Manga News and Information
March, 2007According to Broccoli Books Blog, a Japanese TV show is planning to interview American teenage girls who are shoujo manga fans during a shooting at The Third Planet store located in Torrance. Those interested needs to email Gloria (glokat[at]earthlink[dot]net), all participants will be paid $20 gas/mileage stipend:
Although the doujinshi's author has stopped distributing the work, the Mandarake store in Akihabara has put up a poster that says: "Doraemon - Final Episode for 8,000 yen."
From a translation by ANS:
The website, 464.jp, hosted manga scans that amounted to over 17,000 volumes, including 1,300 titles by nearly 700 authors. In February 2006 the men were arrested and later found guilty of copyright infringement. In June 2006, 464.jp was relaunched as a website that aims to raise new manga artists. Happy White Day from 801 Media Inc! Los Angeles, CA, March 14, 2007- It's White Day and while the "men" of 801 Media Inc. would love to give their adoring fans chocolate and flowers, it is a bit hard considering they are two dimensional, imaginary characters. So instead, 801-chan and Tomo-chan are taking care of the "gifts" and are excited to announce the following additions to 801 Media Inc.'s line-up. Gardena, CA, March 14, 2007 – Juné by Digital Manga Publishing, one of the industry’s most innovative manga licensing and publishing companies, is pleased to announce Hinako Takanaga as their guest for Yaoi Con 2007 (www.yaoicon.com). Manga top 10 according to Tohan. The latest issue of PWCW has two articles focused on yaoi. The first one, "A Year of Yaoi at Iris Print," looks at the history and growth of publisher Iris Print. The second article, "Media Blasters Drops Shonen; Adds Yaoi," looks at how Media Blasters is dropping their shonen titles in favor of a yaoi lineup. Via: Icarus Blog The new comic release list for March 14 2007 from ComicList, compiled by MangaCast. Ken Akamatsu wrote in the 2/27 entry of his online dairy that a Negima-related surprise will be announced in April. Recently Japanese fans discovered a post on actress Ai Tanimoto's blog (currently unavailable), which mentions that a Negima! live-action drama is planned for the upcoming year, and that she will be playing the role of one of the girls. There has been no official confirmation regarding a Negima! live-action drama. The winners of Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga 7 competition have been announced:
From Read Express comes an interview with Eric Wight, creator of Tokyopop's My Dead Girlfriend. ICv2 reports that famed video game company Namco Bandai Holdings, publisher Kadokawa and animation house Toei have recently completed a series of cross-investments. The deal is seen as a effort to strengthen the relationship among all three content producers. Source: ANN Ginger Mayerson from Lincoln Heights Literary Society interviews Digital Manga, Inc.'s CEO Hikaru Sasahara, who talks about himself and how he came to the U.S. Via: Journalista HERNDON, VA - March 12, 2007 - DLSite.com today announced the release of a fully localized, English version of popular interactive full 3D Japanese game, "Please! Shooting Star!".
Also a new series titled Shiritsu Sousei Gakuen by Nikuboshi will begin serialization in issue 17 (3/22) of Weekly Shonen Champion. Source: Ultimatum Chat VIZ Media has announced two new shojo titles in the April issue of its Shojo Beat magazine:
Also confirmed was the news that Sand Chronicles be serialized in Shojo Beat. Source: MangaCast The Beat reports on a rumor that ever since the departure of Kurt Hassler, Borders has been cutting back on its graphic novel division, and as a result "a few publishers are feeling the pinch." In the article "A List Your Manga Should not Be On," MangaCast looks at the recent trend of manga in the U.S. being postponed indefinitely, and how titles being cancelled/put on hiatus is something that should happen in what is considered a mature market today. Adult TV star Ai Iijima (34), author and star of the hentai manga Time Traveler Ai, has announced on her TBS "Sunday Japon" program her plan to retirement from the show business. Shogakukan has announced the suspension of its BL (Boy's Love) light novel label Palette Bunko. The last light novels published under the Palette label were released in December 2006. The Palette Bunko will be replaced by two new light novel labels, Gagaga and Lululu, from Shogakukan in Fall 2007.
The report says that tankoubon sales have been decreasing for the past two years, and that manga magazine sales have been decreasing 11 years in a row. The decline of manga magazine sales was especially noticeable, which indicates that the readers are moving away from the magazine field.
Source: animeOnline On the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending March 4, VIZ Media's Naruto volume 13 ranks at #42, Death Note volume 10 ranks at #149, and Del Rey's Negima! volume 13 ranks at #83. The Star Online has published an article titled "Maids in Canada," which looks at the new iMaid Cafe that opened a few years ago in Toronto, Canada. From the article: "A TINY eatery decorated almost completely in black and white is creating a big buzz in Toronto, Canada, but it’s not the decor getting attention – it’s the servers, who all wear French maid outfits." |
Manga Zombie
Finale: Panelosophy
An ongoing conversation about the philosophy behind manga both in the U.S. and abroad. Manga Ranking
Monthly charts of comparative manga rankings based on aggregate online sales listings from Matt Blind. |
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