MangaBlog

Katherine Dacey · January 29, 2016

Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is a rite of passage for manga readers: you may not have soldiered past the second volume, but you tried because a Real Manga Fan told you that it was The Most Amazing Manga Ever. I freely admit that I didn’t finish Berserk–too violent for me, I’m afraid–but I marveled at its intricate plotting, feverish pace, and deadly seriousness. (Also: Miura’s penchant for awful names.) When Dark Horse announced that it had acquired Giganto Maxia, I decided to treat this new series as a second “date” with Miura–a chance to decide if I’d judged his work unfairly the first time around. Here’s how that date went.

Giganto Maxia
By Kentaro Miura
Rated 16+, for older teens
Dark Horse, $13.99

Let’s start with the good: Giganto Maxia is a visual feast that’s every bit as imaginative as Hayao Mizayaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Kentaro Miura’s pages abound in war-ravaged landscapes, fantastic fighting machines, and bizarre creatures that straddle the fence between human and animal. The specificity of his vision, and the care with which he stages battle scenes, obviates the need for dialogue; we can almost hear and feel what the characters are experiencing on every page.

Miura’s script, however, is as tin-eared and self-serious as a high school literary rag. The two leads–Prome, a pale mystic who looks like a young girl, and Delos, a warrior slave–spend an inordinate amount of time describing what’s happening around them, even when the pictures make it abundantly clear. Yet for all their chatter, neither character provides much useful information about the post-apocalyptic world in which Giganto Maxia takes place: who are the Olympians? Why are they so intent on annihilating other tribes? And what, exactly, are the Giganto? The absence of these details leaves a big hole in the story: the characters’ motivation for fighting the Giganto. At the end of the volume, we’re not really sure what Prome and Delos stand for, or what’s at stake if they fail–two fatal flaws in a series that desperately wants the reader to get swept up in their quest.

The bottom line: A talky script and barely-there characters sink this smart-looking fantasy series.

The publisher provided a review copy.

Reviews: Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith round up the latest volumes of Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Kimi ni Todoke, and Non Non Biyori at Manga Bookshelf; Sean also reads The Testament of New Sister Devil so that you don’t have to. Over at Women Write About Comics, Amanda Vail and Paige Sammartino offer “short & sweet” reviews of Barakamon, Are You Alice?, and My Hero Academia.

Nick Creamer on vol. 3 of The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Anime News Network)
Gary Thompson on vol. 10 of Black Jack (The Fandom Post)
Demelza on Fairy Tail (Anime UK News)
Megan R. on Gate 7 (The Manga Test Drive)
Nick Creamer on vol. 7 of Genshiken: Second Season (Anime News Network)
Sean Rogers on A Girl on the Shore (The Globe and Mail)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 1 of Honey So Sweet (Sequential Tart)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Honey So Sweet (Anime News Network)
Matt on vol. 2 of Inuyashiki (AniTAY)
Sean Gaffney on Kagerou Daze III: The Children Reason (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Claire Napier on Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen (Comics Alliance)
Michael Burns on vol. 13 of Nisekoi (AniTAY)
Matthew Warner on vol. 76 of One Piece (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 3 of One-Punch Man (The Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 4 of One-Punch Man (Anime News Network)
Matthew Warner on vol. 3 of Peepo Choo (The Fandom Post)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 5 of Pokemon X.Y. (Sequential Tart)
Helen on vol. 1 of ReLife (The OASG)
Matt on vol. 4 of A Silent Voice (AniTAY)
Saeyong Kim on vol. 3 of Thermae Romae (No Flying No Tights)
Sarah on Tsubasa WoRLD CHRoNiCLE: Niraikani (Anime UK News)
Charlotte Finn on Wandering Son (Comics Alliance)

Brigid Alverson · January 25, 2016

Naruto Seventh Hokage What’s new in January? I did a quick roundup of this month’s new manga releases, which include the one-shot Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, as well as new volumes of One-Punch Man, Blue Exorcist, The Demon Prince of Momochi House, and My Neighbor Seki. [Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog]

There’s a bumper crop of new manga out this week, and the Manga Bookshelf team is here to sort them out for you. [Manga Bookshelf]

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda says the manga he is most jealous of is Your Lie in April, Naoshi Arakawa’s shonen romance about young musicians. Oda pointed out that music is difficult to portray on the page and praised Arakawa’s depiction. “Before a deadline [I got it] as a change of pace, but I ended up reading the whole thing and forgot about my manuscripts. I got the whole studio buying it on the way home,” Oda said. [Anime News Network]

A new Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney manga is in the works, to go with the anime. [Manga Xanadu]

Ollie Barder writes about the appeal of One-Punch Man, which is topping the charts in the U.S. as well as Japan. [Forbes]

Erica Friedman rounds up all the yuri updates, including word of a Takarazuka show coming to New York, in the latest episode of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

Jocelyne Allen writes about Manga Henshusha, a book of interviews with five manga editors. [Brain Vs. Book]

Here’s an interesting interview with Koré Yamazaki, the creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, although it’s in French. [Manganews]

Oh My Goddess creator Kousuke Fujishima has brought Paradise Residence (which will be published in English by Kodansha Comics) to an end and is starting a new series. [Anime News Network]

Reviews

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 14 of Blue Exorcist (WatchPlayRead)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of The Demon Prince of Momochi House (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 9 and 10 of Food Wars (Comics Worth Reading)
Gabe Peralta on A Girl on the Shore (The Fandom Post)
Andrew Wheeler on vols. 1-4 of Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara (ComicMix)
Erica Friedman on vol. 6 of Himawari-San (Okazu)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Honey So Sweet (Comic Attack)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vols. 11-13 of Kamisama Kiss (Comic Attack)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 2 of Komomo Confiserie (The Fandom Post)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 12 of Magi (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Master Keaton (Comics Worth Reading)
Ash Brown on vol. 7 of Mushishi (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of My Love Story!! (WatchPlayRead)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of My Monster Secret (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Christian Chiok on Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (Japanator)
Kristin on vols. 3 and 4 of One Punch Man (Comic Attack)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Peepo Choo (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 23 and 24 of Ranma 1/2 (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N. on vol. 3 of Requiem of the Rose King (Manga Report)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 9 of Say I Love You (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Shuriken and Pleats (Comics Worth Reading)
Ken H on vol. 3 of A Silent Voice (Sequential Ink)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Steins;Gate (ICv2)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Strike the Blood (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Marion Olea on vol. 2 of Tokyo Ghoul (No Flying, No Tights)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Twin Star Exorcists (WatchPlayRead)

Katherine Dacey · January 15, 2016

Happy New Year! (Is it too late to extend that greeting to readers?) For my first column of 2016, I dove into my pile of unread books and chose two that I’d meant to review last year. The first is Arina Tanemura’s Idol Dreams, a body-swap comedy about a thirty-something office lady; the second is Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, a 4-koma series about a hunky high school manga artist who just happens to be the author of a popular girls’ comic.

Idol Dreams, Vol. 1
By Arina Tanemura
Rated T, for readers 13 and up
VIZ Media, $9.99

Chikage Deguchi is at a crossroads: once a pretty, popular high school student, she’s become a sexless, thirty-something office drone who’s mocked by her co-workers. After making a fool of herself at a high school reunion, Chikage’s childhood friend Tokita stages a unique intervention, offering Chikage a drug that transforms her into a 15-year-old girl for a few hours a day. Chikage then does what any self-respecting 31-year-old would do: she pursues a (part-time) career as a teen idol.

Setting aside the question of whether anyone would voluntarily relive their teenage years, Idol Dreams has a bigger problem: tone. Arina Tanemura can’t decide if her story will revel in its absurdity or play things straight, and veers wildly between wacky show-biz hijinks and clumsy office scenes that are meant to establish just how awful Chikage’s adult life is. In the afterword to the story, Tanemura cheerfully vents her frustrations at being asked to do “a magical girl series for adults” without recourse to “too much screentone,” “gags and comedic touches,” or “super-stylish atmosphere.” Oddly enough, I don’t think these restrictions are the true source of the problem; if anything, Tanemura’s artwork is more polished and appealing in Idol Dreams than in Phantom Thief Jeanne or I.O.N. The real issue is the lead character: Tanemura never really explains why temporarily impersonating a 15-year-old would solve any of Chikage’s issues, especially since Chikage’s teenage alter ego is a wet noodle, too. The underlying message seems to be that recapturing youthful beauty is a pathway to empowerment–not a particularly novel or uplifting idea, given the developed world’s obsession with Botox, face lifts, wrinkle cream, and 17-year-old models.

The bottom line: I never thought I’d say this, but Idol Dreams is the rare Tanemura manga that would benefit from more zaniness and sparkly backgrounds.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, Vol. 1
By Izumi Tsubaki
Rated T, for teen readers
Yen Press, $13.00

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun is a textbook example of what happens when a great idea bumps up against the limitations of a restrictive format. The set-up is comedy gold: tenth-grader Chiyo Sakura confesses her romantic feelings to hunky classmate Umetarou Nozaki, only to have him casually respond, “Do you want to come to my place right now?” Flustered, Chiyo agrees but is surprised when Nozaki doesn’t put the moves on her; instead, he puts her to work on a chapter of his hit shojo manga Let’s Fall. Chiyo’s attempts to extricate herself from Nozaki’s employ or clarify her feelings for him only make things worse, as Nozaki is both romantically inexperienced and genuinely obtuse.

So far, so good: the concept provides plenty of fodder for jokes and pratfalls. The four-panel format, however, locks each character into a holding pattern in which he or she is doomed to repeat the same behavior over and over again. The supporting cast is big enough to prevent Monthly Girls from reading like a month’s worth of Cathy or Garfield strips, but the rhythm of every gag is virtually the same, whether author Izumi Tsubaki is introducing a new character, poking fun at shojo manga cliches, or demonstrating just how socially inept Nozaki really is; long stretches of Monthly Girls read like a Henny Youngman set, albeit with stranger–and funnier–material. Take my manga… please!

The bottom line: Some of the jokes are genuinely funny, but the series already feels like it’s chasing its tail by the end of chapter three.

Odds and Ends: Organization Anti-Social Geniuses has a new look, a new name, and a new URL. You’ll now find Justin Stroman and the gang at http://www.theoasg.com/. Manga vlogger Pluto Burns took a break from reviewing books and conducted a great interview with Carolina Manga Library founder Laura Mehaffey. If you’re not familiar with the good work that Mehaffey and her staff are doing, click here to learn more about this traveling book collection.

Reviews: Sean Gaffney, Anna N. and Michelle Smith post their first Bookshelf Briefs column of 2016. On the agenda: D-Frag!, My Love Story!!, Pandora Hearts, and Saki. Elsewhere on the web, Rebecca Silverman and Kory Cerjak review the first volume of Yowamushi Pedal, my pick for Best New Manga of 2015.

Chris Kirby on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (The Fandom Post)
Karen Maeda on vol. 7 of Assassination Classroom (Sequential Tart)
Matthew Warner on Ayako (The Fandom Post)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 1 of Bloody Mary (Sequential Tart)
Megan R. on CLAMP School Detectives (The Manga Test Drive)
Justin on Confession (The OASG)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 5 of Demon from Afar (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Emma (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Honey So Sweet (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood (Experiments in Manga)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 19 of Kamisama Kiss (Sequential Tart)
Ken H on vol. 1 of LD♥K (Sequential Ink)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Livingstone (Anime News Network)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun (Manga Xanadu)
Dustin Cabeal on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (Comic Bastards)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kane Bugeja on vol. 3 of One-Punch Man (Snap 30)
David Brooke on vol. 4 of One-Punch Man (AiPT!)
Dustin Cabeal on vol. 4 of One-Punch Man (Comic Bastards)
SKJAM! on vol. 18 of Rin-ne (SKJAM! Reviews)
Ken H. on vol. 9 of Say I Love You (Sequential Ink)
Helen on vol. 1 of Student Council’s Discretion (The OASG)
Patrick Moore on vol. 8 of Tiger & Bunny (Bento Byte)
Che Gilson on Tokyo Ghoul (Otaku USA)
Marion Olea on vol. 2 of Tokyo Ghoul (No Flying No Tights)
Frank Inglese on vols. 8-9 of Vagabond: VIZBIG Edition (Snap 30)
Ash Brown on vol. 7 of Vinland Saga (Experiments in Manga)
SKJAM! on vol. 7 of Vinland Saga (SKJAM! Reviews)
Megan Rupe on vols. 1-2 of Yo-Kai Watch (No Flying No Tights)

Katherine Dacey · January 4, 2016

We’re kicking off 2016 with a look at the manga titles and trends we’re most excited about. Joining me and Brigid is manga journalist and critic Deb Aoki, former guide to AboutManga.com, current host of Manga Comics Manga, and Publishers Weekly contributor.

What new manga are we looking forward to this year?

BRIGID: Fruits Basket! Natsuki Takaya’s tangled tale of a cursed family was one of the first shoujo manga I ever read, and I’m looking forward to re-reading it with a more experienced eye (and a better translation).

The other upcoming manga that everyone seems to be looking forward to is Princess Jellyfish, which Kodansha is publishing in double-sized omnibus volumes. This josei title about a bunch of nerdy girls living in their own rooming house sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

In terms of continuing series, I loved the first volume of Planetes and I’m looking forward to more. It’s a smart science fiction story with likeable characters and thoughtful storylines, and Dark Horse’s new edition is a beautiful two-volume omnibus that really feels like something special. I can’t wait to read more of Hiroya Oku’s Inuyashiki, about two humans given extreme superpowers in a freak accident—one uses them for good, one… doesn’t—and Yoshitoki Ōima’s A Silent Voice, an amazingly powerful story that’s about bullying but also about alienation and redemption. One more: Your Lie in April, which has kind of slid under the radar, a shonen romance about musicians that, like A Silent Voice, goes beyond the standard shonen romance tropes and has relatable characters experiencing real emotions.

On a general note: When I was compiling my lists of the best new and ongoing manga series of 2015, I was struck by how many really good manga debuted in 2015. From all accounts, 2016 is going to be even better.

DEB: I’m most excited about the trend where manga publishers are taking chances on titles and genres that were once considered the third rail/extra risky to license, like sports manga. Super excited about the Summer 2016 arrival of the first volumes of Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate and Kuroko’s Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki from Shonen Jump/VIZ Media! I love Haikyu!! a lot — been watching the first and second seasons on Crunchyroll over and over again. the characters are really wonderful — it’s delightful to see the team grow and reach new heights every time. It’s got lots of heart and humor as well as exciting sports action. It’s now one of my all-time faves!

I’ve also been enjoying the recently released Yowamushi Pedal by Wataru Watanabe, a manga about a hapless anime otaku who discovers that he has a talent for bicycle racing. Big ups to Yen Press for publishing this fairly long series in double-sized volumes.

queen-emeraldas-small Another example of manga publishing biz in the US dipping their toes into riskier fare is the upcoming publication of three classics: Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda from Udon Entertainment, Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto from Kodansha Comics, and Otherworld Barbara by Moto Hagio from Fantagraphics Books. For too long, the classics that are the foundation of manga in Japan have been largely unavailable in English. I’m hoping that these titles succeed so we can someday get more.

Also super excited about having more manga by Asano Inio available in English. Solanin and What a Wonderful World! are go-to recommendations for anyone who loves indie comics and is curious about manga. Now VIZ Media is publishing the mind-bending Goodnight Pun Pun, and A Girl on the Shore, coming from Vertical Comics. Both should be on your pre-order lists, as these are beautifully drawn, thought-provoking books that everyone will be talking about in the months to come.

KATE: I share Deb’s excitement about classic manga. It’s a risky undertaking for any publisher, especially when so many readers are young (under 20) and not particularly curious about the medium’s roots. It will be interesting to see if UDON can pitch Rose of Versailles to the Shojo Beat crowd; though the artwork is a little dated, the melodrama, costumes, and kick-butt female lead have obvious parallels with titles in VIZ, Kodansha, and Yen’s catalogs. Who knows? It could be a surprise hit.

Speaking of vintage titles, I’m ecstatic about Drawn & Quarterly’s new Kitaro volumes. D&Q will be releasing these previously untranslated stories in slimmer, kid-friendly editions–a departure from their 2013 Kitaro release, which screamed “prestige project!” I think that’s a smart move: adults with an interest in Shigeru Mizuki’s work will buy it in almost any format, but younger manga fans need a length and trim size that reflects their own reading habits.

Another title on my must-read list is Jiro Taniguchi’s Guardians of the Louvre, which NBM Publishing will be releasing in April. The previous installment of the Louvre series–Hirohiko Araki’s Rohan at the Louvre–was the ultimate otaku two-fer: a ghost story and a standalone chapter in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure saga. Taniguchi’s book will undoubtedly be a more sober affair, but one I’m anticipating with the same eagerness: I can’t wait to see how Taniguchi integrates the museum’s famous collection into his story.

In the just-for-fun department, I Am a Hero, a zombie thriller from Dark Horse, is near the top of my list, as are VIZ’s Haikyu! (mentioned by Deb above), Vertical’s FukuFuku: Kitten Tales, and the final installment of DC Comics’ Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga. I’m also looking forward to Wandering Island, a story about a gutsy young woman who runs an air mail service in a remote corner of Japan. The illustrations are by Kenji Tsurata, the creator of the criminally under-appreciated Spirit of Wonder, which was published by Dark Horse in 1998.

Last but not least, I’d also make a plug for The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Anime and Manga. This visual biography clocks in at a hefty 900 pages, highlighting important periods in Tezuka’s career as an illustrator and animator. Its author, Toshio Ban, worked closely with Tezuka in the 1970s and 1980s, giving Ban a unique perspective on his subject. As an added bonus for American readers, Stone Bridge Press brought in Frederick L. Schodt to do the translation.

How about conventions—does anything look particularly tempting?

DEB: I’m always curious to see what Toronto Comic Arts Festival will be bringing as their guests this May. Last year was Gurihiru and Aya Kanno, prior years brought Konami Kanata, Moyoco Anno, Akira Himekawa, Usamaru Furuya, Est Em, Natsume Ono and Yoshihiro Tatsumi to name just a few. I don’t know what they have planned, but I know it’ll be worth the trip!

As booth space and tickets get harder and harder to get at San Diego Comic-Con, Anime Expo in Los Angeles has turned into the Japanese content biz must-go show. I’ve noticed that more companies from Japan are buying booths, and see lots of meetings / business being conducted at the show.

It’s great that AX is getting bigger and bigger, but I worry that it creates a situation where the anime/manga world becomes even more segregated/separated from the general pop culture community that converges at Comic-Con and similar American shows. This is especially irksome because it seems like most of the Western comics / pop culture press corps basically ignore / don’t report on / don’t attend Anime Expo or any of the announcements that come out of this show.

This pisses me off because anime/manga matter more than ever — especially as its fandom tend to skew younger, are more active, and more interested in all kinds of entertainment from US and Japan compared to their counterparts on the superhero side of the comic shop. So much for my “be less crabby in 2016” resolution… ;-)

KATE: I had a blast attending shows like New York Comic Con and Wondercon in the late 2000s. The last time I attended NYCC, however, I felt that the show had taken a much sharper turn towards the television, film, and gaming industries, and was losing its identity as a comics convention. The manga publishers were still there, of course, but it was harder to circulate and interact with editors and sales reps because of the enormous crowds. That experience pretty much soured me on going to any more big conventions. TCAF always sounds like a blast, but the timing never works for me; I’m always knee-deep in final exams and student papers when it rolls around!

BRIGID: I echo Deb’s concern about AX, but it does seem like this year, the news was spread across a broader swath of conventions—and many of the new licenses, including Fruits Basket, were announced on Twitter. The presence of so many people from the Japanese publishers—not just creators but editorial staff as well—was very noticeable this year and shows that the publishers are taking the American audience seriously. It also enhanced the experience to see, for instance, the editor of Noragami explaining the process of how it went from sketches to finished page. I’m looking forward to more of that at the larger shows as well as the more intimate experience at the smaller shows, where the creators and their readers are not so far apart.

Any predictions about the industry?

DEB: Almost all signs point to a healthier, more robust manga publishing business in 2016, which is a great thing. I don’t see the same rush to publish anything and everything vaguely manga-ish (even crappy manga) that I saw prior to the crash of the late 2000’s — publishers seem to be making more careful choices, more calculated risks. The fact that they’re taking any risks at all — by expanding genres, offering their stories via more digital channels and doing more simulpub/same day as Japan releases, is a good sign.

I’m also intrigued/encouraged by the efforts being made by Japanese manga publishers to welcome submissions by creators from outside of Japan, like Comics Zenon’s Silent Manga Audition contests and the Japanese edition of Shonen Jump’s latest contest to get published in their online magazine, Jump Plus. It’s no secret that many up-and-coming comics creators from around the world are inspired by manga, so it’ll be very interesting to see what happens when more of these creators get exposure in Japan and guidance from Japan’s top-notch manga editors.

KATE: I’m consistently impressed by Seven Seas’ tenacity and business acumen, but not so impressed with the actual titles they license. Last year, however, Seven Seas published The Ancient Magus’ Bride and acquired Orange, neither of which fit the profile of a typical Seven Seas manga; if anything, both seemed like the kind of titles that CMX used to license. That gamble has paid off with Bride, which recently cracked the NY Times Manga Bestseller list. My prediction: Seven Seas will continue to make bold licensing choices in 2016, even as vampire-monster girls remain their core business.

BRIGID: I see publishers taking manga more seriously as the audience expands. While the “pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap” attitude that made Tokyopop and Viz’s Shonen Jump lines such a success ten years ago works well with teen readers, who gobble up manga in quantity, publishers are starting to cater to older readers who want a somewhat better experience. The oversized omnibus isn’t that much more expensive than single volumes, but it allows for a more satisfying reading experience, and publishers often include extras like better quality covers and color pages. Viz’s new edition of Monster, Dark Horse’s Planetes, and Yen Press’s Emma are all examples of this, and Kodansha gets a shoutout for not only its superb editions of Vinland Saga but its deluxe Attack on Titan Colossal Edition. This seriousness goes beyond production values to the licensing of quality manga that might not have found a market in earlier years, including Inuyashiki and Naoki Urasawa’s Master Keaton.

gekiga01 If any publishers are reading this, I have a very specific licensing request. There’s a small French publisher called Lezard Noir that is publishing some amazing manga in French; I spoke to the publisher when I was in Angouleme two years ago and was really impressed with his line, which includes Minetaro Mochizuki’s Chiisakobé, Bonten Taro’s Sex & Fury, and Masahiko Matsumoto’s Gekiga Fanatics. I’m not the only one—every year at least one of his books is picked as an official selection by the Angouleme festival. I’d love to see some U.S. publishers pick up these titles in a similar format—I think they would have a lot of appeal to those older, more sophisticated manga readers.

Katherine Dacey · December 30, 2015

After a two-year hiatus from blogging, I donned my critic’s cap again in 2015. I’ve enjoyed writing my quasi-weekly column, but composing a year-end list reminded me why I stepped off the reviewing treadmill in 2012: mediocre books! This year yielded a veritable bumper crop of so-so manga, titles that were competently executed but otherwise unmemorable thanks to an abundance of generic characters, cliché settings, and predictable plot twists; you’d be forgiven for feeling that you’d read many of 2015’s debuts before, even if the artists were new to the US market.

Lurking among the paint-by-number romances and boy-saves-world titles, however, were a few gems. I’ve done my best to highlight the titles that made me feel something, whether that feeling was love, hate, or a mixture of both. To that end, I’ve included my nominees for the worst manga of 2015 alongside the books that made me laugh and cry.

Best New Series: Yowamushi Pedal
By Wataru Watanabe • Yen Press
You know the rap on sports manga: American readers won’t buy it, and don’t like it. Yowamushi Pedal might just change that, however, thanks to a story that plays well across the nerd-jock divide. Onoda, the hero, is a self-professed otaku whose weekly bike rides into Akihabara have transformed him into a secret Lance Armstrong clone. Though Onoda wants to revive his school’s anime club, his amazing hill-climbing skills and stamina get noticed by more seasoned riders, all of whom convince Onoda to join the cycling team. The series’ races are nail-biting, page-turning affairs, but it’s the in-between stuff that makes Yowamushi Pedal work. Onoda doesn’t just discover a new skill; he discovers a community of people who share his passion for riding and respect his talent. In short, Yowamushi Pedal is a coming-of-age story in which a bike becomes the nerdy hero’s vehicle—pun intended—for self-actualization.

Best New Shonen Series: One-Punch Man
By ONE and Yusuke Murata • VIZ Media
One-Punch Man is the ultimate have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too manga. On the surface, it’s an affectionate spoof of shonen clichés that pokes fun at goofy costumes, over-the-top training sessions, and speech-prone villains. On a deeper level, however, One-Punch Man is a great adventure series about an ordinary but strong-willed individual who sets out to rid his city of monsters, only to discover that there’s a much greater threat to mankind than the lobster-men and were-lions that roam the streets. The result is a sincere, gut-bustingly funny manga that reads like a Silver Age superhero comic, splats and all. (Reviewed at Manga Blog on 6/12/15.)

Best New Romance Manga: Horimiya
By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara • Yen Press
Horimiya is one of 2015’s most pleasant surprises, a teen rom-com that avoids cliché situations by focusing on the characters’ lives outside school. At first glance, its lead characters look like opposites: Kyouko is the class queen, while Izumi is a quiet loner. When they bump into each other off campus, however, they quickly realize they have more in common than their carefully constructed identities would suggest–a realization that leads to friendship and flirtation. In less imaginative hands, Kyouko and Izumi’s budding romance would be subjected to endless tests–school plays, beach trips, hot transfer students–but the authors resist the urge to trot out these over-used scenarios, relying instead on more ordinary settings for comedic (and dramatic) grist. It’s the perfect antidote to the wacky misunderstandings that drive the plots of Cactus’ Secret, Special A, and a dozen similar titles.

Best New Gag Manga: Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
By Junji Ito • Kodansha Comics
Draw a Venn diagram that shows the overlap between Junji Ito fans and cat lovers, and you’ve found the small but perfect audience for Junji Ito’s Cat Diary, a collection of anecdotes about Ito’s beloved pets Yon and Mu. Though the manga’s jokes explore familiar terrain, Ito’s exaggerated reaction shots are priceless, capturing the mixture of love and disgust that cats inspire in their owners. (Imagine Edvard Munch drawing a gag manga about cats, and you get the general idea.) Ito is refreshingly honest about the way animals change the dynamic between people, too; in some of the manga’s most memorable scenes, Ito and his fiancée compete fiercely for their cats’ affection, plying Yon and Mu with toys, treats, and cuddles. Though the prevailing tone is campy, Ito’s obvious affection for his cats helps prevents the Diary from becoming too arch. (Reviewed at Manga Blog on 12/12/15.)

Best Historic Title: Ludwig B.
By Osamu Tezuka • DMP, Inc.
Left unfinished at the time of Osamu Tezuka’s death, Ludwig B. is a fictionalized biography of Beethoven. Tezuka only completed two volumes, but oh, those two volumes! Tezuka draws evocative scenes of Beethoven at the keyboard, using striking visual metaphors to convey the sound of Beethoven’s music. Tezuka also does a good job of capturing the dynamic between Beethoven and his father, revealing the extent to which Johann’s drinking, gambling, and stage-parenting cast a long shadow over Beethoven’s adult life. Purists should note that Tezuka takes frequent liberties with the historical record, creating a mustache-twirling villain named Franz Kreuzstein to serve as a foil for the young, determined Beethoven. If you’re not offended by such creative license, however, Ludwig B. offers an interesting glimpse into Beethoven’s development as a composer, and Tezuka’s lifelong fascination with Beethoven.

Best Reprint Edition: Planetes
By Makoto Yukimura • Dark Horse
Listen up, manga publishers: if you’re going to do a new edition of a fan favorite, Dark Horse’s two-volume omnibus of Planetes is a swell example of how to do it right. The story has a crisp new translation, full-color pages, and a bigger trim size that gives Makoto Yukimura’s artwork room to stretch out. Better still, the new edition collects more chapters in each volume, allowing newcomers to read far enough into Planetes for Yukimura’s episodic character studies to gel into a more coherent story about space travel and social inequality; by the time newbies reach the end of volume one, they’ll be hooked, too.

Best Manga I Thought I’d Hate: Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto
By Nami Sano • Seven Seas
In theory, Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is a one-note samba: the titular character is handsome, good at everything, and unfailingly logical in all situations. In practice, however, Haven’t You Heard? is the Goldberg Variations of gag manga, taking stock scenes and putting a bizarre twist on them. The secret? Sakamoto is just a little too perfect, behaving more like a well-programmed android than a flesh-and-blood person. His peculiar brand of sangfroid confounds enemies and admirers alike; no one can decide if he’s cool or crazy, or where his loyalties might lie, making it impossible to predict how he’ll respond to each new challenge. (Reviewed at The Manga Critic on 8/7/15.)

Worst Manga I Thought I’d Love: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood
By Hirohito Araki • VIZ Media
At the risk of becoming the Armond White of manga critics, I’m nominating Hirohito Araki’s bone-crunching, chest-thumping saga for Most Exhausting New Series of 2015. That’s because Phantom Blood is a prime example of all-caps theater, the sort of manga in which every word balloon is filled with emphatic punctuation, and every plot twist seems like the brainchild of six teenage boys hopped up on Mountain Dew. In small doses, this more-is-more approach to storytelling can be amusing, but in longer installments, the cumulative effect of so much narrative excess is numb resignation; I didn’t feel entertained so much as punched in the face. (Reviewed at Manga Blog on 5/22/15.)

Most Disappointing Manga: Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler
By Shigeru Mizuki • Drawn & Quarterly
Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler is one of the artist’s lesser works, uncomfortably see-sawing between character study and history lesson in its efforts to show us the man behind the Third Reich. Mizuki’s signature blend of cartoonish figures and photo-realistic backgrounds have been deployed to powerful effect in Non Non Ba and Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths. Here, however, Shigeru’s hybrid style is a poor match with the subject; seeing Hitler reduced to a crude caricature makes it all too easy to view the book as a curiosity, rather than a serious meditation on evil. The virtual absence of the Holocaust is an even greater shortcoming; Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler never grapples with the Fuhrer’s most disturbing legacy save for one blurry image of stacked corpses. Perhaps Mizuki felt the subject was too complex to explore in this biography, but it’s hard to imagine any dramatization of the Fuhrer’s life that fails to examine his virulent anti-Semitism.

* * * * *

So what are other folks saying about 2015’s best titles? My Manga Bookshelf colleagues just posted their Pick of the Year, with Ash Brown posting a separate, more detailed run-down of his favorite titles at Experiments in Manga. At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Brigid Alverson has posted separate lists for her favorite new and continuing series.

Brigid Alverson · December 29, 2015

I rounded up ten of my favorite ongoing series of 2015, including Vinland Saga and Black Butler. [Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog]

Ash Brown looks at some notable manga of 2015. [Experiments in Manga]

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

Laura has some shoujo manga recommendations in different genres. [Heart of Manga]

Who better qualified to create a shoujo manga than a teenage girl? Ran Tokiwa, the winner of the Shogakukan Newcomer Comic Grand Prize, is just 14; her series, Idol Kyūkō (“Idol Bustle”), runs in Ciao magazine. Her work won praise from Afterschool Nightmare creator Setona Mizushiro, one of the judges in the competition, who said, “She draws cute illustrations and makes characters’ personalities easy to understand. I look forward to her future growth.” [Anime News Network]

Reviews

A Library Girl on vols. 1-7 of Alice in the Country of Joker – Circus and Liar’s Game and vols. 1-3 of Alice in the Country of Joker: The Nightmare Trilogy (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 17 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 7 of A Bride’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Deadman Wonderland (WatchPlayRead)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Emma (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Food Wars (WatchPlayRead)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Kiss Him, Not Me (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Manga Guide to Physiology (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Master Keaton (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Milkyway Hitchhiking (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of One-Punch Man (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Helen on vol. 1 of Planetes (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
LB Bryant on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie—Rebellion (ICv2)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of School-Live! (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Seraph of the End (WatchPlayRead)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 3 and 4 of So Cute It Hurts!! (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Sunshine Sketch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Yowamushi Pedal (Comics Worth Reading)

Brigid Alverson · December 21, 2015

Boruto

Shonen Jump will publish a Boruto one-shot, by Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, and an ongoing Boruto series by Mikio Ikemoto and Ukyō Kodachi, this spring, simultaneously with the Japanese releases. [Anime News Network]

This was an unusually good year for new manga series; my roundup of my favorites includes Planetes, A Silent Voice, and Prophecy—plus a lot more. [Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog]

I also picked some notable titles from this month’s new releases. [Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog]

Log Horizon creator Mamare Tounu was placed under house arrest on Thursday due to allegations of tax evasion; the Toyko Public Prosecutor’s Office claims that his rights management company, m2ladeJAM, owes 30 million yen ($250,000) in unpaid taxes. In a statement made last April, when the case first came to light, Tounu said that he had cooperated with investigators and paid his back taxes. [Anime News Network]

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at the coming week’s new manga releases—both of them. [Manga Bookshelf]

Erica Friedman checks in with the latest edition of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

Reviews

Ash Brown on vol. 7 of Afterschool Nightmare (Experiments in Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 4 of Akame ga KILL! (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on Alice in the Country of Clover (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Clockmaker’s Story (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of Are You Alice? (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan: No Regrets (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vols. 15-20 of Black Butler (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Anna N on vol. 6 of Black Rose Alice (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Bloody Cross (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Bloody Mary (Comic Attack)
Anna N. on Boys Over Flowers, Season 2 (Manga Report)
A Library Girl on vol. 11 of Chi’s Sweet Home (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
G.B. Smith on vol. 8 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 50 of Fairy Tail (Sequential Ink)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Hayate x Blade 2 (Nyan) (Okazu)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1 and 2 of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Manga Xanadu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of L♥DK (Comics Worth Reading)
Sakura Eries on vol. 10 of My Little Monster (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vol. 55 of Naruto (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
A Library Girl on vols. 1-8 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Planetes (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Secret (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
A Library Girl on vols. 33 and 34 of Skip Beat! (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 4 of So Cute It Hurts!! (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 3 and 4 of Tokyo Ghoul (ANN)
Matthew Warner on vol. 3 of Ubel Blatt (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vols. 1-5 of Wandering Son (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Nick Smith on vols. 1 and 2 of Yo-Kai Watch (ICv2)

Katherine Dacey · December 12, 2015

2015 has been a banner year for Junji Ito. In April, VIZ re-issued Gyo, Ito’s ick-tastic classic. Two months later, VIZ introduced readers to Fragments of Horror, the first new Ito title to arrive in the US in a decade. That was soon followed by the stateside debut of Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, a humorous anthology published by Kodansha Comics. I first heard about Cat Diary back in 2011, when Ryan Sands posted a few images at Same Hat! It sounded like something I’d like–I’m on record as being an animal sap–so I was delighted when Kodansha announced plans to release it this year. Here are my somewhat biased thoughts on Yon & Mu.

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
By Junji Ito
Rated T, for readers 13+
Kodansha Comics, $10.99

On the surface, Junji Ito’s Cat Diary is a gag manga. J-Kun–a lightly fictionalized version of the author–reluctantly agrees to let his fiancee bring two cats into their home: Yon, a black-and-white cat with sinister markings on his back, and Mu, a Norwegian forest cat with a cute face and a wicked bite. Each story depicts Yon and Mu doing normal cat things, from coughing up hairballs to resisting unsolicited human affection. Readers familiar with Ito’s previous manga will get a chuckle at J-Kun’s over-the-top reactions to cat poop, scratched floors, and feather wands, as his grotesque facial expressions have been swiped from the pages of Gyo and Uzumaki. Surprisingly, these grimaces work just as well in the context of a domestic comedy, capturing the mixture of revulsion and love that cat behavior elicits. The uninitiated reader may also find these scenes amusing, if a bit excessive; surely a grown man realizes that cats can be jerks?

On a deeper level, however, Cat Diary is a meditation on human relationships. Though the ostensible plot focuses on J-Kun’s struggle to overcome his dislike of cats, the real story is Yon and Mu’s role in bringing J-Kun closer to his fiancee. J-Kun comes to love the cats–spoiler alert!–but the way in which he expresses those feelings demonstrates his journey from “me” to “we,” as his selfish concerns about the house give way to a shared sense of responsibility for the cats’ welfare. This human dimension of Cat Diary infuses it with a warmth that’s frequently missing from Ito’s work, and prevents the stories from reading like a collection of cat GIFs. (I can haz laffs now!)

On a totally shallow note, reading Cat Diary made me want to get my own Norwegian forest cat. I’m not sure if that’s an endorsement of Ito’s comedy chops, but it’s proof that he can draw the hell out of cute, furry things.

The verdict: You don’t need to be a cat person–crazy or otherwise–to enjoy this idiosyncratic manga, though a healthy respect for cats definitely helps.

Reviews: In the mood for shojo? Megan R. of The Manga Test Drive has you covered with in-depth reviews of The Demon Prince of Momochi House, First Love Monster, L♥DK, and Requiem of the Rose-King. Comics Alliance contributor Tom Speelman reflects on the legacy of Naruto, one of the world’s most popular manga.

Michael Burns on vol. 4 of Akame ga Kill! (Ani-TAY)
Megan R. on The Angel of Elhamburg (The Manga Test Drive)
Jordan Richards on vols. 5-7 of Assassination Classroom (AiPT!)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of A Bride’s Story (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 56 of Case Closed (Sequential Tart)
Lindsey Tomsu on vols. 1-3 of Dictatorial Grimoire (No Flying, No Tights)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Dragons Rioting (ICv2)
Michael Burns on vol. 8 of Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma (Ani-TAY)
Justin Stroman on vol. 1 of Horimiya (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lindsey Tomsu on vols. 1-9 of Kanokon (No Flying, No Tights)
Jordan Richards on vol. 2 of Komomo Confiserie (AiPT!)
Karen Maeda on vol. 4 of Master Keaton (Sequential Tart)
Sarah on vol. 1 of Merman in My Tub (Anime UK News)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun (ICv2)
Sarah on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun (Anime UK News)
Austin Lanari on vol. 7 of New Lone Wolf & Cub (Comic Bastards)
Chris Beveridge on vol. 1 of Planetes (The Fandom Post)
Matt on vol. 2 of Prison School (Ani-TAY)
Matt on vol. 1 of School-Live! (Ani-TAY)
Josh Begley on vol. 6 of Vinland Saga (The Fandom Post)

Brigid Alverson · December 7, 2015

Big news from Yen Press: Fruits Basket is coming back! One of the top selling shoujo manga of all time, Fruits Basket helped create the shoujo manga fanbase in North America, plus it’s a really great series, but it has been out of print since the last volumes of Tokyopop’s editions left the shelves. Yen is bringing it back in the same format as the “collectors edition” that Hakusensha just started releasing in Japan; that means two-in-one omnibus volumes (the original series was 23 volumes, the new one is 12) and a new translation. Yen also announced they have licensed two other series by Natsuki Takaya, her current one, Liselotte & Witch’s Forest (Liselotte to Majo no Mori), and the older Twinkle Stars. [ANN]

The Good Comics for Kids bloggers immediately convened a roundtable to discuss this piece of news. [Good Comics for Kids]

Seven Seas, meanwhile, has announced another new license: My Girlfriend Is a T-Rex. [ANN]

Jonathan Soble writes about the life and legacy of the late Shigeru Mizuki, who died last week at the age of 93. [New York Times]

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

One-Punch Man and Tokyo Ghoul get three volumes each on this week’s New York Times best-seller list. [New York Times]

Kodansha Comics are now available via the library e-book service OverDrive. [Manga Xanadu]

Reviews

Erica Friedman on Before You Go 2 Halfway There (Okazu)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Bloody Mary (Manga Report)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 3 of Demon From Afar (The Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Devil Survivor (ANN)
Justin on vol. 1 of Dragons Rioting (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Horimiya (Manga Xanadu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (ANN)
Helen on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sakura Eries on vol. 6 of My Love Story!! (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 19 of Rin-Ne (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 2 of Trinity Seven (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Windrose (Experiments in Manga)
Ardo Omer on vol. 1 of Yo-Kai Watch, vol. 1 of Horimiya, and vol. 1 of Monthly Girls Noazki-kun (Panels)

Brigid Alverson · December 3, 2015

We have lost a true manga master: Shigeru Mizuki, author of GeGeGe no Kitaro, NonNonBa, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, and the massive, four-volume Showa, has died at the age of 93. Born in Osaka in 1922, Mizuki was drafted into the Japanese army during World War II, and he chronicled the miseries of that life in Onward Toward Our Noble Deaths. Mizuki’s body of work includes some serious nonfiction but he is probably best know in Japan for his yokai stories, which draw on his memories of growing up in a small coastal village as well as extensive research into Japanese folklore. Manga such as GeGeGeNo Kitaro and NonNon Ba helped popularize the genre, and his hometown of Sakaiminato has put up not only a Mizuki museum but also 153 bronze statues of yokai to honor him (and attract tourists). [The New York Times]

Jinpachi Mori, the writer of Benkei in New York, has died at the age of 57. His series Kasai no Hito ran in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original magazine and was adapted into a drama in 1993; his most recent series is Kasai no Hito kara Kimi e no Yuigon: Sasebo Kōichi Dōkyūsei Satsugai Jiken to Shōnen-hō, a history of Japanese juvenile law. Our own Kate Dacey called Benkei “the best manga you’re not reading” in a 2012 review. [Anime News Network]

Viz has announced two new digital-only licenses: Crown of Thorns, by Boys Over Flowers manga-ka Yoko Kamio, and the 1990s CLAMP title Man of Many Faces (20 Mensou ni Onegai!), which was previously published by Tokyopop. [ANN]

Yen Press Tweeted out news of some new licenses yesterday: The manga and light novel The Asterisk War, the manga and light novel Re: Zero, and the light novel Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria. [ICv2]

Seven Seas has announced three new manga licenses: Lord Marksman and Vanadis, My Pathetic Vampire Life, and Love in Hell: Death Life. [ICv2]

Oh, and one more for Seven Seas: Holy Corpse Rising. [Crunchyroll]

Just in time for gift-buying season, I checked out a stack of manga artbooks. [Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog]

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss their Pick of the Week. [Manga Bookshelf]

Reviews: Haven’t you heard? It’s the latest edition of Bookshelf Briefs! Ash Brown discusses a week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Stergios Botzakis on vol. 1 of Black Jack (Graphic Novel Resources)
Katherine J. Parker on vol. 1 of BTOOOM! (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 2 of The Demon Prince of Momochi House (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 2 of Karneval (The Fandom Post)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Kiss Him, Not Me (Every Day Is Like Wednesday)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 9 and 10 of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Isaac Akers on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vols. 15 and 16 of Oresama Teacher (Comic Attack)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of A Silent Voice (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sakura Eries on vol. 11 of Spice and Wolf (The Fandom Post)

Katherine Dacey · November 27, 2015

The November release of Jinsei Kataoka and Tomohiro Maekawa’s Livingstone provided me a nifty excuse to try Deadman Wonderland, an earlier series written and illustrated by Katoaka. Fans of Deadman Wonderland may know its complex licensing history here in the US: Tokyopop was its first publisher, releasing five volumes before going bankrupt in 2011. VIZ acquired the series in 2013, and is now just two volumes shy of the series’ grand finale, which arrives in February 2016. Whether you’re new to Kataoka’s work or have been a long-time fan, this column has something for you–so read on!

Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 1
Story & Art by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou
Rated T+, for Older Teens
VIZ Media, $9.99

In the not-so-distant future, visitors flock to Deadman Wonderland, a prison-cum-theme park in Tokyo Bay where inmates fight to the death in front of paying crowds. Our guide to this Roman circus is newly minted prisoner Ganta Igarashi, an ordinary fourteen-year-old who’s been wrongfully convicted of murdering his classmates. Ganta’s fundamental decency is challenged at every turn; try as he might to cling to his humanity and clear his name, the prison’s arbitrary rules and roving gangs make it hard to be principled.

From my thumbnail description, you might conclude that Deadman Wonderland was cobbled together from parts of Judge Dredd, Rollerball, and Escape from New York–and you wouldn’t be wrong. What prevents Deadman Wonderland from reading like Rollerball 2: The Revenge is imaginative artwork. Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou have created a Bizarro World Disneyland with rides, concessions, grinning animal mascots, and attractions like the Happy Dog Run, a lethal obstacle course featuring swinging blades and spike-filled pits. The characters who inhabit this landscape are a motley crew: though some telegraph their bad-guy status with tattoos and goofy haircuts, there are enough ordinary-looking prisoners that it’s impossible to judge who’s trustworthy. That uncertainty creates a strong undercurrent of tension in every scene, making Ganta’s routine activities–a conversation in the bathroom, a trip to the cafeteria–as fraught with peril as an actual contest.

The manga’s other great strength is pacing. Kataoka and Kondou resist the temptation to dole out too much information in the first volume; we’re never more than a clue or two ahead of Ganta, though perceptive readers may finish volume one with some notion of the prison’s true purpose. The authors’ expert timing also prevents us from dwelling on the story’s most shopworn elements, instead focusing our attention on how Ganta responds to new characters and new challenges.

All of which is to say: Deadman Wonderland is more fun than it has any right to be, considering the high body count and recycled plot points. Count me in for the next twelve volumes!

The verdict: Great art, smart pacing, and an appealing lead character make Deadman Wonderland a winner. (A note to parents, teachers, and librarians: this manga’s rating is justified.)

Livingstone, Vol. 1
Story by Tomohiro Maekawa, Art by Jinsei Kataoka
Rated 16+
Kodansha Comics, $10.99

Livingstone is a handsomely illustrated bore, the kind of manga in which the writer has dressed up a simple concept with a profusion of fussy details that don’t add depth or interest to the story. The title refers to human souls–or, more accurately, the rock-like form that human souls take after a person dies. Sakurai and Amano, the manga’s protagonists, work together to harvest livingstones, thus ensuring that a soul is properly passed from one person to the next. If a person dies before his appointed time, however, his soul curdles into a gooey blob of bad juju.

The manga has the rhythm of a cop show: in each chapter, Sakurai and Amano solve or prevent one unscheduled death, usually by negotiating with someone who’s planning to kill himself. Livingstone‘s intense fixation on suicide is off-putting; none of the would-be victims are particularly sympathetic, and Sakurai and Amano’s ministrations are so tone-deaf that it’s hard to know what message author Tomohiro Maekawa is hoping to impart to readers. Sakurai and Amano’s antagonistic bickering is supposed to inject a note of levity into the proceedings, I think, but the timing of the jokes and the staleness of the characterizations do little to offset the dour tone. By the end of volume one, I found myself feeling bummed out and irritated–never a good sign for a series that’s exploring a subject as serious as death.

The verdict: Nice art, lousy script; I liked this story better when it was called The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.

Reviews: At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson dives into the eleventh volume of Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ooku: The Inner Chambers, which she describes as “something like Macbeth in kimonos.” Megan R. of The Manga Test Drive offers an in-depth assessment of Oishinbo, “the longest running food manga in Japan,” while Seth Hahne, proprietor of Good OK Bad, weighs in on Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches. Feeling crafty? Vertical Comics shares some early reviews of their latest Arnazi Aronzo book Cuter Stuff.

Connie on Alice in the Country of Hearts: Ace of Hearts (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lindsey Tomsu on The Celebration of Haruhi Suzumiya (No Flying No Tights)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of A Certain Magical Index (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 27 of Claymore (Sequential Tart)
Allen Kesinger on vols. 1-2 of D-Frag (No Flying No Tights)
ebooksgirl on vol. 2 of The Devil Is a Part-Timer! High School! (Geek Lit Etc.)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Devil Survivor (Sequential Ink)
Connie on vol. 32 of Eyeshield 21 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 50 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
Troy Nikandler on vol. 1 of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Otaku Review)
Holly Saiki on Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Examiner)
Karen Maeda on vol. 1 of Komomo Confiserie (Sequential Tart)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Log Horizon: Game’s End (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 1 of Meteor Prince (Slightly Biased Manga)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (Sequential Tart)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 4-6 of My Love Story!! (Comics Worth Reading)
Justin Stroman on Oh! My Goddess (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Kane Bugeja on vol. 6 of Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign (Snap 30)
Matthew Warner on vol. 18 of Tegami Bachi (The Fandom Post)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 8 of Tiger & Bunny (Sequential Tart)
Frank Inglese on vol. 7 of World Trigger (Snap 30)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 1 of Yo-Kai Watch (Sequential Tart)
Dustin Cabeal on vols. 1-2 of Yo-Kai Watch (Comic Bastards)
Paige Sammartino on vols. 1-2 of Yo-Kai Watch (Women Write About Comics)

PS: Our Manga Bookshelf colleague Ash Brown is giving away the first volumes of four awesome shojo titles from Kodansha Comics, including LDK, Let’s Dance a Waltz, My Little Monster, and one of my personal favorites Say I Love You. Don’t dally; the contest closes on December 2nd!

Brigid Alverson · November 23, 2015

Wondering what to read? I picked some promising titles from November’s new releases. [Barnes & Noble Sci Fi/Fantasy Blog]

Viz owns this week’s manga-best-seller list: Volume 1 of Tokyo Ghoul is in the number one slot, and volume 3 is lurking at number 4. All three volumes of One-Punch Man are there, as well as the latest volumes of One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and My Hero Academia, and vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. [New York Times]

BookWalker just added 35 more manga volumes, including Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Sun-Ken Rock, and And Yet the Town Moves (Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru), a favorite of mine since I interviewed the creator, Masakazu Ishiguro, and his editor at NYCC a couple of years ago. [Anime News Network]

AstroNerdBoy writes about scanlation in the wake of several arrests in Japan, one of a deliveryman who was stealing magazines en route from the printer to the newsstand, the other of five other people who were uploading scans to the web before the release date. He talks a bit about how bootleg sites operate and also points out that two scanlation groups have closed up shop, although the arrests may have just hastened the inevitable. [AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog]

Erica Friedman lines up all the latest yuri manga news in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

Gangsta is going on hiatus because the manga-ka, Kohske, is having health problems. [Anime News Network]

Shiro Amano has confirmed that his Kingdom Hearts series is over. [Anime News Network]

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 6 of Ajin (The Fandom Post)
Sakura Eries on vol. 6 of Barakamon (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 65 of Bleach (WatchPlayRead)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 56 of Case Closed (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Cider to Nakimushi (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 27 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 6 of High School DxD (The Fandom Post)
Richard Gutierrez on vol. 1 of The Honor Student at Magic High School (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (WatchPlayRead)
Connie on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency (I Reads You)
Connie on vol. 10 of Junjo Romantica (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Kiss of the Rose Princess (WatchPlayRead)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Helen on vol. 2 of The Morose Mononokean (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 7 of No. 6 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of Noragami (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Say I Love You (the Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of School-Live! (Anime News Network)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Secret (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of The World’s Greatest First Love (Comics Worth Reading)

Katherine Dacey · November 20, 2015

File this column under I’m Not Dead Yet! November has been hectic, and it shows; my last post was over a month ago. Today’s column is an attempt to get back on track with regular updates. On the agenda are reviews of Kill la Kill, an adaptation of the wildly popular anime, and Platinum End, a new shonen series with an impeccable pedigree.

Kill la Kill, Vol. 1
Comic by Ryo Akizuki; Story by TRIGGER and Kazuki Nakashima
No rating (best for readers 13+)
UDON Entertainment, $12.99

In my small and unscientific sampling of manga based on anime, I’ve read a lot of duds. Wolf’s Rain and Cowboy Bebop, for example, both fell flat in print, conveying little of the personalities or plot intricacies that made both animated series compelling. Kill la Kill is a more artful transfer of show to page, but suffers from some of the same issues as other anime-cum-manga.

Like the anime on which it’s based, the Kill la Kill manga see-saws between flamboyant parody and straight-faced action, mixing jokey conversations with bone-crunching fights. Navigating these tonal extremes in print proves challenging, however. The manga is funniest when skewering tropes that don’t need sound effects or color to make the joke stick–like equipping characters with goofy weapons or populating Honnouji Academy with students who look like extras from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.

The artists’ desire to spoof other cliches fall flat. On the page, heroine Ryuko Matoi’s barely-there power suit seems like blatant pandering to the male gaze; the artistic team lavishes considerable attention on Ryuko’s body, lovingly depicting her torso and buttocks from myriad angles. On the screen, however, the addition of sound puts a different spin on the material. The cheerful voice acting, peppy music, and snappy sound effects transform an exploitative sequence into an absurd riff on the indignities of fighting in a costume that consists of two well-placed suspenders and a dinner napkin. It isn’t deep, but it is funny, highlighting the stupidity of the “power up!” sequence that’s ubiquitous in anime, manga, and tokusatsu.

The manga suffers from the absence of color and sound in other passages, too. Without a voice actor to modulate the dialogue, almost EVERY PAGE READS LIKE THIS!!! OMG!!! ARE YOU LAUGHING YET??!!!! By the end of volume one, I felt pummeled into submission rather than amused by the affectionate send-up of Japanese pop culture’s most ubiquitous storytelling conventions.

The verdict: The manga looks like a million bucks, but the script strains too hard for effect.

Platinum End, Chapter 1
Story by Tsugumi Ohba, Art by Takeshi Obata
Rated T+, for teens over 13
VIZ Manga, $.99 (digital only)

Over the last twelve months, VIZ has been experimenting with digital-first releases, a strategy that’s worked well for high-profile shonen titles like One-Punch Man and Tokyo Ghoul. It’s not surprising, then, that VIZ is using the same roll-out for Platinum End, the latest collaboration between Death Note creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. This time, however, VIZ is making the first chapter of the series available as a stand-alone option–a decision that may backfire if other readers find it as off-putting as I did.

The main issue is the story. It’s mawkish and violent, shamelessly manipulating the reader into feeling sorry for a sullen protagonist by mining familiar adolescent themes: “I was born into the wrong family!” “No one will miss me when I’m gone!” “They’ll be sorry when I’m powerful/rich/famous!” We’re first introduced to Mirai as he’s leaping to his death. As we learn through flashbacks, he was orphaned at eight, and forced to live with an aunt and uncle who treated him like a slave. Nasse, a guardian angel, foils Mirai’s suicide attempt and grants him superpowers that are supposed to make him happy.

Lest you worry that Ohba and Obata have lost their taste for violence, Mirai’s first road test of these newfound abilities results in a gruesome, sexually charged scene. Ohba and Obata have stacked the deck firmly against the victims, but the characters are so cartoonishly evil (and visually repulsive) that their punishment registers not as a justifiable act of vigilantism, but as a plot contrivance. Ohba takes other narrative shortcuts in these opening pages, saddling guardian angel Nasse with dialogue that baldly explains her reasons for helping Mirai–an amateurish and lazy way to justify her part in the drama.

Perhaps the most disappointing element of Platinum End is Obata’s artwork. Though the human characters are drawn with consummate attention to detail, Mirai’s angelic sidekick is utterly generic: she’s a wide-eyed cutie with wings, ringlets, and halo. When placed side by side with Obata’s greatest supernatural creations–Death Note‘s Ryuk and Rem–the paucity of imagination is startling. Obata’s shinigamis looked like otherworldly rock stars with their glassy eyes, Frankenstein scars, and feathery protrusions, whereas Nasse looks like something traced from How to Draw Manga (or perhaps a volume of Kobato). That’s a pity, because Obata’s artwork has carried me through rough patches in his other series; here, however, it doesn’t really do much other than emphasize how thin the story is.

The verdict: Platinum End may find its footing in later chapters, but the first 70 pages are such a let-down that I won’t be tuning in for later installments.

Reviews: At Adventures in Poor Taste, Jordan Richards posts a more positive assessment of Platinum End (though he shares some of my reservations about the lead female character). Also weighing in on the first chapter of Platinum End is Justin Stroman, who offers an in-depth, spoiler-heavy review at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses. Foodies may prefer to visit The Manga Test Drive, where Megan R. samples two culinary comics: Mixed Vegetables, a shojo rom-com about rival teen chefs, and Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!, an older Fumi Yoshinaga title.

Mark Pellegrini on vol. 2 of AKIRA (AiPT!)
Connie on Alice in the Country of Clover: Lizard Aide (Slightly Biased Manga)
Helen on The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lori Henderson on Awkward (Manga Xanadu)
ebooksgirl on vol. 12 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Geek Lit Etc.)
Connie on vol. 2 of Citrus (Slightly Biased Manga)
Theron Martin on vol. 27 of Claymore (Anime News Network)
Chris Sims on COWA! (Comics Alliance)
Connie on vol. 13 of Dorohedoro (Slightly Biased Manga)
Terry Hong on Fragments of Horror (Book Dragon)
Jordan Richards on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency (AiPT!)
Christophe on Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Anime UK News)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Kiss Him, Not Me! (Sequential Ink)
Demeiza on vol. 1 of Livingstone (Anime UK News)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Love Stage!! (Comics Worth Reading)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vols. 3-4 of Maid-Sama! (Sequential Tart)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun (Anime News Network)
Kane Bugeja on vols. 1-2 of One-Punch Man (Snap 30)
Al Sparrow on vol. 1 of Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn (Comic Spectrum)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 21-22 of Ranma 1/2 (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Requiem of the Rose King (Comic Attack)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Rose Guns Days: Season One (Girls Like Comics)
Sarah on vol. 3 of Servamp (Anime UK News)
Robert Prentice on vol. 8 of Food Wars! Shogugeki no Soma (Three If By Space)
ebooksgirl on vol. 1 of School Live! (Geek Lit Etc.)
Nick Creamer on vol. 3 of A Silent Voice (Anime News Network)
Danica Davidson on vol. 1 of So, I Can’t Play H (Otaku USA)
Jordan Richards on vol. 1 of UQ Holder (AiPT!)
Austin Lanari on issue 51 of Weekly Shonen Jump (Comic Bastards)
Ash Brown on vol. 8 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Experiments in Manga)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 4 of Yukarism (Sequential Tart)

Katherine Dacey · November 19, 2015

I feel bad for [Manga Panda]. They were doing good for the community. Luckily piracy isn’t killed so easily.” Other posters offered more specific justifications for their scanlation habit:

Brigid Alverson · November 16, 2015

Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo was awarded the Grand Prix d’Angouleme last year, and part of the prize is being invited to be the President of the following year’s festival. Zainab Akhtar has all the details of his planned appearances, as well as a look at the poster he designed. [Comics & Cola]

Wandering Island

Dark Horse has licensed Kenji Tsuruta’ manga Wandering Island. It’s the story of a “free-spirited young girl” who delivers packages in her seaplane; one day she learns of a mysterious “wandering island” and sets out to find it. [Anime News Network]

Kodansha Comics announced yesterday that it will publish Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail prequel Fairy Tail Zero. [Anime News Network]

There’s more Monster Musume coming from Seven Seas: They announced last week that they have licensed the 4-koma series Monster Musume: I Heart Monster Girls. [ICv2]

Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto reflects on the end of his long-running series and the changes that came about in the manga industry during that time—as well as the changes he expects to see in the future. [Entertainment Weekly]

Three men are under arrest in Kyoto on charges that they uploaded a chapter of One Piece to the scanlation site mangapanda—before the issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in which it appears had hit the newsstands. Also under arrest is an employee of a delivery service who allegedly liberated the magazine between the printer and the newsstand and gave it to the scanners. All four are denying the charges. [Anime News Network]

Volume 3 of One-Punch Man tops the New York Times manga best seller list, with the first volume of the new JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure story arc, Battle Tendency, in the number two slot. [New York Times]

Justin Stroman talks to Yoichi Yasumoto, the president of the e-book company BookWalker, about selling digital manga outside Japan. [Organization Anti-Social Geniuses]

The Manga Bookshelf team checks out this week’s new releases. [Manga Bookshelf]

Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

Reporter Justin McCurry looks at some manga controversies in Japan. [The Guardian]

Ardo Omer talks about getting started reading manga, thanks to Sailor Moon and One Punch Man. [Panels]

Reviews: At Brain Vs. Book, translator Jocelyne Allen writes about Inio Asano’s Dead Dead Demons Dededededestruction. Ash Brown looks back at this week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith post this week’s set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf.

Jessikah Chautin on vol. 1 of Akame ga Kill! (No Flying, No Tights)
Ollie Barder on All You Need Is Kill (Forbes)
Helen on The Ancient Magus Bride (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Nic Wilcox on vols. 1 and 2 of Arpeggio of Blue Steel (No Flying, No Tights)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 4 of Assassination Classroom (The Fandom Post)
DJ Horn on vol. 1 of Black Bullet (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Certain Scientific Accelerator (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 27 of Claymore (The Fandom Post)
Richard Gutierrez on vol. 1 of Dragons Rioting (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Golden Time (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Scott Cederlund on Gyo (Panel Patter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Horimiya (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (Manga Report)
Kristin on vol. 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Zainab Akhtar on Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Comics & Cola)
Ash Brown on Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Experiments in Manga)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Kill La Kill (Every Day Is Like Wednesday)
Thomas Maluck on vol. 1 of Monster (Perfect Edition) (No Flying, No Tights)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Murciélago (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of Mushishi (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (I Reads You)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 76 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Oresama Teacher (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jarius Taylor on chapter 1 of Platinum End (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 2 of Requiem of the Rose King (The Fandom Post)
Laura on vols. 1-3 of So Cute It Hurts! (Heart of Manga)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Strike the Blood (ICv2)
Sakura Eries on vol. 3 of Sword Art Online: Progressive (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 10 of Triage-X (The Fandom Post)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 5 of UQ Holder (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of Vinland Saga (Experiments in Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of The World’s Greatest First Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Yukarism (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Yukarism (I Reads You)
Anna N on vol. 4 of Yukarism (Manga Report)

MangaBlog

The Manga Revue: Giganto Maxia

January Releases and Why We Like One-Punch Man

The Manga Revue: Idol Dreams and Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun

The Most Anticipated Manga of 2016

The Best and Worst Manga of 2015

Best of 2015—and This Week

SJ to Publish Boruto One-Shot and Series

The Manga Revue: Junji Ito’s Cat Diary

Fruits Basket Is Back!

RIP Shigeru Mizuki

The Manga Revue: Deadman Wonderland and Livingstone

More Books on BookWalker

The Manga Revue: Kill la Kill and Platinum End

VIZ Media Issues Statement Re: Manga Piracy

Otomo Going to Angouleme