News, reviews and features with a focus on manga, self-published works and a Canadian perspective. Enjoy fulfilling your Kuriousity!
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August 1st – or 8/01 – has been proclaimed Yaoi Day! Not a bad thing to celebrate mid-summer – nice and hot, right? Well, unless you’re living on the East Coast of Canada… but that’s a different matter!
Digital Manga is ready to celebrate Yaoi Day with sales and contests, the deals of which are lasting all week. Curious what they’ve got to offer? It’s all available to readers around the world and you can read all the details below:
Moncton, NB, July 21, 2011 – With 2011’s event behind them, Animaritime’s staff is excited to announce it was another successful year of anime, gaming and cosplay. The three day event held over Canada Day weekend saw over 1200 individuals in attendance and raised thousands for the IWK Health Centre.
The event broke single-day records from past events with over 800 attendees processed within a couple hours of the convention opening early Friday afternoon. By the time doors closed on Sunday the organizers greeted 1268 anime and gaming fans.
“We couldn’t be happier with this year’s turnout and the money raised for the IWK. All the staff, volunteers, guests and attendees were amazing – we’re lucky to always work with such a fantastic group here in the Maritimes!”
VIZ MEDIA’S NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS
WINS A 2011 EISNER AWARD
Manga Masterpiece Recognized With The Comic Book Industry’s Most Prestigious Award
San Francisco, CA, July 28, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, is proud to announce that NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS was recognized with an Eisner Award in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia category during award ceremonies held at the recent Comic-Con International event in San Diego, CA. NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS is published in North America by VIZ Media’s Signature imprint. Volume 17 of the series will be released in August.
20th CENTURY BOYS is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world. Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren’t for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns.
For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock ‘n’ roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that’s been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.
San Diego Comic Con 2011 is in its final hours today so its round-up time! As the biggest pop-culture convention of its kind, there were many bloggers on site to record all the details, so, while here on Kuriousity I’ll just be giving the brief run down of manga-related news, I’ll also be giving select links of where you can go to learn more.
Digital was the biggest news of the year. For everyone’s benefit, I’ll forgo my usual sad sighs and short rambles at the trend of more digital and less paper and skip right to summing up the news!
Edit (July 25th): More info re: Viz Media’s licenses added
VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES VIZMANGA.COM
Extension of VIZ Media’s Digital Platform Expands Manga Audience to All Web Users in U.S. and Canada
San Francisco and San Diego, CA, July 22, 2011 – VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in the North America, announced the launch of VIZManga.com at their 25th Anniversary Party last night in San Diego during the annual Comic-Con International convention. The website joins VIZ Media’s existing digital manga platform and launched with 40 series currently available on the VIZ MANGA App for iOS devices, including the wildly popular titles NARUTO, BLEACH, BLUE EXORCIST, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB and VAMPIRE KNIGHT. With this expansion of the platform, fans can browse and access their digital manga from VIZManga.com and through the VIZ Manga Apps for the iPad™ and iPhone™/iPod™ touch. With one account, registered users will be able to view their purchases across even more devices than ever.
“Our digital publishing team wants manga to be available to as many fans as possible, no matter what device or digital experience people prefer,” said Brian Piech, Vice President, Digital Publishing. “Making our extensive library of the best titles direct from Japan available on VIZManga.com is a natural extension of our current VIZ MANGA apps available on all iOS devices. One purchase can now be read across multiple devices.”
VIZ Media’s digital manga platform allows for universal access for fans from their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or now, VIZManga.com. Pricing for manga titles on the web will be identical to the VIZ MANGA app. The first chapter of all manga titles will be available as a free preview. Through July 31st, all Volume 1 manga titles will be 40% off.
SQUARE ENIX MANGA STORE to Offer Free Volume of Fullmetal Alchemist and Other Popular Digital Comics
Los Angeles, California (July 21, 2011) – Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix®) today announced a special offer to be conducted at its North American digital manga distribution site, the SQUARE ENIX MANGA STORE. For a limited time, eligible users will be able to download the first volume of numerous popular comic series free of charge.
Since its December 2010 launch, the SQUARE ENIX MANGA STORE has blazed new trails in PC-based digital manga distribution, offering over one hundred volumes of manga in pay-to-view streaming format and achieving tremendous popularity among manga fans. The free manga offer is part of a comprehensive effort to introduce Square Enix manga to an ever-wider audience—an effort that will also feature an official Facebook page opened in June 2011, and an exhibit at the San Diego Comic-Con to be held from July 20–24, 2011.
All attendees of the Comic-Con as well as all users who “Like” the official Facebook page will be eligible to receive the digital edition first volume (a $5.99 value) of any one of fifteen bestselling Square Enix comic series including FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, SOUL EATER and Black Butler available for purchase at the store.
Gardena, CA (July 20, 2011) – Digital Manga inc. is proud to announce the launch of our latest imprint: PROJECT-H!
Project-H is a special publishing imprint, http://www.projecth-books.com/, powered by 801 Media. The titles are explicit Seinen Hentai manga with the age rating M 18+. The first three titles to be released are Riosuke Yasui’s Shocking Pink! (Aug 24th), Hiroshi Itaba’s Three P (Oct 20th), and KUON Michiyoshi’s Embrace and Bloom (Nov23rd)!
Pre-orders for the two books are available now through Akadot Retail, akadot.com, and for wholesale through Digital Manga Direct , http://www.dmd-sales.com/
SHOCKING PINK! written and illustrated by Riosuke Yasui – Rated M (Ages 18+), 5″ x 7.2″, MSRP: $17.95 US, $19.99 CAD, Available: August 24, 2011
*Available for Pre-order Now!
When a girl claiming to be the descendent of Lui Bei, the founding emperor of the Shu Han state of the ancient Three Kingdoms of China, approaches you because your name is almost identical to said emperor’s chancellor and prize strategist, what is a boy to do? Especially when she is very attractive and really, really, really wants you to become her royal strategist as she carves out her destiny? Join in the romp of course, and enjoy the delights offered along the way!
THREE P written and illustrated by Hiroshi Itaba – Rated M (Ages 18+), 5″ x 7.2″, MSRP: $17.95 US, $19.99 CAD, Available: October 20, 2011
*Available for Pre-order TBA
Come and check out the 3 sizzling hot college co-eds: Reika, Sara and Mizume. Reika – she looks conservative, like a girl next door, but watch out! She’s the wild one! She always gets what she wants! Sara – men just don’t know how to say “no” to her pretty cute face! And Mizume – is the beautiful one and she plays hard-to-get with men. These gal pals have no secrets from each other! They talk about their boyfriend problems, sex problems and compare notes! What would you do if you found out that your boyfriend is cheating on you? Would you be mad or would ask them if you can join them for a threesome? They’ll show you how to have fun! This oneshot contains 9 short stories of these 3 co-eds having lots of naughty sex!
EMBRACE & BLOOM written and illustrated by Kuon Michiyoshi – Rated M (Ages 18+), 5″ x 7.2″, MSRP: $17.95 US, $19.99 CAD, Available: November 23, 2011
*Available for Pre-order TBA
This anthology features works about hot & steamy sexcapade of nine delicious young ladies who aim to please and be pleased. Lots of erotic scenes to get your senses tickled! Come and check out which one of the nine you like the best!
*Pre-orders available through Digital Manga Direct, DMI’s Publisher’s Direct program. Please visit our website at www.dmd-sales.com to make an account and an order.
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Another week gone by and another stack of lovely new books to read! Lately I’ve been reading a lot of older titles since my haul at Animaritime but this week’s new titles definitely put up a huge fight for my attention (and who am I kidding, they won!).
First up was the new volume of Black Butler (Vol. 06) from Yen Press. Knowing that the whole curry fiasco is behind us and another mystery is afoot had me extra eager for this book. I was not disappointed! This series is worth buying for the art alone – such gorgeous Victorian outfits ranging from the wonderful to just plain weird. Throw in some detective work and sexual tension between pretty people and it’s an easy sell.
Much less in-your-face about its charms is the fourth volume of Cross Game. I’ve completely fallen in love with this series – I love the baseball games, the characters, the romance – it’s all good! It’s so relaxing, the kind of book you just want to curl up in bed with and not put down until you’re done. Plus I think I join the many in-story characters who have a crush on Aoba.
Adding two more volume sixes to go with Black Butler, I also bought Rin-Ne (Vol. 06) and Time & Again (Vol. 06). Both are series I have hesitations buying because the volumes have been hit or miss since the beginning. All the same, this is the final volume of Time & Again so I had to pick it up to see how things fare between the leads. Rin-Ne I buy consistently because when it’s good I really enjoy it, the kind of entertainment only Rumiko Takahashi can offer.
Speaking of hit or miss, two books came in the mail this week from DramaQueen – Missing Road and JUNK!. With three books now under their belt since their ‘comeback’ began, I’m ready to give them another chance and take a look at the new offerings. First impressions say the quality of the publishing itself is great but will the content itself hold up?
The big purchase this week was undoubtedly Wandering Son (Vol. 01), however. I’ve been waiting, waiting and waiting (patiently you see) for this book since it was announced. With this description, how could I not?
“The fifth grade. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates, but they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy.”
The book has since been showered with praise and rightfully so for what it is. I absolutely loved reading it and will hopefully have a review done soon to highlight why. As a first impressions note, it’s another hardcover release from Fantagraphics so on publication quality alone you really get your money’s worth.
What was in your swag bag this week?
Author: Kenji Kuroda
Manga-ka: Kazuo Maekawa
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: May 2011
Synopsis: “Mystery and intrigue, crime and punishment, uncovering the truth—all in a day’s work for the ace defense attorney Phoenix Wright and his beautiful assistant Maya Fey. Based on the hit game series, Ace Attorney brings new adventures to the games’ colorful cast. Can Nick successfully swing the gavel of justice or will he be crushed by the weight of incriminating evidence?”
Finding manga based on a pre-established work that can cater well to newcomers and existing fans alike is not an easy feat. It’s no surprise really – (in this case) the games already exist to cultivate fans after all; other mediums are more a way to feed said-fans more of what they want and make some money while doing it. All the same, this Phoenix Wright manga does a great job easing in new readers. It helps a lot that it doesn’t throw in every big-name character in the first go. The fact that the majority of the characters here in the first volume are entirely forgettable, despite being mainstay personalities, actually works a lot in its favour too.
Manga-ka: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2008
Synopsis: “Four years ago, Kosaku pulled off an astounding upset in his pro test by KO’ing a big-time boxer. More than simply sending his opponent down for the count, Kosaku also managed to mangle this pretty-boy fighter’s teeth in the process. Now this toothless tyrant is ready for a rematch, but can Kosaku drop down an entire weight class to qualify for the bout?”
Much as I enjoy the occasional volume of Ranma ½ or Inu-Yasha – Rumiko Takahashi’s (arguably?) most well-known titles – there’s nothing quite like going back and re-experiencing one of her older series. One Pound Gospel was a title I missed during its initial run from Viz Media but am more than happy to experience now. Volume one was your standard introductory fare while here volume two takes the ‘professions’ of Kosaku and Sister Angela and plays them for all their worth.
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