Category > Press Releases
US publisher VIZ Manga announces plans to simultaneously publish the 13th volume of the popular manga in English on November 2nd 2012.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Culture
TES - The Times Education Supplement, a popular magazine for teachers and those in education have an interesting article about getting pupils into art through manga. It was published in the 11th May 2012 edition.
A manga scheme of work has been drawn up by Jono Carney. A 12 lesson scheme of work introduces "the manga style", and helps pupils creating their own characters. The article then mentions that members of the TES forums can get access to cross-meduim project plans and teaching resources for anime and storyboarding too. So if you're in school, why not encourage your teacher to foster the otaku in you?
Souce: Times Education Supplement
Category > Manga
The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 11.
It features Six previously unpublished stories straight from the Tokyo underground. Android Angels, One is Enough, Stones of Power, Anomal, Alive and GB Geist. They've been running for a year now and are still going strong, which shows that there's a viable market in seinen manga, espically when it's not region locked or encumbered with DRM.
GEN will be giving away a short preview version of the GEN 11 for free this month. So any visitor to genmanga.com can download something for free, too.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Retail
The good folks at NEO have just sent us the details about their latest issue. NEO 98 is due out on Thursday 17th May 2012 from all good newsagents, Tesco and WH Smith. It features plenty of Dragon Ball Z, along with other articles on titles such as Ozma.
Read More... | Souce: NEO Magazine
Category > Events
Fans of Japanese culture will want to head over to Brighton from Friday 22nd June until Sunday 1st July 2012 for the return of the Brighton Japan Festival.
There will be plenty to see and do, including not one, but two matsuri festivals, a film festival, Japanese music and performances, traditional children's games, cosplay and so much more.
Read More... | Souce: Brighton Japan Festival
Category > Retail
The good folks from UK anime, manga and Asian pop culture publication NEO magazine have sent us the details of their latest issue. It's out now both on the high street and digital outlets.
Read More... | Souce: NEO Magazine
Category > Manga
The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 10.
It features Six previously unpublished stories straight from the Tokyo underground. Wolf, Kamen, Sorako, Alive and GB Geist.
The on-line manga publisher distribute their monthly collection of doujinshi using a subscription model. You get to download and keep the PDF file for each issue too.
Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Events
The good folks from UK anime, manga and Asian pop culture publication NEO magazine have sent us the details of their latest issue. It's out now both on the high street and digital outlets.
Read More... | Souce: NEO Magazine
Category > Manga
We've just been sent details from the good folk at GEN Manga about their latest release - Kamen Volume 1. The title will be available across the US through all good Diamond Comic Distributors and on Graphicly. You can also download the title from the GEN Manga Website.
Fans of comic books will be interested to hear that Marvel artist Harvey Tolibao did the cover for Kamen.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Manga
The good people from JManga.com have just gone international. To celebrate the on-line manga service have launched a sign up promotion for new members.
From the Thursday 8th March 2012 to Wednesday 14th March 2012 if you sign up for a paid subscription you'll receive 5 books worth of bonus points with a $25 monthly subscription and 2 books worth of points a $10 subscription.
Read More... | Souce: JManga.com
Category > Manga
Readers outside the US who have been longing to legally get their hands on some digital manga will be extremely pleased to hear that JManga.com have extended their access world wide.
The site allows you to get manga using a points based system. If you sign up by Sunday 4th March 2012, you'll get double the amount of points as a welcome. The subscription costs either $10 or $25 a month. They also have a free subscription.
Read More... | Souce: JManga.com
Category > Press Releases
The good folks from UK anime, manga and Asian pop culture publication NEO magazine have sent us the details of their latest issue. It's due to hit the shelves on Thursday 23rd February 2012 (available from WH Smith, Tesco and all good newsagents). It features their round up of the greatest anime movies of all time, with their own top 10 list, along with reader contributions.
Plus previews of anime, along with all the usual features and articles you'd expect. K-Pop fans will want to read the article on Korea's Japanese pop invasion with an analysis of the Oricon charts. We're interested in reading the report on the continuing aid efforts in Japan following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
Read More... | Souce: NEO Magazine
Category > Manga
The Embassy of Japan in London has chosen the winning entries in their annual manga writing competition.
Read More... | Souce: Embassy of Japan, London
Category > Manga
Facts and figures for the the manga industry always make an interesting read. CNN's Geekout Blog has a good article about the European Manga Industry.
Did you know that France accounts for 50% of VIZ Media Europe's manga sales? The article also highlights that combined Europe and the Middle East generates more manga sales than America -
"'In Europe, manga is most popular in France, then Italy and Spain,' said Hyoe Narita, president of VIZ Media Europe, which is headquartered in Paris. Annual manga sales in Japan are about $5 billion, he said, whereas American manga sales are $120 million and Europe and the Middle East combined make $250 million. This combined number given out is probably because VIZ Media Europe distributes to the Middle East as well. Japan is still the huge maker, but these numbers show that manga is moving well outside of Asia."
"The popularity does vary by country, but France is by far the leader in European otaku interest, as it brings in 50% of European manga sales. Narita said it’s the same size or a bit bigger than the market in the United States."
Souce: CNN\'s Geekout Blog
Category > Manga
The good folks from GEN Manga have sent us details of their latest Issue GEN 8.
It features a new story Let's Eat Ramen by Nagumo, the author of the seriesRadio de Go!
The on-line manga publisher distribute their monthly collection of doujinshi using a subscription model. You get to download and keep the PDF file for each issue too.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Retail
The US anime releasing division of Bandai has announced that from February they will cease publication of both new anime titles and manga titles. The company’s UK and French sister divisions have also released similar statements.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Events
UK anime and manga fans will want to make a trip over to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia. From Saturday 4th February 2012 until Sunday 24th June 2012, the venue will be hosting Japan: Kindom of Characters, a new manga exhibition that takes you inside the world of Japanese characters and asks you to consider what they represent.
It follows on from a tour of highly successful showings in cities such as Manila, Sydney and Madrid. Human-size 3D models of characters such as Ultraman and Pikachu welcome you into this colourful and substantial show. Over eighty graphics, photographs and films trace the history of cartoon characters by decade from the 1950’s to the 2000’s and provide insight into their fascinating backgrounds.
The event is organised in co-operation with the Japan Foundation. Admission is free. The event is daily and open from 10am to 9pm.
The Sainsbury Centre is the sole UK venue for this exhibition.
Read More... | Souce: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
Category > Manga
Fans of seinen manga will be pleased to hear that GEN Manga have just released GEN 7.
The on-line manga publisher distribute their monthly collection of doujinshi using a subscription model. You get to download and keep the PDF file for each issue too.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Manga
Independent Manga publisher GEN Manga have sent us news that they're now on Graphicly.com.
Graphicly.com distribute comics on Apple, Android, PCs and Macs, along with the Barnes & Noble Nook.
We caught up with GEN Manga in their New York offices earlier this year. One of the things they mentioned was their intention to expand from the main monthly volume. They've just done this releasing the first 6 volumes as a single anthology with over 900 pages of content in one file for $2.99.
They've also release the whole of the moe title VS Aliens as a complete standalone collection for $0.99.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Manga
UK-based independent publisher and comic collaborative Sweatdrop Studios have sent us details of their latest publication. Sun Fish Moon Fish by Morag Lewis. The 256 page volume is a self contained story and is available now from Sweatdrop Studios' online shop and Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop Studios
Category > Manga
We've received details of a new manga title just out. Breath Deeply is a controversial medical thriller with a dash of romance. It's written by the husband and wife team known as Doton Yamaaki. Published in English by One Peace Books the company suggest readers forget what they know about manga when approaching this title. It's out now from your favourite book sellers.
Buy from Amazon.com
Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Update: We've now have a reviewed Breathe Deeply.
Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books
Category > Manga
Fans of alternative manga will be pleased to hear that publisher GEN Manga Entertainment's latest release GEN 6 is out now priced $2.99 for the digital copy.
If you're heading to New York Comic Con you can visit the GEN Manga at booth 2030.
We interviewed GEN Manga recently and asked them about their take on the manga publishing industry.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Manga
eBooks and eBook readers have taken off, with Amazon's Kindle, the Nook and iPad all popular must have gadgets for reading. Currently there's a lot of attention on digital manga. Several companies have sprouted up offering legitimate manga to download and read. The two big boys are JManga and VizManga. They have been criticised for many reasons, including DRM, complex pricing models and region locking. JManga is run by a consortium of 39 manga publishers, so you can easily say they're the biggest digital manga distributor out there. A lot of people are complaining about these manga companies getting it wrong, but has anyone got it right?
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Manga
Fans of alternative manga will be pleased to hear about publisher GEN Manga Entertainment's latest release. GEN 5 is out now, priced $2.99, and available to download on PDF. Issue 3 is now free to download.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Features
Otaku News is happy to present our interview with manga translator William Flanagan in conjunction with the Fumi Yoshinaga month at the Moveable Manga Feast.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Manga
BBC News are running an interesting story about Marvel and DC's current strategy of expansion into Asia.
"With sales in decline at home, US comic-book giants Marvel and its old rival DC Comics have been looking towards foreign markets to grow their businesses."
CB Cebulski at Marvel declares that "Sales are down and we've been losing market share to things like video games, social media, to film, to piracy."
The article highlights the difficulties DC and Marvel will have with manga and it's culture strong established in the Asian market. It also mentions that sales of manga are falling in Japan as well. The Japanese government are trying to fix this.
"The Japanese government has recently announced a new plan to aggressively further promote its pop culture and content, including manga, to international markets"
We've already seen this at events like the JETRO talk at Hyper Japan.
The article concludes with Marvel's current strategy of hiring local talent in Asia to draw comics and that they are given more creative control. It ends with an table of percentages of market share of Japanese manga versus American comics in Asia.
Souce: BBC News
Category > Manga
Announced at the recent Comic-Con International San Diego, the Digital Comic Association's Japanese manga portal website JManga.com has been launched in North America.
JManga.com provides online manga for sale by chapter and volume, made purchasable using a monthly point subscription system, free previews available to be read by all, as well as information regarding manga currently published in North America. JManga.com also offers special feature content regarding manga culture, such as manga artist interviews, hoping to close the gap between the manga fans, authors and publishers.
JManga.com launches with a couple hundred titles including such diverse titles as; NARUTO, Kekkaishi, Crayon Shinchan, Devil King, Cigarette Kisses, Dragon Girl, Tujiurauri, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru, Young-kun, ADEKAN, Manga Science, and many more new to the North American market.
JManga plans to update their catalogue every Tuesday, increasing to a few thousand titles within the next year and onto 10,000 by 2013.
Read More... | Souce: Jmanga.com
Category > Manga
The good folks at Viz Media have sent us details of their latest title to appear on VIZManga. They've just launched Neon Genesis Evangelion with weekly digital chapters for $0.99. It's available on PC and Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android phones and tablets.
Read More... | Souce: VizManga.com
Category > Manga
GEN Manga the company bringing us indie manga from the Tokyo underground have sent us reminder that issue 4 is out today.
They've also released issue 2 for free. They're even extending their subscribers discount. What makes GEN Manga interesting is that each issue is published on PDF, so you can download it and read it on any device that'll handle PDF documents. There's no nasty DRM to worry about, or installing extra naggy software, just one file per issue.
Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga
Category > Culture
Fans of Tezuka, the arts and dance will be pleased to hear about London's Sadler's Wells' up coming production TeZukA. The world premiere dance work is set to explore Tezuka's fascinating world with help of cast of 10 performers, two musicians and a calligrapher. They'll cover a wide range of his work, including Astro Boy and Buddha.
So keep Tuesday 6th - Saturday 10th September 2011 free and head over to London.
On Thursday 8th September 2011 at 6:15pm they'll also be a special pre-show director's conversation.
Read More... | Souce: Sadler\'s Wells Theatre
Category > Retail
London based manga fans will be well aware of Gosh!, the great comic shop near the British Museum. It's been in it's current location for 25 years. On Saturday 6th August 2011, it will be moving to bigger premises at No. 1 Berwick Street, Soho, W1F 0DR. So remember to update your maps if you plan some retail therapy in London soon.
Souce: Gosh!
Category > Manga
San Diego Comic Con is well under way. This is the event that lots of companies have been waiting for to announce their news.
The Digital Comic Association have just announced a promising new digital manga service JManga. It's set for launch on August 17th 2011.
We've been sent the press release, and others are tweeting live from SDCC.
JManga.com will launch as website first in August, then for mobile devices later.
Sam Yoshiba (Kodansha) "JManga.com will have well-known titles & also the not-so-well-known titles that aren't always available scanlated."
We've been told that the titles will be limited to North America, but they should roll it out to other countries in coming months.
Additional thanks goes to Deb Aoki for Tweeting at SDCC.
Read More... | Souce: JManga.com
Category > Events
Following on from our earlier story, we've just been sent the official details about this years Manga Jiman Competition run by the Embassy of Japan in the UK.
This years theme is "New Beginnings". Prizes first prize is a return trip for 2 to Japan courtesy of All Nippon Airways. While other great goodies such as a laptop, or digital camera is also up for grabs for the winners.
Further details terms and conditions can be found on the Manga Jiman Website.
Please note that The closing date for the submission of entries is Tuesday, 1st November 2011.
Souce: Embassy of Japan in the UK
Category > Events
UK based artists will be pleased to hear that the Embassy of Japan in the UK will holding another Manga Jiman competition this year. Details are yet to be formally announced, but they're keen to get the word out. The theme for this year is 'new beginnings', the deadline for receiving entries is 1 November 2011.
Entries should be 6 to 8 pages, A4 portrait size and read from left to right. Apparently the judges are getting strict on this last point.
Details on the prizes are to follow.
Souce: Embassy of Japan in the UK
Category > Current Affairs
Have you ever wondered what the ultimate otaku degree would be? Kyoto Seika University are offering it's first doctoral program in manga studies next year. They have a whole Faculty of Manga (I wonder if I could work there, it'll be my dream job).
The university plans to enrol four doctoral students starting next year.
Thanks to My San Antonio for the tip off.
Souce: Kyoto Seika University Faculty of Manga
Category > Manga
A new magazine, Gen Manga, for seinen and doujinshi works, launches with free first online issue with a monthly schedule to follow.
Read More... | Souce: Gen Manga
Category > Current Affairs
The Comic Book Alliance have sent us details about their latest project Spirit of Hope. The comic anthology has been created to raise money for the the Japan and New Zealand disaster victims.
Read More... | Souce: Comic Book Alliance
Category > Manga
Manga publisher Tokyopop are to close in the US as of May 31st 2011 . The company's film, TV, and European operations, including its Hamburg, Germany-based publishing and international rights sales will continue. ICv2 have more details along with Bleeding Cool News and The Beat which broke the news. As always Anime News Network has coverage of the story too.
Tokyopop's Founder Stu Levy has posted a personal statement.
As the details were announced today we have no idea what impact this will have on their release details, as well as what will happen to the rights of existing Japanese manga and original English language comics also published. Any artists who have worked with Tokyopop should read the small print of their contracts now.
Souce: Tokyopop
Category > Events
For those looking for something to do in London this weekend, otaku are spoilt for choice with the Bunkasai Japanese Festival near Holborn, along with Hibiki: Resonances from Japan at Kings Place near Kings Cross.
Scheduled as a 1000-year journey through the rich heritage of Japanese music, there's 3 events.
Tsugaru-Shamisen: Sheer Wind from the North
Friday, 4 March 2011 - 7:30pm
Talk: Music in Manga
Saturday, 5 March 2011 - 5:00pm
Tradition & Exploration: The Koto of Michiyo Yagi
Saturday, 5 March 2011 - 7:30pm
Manga fans should note that Helen McCarthy will be running the manga talk, so we can expect to see her normal expert insights into the subject.
Souce: Kings Place
Category > Production
Last year, the second annual MCM London Expo returned to bring together a myriad of media and popular culture exhibitors and merchants. It is an exciting occasion for anime fans who attend to meet, mingle and fight their way through the melee of merchandisers and organisers.
Expo is an event that I attend on the front line behind the dealers' tables as an assistant for sales. I am predominantly positioned ready and waiting to serve customers who are on the hunt for anime, manga and figures from the store United Publications. It is an intense and demanding event and catering for the volume of visitors is often a challenge that affords little time to explore the wonders of the wider event. This time, however, I had to make the exception for a remarkable appearance amongst October's exhibitors.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Events
Manga fans in Toronto Canada are in for a treat on the first weekend in May, where Natsume Ono will be the featured guest at The Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2011.
The event is set to run on Saturday May 7th 2011 and Sunday May 8th 2011 with free admission. This will be Natsume Ono first ever public appearance in North America.
You may know her from such works as not simple, Ristorante Paradiso, Gente, and House of Five Leaves.
Read More... | Souce: Toronto Comic Arts Festival
Category > Manga
eReaders have started to move from that realm of expensive gadget, to a more affordable and practical solution to lugging books around. The benefit of such a tiny device able to hold thousands of books versus having to actually carry many books around is clear. They're great for printed text, but what about manga? Are eReaders suitable for reading manga on?
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Manga
Vertical Inc. announces new titles for Autumn/Fall 2010 and Spring 2011.
Read More... | Souce: Vertical Publishing
Category > Press Releases
Bandai Entertainment have sent us details fresh from NYAF including that Lucky Star Manga Volume 6 is out today. You can order it from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
The original Mobile Suit Gundam will be released as a two part DVD under the Anime Legend range.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is going to get a US blu-ray release, details and dates still to be confirmed.
Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society is coming to blu-ray.
K-ON! Season 1 will be released on DVD and blu-ray, and will be released over 4 parts. Additionally they'll be releasing a standard and special addition which features a CD (with tracks to be confirmed).
Gundam 00 movie: A wakening of the Trailblazer has also got a North AMerican release, again details and release dates to be confirmed.
Read More... | Souce: Bandai Entertainment
Category > Retail
Anime expert and industry insider Jonathan Clements has just posted details on his blog about Schoolgirl Milky Crisis being released on Kindle.
It's available to buy from Amazon.com in the US and Amazon.co.uk in the UK.
Souce: Schoolgirl Milky Crisis Blog
Category > Manga
Last moth the results of the Morning International Comic Competition were announced.
Curiously enough they've discovered what the difference a name makes. The previous 3 competitions were called the Morning International Manga Competition. They discovered an issue with calling their competition a manga competition.
Read More... | Souce: Morning International Comic Competition
Category > Press Releases
The good folks at Phaidon have sent us the details of their up coming book Manga Impact.
The book has 500 colour illustrations, 300 illustrated entries, and contributions from anime and manga experts such as Jonathan Clements and Tsugata Nobuyuki.
The book is due out November 2010.
Pre Order From Amazon.co.uk
Pre Order From Amazon.com
Read More... | Souce: Phaidon
Category > Manga
Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition Formed
We've received some very interesting details from VIZ Media about the formation of a Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition.It seems that the industry has grown tired of Scanlations - manga scanned into a digital format and distributed without the copyright holders consent. The coalition include the 36 members of Japan's Digital Comic Association, Square Enix, VIZ Media, TOKYOPOP and Yen Press.
Originally scanlations were manga translated by fans into their native language from Japanese. This can be seen as the manga equivalent of anime fansubs. Some scanlation sites branched out to scans of manga that was already official translated and licensed outside of Japan.
This has cost the manga publishing industry significant amounts of money, not just in lost book sales, but lost opportunities in the relatively new market of eBooks and mobile devices.
The coalition intend to target scanlation sites and aggregators of scanlation sites. They've drawn up a list of 30 sites to targeted for action. First they will ask the sites to cease distributing scanlations. If the sites fail to cease distributing further action will be taken depending on the jurisdiction of each site. Actions include legal injunctions against the sites, reporting the sites to governmental anti-piracy units of law enforcement, including the US Justice Department, local law enforcement agencies and the FBI.
Fans curious about piracy in the anime and manga industry should read the Pirate Anime FAQ.
This is not the first time the anime and manga industry has attempted to stop piracy in the industry, but this is the biggest and most coordinated international effort so far. With many companies in the industry forced to make cut backs, closing down offices, laying off staff, we wonder if this is the start of a new approach? Will more companies pursue legal options? Are fansubbers next?
Read More... | Souce: VIZ Media
Category > Manga
The good folks from Sweatdrop Studios have sent us the details of their new anthology - Telling Tales. The collection of fables, fairy tales and other ripping yarns is bound to be of interest. The book is priced at £6.99 and is due to launch at the May London MCM Expo 2010.
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop Studios
Category > Manga
Tokyo based English Language Magazine Metropolis have just published an interview with Helen McCarthy. She talks about her Book The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga and it's recent Eisner Award Nomination.
Souce: Metropolis
Category > Manga
The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga by Helen McCarthy has been nominated for the prestigious 210 Eisner Awards. The book is up for Best Comics-Related Book, it competes against the following titles -
- Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel, by Annalisa Di Liddo (University Press of Mississippi)
- The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)
- Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater, by Eric P. Nash (Abrams ComicArts)
- Will Eisner and PS Magazine, by Paul E. Fitzgerald (Fitzworld.US)
The Otaku News crew congratulate Helen McCarthy and the team behind the book for the nomination and wish them the best of luck in winning the award.
Souce: Comic-Con International