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Ghost In the Shell 1.5 Human-Error Processor manga release details

Date: 2007 October 15 18:05 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

UK fans of Ghost in The Shell will be pleased to hear the details Titan Books have sent us about the release of Ghost In the Shell 1.5 Human-Error Processor. The manga is due out in the UK on 23rd November 2007. It bridges the gap between the Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2 manga (hence the 1.5 name). We've been waiting for this to come out as one book ever since we heard about it and highly recommend it to Ghost in the Shell fans.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Sweatdrop launch self-help manga

Date: 2007 September 18 16:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Sweatdrop crew have always been inventive with the titles they've released and they've sent us details for some titles due in April 2008 and June 2008 (that's a while away isn't it? We don't normally get details for titles that are 6 months ahead anyway...).

They'll be releasing 4 books next year:

- Be creative by R. Bevan, J. Middleton & T. Wright
- Find true love by S. Dosani, L. Helmanis and P. Cross
- Beauty secrets for babes by L.Helmanis
- Sort out your money by J. Middleton

All the lovely artwork will be done by Sonia Leong, and we'll be curious to see how they do this.

Will they have an otaku take on things? Eg: Sort out your money - buy less DVDs and manga to save money. Beauty secrets for babes - wear cat ears. Be creative - draw more stuff. Find true love - ermmm, otaku aren't exactly good at that, erm, join a relatives house which happens to be populated by lots of hot babes and enjoy the hilarity that ensues.

We look forward to seeing what these guides will look like next year.

Manga shares gain in Japan

Date: 2007 September 13 08:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

As a slightly strange side effect of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announcing his exit, shares in manga retailers in Japan have surged with speculation that manga fan Taro Aso is the leading candidate to replace Mr Abe.

According to BBC News, Mr Aso is a big promoter of manga abroad. They cite the rise of manga publisher Broccoli gaining 71% and Mandarake (a retail store in Japan which is a treasure trove for otaku), jumping 13%.

The article states that Mr Aso served as foreign minister, and suggested that embracing Japanese pop culture was an important step in cultivating ties with other countries. If this is the case the Otaku News crew would like an invite to Japan to meet with Mr Aso to help promote manga and anime. ^_-

Sadly the BBC gets some facts wrong about anime and manga stating that they have "psychedelic colours and outlandish story lines", and emphasises the more explicit side of anime and manga. They also manage to mention Spirited Away and Quentin Tarantino in the same sentence, which I'm sure can lead to all sorts of associations for those who haven't actually seen the wonderful family film that is Spirited Away.

The article also states that Mr Aso created an International Manga Award to honour non-Japanese cartoonists.

Souce: BBC News

September 2007 Shojo Beat magazine features Yuu Watase cover

Date: 2007 August 14 16:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The folks at Viz Media have sent us details about a special Yuu Watase Absolute Boyfriend cover for the September 2007 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine.

Dark Horse and CLAMP Team Up For New Title

Date: 2007 August 03 20:17 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Dark Horse signs CLAMP to make new manga for 2009!

New old manga licences at Comic-Con

Date: 2007 July 29 09:07 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

Hooray it seems to be the season to rescue manga I wanted to buy from rights hell. Viz announced at Comic-con that it will be publishing basket ball classic Slam Dunk. There will be an initial preview in Shonen Jump before collected volumes in 2008.

CMX are rescuing fowl mouth manga Crayon Shin-chan presumably after FUNimation's success the anime on US adult swim.

I am already predicting I will be broke in 2008.

Souce: Anime News Network

Megatokyo goes to Japan

Date: 2007 July 11 17:03 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

Smash hit webcomic Megatokyo is set to be published in Japan by Kodansha. Japanese readers will get their first peak at Megatokyo via a 30 page preview in Faust magazine.

It will be interesting to guage Japanese fans reactions. Especially since volume one contains the very first Megatokyo strips in a four panel format.

Souce: Publishers Weekly

..and the theme is teeth

Date: 2007 July 02 10:39 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

The Yomiuri Shimbun is holding a cartoon contest, and this year the theme is teeth According to the site:

"Teeth are hard and sharp, and sometimes can work as a weapon"

The contest is open to international readers as well as those in Japan.

Souce: Yomiuri Shimbun

Comic Yell, girl's manga for men

Date: 2007 June 22 22:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Mainichi Daily News have posted an interesting article about a new manga publication called Comic Yell, Japan's first girl's manga for men. With girly titles like Honey and Clover and Nana proving to be popular with male readers and 50% of Shonen Jump's readership being female, it shows people are attracted to good stories, regardless of it's intended target gender.

Targeted at men from their 20s to 40s, the magazine doesn't have girls in maid's outfits or girls wearing animal ears. There is however the occasional panty shot to keep the male reader happy.

Feedback has been mixed, with hardcore otaku readers wanting more "zing", and mainstream readers happy that it isn't pandering to hardcore otaku tastes. Some readers have even requested that it made more girly. The official Comic Yell Website can be found here.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Akira Club art book UK release details

Date: 2007 May 15 14:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

UK publisher Titan Books have sent us details about the UK release of the Akira Club artbook. It's one of those nice additions for fans of the movie and manga collection. It's due to hit the shelves on the 27th July 2007 and is priced at £24.99. Hunting around Play.com have it on pre-order for £14.99.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Naruto Explosion

Date: 2007 April 27 10:19 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

No, the hero of the popular manga and anime series isn't going to die in a fiery death. But his fans may want to start saving their money over the summer. Starting this September and through December, VIZ Media plans to release not 1, but 3 new volumes of the Naruto manga a month. With a total of 12 volumes, 16 to 27, that means fans will have 3 years worth of new material in those 4 months, as opposed to simply 1 volume every 3 months as in 2006.

The reason for the boost is to catch the American releases up with their original Japanese counterpart before a new storyarc begins in Volume 28 of the Naruto manga. Set 2 years after the storyline ending in Volume 27, the storyline will focus on an older, wiser and taller Naruto and his new adventures. This move will enable American fans to enjoy the series with a bit of surprise without getting a hold of spoilers from the internet.

Souce: ICv2

National Office for Vocation use manga to promote vocations

Date: 2007 April 26 17:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

Following on from our story about the Manga Bible, it seems that many religions want to remain accessible to a wider audience, according to the Catholic News Agency manga will be used to promote vocations in the UK.

The article states: "We have chosen the Manga cartoons for the 2007 campaign, because we hope it will appeal to young people under twenty as well as people in their thirties," Fr. Paul Embery, Director of the National Office for Vocation, explained to the Italian Religious Service.

A new website has been launched too - www.calledtoday.com which features artwork in a manga style and tells the stories of various people dedicated to the church.

Souce: Catholic News Agency

Manga events at the Bristol Comics Expo

Date: 2007 April 11 13:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Following on from our earlier story about the Bristol Comics Expo (on 12th and 13th of May 2007), we've got some more details regarding their coverage of manga stuff. They'll have:

- Tokyo Pop
- Sweatdrop Studios
- Selfmadehero
- Yishan Li
- Umisen-Yamasen
- Siku
- Boychild Books
- Ilya
- Misako Rocks

They've bundled everyone together into a Manga Ally too, as always it's good to see Sweatdrop attending these events.

Hokusai: First Manga Master

Date: 2007 April 02 15:38 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The good folks at Abrams have sent us details of a new book they're publishing about the groundbreaking artist Hokusai. The book contains lots of lovely selection artwork from Hokusai and is a great example of the variety of work he did. The book is well worth £10, for curiosity or academic interests. It hits the shops on 30th April 2007.

Oh My Goddess! Manga hits the UK

Date: 2007 March 15 14:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've got news from Titan Books that they'll be releasing the hugely popular Oh My Goddess! manga in the UK. On April 27th 2007 Volume 1 and 2 should be released. We think it's great that Titan Books are doing this, we just hope they pick up the rights to What's Michael? too.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

MegaTokyo Volume 4 UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 17:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books, detailing the release of MegaTokyo Volume 4 in the UK. Why should we care when volume 5 is almost out in the US and most bookshops stock it volume 4 already? Well this is actually great news as some places like libraries and their book suppliers will only deal with books that have an official UK release. Now that MegaTokyo has an official UK release you should be able to pester your local librarian to get a copy in. ^_- This also applies to the other Titan books we've put press releases up for as they've already had US releases, but would be hard to stock in some places.

MegaTokyo Volume 4 is due to hit the bookshelves on 27th April 2007.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Anime Encyclopedia UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 16:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books. They'll be releasing a new updated edition of the Anime Encyclopedia for the UK on 27th April 2007. This edition has a black cover, along with over 40% new material. The Anime Encyclopedia is a must for otaku, as it's a accurate and well researched guide to the subject unlike a few other books which are nowhere near as good. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy know their stuff and we highly recomend this guide. Hunting around on Amazon.co.uk will produce a bargain price below the suggested retail price. You'll save money by reading about the type of anime you'd want to avoid, but the only trouble is you'd want to watch more of the titles you've discovered by reading it.

Eden: It's An Endless World - UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 16:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent a press release from the good folks at Titan Books. They've aquired the rights for the Dark Horse version of Eden. It's due to hit the bookshelves on 27th April 2007.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Manga Toilet Paper

Date: 2007 March 09 08:56 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Freaky Things

Up until now, whenever you wanted to read manga while doing your business in the bathroom, you had to take the actual book and/or magazine with you, then set it somewhere while you got started and finished. You still can do that, but now there's an alternative. At least in Japan, there is, because now manga can now be found on... toilet paper.

Famous 4-panel manga artist and TV talent Yakumi Tsuru recently made a deal with paper goods company Banbix to sell toilet paper that have his manga illustrations and 4-panel comics printed on it. Called Food Toipe, the toilet paper can be purchased in cases of 50 rolls for 8,500 yen (approximately 80 US dollars) from the Banbix website. You can also find images of the paper at the same website. No word, though, as to whether or not the illustrations featured on the paper are new material or reprints of Tsuru's previous work.

Souce: Anime News Network

AmeCon 2007 open for registration

Date: 2007 February 26 10:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans will be pleased to know that Leicester based UK anime convention AmeCon 2007 is now open for registration. So book now to avoid disappointment. The convention is scheduled for 10th-12th August 2007 and is the third convention held by the AmeCon crew.

Souce: AmeCon

The Manga Bible release details

Date: 2007 February 26 09:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've received a details from publishing house Hodder and Stoughton regarding the Manga Bible. We're not talking about some sort of ultimate must have guide to manga, but the New Testament produced in a manga style. Using the TNIV (Today's New International Version) as the basis, London based artist Siku, who is best know for his work on 2000AD.

New manga shop opens in London

Date: 2007 February 20 13:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Hidden away just around the corner from Leicester Square and short walk from Covent Garden, on Upper Saint Martin's Lane is Orbital Manga, a new little manga shop from the same people behind Orbital Comics on Charing Cross Road. Although Orbital Manga is small, it's worth looking around and is a refreshing change from comic shops that stock some manga. They've got a good range of manga and the usual selection of merchandise and trinkets.

Udon release Megaman and Street Fighter artbooks

Date: 2007 February 20 12:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Capcom fans will pleased to hear about Udon Entertainment's new artbooks, one for Megaman Zero and another on Street Fighter.

Artist Accused of Plagiarism

Date: 2007 February 09 22:03 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Current Affairs

Manga artist Rin Yoshi has been accused of committing plagiarism in the pages of her manga, Switch. According to Umeo Kamitsuo, Editor-in-Chief of Cookie, the manga magazine that serializes Switch, the opening pages of the manga were reproductions of images from the fashion magazine Gravure.

As a result of the accusations, the Switch manga will no longer appear in Cookie as of the April issue. Shueisha, the publisher behind the magazine, has also stopped distribution of Yoshi’s other works, including Kurabeyou mo nai Hodo ni (Uncomparable) and Silent Summer Snow, due to further instances of possible plagiarism. To prevent future incidents from happening, Umeo has stated that Cookie will step up their checks for potential copyright violations and make sure that their staff are aware of the problems associated with such issues.

Souce: Anime News Network

Tanoshimi let fans vote for manga

Date: 2007 January 31 09:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Random House UK imprint Tanoshimi have sent us some details about a nice fan oriented campaign. From February 7th Fans and vote on their website and select which title they want Tanoshimi to publish next, the people behind Tanoshimi have confirmed that it is likely they will only publish the winning title.

Fans can vote for the following:

Genshiken
Kagetora
Othello
Wallflower

All voters will go into a draw for a chance to win a Nintendo DS Lite.

Tanoshimi UK February 2007 releases

Date: 2007 January 24 05:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've just been sent a press release from Random House imprint Tanoshimi detailing their releases in the UK for this February 2007. They'll be releasing the following titles:

Free Collars Kingdom Volume 1
Airgear Volume 3
School Rumble Volume 3 and 4
Guru Guru Pon Chan Volume 7

All are due to hit the shelves on 1st February 2007.

Free Collars Kingdom is a new title to Tanoshimi that should interest the furry fan readers with lots of catboy antics.

Manga Shakespeare

Date: 2007 January 16 16:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent an interesting press release from SelfMadeHero about their Manga Shakespeare series. The bard's classic tales have been reinterpreted into a manga style. With Romeo and Juliet the action has relocated to Shibuya in Tokyo, with yakuza talking the place of the more traditional families in the original. Hamlet is still set in Denmark, but in the future cyber world of 2017. SelfMadeHero inform us that the series keeps true to the text of Shakespeare, but is specially abridged for use in the manga. Sweatdrop Studio's very own Sonia Leong illustrated Romeo and Juliet, while Emma Vicieli illustrated Hamlet.

Both Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are due for release on 1st March 2007, priced at £6.99. The Tempest and Richard III are due to be published in Autumn 2007. Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are planned, but no release date is mentioned.

Our readers still in education might want to show this to their English and drama teachers, while our other readers might just enjoy reading a new interpretation of Shakespeare's works.

This is not the first time Hamlet has been made into a manga in English, our good friend Amethyst Angel has done a fan version using characters from Slayers, entitled Hamlet: The Manga.

Rising Stars of Manga UK results

Date: 2006 December 16 08:31 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

Tokyo Pop UK's talent hunt Rising Stars of Manga UK and Ireland hasn't been totally smooth sailing; there have been numerous resets of the vote, not to mention the judges decision to eliminate a finalist after announcing their inclusion in the people's choice.

Despite that, all that the winners have been announced. Their work will be included in the RSOM UK Volume 2 book.

IMAF is now running

Date: 2006 November 10 16:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

For our London readers you might want to visit IMAF, the International Manga and Anime Festival, which opened today at County Hall near the London Eye in Westminster. It's set to run from Friday 10th - Tuesday 14th November 2006.

Opening times vary each day, so be sure to check to avoid dissapointment before going. The event schedule can be found in a 132KB MS Word document (web usability experts scream as it should be in HTML for everyone to read). It includes panels and workshops by author Paul Gravett, artists Sweatdrop Studios, international comic book
creator Ilya and expert on traditonal culture Akemi.

The winners have been announced and the overall award winner is the talented Paul Duffield who also won the Tokyopop UK Rising Stars of Manga Competiton in 2005. Anime expert, author, writer, and Ghibli fan Helen McCarthy also won a much deserved "Outstanding Contribution to Anime and Manga" award. Congratulations to all the winners!

We suggest you get to County Hall to enjoy all the lovely artwork while it's on display.

Souce: IMAF

Otaku News Special: Manga Studio Review

Date: 2006 November 08 06:32 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Art

We're aware that many of our readers will at some point try to create their own "manga" and now so are several software publishers who are eager to fill the the gap in the market for Manga creation software. In this review I look at Manga Studio 3.0 Debut and create my own page to see just how useful it actually is.

Farewell Ranma

Date: 2006 November 07 14:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The nice people from Viz Media have sent us a press release detailing the conclusion of the long running fan favourite manga Ranma 1/2. Volume 36 of the manga ends the series with a letter to North American fans from Rumiko Takahashi, the author of Ranma 1/2 and another huge favourite Inu Yasha. The final volume is due out in North American on November 14th. So now's your chance to say goodbye to everyone's favourite gender changing comedy martial arts manga!

London Graphic Centre Manga Day

Date: 2006 November 03 18:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

We've received some very last minute details from Letraset about an event they'll be running on Saturday 4th November at London Graphics a huge art supply retailer. We've been told that their Covent Garden store in London will be hosting a manga day with activities and workshops 11.00am to 6pm. The following will be there:

- Letraset
- London Graphics
- TokyoPop
- Tokyo Toys
- Sweatdrop Studios
- Blusheep

Apparently it's also being supported by Neo Magazine and Manga Entertainment.

So if you can get to London in time and are feeling artistic it's well worth a look.

Souce: London Graphic Centre

Seven Seas Goes Yuri

Date: 2006 October 27 08:18 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Seven Seas Entertainment will be launching a new publishing imprint for its library of manga titles. Called Strawberry, this new imprint will focus on yuri, or girl-on-girl, flavored romantic titles. The first titles of the new line are expected to be released sometime in 2007.

MangaQuake 3

Date: 2006 October 26 09:39 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

UK Small press anthology MangaQuake is back for its third issue which contains 56 pages of manga goodness!
Press Release:
"MangaQuake is back for its third issue- and it's better than ever! Featuring a collection of strips for a few familiar names from previous issues, and some truly astonishing brand new talent. With stories of betrayal, inter species romance (...well sort of!) and Norse gods with traffic congestion problems- I think we can genuinely say that this issue, its 56 pages crammed to overflowing with fun and action- has something for everyone! "

Souce: FutureQuake

Pink and Blue - Double release from Sweatdrop Studios

Date: 2006 October 24 08:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Sonia from Sweatdrop Studios the manga styled art group has dropped as a line about their latest publications. The books are supposed to be paired together and explorer the differences between shojo and shonen manga, apparently each book can be enjoyed alone or with it's partner book. The shojo book is called Pink is for Girls, while the shonen book is titled Blue is for Boys. We like the comparison of sparkles versus speedlines in their press release. The book is due for release on Saturday 28th October at the London MCM Expo at the Sweatdrop Studios stand.

More on Otaku Hunting with an otaku budget

Date: 2006 October 15 13:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Following on from a previous article on Otaku Hunting, the Mainichi Daily News has some interesting details about an Akihabara otaku wallet, the Shukan Post did a very rough and ready survey of 10 otaku in the area and discovered the maximum amount one carried was 47,000 yen (that's about $392 USD or £211 GBP) with the least carrying 3,000 yen (approximately $30 USD or £14 GBP), with the average wallet containing around 21,900 yen ($183 or £98 GBP).

We question such a small sample size and would be keen to find out if these results scale, or the 10 otaku questions where above or below the real average otaku in Tokyo. Interestingly what the Shukan Post discovered that otaku are in fact penny pinchers, using the knowledge of their train obsessed friend to work out the cheapest journey to save them 10 yen a trip as every little counts.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Naruto Wins Quill Award

Date: 2006 October 15 13:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The folks from VIZ Media have sent us details about Naruto winning the 2006 Quill Award for best graphic novel, apparently this is the first time a manga title has one the category. The Quill awards are unlike normal awards as they are more consumer orientated, so in other words it looks at sales figures rather than panellists decisions.

Defending Anime Fans

Date: 2006 October 06 03:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

The trouble with being an anime fan is that people often get the wrong idea, and then start talking about stereotypical stuff about how crazy people are in Japan. Dragon who is the president of the London Anime Club and has also written a shopping guide to anime and electronics in Tokyo has posted a good defence to being called an otaku:

I got into an "arguement" with somebody at work over the term Otaku. They accused me of dressing up in costume and being obssively knowledgeable about the subject. "Fine," I said. "Just like the rest of the perverts who you see dressed up in strange costumes and hanging round in parks on Sundays, or that gather in huge crowds dressed in outlandish gear singing stupid songs and generally idolising over their obessions. Who spend huge amounts of money buying all the latest things. They have pictures on their bedroom walls. They follow the latest news and interviews very great glee. They seek out fellow fanatics and discuss the latest events. Such obsessives like you. Only in this country they are known as football fans."

So note down the otaku are just the same as football fan strategy and use it next time people call you weird for liking those strange Japanese cartoons! ^_-

Souce: London Anime Club

Otaku Hunting

Date: 2006 September 29 09:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

Otaku in Akihabara beware! The area famed as the spiritual homeland of otaku is under fire from young thieves who are targeting the mild mannered geeks. According the Mainichi Daily News eight youths (aged 14 to 18 detailed in other reports) were engaged in what they called "otaku hunting". The teens targeted otaku in Akihabara for mugging because they are weak, and are known to have money especially when in Akihabara due to the many popular anime shops in the area.

The bullies demand money from powerless otaku and threaten violence.

Police state that there have been 25 separate reports of otaku hunting since the start of the year with the victims losing a combined sum of 350,000 yen ($2965 USD / £1590 GBP) between them.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Tomo-dachi 2007

Date: 2006 September 15 03:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've been sent some details from the Tomo-dachi Crew about their next convention, set for Friday, August 31st - Sunday to September 2nd, 2007 at the UU Magee Campus in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Bookings before March 31st are £25 and £30 after. As of yet, they've not released a guest list, however if the last Tomo-dachi is anything to go for they'll have some good industry guests.

Sweatdrop Release Two How To Draw Manga Books

Date: 2006 September 14 14:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent a press release from the nice people over at UK manga inspired art group Sweatdrop. They're both aimed at beginners, Draw Manga By Sweatdrop Studios and Drawing Manga by Selina Dean. Draw Manga focuses on basics, with a series of tutorials on how to draw character elements such as eyes, hair, hand and clothing, along with step by step projects showing how to put individual elements together to create a manga style character.

Drawing Manga by the talented Selina Dean focuses more on character design with posing characters. It includes tips on drawing people monsters and mascots. In addition it includes comic creation techniques such as developing storyboards, creating layouts, scripting, including backgrounds and colouring and inking techniques.

Draw Manga by Sweatdrop Studios is due out on 15th October 2006, while Drawing Manga by Selina Dean was out on 4th September 2006.

We think it's great that some UK based artist are producing books on how to draw manga, however we're curious as to why they've released two books within the space of two months with the same purpose at the same price (an affordable £9.99), we wonder if the books are significantly different, would it have been better to combine the contents into one bigger book? Perhaps the writing styles are different allowing a potential artist to chose the style they prefer.

One Pound Gospel Returns to End

Date: 2006 August 09 12:10 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Rumic World, the website dedicated to all things Rumiko Takahashi, has reported that the manga artist and creator of Ranma 1/2 and Inu-Yasha will be returning to one of her older, unfinished series.

Starting with the November issue of manga anthology Young Sunday, One Pound Gospel will return with an all-new five-part storyline. However, this will be the final story of the series, about a boxer and his relationship with a young nun which Takahashi has worked on and off since 1987. Since the previous chapters of the story have already been translated and published in America through VIZ Media, it is possible the new storyline will make its way to U.S. shores, possibly after its completion.

Souce: Rumic World

Tokyo Police Get Heavy on Otaku Culture

Date: 2006 July 28 09:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

In another interesting article from the Mainichi Daily News reports that otaku culture in Akihabara is under threat. Traditionally every Sunday the main strip through Akihabara is closed to traffic, allowing pedestrians to rule the roads, bands to play in the street and ladies dressed in maid costumes to handout pamphlets for events otaku will be interested in.

But recently the police have been stopping bands' performances and prevented maids from handing out their leaflets causing many otaku to complain that they're being persecuted. On Sundays the street is frequently packed with cosplayers and fans taking photographs. The article reports that the cosplayers and photographers are "they're at least wary, if not afraid, of the cops".

The Secret Otaku Support Commission

Date: 2006 July 28 09:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

It may sound like a name of some new romantic comedy anime, but in fact it's a match up service. The Mainichi Daily News are currently running a story about the Secret Otaku Support Commission, a service that allows female otaku who rather hide their nerd like tendencies to rent another female otaku to hangout with. The service is expensive and the MDN discover that the matching service isn't exactly perfect, with their match up as the rented otaku girl was too young to have seen most of the anime the reporter enjoyed.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Future of Anime and Manga Looking Bright in the US

Date: 2006 July 24 04:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The Mainichi Daily News are currently running an article about the success of anime and manga in the US. Reporting from Anime Expo, the article focuses on how anime and manga is becoming more mainstream and also more popular with girls. This trend has been seen in the US for a number of years now, with female convention attendance growing strongly each year. Interestingly this trend is also being mirrored in other fan events across the world too, four or five years ago UK anime fandom used to be the sole domain of rather geeky males, now the UK anime scene also has growing female attendance, along with more mainstream acceptance.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Free Visual Novel Construction Tool Released

Date: 2006 July 24 03:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Gaming > PC

Fans of dating games will be pleased to hear that the nice folks from CuriousFactory and Buredo have released a free game engine and construction kit, designed at making Visual Novels easy to produce in English. In a nutshell this will allow users to create their own interactive stories, anime and manga fans will probably be most familiar with dating games, but the companies are keen to promote that you can also produce other games using their game engine.

A good story is a must, good artwork is always nice too, but there are some crafty ways around this, such as taking photos of things and then using a bit of photoshop magic. It’ll be interesting to see if any otaku take up developing games on this engine. Currently the engine is Windows only.

IMAF 2006 Launches

Date: 2006 July 20 15:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The good folks from IMAF have got in touch with us to tell everyone about their third International Manga and Anime Festival, which will run on Friday 10th to Tuesday 14th November 2006, at the usual venue of County Hall, Westminster, London.

If you're like me and can't draw you can go and look at all the lovely artwork submitted. On the other hand if you are artistically talented you can enter for a chance to win part of the $85,000 overall prize fund! Entrants take note, the deadline is 30th September, 2006, no later than 5:30pm. This is a real chance to show how skilled you are and can lead to even things. So get scribbling!

Random House Launch New Manga Label

Date: 2006 July 16 17:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks at publishers Random House have dropped us a line to tell us about their new manga publishing label Tanoshimi. They'll be releasing some great titles in the UK including xxxHOLiC, Tsubasa and Negima. Their new website is due to launch on 3rd August 2006, in the mean time you can sign up for a chance to win an iPod Nano.

Souce: Tanoshimi

Seven Seas Launches 3 New Web Comics

Date: 2006 July 11 18:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Webcomics

Last week the good folks from Seven Seas sent us details of three new web comics in a manga style. They are keen to promote the title as manga, even though the authors are not Japanese, some more precise companies would say that this is work in a manga style, or influenced by manga.

The art for all three web comics is of a high standard and we recommend you take a look.

Manga Added To Dictionary

Date: 2006 July 08 02:39 | Posted By: Davie

Category > Manga

According to Anime News Network the word 'Manga' was one of the latest words to be added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. It joins words like Google, gastric bypass, drama queen, and about 100 other nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The new edition is expected to be released this fall in its original left-to-right format

Souce: Anime News Network

Mainichi Daily News Release Manglish - Manga in English

Date: 2006 July 03 08:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Mainichi Daily News have started to release Manga in English on their website. They've called it Manglish (manga in English), taking talents from their MangaTown site, and providing an English translation of the original text by rolling your mouse over the Japanese text.

The debut story is called Six Feet Girl, about a 16 year old girl who is 180cm tall (which actually makes her 5"9'). Apparently she gets depressed every time she starts a new school when the other students laugh at her height. The manga is by Gyugo (or Jugo) Hazuki. Looking at the site it's not clear how good the translation will be, especially if English speaking readers are used to a certain standard, it appears to by translated by a Japanese speaker into English. Currently MDN have posted two pages, and will add a new page each weekday.

Billingual Manga for Japanese people wishing to learn English isn't that uncommon and is frequently sought after by English speaking collectors outside of Japan. However this marks an interesting start - a Japanese publisher releasing free daily manga direct from Japan, some industry analysts predicted this a few years ago and it's good to see that MDN are now publishing manga in English, hopefully more Japanese firms will start soon too.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

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