Deb Aoki has started this year’s round of best manga polls over at About.Com, asking readers to pick the Best New Shôjo Manga of 2009. My vote went to
but
came in a very, very, VERY close second.
License request extra: Angoulême selections
December 5, 2009 by
Here are some details on the as-yet-unavailable-in-English manga titles included in this year’s slate of Angoulême award nominees. I apologize in advance if my translations of the French synopses are on the inelegant side. Some of the titles are a little on the obscure side, so I’m not entirely sure about their publishers of origin, either. If you have any more accurate details, please pass them along, and I’ll correct the post.
Je ne suis pas mort, Hiroshi Motomiya, Delcourt
“Okada Kenzô, 60 years old, is laid off the day before his retirement, after a life dedicated only to work. His wife and children leave him, and leave an empty bank account. After a failed suicide, he starts a new life in the wild… An astonishing chronicle of isolation.”
Originally published by Shueisha in Business Jump and Weekly Young Jump.
Le Vagabond de Tokyo, Fukutani Takashi, Le Lézard noir
“Yoshio Hori, 22 years old, is a true victim of the economic bubble of the 1980s. He settles for day jobs at the building sites of Tokyo, subsists on freeze-dried noodles and squanders his pay in hostess bars. His only other choice is life in a lonely room….”
Collected by Seirinkogeisha, though I think it might originally have been published by Houbunsha starting in 1990.
Une sacrée mamie, Saburô Ishikawa et Yôshichi Shimada, Delcourt
“Akihiro, eight years old, had to leave its birthplace abruptly to go to live in open country, with his grandmother Osano grandmother. Poor but merry and proud, she succeeds in providing for her grandson by working as a housekeeper… A delicious family chronicle, with in backdrop Japan of beginning of 1960.”
Originally published by Shueisha in Business Jump.
Sarutobi, Osamu Tezuka, Cornelius
“Adventure, fantasy and humor in Japan of the end of 16th century. Osamu Tezuka shares the exciting life of Sarutobi, a trainee ninja, and, as always with the master mangaka, each page is a subtle combination of energy, finesse and humor. A treat.”
Originally published by Kodansha in Manga King.
License request day: Media Arts Festival honorees
December 4, 2009 by
While it can make me a little crazy, I’m as fond of award season as anyone. And when institutions in Japan announce their manga awards, my fondness is coupled with a serious spike in my covetous streak. So let’s take a look at the comics recognized in this year’s 13th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards, sponsored by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, and try to figure out how badly we want them.
I’ve already begged someone to publish the grand prize winner, Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga, and one of the four excellence prize recipients, Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea, is already being published by Viz (who’s even serializing it online), but that leaves three in the excellence category plus the encouragement prize recipient. We’ll start with the three excellence prize winners:
Imuri, written and illustrated by Ranjou Miyake, is being serialized in Enterbrain’s Comic Beam, which is always a good sign. It seems to be a science fiction story about a boy with a big destiny. Sorry, but that’s all I’ve got. Enterbrain does repeatedly refer to Miyake as a genius in solicitations for her books, and I know of no evidence to the contrary. She also seems to sometimes traffic in that fascinating crossover territory between science fiction and shônen-ai, which often yields intriguing results.
Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kouno, is by the creator of Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, which should be all you need to know to wish desperately that it be licensed for publication in English as quickly as possible. Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni was serialized by Futabasha in Web Manga Action. It seems to be a three-volume drama about adapting to a new life in a new town during the deprivations of wartime. And it’s by Kouno. Who did Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms. What else is there to say?
Hyouge Mono – Tea for Universe, Tea for Life, written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Yamada, is being serialized by Kodansha in Morning. Ed Chavez wrote about Yamada’s work in general and this series in particular for Otaku USA, describing it as guiding “readers through the war rooms of these feudal lords as they worked to unify parts of the country. His passion for his lord is intense, but it can easily be rivaled, if not surpassed, by his appreciation for the world of tea.” It sounds fascinating.
Encouragement prize recipient Hesheit Aqua, written and illustrated by Wisut Ponnimit, was published by what seems to be a relatively small, relatively new publisher called Nanarokusha. Ponnimit has had manga serialized in Shogakukan’s IKKI. From what I can garner, Ponnimit’s winning title seems to be a collection of abstract shorts. Perhaps it’s more likely that we’ll see Ponnimit’s Blanco on Viz’s SIGIKKI site first.
Campus life
November 9, 2009 by
The imminent comic-shop arrival of Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture (which has been in bookstores for a few weeks now) inspired me to devote this week’s Flipped to some fine manga comedies set on college and university campuses. It also inspired me to run this poll as an alternative to actual content development.
Please feel free to mention any titles I missed, licensed or otherwise, in the comments. (I should explain that I excluded The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service from the column because I tend to categorize it with “helpers of the dead” manga instead of “campus comedy” manga.)
Another IKKI update
October 24, 2009 by
Viz has added another series to its SIGIKKI site: Tondabayashi’s What’s the Answer? It’s short, bizarre, and (so far) very funny, so you should go take a look. It reminds me a bit of Usumaru Furuya’s Palepoli cartoons.
Deb Aoki was tweeting some updates on which titles are on Viz’s publishing schedule. Many of them seem to be due for print versions, which is good to hear. I’m also really glad that Viz has added a number of other Natsume Ono titles to its Signature line-up (Gente, not simple, Ristorante Paradiso), because House of Five Leaves has left me with ridiculously high expectations of her work. Seriously, it’s totally unfair that I’m expecting her to be the second coming of Fumi Yoshinaga, but it’s nice to be excited.
And now, a quick poll:
Who will buy…
September 14, 2009 by
This has been a topic of conversation in the manga-oriented corner of Twitter lately, so I thought I’d run a poll. Note that I said “buy” instead of “read” in the poll’s title.
Also on the subject of classics, or maybe not, if you’re looking for a meaty read on the subject as it relates to the possibilities and perils of establishing a manga canon, click right over to this piece by Kate Dacey at The Manga Critic.
Tokyopoll
August 12, 2009 by
Over at About.Com, Deb Aoki provides a wrap-up of Tokyopop’s recent webcast, including a list of upcoming new titles and updates about ongoing series. If you’ve got a minute, check Deb’s listings, then take a look at the poll below and click whichever titles sound good to you.
I usually enjoy series that use eateries as a setting, so I’ve got my eye on Kou Matsuzuki’s Happy Café. I’m also a fan of whodunits, so I’ll certainly give Yoshitsugu Katagari’s Kokaku Detective Story a try. Higuchi Tachibana’s Portrait of M & N sounds like it could be really intriguing or go horribly awry. And the prospect of a bishie-infested, eye-rolling take on Wonderland draws me to Alice in the Country of Hearts by quinrose and Hoshino Soumei.
Sunday on the web with Viz
July 9, 2009 by
I’m guessing that the recent flurry of press releases from Viz is some kind of pre-San Diego warm-up routine to prevent cramping during panels. The one that’s really caught my eye is the announcement of another imprint, Shonen Sunday. The full release is below, but here’s the nut paragraph:
“[Viz] has announced the launch of a brand new imprint, SHONEN SUNDAY. Featuring the works of some of the top shonen manga creators in the world today, the Shonen Sunday magazine in Japan provides the content for this imprint. The magazine recently celebrated its 50th anniversary since its first issue arrived on newsstands in March of 1959.”
Here’s the Wikipedia entry on the parent magazine from Shogakukan, and here’s the magazine’s Japanese web site. It joins Viz’s Shonen Jump imprint, which features manga from Shueisha, which co-owns Viz with Shogakukan and probably wanted its own brand. It also allows Viz to brand some of its homeless shônen titles.
With the demise of Viz’s Shojo Beat magazine, speculation and wishful thinking have turned once again towards the possibility of Viz creating an online presence or anthology featuring manga for girls. I think that would be great, and while Viz still as the Shojo Beat imprint, the prospect motivated me to throw together a quick poll.
Edited: Posted too early, as I meant to add links to the listed magazines: Ribon (official), Margaret (official), Cookie (official), Betsucomi (official), Ciao (official). If you have another choice, please note it in the comments, and I’ll add related links.
Edited again to add other anthologies of choice, without regard to whether or not they’re published by either of Viz’s co-owners: Hana to Yume from Hakusensha (official), LaLa from Hakusensha (official), Princess from Akita Shoten (official), flowers from Shogakukan…
And, as promised, here’s the release:
VIZ MEDIA’S NEWEST IMPRINT, SHONEN SUNDAY, WILL RELEASE THE FIRST MANGA TO EVER BE PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA
A New Imprint and Web Site Launch Rumiko Takahashi’s Newest Series RIN-NE Gets Its First Volume
San Francisco, CA, July 8, 2009– VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the launch of a brand new imprint, SHONEN SUNDAY. Featuring the works of some of the top shonen manga creators in the world today, the Shonen Sunday magazine in Japan provides the content for this imprint. The magazine recently celebrated its 50th anniversary since its first issue arrived on newsstands in March of 1959.
The first series to launch from the first volume under this new imprint will be RIN-NE by Rumiko Takahashi, the first manga novel ever to be published simultaneously in Japan and North America, which will arrive on store shelves on October 20, 2009. Chapters of RIN-NE have been serialized online for free at www.TheRumicWorld.com on the same weekly schedule as it appeared in Japan’s Shonen Sunday magazine since May of this year. The Rumic World web site is the official North American destination for all Rumiko Takahashi-related news.
VIZ Media will be announcing new Shonen Sunday series for 2010 at its Manga and Anime panel at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International on Friday, July 24th from 3:00-4:30 in Room 32AB. Other VIZ Media series that will move under the Shonen Sunday banner include INUYASHA, KEKKAISHI, CASE CLOSED, HAYATE THE COMBAT BUTLER, and YAKITATE!! JAPAN. Going forward, DVD products from the select series will also feature the Shonen Sunday imprint.
The imprint’s web site (www.ShonenSunday.com) will be updated regularly with exclusive content such as previews, trailers, news, and interviews and will go live on July 22, 2009.
RIN-NE by Rumiko Takahashi · VOL. 1 · October 20, 2009 · Rated T+ (For Older Teens) · $9.99 US/$12.99 CAN
As a child Sakura Mamiya mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind her grandma’s home. She returned whole and healthy, but since then she has had the power to see ghosts. Now a teenager, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! At school, the desk next to Sakura’s has been empty since the start of the school year, then one day her always-absent classmate shows up, and he’s far more than what he seems!
RIN-NE is the first new manga from Takahashi since her epic INUYASHA (published domestically by VIZ Media) ended in 2008 in Japan. Shogakukan’s popular WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY manga magazine has featured Takahashi’s work since the early 1980’s. With over 170 million copies sold in Japan alone, Takahashi’s substantial catalog of work continues to be loved by legions of devoted readers.
The spotlight on Rumiko Takahashi’s career began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan’s annual New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular in their own right. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another—Maison Ikkoku ran from 1980 to 1987, Ranma ½ from 1987 to 1996, and Inuyasha from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include Mermaid Saga, Rumic Theater, and One-Pound Gospel. Takahashi won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award twice in her career, once for Urusei Yatsura in 1981 and the second time for Inuyasha in 2002. A majority of the Takahashi canon has been adapted into other media such as anime, live-action TV series, and film. Takahashi’s manga, as well as the other formats her work has been adapted into, have continued to delight generations of fans around the world. Distinguished by her wonderfully endearing characters, Takahashi’s work adeptly incorporates a wide variety of elements such as comedy, romance, fantasy, and martial arts. While her series are difficult to pin down into one simple genre, the signature style she has created has come to be known as the “Rumic World.” Rumiko Takahashi is an artist who truly represents the very best from the world of manga.
Go to DMC!
June 22, 2009 by
There’s a new Flipped up at The Comics Reporter. I think you can guess the topic. For added value, I wanted to get your opinion on an important matter:
Just curious
June 1, 2009 by
I was reading this item over at Robot 6, and my experience (limited as it is) tracks with James Sime’s… most comic shops I’ve frequented aren’t typically open on Mondays. I threw the question out on Twitter, and most people said their local shops did have Monday hours, but I still thought I’d up a quick poll.
