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Archive for the ‘Viz Media’ Category

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – March 7, 2012

By on Friday, March 9, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - March 7, 2012

Yikes, where did the week go?! For that matter where is the year going… can you believe it’s already mid-March? I’m not sure I can. At least there’s always the weekly manga buying trips to keep things evened out – time may be zipping by fast but I never seem to be able to get myself to the store fast enough to sate the need for new books.

This week’s shipping list can be seen in my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA. Highlights include a new shoujo series from Viz Media – The Early and Fairy – and the end of one of my personal favourites, Twin Spica, from Vertical Inc. For the omnibus lovers out there, two shoujo series are also returning in their new, extra value-ridden formats this week – Skip Beat! and Hana Kimi.

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

PR: Classic Shojo Manga HANA-KIMI and SKIP BEAT! Ominibus Editions

By on Wednesday, March 7, 2012

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES NEW
3-IN-1 OMNIBUS MANGA EDITIONS FOR
HANA-KIMI AND SKIP·BEAT!

New Releases Of Two Classic Shojo Manga Series Each Bundle Three Complete Volumes Into A Single Handy Edition

San Francisco, CA, March 6, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, offers fans a double-dose of shojo manga (graphic novel) fun today with the release of new omnibus 3-in-1 editions for a pair of classic series – SKIP·BEAT! and HANA-KIMI. Each of the new releases from the company’s Shojo Beat imprint bundles 3 complete manga volumes into a handy and compact reading companion.

HANA-KIMI 3-in-1 Edition Volume 1 · Rated “T+” for Older Teens ·
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN · Available March 6th
Mizuki Ashiya has such a crush on a track star named Izumi Sano that she moves from the U.S. to Japan to enroll in the all-male high school he attends! Pretending to be a boy, Mizuki eventually becomes Sano’s roommate… but how can she keep such a big secret when she’s so close to the guy she likes?

Creator Hisaya Nakajo’s manga series, HANA-KIMI, has been a hit since it first appeared in 1997 in the shojo manga magazine Hana to Yume (Flowers and Dreams). In Japan, a HANA-KIMI art book (also available from VIZ Media) and several drama CDs also have been released. Her other notable manga series include Missing Piece and Yumemiru Happa (The Dreaming Leaf).

SKIP·BEAT! 3-in-1 Edition Volume 1 · Rated “T” for Teens ·
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN · Available March 6th
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he’s casting her out now that he’s famous enough! Kyoko won’t suffer in silence – she’s going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Manga creator Yoshiki Nakamura started drawing manga in elementary school, which eventually led to her 1993 debut with Yume de Au yori Suteki (Better Than Seeing in a Dream) in Hana to Yume (Flowers and Dreams) magazine. Her other works include the basketball series Saint Love, as well as Can’t Give Up MVP, Blue Wars, and Tokyo Crazy Paradise, a series about a female bodyguard set in 2020 Tokyo.

For more information on HANA-KIMI, SKIP·BEAT!, or other shojo manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit ShojoBeat.com.

Read more…

Categories: Press Releases, Viz Media |

Review: Bleach (Vol. 38)

By on Friday, March 2, 2012
Bleach (Vol. 38)

Manga-ka: Kubo Tite
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2012

Synopsis: “The Soul Reapers must guard the four pillars that are protecting Karakura Town from destruction of the hands of Aizen’s minions. Standing guard are assistant captains Yumichika, Kira, Hisagi and Ikkaku! But when Ikkaku goes down, will Karakura Town fall with him…?!”

Bleach’s multi-volume spanning fight scenes are nothing new to readers. Engaging as they can be, by now we’re just hoping this current one will be this arc’s climax so we can finally move on. Starring an assortment of new just-for-this-fight enemies and a dozen different Shinigami, each chapter continues to focus on one or two specific characters. It’s great for learning more about those who’ve been lost to the background but not such a great arrangement if you’re waiting for what happens next.

Read more…

Categories: Manga, Reviews, Viz Media | Tags:

PR: Viz Media’s Earl And the Fairy – Fairy Doctor Caught in Victorian Intrigue!

By on Friday, March 2, 2012

FANTASY AND INTRIGUE AWAIT READERS IN THE NEW VIZ MEDIA SHOJO MANGA SERIES THE EARL AND THE FAIRY

A Fairy Doctor Who Sees Magical Creatures Helps An Aristocrat Search For A Legendary Sword And Hunt A Mysterious Killer

San Francisco, CA, March 1, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, launches a fantastic tale of fairies and fantasy set in against the backdrop of Victorian England with the debut of THE EARL AND THE FAIRY on March 6th. The new Shojo Beat series, created by Mizue Tani with artwork by Ayuko, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor and one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man!

Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces!

Read more…

Categories: Press Releases, Viz Media |

Diamond Manga Previews: February 2012

By on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Diamond Previews: February 2012

I was a bit late picking up my Previews magazine this month so my apologies to the two of you who were wondering where the heck my second installment of Previews was (I kid! …don’t I?). So here I am taking advantage of that extra day – Happy Leap Day! This month’s previews didn’t have as much manga content as January’s but still lots of fun stuff to look forward to and order in at our local comic stores.

February 2012 Manga Previews Checklist (PDF)

You may continue reading at your own discretion for my thoughts, elaborations, random pictures and the Top 10 Selling Manga of December 2011 and Diamond Comics top selling manga of all 2011!

Read more…

Categories: Dark Horse, Digital Manga, June, Kodansha Comics, Manga, News, Release Lists, Seven Seas, UDON, Vertical, Viz Media, Yaoi/Boys' Love, Yen Press | Tags:

SuBLime Licenses Yaya Sakuragi’s Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love

By on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

SuBLime

2012 is really shaping up to be the year of adult manga so far, isn’t it? It feels like the bulk of licensing news since the new year began has been mature titles from SuBLime and Digital Manga Publishing, be it hentai, boys’ love or Tezuka’s darker-themed, Barbara. It’s become a notable trend so far but I’ve no complaints. It’s been fantastic seeing this time of year full of manga licenses when typically I associate them as coming in bulk in the summer.

That being said, SuBLime continues to roll along with their new  licenses, announcing today they’ll be releasing Yaya Sakuragi’s Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love:

“High school student Ao has had a wet dream about longtime neighbor and Shinto priest, Ryomei. He’s taken aback and excited by this dream, and starts to consider the joys of a relationship with another man. Ao approaches Ryomei in the hopes of making his dream a reality, but is flatly refused. Not one to give up easily, Ao persists until he finally gets his kiss. But will this horny high schooler really be satisfied with a simple kiss? Bonus story included!”

I’m looking forward to buying this one, having enjoyed some of Yaya Sakuragi’s work in the past when published by DMP and the now defunct BLU. Plus it has a priest in it which is always a soft spot of mine – robes are so pretty to look at!  Volume one is scheduled for release in August 2012 with following volumes being printed every three months. Currently SuBLime does not have rights for releasing Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love digitally.

SuBLime also announced they’ve licensed Makoto Tateno’s How’s Your Ex?. Unfortunately this one-shot title is a digital-only release. It’s scheduled for April 2012 and is one of the creator’s most recent projects, just published in Japan back in November 2011.

Categories: Licensing, Manga, Sublime, Yaoi/Boys' Love |

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – February 22, 2012

By on Friday, February 24, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - February 22, 2012

One piece of good news this week – a new volume of XXXHolic! The sad news of the week – it’s the final volume. I’ve been buying the series since high school and it’s one of my favourites, if not my actual favourite, amidst CLAMP’s books over the years. I’ve heard people say the ending isn’t very satisfying but I’m going in with an open mind, and the glee of simply having another chance to drool over the beautiful artwork.

Along with the one series ending, Vertical Inc. has a new series (well, newly continued): GTO The Early Years (Vol.11) and Digital Manga is releasing the fifth deluxe re-issue of the boys’ love series, Kizuna. You can see the complete list of releases this week over at my Otaku USA On The Shelf article.

Categories: Dark Horse, Del Rey, Digital Manga, June, Kodansha Comics, Manga, News, Release Lists, Vertical, Viz Media, Yen Press | Tags: ,

Tuesday Twitter Treats – DMP and SuBLime Announce New Licenses

By on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Twitter Treasures From Digital Manga and SuBLime

Both Digital Manga Publishing and SuBLime had fans glued to social media sources tonight when representatives from both teased they’d be announcing a number of new licenses this evening. I was following them both via their Twitter accounts (DMP/SuBLime) for the news.

Digital Manga (blog post):

The Man I Picked Up – CJ Michalski (June)
With a Dictionary and No Skirt – Tomoyuki Enoki (Project-H)
Colorful Harvest – Ponkotsu Works (Project-H)
An Ideal Day to Fall in Love – Ponkotsu Works (Project-H)

CJ Michalski’s The Man I Picked Up is about a club-owner who finds an injured young man outside his establishment. It’s a one-shot, love-at-first-sight boys’ love story by the same creator as That Was Good, which DMP published last year.

With a Dictionary and No Skirt, Colorful Harvest and An Ideal Day to Fall in Love are all one-shot volumes as well, all three published under DMP’s hentai imprint, Project-H. Colorful Harvest is the story of a young man returning home to help with his family’s vineyards where he meets an old childhood friend.

SuBLime (blog post):

Kiss Ariki – Youka Nitta
Awkward Silence – Hinako Takanaga

Both these new boys’ love titles are scheduled for digital and print releases (yay!) with their first volumes due out this summer.

Kiss Ariki is currently being published in English by Animate USA on the Kindle. Since August 2010 they’ve published seven chapters. Presumably SuBLime will be doing their own translations and typesetting. Several other Youka Nitta titles have been released by Animate USA and other publishers over the years, including DMP’s White Brand and Otodama. Her series, Kiss Ariki, is about a yakuza’s son sent to a deserted island for his protection. Along with him is the son of his father’s second-in-command. Two young men + deserted island? You guess the rest!

Hinako Takanaga’s Awkward Silence is my favourite announcement of the night. As a huge fan of the creator’s work, I’ll always be happy to have more of her books to purchase. This title in particular I’ve been buying in French and I’m super excited to get a copy in English (my French reading skills are more than a bit rusty these days!). It’s an adorable story about a young man whose shyness leads to trouble speaking and expressing his feelings. When asked out by the classmate he has a crush on, he begins to open up to both him and his friends. Very cute and often funny! I’d recommend this series to those who enjoyed Hinako Takanaga’s Little Butterfly.

Categories: Digital Manga, Licensing, Manga, News, Project-H, Sublime, Yaoi/Boys' Love | Tags: ,

Sleepless Nights, In These Words – New BL Titles Scheduled For Print

By on Saturday, February 18, 2012

New BL Titles Scheduled for Print

A few different tidbits of boys’ love news rounded up from the week today. Always makes me happy when I can write up about more books heading to print!

Continuing a recent trend of license announcements, Digital Manga has posted news of their license for Sachi Murakami’s one-shot story collection, Sleepless Nights. The title is scheduled for both a digital and print release, with dates yet to be revealed. The book’s title story follows two men who, after sharing a sexual relationship when younger, meet years later and become roommates.

Over on Amazon, I also came across a listing for a print edition of Guilt Pleasure’s In These Words. The Guilt|Pleasure website confirms this book will have a summer release. As a big fan of Jo Chen’s artwork (Guilt Pleasure is her group name for her boys’ love work), I’m thrilled to see In These Words coming to print in English with some wider distribution. It’s listed as being published by Digital Manga’s 801Media imprint, also an exciting note for the branching out it symbolizes for the company. Digital Manga already offers several originally English-language titles on their digital eManga website such as a Teahouse preview and Yaoi Press books but this is the first time they’ve published one in print.

A text version of the story can be read over on the creator’s website and you can drool over her gorgeous artwork on the site’s blog. A short synopsis from their site for In These Words is as follows:

“Asano Katsuya is an US trained psychiatrist who had been recruited by the Tokyo Police Department to provide a profile through the victims’ data.  Based on Asano’s profile and recommendation, an elaborate plan was put in place to lure the serial killer out.  It was within months the plan bore a successful result. After three years and twelve victims, Shinohara Keiji was finally in the police custody.  Shinohara had promised a thorough confession, however, on the absolute term that Asano has to be the one to receive it. Besides the curious request by the killer whom Asano was only familiar with on paper, disturbing nightmares began to plague him as soon as he was given the case…”

Yaoi Press – a publisher of boys’ love content from artists around the world – is returning to print publishing with a new title due out in the summer as well. The company has focused almost exclusively on digital BL novels via their Yaoi Prose (18+) imprint since 2009. Punishment is a one-shot graphic novel written by the company’s owner, Yamila Abraham, and illustrated by Yifeng Jiang. A synopsis and larger cover image for the book can be seen over on the Yaoi Press website. I’m really happy to see them returning to print publishing for a couple titles, and even more so that it’s a simultaneous return to fully illustrated releases.

And lastly, in digital BL news, SuBLime has released another title for purchase and download this past Valentine’s Day- Isaku Natsume’s Devil’s Honey. Originally scheduled for the same day, volumes two of Love Pistols and Husband, Honeymoon have both been pushed back to February 29.

Categories: Digital Manga, June, Licensing, Manga, Manhua, News, OEL/GlobalManga, Sublime, Yaoi Press, Yaoi/Boys' Love |

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – February 15, 2012

By on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - February 15, 2012

Post-Valentine’s Day, aka discount chocolate day! New manga and bags full of chocolate is a winning combination to me. There aren’t a whole lot of new titles this week but still plenty of quality, including a couple omnibus for added value.

The new volume of Viz Media‘s 20th Century Boys and Digital Manga’s Black Sun are my must-haves this week. It’s hard to believe I reviewed Black Sun (Vol. 01) back in December 2008! You can see the full list of this week’s releases over at Otaku USA in my On The Shelf article.

Categories: 801Media, Digital Manga, June, Kodansha Comics, Manga, News, Release Lists, Seven Seas, Viz Media | Tags: , , ,

Review: Dawn of the Arcana (Vol. 02)

By on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Dawn of the Arcana (Vol. 02)

Manga-ka: Rei Toma
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2012

Synopsis: “Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, but things take a surprising turn when Caesar finds himself falling for his strange wife! Caesar tries to get Nakaba to return his feelings, but she maintains that he is her enemy and that she hates him. So when Nakaba has a vision of Caesar getting killed, will she say anything to save him?”

Princess Nakaba remains a captive as the wife to Prince Caeser, heir to the throne of the kingdom warring against her own. With Nakaba’s loyal attendant Loki at her side, her time in the castle has shifted its attentions from survival to instead coming to terms with her growing romantic feelings. It’s not the direction I was hoping the story would go but I can’t say I’m surprised. At least with someone still worth rooting for and artwork to oogle, Dawn of the Arcana could be a winner yet.

Read more…

Categories: Manga, Reviews, Viz Media | Tags:

PR: High School Girl Marches To Her Own Beat In A Devil and Her Love Song

By on Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A HIGH SCHOOL GIRL MARCHES TO HER OWN BEAT IN
A DEVIL AND HER LOVE SONG, NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA

An Outspoken Outsider With Amazing Singing Talent Tries To Fit In And Still Maintain Her Hard Edge In The Latest Manga Series From VIZ Media’s Shojo Beat Imprint

San Francisco, CA, February 8, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, debuts the poignant shojo manga (graphic novel) series, A DEVIL AND HER LOVE SONG, now available. The new title, published under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and carries an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Meet Maria Kawai – she’s gorgeous and whip-smart, a girl who seems to have it all. But when she unleashes her sharp tongue, it’s no wonder some consider her to be the very devil! Maria’s difficult ways even get her kicked out of an elite school, but this particular fall may actually turn out to be her saving grace… Maria’s frank nature gains her more enemies at her new school, but her angelic singing voice inadvertently catches the attention of Yusuke Kanda and Shin Meguro. Can these boys mend her hardened heart, or will they just end up getting scorched?

Read more…

Categories: Press Releases, Viz Media |

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – February 9, 2012

By on Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - February 8, 2012

There was no On The Shelf article last Wednesday because of a week without any new manga releases on my schedule list – how depressing was that? Well I guess we’ll accept those mini lulls now and again, especially with big release days like today following it up.

It’s Viz Media‘s big shipment of the month with nineteen new volumes of manga, including the first volume of A Devil and Her Love Song. You can read the full list of titles out this week over at Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article this week. Along with a slew of new volumes of shonen and soujo series, there’s also new volume of the well-loved Finder series from Digital Manga and two new of their Project-H books. Hopefully something for everyone – enjoy!

Categories: 801Media, Digital Manga, June, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Manhwa, News, Project-H, Release Lists, Vertical, Viz Media, Yaoi/Boys' Love | Tags: , , , ,

SuBLime Launches First Digital Titles, Fans Note Censorship

By on Friday, February 3, 2012

SuBLime Launches First Digital Titles - Oku-san's Daily Fantasies

SuBLime – a boys’ love publisher in association with Viz Media – released their first digital titles today. While select SuBLime titles will be published in print, their premiering four titles – The Bed of My Dear King, Oku-san’s Daily Fantasies, Love Pistols (Vol.01) and Husband, Honeymoon are all digital-only. Upon purchasing, you’re able to download a PDF edition of the book(s).

A couple fans pointed on via Twitter and SuBLime’s website that Oku-san’s Daily Fantasies has been censored when compared to its run in Libre’s Be x Boy magazine. Genitals were removed/covered with the infamous-by-now blank glowing shape. SuBLime’s editor assured readers that they do not censor any of their titles and that these edits were done by the original publisher. They appear in SuBLime’s edition the same as they do in the original Japanese collected edition.

I hope these titles sell well for SuBLime – as the largest manga publisher in English, and with a lot of resources at their disposal, Viz Media is a company we definitely want to remain confident in the boys’ love market. I’m torn on their digital releases though – I don’t read manga digitally but I want to support titles in hopes they’ll actually be sent to the printers someday. A situation like this is where I think a fundraising program like Digital Manga has been doing would work better. SuBLime has already licensed the title, completed it and put it up for readers to preview and/or purchase to read in full at their discretion. A Kickstarter-like system could be used for readers who want it in print, where interest could be gauged with something more dependable than a simple poll, and serve as a pre-order system that only goes through if enough interest is shown. I’m not ready to pay for a digital copy I likely won’t read on the slim hope that means it gets printed but I would definitely pledge money towards a product presented like this to get published.

Categories: Manga, News, Sublime, Viz Media, Yaoi/Boys' Love |

Review: Cross Game (Vol. 06)

By on Friday, February 3, 2012
Cross Game (Vol. 06)

Manga-ka: Mitsuru Adachi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2012

Synopsis: “The arrival of a new year brings Ko’s last shot at Koshien closer at hand, but Akane Takigawa and her striking resemblance to Wakaba cause Ko’s heart to stir. Meanwhile, something happens to make Azuma and Aoba grow closer. Young feelings wax and wane in Ko’s third year of high school. To top it off, the Seishu baseball team gets a new coach?!”

This new volume of Cross Game arrives at the perfect time of year (though one could easily argue that any time of year is perfect for another stirring volume of Mitsuru’s Adachi baseball-driven character drama). With events spanning from early January to mid-February, the snow has begun to melt, the summer Koshien tournament is around the corner and love is undeniably in the air.

Read more…

Categories: Manga, Reviews, Viz Media | Tags:


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Sun Fish, Moon FishSun Fish, Moon Fish - "...delivering a story with a pair of likeable characters, shows a lot promise despite a lack of polish."
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