MangaBlog

Fantagraphics has picked up the gay manga anthology Massive, which was originally slated to be published by PictureBox. I talked to the translators, Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins, about the book and its predecessor, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame, as well as the genre of gay manga in Japan.

Shonen Jump will run Takeshi Obata’s adaptation of All You Need Is Kill on the same day it appears in Young Jump magazine in Japan.

David Brothers writes, in depth, about two manga he really enjoyed in 2013: Slam Dunk and Bleach.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers take the long view and discuss their Pick of the Year, and they also take a look at this week’s new manga.

Freelance manga editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber writes about her struggles with depression and how that has been interwoven with her work life.

Hirofumi Watanabe, the suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball threat letters case, has given an interview to the magazine Tsukuru; the first item released is his message to users of the bulletin board 2chan, denying that he is a zainichi (foreigner).

News from Japan: Say Hello to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato is adapting Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game into manga form; it will be published on his website, Manga on Web. Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code, is the latest literary character to show up with superpowers in Bungō Stray Dogs. Suehiro Maruo is working on a new series, Tomino no Jigoku (Tomino’s Hell), which will debut in the March issue of Monthly Comic Beam. Toriko will go on hiatus for one month at the end of the current story arc. Keisuke Itagaki’s martial arts series Baki is returning to Weekly Shōnen Champion. Sora no Otoshimino/Heaven’s Lost Property will come to an end next month.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team finish out 2013 with the year’s last set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (ANN)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 8 of Aoi Hana (Yuri no Boke)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Battle Angel Alita (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Bloody Cross (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 11 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 33 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Happy Marriage?! (The Comic Book Bin)
Matt Cycyk on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Matt Talks About Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Magi (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Ash Brown on vol. 4 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 69 of One Piece (The Comic Book Bin)
Sakura Eries on vol. 15 of Oresama Teacher (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Summer Wars (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Tiger & Bunny 2-in-1 Anthology (I Reads You)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Life is getting back to normal now that the police have arrested a suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball case; the Shadow Trickster doujinshi events are back on, and the doujinshi event Comic City Osaka announced that it is scrapping its ban on Kuroko’s Basketball-themed doujinshi and merchandise. ANN also has more details on the suspect, Hirofumi Watanabe, including the apparent motive for the attacks: Jealousy.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest Yuri Network News at Okazu.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks forward to this week’s new releases.

Lori Henderson devotes her latest Manga Dome podcast to the Christmas-themed (sort of) manga Sweet Rein.

Akemi looks at the mythology and setting of Attack on Titan at Myth and Manga.

Viz’s shonen rom-com Nisekoi, which has been out in digital for a while, is making the leap to print.

Shaenon Garrity discusses Chihayafuru, a card-game manga that goes beyond the usual manga stereotypes, in the latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

News from Japan: Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is coming to an end. Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code, will become a superpowered character in Bungō Stray Dogs.

Reviews: Carlo Santos checks out the latest new releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Absolute Boyfriend (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Mark Thomas on vol. 16 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 10 of Attack on Titan (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Andrew Lee on Tropic of the Sea (The Japan Times)
Erica Friedman on Yurimekuru Hibi (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Soulless (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Sunshine Sketch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

After a year of threatening letters and cancelled events, police arrested a suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball case this week. The suspect, 36-year-old Hirofumi Watanabe, was nabbed while mailing some letters, and according to police, he has already confessed.

Yen Press has more Sword Art Online manga on the way.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Lori Henderson discusses Inu x Boku SS along with her regular features on the Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: The 20th anniversary edition of Bessatsu Margaret comes with a dust jacket featuring characters from popular shonen manga; RocketNews24 gives us a peek. The top-selling manga on Amazon Japan this holiday season is vol. 12 of Yotsuba&!, and the top-selling vol. 1 of a manga is Attack on Titan, according to the folks at Japanator.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files this week’s Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown brings us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Ash Brown on 12 Days (Experiments in Manga)
Harry Edmundson-Cornell on vol. 2 of 20th Century Boys (Sequart)
Ken H on vols. 8 and 9 of Attack on Titan (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 32 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Sarah on vols. 1-4 of Cardcaptor Sakura (nagareboshi reviews)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 4 and 5 of Hetalia: Axis Powers (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Judge (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Limit (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Alex Hoffman on Pink (Manga Widget)
Andrew T on Pink (The Beguiling)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Sweet Rein (Comic Attack)
Ken H on vols. 1 and 2 of Triton of the Sea (Comics Should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Voice Over: Seiyu Academy (The Comic Book Bin)

Roland Kelts looks at the international popularity of One Piece in an article that includes an interview with manga-ka Eiichiro Oda and the Viz editors who localize his work for American readers.

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

Justin presents parts 2 and 3 of his interview with Seven Seas social media maven Conner Crooks at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.

Sean Gaffney checks out the new digital manga service Manga Box.

Motion comics haven’t been as much of a thing in the manga world as elsewhere, but Manga 2.5 is offering five titles in Japanese and English; Jason Thompson checks it out in this week’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Ash Brown writes about finding manga in the library.

News from Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries announced its first round of Japan Food Culture Contents Awards this week, and Hiromu Arakawa’s Silver Spoon took top honors. Moyashimon got the Gold Award in the manga category, and Oishinbo received a Special Jury Award. Demand was so strong for the January 2014 issue of Aria magazine, which contained the first chapter of the Attack on Titan spinoff Attack on Titan: No Regrets, that Kodansha had to go back to press for a second printing. Three new manga series will launch in the February issue of Dragon Age magazine, which ships January 9. Young Ace also has some new series in various stages of development, including one by The World of Narue artist Tomohiro Marukawa.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team keeps it short and sweet in this week’s edition of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lissa Pattillo on Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Clockmaker’s Story (Kuriousity)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of A Bride’s Story (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 12 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 31 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Jocelyne Allen on Helter Skelter (Brain Vs. Book)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Magi (Girls Like Comics)
Erica Friedman on Marriage Battle! (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1-3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (ANN)
Anna N on Ordinary Girl in a Tiara and The Greek Tycoon’s Defiant Bride (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Shugo Chara! (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Zombie-Loan (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Seven Seas has Tweeted news of yet another new license; this time it’s D-Frag, a high school story about a guy who is sort of a delinquent who joins a gamer’s club that’s mostly girls. In case you missed it, Sean Gaffney rounds up all the recent Seven Seas announcements, with commentary.

Erica Friedman brings a fresh edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu. And she also presents a yuri-themed gift guide.

Suehiro Maruo’s horror manga Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show and The Strange Tale of Panorama Island are the topic of Shaenon Garrity’s latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Khursten Santos reviews the Crunchyroll manga service at Otaku Champloo.

Lori Henderson checks out the new digital manga service Manga Box in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama once thought of killing off all the characters at the series’ end, but he has backed off of that; he still wants to “betray his fans,” though.

Reviews: Carlo Santos has some quick takes on recent volumes of Btooom!, Wolfsmund, and more in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Captive Hearts (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Fuurai Shimai (Okazu)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Genshiken Second Season (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Koi ha Hisokani Minorumono (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of Nabari No Ou (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 69 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of Puella Magi Oriko Magica (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Sakura Trick (Okazu)
Matthew Warner on Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning, Side A and Side B (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Mark Thomas on vol. 7 of Vampire Hunter D (The Fandom Post)

Seven Seas has announced a slew of new licenses in the past few weeks: two Haganai spinoffs Haganai: Club Minutes and Haganai: Now with 50% More Fail, both collections of short stories; two new Strike Witches licenses, Strike Witches: 1937 Fuso Sea Incident and Strike Witches: The Sky That Connects Us; and I Am Alice: Bodyswap in Wonderland, a gender-bender take on the original Alice in Wonderland story.

Conner Crooks, the new social media maven for Seven Seas, talks to Justin at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses about his job and what he has learned so far; since all the above licenses were announced on Twitter, Conner has been busy lately.

It’s the end of an era: The December issue of Yen Plus will be the last. The manga anthology started as a print magazine in 2008 and went digital-only in 2010.

The mobile game publisher DeNA has launched a new manga app, MangaBox; it’s free, at least for now, and has a diverse selection of previously unpublished manga from Kodansha and Shogakukan. I’ll be kicking the tires over the weekend. The Japan Times has more.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusse their Pick of the Week and take a look at next week’s new manga.

Digital Manga is releasing 30 new Harlequin titles during the holiday season, ten a week starting… yesterday. They can be found on eManga and are priced at a wallet-friendly $4.99 each.

AstroNerdBoy reviews Crunchyroll’s digital manga service—and discusses how it could be improved.

The folks at Japanator present their holiday manga gift guide. Anna N posts her own manga gift guide at Manga Report, and Lori Henderson devotes her Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu to manga-themed gift suggestions.

News from Japan: Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino has some harsh words for Attack on Titan, saying it is poorly drawn and too violent. Director Hayao Miyazaki’s samurai manga will appear in Model Graphix magazine, but don’t hold your breath; the retired director wants to have eight pages done for publication, but so far he has completed only three.

Reviews: Derek Bown catches up on a couple of weeks’ worth of Shonen Jump at Manga Bookshelf, and the Bookshelf bloggers file this week’s set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown rounds up a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 9 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Black Bard (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 27 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
A Library Girl on vols. 2-8 of Chi’s Sweet Home (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Dengeki Daisy (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 29 and 30 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Derek Bown on vol. 31 of Fairy Tail (Manga Bookshelf)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of From the New World (Manga Widget)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 2 and 3 of Genshiken: Second Season (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N on vol. 3 of Happy Marriage?! and vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (Manga Report)
Justin on vol. 1 of Heretic Monk (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 31 of Slam Dunk (I Reads You)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 17 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 6 and 7 of Strobe Edge (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Sweet Rein (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Tegami Bachi (The Comic Book Bin)
Alex Hoffman on vols. 1 and 2 of Wolfsmund (Manga Widget)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 12 of Yotsuba&! (Comics Worth Reading)

RightStuf will publish volume 6 of Hetalia: Axis Powers next spring, with six color pages in the first print run; after those books are gone, the volume, like the other volumes published by RightStuf, will be print-on-demand and black an white only.

Seven Seas has licensed The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer; if that title sounds familiar, it’s because it was previously published in English by JManga.

And Vertical has licensed Cardfight!! Vanguard, which as far as I know has never (legally) been published in English.

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

Erica Friedman brings us all the latest in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News.

Say Hello to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato had a stroke last week, but he assured his fans via his blog that he is fine. Sato had been having warning symptoms for several days but ignored them; he finally took a cab to the hospital. He seems to be feeling well enough to goof around, as you can see from the photo at left, which he sent to a Japanese news service.

Connie C. looks at some underground manga anthologies in English.

Ash Brown is musing about which manga series to write about next.

Here’s a video of Japanamerica author Roland Kelts talking about Osamu Tezuka at the Japan Society in New York.

News from Japan: A Lucky Star spinoff is in the works. Weekly Shonen Jump is wrapping up two series, Atsushi Nakamura’s Kuro Kuroku and Kazuro Kyō’s Himedol!!!, and launching another, Tomohiro Yagi’s Iron Knight. Nanae Chrono is returning to Peacemaker Kurogane for a one-shot that will be bundled into a mook with several special chapters of Countdown 7 Days. Peach-Pit will bring Rozen Maiden to a close in three chapters.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team keeps it short and sweet in their latest round of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks at a week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Arata: The Legend (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 8 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vols. 6-14 of Black Butler (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Matthew Cycyk on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (Matt Talks About Manga)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (Yuri no Boke)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of The Guin Saga Manga: The Seven Magi (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Juu (Three Steps Over Japan)
Justin on vol. 1 of Marin (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on The Mysterious Underground Men (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 45 of Oh! My Goddess (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ken H on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon Short Stories (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
A Library Girl on vols. 1-6 of The Story of Saiunkoku (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Matthew Cycyk on vol. 2 of Wolfsmund (Matt Talks About Manga)
Justin on vol. 2 of Wolfsmund (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

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

Dallas Middaugh and Ben Applegate of Kodansha Comics did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit—check it out for some interesting responses. Related: Tony Yao explains Billy Bat, which is on Middaugh’s shortlist of manga he’d like to see translated.

Jason Thompson kicks the tires on Crunchyroll’s new digital manga service, comparing it with its predecessors and taking a look at all 12 of the launch series.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest update of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

News from Japan: Hayao Miyazake may have retired from filmmaking, but he’s not sitting around watching Wheel of Fortune—he’s writing a samurai manga. Kodansha’s Morning and its digital sister publication D Morning are publishing a manga by Kazuto Tatsuta, a former worker at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, describing his experiences when the plant was damaged in the March 2011 earthquake.

Reviews: Ash Brown has reviewed every volume of Blade of the Immortal; here’s a link to a roundup of all the reviews.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter’s Late Night Tea Party (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Codename: Sailor V (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Kristin on vols. 14 and 15 of La Corda d’Oro (Comic Attack)
Kristin on vols. 8 and 9 of Dawn of the Arcana (Comic Attack)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 8 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage (The Comic Book Bin)
Ken H on vols. 31 and 32 of Fairy Tail (Comics Should Be Good)
Anna N. on Helter Skelter and Utsubora (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Inu x Boku SS (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alice Vernon on Lychee Light Club (Girls Like Comics)
Sakura Eries on Manga Melech (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vol. 4 of Nightschool (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Shinobi Life (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
A Library Girl on vols. 16, 19, and 24-30 of Skip Beat! (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (Manga Report)

As folks start to sample Crunchyroll’s manga service, Deb Aoki talks to the folks behind it about their plans for the future (including more series from more publishers) and the bloggers at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses discuss their thoughts and hopes for the service.

Over at Robot 6, I took a look at the Kuroko’s Basketball story; because of an ongoing series of threat letters, a number of doujinshi events have been cancelled, and now the letter writer is targeting retail stores, resulting in some stores removing the manga from the shelves and 7 Eleven pulling their Kuroko’s Basketball themed snacks.

Despite some initial doubts, the Digital Manga Guild seems to be going strong; Justin interviews editor Lindley Warmington about her work at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.

Ben Huber has some fun with a make-your-own-manga book.

Reviews

Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Durarara!! (Girls Like Comics)
Justin on vol. 1 of Eat for Your Life! (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
L.B. Bryant on K-ON! High School (ICv2)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Manga Mutiny (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Mantis Woman, Bride of Deimos, and Presents (Comics Should Be Good)
A Library Girl on vols. 44-50 of Naruto (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 18 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Justin on vol. 1 of Sherlock Bones (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ken H. on The Strange Tale of the Twilight Demon (Comics Should Be Good)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Voice Over: Seiyuu Academy (Comic Attack)
Sarah Hayes on vol. 1 of Voice Over: Seiyuu Academy (Nagareboshi Reviews)

The big news of the week is that Crunchyroll has launched a digital manga service that kicks off with 12 Kodansha series. New chapters will be available for free the same day they come out in Japan, and there’s an all-you-can-read service for $4.99 a month. The starting lineup includes Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, and Ken Akamatsu’s UQ Holder, and Crunchyroll promises there is more on the way. Deb Aoki has all the details, the Japan Times talks to some of the Japanese players, Sean Gaffney takes a look at the manga themselves, and I commented on what they are doing right.

Chris Beveridge notes that volumes 4 and 5 of Hetalia are now available for pre-order at RightStuf. The first run of the book (including pre-orders) will have eight color pages. After that it will be print-on-demand. Both books have a Tokyopop logo on the cover and at the moment they are marked down from $15.99 to $10.99. No sign of a digital option, though.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week. Michelle Smith and MJ have a dialogue about two Vertical titles, Tropic of the Sea and Fashion Unfriendly, in their Off the Shelf column.

Viz Manga is now available on iBooks.

Ash Brown is giving away a copy of vol. 1 of Sankarea. Ash also rounds up some manga podcasts, with updates on those that seem to be defunct.

News from Japan: I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow manga-ka Shunjo Aono has a new series in the works, titled Slapstick. Ichijinsa is launching a new boys love magazine, gateau.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team keep it short in their latest Bookshelf Briefs column. Ash Brown takes us through another week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kristin on vols. 2 and 3 of Demon Love Spell (Comic Attack)
Ken H. on vols. 2 and 3 of Flowers of Evil (Comics Should Be Good)
Ken H. on Kitaro (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Love in Hell (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Bruce P. on R+ Princess (Okazu)
Sakura Eries on vol. 11 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 3 of Sankarea (Comics Should Be Good)
Derek Bown on the October 7 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Sweet Rein (Manga Report)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (ICv2}

Lissa Pattillo looks at Viz’s new license announcements from NYCC, which include Black Rose Alice, by Afterschool Nightmare creator Setona Mizushiro, and Time Killers, a collection of short stories by Blue Exorcist manga-ka Kazue Kato.

ICv2 talks at length with Viz chief technology officer Gagan Singh about their digital program, their app vs. e-books, piracy, and growing the manga audience.

Erica Friedman rounds up all things yuri in Yuri Network News.

Jocelyne Allen takes a look at Machiko Kyo’s U, a manga that is not licensed over here but has some pretty interesting artwork.

Taking a page from Bakuman, 14-year-old Sato Ito is the author of a story to be published in the December issue of Nakayoshi. Despite her youth, Ito is no overnight success; she won the Niigata Manga Competition three times in a row, starting in 2009.

I’m late in linking to this, and there’s only a week left, but if you want to try your hand at translating some real manga, check out the Digital Manga Association’s Manga Translation Battle. There are prizes to be won, plus it’s good experience for would-be translators.

Reviews: Carlo Santos takes a quick look at some recent releases in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Afterschool Charisma (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on vol. 26 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Bleach (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 9 of Bunny Drop (ANN)
Anna N on vols. 1 and 2 of A Dark Fable of the Forest (Manga Report)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 12 of Dengeki Daisy (ANN)
Matthew Warner on vol. 10 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Doubt (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of From the New World (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Matthew Warner on K-On! College (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 13 of Kamisama Kiss (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of No Matter How You Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of One Piece (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 12 of Psyren (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on the September 30 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 30 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Tiger & Bunny (The Comic Book Bin)
Carlo Santos on vol. 3 of Tiger & Bunny (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on Sides A and B of Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on Tsuki to Sekai to Etoile (Okazu)
Josh Begley on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 5 of Wandering Son (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of X (The Comic Book Bin)

Sorry for the radio silence—I went to NYCC, and the two weeks after a con always seem to turn into a black hole as I write up a ton of different articles. It will take me a few days to catch up on all the news, but here’s the highlights:

Deb Aoki has written a comprehensive roundup of all the NYCC manga news, including appearances by Lone Wolf and Cub manga-ka Kazuo Koike and announcements by Kodansha Comics, Yen Press, and Vertical.

Tierney Sneed did a super article on women in comics, and the fact that a big portion of the fandom is female but publishers and con organizers do little to acknowledge that, for U.S. News & World Report. The story includes a short interview with me about the changes wrought by manga.

Erica Friedman of Okazu, who arrived home from Japan on the first day of NYCC, nonetheless managed to make it to the con and talked to Robert McGuire of GEN Manga and One Peace Books about One Peace’s new yuri acquisition, Whispered Words.

Lori Henderson discusses the NYCC news in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Business Insider took a look at Attack on Titan cosplay at NYCC.

In non-NYCC news…

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

Erica Friedman explains why publishers sometimes can’t license a series, no matter how much the fans want them to. This is a great explanation of the two sides of manga licensing and should be required reading for anyone who posts on manga forums about what they want to see.

Connie C. takes a look at Junji Ito’s horror manga.

News from Japan: Yuki Urushibara will return to Mushishi with a two-chapter special in the January and February issues of Afternoon. Flame of Recca creator Nobuyuki Anzai and Lone Wolf and Cub manga-ka Kazuo Koike are both launching new series.

Reviews: Tom Gill writes about Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s Midnight Fishermen, which has not been published in the U.S., at The Hooded Utilitarian. Ash Brown looks back on a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. And the Manga Bookshelf team files this week’s Bookshelf Briefs.

Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Girls Like Comics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 6 of The Betrayal Knows My Name (The Fandom Post)
John Rose on vol. 14 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
Ken H on vols. 2 and 3 of The Flowers of Evil (Comics Should Be Good)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 2 of Sankarea (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Sherlock Bones (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 16 of Toriko (Comic Attack)

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers look forward to next week’s new releases.

The third volume of Mobile Suit Gundam tops the New York Times manga best-seller list; four volumes of Attack on Titan make the list, which is not surprising as that series dominated last month’s BookScan chart as well.

Ash Brown’s Bookshelf Overload column at Experiments in Manga looks at September releases and purchases.

Sean Gaffney takes a closer look at two recently announced licenses: Prophecy, a thriller licensed by Vertical, and Whispered Words, a yuri series from the small independent publisher One Peace Books.

Lori Henderson also looks at the new licenses, as well as vols. 4-7 of Highschool of the Dead, in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Erica Friedman is in Japan right now, and she paid a visit to the Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial Museum, dedicated to one of the pioneers of yuri manga.

At Comics Should Be Good, Connie C. is going to spotlight the lesser-known works of horror master Kazuo Umezu for the next week, and she kicks it off with a look at Cat-Eyed Boy, Orochi: Blood, and Scary Book.

Meanwhile, at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, Justin and Manjiorin discuss vols. 5 and 6 of Attack on Titan.

News From Japan: Dengeki Daisy is coming to an end. Welcome to the NHK manga-ka Kenji Oiwa is drawing an Assassin’s Creed IV manga for Jump X magazine. Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine says that 25 million copies of the 11 volumes of Attack on Titan have been sold in Japan.

Reviews

Daniel Briscoe on vol. 2 of Berserk (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Bleach (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 58 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Sakura Eries on vol. 5 of A Bride’s Story (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Happy Marriage?! (I Reads You)
Kristin on vols. 1 and 2 of Magi (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Nightschool (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on Tropic of the Sea (Experiments in Manga)
Erica Friedman on Tsuki to Suppan (Okazu)

Scott Green speculates about what series will replace Akira Toriyama’s Jaco the Galactic Patrolman in Viz’s Shonen Jump magazine.

When my mom was getting a room painted or papered, she used to let my kids come in and draw on the walls first. Shogakukan did that on a larger scale in August, letting their manga artists come in and draw on the walls of their building, which was demolished a few days later. Now ANN has a photo set of the drawings, which include work by Naoki Urasawa and Fujiko Fujio A.

Tony Yao compares the anime adaptation of Attack on Titan with the original manga.

Job hunting? Kodansha Comics is looking for a manga editor. Ability to read Japanese is a must!

Erica Friedman writes about that shoujo-est of shoujo manga magazines, Nakayoshi, home of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura.

News from Japan: Suzuhito Yasuda is the artist of Durarara!! and the writer of Yozakura Quartet, so it’s little wonder the two are crossing over—again—this time in a 100-page manga that will come with a limited edition of the Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta home video. The spinoff manga K -Days of Blue- will launch next month in Kodansha’s Aria magazine. Speaking of Aria, here’s a sneak peek at Kuinaki Sentaku (A Choice With No Regrets), the Attack on Titan prequel (it’s about Levi) that will launch in the January issue. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Ken H. on vols. 17 and 18 of Eremetar Gerade (Comics Should Be Good)
Erica Friedman on vol. 17 of Hayate x Blade (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Naruto (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 16 of Otomen (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Sickness Unto Death (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 1 of Umineko: When They Cry 3 – Turn of the Golden Witch (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Voice Over: Seiyuu Academy (I Reads You)

Digital Manga’s September Switch promotion is still going on for a bit longer; at Panel Patter, Rob McMonigal takes a closer look at what it entails—basically, sign up with eManga and show you have bought an e-book somewhere else, and they will give you a free volume of manga. As eManga now offers DRM-free downloads, this may be something for yaoi fans in particular to explore.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

News from Japan: Writer Tow Ubukata (Fafner, Mardock Scramble, Le Chevalier d’Eon) is teaming up with artist Rururu Kondoh to launch a new series, Gargoyle, in the November issue of Young King Ours. The series is set at the end of the shogunate and Ubukata describes it as “Shinsengumi in the style of X-Men.”

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team look over some recent releases in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks at My Week in Manga at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 23 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on the September issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Matthew Warner on vol. 11 of Sailor Moon (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on the September 23 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Strobe Edge (Blogcritics)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Voice Over: Seiyuu Academy (ANN)