February, 2008

Pop Japan Travel and Dream Shoppe are pleased to announce the addition of two lolita icons to our Tokyo Darkside Gothic-Lolita Tour, the first ever tour of Japan just for lolitas. Maki and Asuka, the driving forces behind top lolita brand Angelic Pretty, will meet tour guests at the brand's boutique in Harajuku's La Foret department store, and help find the dress, skirt or accessory that's just right for you! There's never been a more intimate way to meet two of lolita's most influential figures on their home turf.

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Introducing Otaku culture in Akihabara to the world

HimeyaSoft USA has started the English version of AkibaBlog, which introduces "Otaku" culture in Akihabara, since February 14, 2008. Site URL: http://en.akibablog.net/

This is a translated version of AkibaBlog, originally written in Japanese by Mr. Geek.. He talks about "hot" news in Akihabara, one of the most popular subculture cities in Japan. The Japanese version of AkibaBlog, which has 20 million page views a month, is one of the most famous blogs in Japan that talk about Otaku information. AkibaBlog and HimeyaSoft USA get together this time and try to become world's leading information source of Otaku culture.

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Go! Comi is currently looking for new artists:

Go! Comi is seeking a freelance artist or team for a sequential art project targeted toward teenage manga fans, which will be published both as a web comic and as a graphic novel.

Go here for more info.

Source: Kuriousity

ICv2 has released its 2007 anime and manga sales report:

ICv2's manga and graphic novel market estimates aren't available yet, but it does appear that manga had another strong year in 2007 although its rate of growth is clearly slowing.

Also included in the report is ICv2's top 10 manga properties for 2007:

  1. Naruto
  2. Fruits Basket
  3. Death Note
  4. Bleach
  5. Kingdom Hearts
  6. Pokemon
  7. Vampire Knight
  8. Fullmetal Alchemist
  9. Absolute Boyfriend
  10. Loveless

All-New Scandalous Manga Packed with Gossip, Innuendo and Lies About Princess Ai!

Los Angeles, CA (February 2008)- TOKYOPOP, the leader of the global manga revolution, is thrilled to announce the release of Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side. Part of the growing Princess Ai universe of properties, co-created by D.J. Milky and Courtney Love, Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side is a collection of untrue stories, rumors, gossip and bald-faced lies about Princess Ai and her cast of characters. Brought to you by a group of TOKYOPOP's top manga creators, these 12 all-new spurious stories take a totally twisted view of Princess Ai and her friends!

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ANN reports that a lawyer named Masatoshi Uchida is accusing Hideo Iura's manga Bengoshi no Kuzu of plagiarizing a novel he once wrote:

Tokyo lawyer Masatoshi Uchida has accused Hideo Iura's Bengoshi no Kuzu (Scum of Lawyers) manga of plagiarism and petitioned the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday to ban sales of Shogakukan's Big Comic Original magazine. (Big Comic Original has been serializing the Bengoshi no Kuzu manga since 2004.)

Via: MangaBlog

New York, Seattle And Los Angeles Set To Run Visually Inventive Comedy From Director Katsuhito Ishii

San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2008 - VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced a trio of theatrical screenings in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles for its newest film, FUNKY FOREST: The First Contact, throughout March and April. With special press screenings to take place in New York and in Los Angeles.

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From BdZoom comes the top 15 "Bandes Dessinées" (French-style comic books) for the week ending 2/13:

  1. Astérix (12)
  2. Les Schtroumpfs (26)
  3. Lanfeust des étoiles (7)
  4. Jeremiah (28)
  5. L'histoire secrète (10)
  6. XIII (19)
  7. XIII (18)
  8. Merlin (9)
  9. La quête de l'oiseau du temps : avant la quête (2)
  10. Les femmes en blanc (30)
  11. Bunker (2)
  12. Lou ! (4)
  13. W.E.S.T. (3)
  14. Donjon monsters (12)
  15. Le complexe du chimpanzé (2)

Shakespeare has it all, and now you can experience the action and appreciate the intrigue in Shakespeare-- The Manga Edition! From the experts at CliffsNotes® (www.cliffsnotes.com) comes a new reference series that takes reading and learning to another level: The Manga Edition. Manga is a Japanese graphic novel, characterized by highly stylized art, which has grown into a worldwide phenomenon.

February 11, 2008 -- Dreams and schemes! Alliances and betrayals! Murder and mayhem! Passions and poisons! Shakespeare has it all, and now you can experience the action and appreciate the intrigue in Shakespeare-- The Manga Edition!

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From About.com:Manga comes an interview with Patrick Macias, the editor in chief of Otaku USA magazine, and Izumi Evers, Patrick's partner in jaPRESS, (a creative management company that brought Fumiyo Kouno's Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms and Junko Mizuno's Pure Trance to U.S. via Last Gasp).

The interview covers Patrick and Izumi's behind-the-scenes story about how they brought Town of Evening Calm to the U.S., how they wrote Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno, Patrick's work on Otaku USA and their upcoming "top secret" manga
project:

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March 2008 Issue Features Original Cover Illustration By Noted Comic Book Artist Bryan Lee O'Malley And A Range Of Articles On Manga Art And Video Game Design

San Francisco, CA, February 12, 2008 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the content for its annual art edition of SHOJO BEAT magazine, which is expected to hit newsstands nationwide on February 15th. The special issue will feature an original cover illustration of this month’s Beat Girl, the magazine's spokesperson, by noted Canadian comic book artist, Bryan Lee O'Malley. O'Malley also gives insight into his career and influences in a jam-packed interview offering a step-by-step breakdown of his drawing process, and he also contributes a four-panel comic. This issue will also include an article on how some manga favorites are put together, and readers will be able to explore a collection of comics-friendly universities and video game design schools.

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Del Rey Manga has announced a new contest based on Hiro Mashima's manga Fairy Tail:

Ascend to manga heaven. Be the first to read Fairy Tail. E-mail us, and if you're selected, you'll win an advance copy of the book. There's just one catch: You have to write in and tell us what you think!

Send your emails to delreymanga@randomhouse.com with FAIRY TAIL in the subject line, including your full name and address in the body of the e-mail (NOTE: your personal information will not be used for any purpose other than this contest). Ten (10) lucky winners will be selected at random and will receive a copy of the book when it is published. All submissions must be received by Wednesday, February 27, 2008.

Media Factory's monthly manga magazine Comic Flapper is celebrating its 100th issue by relaunching the magazine with all-new content, featuring series from several famous mangaka in the next few issues:

March (100th) issue (2/5):

  • Starting:
    - Christie High-Tension (new story arc) by Kaoru Shintani
  • Ending:
    - Qwan by Aki Shimizu

April issue (3/5):

  • Starting:
    - One-shot by Masaomi Kanzaki

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According to Del Rey Manga's February Newsletter, Del Rey's Editor-in-Chief Betsy Mitchell will be attending the Inc. Conference, which takes place from March 27th - 30th in New York City:

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topThe Mandana Tsushin (Manga Bookshelf Transmissions) Blog ponders who is the busiest mangaka, and has written a series of articles listing the achievements of some of the busiest mangaka in history.

Who do you think was the busiest mangaka in the history of Japanese manga (meaning, I suppose, in the history of the entire world)?

Tezuka or Ishimori, Yokoyama or Akatsuka or Mizuki?

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According to Yaoi Press, its Yaoi Hentai series will be replaced with a new line of yaoi books called Happy Yaoi Yum Yum.

Also, YaoiSuki announces the winners of its Yaoi Press Suki 2008 contest.

Source: Icarus Blog

Anime/manga/otaku blog Japanator has relaunched its website with a new design, and Giapet.net has a review.

Comic Techno, a monthly magazine from Deleter that contains doujinshi information and useful manga-drawing techniques, will cease publication after the release of issue 172, on sale 3/15. According to Deleter, one of the reason behind Comic Techno's discontinuation is due to the skyrocketing price of oil and other goods.

Source: Ultimatum

Canned Dogs is reporting that Core Magazine, one of the biggest adult manga publisher in Japan, is currently looking for blogs to review their newly released products:

Adult book and magazine publisher Core magazine has announced that they are now looking for approximately 50 blogs that are willing to receive newly released books from Core magazine over a 6 month period and review them.

Renowned cartoonist and TV personality Mimei Sakamoto will sign copies of her latest manga ( Japanese-style comic books ) from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at Kinokuniya Books, 123 Onizuka St., Los Angeles.

Sakamoto, whose popular Nippon no Mimei manga series appears in the weekly Japanese magazine "Spa," is co-author of Harvey and Etsuko's Manga Guide to Japan, a zany east-meets-west look at what happens when a cartoon mouse from Manhattan asks a manga cat from Tokyo to help him find the keys to fame and fortune in Japan.

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According to MangaCast, DrMaster has licensed the manga Kage kara Mamoru! by Madara Sai and Achi Taro, and will release the title this June under the title Mamoru The Shadow Protector.

From BdZoom comes the top 15 "Bandes Dessinées" (French-style comic books) for the week ending 1/27:

  1. Astérix (12)
  2. Les Schtroumpfs (26)
  3. Lanfeust des étoiles (7)
  4. Jeremiah (28)
  5. L'histoire secrète (10)
  6. XIII (19)
  7. XIII (18)
  8. Merlin (9)
  9. W.E.S.T. (3)
  10. Bunker (2)
  11. Canardo (17)
  12. La quête de l'oiseau du temps : avant la quête (2)
  13. Le complexe du chimpanzé (2)
  14. Les femmes en blanc (30)
  15. Lou ! (4)

From About.com:Manga comes an interview with Katsushi Ota, editor of Kodansha's Faust magazine, who appeared as Del Rey Manga's featured guest at the 2007 New York Anime Festival:

Q: So how did it happen that you and Del Rey Manga decided to bring Faust to America? Did you approach them or did they approach you?

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