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It’s like Christmas come early with release weeks like this – a whole bunch of must-have manga titles! My top pick goes to Princess Knight (Vol. 02) but Blood Alone (Vol. 05) and a slew of Viz Media titles aren’t far behind it.
You can read the full list of titles shipping out this week, along with my usual random synopsis and price-noting, over at my On The Shelf article at Otaku USA.
VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF
D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE
New Full-Color Art Book Features The Memorable Work Of Series Creator Katsura Hoshino And Includes A Double-Sided Poster,
Artist Interviews And More!
San Francisco, CA, November 29, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will delight manga (graphic novel) art fans with the release of D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE on December 6th. The new art book arrives just in time for the holidays and will carry an MSRP of $21.99 U.S. / $25.99 CAN.
Enter the lavish fictional 19th century world of D.GRAY-MAN in this new collection featuring nearly 100 pages of full-color character art, magazine covers, and other original compositions by series creator Katsura Hoshino. Also featured are insightful Q&A’s between Hoshino and two manga creators that inspire her: Takeshi Obata, the artist behind HIKARU NO GO, BAKUMAN｡, and the smash hit DEATH NOTE (all published in North America by VIZ Media); and Osamu Akimoto, whose manga series, Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, has been serialized in the best-selling boy’s manga magazine in the world, Weekly Shonen Jump, for 35 years and remains the magazine’s longest-running manga series. D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE also includes an exclusive, double-sided full-color poster.
Set in a fictional version of 19th century England, D.GRAY-MAN (published by VIZ Media’s SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED imprint; rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.
Manga-ka: Yuki Yoshiara
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: November 2011
Synopsis: “Choko Kuze is in a relationship with Masayuki Domoto, her current boss and former servant. Their relationship has withstood interference from the Senior Director as well as Masayuki’s ex-girlfriend. But now Choko is facing an arranged marriage by her father, and Masayuki is doing nothing to stop it…?!”
I can see how this ending is supposed to signify some big turn of the table, a testament to how far the couple has come. That Choko is the one who spends page after page chasing after Masayuki with marriage papers was definitely something, showcasing that their relationship, after seven volumes of ‘growing’, is still decided by one side’s incessant demands. Could it be they haven’t really come very far at all..!?
Manga-ka: Kumiko Suekane
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2011
Synopsis: “St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive school. To enroll, a student must be the clone of a historical figure. Wolfgang Mozart, Queen Elizabeth, Sigmund Freud, Marie Curie, Adolf Hitler – with such a combustible student body, it’s only a matter of time before the campus explodes! – Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) – British nurse who made tremendous contributions to the modern nursing system.”
The violence and dark drama of volume three really surprised me, and to my surprise yet again, volume four has taken things a step even further. More characters lose their lives in the attack against St. Kleio Academy and more come face to face with other clones. As the previous generation of clones goes up against their newest incarnations, their individual motivations are a mystery. Some feel they’re doing them a favour, others seek their salvation. The big questions remain – who brought all these clones together and what is their true goal? And what does that mean for the survivors?
VIZ MEDIA TO RELEASE ART FOR HOPE DIGITAL ART ANTHOLOGY IN DECEMBER
Innovative Art Book Created In Partnership With Autodesk To Benefit Japanese Disaster Recovery; Exhibit Of Artwork Also Takes Place In Las Vegas At Autodesk University
VIZ Media has announced the upcoming debut of ART FOR HOPE, a limited edition digital art book anthology created in partnership with Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) to benefit Architecture for Humanity. The anthology will be available for a limited time, from December 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012, for $4.99 through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App for iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch. 100% of VIZ Media’s net proceeds will support Architecture for Humanity’s ongoing disaster reconstruction efforts in Japan. To learn more about these rebuilding projects, please visit: www.ArchitectureForHumanity.org.
Each of the 40 artists participating in the ART FOR HOPE anthology used Autodesk® SketchBook® digital paint and drawing software applications in some way to create original pieces for the anthology. The artists, both professional and amateur, hail from around the world and from diverse fields, and range in style from the realistic to the fantastic, each illustrating the theme of “Hope.” Notable contributors include Eisner Award and Harvey Award winner Rob Guillory, Harvey Award winner Lark Pien, muralist Sirron Norris, and MAMESHIBA artists Jorge Monlongo and Gemma Corell.
Selections from ART FOR HOPE will also be exhibited at the Autodesk annual user conference, Autodesk University, taking place at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV from November 29th to December 1st. Access to the exhibit is free to the public within the Creative Studio a unique hands-on space to celebrate the creative spirit and showcasing a variety of Autodesk software and products. More information on the exhibit and conference is available at: http://www.sketchbooknews.com/news/creative-studio-art-exhibit.html.
Author: Hidenori Kusaka
Manga-ka: Satoshi Yamamoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: November 2011
Synopsis: “Pokemon trainer Black is exploring the mysterious Unova Regision with his brand-new Pokedex. Pokemon Trainer White runs a thriving talent agency for performing Pokemon. Traveling together, their paths cross with Team Plasma, a group that advocates releasing your Pokemon into the wild! Black’s Munna disappears! Was it Pokemon-napped? Then. Black is attacked by… a Pokemon?!”
Black’s insanely goal-oriented nature is a fun quirk, one that’s all the more interesting since he’s fully aware of it. He’s so focused on winning the Pokemon League that he doesn’t have the brain capacity to think of anything else. To work around it, his Munna leaps upon his head and literally gobbles up his dream, just long enough for him to focus on other things. It’s effective but also sort of creepy. It screams permanent brain damage, at the very least.
Manga-ka: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2011
Synopsis: “When ghosts appear in Sakura’s house she commissions Rinne to find out what’s going on. Rinne’s on cloud nine at the thought of going to Sakura’s house, but when Jumonji and Ageha barge in on them, will the investigation grind to a halt? Ghostly cats, curses and haunted festivals… with all this trouble, Rinne’s definitely got his hands full!”
Rin-Ne has had me on the fence since the beginning. Do I like it or not? At seven volumes, I can finally say that I do. That’s quite a few books into a series to finally be able to say you’re enjoying it. Fortunately having numerous series under her belt offering years of entertainment, means I was willing to give Rumiko Takahashi the benefit of the doubt. Rin-Ne has been a lot like watching someone get a game set-up. First they have to put all the pieces out, make sure everyone knows the rules, let the audience get seated and now they’re finally ready to play the game. And since then, our patience rewarded, it’s been quite a bit of fun.
VIZ MEDIA FIRES THE IMAGINATIONS OF YOUNGER FANS AND READERS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WITH NEW LEGEND OF ZELDA, MAMESHIBA AND POKÉMON RELEASES
San Francisco, CA, November 16, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has plenty to delight even the youngest manga (graphic novel) and anime fans this holiday season with a variety of new releases from VIZ KIDS to fill young minds with wonder and fire imaginations with fun adventures with characters from POKÉMON, MAMESHIBA and THE LEGEND OF ZELDA.
This year, VIZ Media highlights THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Manga Box Set, which celebrates the series’ 25th Anniversary and bundles all 10 volumes of the fantasy action manga adventure series based on the hit Nintendo video game. MAMESHIBA will delight young readers with adorable characters in a winter-themed story and pop-out play scene. The timeless fun of POKÉMON is also well-represented this holiday season with the DVD release of the latest feature film, POKÉMON – ZOROARK: MASTER OF ILLUSIONS, as well as a POKÉMON DIAMOND AND PEARL ADVENTURE! Manga Box Set, and much, much more!
A rather small list of titles out this week but the book count remains about the same (if not more) if you account for two more big box sets out from Viz Media. This week’s releases are posted in my On The Shelf article over at Otaku USA.
After doing this article for a few months, it’s been interesting seeing the patterns that emerge when it comes to how and when books come out. The two biggest descrepencies in information, meaning those that vary the most between what the sites says and my bookshelf indicates, are from Digital Manga and Kodansha, while Viz Media is often the most reliable (if you don’t include back orders anyway!).
Digital Manga lists release dates that only their own in-house supplier, Akadot, gets books for so they’re usually off by a month or two for anyone else (including Amazon and bookstores). Kodansha Comics predomiantly gets its books out to bookstores and online retailers on the days they indicate but Diamond Comics notoriously ships them from 2-3 weeks late from the release date. This differs a lot from Viz Media and Dark Horse titles, which always seem to be consistent between sources (excluding publisher push-backs).
Yen Press and Vertical Inc sit on the fence – usually on time but random titles arrive 1-2 weeks late from Diamond Comics. Oddly there rarely seems to be rhyme or reason to which titles arrive (or don’t) to individual stores despite ordering manifests and regardless of what titles are on the main Diamond Comics shipping list that week. Their titles do however have a tendency above others to arrive early sometimes.
Seven Seas hasn’t had enough physical releases in the past few months for me to notice a trend but that could change in 2012 based on the increase in titles we’re seeing.
Alas that at the end of the day noticing these trends doesn’t make coming up with a list that’s right for everyone any less difficult. Take this week for example, where online and chain store retailers have Sailor Moon (Vol.02) but Diamond Comics doesn’t yet have it listed as available. Frustrating both as a reader and an article writer. Patience, patience, patience…
VIZ MEDIA SHOWCASES A DIVERSE COLLECTION OF NEW MANGA RELEASES TO MAKE UNIQUE GIFT SELECTIONS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
New Releases For BAKUMAN｡, BLUE EXORCIST, DEATH NOTE,
D. GRAY MAN, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, VAMPIRE KNIGHT And More Among The Best-Loved Series That Are Sure To Top Holiday Wish Lists
San Francisco, CA, November 14, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, offers a wide variety of unique art books and manga (graphic) releases – several of them brand new series – that make ideal gift selections for even the most discriminating fan this holiday season.
From the debut of Natsume Ono’s TESORO and the brand new shojo series, DAWN OF ARCANA, by Rei Toma, to a box set of the recently concluded FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, to the latest editions of popular ongoing titles including BAKUMAN｡, BLUE EXORCIST, DEATH NOTE BLACK EDITION, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, and the recently launched PSYREN, there will be plenty of aspiring young manga artists, spirit bending exorcists, royal romantic intrigue, charming stories of bonds between friends & family, tales of alchemy and more to complement everyone’s holiday season this year. And for the fan that has been especially good all year, don’t miss two gorgeously illustrated art books for D.GRAY-MAN and VAMPIRE KNIGHT. Each is filled with vivid character art, concept drawings, and insightful artist commentaries and also includes a full-color poster.
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