Manga News and Information
JapanManga Jouhou translates an article concerning sexually explicit content appearing in shojo manga. While parents are concerned, the publishers respond by saying: "Love is a big theme in shoujo manga. It is impossible to shut out sexual behaviors, as they are an extension of love." and that "in today's society, children understand that rape and perverts exist. Getting to know them from fictional works like manga will help them understand reality. There has yet to be any cases of crime committed because of manga. If parents feel that there is a problem, they should talk to their children about these manga." A temporary Nodame Cantabile themed cafe has been opened in Harajuku, Tokyo to promote the Nodame Cantabile drama series currently aired by Fuji TV. The cafe will operate in its current form until December 25th. source: MangaBlog A Japanese blog has posted a leaked scan (currently unverified) of Weekly Shonen Jump, which reveals that Takeshi Obata, artist of Hikaru no Go and Death Note, will begin a new serialization titled "Rarugurado" in Weekly Shonen Jump No.1 (New Year's issue), on sale December 4th. The issue will also come with a pencil board with original artwork from Takeshi's. At this time there has been no official confirmation regarding the new series.  Two months ago Shogakukan, Yahoo! Japan, and TV Asahi announced the "Doraemon Magic Project," the largest Doraemon Tool Design Contest ever. In the past two months, Shogakukan received 26,611 letters, TV Asahi received 11,116 letters, and Yahoo! Japan received 3,382 letters, which amounts to a total of 41,109 letters. Judges were surprised by the number of entries. Also worth noting is that many people chose tools that The 2006 Virtual Beauty Expo will be held in the Kyoto Saga University of Arts this month. The exhibition will feature over 113 3D bishojo CG artworks from a group of 57 CG artists under the name "Group C."
Q: Please introduce yourself, what do you do? A: I import Japanese anime and manga to the U.S, and publish my own manga. "TenBu" is a production project to create theme songs and cosplay of my manga. I'm an artist, at the same time I'm a businessman. Manga top 10 according to Tohan. Japanese blog Kuro Tenshi no Blog recently posted a review of the book"AERA COMIC - Nippon no Manga," which is the memorial mook for the 10th anniversary of the Osamu Tezuka Culture Award. The book contains summaries of works and topics related to past Tezuka award winners and most talked-about manga in the last ten years. The book contains many interesting reports on the consistency of Naoki Urasawa's short comic series "Comic Navi for Adults," which was created in an interval of twelve years. Kuro Tenshi no Blog has posted an excerpt of an interview found in the book: Irresponsible Pictures looks at the artistic talents of "Japan in How to Draw: Pop Stars and Other Celebrities":
eBookJapan has announced a manga exam called "Mainichi Kentei." The exam is divided into three categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Questions range from manga history, terminologies, business, culture, and more. Winners will receive E-book gift certificates. Source: Manga Jouhou |
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. |
Today, otaku culture like manga and cosplay are very popular in the West, and Japanese fans are interested in learning more about what the Western otaku scene. Mainichi Shimbun's anime/manga/game news site 
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
