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Archive for June, 2011

Review: Rasetsu (Vol. 09)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 19, 2011

Manga-ka: Chika Shiomi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “When the evil spirit shows up on Rasetsu’s birthday as promised, Rasetsu and her friends engage in a final showdown against it. Will Rasetsu be able to defeat her demon and live? Or will this birthday be her last?”

Speaking honestly, this ninth and final volume of Rasetsu was my first experience with the series. I never have a problem with jumping into a series mid-way – I think it can be a lot of fun prodding around the plot and characters when the story’s already in full-swing. The end of a series though is something that’s less easily justified to start and usually far more difficult to digest. One look in this book was enough to intrigue me however – a series drawn with strong lines and heavy blacks that immediately makes it stand out from most shoujo series. Toss in the fact the story is about psychics battling demonic spirits and I had to give Rasetsu a go, finale or not.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Releases Face Crushing Action of Tenjo Tenge

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 18, 2011

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VIZ MEDIA RELEASES THE FACE-CRUSHING ACTION OF TENJO TENGE MANGA SERIES IN JUNE

Welcome to Todo High – Home of the Toughest Student Brawlers and Sexiest Badass Babes in High School History

San Francisco, CA, June 15, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, brings gnarly, knuckle-busting action to readers with the release of the manga (graphic novel) series, TENJO TENGE, on June 21st, created by Oh!great. The debut volume features 16 full-color pages and a selection of alternate color cover images. TENJO TENGE will be published by the VIZ Signature imprint, is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences, and will carry an MSRP of $17.99 U.S. / $21.00 CAN.

Welcome to Todo High, where the only rule is: get strong or get schooled.

Soichiro Nagi and Bob Makihara have always been the meanest street brawlers around. When they enter Todo High they plan on carving out a reputation as the strongest fighters in their new school – easier said than done in a place that’s dedicated to training its students in the art of combat! After realizing they’re the new fish swimming in a tank full of sharks, Soichiro and Bob enter the Juken fight club as rookie members. However, the Executive Council – the archrival of the Juken Club – soon launches a surprise attack. Soichiro and Bob have a chance to show their stuff, as long as they don’t get curb-kicked in the process!

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media

Mangatime at Animaritime 2011

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, June 17, 2011

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The pre-con Kuriousity blank periods are upon us – sorry for the blip of blog-silence there! At least it’s the best reason for missing writing time – East Coast Canada’s anime/manga/gaming convention Animaritime 2011 is only two weeks away! As a staff member, I join the rest of the small but dedicated crew as we put the final touches on the 3-day event before it hits on Canada Day this July. The event takes place in Moncton, New Brunswick.

This year’s event has a great manga line-up including the appearance of one of our special guests – Vertical Inc‘s marketing director, Ed Chavez! I hope he has fun at our humble but lively convention; we’re very happy to have him :)

For the manga-fans, here’s a sneak-peek at our manga-related line-up this year:

Read more…

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Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Animaritime, Canada, Conventions, Manga, Trigun

PR: Viz Manga App Adds Six New Digital Manga Titles for June

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, June 13, 2011

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VIZ MANGA APP ADDS SIX NEW DIGITAL MANGA TITLES FOR THE iPAD, iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH FOR JUNE

Latest Additions Complement Growing Library Of Titles Available Digitally; SMILE: PRAY FOR JAPAN Vols. 3-4 Also Debut

VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will launch six new manga (graphic novel) series during June that will be offered for digital download within the VIZ MANGA APP for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod™ Touch. Also debuting are Vols. 3 and 4 of Takehiko Inoue’s SMILE: PRAY FOR JAPAN illustrations, with all VIZ Media proceeds donated to the Japanese Red Cross to aid vicitims affected by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Scheduled to make their North American digital debuts today are the shojo dramas of BACKSTAGE PRINCE and THE STORY OF SAIUNKOKU. More shojo fun follows on June 20th with the launch of DENGEKI DAISY and AI ORE!, along with the critically acclaimed CROSS GAME. Finally, June 27th sees the debut of the lush and contemplative CHILDREN OF THE SEA. Updates to 22 other popular VIZ Media digital manga series are also scheduled.

The VIZ MANGA APP is now available for free for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices through the iTunes® Store, and all manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada from within the application for only $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Children of the Sea, Fushigi Yugi, Shoujo Beat, Slam Dunk, Vampire Knight, Viz Media

Review: March Story (Vol. 01)

By Shannon Fay on Sunday, June 12, 2011

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Author: Hyung Min Kim
Manhwa-ga: Kyung Il Yang
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: October 2010

Synopsis: “Among the quiet villages and towns of 18th century Europe, demons known as the Ill hide within the most beautiful works of art, sparked to life by the torment of their creators. Attracted by their jewel-like allure, the unwary find themselves possessed by the Ill and driven to horrific acts of violence. Only the hunters of the Ciste Vihad can dispel the Ill. March is one such hunter, tracking the Ill from town to town to find the antiques that contain the demons before they can possess anyone. If the worst has come to pass, March’s full powers are unleashed to battle the fiendish Ill. Born of tragedy, the artifacts all have their own tales to tell, as do each of their victims. But March’s story may be the most tragic of all.”

The plot of March Story will be familiar to anyone who has read any popular shonen action-adventure series: a young teenager who is a member of an organization that fights evil goes from town to town fighting bad guys and monsters, using his special abilities to help people along the way. Oh, and don’t forget the tragic back story that ties him to the very evil he faces. That summary could easily fit Full Metal Alchemist or D.Gray-man, but in this case I’m talking about March Story. Volume one of March Story is a pleasant surprise. It proves that just because something’s formulaic, it doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, March Story, Viz Media

Review: Butterflies, Flowers (Vol. 07)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 11, 2011

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Manga-ka: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Choko Kuze is in a relationship with Masayuki Domoto her current boss and former servant. Now that Masayuki’s ex-girlfriend Kaori has returned, Choko worries that the villianess has too many “hit points” and “magic points” for her to defeat. Choko follows Masayuki and Kaori to a hotel room and barges in unannounced, yet finds herself unprepared for the shocking scene in front of her.”

Butterflies, Flowers volumes have consistently been one of my most-anticipated since the series began. Despite some iffy aspects of an initially one-sided relationship, I fell in love with the adult humour. Anime-related puns, sexual gags and an over-the-top male lead who never failed to react in a way that had you reeling. Now we’re seven volumes in and… I’m not really laughing anymore.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Butterflies Flowers, Manga, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Black Bird (Vol. 08)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, June 9, 2011

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Manga-ka: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2011

Synopsis: “Raiko, the demon hunter who has been staying at Misao’s house, is determined to save her–even if that’s the last thing she wants! Kyo won’t allow a threat to Misao to go unchecked and plans to take care of the problem in his own special way. Misao, however, hopes that she can broker a peace between Raiko and Kyo before things get out of hand. But when Raiko’s attempts to “free” Misao fail, he hatches a devious new plan that will use Misao’s bond with Kyo to destroy him!”

Raiko has become one of the biggest obstacles in Black Bird as the demons remain rightfully wary of him. Meanwhile Misao struggles to live calmly under the same roof as someone who wants to kill her boyfriend. At this point in the story we’re just waiting for the obvious and this volume feels like one of the most cliched and predictable of the batch. It still manages to wring out some drama but you need to suspend a lot of belief and try to enjoy the show despite easily guessing much of what’s going to happen next.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Black Bird, Manga, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Digital Manga Launches Hentai Imprint – Project H

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

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A few months back listings for some hentai titles popped up on Amazon under Digital Manga‘s 18+ boys’ love imprint: 801Media. With the website‘s promised overhaul delayed, it didn’t seem too far-fetched to assume the entire imprint was undergoing a little transformation. Not a far stretch going from BL porn to hetero porn, right?

Digital Manga couldn’t comment on the listings then but today the books’ appearance on RightStuf comes with a new publisher name, revealing Digital Manga’s newest imprint (warning adult content!): Project H!

A company representative has since confirmed the imprint which will have an official launch later this month. If it doesn’t already speak well enough for itself, the imprint will be a collection of adult hentai manga. My thanks to Digital Manga for answering my request for comment aboutProject H – best of luck with the launch and new titles!

The three launch titles, all one-shots, are:

Shocking Pink! – Riosuke Yasui
Three P – Hiroshi Itaba
Embrace & Bloom – Kuon Michiyoshi

Shocking Pink and Three P are currently listed with release dates late-August. The imprint currently has a placeholder on its website at projecth-books.com. They also already have a Twitter account set-up: @projectHBooks. The imprint, according to Digital Manga, will be “powered by 801Media and distributed by 801Media”. The original hints tie-in!

So what do you think? Is this a smart move by Digital Manga? Hard to argue that porn isn’t a strong seller! I’ll definitely be picking up at least one of these three launch titles when they come out – one, to sate my curiousity, and two, because my humble hentai collection could use some companions on their tiny shelf :)

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: DMP, Manga, Project-H

PR: Digital Manga Brings Vampire Hunter D to ComiXology

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

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Digital Manga Publishing brings Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D Manga to ComiXology

DMP’s flagship manga title makes its debut on the iPad.

Kansas City, MO /NY, NY/ Gardena, CA (June 8, 2011) – Digital Manga Publishing, one of the manga industry’s most unique and creative publishers is proud to announce the partnership with comiXology, the leading distributor of digital comics, to digitally release their flagship manga title Vampire Hunter D to the comiXology storefront for the iOS, Android and Web. Volumes 1-3 will make its debut, while volumes 4-5 will be available in the following weeks.

Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D print edition manga was launched in 2007 by Digital Manga Publishing, adapting the well renowned series of prose novel series, which began in the 80’s. Kikuchi mixed elements of gothic horror, science fiction and romance with the classic Western to produce a wholly original, post-apocalyptic vision of the distant future, where humanity is ruled by vampires and tormented by a host of creatures including demons, werewolves and mutants, as well as half-human, half-vampire ‘dhampirs’ like the series’ namesake, D.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: DMP

Review: Sakura Hime (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, June 7, 2011

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Manga-ka: Arina Tanemura
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: April 2011

Synopsis: “Sakura is the granddaughter of a mysterious moon princess who slew demons with her Blood Cherry Blossom sword. All her life Sakura has been forbidden to look at the full moon without knowing why. Then one night, unhappy over her impending marriage, Sakura gazes up at the moon, only to see a demon attacking her…”

Sakura Hime is one of the most confused books I’ve ever read. Not confusing – it’s linearity is fairly simple to follow – but confused in how it hops around between genres and moods so suddenly. While the story opens with a feudal-Japan love story, things take some surprisingly bleak twists that take things into the territory of dark magical girl stories complete with a Moon Princess, demons and ninjas.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Arina Tanemura, Manga, Sakura Hime, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media