Giveaways

Manga Giveaway: Assassination Classroom Giveaway

June 24, 2015 by Ash Brown

The end of June draws near, which means the end of the first half of the year is quickly approaching, too. It also means that it’s time for another giveaway at Experiments in Manga! Most schools are now out for the summer (at least in the United States), but we mustn’t forget all of those hardworking teachers. And so, this month’s giveaway is for Yusei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom, Volume 1 as published in English by Viz Media. As always, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Considering the sheer number of manga translated into English that are based in a school setting, relatively few seem to grant more than a passing acknowledgement of the teachers. Sometimes they aren’t even included in the story at all or barely make an appearance beyond the background. But occasionally teachers are actually given a prominent role. Assassination Classroom is a series that stands out for that very reason (among many other reasons). Great Teacher Onizuka, the first series that I read in which a teacher was a lead character, is another manga that immediately leaps to mind. There’s S.S. Astro: Asashio Sogo Teachers’ Room, too, but I can’t think of very many other examples off the top of my head that are available in English.

(Okay, I will admit right now that there are plenty of hentai and boys’ love manga that feature teachers, but those particular stories really weren’t the ones that I had in mind…)

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Assassination Classroom, Volume 1

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite teacher from a manga. (Never noticed a teacher in your reading? Simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

There you have it! Each person can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. You have one week to submit comments. If you have trouble with the comment form, or if you prefer, entries can also be sent to me via email at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. The comments will then be posted here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on July 1, 2015. Best of luck to you all!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Assassination Classroom Giveaway Winner

Manga Giveaway: Ema Toyama Twosome Winner

June 3, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Ema Toyama Twosome is… Coco!

As the winner, Coco will be receiving two manga by Ema Toyama: Manga Dogs, Volume 1 and Missions of Love, Volume 1. Both of those series feature protagonists who are professional storytellers, a mangaka and cell phone novelist respectively. So, for the manga giveaway, I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite characters in manga who are writers. Check out the Ema Toyama Twosome comments for all of the characters mentioned, and check out the list below for all of the manga mentioned and then some!

Manga available in English featuring writers of various types:
Author’s Pet by Deathco Cotorino
Awaken Forest by Yuna Aoi
Bakuman written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Barefoot Waltz by Romuko Miike
Blood Alone by Masayuki Takano
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Gerard & Jacques by Fumi Yoshinaga
Gravitation by Maki Murakami
Honey Blood by Miko Mitsuki
Junjo Romantica by Shungiku Nakamura
Kiss All the Boys by Shiuko Kano
Kinoko Inu: Mushroom Pup by Kimama Aoboshi
Kodocha: Sana’s Stage by Miho Obana
Liberty Liberty! by Hinako Takanaga
Love Machine by Amayo Tsuge
Manga Dogs by Ema Toyama
Me & My Brothers by Hari Tokeino
Missions of Love by Ema Toyama
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki
No One Loves Me by Yugi Yamada
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! by Fumi Yoshinaga
Otomen by Aya Kanno
R.O.D.: Read or Die written by Hideyuki Kurata, illustrated by Shutaro Yamada
R.O.D.: Read or Dream written by Hideyuki Kurata, illustrated by Ran Ayanaga
The Times of Botchan written by Natsuo Sekikawa, illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi
The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo
Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura
La Vie en Rose by Sakurako Yamada
Welcome to the N.H.K. by Kendi Oiwa
Yukarism by Chika Shiomi

The above list isn’t quite comprehensive, but it does include most of the manga available in print that I know of that have characters who are writers. While compiling the list I was struck by how many boys’ love titles feature authors. I’m not entirely sure why that profession seems to be particularly popular in that genre, but there you have it. Thank you to everyone who shared your personal favorites with me; I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Manga Giveaway: Ema Toyama Twosome

May 26, 2015 by Ash Brown

June is almost here, and May is almost through, so it’s once again time to hold a manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga! This month you will all have the opportunity to win not one, but two manga created by Ema Toyama and released in English by Kodansha Comics: Manga Dogs, Volume 1 and Missions of Love, Volume 1. As always, the giveaway is open worldwide!

So far, mangaka Ema Toyama has had three of her original series released in English: I Am Here!, Manga Dogs, and Missions of Love. She was also one of several contributors involved with Shugo Chara Chan!. My introduction to Toyama’s work was through Missions of Love (which I find to be incredibly addictive with all of its over-the-top melodrama and twisted relationships). The only other manga of hers that I’ve read is the three-volume series Manga Dogs. The two series are very different from each other, but I find it interesting that they both feature young women as protagonists who are creative types. In the case of Missions of Love, Yukina Himuro is a cell phone novelist while in Manga Dogs, Kanna Tezuka is a shoujo mangaka. Though both Yukina and Kanna have other things to deal with in their lives, at least part of each manga series deals with their careers as professional storytellers.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win two volumes of Ema Toyama’s manga?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite character in a manga who is an author, novelist, or some other type of writer. (If you’ve never come across one in your reading, simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

It’s as easy as that! Each person participating in the giveaway can earn up to two entries and has one week to submit comments. If you prefer, or have trouble leaving comments, entries can also be sent via email to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the entry here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on June 3, 2015.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Ema Toyama Twosome Winner

Manga Giveaway: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Giveaway

April 29, 2015 by Ash Brown

The end of April is almost here, which means it’s time for another manga giveaway! With thanks to Kodansha Comics, this month you will all have a chance to win a copy of Miki Yoshikawa’s Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 1. (I unintentionally ended up with two copies, so my gain is also your gain!) As always, the giveaway is open worldwide.

What with the recent releases of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Maria the Virgin Witch, and Witchcraft Works, it seems as though manga featuring witches are becoming increasingly prevalent in English. And that’s not even to mention all of the series that don’t actually have the word “witch” in the title. Now, despite it’s cover and title, after only one volume Yamada-kun doesn’t seem to necessarily have anything to do with witches, but I’ve been assured by others that they are indeed a part of the series.

As with vampires, I don’t have a particular interest in witches, though that’s certainly not going to stop me from reading a manga. (Interestingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, vampires appear to be more prevalent in manga intended for women while witches appear to be more prevalent in manga intended for men.) I have no idea why witches seem to have become so popular recently, but they’ve actually been around in manga for a while.

One of my favorite witch manga is the sadly out-of-print Sugar Sugar Rune. Berserk, another favorite series of mine, also features a young witch as a main character in its recent story arc. The two series are drastically different from each other, though; just because a manga has a witch in it doesn’t mean it will be like any of the others!

So, you may be wondering, how can you win the first volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me about your favorite witch from manga. (If you don’t have one, or have never read a manga about a witch, you can simply mention that instead.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

And there you have it! Each person can earn up to two entries for this giveaway and has one week to submit comments. If you have trouble with the form, or if you would prefer, entries can also be sent to me via email at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the comments here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on May 6, 2015. Good luck!

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Giveaway Winner