From Comix Talk comes an interview with rem, winner of Kodansha's 1st International Manga Competition, and Eijiro Shimada, the editor of the Morning 2 magazine.

Also, The Star Online also talks to rem and Eijiro Shimada, as well as runner-up Lim Hwei Lin.

Source: MangaBlog

The Star of Malaysia talks to SelfMadeHero publisher and director Emma Hayley, who talks about SelfMadeHero's Manga Shakespeare series that was launched in March 2007.

Also, the San Francisco Examiner has published a feature on Seiji Horibuchi, founder of Viz Media.

Source: MangaBlog

From About.com:Manga comes an interview with Keiko Takemiya, mangaka of To Terra.... In the interview, Takemiya touches upon her beginnings as a manga artist, her feelings about the
evolution of boys love manga, her reaction to the new To Terra anime series and her take on the manga business today.

From Japan Focus comes a translation of an interview with Nakazawa Keiji, mangaka of Barefoot Gen:

His masterpiece is Barefoot Gen, in which Gen is a stand-in for Nakazawa himself. His works from Barefoot Gen on convey much bitter anger and sharp criticism toward a postwar Japanese politics that has never sought to affix responsibility on those who carried out the dropping of the atomic bomb and the aggressive war (the U.S. that dropped the atomic bomb, and the emperor and Japan’s wartime leaders who prosecuted the reckless war that incurred the dropping of the atomic bomb).

Tokiwa-so (トキワ荘) is an apartment building in Shiinamachi, Tokyo, where now legendary but then up-and-coming mangaka such as Tezuka Osamu, Shotaro Ishinomori (Ishimori) and Fujio Akatsuka once lived, worked together, shared knowledge, and basically meeting up with colleagues and pitting their skills against each other.

In 1954, two young mangaka, Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, moved into Tokiwa-so. The duo, better known by their pen name of Fujiko Fujio, worked alongside the likes of Tezuka, and went on to create Doraemon, which became one of the best-selling manga in the world. While Fujimoto, also known as Fujiko F. Fujio, passed away in 1996 due to an accident, Abiko, Fujiko Fujio (A) is still active in the manga scene.

An interview with Fujiko Fujio (A) was recently published in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine. In the interview, Fujiko Fujio (A) talks about the days he spent at Tokiwa-so, as well as his memories of his colleagues:

Read More »

GRIMES, IA, January 18, 2008 - Anime producer and mega-online anime retailer Right Stuf, Inc. is pleased to welcome Zac Bertschy - executive editor of Anime News Network (AnimeNewsNetwork.com) and managing editor of Protoculture Addicts - to episode 58 of ANIME TODAY.

In this new interview, Bertschy takes a look back at the successes and surprises of 2007, experiments in packaging and distribution, the differences between what series are popular with Japanese and Western fans, and the issues and challenges facing the North American anime industry in 2008.

Read More »

From the Los Angeles Times comes an article titled "The rise of Japan cool," which looks at various Japan-related topics, and comes with an interview with Tokyopop's Stu Levy:

In contrast, Northridge-born Stuart Levy has no problem selling his products to anyone who will buy them. The chief executive of Tokyopop, Levy has made millions licensing and creating anime and manga books and DVDs for America's new breed of comic hipsters.

Source: MangaBlog

Manganovel, a service that offers Japanese manga downloads as well translations offered for sale by users to other users, is hosting the Manglish Contest:

Now Manganovel is hosting the Manglish Contest - Translate Manga Into English. Think up some cool translations of the dialog found in the contest pages on the Manganovel site. There are prizes to be won, with the best translation awarded an iPod touch. Entry is free, so have a go!

The contest began in October last year, the deadline for submission is the end of January 2008. Go here for more information on how to enter the contest.

Mantanweb has interviewed Keiko Takemiya, mangaka of To Terra..., regarding the Manglish Contest, Manga Jouhou has a translation of the interview:

Read More »

In the latest issue of PWCW, Kai-Ming Cha and Ed Chavez interviews Kio Shimoku, mangaka of Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture.

Also available is an article by Calvin Reid titled "Tor Books, Seven Seas Together at Last," which looks at Tor Books' joint venture with manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment.

Read More »

From Bookslut comes an interview with librarian and recent Eisner Award judge Robin Brenner, who authored the book Understanding Manga and Anime last summer. Also included is Robin Brenner's list of the top 10 manga of all time.

Source: ANN