Like David Taylor, I keep hoping for a different manga title to surge to dominance. It’s not that I have anything against Naruto, but it’s not the only game in town. Looking at MangaCast’s latest report of sales rankings in Japan, maybe there’s hope that Bleach can at least join Naruto in the hit parade? (Both David and John Jakala are big Bleach fans, so it’s well past time for me to give the book a look.)
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Speaking of the hit parade, Brigid finds a Time Magazine interview with Natsuki Takaya, creator of the wonderful Fruits Basket. This article is much more to my liking than Time’s previous foray into manga coverage, but it has a much more specific focus this time around. (Also, I’m a big Fruits Basket junkie.)
“TIME: Fruits Basket has quite a following in the U.S. What do you think are the reasons for its popularity?
“NT: That definitely flatters and pleases me. Thank you very much. As for a reason, I can’t clearly distinguish one, but if people read it and think ‘I like this’ then that alone is enough to bring me joy.”
Yay! I’ve brought Natsuki Takaya joy! It seems only fair, though.
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Since I’m in a manga frame of mind today, I would offer Chikyu Misaki and Off*Beat as two delightful but under-the-radar titles.