There are no shortage of ‘Best Of’ lists this time of year. While I like popping around to different peoples’ sites and seeing what they thought, it’s a bit of a frustration that I can’t seem to write one myself. How people choose a solid list containing five or ten favourites, from across different genres and subject matters, is just something I can’t seem to muster the brain power for. Not enough conviction I suppose? There’s just so much to love!

But I can’t overlook the perfect chance to look back at all the great titles a year had to offer and 2011 had some really fantastic ones. So then where is this going, oh rambling one, you ask? My semi-traditional equivalent to the yearly best of – the random Lissa’s favourites and best-ofs list! Which really just means you get a lot more titles broken into a lot more categories so I can remain a lot more loving to a lot more series. And in some cases not so loving… From the Best Release Quality to the Favourite Fan Service and even to the most Gag Worthy – here are a bunch of my favourite titles from 2011!

Best Release Quality

While we’re not getting the same amount of individual volumes of manga as years’ past, the quality of releases keeps getting better. This year I was really impressed with Yen Press‘s work on A Bride’s Story which was a hardcover book sporting a beautiful full-colour, matte finish cover slip. It compliments the work perfectly!

Another nice hardcover book was Wandering Son which was released by Fantagraphics. The book was also printed at a larger than normal size making for a book that’s a bit tricky to fit on the shelf but really enjoyable to read.

Viz Media‘s softcover omnibus of CLAMP’s X series was also a treat with lots of full-colour, glossy pages inside. The series is also released in its original visual format for the first time in English.

Best Boys’ Love

My boys’ love buying was a bit smaller than usual this year as much of Digital Manga’s attentions shifted to digital releases and I began running into a lot of supply issues trying to buy physical copies from them (a definite downer of 2011!). Of the titles I did read though, two really stood out. The number one was Only Serious About You (Vol.01) – a really charming story that felt like Future Lovers meets Bunny Drop. The art was nice and the story so sweet and romantic, even with things remaining mostly platonic in this introductory volume.

Another boys’ love title that I loved was Rabbit Man, Tiger Man. I couldn’t resist the visual contrast between the small, cute doctor and the tall, scary yakuza! The story itself was a lot funnier than I expected and I was entertained by every page. The English adaptation stood out to me as being really good too, I loved some of the word choices. I really hope the rest of the series gets licensed.

Favourite Fan Service

While neither are new series to this year, the continuing Black Butler (Yen Press) and XXXHolic (Del Rey) win again for best fan service (the kind that appeals to me)! The suedo-romantic(?) tension between it’s lead male characters and the gorgeous clothing design and dark inking make them immediate must owns, complete with the occasional squeals and swoons. XXXHolic has been a more consistent wow factor volume after volume so it’ll be bittersweet seeing it end early this new year.

Best Second Chances

Re-releases, omnibus and new editions have became a fairly regular occurrence and the chance to revisit something missed is great. This year I was pleasantly surprised by Seven Sea‘s Blood Alone (Vol.01), an omnibus edition of the original first three volumes. It’s a great vampire story that steers clear of most tropes and focuses more on a subtle but poignant relationship between a young girl and her protector.

One of my favourite series of 2011 was Full Metal Alchemist. Though it’s been coming out for a number of years, I’d only just started reading it thanks to borrowing a friends’ copies. Viz Media celebrated the last volume of the series coming out by releasing a box set of the entire thing – all twenty-seven volumes! It’s a fantastic value. I highly recommend it, while also suggesting you avoid the omnibus editions which only cover the first nine volumes then stop.

Digital Manga‘s continuing editions of Kizuna have been great as well. In 2011 we finally got to the point in the omnibus editions where the original English edition by BeBeautiful had stopped. New content! I love that we have a second chance to purchase it, and now the whole thing at that!

Best (Worst?) Good-Byes

While 2011 saw some great series start, it also saw some of my favourites come to an end. The biggest and saddest goodbye goes to Vertical Inc‘s edition of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack. This is one of my favourite manga series of all time and to finish reading the last volume was a sad experience indeed. It’s such a fun series and Black Jack himself is an amazing character. I’ve no doubt I’ll be re-reading it again and again.

Viz Media’s English edition of Full Metal Alchemist also came to an end. The pain of it ending was dampened by how I’d read the whole thing within a month leading up to it and because the ending was so, so good. I’m also thankful we got to read the entire story. I wish I could say the same for things such as Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo and Shinobi Life which we’ve had to say farewell to early because of Tokyopop’s shutdown. That wasn’t an easy goodbye in itself either – so unfortunate!

Top Can’t-Look-Away-Titles

Like watching a train-wreck and being unable to look away (as they say…?), sometimes there are those titles that are just dark, depressing and sort of scary. Bleak as they may be, the emotional rollar-coasting of reading them makes every page turn worth it. Vertical delivered two series that fit the description, both by Usamaru Furuya. Lychee Light Club is a one-shot with plenty of violence, sex and crazy, crazy people. I read it, loved it and honestly may never read it again. It’s just one of those kind of titles, you know? My signed copy sits proudly on the shelf.

Usamaru Furuya’s No Longer Human has been an experience as well. It’s more grim and dark than violent and shocking but I’m definitely in for the whole messy journey. I look forward to seeing how it finishes in 2012 with volume three what was started in 2011 with volumes one and two.

Getting to meet Usamaru Furuya and hear him interviewed at TCAF 2012 was also a big highlight of the year for me. Hopefully in 2012 I’ll be able to meet an idol with fewer than twenty minutes of self-psyching to work up the nerve to say hello – it could happen, right?

Most Long Awaited

Of all the English manga titles and trends started in 2011, I think it’ll be most known for bringing about two of the most long-awaited manga series of all time – Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon and Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight.

Kodansha Comics released the two volume prequel series, Sailor V, and the first two volumes of Sailor Moon – both are must haves for the magical-girl fans out there! Talk about a trip down nostalgia lane too. While Sailor Moon is one of the most well-known manga titles, Vertical Inc took the honour of releasing one of the very first. The company released both omnibus volumes of Princess Knight in 2011 so you can now buy the whole thing – prepare to enjoy!

As a big CLAMP fan, I was also thrilled to finally get the first volume of their new Gate 7 in my hands. With the title first announced years ago by Dark Horse, it’s been a much longer wait than any anticipated.

Hidden Gems of 2011

Two titles published by Digital Manga that I really enjoyed were Replica and Countdown 7 Days. Both are by Kemuri Karakara and are series it’s tricky to really nail down genre-wise. They’re very shonen in nature but more character-oriented with really nice artwork, less focus on stuff like fighting and ‘The power of friendship!’. Sort of like… D.Grayman, Arata the Legend, and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles – to name a few that come to mind first.

I really enjoyed both the series so far – great art, fun characters and some interesting stories. I heard little mention of either from the manga blogosphere or social media outlets though but I hope a lot of readers still got to check them out. I’m sure a lot of readers out where would enjoy them. Volume one of each were released in 2011 and I’m eager for the follow-ups in 2012.

Must-Own One-Shots

I love a good one-shot! When done well they’re a really satisfying experience, having either a nice collection of short stories or one solid piece planned for a one-go read. They’re also the easiest thing to suggest to new readers – short but sweet, without the commitment of multi-volume series. Of the one-shots published in 2011, my favourites were Natsume Ono’s Tesoro (Viz Media) and Taniguchi Jiro ‘s A Zoo in Winter (Ponent Mon). I’ve read works by both the artist’s before but these easily became my favourites of each. Both are high quality releases and have stories full of sincerity and compelling human drama – I highly recommend both!

Top Tear-Jerkers

I don’t consider myself quick to tears but sometimes a volume of manga manages to get me there. Goes to show you should always be ready with a hanky or two because you never know what tears a story may bring. Ouran High School Host Club (Vol. 17) was such a fun, high-energy and very satisfying read that I found myself tearing up from joy. That was a new one for me. I enjoyed it so much, seeing how far the series and characters have come. You can bet the last volume, due out in June 2012, will be one hard to say good-bye to.

My feelings were similar reading the last volume of Genkaku Picasso, also released by Viz Media. Picasso’s growth and acceptance of his new friends and their support for him was so touching. I never thought it’d be a series that would move me that much but, by the end of volume three, I was definitely wiping at my eyes to be able to see the pages.

Lastly, when it came to just downright heart-breakingly sad, Stargazing Dog from NBM Publishing won hands down. What made me cry wasn’t even always the sad parts, sometimes it was those bittersweet moments that predate them. It was no surprise to me that a book about the love and loyalty of a pet dog would be an emotional trip though. It’s a great read but definitely have your tissues ready for this one.

Yay-For-More-Coming Titles

We saw series start and end in 2011 but many others were just trekking their way through with more to come. My top-wanted series (because goodness knows there’re dozens of ‘em) that began in years past and have continued through 2011 and onward to 2012 are Kamisama Kiss, Bunny Drop, 20th Century Boys, Pokemon Adventures and The Tyrant Falls in Love. Saying good-bye to a year comes with a lot of good-byes in general but at least there are none for these yet!

Alas-Only-One Titles

Some continuing titles however, made their way through 2011 with unfortunately minimal appearances. A number of my favourite series only had one volume released over the entire year. While the books were great, the long wait is always tough. I’ve got my fingers crossed for more of Kaze Hikaru, Yotsuba&!, Berserk and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service in 2012.

Most Redeemed

Along with the series that I already loved going into 2011, I also went into the year with a few series I was on the fence about. With several volumes of each throughout the year though, I was made a believer! While they each had some rough starts – be it too predictable, too slow or just painfully sexist, 2011 was a redeeming year for Rumiko Takahashi’s Rin-Ne (Viz Media), Kou Yaginuma’s Twin Spica (Vertical) and Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata’s Bakuman (Viz Media). Now I’ll be spending 2012 eagerly awaiting every new volume of these three.

Top I’m-Not-Sure-Why Reads

Most people have these kinds of reads – the ones where you really like them but you’re not really sure why. I went into 2011 not able to pinpoint why I love Viz Media’s Toriko and Kodansha Comics’ Air Gear so much and a year later I’m still not sure why. Both had several volumes out in 2011 and still the answer eludes me. One thing I do know though is I love Toriko more for the story, less for the art, and with Air Gear it’s the opposite. I guess as long as I still love reading them, it’s okay that 2011 held tight to their secrets!

Could’ve-Done-Withouts

Enjoyable as many reads were this year, there were some that I could have done without. They weren’t bad, per say, but I was left feeling so underwhelmed upon finishing that I felt my time and money could have been much better spent elsewhere. Blood Blockade Battlefront (Dark Horse), Drifters (Dark Horse) and Drops of God (Vertical) were all series newly started in 2011. While I usually give a series two volumes to impress, I think I’ll leave any future copies of these ones on the shelves for other more interested readers. Not necessarily bad, just not for me.

Most Gag Worthy

Alas where there is good and meh, there is also just outright bad. Thankfully I didn’t read too many stinkers this year but yikes, did the bad ever stand out when they did show themselves. While I don’t often regret reading a book, I got to that point with Ai Ore! (Vol. 01). With some of the most hateable characters I’ve ever read in a manga title, and the end of this first volume nearly earned the title a chuck at the wall. Why, Viz Media? Why?! Digital Manga’s The Beautiful Skies of Houou High was pretty bad also, but erred on the side of just being painful to read and falling short of being rage-inducing.

… and that’s it folks! My thanks to all the manga publishers, local retailers, fellow manga supporters and of course manga creators for a great 2011!

AnimeNewsNetwork has some great writers who contribute to the site and their manga editorial are always daily reads for me. Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga is always an extra treat – a weekly exploration and showcase of a specific manga title. This week the column had Shaenon Garrity as a guest writer and she contributes an article on CLAMP’s Chobits. It’s a fantastic read so I recommend checking it out!

Shaenon breaks down the series’ themes of sexuality, romance and relationship dynamics in a really concise and well-thought out manner. I don’t necessarily agree with all of the conclusions she makes but she backs up every observation and opinion in a way that really gets you thinking about the story.

Even the forum responses, often a minefield of painful commentary, are worth going through for the article. Shaenon herself also elaborates on some points she couldn’t go into via the article for spoiler reasons.

ANNCast is always a must-listen for me over at AnimeNewsNetwork but they’re most recent two shows have been especially interesting for manga readers. I highly recommend listening to both:

ANNCast – Tarboxed and Feathered

“Justin and Zac shoot the breeze about some ANN business, and then it’s all awful blurays and the winter 2011 movie season. Then our guest shows up – longtime industry veteran Jonathan “Jake” Tarbox tells the story of his career up to this point, including his stint at Raijin Comics and DC Comics’ short-lived manga imprint CMX, and then takes your questions via Twitter. You can’t go wrong! “

ANNCast – Guy Kiley

“Former Senior Vice President of Tokyopop Mike Kiley is our special guest this week, and he runs us through his long and storied career at the shuttered publisher. We cover it all – the heady early days, the not so heady later days and the company’s untimely downfall. You’ve been waiting for this one!”

The manner in which DC handled choosing licenses for CMX was both fascinating and terrifying. It says a lot about the problems they faced over their years as a manga publisher and makes me more thankful than ever for the great titles we did get from them, some I know we’d never have gotten from anyone else (Key to the Kingdom – I love it, but really?). Knowing it was mostly done via a method akin to a dartboard shows how lucky we were for some. You could really tell things were tightening up over at CMX in its final year for selection and marketing though. It’s so unfortunate it was the beginning of the end.

This week’s ANNCast has Zac and Justin sit down to talk to Mike Kiley, Senior Vice President of the now no-longer-publishing-manga-until-I-see-otherwise, Tokyopop. He shares a lot about his experience with the company from the day it began up until his final days in their office. He’s a terrific guest and speaks very well with a lot of interesting info to offer. I was especially interested in hearing which series sold well and reasons for others not continuing, such as Kino no Tabi. I regret no one, myself included, thought to ask about Tokyopop’s boys’ love imprint, BLU, but it’s a minor quip in an otherwise great look at TP’s life start to finish.

With Tokyopop wandering around the internet in zombie-form as of late, why not take a positive inspiration from their coincidentally Halloween-themed stunt? RightStuf’s Bargain Bin is full of old Tokyopop titles looking for homes. Time for some grave-digging!

In the holiday spirit, here are some Halloween-flavoured titles from the list for your enjoyment. I own each of these titles and love every one. Whether you want a mature, eerie story like The Embalmer or a liberally translated, hilariously entertaining ghost-seeing BL-laden story like Eerie Queerie!, or one of the many other in betweens, you’ll find each of these titles has its own uniqueness that makes it just right for October 31st reading:

Daemonium (Vol. 01) – $3.99
Eerie Queerie! (Vol. 01) – $4.99
Eerie Queerie! (Vol. 02) – $4.99
The Embalmer (Vol. 01) – $4.99
The Embalmer (Vol. 03) – $4.99
The Embalmer (Vol. 04) – $4.99
I Luv Halloween (Vol. 01) – $3.99
I Luv Halloween (Vol. 03) – $3.99
Mad Love Chase (Vol. 01) – $5.49
Mad Love Chase (Vol. 02) – $5.49
Tokyo Babylon (Vol. 01) – $3.99
Tokyo Babylon (Vol. 02) – $3.99
Zone-00 (Vol. 01) - $4.99

For some really good Halloween reads, I recommend checking back on Shannon Fay’s 13 Days of Halloween posts from last year too. It has a great mix of scary and fun titles to cover just about anything and everything you like about the day.

Books, books and more books! Digital manga may be picking up speed but I’m so thankful we still have bookshelves, upon bookshelves of manga to buy. This past week I got a bunch of new titles along with scattered older titles that I missed.

I also secured remaining plans for my trip to New York next month for NYAF/NYCC. Going to the con again is going to fun, meeting new and old acquaintances amazing and then there’s the opportunity to step foot into Kinokuniya again. A place of manga beauty… Anyway! Any other Kuriousity readers going this year?

In terms of goodies bought here at home recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find an early copy of Osamu Tezuka’s The Book of Human Insects. It’s published by Vertical Inc. and is a nice hardcover edition. I wasn’t expecting it to be flipped, since I’m so accustomed to reading their Black Jack books, but at least it doesn’t take long getting used to reading it the other way around.

Adding some new boys’ love to my shelves, I bought the one-shot Midnight Bloom from Digital Manga and two volumes of the Takumi-kun series: Tales Out of Season and Barefoot Waltz. I also bought The Betrayal Knows My Name (Vol. 01) which though not undeniably boys’ love yet, is definitely leaning the way. This one’s an omnibus release which is a format I’m becoming more and more fond of – so much manga in one affordable go!

To my sadness, I bought the last volume of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Vol. 07). It’s not actually the last volume of the series itself but looks like (based on retailer listings) that it’ll be the last one Viz Media is going to release. It’s unfortunate, but I suppose not very surprising as it doesn’t look to have sold very well. Starting something new to try and off-set the abrupt end, I bought my much anticipated Drifters (Vol. 01) from Dark Horse.

Another new series I bought (this one on a total whim because it was there) was Mardock Scramble (Vol. 01) from Kodansha Comics. From them I also bought Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Vol. 02) and Until the Full Moon (Vol. 01). There was a huge quality contrast between these two titles – Until the Full Moon looked beautiful with a really nice paper stock for the cover. Phoenix Wright however had really low resolution artwork on the cover that was pixelated and fuzzy – it looked like a bootleg product. Not good, Kodansha!

From Viz Media I continued a handful of on-going series with Pokemon: Black & White (Vol. 03), Bleach (Vol. 36) and Toriko (Vol. 06). I’ve already read Bleach and it was really good – a great flashback volume into the pasts of all the Shinigami. Toriko was just really, really, really weird still (they’re fighting a battle inside a giant mammoth’s intestines!) and I can’t help but love it because of that. I then purchased Fall in Love Like a Comic (Vol. 01 – 02), having just recently read and enjoyed the first volume from the library.

Lastly I bought a whole stack of old Tokyopop titles thanks to Strange Adventures‘ great discounted manga section. First I bought Soul Rescue (Vol. 01 – 02) since it’s by the same creator as Otomen, which Viz Media currently publishes. Because the cover looked really pretty, I then bought Million Tears (Vol. 01 – 02). Forget About Love (Vol. 01) was the last of my TP titles and unfortunately never had anything further than that published (so here’s hoping I don’t like it too much?).

Alas it looks like no Sailor Moon for me this week (why, Diamond Comics, why?!) but I’ve still lots and lots to read. Time to get started! So what’s in your Swag Bag this week?

August’s Manga Moveable Feast – an assortment of articles from a variety of bloggers about a single manga topic – is about Fumi Yoshinaga, manga artist extraordinaire. There’re already lots of great posts for the MMF about her books, her art style and her storytelling methods so I highly recommend following the updates.

For my contribution, I’ve compiled sources where you can buy Fumi Yoshinaga’s books online. We’re lucky to have so many to choose from and collect  - just compiling this list was a great reminder. While there’re a variety of places online and in-store to purchase her books, I’ve tried to find the cheapest options to make it that much easier to start, add to or finish your Yoshinaga library.

The red price indicates the lowest I could find (new from retailers, not used) and the first link offered is the source offering that price. I also added the Amazon links for those who prefer to buy from there. Note: Prices listed here are recent at the time of this posting and may not reflect what they are later!

All My Darling Daughters $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Yukiko, a salarywoman in her thirties, still lives with her mother Mari. But their relationship suffers a sudden change when Mari announces that she’s getting married – to an ex-host and aspiring actor who’s younger than Yukiko. Yukiko, convinced he’s out to fleece her mom, can’t stand to stay in the house and decides to move in with her boyfriend.”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 01-03) Bundle $6.99
[ Akadot ]

Antique Bakery (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“When an old antique shop re-opens as the hottest new bakery in an unsuspecting neighborhood, there’s no doubt that a few surprises are cooking. Love, rejection, old high school flames and the most delicious boy-to-boy affections all blend together to make a treat unlike any other. The Antique Bakery is now open… care for a dessert?”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Winter rain showers bring much more than frosting flowers when a mysterious man in sunglasses shows up at the bakery and addresses snooty Tachibana as “My Lord” in front of the entire staff! Suddenly, Tachibana’s secret history is revealed, and his dashing protector starts turning a few heads…when he isn’t accidentally running into walls”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 03) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The Antique Bakery is busier than ever, and the sweet smell of success means even more curious customers are rushing through the doors to sample the treats…including yet another mysterious stranger! This time around, it’s a dashing blonde businessman from Paris claiming to be Ono’s long-lost lover. Is he serving up the truth, or is something else on the back burner?”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 04)
[ >>>] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com]

“In the midst of this mania, terrible memories of a trauma from his younger days return to haunt him thanks to a brand-new wave of child abductions. A task force is on the case, but nobody has an easy answer yet…or a suspect. The nastiest twist? The victims all apparently died after having sampled delicious cakes.”

Don’t Say Anymore, Darling $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The only thing keeping Tadashi, a struggling song lyricist, alive is food handouts from Kouhei, a successful doctor. In fact, Tadashi has been leeching off of Kouhei for practically their entire professional lives. But Kouhei’s parents want nothing more than to see their son settling down. As Kouhei is pushed ever more forcefully into an arranged marriage, will he finally admit that he sees Tadashi as something more than just a friend?”

Flower of Life (Vol. 01-03) Bundle $9.99
[ Akadot ]

Flower of Life (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Forced to enroll one month late after recovering from a serious illness, Harutaro does his best to remain optimistic about enrolling in a new school. The other students try to make Haru feel welcome – especially his chubby, loveable pal, Shota – but Kai Majima, president of the manga club and all-around hard case, seems intent on making Harutaro’s high school life a living nightmare.”

Flower of Life (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Harutaro is at a loss. He and his buddy Shota have decided to produce their very own manga for the school cultural festival. Simultaneously, Harutaro has been picked for the lead role in the class play… but his lines are embarrassingly, overwhelmingly romantic! It’ll take a “manly” effort just to get through them. Harutaro’s classmates have a dilemma of their own – who knew Haru was such a bad actor?!”

Flower of Life (Vol. 03) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“It’s Christmastime, and Harutaro and his classmates are stoked for the big party! At least, that was the plan until… the tree, the food, the cake, the party music… each one in charge of these items hits an unexpected snag. Will the students’ festive get-together turn into a disaster that ruins the holiday for one-and-all? Or will the spirit of the season come through, despite every catastrophe?”

Flower of Life (Vol. 04)
[ >>> ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“As the school year winds down, Harutaro is in good spirits. His illness feels like a thing of the past, he and his best friend Shota are developing aspirations toward becoming professional manga artists, and best of all – his mom has come home for a visit! Just when things seem at their best, life often finds a way of balancing the scales. When a family secret causes Harutaro to question his future, who will he turn to in his lowest moment?”

Garden Dreams $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“In a castle in a far-off western land, there once lived a baron with empty eyes, whose melancholy ways belied a love of beauty and song. A wondrous garden surrounded the baron’s home–a place of quiet splendor that served to remind him of his painful, untended memories. Could the songs of two bards bring dreams of a happier tomorrow? Or would they bring more loss than the baron might possibly bear?”

Gerard & Jacques (Vol. 01) $7.49
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“As far as romantic first encounters go, meeting in a high-class brothel isn’t typical. Gerard becomes Jacques’ first and last patron when he buys freedom for the boy after sleeping with him. However, Gerard gives Jacques a challenge – can a spoiled child of the nobility survive on his own and earn his living without selling his body?”

Gerard & Jacques (Vol. 02) $7.49
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Jacques has been living in Gerard’s household for several years now, and has gone from houseboy to secretary and assistant, but increasingly he wants to be something even more special to Gerard. But what will happen when Jacques’ family reappears to claim him as their own? Will he be willing to leave the life, and the man, that he has grown to love? And with the thunder of revolution in the air, what can the future hold for this fledgling relationship?”

Ichigenme (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Tamiya meets Tohdou at Teinou University when he is unexpectedly French kissed by him at his zemi’s, or seminar’s, launch party! While Tamiya is somewhat put off by the unexpected kiss, considering the other students were forced to strip, he is grateful to Tohdou and they soon begin a curious friendship. But things become a little rocky when Tohdou admits he is gay and asks Tamiya to become his lover…”

Ichigenme (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The (apparently) frivolous Tohdou and the (overly) serious Tamiya continue to collide after graduation. But with Tohdou working on his PHD thesis and Tamiya an assistant professor at the university, the two rarely have time for each other, let alone sex.Luckily, Tohdou’s younger brother, Hiroaki, has just entered law school and is a student in Tamiya’s class.”

Lovers in the Night $4.99
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Hired as a servant by an aristocratic family, Claude works hard to care for the family that took him in. But when the master of the house and his wife eventually pass away, Claude must keep spoiled son Antoine in line and teach him to be a proper gentleman. As the two become closer, a forbidden love develops between them…”

Moon and Sandals (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Young Mr. Ida might be a newbie teacher but he is capable enough. Problem is, every time he writes his lecture on the board, he feels this deeply intense gaze boring through the back of his head. Could he be doing something wrong? For huge and intimidating student Kobayashi, Mr. Ida can’t do anything wrong. In fact, Ida is Kobayashi’s Mr. Right.”

Moon and Sandals (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Kobayashi, Toyo, Ida, Hashizume and Rikuko… everyone has gotten a little older but are they any wiser? The loveable characters of The Moon and the Sandals saga begin a new chapter in their lives. Kobayashi and Toyo have both successfully started their careers, Hashizume now heads his own restaurant and Rikuko is studying to be a doctor. But amidst all this seeming success, old issues still lurk below the surface, waiting to be resolved. Question is… Will the gang be able to muster enough maturity to finally settle old scores?”

Not Love But Delicious Foods $8.24
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“There is a Japanese saying that goes, “Hana yori dango,” or “dumplings over flowers.” No one is more of an advocate of this adage than mangaka Y-naga, a woman whose life revolves around her intense work and equally intense sleep schedule. The only thing that can rouse her out of this infernal cycle of deadlines and being dead to the world? Food.”

Ooku (Vol. 01) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country’s men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all of the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun’s Inner Chamber…”

Ooku (Vol. 02) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Curious about why female lords must take on male names, the Shogun Yoshimune seeks out the ancient scribe Murase and his archives of the last eighty years of the Inner Chambers – called the Chronicle of the Dying Day. In it’s pages Yoshimune discovers the coming of the Redface Pox, the death of the last male Shogun, and the birth of the new Japan…”

Ooku (Vol. 03) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“In this 17th Century Japan the Shogun is a woman… and the harem is full of men. The tale told in the Chronicle of the Dying Day continues as the young female shogun Iemitsu tries desperately to conceive a male heir. But her lover Arikoto seems unable to give her a child, and they must betray their hearts to save their country. Meanwhile, the Redface Pox continues its ruthless progress through Japan, leaving famine, despair, and the threat of anarchy in its wake.”

Ooku (Vol. 04) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Despite Iemitsu and Arikoto’s best efforts, there is no male heir to take over the shogunate. As the Redface Pox continues to ravage the country, it becomes increasingly clear within Edo Castle that Japan’s continued existence relies on overturning the centuries of custom that define it!”

Ooku (Vol. 05) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Gyokuei, who first arrived at the Inner Chambers as a young novitiate monk, has risen to become one of the shogun Tsunayoshi’s advisors. He hopes to protect the shogunate the same way his mentor Arikoto once did. But the numerous intrigues of the Inner Chambers – and the shogun herself – are pushing Gyokuei’s patience and cunning to the breaking point.”

Ooku (Vol. 06) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The aging shogun Tsunayoshi must name an heir, but her senile father is blocking the ascendance of the most likely candidate in favor of a young, untried lord. But politics and the shogun’s own unpopularity may soon take the choice out of her hands.”

Solfege $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Kugayama is a gifted music teacher, but a man with little ambition. Despite being born to a wealthy and prominent family, he passes his days in apathy – content to simply go through the motions of life. Then one day, ex-student Azuma Tanaka comes to him for help in studying for a prestigious music school’s entrance exam. Kugayama finds himself drawn to Tanaka’s budding youth and enthusiasm, invoking a desire he’s never known before.”

Truly Kindly $9.50
[ EverythingYaoi ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“A collection of romantic, dramatic boys’ love stories from famed manga-ka Fumi Yoshinaga!From modern-day tales of romance in Seattle, to eerie stories from historical Japan, to Yoshinaga-sensei’s depiction of the class conflicts that fueled the French Revolution… “

If you’re looking for Japanese editions of Fumi Yoshinaga’s work, including a variety of unlicensed works (which we cross our fingers will be licensed one day!), you can purchase them at Amazon.jp which offers delivery around the globe.

Exciting news for CLAMP fans today – it was revealed today that they’ll be resuming work on their series, Legal Drug! CLAMP had previously done three volumes of Legal Drug before it went on hiatus in 2003. Tokyopop released the ‘complete’ series in English.

“Meet Kazahaya and Rikuou. By day, they are two ordinary pharmacists; by night, their boss has them filling special prescriptions for clients with ailments that can’t be cured using ordinary elixirs.” – Tokyopop description for Legal Drug

Not too long ago it was announced that Legal Drug would be re-released in Japan, which of course times quite well with this news. Though translation of the relaunch say this will be a new series, I think it’ll still be more a continuation but with an opening that allows it to be taken as a new series. Clear introduction of characters, plot, etc. The re-release of the original three volumes will allow for  readers to pick them up if previously missed, while the new series offers shiny new content for existing fans and still a clean-slate for new ones. Plus it’s been such a long time since Legal Drug was last serialized – it’d seem kind of odd just calling it a straight continuation.

I’m really excited as a big lover of the original. The big question for us English-readers now, however, is when will Dark Horse announce the license? Fingers crossed, but consider this a big ‘pretty-please, Dark Horse!’. The original Legal Drug seems like an easy one-volume omnibus perfect for a new English edition but is it on Dark Horse’s radar? The company’s release of Gate 7 has been constantly fraught with delays and failed launch dates but I remain confident in their CLAMP-releasing abilities based on the sheer quality of their Cardcaptor Sakura, Clover and Chobits‘ books.

For now though, a simple YAY! It may be a while yet until it’s available for us to read in English but it’s CLAMP, so at least I’ve little doubt it’ll come to us eventually.

We survived! Another year of Animaritime is behind us, bringing with it some much needed relaxation and a heavy sadness. I miss all the staff and chatting with the attendees and even that constant hectic mental state you get in when you’re running back and forth from 8am-12am everyday. Amazing times! If you’re curious to see some pictures or read some comments, our Facebook page is very lively this year.

Special thanks to Vertical Inc‘s Ed Chavez who attended as a guest and held several great manga panels. I loved being on a panel with him and Andre for our Manga Industry panel (my first time participating in a roundtable panel) and I learned a lot from Ed’s Manga Licensing panel (for the love of manga support our publishers!).

Though most of my attention stays as a staffer, I always make time to visit the vendors. I was really happy to see there was even more manga than usual this year and came back home with a satisfying stack of goodies.

From the vendor Gamezilla (whose recently revamped store location I visited after the con ended) I got some great discounts on hard to find titles. My largest purchase was volumes 2-11 of Descendants of Darkness which I’ve been itching to reread – a supernatural story that teeters on the edge of being a boys’ love story. The switches between humour and really dark content is as strange as I remember it.

Having enjoyed the complete random of the last volume I read, I also bought Gatcha Gacha (Vol.06-07) and on some recommendations, Suppli (Vol. 02-03). Going for something newer, I bought the third volume of Afterschool Charisma.

Strange Adventures (always the Halifax store of choice!) returned as a vendor and had a bunch of manga to sift through. From there I found three volumes of Rumiko Takahashi’s One Pound Gospel, volumes 4 and 5 of Itazura na Kiss and A Drifting Life (so I can finally leave the library copy for someone else!). Lastly, despite a lacklustre feeling from the first volume, I gave Saturn Apartments another chance by buying volumes 2 and 3.

Other random purchases included two pretty art books by names I can’t read the Kanji for (thus sadly can’t tell you who they are), and a stack of old Mixx magazines because I got them for pennies and enjoy the nostalgia factor.

So yay for convention weekend! Animaritime is always a blast and somehow manages to out-do itself every year. More memories, more manga – it’s all a win-win! So what was in your swag bag this week?

Welcome to the first edition of Cover Watch – a new feature I’m starting here on Kuriousity. These posts will be write-ups about one of my favourite aspects of the manga industry: the graphic design! And most specifically, the covers. Sometimes I’ll be sharing older titles with designs I really like and remember; other times I’ll just be showing off some of the new covers posted online. One cover, two cover, eight covers – who knows!

As they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can definitely be turned on or away by it. Personally I love oogling the artwork and layouts of manga covers as they’re posted online. Even more so when I get the physical copies in hand to see how it all looks on the front, back and spine together.

This first post will be about Wild Adapter as it coincides with the currently running Manga Moveable Feast theme. The MMF is a collaboration between bloggers who want to get involved where all the participants share discussion and reviews about the month’s chosen series. I highly recommend checking these out for some really interesting and in-depth looks at different manga, often times for series that haven’t gotten as much attention as they deserve.

That said – onto the covers!

Wild Adapter (Vol. 01) – Japanese Edition

Tokyopop was and is one of my favourite manga publishers when it comes to cover design. They have some strict consistencies in place , such as a band down the side with their company name and the red ovals on the spine to show off the genre and TP logo, but still manage to make each book its own. Wild Adapter is a great example of how they took those elements and worked them into the design, allowing it to remain consistent with their other books while still giving Wild Adapter special care.

I really like the layout of this cover – the artwork turned like that isn’t something you see often so it really stands out. A complaint I have about the Japanese version though is the area where the title is written – the use of those particular fonts and gridded layout makes it look almost science-fiction like to me. In comparison, I really like what Tokyopop chose to do with that area.

Wild Adapter (Vol. 01) – English Edition

The new logo really suits the story – a combination of a feral font for WILD and a grungier looking style for ADAPTER. The background has some rusty looking texturing also. The placement of the author name and volume number is nice too – clear and easy to spot but tidily incorporated in (along with the semi-inconspicuous ’From the creator of’ notation).

It’s too bad that the Tokyopop company line (always on the right spine of the book) cuts off some of the artwork. Still, I love how they carried the design over to it with the bullet-holes and texturing. That you can see the artwork through the holes is a fun little touch too, like you’re seeing Makoto Kubota through a space between metal sheets on a wall.

The design on the back of this book is really nice too – I love it when the back of the book isn’t just an after thought for publishers. The text is turned at an angle to match the tilted artwork while still being neatly laid out (I’m a sucker for justified text!). The neat panel work – which are like puzzle pieces for a single important scene in the book – looks snazzy, especially against a cityscape in the background. Even the Tokyopop-standard age warnings and genre sticker (in this case a little picture of a bomb) blend in well with the red on orange – sure it’s coincidence in this case but it looks good all the same.

Other design bonuses in this English edition of Wild Adapter include four full-colour illustrations at the book’s start and the same header font/layout from the original Japanese cover used on the info pages on the inside. Each book shares the same design elements but in different colours and artwork: (Vol. 02) (Vol. 03) (Vol. 04) (Vol. 05) (Vol. 06)

Credit for graphic design of this volume goes to Louis Csontos (as credited in the book) – kudos for the nice work!

So what do you think of the Wild Adapter covers? Do you think they suit the series well? Any preference between the Japanese or English books?

Canada Post recently announcing their rotating strike was already bad news on its own but I was doubly cranky about it as my box of RightStuf goodies was presumably trapped somewhere between here and there. Luck was on my side though and on the morning the strike was set to start, my box arrived!

Taking advantage of their Digital Manga sale a little while back, I picked up a bunch of my must-have titles at prices I couldn’t possibly refuse! Paying their sale price on the US price, and the Canadian dollar as it is, I got each book for 50% off what I would’ve paid here.

Continuing current series, I bought Target in the Finder (Vol. 03), Kizuna Omnibus (Vol. 02) and Tyrant Who Falls In Love (Vol. 02). Now that I’ve got a couple volmes of Kizuna and Finder, it’s time to retire my BeBeautiful version to the storage bins. I also purchased Replica (Vol. 01) and Countdown 7 Days (Vol. 01). Both are shonen (I think?) series that I was able to get an early preview of from Digital Manga. I really liked them both and hope they still get a chance to impress people despite being hidden within DM’s big boys’ love library.

Back to the boys’ love, I got one of BLU’s final publications: Crimson Snow. It’s a one-shot title that I’ve been dying to have in my hand since I saw the gorgeous cover on Amazon last year. Learning the plot only furthered my want so it was the first to have its plastic covering ripped off. I also picked up the last two volumes of breath – a five volume BL series by the so far one-series company Yaoi Generation who’s been disappointedly quiet since last year.

And because a RightStuf purchase isn’t complete without some anime, I happily took advantage of the Funimation sale to buy Dragonball Z Kai Parts 2-4 and the second half of the series Welcome to the NHK.

Buying back on more local soil, I visited our big bookstore Chapters as the customary before-and-after seeing a movie ritual (aka, it’s right next door to the biggest theatre). Last week I was thrilled to get a copy of A Bride’s Story from Yen Press. It’s a really gorgeous book and you’ll want to spend some time oogling the hard cover design before  you even crack it open.

This upcoming week is Viz Media‘s huge shipping list, which generally always happens the first week of the month. This often means a big armful of books for me and this month was no exception, especially with some of my absolute favourites out. Books carried to the check-out included Pokemon Adventures (Vol. 13), Bleach (Vol. 35), Blue Excorcist (Vol. 02) and Toriko (Vol. 05). I also bought Full Metal Alchemist 3-in-1 (Vol. 01) because of a friends’ recommendation. To try and round out the shonen just a little, I also bought Grand Guignol Orchestra (Vol. 03) – battling doll-like zombies with music while wearing Victorian gothic attire!

Thankfully I just finished a big Spring cleaning revamp of my manga bookshelves (which of course included adding a new one), so there’s plenty of space to start adding in my new goodies. That said, I’ll be selling a couple boxes full at this upcoming Animaritime so East Coast Canadians have another reason to come enjoy the event ;)

So what was in your swag bag this week?

Conveniently located on Toronto’s busy (and bound to keep you even busier) Bloor St W, my roommate and I entered what we thought was just your run of the mill used book store. Never know what you can find, right? Well what we found was BMV Books – a three-floor discount bookstore with an entire floor dedicated to comic books, manga and fantasy novels.

The manga sold here is mostly overstock material, meaning it’s likely product sold to them that couldn’t be sold by either the publisher or other companies. They also sell some used material brought in to them by customers. Their selection is vast – from titles over a decade old to titles much more recent, you’ll find a little of everything and all at about 50% off the CDN cover price or less. Typically the books ranged from $3.00-$6.00, depending on the company and format.

We found books as new as the third volume of Vertical’s 7 Billion Needles and Yen Press’s Maximum Ride, to editions as old as Mixx’s Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth volumes (in surprisingly good condition too). There was something of every genre released in English, including boys’ love and yuri. First edition volumes of Fushigi Yuugi were especially nostalgic to me (my first manga GN purchases!) while I loved the opportunity to fill in my collection with some long-since out of print OEL titles from Tokyopop, NetComics titles (which I have trouble finding anywhere but conventions) and a couple ADV Manga books. All for cheap!

If you’re a manga fan who lives in or around, or is simply visiting, Toronto, then along with their assortment of comic stores, I highly recommend putting Bloor St W’s BMV Books on your list of must-shop stops.

Missed this one! My review of Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo (Vol.08) can be read over on AnimeNewsNetwork. The review was originally posted back in February.

Pet Shop of Horrors is one of my favourite manga so it was tough writing my review for this volume which was very… meh. Not bad, but not all that great in comparison to those before it. Several issues on Tokyopop’s end were also really disappointing and stood out a lot. Saddest of all though, it all pales in comparison to the fact this is likely the last volume of Pet Shop of Horrors (or perhaps even Matsuri Akino) that we’ll see in English because of Tokyopop’s shut down.

None the less I still highly recommend this series. The original series, Pet Shop of Horrors, is notably for horror fans while the sequel series, Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo, takes a much more light-hearted, character driven turn. Fingers crossed we somehow see the end in English someday!

Also a note that I’m no longer writing manga reviews for AnimeNewsNetwork effective this past May 22nd. We may still see some reviews of mine pop up on there (which I’ll continue to link to from here) but I won’t be submitting new material. That being said, ANN is looking for a new manga reviewer! If interested, you can check out their listing for the credentials and how-tos of applying.

Welcome to what is definitely the longest Swag Bag to date! Mostly because I completely failed to compile my Swag Bag from last year’s Anime North… None the less! – my recent trip to Toronto was chock full of fun finds, and painful but no doubt hilarious attempts at cramming it all into my suitcases. This post here consists of the manga I bought while traversing the packed streets of Toronto while my TCAF purchases will come in a later post once I’ve finished oogling them enough to write something coherent.

The books listed here were all purchased from either my local Strange Adventures (pre-con buying is important, like eating before going to the grocery store – it helps… I think). The rest with exception of I think 1 or 2 came from what I’m dubbing the manga treasure trove of Toronto – The Beguiling. My thanks to their very accomodating staff! If curious about my other comic shop adventures in Toronto, you can check out the Ontario section of Kuriousity’s Canadian Comic Shop listings.

Now onto the swag!

Like most of my Swag Bag posts as of late, Viz Media dominates the list. Then again why shouldn’t they with the largest output? I’m not complaining though. Starting with a dash of shoujo, I picked up Otomen (Vol. 10) and Arata (Vol. 05). Ensuring I’d need to be extra careful packing my suitcases to drag onto a plane, I also bought Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 05-17) – twelve volumes of a single series in one go is more faith than I’ve given any series before so don’t let me down Kaze Hikaru!

Picking up some series not under the Shoujo Beat brand, but certainly no less dramatic in their own ways, I got Genkaku Picasso (Vol. 03) (the last volume to my surprise!), Dogs (Vol. 04) (because I’m a ninny and bought volume five without realizing I missed four) and Bakuman (Vol. 04) (which looks more like a light novel with the words to pictures ratio – yikes!).

Interesting, unexpected and very delightful finds were the long since out of print Short Cuts (Vol. 01 – 02) by Usamaru Fuyura (who I had the pleasure of meeting there despite my sad shy pacing in circles before working up the nerve to say hello) and an artbook Dragonball: The Complete Illustrations. I had come across this very same artbook in its original Japanese release the day before and now I’m glad I held off buying it since now I have it in English.

Next up was Tokyopop, some bittersweet purchases considering their recent demise. On the upside, three of the four purchases were final volumes of series so that’s three more series completed on the shelf: Roadsong (Vol. 03), CLAMP no Kiseki (Set 12) and Karakuri Odette (Vol. 06). Alas that I can’t say the same for Matsuri Akino’s Genju no Seiza (Vol. 08) which I may never see the end of now. So depressing!

Vertical Inc. offered up some satisfying finishes to soften the blow with the absolutely, fantastically disturbing one-shot Lychee Light Club (signed by Usamaru Fuyura!) and the character-driven science fiction series 7 Billion Needles which comes to an end here at volume four.

But all this snazzy manga buying isn’t complete without a healthy dose of boys’ love. I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of Oh My God (Vol. 02) published by the unfortunately shutdown Deux Press. Speaking of unfortunately shutdown, I also bought the sadly weird-proofreading-flawed one-shot Croquis by Hinako Takanaga and BLU Manga. The bulk of my BL buys were then one-shots from Digital Manga and all chosen because they’re by creators whose works I’ve enjoyed before: Makoto Tateno’s A Bloody Kiss Tonight, Yukine Honami’s Stolen Heart and Yaya Sakuragi’s Stay Close To Me. I take a big break from the fluff with the second and last volume of Undergrand Hotel.

With not half as much available in English, I was all the more eager to leap a top two Yuri books I’d been looking for. The first was Voiceful – a cute little schoolgirl love story – published by Seven Seas. The second book was another one-shot titled Works from ALC Publishing. It’s a much more mature story about love between older woman – both amusing and classy!

To round off my teetering stacks of how-did-I-fit-these-in-our-suitcases with a few single volume purchases from other companies, I finally (shame on me!) found a copy of Bunny Drop (Vol. 03) from Yen Press. I gobbled this series with my eyes the moment I got home that day because it’s just that good – an absolutely adorable and refreshingly grounded story about a man raising his five year old Aunt.

Deviating a lot in tone and subject matter, I bought the second volume of Digital Manga’s horror series Taimashin (Vol. 02). I’m never blown away when I read this series but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t drawn back again by the gorgeous male main character. What can I say – I’m a sucker for a super pretty guy.

Lastly, and certainly not least, I was happy to pick up some older series – By the Sword (Vol. 01 – 02) from the now defunct ADV Manga and by the same manga artist as Fake and the upcoming Full Moon from Kodansha Comics. Speaking of boys’ love (mentioning Fake means I’ve made a semi-meaningful connection, right?), I purchased the full two volume series of Roureville from NetComics. I’ve had it recommended to me so we’ll see how it fares. I really love the cover though so good start. And then the true lastly, Hayate x Blade Omnibus (Vol. 02) from Seven Seas – huzzah for omnibus!

So these were my purchases over the past two weeks – what shiny things have you added to your bookshelf lately? Anything you’d recommend?

And a new question for folks as we here at Kuriousity try to breath some new life into our review systems – any book here you’d like to see me review? Something you’re curious to learn more about or even something you’ve read and looking compare opinions on (and join a fellow reader in a chat)? Let me know!

For now be sure to enjoy your swag this week :)

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is coming up this week and though I’ve been saving pennies to lavish on the artists there, I had to leave some room in my pre-trip budget for new manga books!

From Viz Media this week I bought Kingyo Used Books (Vol. 03) which has a chapter about someone reading Sailor Moon in it – both nostalgic and well-timed. I also bought March Story (Vol. 02) and I enjoyed it even more than the first volume as it focuses more on the characters. Great atmosphere in this series. It only takes a quick flip through to stare at the artwork to see what I mean.

A little behind on this series but I finally came across a copy of Genkaku Picasso (Vol. 02). I’m expecting lots more of the same weirdness the first volume had and looking forward to it! I rounded out my purchases with a great discount-bin find of Buddha (Vol. 01) to add my Osamu Tezuka collection.

From Seven Seas I bought Blood Alone (Vol. 01) which is omnibus of the first three volumes. I’ve wanted to read this series for a while because of the pretty covers (doesn’t take much for me to give a series at least a fair try!) and having it re-released as a 3-in-1 is the perfect opportunity. It’s also a nice omnibus physically-speaking, very light in hand despite the huge page count and still feels tightly bound.

And lastly I was able to finish at least one of my on-going Tokyopop series by purchasing Mad Love Chase (Vol. 05). The series hasn’t made the most sense in the past couple volumes but I’m a fan of the artist’s work so my fingers are crossed for a somewhat coherent finish.

Next week I plan to write about my non-manga purchases for a change with hopefully a long list of self-published comics I’ll get to buy at TCAF. Until then, what was in your swag bag this week?

There’s a new ANNCast posted this week over at AnimeNewsNetwork where I joined host Zac Bertschy and Erica Friedman from Yuricon.com to discuss the recent Tokyopop shutdown.

We talk about Tokyopop’s shakier business decisions, Stu Levy’s (the company’s CEO) big role to play in its demise and public opinion as well as their Manga Pilot Program. It was a great conversation full of optimism and not-so-optimistic hard truths – I’m thankful I had the opportunity to participate and hope people enjoy the listen.