MangaBlog

The big news this week is the Eisner nominations. Here’s the list in the manga category (officially known as Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia):

The Heart of Thomas, by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
The Mysterious Underground Men, by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)
Showa: A History of Japan, 1926–1939, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Summit of the Gods, vol. 4, by Yemmakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist, by Asumiko Nakamura (Vertical)

If the choices seem pretty far from the mainstream, keep in mind that the Eisner judges have a difficult task (I was a judge in 2012 so I know this): You have to read a LOT of comics, and reading a series is a big investment of time; you’re looking for excellence, which implies literary quality; and you have to judge based on what came out in the nomination year, so even if you read a lot of series, you can’t consider the series as a whole, just a one-year slice. This biases the selection process heavily in favor of one-shots. All that said, I’d love to hear from you what you think the judges missed. I have my own opinions, which I’ll post eventually…

Attention creators! Entries are now being accepted for the Eighth International Manga Award.

Reviews

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 60 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Mark Thomas on vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of Happy Marriage?! (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Happy Marriage?! (I Reads You)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Insufficient Direction (Comics Worth Reading)
Kimi on vol. 6 of Itazura na Kiss (The Kimi-Chan Experience)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Library Wars (The Comic Book Bin)
Mark Thomas on vol. 2 of No Matter How You Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Comic Book Bin)
Jocelyne Allen on Sakuran (Brain Vs. Book)
Kristin on vol. 1 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Comic Attack)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Wolfsmund (The Fandom Post)

The Google Cultural Collection has put up an exhibit on Osamu Tezuka—the first one to feature manga or anime.

Ken H files his con report on Anime Boston.

News from Japan: Mike Masick of TechDirt writes about concerns among doujinshi creators that the Trans Pacific Partnership will lead copyright holders to shut them down; he seems to be quoting from another article, but I can’t find a source. The print run for the 13th volume of Attack on Titan was a record-shattering 2.75 million. Along those lines, ANN translates a list published by the magazine The Tsukuru of the top print runs of manga from Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan.

Reviews

Ken H on vol. 1 of My Little Monster (Comics Should Be Good)
Alice Vernon on No Matter How You Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (Girls Like Comics)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (ANN)
Lori Henderson on Pokemon Black and White Pocket Comics (Good Comics for Kids)
Maggie on vol. 1 of Rensou (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Kristin on vols. 29-31 of Slam Dunk (Comic Attack)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 5 of Triage X (The Fandom Post)

Seven Seas has licensed No Game, No Life, a story about a brother and sister who are legendary gamers and are called to save humanity in an alternate world where games substitute for war. The first volume will be out in October.

More new licenses: Digital has announced it will add three digital titles to its lineup: The classic Kimagure Orange Road; Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana) by Wandering Son manga-ka Takako Shimura; and the ecchi sci-fi series Let’s Go Play! (Asobi ni Ikuyo!/Cat Planet Cuties). That was their second announcement of the week; they announced earlier that they have licensed Kotoura-san and Aria the Scarlet Ammo.

And here’s one more: One Peace Books has licensed Raqiya, by Masao Yajima and Boichi. The series, which first ran in Kodansha’s Morning magazine, is about a girl whose family is killed in an accident; she makes a deal with the devil to bring them back, but her actions have grave consequences.

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss this week’s new releases.

Erica Friedman chronicles new releases, new licenses, and more in the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Over at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, Justin Stroman is on a roll; he has posted a ton of interesting articles lately. Check these out: A list of legal manga reading apps, with basic information about each one; a discussion of why publishers will license some manga and not others; and a roundtable discussion with a number of experienced manga editors. Also, Justin is curious about manga that U.S. publishers seem to have given up on mid-series, so he’ll be looking into that. Stay tuned!

Tokyopop founder and CEO Stu Levy took part in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit the other day. He talks about the early days of Tokyopop, why the company stopped publishing, and what they are doing now, and he tosses in a story about getting stuck in Mexico with GTO creator Tohru Fujisawa.

ABC News profiles Kazuto Tatsuta, the creator of the manga 1F, which recounts his days as a worker in the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Ironically, Tatsuta (not his real name) took the job because being a manga creator wasn’t paying enough; the story has been his biggest success to date.

At long last, Doraemon is available in English, in digital form. Translator Matt Alt gives the details and explains why Doraemon is so important.

Sarah Horrocks posts the second part of her thoughtful analysis of Nijigahara Holograph.

In her latest Manga Dome podcast, Lori Henderson looks to the past and the future with a discussion of the latest new license announcements and a look back at what was going on in the manga world ten years ago.

Ken H files a detailed con report on Anime Boston.

In case you’re curious, here’s a look at the manga scene in the United Arab Emirates.

News from Japan: The winners of the 18th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prizes have been announced; the grand prize went to Chica Umino’s March Comes In Like a Lion. Space Brothers, which is available on Crunchyroll, won the Readers Prize. Meanwhile, Kaoru Mori’s A Bride’s Story is the winner of the Manga Taisho Award. Fairy Tail is getting its own magazine, which will feature a new Fairy Tail Zero series by Hiro Mashima and other spin-offs; the main Fairy Tail manga will continue to run in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. The magazine will cost 2,980 yen per issue, which is a lot, but each issue will come with four DVDs of the television anime. Children of the Sea manga-ka Daisuke Igarashi will publish a one-shot story in the April 24 issue of Afternoon magazine. Shogakukan has published a special commemorative magazine celebrating the 80th birthday of the late Fujiko F. Fujio, the co-creator of Doraemon. The Rozen Maiden spin-off Rozen Maiden dolls talk is coming to an end.

Reviews

Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall (The Fandom Post)
Justin Stroman on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Junior High (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lori Henderson on vol. 15 of Bakuman (Manga Xanadu)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-4 of The Earl and the Fairy (Manga Xanadu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Food Wars! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on Insufficient Direction (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of March Story (The Comic Book Bin)
Justin Stroman on vols. 1 and 2 of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 70 of One Piece (The Comic Book Bin)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 21 of Pokemon Adventures (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Psyren (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on vol. 5 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on the March 24 issue of Shonen Jump (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
G.B. Smith on vol. 7 of Sunshine Sketch (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on Sword Art Online: Aincrad (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sarah on vol. 2 of Time Stranger Kyoko (nagareboshi reviews)
Darius Washington on Unico (The Fandom Post)
Kimi on Until the Full Moon (The Kimi-Chan Experience)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 35 of Vagabond (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N on vol. 1 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Manga Report)

Ben Applegate of Kodansha Comics had some announcements to make at Anime Boston this week: They will publish The Heroic Legend of Arslan, by Fullmetal Alchemist manga-ka Hiromu Arakawa, and they also announced a digital re-release of Mushishi. And that Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition will include 15 color pages that have never been collected in book form before; they only appeared in the magazine serialization.

License rescues! Well, sort of: Viz will be republishing Chibi Vampire and DN Angel in digital-only editions, available via their own digital service and e-book platforms. These two series were originally published by Tokyopop and Viz is using the Tokyopop translations. At the moment there are no plans to complete either series; there are two volumes of Chibi Vampire that were published in Japan but not in the U.S., and Viz has no plans to translate those. As for DN Angel, the creator left that series unfinished.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases.

Sean Gaffney takes a look at the new digital manga service Comic Walker.

Erica Friedman keeps us up to date with the latest edition of Yuri Network News.

A school board in Osaka Prefecture has removed Barefoot Gen from school libraries, at the behest of the mayor and over the protest of the school principals.

Jason Thompson devotes his latest House of 1000 Manga column to the works of Usamaru Furuya.

David Brothers writes about Shotaro Ishinomori and Cyborg 009 in the afterword to Archaia’s adaptation; this is a nice essay and a good introduction to the original.

Matt Emery at Sequential has a great interview with manga translator Kumar Sivasubramanian (Knights of Sidonia, Message to Adolf, Blade of the Immortal), who talks about how he got his first gig, how he approaches his work, and how page rates and demand have changed over the years. It’s an interesting insider’s take on the industry, sprinkled with fun anecdotes.

The first volume of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall tops the New York Times manga best-seller list.

It’s Manga Month at Diamond Previews, so Drawn and Quarterly pulls together a checklist of all their manga series.

News from Japan: Lots of farewells here: The long-running series Oh My Goddess is coming to an end. The 26th volume of The World God Only Knows will be the last. Btooom! is going into its final story arc. Feel Young has a new series by Yamaji Ebine. ANN has the latest Japanese comic rankings.

Reviews

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of 07-Ghost (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Junior High (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Blue Exorcist (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 23 of Hayate the Combat Butler (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 23 of Hayate the Combat Butler (I Reads You)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 2 of Judge (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Midnight Secretary (The Comic Book Bin)
David Brothers on My Grandpa’s Stories Can’t Be This Weird (4thletter!)
Anna N on vol. 1 of One-Punch Man (Manga Report)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Oresama Teacher (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Erica Friedman on vols. 3 and 4 of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Perfect Edition) (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Ranma 1/2 (2-in-1 edition) (ANN)
Ash Brown on vol. 4 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on the March 17 issue of Shonen Jump (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Strobe Edge (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Ken H on vol. 1 of Takasugi-San’s Obento (Comics Should Be Good)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Umineko When They Cry, Episode 3: Banquet of the Golden Witch (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of UQ Holder (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
David Brothers on World Trigger (4thletter!)

Hirofumi Watanabe, the suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball case, admitted in court yesterday that he was the one who sent hundreds of threat letters to stores and convention centers and says the motive was jealousy of manga-ka Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s success. Watanabe said he was suicidal before he sent the letters and would attempt to kill himself once he was out of prison; “That way, society can rest assured that I won’t do anything stupid again.”

Crunchyroll has been adding a lot of new series to their digital manga service lately, including, most recently, Ajin Koe no Katachi, and Hiromu Arakawa’s adaptation of The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

Sean Gaffney rounds up the latest license announcements, with commentary.

Justin Stroman asks seven manga translators to talk about the joys and challenges of their jobs.

The Manga Bookshelf team chat about this week’s new releases and discuss their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman updates us on the world of yuri in her latest Yuri Network News post at Okazu.

At Gagging on Sexism, Erin discusses some shonen manga written by women.

Lori Henderson looks at manga that feature fairies in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Moyoco Anno is coming to TCAF!

Reviews: Ash Brown chronicles another week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team posts their short takes on new releases in the latest Bookshelf Briefs column.

Ken H on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall (Comics Should Be Good)
Ash Brown on vol. 28 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Erica Friedman on Dare mo Korinai (Okazu)
Maggie on vol. 1 of Hitohira (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Joan Li on Honey and Clover (The Harvard Independent)
Matt Cycyk on Insufficient Direction (Matt Talks About Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 7 of Is This a Zombie? (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 10 of Itsuwaribito (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 70 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson on Phantom Thief Jeanne (Good Comics for Kids)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (Manga Report)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Ranma 1/2 (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1 and 2 of Ranma 1/2 (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Derek Bown on the March 10 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1 and 2 of Sickness Unto Death (Manga Xanadu)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 3 of Thermae Romae (Matt Talks About Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Until Death Do Us Part (Manga Xanadu)

Here’s a big announcement from Viz: They have licensed Naoki Urasawa’s Master Keaton. Zainab Akhtar explains why that’s awesome. And there’s more: They also announced Assassination Classroom (“A humorous and action-packed story about a class of misfits who are trying to kill their new teacher – an alien octopus with bizarre powers and super strength!”) and Naoki Serizawa’s Resident Evil, as well as a print edition of Akira Toriyama’s Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, which has been running in Shonen Jump. Lori Henderson talks about all the recent license announcements in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

ICv2 has an in-depth interview with Dark Horse manga editor Carl Horn (part 1, part 2), in which they cover the health of the manga market, which Dark Horse titles have done well, the difficulties of selling manga that don’t have an anime associated with them, and much, much more.

Volumes 1 and 11 of Attack on Titan top the New York Times manga best-seller list, with the first volume of Deadman Wonderland coming in third.

At Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, manjiorin tackles the question of different trim sizes in manga. Also: Justin Stroman interviews a number of manga letterers all at once and then one more for good measure.

Khursten Santos files her con report on the fujoshi event Room 801.

News from Japan: The nominees for the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize have been announced; they include Attack on Titan, Animal Land, and Hiromu Arakawa’s Silver Spoon.

Reviews: The folks at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses don’t just review vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland, they devote an entire roundtable to it.

Ken H on vol. 28 of Blade of the Immortal (Comics Should Be Good)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Bleach (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Ken H on vol. 1 of Brave 10 (Comics Worth Reading)
Naru on vol. 1 of Brave 10 (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
TSOTE on vol. 24 of C.M.B. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Alice Vernon on Durarara!! Saika Arc (Girls Like Comics)
Kristin on vols. 3 and 4 of Happy Marriage?! (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on Insufficient Direction (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 18 of Naruto (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (The Fandom Post)
Ken H on vols. 3 and 4 of No. 6 (Comics Should Be Good)
Angela Sylvia on vol. 17 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 12 of Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 20 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Sherlock Bones (Comics Worth Reading)
Sarah on vol. 16 of Soul Eater (nagareboshi reviews)
Justin on chapter 2 of Stealth Symphony (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 9 of Strobe Edge (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Tegami Bachi (The Comic Book Bin)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 3 of Thermae Romae (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Toradora (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ken H on vol. 2 of Vinland Saga (Comics Should Be Good)

Nine years ago today, I hit “publish” on the first post here at MangaBlog. Had I but known what that fateful act would lead to…

Seriously, MangaBlog was founded on a whim and almost died after a few months, when I was overwhelmed with family responsibilities. It has only survived this long—and I hope, will survive even longer—thanks to the support of so many people: Readers, my fellow bloggers, the publishers, creators, and of course, my husband, who set up a website for me and then added on a WordPress blog, which was a novelty to me at the time. And I also have to thank MJ, who keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes as my webmistress at Manga Bookshelf.

Thank you for reading, thank you for linking, thank you for sharing your books with me. I’m looking forward to bringing the ongoing conversation about manga into its tenth year.

On with the news!

Viz announced two new titles in its Shojo Beat line yesterday: Aya Shouoto’s Kiss of the Rose Princess (Barajou no Kiss) and Miko Mitsuki’s Honey Blood (Mitsu Aji Blood). As you might guess from the title, Honey Blood is a vampire tale, while Kiss of the Rose Princess is about a princess on a quest to retrieve a lost piece of jewelry—with the aid of four hot guys. Lissa Pattillo has some initial thoughts on both series at Kuriousity.

Kadokawa will launch a new web manga service, Comic Walker, on March 22 with a selection of manga in English, Japanese, and Chinese. The service will start out with 150 titles, 40 of them available in English, and there will be some familiar titles, including Tonari no Sekki-kun, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Sgt. Frog, although it’s not clear that they will be available in English. And this is cool: Users can select which manga they want to follow and put together their own manga magazine.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Sarah Horrocks analyzes Nijigahara Holograph in the first of a three-part series.

Xavier Guilbert talks to Gengoroh Tagame, creator of gay erotic manga (may be NSFW).

Dark Horse has announced a launch date for New Lone Wolf and Cub: The first volume will be released on June 4. They are also releasing the older, classic manga in omnibus editions (and you can get it on their digital service as well).

News from Japan: A new Neon Genesis Evangelion spinoff will launch next June in Young Ace magazine.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf writers team up to bring us a new set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown takes a look at another week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson on Another (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Blood Lad (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of A Centaur’s Life (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 14 of Goong
Johanna Draper Carlson on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Magi (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Midnight Secretary (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Mixed Vegetables (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Pink (Comics Worth Reading)
Ben Leary on vol. 25 of Slam Dunk (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Voice Over: Seiyu Academy (The Comic Book Bin)

ICv2 talks to Kevin Hamric, Viz’s media director for sales and marketing, about the synergy between manga sales and streaming anime. Back in the boom years, sales of a manga series often jumped when the anime started running on Cartoon Network and other channels; now a similar effect is showing up when the anime becomes available on streaming sites such as Crunchyroll or Viz’s own Neon Alley.

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss this week’s new releases.

Justin Stroman takes a good look at the new digital manga service Manga Box and finds a lot to like, although oddly, one of the translators tells him the Android Market is forcing them to tone down the “raunchy” jokes. And in case you don’t know where to start, he includes a list of the ten best manga on the service.

Why is nobody talking about josei manga? Khursten Santos tackles the question at Otaku Champloo.

Sarah has all the fujoshi news in her Fujoshi O’Clock feature at Nagareboshi, and Erica Friedman catches us up on the world of yuri in her Yuri Network News column at Okazu.

Dark Horse editor Carl Horn talks about two upcoming books of interest to manga fans, Hatsune Miku: Unofficial Hatsune Mix and Dragon Girl and Monkey King: The Art of Katsuya Terada, both due out in May.

Lori Henderson discusses four manga she was surprised she liked in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

A veteran of the Japanese manga industry and of American comics suggests five manga that should be published in America.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team take a look at some recent releases in their Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan: Junior High (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sarah on vol. 59 of Bleach (Nagareboshi Reviews)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 13 of Case Closed (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
TSOTE on vol. 22 of C.M.B. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 30 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Gangsta (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Hendreson on vols. 1 and 2 of Midnight Secretary (Manga Xanadu)
Ash Brown on vol. 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 5 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 15 of One Piece (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 13 of Oresama Teacher (Manga Xanadu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Perfect Edition) (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Real (Experiments in Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on the February 10 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ben Leary on vol. 24 of Slam Dunk (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Thermae Romae (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Yen Press has confirmed that it will publish the Blood Lad four-panel spinoff BuraBuratto Buradora, by Yūki Kodama and Kanata Yoshino, as the second volume of Bloody Brat.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new manga.

Jason Thompson devotes his latest House of 1000 Manga column to a primer on porn manga.

Ryan Holmberg profiles “action cartoonist” Shinohara Ushio at The Comics Journal.

Why are the pages of some of your manga turning yellow, while others stay white? Ed Chavez explains at ANN.

News from Japan: Hiro Mashima will publish four different Fairy Tail one-shots in four different magazines this spring. Ichijinsa’s WAaI! boys in skirts magazine has suspended publication “for now”; readers are instructed to follow their Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Reviews

A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 17 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Gangsta (ANN)
Maggie on vol. 1 of Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Knights of Sidonia (Girls Like Comics)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Midnight Secretary (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of My Little Monster (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Toradora! (Girls Like Comics)

Kodansha announced on Wednesday that it will be publishing Noragami: Stray God, which has been running in Monthly Shonen Magazine since 2011. Here’s the blurb:

Yato is a stray god. He doesn’t even have a shrine, not to mention worshipers! Hoping he’ll eventually raise enough money to build himself the lavish temple of his dreams, Yato accepts all kinds of jobs. Of course, he can’t afford to be picky; from finding lost kittens to helping a student overcome bullies, no job is too small for Yato, the god-for-hire! An eccentric story with a charming cast of characters!

And another new title: Ema Toyama’s GDGD-Dogs, which they will retitle Manga Dogs. Here’s that blurb:

Kanna Tezuka is a serious 15-year-old manga artist, already being published as a pro. So when she finds out her high school is starting a manga drawing course, even she gets excited. But it’s a fiasco! The teacher is useless, and the only other students — three pretty-boy artist wannabes — quickly adopt Kanna as their (unwilling) sensei. But they all have ridiculous delusions about being an artist, and if Kanna can’t bring them back down to Earth, she’ll never get any work done!

And one more: Kodansha will publish an oversized omnibus edition of Attack on Titan.

Sean Gaffney has last week’s new license announcements—and those that were announced this week as well. Lissa Pattillo has some thoughts on the omnibus edition of Attack on Titan.

Digital Manga, Inc., announced last week that they will be digitally publishing all of Osamu Tezuka’s works that haven’t already been licensed in English, and I talked to DMI president Hikaru Sasahara about the details of the deal and how it will work going forward.

The digital manga distributor Amimaru announced a new title, which is already available on its iPad and Facebook apps: A Second Love is Full of Tears (Nidome no Koi wa Namida-iro), by Hazuki, which is complete in one volume.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date on all things yuri with the latest edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu.

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 12 of Arisa (The Fandom Post)
Chris Kirby on vol. 2 of Battle Angel Alita: The Last Order (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Sarah on vol. 16 of Black Butler (nagareboshi reviews)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Bloody Cross (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vols. 11 and 12 of Dawn of the Arcana (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Gangsta (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on Himawari-san (Okazu)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Doubt (Girls Like Comics)
Lori Henderson on vols. 7-9 of Jack Frost (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah on vol. 1 of Kamisama Kiss (nagareboshi reviews)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Man of Tango (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vols. 5 and 6 of Missions of Love (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah on vol. 64 of Naruto (nagareboshi reviews)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (Comics Worth Reading)
Sarah on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame (nagareboshi reviews)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of Sherlock Bones (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 18 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 15 of Tsubasa (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Let’s kick off the week with some new-license news: Vertical announced three new series at Katsucon this past weekend: Ajin, by Gamon Sakurai; Witch Craft Works, by Ryū Mizunagi; and The Garden of Words, the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s anime.

Yen Press also announced three new titles on Friday: Accel World, based on the light novels by Reki Kawahara; Übel Blatt; and Barakamon.

The latest addition to the Shonen Jump lineup is Stealth Symphony, by Durarara!! writer Ryohgo Narita and Yoichi Amano, who was once an assistant to Gintama artist Hideaki Sorachi.

Lissa Pattillo has some info on Seven Seas’ new yuri title, Citrus.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases and their Pick of the Week.

Queenie Chan (The Dreaming, Odd Thomas) is writing a series of articles on her blog about being a professional manga artist. You can jump right in with today’s post on how she started drawing manga and first connected with Tokyopop, or you can go right back to the beginning, with her introduction and the first part of Part 1.

Here’s another insider view: Justin at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses talks to manga translator Amanda Haley, who got her start in the JManga Translation Battle and now translates Coppelion for Crunchyroll, as well as being part of the Digital Manga Guild.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has some thoughts on Hetalia and history.

Jocelyne Allen gives us a peek at a lovely manga that hasn’t been translated (yet!), Shizuka Nakano’s Shisei, which has an interesting retro art style.

Lori Henderson looks at some new series and some complicated couples in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue is putting Vagabond on hiatus until June. Boys Over Flowers creator Yoko Kamio has ended her Ibara no Kanmuri manga. Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda is starting a new series, Obake no Sally (Sally the Ghost), a children’s manga that will launch in the May issue of Shogakukan’s Shōgaku Ichinensei magazine. Hisae Iwaoka, creator of Saturn Apartments, is starting the final arc of her latest manga, Hoshi ga Hara Ao Manjū no Mori.

Congratulations to Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa on the birth of her third child.

Reviews: Ash Brown brings us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kate on Basara (Reverse Thieves)
Ash Brown on Blue (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Case Closed (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of From the New World (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Gangsta (Comic Attack)
Maggie on Good-Bye Geist (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Happy Marriage?! (Comics Worth Reading)
Ben Leary on vol. 4 of Hetalia (The Fandom Post)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 38 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Drew McCabe on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Otomen (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 20 of Pokemon Adventures (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sarah on vol. 12 of Sakura Hime (nagareboshi)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of Sherlock Bones (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Sweet Rein (Comics Worth Reading)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Takasugi-san’s Obento (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 13 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Here are some photos of Inio Asano’s Nijigahara Holograph, which is due out from Fantagraphics any day now.

Posting has been spotty because I’m busy writing up my Angouleme reports; here’s my look at the French manga market, which is very different from the North American scene.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman takes a walk on the seinen side with a look at Futabasha’s Manga Action magazine.

Matthew Kirshenblatt has written a two-part essay on the suffering-artist figure in Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix: Karma (part 1, part 2).

Competition update: George Alexopoulos, whose Go With Grace was one of the original Tokyopop OEL manga, has taken one of the Silver Awards in the Japanese foreign ministry’s international manga competition for his comic Paris. Meanwhile, on the Vertical Tumblr, Ed Chavez (I assume) explains why the Morning international manga contest is no more; basically, those interested in entering leaned toward shoujo and shonen genre manga while Morning is more varied and experimental.

I picked up that last fact from Justin’s roundup of manga and anime Tumblrs, which is very interesting and includes some news bites as well as a list of industry Tumblrs for those who want to start following them. Justin also has a helpful list of places where you can buy manga and anime.

News from Japan: Wandering Son creator Takako Shimura is working on a new series, tentatively titled Wagamama Chie-chan (Selfish Chie-chan), which will run in Comic Beam magazine. A new Saint Seiya manga, Saint Seiya Episode.G, will launch in the April 5 issue of Champion RED Ichigo magazine. Dengeki Daisy manga-ka Kyousuke Motomi has a new series, QQ Sweeper, which will begin in the April issue of Betsucomi. The Wallflower creator Tomoko Hakayawa is bringing her current series, Real Face, to an end. There are 1 million copies of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal in circulation.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team lines up a new set of Bookshelf Briefs to keep us up to date on recent releases. Ash Brown looks back in manga with a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Anna N. on vol. 2 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (Manga Report)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Manga Report)
Joe Iglesias on vols. 1 and 2 and vols. 3 and 4 of Battle Angel Alita (Eastern Standard)
Ogiue on Busou Renkin (Ogiue Maniax)
Justin on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
TSOTE on vol. 16 of C.M.B. (Three Steps Over Japan)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland (ICv2)
Maggie on vols. 1 and 2 of Don’t Tell My Husband (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 27 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Derek Bown on vol. 32 of Fairy Tail (Manga Bookshelf)
Ash Brown on vols. 2 and 3 of Genkaku Picasso (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 23 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Naru on Her Sheikh Boss (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of High School Debut (3-in-1 edition) (ICv2)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 24 of Higurashi: When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Joe Iglesias on vol. 1 of Knights of Sidonia (Eastern Standard)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of Legal Drug (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Mixed Vegetables (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on My Only King (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vols. 2 and 3 of No Longer Human (Experiments in Manga)
Philip Anthony on vol. 1 of Princess Knight (Manga Bookshelf)
Naru on vol. 1 of Raintree: Haunted (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Derek Bown on the January 27 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Short Cuts (Experiments in Manga)
Jocilyn Wagner on vol. 1 of Shrine of the Morning Mist (Manga Bookshelf)
Maggie on Start with a Happy Ending (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Justin on part 2 of Summer Wars (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Vinland Saga (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (Experiments in Manga)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Yggdrasil (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)

Hey everyone, sorry about the radio silence. I’ve been away at the International Comics Festival in Angouleme, France, where manga is still a big deal and the guests included Suehiro Maruo. I’m still recovering from jet lag (not to mention re-entry into normal life after six days in an 18th-century chateau), so this is just a quick roundup, but I will have a lot to say in the next few days, so stay tuned.

There has been a rumor making the rounds, based on an interview that Inio Asano did with a Japanese magazine, that the manga-ka wants to have a sex-change. Matt Thorn looks into it but doesn’t get much clarification from Asano’s publisher; he then turns to the original interview, which sheds a bit more light on Asano’s feelings.

Over on the other side of the channel, The Guardian has discovered manga and has a beginner’s guide with a good slate of recommended titles. Even if you’re not a beginner, it’s always interesting to see what sort of take the mass media has on the topic.

At Good Comics for Kids, we have a preview of the fourth volume of Tania del Rio’s manga-style Sabrina: The Magic Within graphic novels.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new manga and discusses the Pick of the Week.

News from Japan: Shin Kibayashi, creator of The Drops of God and Kindaichi Case Files, has started a new manga, Shinjuku DxD, which will be carried by the Manga Box app.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new releases in their Bookshelf Briefs feature. Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kristin on vols. 3 and 4 of The Earl and the Fairy (Comic Attack)
Anna N. on vol. 12 of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Manga Report)
Kristin on Helter Skelter (Comic Attack)
Drew McCabe on Pokemon: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (Comic Attack)
Chris Kirby on vol. 17 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)
Anna N. on The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress and Her Sheikh Boss (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Umineko: When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Information is finally starting to come out about the new Sailor Moon anime; it will begin airing in July and will be streamed worldwide by NicoNico and subtitled in 10 languages. The anime is not a remake of the original anime but will be a new adaptation of the manga, according to the producer. Erica Friedman has some thoughts on all this.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases and their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman updates us on all the latest yuri news in her latest Yuri Network New post at Okazu.

Lori Henderson rounds up some end-of-the-year manga news in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Erica Friedman looks at Ciao, the top-selling shoujo manga magazine in Japan.

Jason Thompson looks at ten zombie-themed manga in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Five volumes of Attack on Titan made this week’s New York Times best-seller list, including volume 10, which tops the list.

News from Japan: Wandering Son manga-ka Takako Shimura is working on a new series, a sequel to the 2012 one-shot “Musume no Iede.”

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Harry Edmundson-Cornell on vol. 3 of 20th Century Boys (Sequart)
Alex Hoffman on vols. 1-4 of 7 Billion Needles (Manga Widget)
Justin on vol. 1 of All Purpose Chemistry Club (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 11 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Carlo Santos on vol. 9 of Bokurano: Ours (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Fate/Zero (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Steve Bennett on vol. 1 of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 (ICv2)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Nisekoi: False Love (Manga Report)
Ash Brown on Oishinbo A La Carte: Fish, Sushi, and Sashimi (Experiments in Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 8-10 of Pandora Hearts (Manga Xanadu)
Michael Buntag on vol. 5 of Sailor Moon (NonSensical Words)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 12 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (ANN)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 17 of Soul Eater (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of SS Astro (Experiments in Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Summer Wars (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Takasugi-san’s Obento (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on Tropic of the Sea (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Voice Over! Seiyu Academy (Manga Xanadu)

If you have been curious about Attack on Titan and want to check out the first volume, Amazon has it on sale as of this writing for $2.99. Their prices change frequently, so I don’t know how long this will last.

This week’s issue of Shonen Jump (which is being released early, on Saturday) will be dedicated to Takeshi Obata’s adaptation of the novel All You Need Is Kill; the issue will include the first chapter of the manga, the first chapter of the novel, and some other Obata previews.

Crunchyroll has added three new titles to its digital manga service: Inside Mari, Silver Nina, and Love Theory. All three are from Futabasha.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks over this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week.

Shaenon Garrity takes a look at the long-running series Case Closed (she’s the English-language editor) in her latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Dave Ferraro lists his picks for the best manga of 2013 at Comics-and-More.

Alex Hoffman looks back on the manga news of 2013 at Manga Widget. Lori Henderson looks back on the past year as well in her latest Manga Dome podcast, and she devotes another podcast to a retrospective on Yen Plus, the digital manga magazine that recently ceased publication.

Lori also looks at some older manga that are getting a new life in digital format.

This was announced last month but it sort of got washed away with all the other news: Manga-ka est em, creator of Seduce Me After the Show and Red Blinds the Foolish, will be a guest at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) this spring.

News from Japan: Shueisha’s Margaret magazine will publish a new Rose of Versailles one-shot story by Riyoko Ikeda in May. The new Rurouni Kenshin spinoff manga will focus on the enemies in the original, according to the wife of manga-ka Nobuhiro Watsuki. Satoru Hiura will launch a new Hotaru no Hikari series in Kiss magazine. Miwa Ueda (Peach Girl) is bringing her Ariute Ikō manga to an end.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks at the past week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of A Bride’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Btooom! (Comics Worth Reading)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 5 of Love Hina (omnibus edition) (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 69 of One Piece (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Yuri☆Koi Girls Love Story (Okazu)