MangaBlog

Hey, y’all… Brigid is at San Diego Comic-Con this week where she’ll wearing several hats: journalist, panelist, and jurist. (That’s right: Brigid is one of this year’s Eisner Award judges!) That means you’re stuck with me for a couple of days. I’ll do my best to fill Brigid’s shoes; you can help out by emailing or tweeting me links to breaking news stories, interesting articles about manga, and, of course, reviews!

Speaking of SDCC, the first news items are beginning to trickle in. VIZ just unveiled its new Android manga app, which is available through Google Play. Users will be able to purchase volumes of popular VIZ titles such as Naruto and Black Bird, as well as issues of Weekly Shonen Alpha. VIZ also announced that it will be publishing Street Fighter x Sanrio: World View, in which characters from the video game duke it out with characters from Sanrio’s vast empire of cuteness.

Yen Press will be doing a graphic adaptation of James Patterson’s forthcoming novel, Zoo. Zoo is something of a departure for Yen; unlike Daniel X and Maximum Ride, the novel is clearly aimed at adult readers. Andy MacDonald is adapting and drawing the manga.

At the Kodansha Comics panel, Dallas Middaugh reviewed the company’s fall line-up, which will include three new titles: Genshinken: Second Season, Missions of Love, a shojo comedy by Emi Toyama (Pixie Pop, I Am Here!), and Danza, a short story collection by Natsume Ono (House of Five Leaves, not simple). Middaugh also announced that Kodansha would be re-issuing Battle Angel Alita: Last Order in a new, omnibus edition in 2013.

Rebecca Silverman interviews Kaze editors David Guelou and Raphael Pennes about Japan: One Year Later, an anthology exploring the aftermath of last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Last but not least, MJ will be hosting the July Manga Movable Feast at Manga Bookshelf. The topic is CLAMP, and the discussion begins on Monday, July 23rd.

News from Japan: The latest issue of Hana to Yume reports that Julietta Suzuki’s Kamisama Kiss will be getting the anime treatment; no word yet on a possible air date, though Akitaro Daichi (Fruits Basket, Kodocha) will direct the series.

Reviews: Over at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson files brief reviews of Bakuman and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan.

Anna Neatrour on vol. 3 of Alice in the Country of Hearts Omnibus (Manga Report)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 2 of The Flowers of Evil (Genji Press)
Jenny on vols. 1-27 of Fullmetal Alchemist (No Flying No Tights)
Kristin Bomba on vol. 7 of House of Five Leaves (Comic Attack)
Paige McKee on vol. 9 of Jormungand (Sequential Tart)
Sean Gaffney on Olympos (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate Dacey on Sakuran (The Manga Critic)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 7 of Tenjo Tenge: Full Contact Edition (Sequential Tart)
Nichole on vol. 1 of Ugly Duckling’s Love Revolution (No Flying No Tights)

San Diego Comic-Con is just around the corner, and you can expect plenty of manga action. I’m going this year, for the first time, so I’ll be handing over the keys to MangaBlog to The Manga Critic, Kate Dacey, for the second half of the week. I’ll have a lineup of manga-related programming later in the week, but a few things are jumping out now. One is that three editors from Japanese Shonen Jump will be guests at Viz’s Shonen Jump Alpha panel on Saturday at noon. Interestingly, the Japanese Shonen Jump has a teaser website up with a countdown that ends on Saturday. Could these two things be related?

The big news broke Friday, at a video event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon: Kodansha and Toei will be producing a new Sailor Moon anime. We don’t know too much more than that it exists, but it will be released simultaneously worldwide. Lissa Pattillo has a bit more at Kuriousity.

Lissa Pattillo has the scoop on the new licenses announced by Digital at Anime Expo.

I looked over the past week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo has her selections in her latest On the Shelf column for Otaku USA. Meanwhile, Sean Gaffney takes a peek at what to expect this week, and at Manga Bookshelf, the team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman has the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

For the second year in a row, Yen Press concluded their talent search without announcing a winner. Deb Aoki talks to Yen editor JuYoun Lee about why this is, how Yen Press finds artists, and what they are really looking for.

Jason Thompson takes a look at the classic sci-fi manga Parasyte in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Tony Yao meditates on the true meaning of strength as expressed in Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond.

Matt Blind looks at the manga best-sellers for the weeks of May 20 and May 27.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast will focus on CLAMP, and it will be hosted at Manga Bookshelf, where MJ posts the Call for Entries.

The Ninja Consultants present their 2012 Anime Boston con report.

Cool things you can only get in Japan at the moment: The omake from vol. 7 of Inoboku and the latest cover of Morning, featuring art from Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond.

Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at the manga magazine Young Ace.

News from Japan: The Japanese Association for Gender, Fantasy, and Science Fiction gave the top prize in its Sense of Gender Awards to Naname no Ongaku (Schräge Musik), by Dolls creator Yumiko Kawahara. Shaman King manga-ka Hiroyuki Takei is creating a one-shot manga for the September issue of Jump Square. Wataru Yoshizumi (Marmalade Boy) is has ended the series Chitose Etc., which ran in Margaret. Also coming to an end: Shigeru Tschushiyama’s Gokudō Meshi, a gourmet manga in which prisoners reminisce about their most memorable meals. JManga has published the first two volumes in English.

Reviews: J. Caleb Mozzocco truly appreciates vol. 1 of Pretty Face, a manga that I have had nothing but mockery for, so go, check out his review at Every Day Is Like Wednesday. At The Hooded Utilitarian, Erica Friedman sings the praises of Sukeban Deka, which has yet to be translated into English. MJ and Michelle Smith discuss some recent releases in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. Also at Manga Bookshelf: This week’s Bookshelf Briefs.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alex Hoffman on Barrage (Manga Widget)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 42 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Khursten Santos on Breathe Deeply (Otaku Champloo)
Kristin on vol. 43 of Case Closed (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Cowboy Bebop (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 1 of Dog x Cat (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Dragon Ball (omnibus edition) (Blogcritics)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Gakuen Prince (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Connie on issue 5 of GEN (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Genshiken: Second Season (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lexie on vol. 2 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Poisoned Rationality)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Harukaze Bitter Bop (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Hetalia: Axis Powers (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sesho on vol. 22 of InuYasha (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Jiu Jiu (The Manga Critic)
Kristin on vol. 9 of Jormungand (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 6 of Kizuna (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on Knight Princess of Orelian and Serilia of Silver (Manga Report)
Sesho on vol. 28 of Naruto (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Anna on Queen’s Stairs and Love Spice (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vols. 14 and 15 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Queenie Chan on Skip Beat! (Queenie Chan)
Manjiorin on vols. 1 and 2 of Slam Dunk (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Kleefeld on vol. 3 of Summit of the Gods (Kleefeld on Comics)
TSOTE on Tabibito no Ke (Three Steps Over Japan)
Connie on vol. 6 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition)
Erica Friedman on vol. 17 of Tsubomi (Okazu)
Lexie on vol. 1 of Until Death Do Us Part (Poisoned Rationality)
Jocelyne Allen on Yagate, Ai ni Naru (by est em) (Brain Vs. Book)
Shannon Fay on Your Story I’ve Known (Kuriousity)

At their Anime Expo panel, Viz highlighted some upcoming titles and announced that Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal will join the lineup of Shonen Jump Alpha.

If you’re mourning the end of Ouran High School Host Club, check out Viz’s new Shojo Beat Facebook page for info about a live Tweetchat with the editor tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, Nico Nico is hosting a live event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon, and the press release promises “an exciting new announcement” that will “surprise the fans.” The editor of the manga and several members of the voice cast of the anime will be there for some behind-the-scenes chat.

Reviews

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Cowboy Bebop (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Genshiken: Second Season (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Jiu Jiu (The Manga Critic)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Rin-ne (The Comic Book Bin)

I wrote up a quick summary of Tokyopop’s Anime Expo panel at MTV Geek (based on the transcript—alas, I wasn’t there), and Deb Aoki has a thorough analysis at her blog as well. At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson looks at the mixed signals Tokyopop CEO Stu Levy is sending out regarding their original graphic novels.

And Viz had a few things to say at Anime Expo as well: They will be rolling out an Android version of their manga app, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal will join the Shonen Jump Alpha lineup in July.

At Manga Bookshelf, we discuss our Picks of the Week. I’m ready for some summer reading!

Matt Blind compiles his latest list of manga best-sellers (online sales), this one for the week ending May 13.

Reviews: Ash Brown takes a look at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Comics-and-More)
Justin and Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Justin on chapter 5 of Barrage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Kristin on vol. 3 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Comic Attack)
Kristin on vol. 4 of Gunslinger Girl (omnibus edition) (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Jiu Jiu (I Reads You)
TSOTE on Manga Jung (Three Steps Over Japan)
Philip Anthony on vol. 2 of Sakura Hime (Manga Bookshelf)

Big news from Anime Expo: Tokyopop had a panel, and they announced they will be publishing that vols. 4 and 5 of Hetalia will be published in North America; Levy said the details are unclear but he is talking to Gentosha about it. Tokyopop will also publish the third volume of the OEL manga Psy-Comm, as print-on-demand books via the anime retail site RightStuf. More on this as it develops…

At MTV Geek I reviewed Viz’s newest shoujo manga, Jiu Jiu.

Erica Friedman rounds up the latest yuri news in her Yuri News Network post at Okazu.

The Yen Press staff blogs about their work on the new (finally complete!) edition of Alice in the Country of Hearts.

The Takehiko Inoue-focused Manga Moveable Feast continues at two sites; at Manga Report, Anna pulls out some of the highlights from the archive of older posts, and at Soliloquy in Blue, Michelle Smith posts the link roundups for days two, three, and four, as well as a special Inoue-themed edition of Let’s Get Visual, with MJ.

Kimi-Chan posts a 2010 interview with Incubus creator Yayoi Neko.

Manga Bookshelf editor MJ talks about manga, blogging, fandom, and girl-friendly comics, among other things, in a wide-ranging interview at women write about comics.

Reviews

Rob Clough on Black Blizzard (High-Low)
Erica Friedman on Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 1 of The Devil Does Exist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rob Clough on A Drifting Life (High-Low)
Connie on Good Morning (Slightly Biased Manga)
Manjiorin on vols. 2 and 3 of Hikaru No Go (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of House of Five Leaves (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 10 of Kamisama Kiss (Slightly Biased Manga)
Emily on Kyou Otoko to Isourou (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of La Corda d’Oro (Blogcritics)
Tom Spurgeon on Mai, The Psychic Girl (The Comics Reporter)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on NonNonBa (Comics Alliance)
Kristin on vol. 4 of Psyren (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Psyren (The Comic book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vols. 1-6 of Slam Dunk (Manga Report)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Vagabond (Manga Xanadu)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-3 of Vagabond (Soliloquy in Blue)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Vagabond (omnibus edition)
Anna on vols. 9 and 10 of Vagabond (omnibus edition) (Manga Report)

It’s that time of the week again: I checked out the list of this week’s new manga releases at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo gave her take in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney has a look at next week’s new manga, which look absolutely stellar, with new volumes of Wandering Son and Drops of God, as well as the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters per Second.

Digital Manga’s Kickstarter drive reached its goal of $20,000 to publish Osamu Tezuka’s Unico, so the second new license has been unlocked: Tezuka’s Atomcat, a feline spinoff of Astro Boy. And if they reach $26,000, which looks likely, they will have yet another license to announce. Christopher Butcher and Johanna Draper Carlson voice some concerns about Digital using Kickstarter this way, but at the newly revived Manga Widget, Alex Hoffman argues that it’s an appropriate way to market a book, although not really necessary with a Tezuka property.

With the year half over (that was fast!), Kate Dacey asks her readers: What are the best new manga of 2012… so far? You can vote for up to five in her poll.

At Soliloquy in Blue, Michelle Smith presents the first roundup of posts in the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast, and at Manga Bookshelf, Michelle and MJ devote this week’s Off the Shelf column to Inoue’s Real.

Jason Thompson devotes this week’s House of 1000 Manga column to the samurai manga Satsuma Gishiden.

Matt Blind has another list of manga best-sellers, this one for the week of April 29. Sailor Moon is still going strong, but it has a bit of competition.

Hey, all of a sudden it’s summer con season! Anime Expo is this weekend, and Deb Aoki has the manga highlights for you. And plan ahead, because Arina Tanemura is going to be the guest at AnimeFest in Dallas at the end of August.

Manga Therapy posts a video of author Helen McCarthy giving the history of manga in just nine minutes.

Ash Brown is giving away a copy of vol. 1 of From Eroica With Love to one lucky reader.

Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at Monthly Gessan, the monthly cousin of the weekly Shonen Sunday.

BIG news from Japan today: Chiho Saito, the creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena, will launch a new series, Torikae Baya, in the next issue of Shogakukan’s Monthly Flowers.

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Alice in the Country of Hearts (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Flowers of Evil (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Kitaro Collection (Three Steps Over Japan)
A Day Without Me on vol. 1 of Kitchen Princess (omnibus edition) (GAR GAR Stegosaurus)
Anna on vols. 1-5 of Real (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on Yume Yori Sutekina (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on Yuri Anthology Dolce (Okazu)

I took a look at this week’s new manga releases at MTV Geek. I also reported on JManga’s new a la carte system, along with some suggestions for manga you can buy with those freely acquired points.

Now this is interesting: Tokyopop will have a panel at Anime Expo. Daniella Orihuela-Gruber will be on the panel, and she clues us in as to what to expect:

I’ll be helping Stu Levy explain what happened to TOKYOPOP in 2011, what we’re doing now and what the future holds. It will be my first time on an official industry panel, so I’m a bit nervous!

We’ll have news, trivia, giveaways and a few surprises! It will be a great panel, especially for Hetalia and Bizenghast fans, so I’ll hope you’ll join us, even if you weren’t originally planning to. Hope to see you there!

It’s time for the Manga Moveable Feast again! This month the focus is on the works of Takehiko Inoue, and it’s being co-hosted by Anna Neatrour (who will archive older links at Manga Report) and Michelle Smith (who is collecting current links at Soliloquy in Blue). Anna and Michelle explain a bit more at Manga Report.

Comics Alliance has a generous preview of Moyoco Anno’s Sakuran up right now; it’s mature content and they say it’s SFW but it wouldn’t fly in my workplace, so your mileage may vary.

Digital Manga wants to bring back Osamu Tezuka’s Unico, an all-ages tale of a cuddly unicorn, and they are running a Kickstarter campaign to fund it. As of this writing, it is almost funded, and if they hit their goal with time to spare, they will announce a second license.

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan will end in this week’s Shonen Jump in Japan (and thus in a couple of weeks in Viz’s Shonen Jump Alpha), but Japanese SJ editor Hisashi Sasaki says the sequel, which will run in Jump Next! in August, will be available in English as well.

ALC and JManga are collaborating to publish three yuri manga series from Comic Yuri Hime: Sorairo Girl Friend, Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu, and Yuru Yuri.

The Sugoi Books Android app is terminating as of August 7. The bad news is that after that date, any book not downloaded onto the user’s device is gone forever. The good news is that the app is so bad that I doubt many people will have anything to lose.

Jason Thompson talks about Kentarou Miura’s Berserk, “one of the greatest, darkest and longest fantasy manga ever made,” in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Nenena discusses the gender aspect of Attack on Titan.

How do you know when a series is going to end soon? Japanese readers suggested some warning signs in a recent survey.

News from Japan: Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto says he knows the end of the series and that the manga is currently heading toward its climax. The next story arc of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan will be in Jump Next!, not its usual home, Shonen Jump. TPeach-Pit (creators of Shugo Chara! and Rozen Maiden) has announced a new series is in the works, to run in Kodansha’s Dessert magazine. Nyankoi! creator Sato Fujiwara has started a free web manga, Ore to Moyashi to Ohanaya-san, in the web magazine Comic Meteor. The Idolm@ster game franchise is inspiring not one but eight manga spinoffs.

Reviews: MJ and Michelle Smith discuss some new yaoi releases in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf. Kate Dacey has some short takes at The Manga Critic. Ash Brown rounds up a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kristin on vol. 5 of Ai Ore (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 12 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on chapter 4 of Barrage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 1 of Excel Saga (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on Fallen Words (Read About Comics)
Connie on Finder Series 6: Passion in the Viewfinder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alexander on issue 12 of GEN (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Hana-Kimi (Manga Xanadu)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 23 of Hayate the Combat Butler (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on Honey Darling (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sweetpea616 on vols. 1-6 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Jormungand (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Kanojo to Camera to Kanojo no Kisetsu (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 32 of Kekkaishi (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Love Hina (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on vol. 18 of Ouran High School Host Club (Manga Report)
Sesho on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 28 of Skip Beat! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Victoria Martin on vol. 8 of Soul Eater (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Sunshine Sketch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 6 of Tenjho Tenge (Full Contact Edition) (Comic Attack)

Deb Aoki takes a closer look at two recently announced manga: Knights of Sidonia, from Vertical, and Kitaro, from Drawn and Quarterly.

Digital Manga has confirmed some new yaoi and hentai licenses.

Lissa Pattillo looks at this week’s new manga releases in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Lissa also has the PR on Viz’s newest shoujo manga, Jiu Jiu.

At Blog of the North Star, Milo continues his look at wrestling manga with a peek at the historical series Cestvs.

News from Japan: Kotaku reports the results of a recent poll asking people what their favorite manga was. Ultimate Venus manga-ka Takako Shigematsu is launching a new series, Nekozuka-san’chi no Gokyōdai, in the July issue of Gekkan Princess. ANN has word of two new Shonen Jump series: Ansatsu Kyōshitsu (Assassination Classroom) by Yusei Matsui (Neuro – Supernatural Detective) and Takamagahara by Jūzō Kawai.

Reviews: Carlo Santos rounds up the best, the worst, and the meh in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Other reviews of note:

Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Drifting Net Cafe (The Manga Critic)
Ken Haley on vols. 8 and 9 of Erementar Gerade (Sequential Ink)
Ed Sizemore on NonNonBa (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna on vol. 28 of Skip Beat! (Manga Report)
Sesho on Tekkonkinkreet (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Lissa Pattillo on Three Wolves Mountain (Kuriousity)

I reviewed the first two chapters of Barrage, the new Shonen Jump series, at MTV Geek, and Justin at OASG is way ahead of me with his look at chapter 3, which just came out yesterday in the newly weekly Shonen Jump Alpha.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers (myself included) discuss our Pick of the Week.

David Brothers talks about why he likes the classic Cyborg 009.

At Blog of the North Star, Milo discusses wrestling manga.

Matt Blind calculates the manga best-sellers for the week ending April 22. It’s always Sailor Moon, isn’t it?

News from Japan: It looks like the magazine to pick up is Asahi Shimbun’s Nemuki; the latest issue features new stories by Gekidan Inu Curry (one of the production designers on the Puella Magi Magica Madoka TV anime), Reraku and Kiriko Yumeji (Le Chevalier d’Eon), and Junji Ito (Uzumaki). Manga-ka Tohru Fujisawa is working on a new GTO spinoff that will focus on Onizuka’s pal Ryūji Danma. The series, titled GT-R, will run in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine. Hideki Ohwada, creator of The Legend of Koizumi, just started another new series, Fūhyō Hakai Tenshi Lovekyuri, in Akita Shoten’s Champion RED.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf bloggers post some short takes in their latest Manga Bookshelf column. Ash Brown looks at another week of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Danica Davidson on vol. 1 of AX (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Black Gate (Manga Xanadu)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 4 and 5 of Cage of Eden (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 6 of Dorohedoro (Comic Attack)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 21 and 22 of Hayate the Combat Butler (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Rebecca Silverman on Honey Darling (ANN)
Danica Davidson on vols. 1-4 of Library Wars: Love and War (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Magic Knight Rayearth (Okazu)
Manjiorin on vols. 1-4 of Please, Please Me (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 8 of Rin-Ne (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Starry Sky (ANN)

Over at MTV Geek, the Kodansha folks allowed us to post an interview with Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama that first appeared in Bessatsu Shonen magazine, along with a preview of the book, which is due out this week.

Shaenon Garrity introduces us to the goofy 1980s wrestling manga Ultimate Muscle (and its sequel, which was published by Viz) in the latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

MJ and Michelle Smith discuss Attack on Titan, Until Death Do Us Part, and other new releases in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Erica Friedman interviews Girl Friends manga-ka Milk Morinaga at Okazu, and she also has the latest Yuri Network News for us.

Lissa Pattillo looks at the best of the past week’s new releases in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA, and back at her own site, Kuriousity, she shows off the latest additions to her Swag Bag.

Three Steps Over Japan checks out the manga magazine Comic @Bunch.

News from Japan: Katsuya Takahashi, the last fugitive from the Aum Shinrikyo cult, surrendered to authorities after being spotted in a manga cafe in Tokyo. Apparently police were aware that Takahashi was a manga reader and had been keeping an eye on manga cafes.

Reviews:

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on vol. 10 Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
Danica Davidson on vols. 4-6 of The Drifting Classroom (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sweetpea616 on vols. 3-5 of Eternal Sabbath (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Kristin on Honey Darling (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on Honey Darling (I Reads You)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Kamen (Comic Attack)
Anna on vol. 14 of Kimi ni Todoke (Manga Report)
TSOTE on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (Three Steps Over Japan)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Milo on Tough (Blog of the North Star)

Sean Gaffney looks ahead to a bumper crop of new manga releases next week.

Matt Blind has posted another list of manga best-sellers, this one for the week ending April 15.

Tony Yao posts some results of a survey that show that Japanese readers still prefer print to pixels.

Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at Monthly Comic Birz.

Wal-Mart will carry Otaku USA in the slot formerly occupied by Shonen Jump, which is no longer published in print form.

News from Japan: Translator Tomo Kimura shows off the variant cover for vol. 14 of Black Butler. Hajime no Ippo creator George Morikawa has is launching a new series, Ai ni Iku yo, which was inspired by Nobumi’s book about the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Ue wo Muite Arukō! (I look up when I walk down). Yellow Tanabe (Kekkaishi) will draw a one-shot titled “Mori no Naka” for Shogakukan’s Gessan magazine. Gaku – Minna no Yama has come to an end, but creator Shinich Ishizuka already has another series in the works. Shueisha’s Young Jump magazine has launched a free spinoff website, for which Eyeshield 21 manga-ka Yuusuke Murata and web manga creator ONE are collaborating on a remake of ONE’s Onepunch-man. Manga creator Jun Hatanaka has died at the age of 62. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on Alice in the Country of Clover: Bloody Twins (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 41 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vol. 10 of Dengeki Daisy (Manga Report)
Rob McMonigal on issue 4 of Gen Manga (Panel Patter)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Hikaru no Go (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Michael Buntag on vol. 1 of Sailor Moon (NonSensical Words)

The newest series from Kodansha Comics, Attack on Titan, is due out next week, and we have an exclusive preview at MTV Geek.

Also, I talked to Robert Newman of JManga about how that digital manga service has evolved over its first year—and the changes yet to come.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Seven Seas confirmed two new licenses this week: Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game, a spinoff of Alice in the Country of Hearts, and Crimson Empire: Circumstances to Serve a Noble, a manga adaptation of another game by Alice creator Quinrose.

Kate Dacey is looking forward to the next Shigeru Mizuki manga, GeGeGe no Kitaro, so she asks her readers: What is your favorite yokai manga?

Matt Blind posts his list of the manga bestsellers (online sales) for the week ending April 8.

News from Japan: There was lots of Baki talk at the launch of Akita Shoten’s Bessatsu Shonen Champion magazine: Keisuke Itagaki announced that he was ending Hanma Baki, which features his character Baki the Grappler, although he may return to the series after a break. Meanwhile, Yukinao Yamauchi announced his new Baki spinoff, Baki Gaiden: Kizuzura, which will run in Bessatsu Shonen Champion. Peach Girl creator Miwa Ueda will wrap up her current manga, Rokomoko, in July.

Reviews: This week’s roundup of Bookshelf Briefs from the Manga Bookshelf team includes quick looks at new volumes of Bakuman, A Devil and Her Love Song, and Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll, among others.

Connie on vol. 11 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on chapter 1 of Barrage (The Manga Critic)
Justin on chapter 2 of Barrage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 12 of Black Bird (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on the May issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Karen Maeda on vol. 9 of Dengeki Daisy (Sequential Tart)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Is This a Zombie? (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 2 of Lizard Prince (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 7 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 18 of Ouran High School Host Club (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 9 of Soul Eater (The Fandom Post)

Vertical has a new license for next spring: The sci-fi manga Knights of Sidonia, by Tsutomu Nihei, creator of Blame and Biomega.

Houbunsha has just put six previews of their manga on JManga; Deb Aoki has a roundup and some short reviews.

Manga-loving librarian Robin Brenner explains why reading manga on a scan site is not the same as checking it out of the library.

Erica Friedman has the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Ryan Holmberg has a fascinating post on the 1920s-1930s magazine Shin Seinen and its influence on manga-ka Shigeru Sugiura. I don’t believe any of Sugiura’s work has been translated into English, but Holmberg’s “visual essay,” done for a Japanese zine on Sugiura, has some interesting juxtapositions of cartoons that appeared in the magazine and Sugiura’s later works, which may have been inspired by them. Be warned that the selection includes some caricatures of Africans that will strike modern eyes as racist, but there is also an interesting full-page cartoon by Dr. Seuss.

Molly McIsaac lists ten manga that are great for children at iFanboy.

News from Japan: Bunny Drop creator Yumi Unita previews her new series, Yokke Kazoku, in the July issue of Manga Life Original. Risa Itou, who won the Kodansha Award for her series Hey Pitan!, has launched a comedy manga about her efforts to lose weight. Hanaukyo Maid Team manga-ka Moreshige has a new series, Sakura Sakura, starting in the premiere edition of Bessatsu Shonen Champion, Akita Shoten’s new shonen magazine. Renjuro Kindaichi’s new series, Arumi-chan no Gakushūchō (Arumi’s Study Guide) is about a robot who passes as a girl—go figure! The Shonen Jump series Inumarudashi has come to an end. And the final volumes of K-ON! will be out in September and October.

Reviews: Ash Brown shares her latest week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 40 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Lissa Pattillo on vols. 40 and 41 of Bleach (Kuriousity)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Durarara!! (Manga Xanadu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of La Corda D’Oro (Blogcritics)
Kristin on vol. 9 of Oresama Teacher and vol. 18 of Ouran High School Host Club (Comic Attack)
Matt Brady on vols. 1 and 2 of Princess Knight (Warren Peace Sings the Blues)
Greg Burgas on Rohan at the Louvre (Comics Should Be Good!)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of xxxHoLic (Blogcritics)

I was at Book Expo America this past Wednesday, taking part in the Hot Graphic Novels panel (in which I recommended several manga, including Sakuran and Jiu Jiu). Linda Yau has a concise writeup of the panel for the Lincoln Heights Literary Society, and Torsten Adair has posted covers, sample spreads, and other info for all the books at The Beat. This was my first time at BEA, and I wasn’t sure what to expect; although it’s not about manga, I enjoyed Emily Gould’s writeup at The Awl, Four Hours in the Totebag Capital of the World. It’s worth the click just for her description of walking to the Javits Center (“conveniently located at the intersection of 34th Street and the Hudson River”).

I went over this week’s new releases at MTV Geek, and Sean Gaffney looks at the week ahead at his blog.

MJ and Michelle Smith discuss some recent releases and even take a request in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Matt Blind has the list of manga best-sellers (online sales) from the week ending April 1.

Shaenon Garrity sings the praises of CLAMP’s X/1999 (now being re-released by Viz simply as X) in her latest stint as guest writer for ANN’s House of 1000 Manga column,

Derek Bown’s latest Combat Commentary is Armstrongs vs. Sloth in Fullmetal Alchemist.

And at Manga Therapy, Tony Yao looks at a key battle in Air Gear.

News from Japan: Puella Magi Madoka Magica illustrator Hanokage is launching a spinoff in October, to coincide with the release of two Madoka Magica movies. Yuna Kagesaki is bringing AiON to an end in the next issue of Monthly Dragon Age. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Kate O’Neil on chapter 1 of Barrage (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on The Bible: A Japanese Manga Rendition (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Cross Game (The Comic Book Bin)
John Rose on vol. 1 of D.Gray-Man (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 2 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 5 of Istuwaribito (The Fandom Post)
Connie on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 2 (Slightly Biased Manga)
TSOTE on vol. 2 of Konjaku Monogatari (Three Steps Over Japan)
John Rose on vol. 55 of Naruto (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on NonNonBa (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 34 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Comic Book Bin)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Kuriousity)
Connie on Rohan at the Louvre (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sweetpea616 on Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 3 of Shadow Lady (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Tank Tankuro (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Until Death Do Us Part (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 2 of X (omnibus edition) (Comic Attack)