the final volume of this series.

MICHELLE: I *think* that they are, though I’m not sure about that.

SEAN: Secret Thorns is a one-off that features my favorite kind of BL manga: a cover I don’t hate!

The same cannot be said for Sleepless Nights (though it’s not horrible), but the Odd-Couple-esque premise at least sounds like it will promise wacky shenanigans before the good stuff.

MJ: I feel like I should have something to say here… but I don’t. None of these really sound like My Kind of BL.

MICHELLE: I too like the Secret Thorns cover, but it’s by Kikuko Kikuya, whose Entangled Circumstances *also* had a really cute cover but was ultimately kinda disappointing. I’m wary.

SEAN: And lastly, in the non-BL category, DMP have the first volume of a seinen manga from Houbunsha’s Manga Time Jumbo, one of the infinite Manga Time titles that litter the landscape in Japan. Start with a Happy Ending seems to be about a newly deceased woman becoming a cat for 7 days before she goes to heaven, and the heartwarming stories that follow. Sounds intriguing.

Kodansha has a debut shoujo title! Ema Toyama, author of I Am Here!, has a longer series that also ran in Nakayoshi about a cell-phone novelist ignorant of romance and her blackmailing friendship with the class heart-throb, which Kodansha has smartly retitled Missions of Love. I talked about this as a license request a long time ago, and was very pleased to see Kodansha pick it up. If you like Devil and Her Love Song, but want something a bit sweeter, this may be for you.

MJ: I never read I Am Here! (despite the fact that Michelle loaned me the first couple of volumes ages ago), but maybe this will win me over to Toyama? It certainly sounds intriguing!

MICHELLE: It does, but probably more so because I ended up liking I Am Here! more than expected.

SEAN: Seven Seas is absent from Midtown’s list, but my store says they have some titles coming in. The biggie for me is Volumes 3-4 of Young Miss Holmes by Kaoru Shintani. I read Vol. 1-2 expecting something a lot more lolicon, but was surprised to find an addictive set of mysteries that treated Holmes with respect and had the best Action Maids I’d seen in ages. This 2nd omnibus deals with, among other familiar stories, The Hound of The Baskervilles (like they were gonna not do a pastiche of that), and The Five Orange Pips (wait, what? Seriously?!) The release comes out slow as molasses, but I’m so glad the next one is here!

MICHELLE: I have the omnibus of 1-2. Must get ’round to reading it!

SEAN: There’s also Vol. 1 of the new debut, Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, the latest in Seven Seas’ autumn of moe. This is still pretty ecchi, and runs in Monthly Comic Alive, but if asked to choose between the Big Brother title, the forthcoming Mayo Chiki, and this, I would take this in a heartbeat. It’s about a club of misfits supposedly devoted to learning social skills.

Angel Para Bellum hits Vol. 2, and I must admit Vol. 1 did not impress me, so I have little to add.

And Alice in the Country of Clover hits Vol. 3 of Cheshire Cat Waltz, which has walked a nice line between innocent and saucy, as well as between meaningful and aggravating. As the best game tie-ins always do.

MJ: I still haven’t read anything in this series! Shame on me.

MICHELLE: Don’t start with these Clover spinoffs. At least Cheshire Cat Waltz is a lot better than Bloody Twins!

SEAN: Vertical also has a debut, HeroMan, which comes from the pen of Stan Lee (with an assist from the anime studio BONES) that ran in Square Enix’s Shonen Gangan. It’s a title for younger readers (though still readable for adults), about a kid who wants to be, well, a hero.

MJ: Given my reaction to Ultimo, I am not optimistic about the chances of me liking something from the pen of Stan Lee, sorry to say.

MICHELLE: Yeah. Sorry, comics fans!

SEAN: And there’s the final volume of GTO: The Early Years, which rounds out this delinquent manga with a flourish (and has a few mild hints of GTO proper, mostly Onizuka realizing he has no clue what to do with his life). I wish it had sold better, but kudos to Vertical for finishing this classic.

Midtown lists for Viz all the titles we talked about last week, so go there to see those. As for this week… deep breath…

MJ: *facepalm*

SEAN: It’s Excel Saga 24!!! Five months earlier than I had expected! Not only that, 25 is due out in April! It’s an Excel Saga speed up, just like Naruto! We’re only 4 away from the end now, and things are well into the endgame, with Excel’s very existence now at stake. You cannot miss this title!

In non-Excel Saga Viz releases, the license rescued 07-Ghost has its debut, with Viz redoing Vols. 1-3 (originally put out here by Go! Comi) before finishing the series. It’s an Ichijinsha (is this shoujo or josei?) series, which runs in Comic Zero-Sum, and is a fantasy supernatural thing with BL overtones. As is Zero-Sum in general, really.

MJ: I tend to like manga from Comic Zero-Sum, so I’m kinda looking forward to this!

SEAN: After being delayed for four months, we finally see the final volume of Cross Game (and judging by sales, it may be the last Adachi we see over here for some time.) The ending to this manga is terrific, I want to say. Don’t miss it.

MJ: I’m behind on this series, but definitely hooked. I’ll be picking this up!

MICHELLE: I can’t wait to read the ending of this, though low sales bum me out. In the continuing theme of “stuff I have but need to somehow find time to read,” I’m reminded that I’ve got a couple series of his in French. One of these days…

SEAN: Inu Yasha’s BIG edition trundles along, hitting lucky No. 13 this time around.

And speaking of Takahashi, Rin-Ne also keeps trundling along, finally arriving at double digits. Its hero and heroine may bear no resemblance whatsoever to Ataru or Lum, but it’s still Takahashi through-and-through, and has just as much chance of resolving.

MICHELLE: RIN-NE is a nice comfort read. Interesting enough not to bore you, simple enough not to challenge you in any way.

SEAN: And for those who saw Evangelion 13 this week and thought about giving it a try, Vol. 1-3 are out in an omnibus. Get it for Shinji. You mustn’t run away.

Lastly, Midtown (hey, back to their list!) has a giant pile of Yen releases that are coming out later on Amazon, so it’s back to the comic shops. Bunny Drop 7 finally gets around to working out the unresolved issues between Rin and her birth mother, and sounds fantastic.

MJ: I was skeptical of the later volumes of Bunny Drop, but after reading volume six, I’m definitely looking forward to more!

MICHELLE: Now it’s my turn to be ashamed for not having read any of a series!

SEAN: Haruhi-chan, the 4-koma spin-off that I care about and no other blogger does has reached Vol. 6. It’s funny and adorable. And genuinely moe, as opposed to “loli boobies!” moe. :)

Nabari no Ou is headed towards its climax as we reach Vol. 12, and yet is still sadly known as “that other ninja manga.”

MJ: “Sadly” really is the word here. Nabari no Ou is so much more interesting than the much bigger ninja manga. I wish it was getting more attention in the manga blogosphere.

MICHELLE: I’m happy that Yen’s continuing to release it, though. Looks like we’ll safely reach the conclusion.

SEAN: Omamori Himari Vol. 9 is.

Coming out a mere 4 years after Vol. 2 (blame Japan, not Yen – the author found an actual hit in GA Art Design Class and took a looooooong hiatus), we have Vol. 3 of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro! It’s adorable and creepy and sweet and sort of sad all at the same time.

MJ: Kate recommended this quite a while back, which is a strong recommendation indeed. Between the two of you, I’m convinced!

SEAN: Soul Eater hits Vol. 11 right after its moe counterpart had Vol. 2 arrive. This is more serious and action-packed, and I suspect far more depressing as well.

Spice and Wolf is up to Vol. 7, and I presume still teaching us economic theory?

Lastly (thank GOD), There’s the debut of Umineko When They Cry, the sort of sequel to Higurashi from the same author. Darker in tone than its predecessor, it still has a lot of cute wacky comedy before everything goes to hell. It too runs in arcs, and this first omnibus collects the first two books of the first arc, which ran in Square Enix’s Gangan Powered.

MICHELLE: This time, I’m going to follow this one from the beginning!

SEAN: That’s… a lot of manga. Wow.

JManga the Week of 11/8

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SEAN: We’re back with another edition of JManga the Week of! And there are some great new digital titles hitting the site next week.

TAVERNA, Dark Cooking Club of St.George’s Girls’ School is such an awkward mouthful that it can only be a 4-koma series from our friends at Takeshobo. And indeed it is, running in the magazine Manga Life Win. Vol. 2 is out next week. It seems to be a cooking manga, only moe! … Do those two audiences even cross?

MJ: 4-koma tends to lean towards the “miss” side of hit-or-miss with me, but I’m usually willing to give it a try. Usually. We’ll see. The “cooking” bit does give it an edge—which is odd, actually, since I hate cooking.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I’m pretty wary, but the cooking part is at least kind of different.

SEAN: A Kiss on Tearful Cheeks is the 2nd title from Futabasha’s Comic Mahou no Island in 2 weeks, but this one seems to be slightly less off-putting than My Sadistic Boyfriend. Despite apparently starring a girl who can’t stop crying. Vol. 4 is out next week.

MJ: Oooooh, I just don’t know if I can take all the crying. I just don’t know.

MICHELLE: Ugh. I am totally making gross assumptions here, but I predict that the boyfriend makes her cry (or that she invents reasons for herself to cry) and then ends up repeatedly comforting her. It just sounds so dreary and, like, spirit-sapping. No thanks.

SEAN: The big debut title for me next week is Sekine’s Love, a josei-ish title that runs in Ohta Shuppan’s sui generis manga magazine Manga Erotics F. It’s a title about a stoic and unemotional man who starts trying to find someone who can make him feel. The audience, meanwhile, is attracted to him because his indifference is hilarious. I’ve heard great things about this, can’t wait to give it a read. (And no, it’s not – to my knowledge – BL.)

MJ: What readers don’t know, is that Sean sent out a pre-column email of squee over this title earlier today. And reading this, I’m inclined to agree with him. I’ll definitely be checking this out!

MICHELLE: I had never heard of this one prior to this afternoon, but it does sound intriguing. I guess JManga is trying to cover their bases—moe fans, check! Black Bird-type relationship fans, check! People who are weary of those other things and want something unique, check!

SEAN: Also, when finding the cover art for this post, I noted the cover says “A gentleman good at knitting is not good at knitting the love!” Is this the anti-Ninja Papa?

I know very little indeed about pupa, except that its title is in lower case and it’s from Earth Star Entertainment, whom JManga have done several series with recently. Judging from the cover, I’m guessing fantasy?

MJ: Looks kind of interesting, actually. Is that a teddy bear in there?

MICHELLE: I am just distracted by the title on this one.

SEAN: And Tokyo Girls Destruction is by Court Bettan, author of the cancelled Tokyopop series Harukaze Bitter Bop. It’s from Mag Garden, running in their seinen magazine Beat\’s (no, not a typo, that’s how it looks). It would appear to be another in a long line of Battle Royale clones, featuring cute girls all beating the crap out of each other.

MJ: Zzzzzzzzzzzz…

MICHELLE: For, like, half a second I though this was some kind of 51 Ways to Save Her series. Alas, ’twas not to be.

Manga the Week of 11/7

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SEAN: Hello, and welcome to Manga The Week Of: Expanded Version! We liked chattering about JManga so much that we decided to let it carry over into my regular feature. So pull up a chair, sit back, it’s the first week of the month, so Midtown’s list is… tiny.

Oh dear, they’re doing it again. (Note: as of 5pm Wednesday. If they update their list again later, this is all irrelevant). Sometimes Viz shows up late to Midtown. No idea if it’s due to Hurricane Sandy, Diamond, or mere happenstance. As it happens, I checked with my own comic store, and they seem to be getting in Viz’s 11/6 releases on 11/6. So I will proceed to break them down here as well, assuming most comic shops not affected by possible Sandy distribution delays will get them.

But first, our fine folks at Kodansha have some stuff coming out! Actually, it came out everywhere else today. But when you’re Diamond Comics Distributors, you can … well, do whatever you want. So they ship Kodansha a week late.

In any case, Air Gear 26 is out, continuing the great Air Gear tradition.

Mardock Scramble continues our 6 theme by having Vol. 6 out.

MJ: I am several volumes behind on Mardock Scramble, but I really liked it early on. Should I try to catch up? Anyone have an opinion?

MICHELLE: I find the concept interesting, but never started it and thusly haven’t bought beyond the first couple of volumes. Also, “the great Air Gear tradition” made me snicker.

SEAN: And, carrying the 6 theme to a third release (hey, 666. Happy Halloween!), Negima! is up to Volume 36, meaning it’s close to completion. I see Asuna is on the cover. Is she back in action?

MJ: I do sort of consider Ken Akamatsu to be the devil, so that works. (Please don’t hit me.)

MICHELLE: I really have tried to approach his stuff with an open mind, but I just can’t like it.

SEAN: Finally, ruining the 6 theme by being a Vol. 8, Sailor Moon ends its S arc and starts Super S. Let me tell you folks who only know this arc from the anime: you are in for a treat.

MJ: I can’t wait!

MICHELLE: The outers are in it, the outers are in it! On the sad side, however, Fish-Eye and Tiger’s-Eye appear so briefly in the manga version as compared to the anime that it’s kind of a blink-and-you-miss-them situation.

SEAN: Yen Press was supposed to have Vol. 2 of Soul Eater NOT! out two weeks ago, but for some reason it got delayed to this week for comic shops. This fusion of the Soul Eater Universe with the moe aesthetic is taking a while for me to warm up to, but I’ve heard it’s not all light and fluff. Will there be creepy art to give nightmares in the best Soul Eater tradition? Let’s hope so!

Now, on to Viz, which may or may not get to all stores, and may or may not have all these titles, but oh well.

First, Bakuman enters its final quarter with Vol. 16, and continues to have a love/hate/mostly hate relationship with its female characters, but is a lot of fun nevertheless.

MJ: I have to admit I’ve been addicted to Bakuman since the beginning, even when it’s really pissed me off. So I’ll be picking this up for sure.

KATE: I freely place myself in the Feminists Who Loathe Bakuman Camp. The authors’ treatment of the female characters — especially the smart, competent ones — is a deal-breaker for me, even though the manga shop talk is fun.

MICHELLE: Like MJ, I get annoyed, but then I keep reading. Some of the kooky supporting cast is a lot of fun, which helps.

SEAN: Bleach has Vol. 50 and 51, which I’m pretty sure don’t star Aizen. What is this strange Aizen-less manga I see before me?

MICHELLE: I am soooo looking forward to the end of this Hueco Mundo arc. I don’t know any Bleach spoilers, so I have no clue what’s coming next, or whether it is better, but ye gods, this has been dragging on.

SEAN: A new Blue Exorcist! At least for those of you who didn’t read it digitally ages ago. One of the best current Jump titles, and always a treat.

Claymore hits Vol. 21, and the cover simply glares at you balefully, daring you to pass it by. Do you really want to take that risk?

MJ: I can’t pass it by!

SEAN: We’re not quite caught up to Japan with Kamisama Kiss, so the volumes are still coming out fast and furious. Here’s #11, which features a New Year’s theme just in time for November! Well, surely it’s New Year’s somewhere…

Kimi ni Todoke hits Vol. 15 here (it is caught up, so we’re seeing it less now), and Chizuru and Ryu are standing pensively back-to-back, not looking each other in the eye. We all know what that means. SMOOCHIES! …well, OK, probably not. But I hope they get a nice juicy plot arc.

MJ: This series just never stops being charming, does it?

MICHELLE: No, it doesn’t.

SEAN: Naruto is up to Vol. 59! Holy crap! I admit I haven’t read it since Vol. 6, so the cover makes about negative zero sense to me, but hey, it sells amazingly well, so therefore is doing many things right.

In case you missed the Nausicaa Manga when Viz released it a few years ago, they’re now putting it out again in a handsome box set. It’s a gorgeous manga, as well as environmentally conscious. Pick it up today.

MJ: I am thrilled about this, I have to say. I did miss this when Viz originally released it, so I’m incredibly pleased to have another shot at it.

KATE: I’ve also been looking forward to the new edition of Nausicaa. The old edition — though nice to look at — was printed on crummy paper that didn’t age well, and I’ve been eager to replace mine with a cleaner, newer version.

SEAN: Wasn’t it released on environmentally correct paper? That may be why…

MICHELLE: Somehow I missed this news! I have an awesome local library with a genuinely huge manga selection, so I was lucky enough to read Nausicaa (the four-volume Perfect Collection edition) that way, but I might need a handsome box set of my very own!

SEAN: Neon Genesis Evangelion is (digitally) day/date with Japan! And out only a week later in print! This is truly amazing, and big kudos to Viz for pulling it off. Best of all, this is the version with the happy ending! … OK, I lie, it’s not. It’s still depressing. But hey, maybe Shinji is more proactive? The manga’s been good at that.

KATE: The NGE omnibus has been sitting in my review queue for a few weeks. I’ve never read or watched any NGE stories, so I’m hoping that VIZ’s new three-in-one edition will make it easy for me to familiarize myself with this enormous, seemingly inexhaustible supply of material.

SEAN: Did I say holy crap when Naruto hit Vol. 59? Well, One Piece is up to Vol. 65! And… well, is still in the Fishman Island arc, but can’t have everything. I believe this is a ‘battle-only volume, the kind Jump readers love! If only as it reads smoother in Volume than it does week-to-week.

MICHELLE: Yay, One Piece!

SEAN: Another manga I tend to push as much as possible, Oresama Teacher has hit its 11th volume. The subject is Christmas! … OK, what with that and New Year’s, Viz is playing mall music at us far too early. But I’m not complaining!

MICHELLE: I like Oresama Teacher, but I do sort of inwardly groan when shoujo manga feel obliged to hit all the holidays. Hopefully this’ll be one of those times where the series is genuinely funny.

SEAN: The giant huge box set thing that is Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 1-18! It’s a fun series, if you haven’t checked it out, and need a Christmas Present for your wish list, this is a great choice.

Rosario + Vampire Season II hits Vol. 10, and possible Chapter 5 and Verse 2. In any case, vampires!

KATE: I’ve long thought of Rosario + Vampire as Twilight for guys: it’s got impossibly beautiful female monsters who inexplicably love an unremarkable human. While none of the vamps in Rosario sparkle, they do show a lot of cleavage and leg — the next best thing, I guess, if you’re a fourteen-year-old boy. It’s not my cup of tea, but I can definitely understand its appeal.

SEAN: You don’t need vampires to have girls falling all over themselves for a nebbish guy. See: any harem manga ever.

SEAN: NEW SERIES ALERT! Strobe Edge, from Io Sakisaka, is a school romance about a girl who wants to find out what love is and the school heart-throb… um, haven’t I heard this premise before? Oh right, Japanese shoujo manga. Despite that, this is apparently a lot of fun. I heard that people are… NICE in it. Gasp! It ran for 10 volumes in Shueisha’s Betsuma.

MJ: I’ll admit that Kate’s review gave me some pause about picking this up, but it’s really hard for me to pass up new shoujo.

KATE: I freely admit that I’m turning into a big curmudgeon when it comes to shojo manga; I’ve read one too many stories about nice, unassuming (read: boring) girls who develop crushes on hot guys. Strobe Edge isn’t bad, just predictable as taxes. Give me Maria Kawai and her razor-sharp barbs any day.

MICHELLE: It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a manga that makes me explode into hearts, but I’m definitely planning to give it a chance.

SEAN: Speaking of series I hadn’t realized hit double volumes, there’s Tegami Bachi! Presumably the mail must still get through for these letter bees.

Vampire Knight, which I still can’t quite quit, hits Vol. 15. If only it weren’t so damned addictive. Also, vampires!

Lastly, there is We Were There, which has no vampires whatsoever. It’s almost over, but there’s still this volume and 16 to go. So there’s LOTS more ways the author can make her character’s lives miserable! (Admit it, that’s why we love it. This is *the* angst shoujo.)

MJ: I love this “angst” shoujo. I really, really do. It’s a longtime favorite, and I never miss a new volume.

MICHELLE: I love it, too. Volume 15 is on the top of my review pile!

JManga The Week Of 11/1

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SEAN: Welcome to a new feature here at Manga Bookshelf, which for want of a better title will be called JManga The Week Of. As you might guess, it is similar to my Manga the Week of posts, in that we break down what’s coming out next week from JManga (and possibly other e-publishers if I can find an easy way to get their release dates) and discuss what we’re looking forward to, what we’re curious about, what what we don’t really see the appeal of at all.

Since this is an inaugural post, I will start with THIS week’s JManga titles, then move on to next week. So it’s a double dose!

First off, we’re getting more “rescues” from the former folks at Del Rey, consisting of the titles they didn’t bring with them to Kodansha. School Rumble has 8 more volumes, which brings it up to date with what Del Rey had put out. This would mean Vols. 17-22, as well as the one-off sequel School Rumble Z, would be original JManga translations/productions. School Rumble is a comedic harem title from Weekly Shonen Magazine, and was quite popular among the blogosphere when it was coming out. And by popular I mean folks read the scans avidly. Cough. When the manga ended, as most harem manga do, with an ending that did not please everyone, the fandom died faster than Ali MacGraw. I do hope that enough time has passed that said fans return to the fold to support the remainder of the series.

MJ: I’ve always been sort of curious about this title—I even bought the first volume at one point, but never read it—so JManga’s acquisition here is definitely of interest to me. That said, there are Del Rey titles I miss much, much more (*cough* Nodame *cough*) so I’m not quite jumping up and down yet.

MICHELLE: I feel exactly the same way, MJ. I’m not generally interested in shounen harem manga, but there’s just something about this one that I find kind of appealing. Still, I’m more in a state of holding my breath for other things—aside from Nodame, I’m hoping that JManga will finish Papillon and Ghost Hunt!

SEAN: Re: School Rumble. It’s an interesting title as I suspect that it changed considerably from what the author had planned. It’s very much a gag manga at the start, with few harem elements. Then the author had its male lead, Harima, interacting with two polar opposites, the tsundere princess-type Eri and the meek young housewife-type Yakumo, and popularity soared. (Note that Tenma, the actual female lead, has never been as popular – in fact, Western fans tend not to like her much, mostly due to her childish characteristics.) Combine that with a truly huge cast, and you get a strange kudzu-like manga with multiple genres (though it never quite backs away from its gag manga roots, except towards the end).

Re: Nodame Cantabile, I have a theory about that. There are a few Del Rey hiatus series still not on JManga, such as Alive: The Final Evolution and Moyashimon. But Nodame is the most prestigious of those, and that may be the problem. It’s one of Japan’s biggest sellers. It’s huge in other countries. It has anime and live-action adaptations. And I love JManga and what they’re doing, but Kodansha giving them all these titles is very much a “we have no more interest in getting these out in print, so here.” I can see Kodansha thinking to themselves, “we need to hold onto Nodame in hopes that we *can* get it back into print, as it’s a flagship josei title.”

Pastel, another harem manga from Shonen Magazine (though after Vol. 6 it moved to the monthly Magazine Special), has also caught up with Del Rey releases, as Vols. 9-14 are out. Pastel is *still running* in Japan, with Volume 33 due out in November. Given it is, at heart, an ecchi harem manga bout a weak male lead, the various busty girls who fall for him, and their series of misunderstandings, the mind reels. I didn’t get very far into Pastel, but I know it has fans who enjoyed its slice-of-life, sometimes sweet story, so hope they enjoy seeing it go on. And on.

Speaking of license rescues, we have a new old series from Mag Garden’s Comic Blade. The first volume of Elemental Gelade came out from Tokyopop in 2006; they put out 12 of the 18 volumes before it was dropped. Digital Manga Guild re-licensed the series earlier this year; I’m not sure if this is their translation. In any case, it’s a fantasy series with pirates and living weapons, and also spawned its own anime.

MJ: While I’m always happy about manga becoming as accessible to people as possible, am I the only one who finds duplicate releases like this a little confusing?

SEAN: Ninja Papa hits Volume 3 of its seven volumes. As I’ve noted before, no one will ever accuse this of being great literature. But if you’re a middle-aged flabby balding guy and you want to imagine yourself doing mad ninja tricks, gorily killing bad guys in sprays of blood, then returning home to make love to your gorgeous hot wife… well, then you might want a subscription to Futabasha’s Manga Action in general. But this is *particularly* for you.

MICHELLE: … I can totally see this plot being yoinked for an American movie.

KATE: I’d like to see a josei take on this same basic fantasy: middle-aged woman performs mad ninja tricks, dispatches bad guys, then comes home to her impossibly hot husband. I’d definitely read that manga.

SEAN: Clair Voyance is a new manga from Ohta Shuppan’s online magazine Pocopoco. It’s actually by a Singaporean artist, FSc, aka Foo Swee Chin. She has done some alternative comics for Neko Press and Slave Labor Graphics. It seems to be about Monster Helpers rather than Monster Hunters, and I’m intrigued to see where it’s headed.

MJ: Thanks to Kate’s recommendation, I’m definitely planning to pick this up!

MICHELLE: Yeah, that one looks neat!

SEAN: And there’s Vol. 4 (of 7 and still going) of My Sadistic Boyfriend, which runs in Futabasha’s little known shoujo magazine Comic Mahou no Island. From what I’ve gathered, this fits squarely in the Black Bird/Hot Gimmick/B.O.D.Y. mode of “I love this guy who treats me horribly and I let him as I am weak and he is sexy.” I admit it is not my genre, but Viz apparently sells them like hotcakes (well, mildly warmcakes), so the audience is there. Has anyone compared this one with the classics like Hot Gimmick? How does it stack up?

MJ: “From what I’ve gathered, this fits squarely in the Black Bird/Hot Gimmick/B.O.D.Y. mode of ‘I love this guy who treats me horribly and I let him as I am weak and he is sexy.'” In a word, “Ugh.”

MICHELLE: I admit that I have judged this one purely on its title and did no further investigation regarding it. Also, I snickered at mildly warmcakes. :)

KATE: Wait… Hot Gimmick is a classic?

SEAN: Next up, JManga just announced 5 titles for release next Thursday.

Neko Ramen is another Mag Garden Comic Blade license rescue from Tokyopop, and is a cute 4-koma series about, well, a cat who owns a ramen shop. Funnier than it sounds, this was a surprisingly fun series when it first came out, and I’m pleased to see it here.

Peacemaker Kurogane is also a Comic Blade title, and this one has a long and tortured publication history. ADV manga (remember them?) put out Vols. 1-3 a long while back, then went under. Tokyopop revived the series and released Vol. 4, then they moved on. Now JManga has reissued the first 2, with presumably plans for more. I hope it catches on this time. It’s a Shinsengumi book, supposedly chronicling the life of Tetsunosuke Ichimura during the Meiji period and his attempts to get revenge.

MJ: Here’s a title I’ve always wanted to read! I’m pretty excited about this one, actually. I was a fan of the first volume of Momo Tama (from the same artist), though I never managed to pick up subsequent volumes, and I’ve been curious about this series ever since.

MICHELLE: Peacemaker doesn’t engender much of a response from me, but I am very pleased to see Neko Ramen arrive! I found the series to be a pleasant surprise, and though some volumes weren’t quite as giggle-inducing as others, it’s definitely among the series I mourned when TOKYOPOP went under. It fits in well with JManga’s quirky foodie manga, too!

KATE: I’m also glad to see Neko Ramen series get a second chance with readers. In the abstract, Neko Ramen sounds like a one-joke manga — hey, waiter, there’s a cat hair in my soup! — but the strips manage to wring fresh humor out of Taisho’s misguided promotions, menu items, and interactions with long-suffering customers. I don’t know if JManga will preserve the original Tokyopop translation, but I hope they do; the Tokyopop re-write has the same snappy quality as an Abbott and Costello routine.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s a new classic literature adaptation from Variety Art Works. This publisher specializes in adapting famous works of literature (both Japanese and worldwide, though the latter is what JManga has mostly focused on) in single volume manga format. This new title adapts Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, which, um, is really more of a lecture than a story, but hey. It’ll be quite interesting to see how this gets presented.

KATE: I’ve read a few of these “Illustrated Classics” — including the adaptation of Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human — and thought the artwork was pretty bad. Their great redeeming virtue is that they hew closely to the original texts, so I suppose they have some value as Cliff Notes.

SEAN: So, what are you picking up this week?

Manga the Week of 10/24

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After a third week that was honestly pretty puny, this week brings a more robust group of titles.

Dark Horse has a new Bride of the Water God, one of those manwha titles that always makes me wish I had more money so I could give them a try. it also has the 25th volume of Gantz, which makes me wish that the author’s earlier series, HEN, was licensed instead.

Kodansha Comics has Volume 8 of Bloody Monday, its action thriller conspiracy title that sadly doesn’t lend itself well to jokes or puns.

Vertical has its new shoujo series, Limit, from the author of Life (if anyone remembers the old days of Tokyopop). If you read Life you know what we get here. Only even more intense. HOT HOT BULLYING ACTION.

And there’s a pile of stuff from Yen. Black Butler hits Volume 11, but is no match for Black God, which is at Volume 17 (and just ended in Japan this August) (yes, it runs in Young Gangan, but the creators are Korean. Think March Story or Sun-Ken Rock). Nagato Yuki is still adorable and Ryoko is still not insane in the 2nd volume of Disappearance. Durarara!! hits the end of its first arc, but don’t worry: Yen already has the Saika arc lined up. Pandora Hearts hits a dozen volumes, and there’s also the debut of Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel, a manga version of Cassandra Claire’s novel.

Lastly, there’s Triage X. Which runs in Dragon Age. And is by the artist who does High School of the Dead. The cover is presented here without comment.

So, what’s in your manga collection this week?

Manga the Week of 10/17

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If you thought last week was tiny, wait till you get a load of this week. Tiny tiny tiny. (I blame Yen for shipping a week later than usual.)

Kodansha has the 2nd omnibus of the popular shoujo title Kitchen Princess.

Speaking of omnibuses, Viz has the 9th Tenjo Tenge omnibus, showing that we’re getting near the end. And they also have Vol. 4 of March Story, which has a Korean creator but runs in a Japanese magazine, so is manga in my opinion.

That’s it. Not even enough to make bad jokes about. Anything?

Manga the Week of 10/10

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It’s a smaller week, Week #2, but it tries harder! What’s coming out right before New York Comic Con?

Kodansha has two titles that, as usual, came out yesterday via Amazon and bookstore-oriented places. (pats Diamond on the head) Arisa is in the homestretch with Vol. 9, and Cage of Eden is starting to gear up with Vol. 7. Cage of Eden’s cover is also only mildly socially unacceptable this time! (I make no guarantees about the inside, though. Expect boobs.)

Seven Seas has a troika of releases, many of which hit Diamond *and* bookstores this week. For some reason, the Northeast Corridor (including me) is getting these in next week. Dance in the Vampire Bund hits its penultimate volume (don’t panic: a sequel has already started in Japan), and still has Vampire in the title, in case you missed that. Venus Versus Virus has a 3rd omnibus out, which I think may be the last (total apathy about the series prevents me from verifying this). And Girl Friends, Morinaga Milk’s popular yuri manga, gets a print release with the first of two omnibuses. Girl Friends is sweet, likeable, funny, and does not end with dead lesbians (sorry for the spoilers).

Sublime, Viz’s BL imprint, has Vol. 2 of Punch Up. Which has a kitty on a hot guy’s head. I don’t think I need to say anything else, really. KITTY!

Speaking of kitties, or at least catboys, Viz is starting to re-release the fantasy manga Loveless, which runs in Comic Zero Sum and is… not *quite* BL, even though most of the fandom would disagree with you. It is extremely popular, though, and it’s nice to see Viz rescue it. They also have a new Case Closed and the penultimate volume (did I really use penultimate twice in one post?) of Kekkaishi, which is beloved by bloggers (and hence has mediocre sales, the usual fate of titles beloved by bloggers).

So what appeals to you guys? Also, would you buy a manga that has as a tag line ‘Beloved by bloggers!’?

Manga the Week of 10/3

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It’s a first week of the month, folks. You know what that means. But let’s start with not-Viz stuff.

Kodansha has a new volume of Fairy Tail, continuing its alternate world journey. And they’ve got the oddly numbered Ghost in the Shell Volume 1.5, which is still 176 pages, in case folks were worried.

Vertical has the debut of its new re-release of Paradise Kiss, this one in larger trim, 3 omnibus volumes and a new translation. The manga is fantastic, anyone who hasn’t read it yet should go get it. And Arashi no longer speaks like a Brit. There’s also the new Drops of God, leaping ahead to discuss wines from ‘the new world’, and also possibly the last volume unless sales get really really good. And GTO is up to his 5th volume of 14 Days in Shonan, the halfway point.

Viz, of course, has its Viz blitz. On the Shonen Jump side we have Bakuman 15, Bleach 48 and 49 (which, hallelujah hallelujah, moves onto a new arc), Nura 11, Slam Dunk 24, Toriko 12, and Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds 3, which sounds like a RPG dice roll. Meanwhile, on the shoujo side, there’s Dawn of the Arcana 6, Devil and Her Love Song 5, Jiu Jiu 2, Skip Beat! 29, Stepping on Roses 8 (any shogi, let me know), and Story of Saiunkoku 8. There’s something for everyone, in other words. Well, unless you’re a hardcore ‘indie manga only’ person. In which case, look up for Vertical stuff.

So what are you getting? And can you finish it before New York Comic Con?

Manga the Week of 9/26

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The last week of the month this year has always been rather sad and winsome, but that doesn’t mean all is lost! See what we have for you next week!

For those of you who were unable to kick in for DMP’s Kickstarter Project, Barbara is now here in comic shops to beguile you! This Osamu Tezuka manga is part of his ‘brilliant yet screwed up’ period, and is well worth a read. DMP is also releasing The Tyrant Falls in Love Vol. 7, which apparently does not need a Kickstarter in any way.

Kodansha Comcis has a trio of releases. Deltora Quest hits Volume 8 (are they still questing for Deltora, I wonder?), the 2nd Genshiken omnibus is out (with Vols. 4-6, and introducing Ogiue), and Miles Edgeworth shows us that he can investigate just as much as Phoenix Wright, even if his cast of silly characters continues to be just Gumshoe.

That’s it. What’s on your wallet’s mind?

Manga the Week of 9/19

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First off, shut up all you Yotsuba fans. My blog, I get to choose the featured image. :)

Dark Horse is hitting us with a double dose of CLAMP – or should that be a quadruple dose, as both CLAMP books are omnibus volumes. First off, Card Captor Sakura finishes up with its fourth and final volume, and is as cute and fun as ever. Secondly, Angelic Layer arrives, CLAMP’s first big attempt at shonen, in the first of two big books. Angelic Layer is one of the few anime series where the anime is much better than the manga, but despite this, the manga is still worth checking out. And for those of you who want the polar opposite of these titles, there’s the 36th volume of Berserk. I’m pretty sure Guts is never going to be a Magical Girl. No, don’t send me fanart links.

Speaking of genuine Magical Girls, Kodansha brings us the 7th volume of Sailor Moon, still deep in the S arc. If you like Outers being aloof and Usagi wishing everyone could all just get along, you’ll love this! There’s also the second volume of Attack on Titan, which startled us all at the end of Volume 1 by killing off its hero. Can Mikasa succeed where he failed?

Viz Media has the 22nd and final volume of 20th Century Boys… though the series as a whole is not quite over yet. It’s been a long ride, and I’m glad they stuck it out.

And there’s a bevy of stuff from Yen Press! Higurashi returns from its summer break, and begins the penultimate arc, cheerfully called the Massacre Arc. This one was six volumes in Japan (and the final arc eight), so Yen has chosen to omnibus it, giving us the first two here. Speaking of omnibuses, there’s also the 2nd volume of action thriller Until Death Do Us Part, with Vol. 3 and 4 of the original Japanese series. Manwha gets a look in with new volumes of both Raiders and Jack Frost. BL fans will be pleased to know there’s a new Tale of the Waning Moon. Omamori Himari gets back to its prologue with a Volume Zero. And best of all, after a long wait we have the 4th volume of adorable art school manga GA Art Design Class. Which, unlike Sunshine Sketch, has actual art lessons in it!

Hrm, I know that I’m forgetting something, what could it be…

Oh right! That Yotsuba&! thing has reached its 11th volume somehow, be it via huge sales, amazing word of mouth, or just being really really sweet and adorable. Expect more of the same.

So, how many omnibus bricks are you all getting this week?

Manga the Week of 9/12

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As always, Midtown, Diamond and Amazon can’t quite mesh together. My store and most Diamond shops have Hayate the Combat Butler, Arata the Legend, House of Five Leaves, and Loveless out on 9/12. On the other hand, my store got in the Seven Seas stuff on 9/5, but Midtown isn’t getting it till 9/12. Best to just smile and nod.

Kodansha debuts the new Genshiken volume. In Japan it’s just Genshiken 10, but Kodansha USA has made a break with the former series and started its sequel with a new subtitle and Vol. 1. Of course, you can’t get rid of the old cast that easily – Saki and Kousaka make cameos, and Madarame is still a large presence throughout. For the most part, though, this is Ogiue’s new club, with new members – and a shifting mindset, devoted less to typical guy porn and more to typical girl porn. It’s a must buy for fans of the series.

And Seven Seas has a troika of September releases. The 2nd volume of Boris spinoff Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz. A new omnibus of killer loli series Gunslinger Girl, containing the Japanese 11 and 12. (The end of the series was recently announced in Japan, possibly as they’d simply run out of cast members.) And the 5th volume of Toradora!, still the tsundere series to read if you don’t like tsunderes all that much.

And that’s about it, really. A nice quiet week. Any plans?

Manga the Week of 9/5

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There is an awful lot of it, huh? I think Gon was annoyed at being by himself last week and called in his friends… and this isn’t even counting the Seven Seas titles my store is apparently getting in but Midtown isn’t.

Remember about a month ago when I said I’d heard good things about that long-titled quasi-incest thing? Turns out I was thinking of OreImo, out this week from Dark Horse, rather than Seven Seas’ Big Brother title. OreImo’s full title is Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, aka My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute! This title has far less incest but just as many tsunderes, if not more, and is rumored to be good. So I will check it out to see if this is the case.

Bloody Monday from Kodansha Comics has hit lucky Number Seven, though I’ve gotten so far behind on it I may never catch up. Is it still the Japanese 24?

Sublime, Viz’s BL line, has Volume 1 of His Favorite. It has the typical BL seme with his arms around his man and a smirk on his face, but the fact that the other’s guy’s face, instead of fear or uneasiness, or even arousal, reads like “must control fist of death” made me smile.

Tempted as I was to give Hayate the Combat Butler the cover image just to see how many folks I could annoy, the clear winner this week is Vertical’s new Tezuka tome, the first part of Message to Adolf. I never got the series back when Viz put it out ages ago, so this was a must-buy for me. And it’s nice to see some late-period Tezuka as well, as this is a 1980s title. Vertical is also releasing the underappreciated yet fantastic penultimate volume of GTO The Early Years, and the adorably cute 9th (and penultimate?) volume of Chi’s Sweet Home.

PILE O’ VIZ time. Including some stuff Midtown is listing that I had thought would be next week. This includes the 11th volume of Watase Yuu’s shonen series Arata the Legend, 20th volume of still not cancelled and funny as hell Hayate the Combat Butler (Greece Edition), a new House of Five Leaves for you Ono fans, and 9th volume of recent License Rescue Loveless.

There’s also a pile of Jump stuff, which I was expecting this week. There’s new Bakuman! Two more volumes of Bleach, which is still not done with Aizen, believe it or not. Hunter x Hunter, taking time from its busy hiatus to give us a new volume. Naruto! One Piece! Two great tastes that few fans enjoy together, for some reason (can’t the ninja and pirate fans just get along?). And of course Psyren, which should be at the ‘exposition’ part of its fight/exposition/fight trend.

Shojo Beat is the bigger winner here, though, with some of my favorites out next week. There’s new Library Wars, new Oresama Teacher *and* a new Otomen. Now admittedly the three series have flaws. Library Wars doesn’t have enough war for some people; Otomen continues to be a BL series with no BL; and Oresama Teacher is written by Izumi Tsubaki, who is the ‘oooooh, shiny thing!’ of Beat authors. This does not make the series less awesome. Other titles out this week include Earl and Fairy 3and a new Fushigi Yuugi Sequel Thingy volume. (It is possibly that the title does not actually have the word thingy in it.)

Lastly, Viz’s younger fans will be delighted to hear there are new Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamonroll *and* Winx Club titles out next week.

That’s a lot. What’re you getting?