Brave10's Shimotsuki Draws Manga of Kikuchi's Mephisto

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

Manga creator Kairi Shimotsuki (Brave10,Madness, Devil Kings Basara) will launch her adaptation of Hideyuki Kikuchi's Makai Ishi Mephistonovel series in the second issue of Media Factory'sMonthly Comic Gene magazine on July 15. The original novels follow Doctor Mephisto, a practitioner of medicine and supernatural magic who has appeared in Kikuchi's other works such as Demon City Shinjuku,Darkside Blues, Demon Palace Babylon, and Yashakiden.

Shimotsuki already launched another manga series, the Brave10 S (Spiral) sequel series (pictured right in above illustration), in the first issue of Monthly Comic Gene last week. To celebrate Monthly Comic Gene's second issue and the launch of Shimotsuki's two series, Shimotsuki will hold a signing session at ANIMATE's Ikebukuro store in Tokyo on July 16.

Tokyopop published Shimotsuki's Madness manga and acquired her first Brave10 manga series. (Tokyopop did not publish Brave10 before closing its North American division last month.) Digital Manga Inc. has published some of the novels and manga with appearances by Doctor Mephisto, such as Yashakiden. Udon Entertainment published Shimotsuki's Devil Kings Basara manga.

Source: Comic Natalie

M×0's Kano to Start Kagami no Kuni no Harisugawa Manga

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

This year's 29th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is announcing on Monday that manga creator Yasuhiro Kano is launching a new romantic comedy series called Kagami no Kuni no Harisugawa in the 31st issue on July 11.

The 29th issue of Shonen Jump also announced that creator Ryōsuke Takeuchi and artist Masaru Miyokawa will launch their St&rs manga series in the 30th issue on July 11. The story wil follow a boy and a girl who dream about becoming astronauts. This is the debut manga series for both Takeuchi and Miyokawa.Kano's previous Shonen Jump series were Pretty Face (2002-2003) and M×0 (2006-2008).

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There,Lewis Carroll's sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is titledKagami no Kuni no Arisu in Japanese. Other Japanese wroks that have paid homage to this novel include Yes! Precure 5: Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibōken!, and the Musical Minky Momo: Kagami no Kuni no Princess play.

Source: Hisashi Sasaki via Manga News

New English-Translated Manga Magazine Gen Launched

Repost from Anime News Network [link]

A new monthly magazine namd Gen has launched with original manga by Japanese underground artists, and the first issue available as a free download. Gen is a digital magazine with limited-edition print copies.

The Manga Maniac Cafe website interviewed the magazine's editor-in-chief Robert McGuire. McGuire said that Gen will feature "seinen and dōjinshi manga" for the adult market, made bydōjin circles in Japan. "We aren't a traditional publisher that buys rights to already existing titles," McGuire said. "We find Japanese underground artists to create original manga for Americans. We translate the work as it is created and publish for our readers first."

McGuire also said that his company Gen Manga Entertainment was working on an online version of the magazine that would be readable on all devices."

Gen issue 1 contains 140 pages and four stories, in black and white. In addition to the download, a print copy is avaiable from Amazon for US$9.95.

[Via Manga Mania Cafe.com, Mangablog.net]

UraBoku Boys-Love Manga Gets Stage Play in Japan

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

Hotaru Odagiri's fantasy boys-love manga Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru (Betrayal Knows My Name, often shortened to Uraboku) is being adapted into a live-action stage production which will run in the Ginza district of Tokyo from December 21 to December 25. The August issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Asuka magazine made the announcement on Friday. The adaptation is being planned and produced by Kitty, who is also involved in the upcoming stage version of Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Odagiri launched the still-ongoing manga in 2005. The story revolves around an orphan teenager named Yuki Sakurai who strives for independence after spending his child being cared for by his adopted family. However, Yuki has a mysterious ability to feel the emotions of anyone who he touches. One day, a man named Zess appears in Yuki's life claiming to be his brother. Yen Press announced at last year's Comic-Con International that it had acquired the North American rights to the manga.

Many anime, manga, and gaming franchises have been adapted into stage shows, most famously Bleach and Prince of Tennis. More recent examples include Yuu Watase's manga Fushigi Yûgi and the Saint Seiya manga.

Source: Comic Natalie

Crunchyroll Announces JManga Closed US Beta

Reposted from AnimeNews.biz [link]

After months of quiet development, Crunchyroll has announced its JManga portal closed beta for the US market, which will initially be available during the first week of July via lottery with selected users being able to register on the site and directly impact the makeup of the new online manga portal via direct feedback.

The portal was announced through a series of press releases last year announcing a new deal with Japanese digital publisher Bitway with an investment of $750,000 in order to develop a new manga portal using Crunchyroll’s current content management system. The JManga portal is currently available in Japan as a closed beta, with preliminary pricing set at ~$9 per chapter.

Kannagi Manga to Return on July 27 in Japan

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

Manga creator Eri Takenashi confirmed in a Friday blog entry that she will resume her Kannagi series in the September issue of Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Rex magazine on July 27. A commercial ran during a rerun of the Kannagi television anime at midnight to also announce the manga's return. Not only will the September issue of Comic Rexfeature the manga with a color opening page, but Takenashi will also illustrate the cover.

Takenashi added that the manga will return for three consecutive chapters at first. After that, the schedule will be irregular depending on her health; she will aim to create a new chapter every two months or every three months. She apologized for the less frequent release schedule.

Her hiatus began in January of 2009 due to poor health; Takenashi had been recovering after her debilitating illness and resulting surgery in December of 2008. She wrote in an August 2009 blog entry that she was slowly going back to the routine of normal life, but she added that she would rest from drawing for at least one more year. Shinichi Yuhki, a manga creator who happens to be Takanashi's brother, launched a Kannagi spinoff manga called Kanpachi in Comic Rexlast year. The return of Takenashi's own manga was first announced last year.

The manga's story centers around Nagi-sama, a goddess who comes to life before an art student when he carves a statue from a Kannagi tree. Takenashi had been serializing the manga in Comic Rex since the magazine debuted in December of 2005. Ichijinsha has compiled and published six volumes, and 2 million copies are in print.

Bandai Entertainment is releasing both the 2008 Kannagi anime and the original manga in North America, and ANN is streaming the anime episodes.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web

Petit Eva Designer Ryusuke Hamamoto Launches New Manga

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

The July 7 issue of Enterbrain's Weekly Famitsu, released on Thursday, launched Hiyokobocchi, a new series by manga creator and designer Ryusuke Hamamoto. The creator is also launching a new manga series called Sayuririin the August issue of Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Rex magazine on Monday.

Hiyokobocchi's protagonist is a mysterious girl who was born from an egg. In the first chapter, the girl, who believes she is human, is treated like a monster.

Sayuriri is the serial version of "quip," a one-shot manga that Hamamoto drew in Monthly Comic Rex earlier.

Hamamoto, who also goes by the name "Ryu Moto," designed the characters in the computer-animated Petit Eva ~Evangelion@School~ project (pictured at right) and other spinoffs based on Gainax's Neon Genesis Evangelion televisionanime series. He also drew Image Comics' Compass comic series and the LR Shōjo Tantei Dan manga. Along with other artists, he contributed to the Comic Artists - Asia and Hon anthologies.

Hamamoto visited FanimeCon and Kintoki-Con in Northern California in May and June.

Source: Comic Natalie

Image © Gainax, Khara

Comics House Facebook Page reach 888 Likes within a month

Comics House official Facebook page with 888 likes within a month is not just a number. Thank you for all the support from the fans.

Those Who Hunt Elves' Yu Yagami Starts Mottai-9 Manga

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

Yu Yagami, the manga creator of Those Who Hunt Elves, is launching a new comedy series called Kankyō Hogo-Tai Mottai-9 (Evironmental Protection Team Mottai-Nine) in the online magazine Flex Comic Next.

The story centers around Ryōta Yonekura, a young man whose motto was "Don't be wasteful." While touring an environmental organization, he comes across the base of a mysterious group called the Kankyō Hogo-Tai Mottai 9. Led by a beautiful woman, the team has vast resources at its disposal such as a giant robot. Ryōta decides to get acquainted with this team in order to show them the true path of not being wasteful.

ADV Manga published part of Yagami's Those Who Hunt Elves manga in North America, and ADV Films released the two anime series. Other projects that Yagami worked on include Sumeba Miyako no Cosmos-sou Suttoko Taisen Dokkoider (Dokkoida?!, released by CMX Manga, Geneon Entertainment, and Sentai Filmworks), Hikkatsu!,Go West! (also published by CMX), and the Yawarakame anime with ufotable.

Source: Comic Natalie via Manga News

Japanese Government Creates English Travel Guide For Anime Tourism

Japan Tourism Organization (JNTO) has made an anime-oriented map for foreign tourists. 'Japan Anime Map' introduces model places of popular anime such as Nishinomiya ("Suzumiya Haruhi"), Nanto ("True Tears"), Ueda ("Summer Wars"), and Washinomiya ("Lucky ☆ Star") as well as sightseeing spots of otaku culture: Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, Ikebukuro Otome Road.

The number of foreign tourists to Japan has dropped more than 50% from the year-earlier for three consecutive months since the earthquake. JNTO will distribute 10,000 copies of Japan Anime Map in the US, China and South Korea to promote the tourism in Japan.

Source: Sankei | Download PDF

New U.S. Speed Racer Comic Announced

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

A new comic series of Speed Racer (the American dubbed adaptation of Tatsuo Yoshida and Tatsunoko's Mach Go Go Go, anime) is slated to ship next summer. Five staff members have been named: Len Wein, Tommy Yune, Robby Musso, Lee Kohse, and James Rochelle.

Wein co-created such American comic characters and titles as Swamp Thing, Wolverine, and The Human Target. Yune previously wrote and drew the Speed Racer graphic novel Born to Race for the 1990s American comic version by Wildstorm Publications. Yune also co-directed the feature film, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.

In the 1960s Speed Racer anime and manga, a teenage race car driver named Speed goes on adventures with his girlfriend, his candy-crazed brother whose best friend is a monkey, and his mysterious brother Racer X (whose real name is Rex). Speed's father, Pops, created the teenager's Mach 5 car The series was remade as a live-action film in 2008 by the Wachowski Brothers.

Digital Manga Publishing released Yoshida's original Japanese manga of Speed Racer in North America. The American Speed Racer comics have been previously published by NOW Comics, WildStorm Productions, and IDW Productions.

Reading manga online with eManga

Reposted from Mangaworld [link]

Reading manga online today is not very hard to find in the internet. There is plenty of free manga online. But also there is a problem with royalty so a lot of manga online has been disabled because of it.

After searching in my old pal google, I found one manga online website and it is called eManga. Emanga is reading manga online and it has a lot of tittle that you can choose. You need a point to read a manga, but you still can read sample so you will know if you really like it or not.

To get a point you can buy it and choose a package point. The cheapest is $5.50 and you will get 500 point or you can enter a promo code if you have one.

So it eManga is not free? Yes…it is not free, but is still worth to try because the quality of manga are very good and you are supporting the publisher to create more manga by buying a point.http://www.emanga.com/

Manga Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin To Be Animated

According to Monthly Gundam Ace August issue, manga Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin was announced to get an anime adaptation. The serialization of the manga has ended in the issue.

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Is Blazing Toward Your Bookstore!

by Brigid Alverson
Reposted from MTV Geek [link]

Viz is kicking things up a notch with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, a new spinoff of the classic Yu-Gi-Oh! series that features high-stakes duels fought from blazingly fast motorcycles. The first graphic novel in the series (which has also been running in Shonen Jump magazine) is due out on July 5 and will come bundled with a special Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Highlander trading card.

The original Yu-Gi-Oh! (the title means "King of Games") featured a nerdy high school student named Yugi who became an unbeatable gamer after solving an ancient Egyptian puzzle. In the first series, Yugi and his companions fight an assortment of villains using different types of games.

Yu-Gi-Oh! started in the Japanese Shonen Jump and was picked up by Viz for the American Shonen Jump; they also released it in graphic novel form, splitting it into several story arcs: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World. Despite the different titles, all these books were released as a single series in Japan, which totaled 38 volumes. Viz has also published Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, a spinoff of the original with a different creative team and different main character.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is yet another spinoff, set in New Domino City, where the inhabitants are all about Turbo Duel, a game fought from motorcycles called Duel Runners. Speed and action are the order of the day here, as hero Yusei Fudo, on his custom-built motorcycle, tries to battle his way from the suburban Satellite City to the big time. Says editor Mike Montesa: “In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, the classic card game of dueling monsters has evolved to now include ‘turbo duels’ waged in giant stadiums on fantastic racing motorcycles outfitted with built-in magical dueling equipment."

The creative team is made up of two Yu-Gi-Oh! veterans: Writer Masahiro Hikokubo was both a duel designer and a scriptwriter for the anime, and artist Masashi Sato worked as an assistant to the earlier Yu-Gi-Oh! creators.

YU-GI-OH! 5D’s © 2009 by Masahiro Hikokubo, Masashi Sato/SHUEISHA Inc.
© K. Takahashi
© NAS・TV TOKYO

Shogakukan Publishes Doraemon Earthquake Survival Guide

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

Image courtesy of Persepe [link]

The Japanese publisher Shogakukan is publishing a Doraemon earthquake survival guide on Thursday. The survival guide is geared toward both parents and children.

The 96-page illustrated book, titled Oyako de Yomou! Doraemon no Jishin ha Naze Okoru Dou Mi wo Mamoru (Parents and Children Read! Doraemon's Why do Earthquakes Occur? How Do I Protect Myself?) sets out to have the character of Doraemon answer questions for elementary-school children such as "why do earthquakes happen?," "what should I do if an earthquake occurs?," and "how should I prepare for an earthquake?" in an easy-to-understand way.

The second half of the book gives information for parents for how to protect children in an emergency, no matter where they are, and gives recommendations for disaster prevention tools. The book also contains a "survival card" for children to keep on hand that lists contact information for family members.

The Short Stack - New Manga For June 21

by Brigid Alverson
Reposted from MTV Geek [link]

This is a big week for new manga releases, with the uncut edition of Tenjho Tenge making its debut, a last round of new titles from Tokyopop hitting the shelves, and lots of new volumes in continuing series like Fullmetal Alchemist, 20th Century Boys, and Higurashi: When They Cry.

If I could only buy one book from this week's new releases, it would be vol. 15 of 20th Century Boys. It's a tough pick because the series is pretty far along, but Naoki Urasawa's clear, expressive art, combined with a compelling story, make this one of my favorite manga. The story revolves around a group of boys (and one in particular) who once dreamed of saving the world and now find that a shadowy cult has taken their childhood game and turned it into a blueprint for world domination—which means these former friends are the only ones who can save the world. It's filled with plot twists and quirky characters, and I highly recommend picking up this series.

Tenjho Tenge was the subject of a wave of fan outrage when CMX first published it in 2005, because they tried to make an 18+ book into a Teen-rated book by covering up the naughty bits. This provoked a wave of fan outrage, boycott threats, and even a website dedicated to the sins of CMX (this has since disappeared). Nonetheless, TenTen was CMX's best-selling books, and it's smart of Viz to pick it up. It's not for everyone, though: The story of two fighters in a high school that apparently specializes in brawls, it's filled with violence, fanservice, and sexual references, and this time, Viz is publishing it as is, rated 18+.

Given the choice, I'd rather pick up vol. 3 of Afterschool Charisma instead. It's a brainier, less violent, less exploitative manga set in a high school where the students are all clones of famous people. (You can read some sample chapters at the SigIKKI website.) Kate Dacey says that the story "finds its legs" in this third volume with a plot twist that puts everything into perspective, so I'm eager to check it out.

From the Tokyopop stack, the big news is the final volume of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory, but my pick would be another volume of Deadman Wonderland, a battle manga set in a prison that doubles as a theme park, with the prisoners pitted against each other in creatively deadly battles to amuse an audience that thinks it's all staged. The main character, Ganta Igarashi, winds up there after being framed for the murders of his schoolmates, but he is far from an ordinary prisoner, and he gets help from a very strange girl who comes crashing into the picture at crucial moments to offer a helping hand.

It's not all boobs and battles this week, however. The Tokyopop list includes vol. 8 of Happy Cafe, a comedy about a teenage girl working in a small cafe with two wacky older men; it's a formula that has been done better in other venues (Antique Bakery, Cafe Kichijoji de), but this is still a fun, light shoujo series. Kodansha Comics has a new Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series due out this week, and Sean Gaffney says it's a real story this time, not a collection of short doujinshi.

And for those who like a good supernatural story with a touch of bishonen, check out a new series from Yen Press, The Betrayal Knows My Name, about a teenager with strange psychic powers. This manga looks like it has a bit of a Vampire Knight vibe, and it definitely has promise.

Magazine E-no to Be Replaced by New Mag This Fall

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

The website for Kodansha's Magazine E-no announced on Wednesday that the magazine will cease publication with its 14th issue, which was released on Wednesday. A new magazine is slated to replace it in October.

The announcement noted that three manga from Magazine E-no — Ikku Masa's Sakura Taisen: Mangaban Dainibu (Sakura Wars Part II), Jun Shindo's Red Eyes, and Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. — will continue in the new magazine. The fate of tankōbon (compiled book volumes) for the manga published in the magazine will be announced at a later date.

Other manga running in the magazine include Ichiru Yasuhara's Danshi no Majo, Maruboro Akai's Golf 13, Takeshi Hirai's Hanbijiburu, and Takuji's Meteo-san Strike Desu!

Hisaya Nakajo to Launch Short Hana-Kimi Manga Series

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

This year's 14th issue of Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine announced on Monday that Hisaya Nakajo will launch a short Hana Zakari no Kimi-tachi e (Hana-Kimi) manga series starting in the magazine's 17th issue on August 5.

The magazine also announced that Nakajo would be launching a two-chapter Wild Kiss manga in the 15th issue on July 5. The story of Wild Kiss follows a student named Tomoki Asakawa and a mysterious boy named Chihiro Yoshida.

The Hana-Kimi manga inspired a 2007 live-action television series and a second live-action series which will premiere next month with AKB48 idol group member Atsuko Maeda.

Viz Media published the Hana-Kimi manga in North America. Besides the two Japanese live-action television series, the manga also inspired a live-action television version in South Korea and a 2006 live-action television version in Taiwan.

Viz Adds Sanrio's Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll Manga

Reposted from Anime News Network [link]

Alexis Kirsch, a staff member of the North American manga publisher Viz Media, revealed last week that the company acquired the Fuwa Fuwa Cinnamon manga by artist Yumi Tsukirino (Magical Pokémon Journey, Miracle! Mimika) and writer Chisato Seki. This full-color manga about the Sanrio's popular long-eared canine character will have the English title Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll.

The manga ran in Shogakukan's Shōgaku Ichinensei, Shōgaku Ninensei, Shōgaku Sannensei, Shōgaku Yonnensei, Shōgaku Gonensei, and Pucchigumi magazines from 2004 to 2008, and Shogakukan published five compiled book volumes. The Cinnamon/Cinnamoroll character also starred in an 2007 anime film called Cinnamon the Movie from the anime studio MADHOUSE.

New York Times Manga Best Seller List, June 5-11

The New York Times newspaper has listed the manga bestsellers in the United States for the week ending on June 11. Not all of the works are produced in Japan.


1. Naruto Vol.51 by Masashi Kishimoto

2. Vampire Knight Vol.12 by Matsuri Hino

3. Bleach Vol.35, by Tite Kubo

4. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol.25 by Hiromu Arakawa

5. Ouran High School Host Club Vol.16 by Bisco Hatori

6. Blue Exorcist Vol.2 by Kato Kazue

7. Bakuman Vol.5 by Tsugumi Ohba

8. One Piece Vol.57 by Eiichiro Oda

9. Maimum Ride Vol.4 by James Patterson and NaRae Lee

10. Claymore Vol.18 by Norihiro Yagi

(Source: The New York Times)

Japanese Manga Newspapers Report Current Events in Graphic Detail

By Brian Ashcraft  May 24, 2010  |  12:00 pm  |  Wired June 2010

Reposted from Wired [link]

Japan is newspaper-crazy. Its biggest daily, Yomiuri Shimbun, has 10 times the circulation of The New York Times. For now, at least. Just as in the US, young people in Japan aren’t reading newspapers as often as their parents. But the Japanese have a solution: Manga No Shimbun (Manga Newspaper), an online outfit that covers the week’s events in comic book form. These aren’t the funnies or political cartoons—they’re actual news articles about everything from foreign policy to pop culture to murder trials. The site employs more than 100 manga artists to cover breaking stories, updating 10 or 15 times a day. Graphic style varies—some pieces are in color, others black-and-white; some exaggeratedly kawaii (cute).

Manga News is also available via iPhone app and will come to Android and other mobile platforms later this year. There’s even talk of international versions. Good idea, but what happens if Astro Boy gets elected to parliament?

Comics Directory Updates v0.1.3

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Girls “Prefer Shonen Manga to Shoujo Manga”

Repost from Sankaku Complex [link]

It is being claimed that girls are now more interested in male-marketed shonen manga than in the shoujo manga publishers think they are supposed to be reading.

The report:

“Question: Do you prefer shonen manga to shoujo manga?”

All love shonen manga (assuming they were not confused by the many meanings of “O” and whatever was on the other card, and that they were even given any choice in how to vote by the producers), and not the marvels of shoujo manga, it would seem.

Manga fans have now been left pondering the seemingly paradoxical prospect of a shonen manga magazine exclusively targeting this promising female demographic, and just whether this supposed trend is actually offset by all the men reading female-oriented manga for the perverted sexual antics such publications are so fond of.

Manga News: Naruto Tops The Best-Seller List, Tokyopop Ships New Titles

by Brigid Alverson
Reposted from MTV Geek [link]

It was a fairly quiet week in the world of manga, with a handful of new releases from Digital, Seven Seas, and Viz to keep us from getting bored. Viz also announced the addition of six new series to its iPad app, including the relatively new Cross Game, the critically acclaimed Children of the Sea, and the classic shoujo manga Backstage Prince.

Here's a bit of a surprise: Although Tokyopop closed its doors on May 31, it looks like comics retailers will receive a shipment of Tokyopop manga next week. This batch includes the final volume of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory, new volumes of Deadman Wonderland, Fate/Stay Night, and Happy Cafe, and first volumes of two new (but sadly doomed) series, Ghostface and Maid Shokun.

This week's New York Times manga best-seller list is up, and it's a Viz-fest, with nine titles from Viz and just one from Yen Press. Topping the list is vol. 51 of Naruto, followed by vol. 12 of Vampire Knight and vol. 35 of Bleach, showing that the older series still have staying power.

At Anime Next, Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez confirmed that Vertical will publish an omnibus edition of Osamu Tezuka's Dororo, which they had previously published as three separate volumes.

Vampire Hunter D is now available in every imaginable digital form—for the Kindle and Nook, as an iPad app, via comiXology's Comics app, and on Digital's own eManga website. Lori Henderson took a look at the variation in price between the different channels and drew some interesting conclusions.

News from Japan: CLAMP announced that they will bring their manga Kobato to an end next month. The series is published in the U.S. by Yen Press. Arina Tanemura (The Gentlemen's Alliance +, Full Moon O Sagashite) is starting a new series featuring the idol group Fudanjuku. And Japanese pop culture expert Roland Kelts contrasts American enthusiasm with Japanese ennui in a gloomy column for the Daily Yomiuri.

Blast from the past: Every week, Jason Thompson looks at an old or classic manga in his House of 1000 Manga column at Anime News Network. This week he turns his steely gaze on the ultimate Manga of Feminist Shame, Hot Gimmick.

Join the Conversation: There's a lively discussion about manga genres going on over at Kate Dacey's blog, The Manga Critic. Kate is launching a Manga for Newcomers project that will recommend manga from different genres—ten sci-fi manga, say—so that sci-fi fans can go straight to what they like. Her first task, of course, is to narrow down the list of genres, and her readers are helping her do just that in the comments section.

Who's reading what? Check out Tim Maughan on 7 Billion Needles, Sean Gaffney on vol. 57 of One Piece, and Michelle Smith on vols. 1 and 2 of Twinkle Stars, by Fruits Basket creator Natsuki Takaya.

Comics Directory Updates v0.1.2

Comics Directory v0.1.2
- Add 'Genre' search function for products
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Comics Directory going Official!

Today, Comics Directory were officially registered and it's time for us to speed things up with our grand opening at the end of this month. Stay tuned for more news and updates from us!


Comics Directory Updates v0.1.0
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Review: The Viz Manga iPhone/iPod Touch app

by Brigid Alverson
Reposted from MTV Geek [link]

The Viz Manga iPhone app is a smaller version of their iPad app, with much of the same functionality, and it certainly is a convenient way to always have a volume of manga on your person.

The Viz iPad app is one of the nicest comics apps I have seen. It's sleek and simple, individual series and volumes are easy to find, and it works very intuitively. The iPad is a great medium for reading manga because the screen size is slightly larger than a manga page, so it feels a bit less cramped and more luxurious. Because it is a single-publisher app, the Viz app doesn't overwhelm you with a barrage of different comics; they highlight a few and make it easy to find the rest with a drop-down menu that gives you a single page for each series. None of this is all that different from other comics apps; it just is executed a little more elegantly.

I tested the iPhone/iPod Touch app on my two-year-old iPod Touch, which runs version 4.2.1 of iOS. I was given a designer's build of the iPhone app, so I couldn't test how it synced with the iPad app, but overall it ran smoothly on the iPod Touch. The interface is simple, and Viz gets bonus points for putting a Settings button on the main menu, something other comics app developers often neglect.

The app opens up to a store, which took a few seconds to load, and the scrolling was a little jerky. Like the iPad app, it offers featured volumes and lets the user search for any series with a drop-down menu. Each volume has a brief catalog page with title and creator info, rating, and a capsule summary. Downloads were reasonably quick, about a minute for a full volume. Because Viz only publishes translated Japanese manga, and doesn't flip it, the app is set up for right-to-left orientation, which means you swipe to the right to turn pages—the opposite of American comics apps.

The biggest issue with the iPod Touch, as opposed to the iPad, is readability. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to read a full page of manga on the small screen. I read some sample chapters of Bakuman, Arata: The Legend, and Natsume's Book of Friends, and in every case, I could simply read the page on the screen without magnification.

One thing the Viz app handles differently from other apps is blowing up the page. Double-tap on a comic in the comiXology app, for instance, and you go into Guided View, which not only magnifies the page but displays it a panel at a time, with a tap or a swipe taking you from panel to panel, just as you go from page to page. In the Viz app, on the other hand, double-tapping simply zooms you in. If you touch the screen, the page "sticks" to your finger and you can navigate around the page that way. It's a little clumsier than the panel view systems, but since manga has a huge variety of panel shapes and formats, it's a reasonable compromise.

While the iPad app stores all my manga, the iPod Touch allows 500 MB of storage space, not enough for most people's entire library. Like other iOS apps, though, the Viz app allows you to download a book over and over again once you have paid for it.

Prices are the same for the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch versions: $4.99 for most volumes, although Viz runs frequent specials on individual series or volumes. Right now, for instance, volumes 1-27 of Naruto are marked down to $3.99 on both apps. One big advantage of these apps is that they offer those in-between volumes that are often hard to find in bookstores.

I like my iPod Touch because it's small enough to always carry with me (unlike my iPad), so I'm never stuck anywhere without something to read. It's more comfortable to read manga on the Viz iPad app, but the convenience factor of the iPod Touch/iPhone app can't be beat. I think these apps work best in tandem, but either one is certainly worthwhile on its own.