Tokyopop announced that it is spinning out the multimedia arm into a new company, Tokyopop Media LLC. TokyoPop Inc retains control of the publishing arm and will reduce the output to 200-225 titles per year to “allow for less cannibalization at retail.” With the change, 39 positions with Tokyopop are eliminated.
Is this a [...]

Dear Readers,
Here are two more first volumes, these two from popular series that I found I didn’t like as much as their popularity suggested I should.

Honey and Clover by Chica Umino. Viz. Retail $9.99. Rated T+ for older teen. 10 volumes (still ongoing in Japan; 1 released here).

Honey and Clover centers around a group [...]

Dear Readers,
Two more vol 1’s from Viz. But the first is a Vol 1 from CMX, another publisher who brings quality shoujo to the US.
Land of the Blindfolded by Tsukuba Sakura. CMX. Retail $9.99. Not rated, but I’d say high school and up. 9 volumes (complete in Japan and in the US.)
(I should mention [...]

Dear Readers,
Here are some more first volumes of shoujo series coming out:
B.O.D.Y. by Ao Mimori. Viz. Retail $9.99. T+ for older teen (kisses, sexual innuendo). 12 volumes (ongoing in Japan, just starting here this month)
I’d never heard of this title but I was taken with it from the first page. The drawing is clear, sharp, [...]

Dear Readers,
I got some first volumes of some shoujo series from Viz for review. I’ve not read any of the series, so I’ll just be providing my first impressions based upon all the Vol 1’s, a couple at a time.
Wild Ones by Kiyo Fujiwara. Viz. $9.99. T for Teen (innuendo, some cartoony violence). 6 volumes [...]

By now, you must have read how Japanese consumers are reading more and more on their cellphones. Harlequin is the grey old lady of romance no more. Harlequin is teaming up with Softbank Creative to sell and distribute its romance manga via cellphone in Japan.
Beginning in April 2008 SoftBank will distribute [...]

From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa. Publisher: Viz. Retail: $9.99 each. 14/14 volumes released in English. Rated T for Teen (some fighting, no sex).
Dear Readers,

I’m starting to feel a little like Harriet Klausner, with all the positive manga reviews I’ve been doing. But everyone knows there’s a lot of mediocre manga out [...]

 
Manga Sutra by Katsu Aki. Published by TokyoPop. Retail: $19.99. 1/37+ released in English. Rated M for Mature (graphic sex). Note: Each single English volume contains 2 Japanese volumes.

Dear Readers,
This one is slightly different for me. Some people might just call it hentai (Japanese porn). But while [...]

The Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane. Published by Kitty Media. Retail: $11.99. 1/2+ volumes. Rated: Mature (this title is adult-only, sexually graphic yaoi (MxM).)

Dear Readers,
This is my favorite manga release of 2007. There are some with loftier ambitions that I might admire more, like Town of Evening Calm, but [...]

Basara by Yumi Tamura. Published by Viz. Retail: $9.99. Rated T+ for older teens (frank sex and violence. The sex isn’t graphic but the violence can be.) 25/27 volumes published, complete in Japan.
Dear Readers,
Some long running romance manga series are drawing to a close this month, and all deserve mention here. This [...]

Dear Ms. Ganter,
My blogging partner Jan reviewed this series earlier and I was so impressed by the review and by the artwork she included that I posted to her review. She graciously offered to loan me the volumes of “Sorcerers and Secretaries.” I’ll be honest and say that I’d never tried any manga and in [...]

Ai Yori Aoshi by Kou Fumizuki. Published by TokyoPop. Retail: $9.99. Ratings: T+, older teens, for most volumes (many sexually suggestive situations a.k.a. fan service - the cover gives you a taste for that), Mature for the last volume (tasteful sex between the h/h). 17/17 volumes published.
Dear Readers,
Two long running romance series have drawn [...]

Diana Gabaldon will write an “original story” to be set in the world of the Outlander series including favorite characters such as Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser. The illustrator is Hoang Nguyen and will be 192 pages in length. The publication date is 2009. Gabaldon apparently wrote several comic book scripts for [...]

Princess Tutu created by Ikuko Ito and Junichi Sato. Released in English by ADV. Entire 26 episode series available at Amazon for $28.49. Manga adaptation available but really, don’t go there.
Dear Readers,
I’m cheating today. This blog is for book reviews, things you read. And so I’m going to [...]

In the fall of 2007, USA Today had an article declaring that Manga was dying. Despite that Tor has signed a joint venture with Seven seas Entertainment to produce and distribute original manga titles and compete for the licenses of top Japanese Manga.
Total sales for Manga is up by 10% to “more than [...]

Sorcerers and Secretaries by Amy Kim Ganter. Tokyopop. $9.99. Ages 13 and up (kisses). Reads left to right. 2 volumes, complete.
 

Dear Ms. Ganter,
I don’t try much Original English Language (OEL) manga or American graphic novels, because the stories don’t normally appeal to me, and one big reason is [...]

Looking for the review of Manga the Complete Guide? We’ve done some housecleaning and that link will be found here.

Manga: The Complete Guide, by Jason Thompson. Del Rey. $19.95. 592 pages. A-.
 
Dear Mr. Thompson,
I can’t even imagine the effort it took to put this book together. I heard that you read one to two manga series a day, and upwards of 900 of them total to write the reviews within. [...]

Dear Readers,
Here are some suggestions for slightly spooky romantic manga for Halloween.
Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino: I enjoy this one even though in many ways it’s a very typical shoujo (girls) romance series. The very polished artwork raises it a notch above many series, and there’s something about the main characters’ love triangle [...]

DC Comics is looking to cash in on the Manga furor in one way or another. Last week saw the release of DC Comics manga for girls and now comes the announcement that it has invested heavily in Flex Comics. Flex Comics will be managed by DC Comics Japan and will produce original [...]

In an effort to capture the interest, and pocketbooks, of girl readers, DC Comics launched a new manga series last month which is designed to appeal to girls. MINX debuted with series like the Plain Janes, surburban outcasts who form a secret art gang; Re-Gifters, a girl falls for a surfer boy who gives [...]

Cipher by Narita Minako. Published by CMX. Retail $9.99. Rating: Teen (some heavy issues, but little to no sex or violence; I’d say high school age personally). 7/12 volumes released in English, complete in Japan.
Dear CMX,

I think you are my favorite shoujo manga publisher. I’ve only tried a few of your series, [...]

Fushigi Yuugi by Yuu Watase. Published by Viz. Retail: $9.99 18/18 Volumes released in Englis. Rated T+ for older teens (sexual situations, attempted rapes, pretend rapes, lots of death). D-.

 
Dear Readers,
Imagine if you will being stuck in the middle of the Gobi desert, thirsting for anything to drink, when [...]

Ichigenme…The First Case is Civil Law, by Fumi Yoshinaga. Published by 801 Media. Retail: $15.99. 1/2 volumes released. Rated 18+ (Mature content, graphic sex between males showing at most some blurred [Japanese self-censored] naughty bits, NOT FOR KIDS). A-.

Dear Readers,
A law education in Japan is slightly different than one in the US. [...]

Paradise Kiss, by Ai Yazawa. Published by TokyoPop. 5/5 volumes released. Retail: $9.99. Rated OT 16+ (sex scenes, but only showing what you’d see on network TV.)
 
“The basement store was removed from the main road by a maze of side streets. To reach it, one had to go down a flight of [...]

Never Kiss a Stranger by Madeleine Kerr and Mayu Kasumi. Retail: $7.99. Rated T for Teen, 12 and up, lots of sweet kisses only. 1 of 1 volumes. D.
 
Three Wishes by Darlene Scalera and Matsuri Akino. [...]

A Prince Needs a Princess. Story by Barbara McMahon, art by Reiko Kishida. Retail: $7.99. Rated T for Teen, 12 and up, sweet kisses only (I’d say a little younger would be OK too). I believe it’s based on McMahon’s Harlequin Romance The Tycoon Prince, from 2003, but has been reworked [...]

TokyoPop is offering more titles this fall than ever before with titles for all ages such as the Cine-Manga for young children based on the Pixar movie Ratatouille. In its partnership with HarperCollins, Tokyopop will release two books this summer including Avalon High: Coronation #1: The Merlin Prophecy (Avalon High Coronation) by Meg Cabot, [...]

2006 Graphic novel sales are up 12% from 2005 totaling $330 million. ジェーン (JÄ?n), a friend of the Ja(y)nes and Janine, is reviewing romance oriented graphic novels for us. Graphic novels are for all ages and include non fiction versions as well. Via Publisher’s Weekly. Gravitation EX
released by TOKYOPOP on February [...]

Emma by Kaoru Mori. Published by CMX. Retail: $9.99 2/7 Volumes released in English. Series complete in Japanese. Rated T+ (teens and up; female nudity in a matter of fact manner, mild sexual references, kissing) . A-
Note: I feel distinctly uncomfortable addressing a frank letter to a Japanese mangaka. [...]