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Posts Tagged Manga

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – April 4, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Reminiscent of how odd it was seeing Tokyopop titles on release lists months after their shutdown, so to will manga readers get that with two Bandai Entertainment volumes on this week’s shipping manifests. The last of their new books are trickling out, today seeing the last books of their two Code Geass fan-service series.

You can see the full list of this week’s shipping books at Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article which also includes Viz Media‘s big monthly blast of shonen and shoujo (so many does-wants!), and GEN Manga‘s collected edition of VS Aliens.

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Categories: News, Release Lists
Tags: Bandai, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Vertical Inc, Viz Media

Digital Manga Says See Me After Class, President Momoi Kun

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, April 2, 2012

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It’s new manga license time-! Again! Digital Manga sent out an e-mail about two new manga licenses, continuing their recent trend of revealing new licenses in pairs or trios of hentai and boys’ love. This week’s new licenses are:

See Me After Class (Vol.01) – Munyu (Project-H)
President Momoi Kun – Higashi Nishida (June)

Both books are scheduled for a print release in Spring 2013. See Me After Class will be $17.95/US, while President Momoi Kun is being listed at $12.95/US. You can see a few preview pages for President Momoi Kun over at its Amazon.jp page.

Digital Manga also recently sent out press releases announcing two new partnerships to release more manga digitally – Papyless (publisher of young woman’s comics) and Leed Publishing (hentai titles). I’m still not very keen on reading manga digitally but some of those Papyless titles are certainly tempting me to make some exceptions. We shall see!

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DM Guild, DMP, Hentai, June, Manga, Project-H

The Coast: January – March 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, April 1, 2012

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Shannon Fay and I have had a few more manga reviews published in our local free newspaper, The Coast over the past couple of months. The majority have been to their website so for a couple thumbs-up titles we shared with our local readers, you can check out the links below:

Shannon:

About Love
The Drops of God (Vol.01)

Lissa:

Codename: Sailor V
Only Serious About You (Vol. 01)

The tricky part is always deciding what to review next. It’s interesting writing reviews that are not only considerably shorter than we’re used to for Kuriousity, but also in a way that bears in mind that the majority of The Coasts’ readers likely don’t read manga – or perhaps even comics – on a regular basis, if at all.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Canada, DMP, June, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Vertical Inc

Digital Manga Adds Wild Honey and Tender Hearts to 2012 License List

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, March 30, 2012

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Kuriousity may have some posting lulls but Digital Manga hasn’t hit one yet, announcing another two new titles destined for print. Both titles were announced on DMP’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Wild Honey – Sei Takenaka (June)
Tender Hearts – Konomi Shikishiro (Project-H)

Both of the titles are one-shots with no specific release dates announced yet, though Digital Manga did say readers can expect Tender Hearts in Spring 2013. This will be the first time either artist has been published by DMP.

Via their Project-H account, a representative also stated: “…the new website is almost ready so please be patient while we run the final tests. Thank you!”. The Project-H website has had temporary placeholder pages since they launched back in July 2011. They also added that consumers can expect to see some release dates for their titles announced over the past couple of months.

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Hentai, June, Manga, Project-H

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – March 28, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 28, 2012

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Where did the past week go…? No, really, I haven’t even been out to my local comic shop for over two weeks. No wonder something doesn’t feel right! This week’s comics in combination with those I have waiting for me from last week should be a definite kick in the butt to get out there and buy though. You can see what’s out there new to buy this week at Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article.

With a new volume of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, a new Yoshihiro Tatsumi title to try out, a re-edition of Tezuka’s Dororo so I can finally own it all and Rohan at the Louvre, this feels like an especially classy week for manga releases!

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Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Dark Horse, Kodansha Comics, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Manga, Vertical Inc

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – March 21, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 21, 2012

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It’s new manga time! This week’s edition of On The Shelf has been posted over at Otaku USA. Check it out for the list of titles that arrived in stores today, including my most anticipated of the week: A Bride’s Story (Vol.03), Bunny Drop, (Vol. 05) and Young Miss Holmes!

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Categories: News, Release Lists
Tags: Bunny Drop, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Manhua, Seven Seas, Yen Press

Love & Sex on the Job – DMP Announces Three New Print Licenses

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, March 19, 2012

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Digital Manga Publishing kicked off the recent weekend with another three new manga licenses – when will their licensing streak end!? Not a complaint, mind you.

Their three new licenses are:

Love Makes Everything Right – Sanae Rokuya (BL)
Hot & Steamy – Hiroshi Itaba (Project-H)
Love on the Job (Vols. 1-3) – Harumi Chihiro (Project-H)

All three titles are by creators Digital Manga has previously licensed works from. DMP has previously published Sanae Rokuya’s boys’ love titles Red and King of Debt, while Harumi Chihiro’s better known Velvet Kiss was announced back in November. Hiroshi Itaba’s Three P, another one-short story, was one of Project-H’s launch books. All three new titles are scheduled for print release but there are no dates yet as to when they’ll be published.

Love Makes Everything Right – a oneshot BL – is an office romance where a man finds his new job has landed him at the receiving end of sexual harassment. You can see a few preview pages over at it’s Amazon.jp listing. DMP’s newest multi-volume series and hentai addition, Love on the Job, is of a more consensual-from-the-get-go nature. It follows a young man and woman who each land their dream jobs. When they realize they’ve been hired at rival companies, however, they need to keep their romantic relationship a secret or risk losing everything they have.

Of these new books, I’m most looking forward to Love on the Job. The plot sounds ripe for entertainment and drama while Harumi Chihiro has a really nice looking art style.

In additional DMP related news, boys’ love light novel fans will be happy to see volume seven of Ai no Kusabi is now available for pre-order on Amazon (US/CAN). The previous volume of the series was released back in July 2009. It’s been quite a wait so enjoy the return, Ai no Kusabi readers!

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Hentai, June, Manga, Project-H

Chi’s Sweet Home’s Konami Kanata Announced As Guest at TCAF 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, March 17, 2012

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After a couple days of teasing, Toronto Comic Arts Fest has officially announced that the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home, Konami Kanata, will be a special guest at this year’s TCAF! Her visit to the Toronto-based event, marking her first trip to North America, is being arranged with the support of Vertical Inc who is publishing Chi’s Sweet Home in English.

“Konami Kanata will appear at TCAF on Saturday May 5^th and Sunday May 6^th 2012, at Toronto Reference Library. She will have a signing session each day at the Vertical Inc. booth, and will participate in programming each day. In addition, Ms. Kanata will be participating in a special event supporting the Tohoku Region, on the evening of Saturday May 5^th, with details to follow.” – TCAF Press Release

The Toronto Comics Art Festival is a free-to-attend event that brings in comic creators from around the world to display their works and interact with readers. Last year the event had two special manga guests – Usamaru Furuya and Natsume Ono. I’ll be attending the event again this year to stock up on amazing comics and prints, plus now hopefully be able to share a Konami Kanta spotlight as well. See you in Toronto this May, fellow TCAF-ers!

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Categories: News
Tags: Canada, Conventions, Manga, TCAF, Vertical Inc

Love for Loveless and the Orphaned: Viz Media to Release 07-Ghost

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, March 17, 2012

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A listing on the Simon and Schuster website sent Twitter in a mini-buzz late this week with word that Viz Media had licensed Yuki Amemiya/Yukino Ichihara’s 07-Ghost. ANN confirmed the news with Viz yesterday so rejoice 07-Ghost fans!

07-Ghost is a story about an orphan gifted with magical powers who is enrolled as a student in a military-run academy until he discovers his father’s killers are there. The series was originally released by the now defunct GoComi who were only able to publish the first few volumes before dropping out in late 2009. Viz Media’s first volume is currently listed at $9.99/US with a November 2012 release date for volume one, and January 2013 for volume two.

I’ve since sold my volumes of GoComi’s 07-Ghost because it just didn’t interest me very much. I’m still sort of bummed about that fact because of how much I like the author’s illustration work and character designs. The story, unfortunately, just didn’t click with me. It’s been a few years now so maybe I’ll find it more to my liking starting over – we shall see!

Another listing on the Simon and Schuster website also revealed an upcoming omnibus edition of Yun Kouga’s Loveless. Viz Media originally announced the license at New York Comic Con 2011 but had only stated plans to release the series in single volume books starting where Tokyopop had left off (volume nine). The new listing shows the start of 2-in-1 omnibus edition kicking off from the series’ beginning. The first part is listed for $14.99/US and set to come out October 2012.

This new Loveless edition is great news for readers (and potential new fans) who didn’t have a chance to pick up Tokyopop’s volumes one to eight, while still pleasing those who did with the go ahead on volume nine+ in single format. Kudos to Viz Media for the dual release option!

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: 07 Ghost, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Loveless, Manga, Viz Media

Manga Is Not A Crime: Canadian Crown Drops Charges In Customs Case

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, March 16, 2012

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Some of you may have noticed the Manga Is Not A Crime banner on my sidebar during one of your visits and the story of Ryan Matheson is a prime reason for my support of the work the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund does. Back in 2010, he was arrested trying to cross the border from the US to Canada when Canadian Customs official searched his laptop and found anime/manga imagery that they deemed child pornography.

CBLDF announced yesterday that all the charges against Ryan Matheson have since been dropped, which comes as fantastic news. Of course he’s not out of the woods yet with legal fees and some very unpleasant memories to follow him but it’s a big relief to see his immediate fight has finally ended.

Speaking out for the first time, Matheson says, “I’m glad to finally put this awful ordeal behind me. Ever since the beginning I knew I had committed no crime, so I was never willing to accept a plea to any criminal charge. The entire legal process is very traumatizing, and the overzealous bail conditions imposed on me were very difficult to endure. Although my defense was extremely strong, all trials are inherently risky and I value my life too much to risk a potential minimum mandatory sentence. I am very grateful for the spectacular work Michael Edelson and his team put into my case, and to all the generous people who supported me and contributed to my defense. I was able to stand up to the very last day and fight for something I believe in.”

As a Canadian, I have immense pride in my country as a place that values peace and equality. There’s no where in the world I’d rather live and I get homesick quick ever being off Canadian soil. Unfortunately nowhere is perfect and the pit in my stomach I feel crossing the border from trips to the US on my way home is a stern reminder of that. That I could be arrested for my bags full of comics is terrifying – it’s scary because it’s unfair for material that hurts no one, it’s scary because it could happen to anyone at anytime and it’s scary because if it happens, as Ryan Matheson’s case shows, there’s nothing you can do should someone else decide that what artwork you choose to look at is wrong.

MangaBlog’s Brigid Alverson has a really informative write-up on the case along with some history of other similar occurrences over at Comic Book Resources. It’s well worth a read and I hope gives you a good idea why supporting a group like CBLDF is such an important thing to do for comic readers everywhere.

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Categories: Misc, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Canada, CBLDF, Manga