December, 2007

Tokyopop has announced several new manga licenses at this year's NYAF:

  • Kyo Kara Maoh! by Temari Matsumoto
  • Fate/stay night by Nishiwaki Datto
  • Genei Muso by Natsuki Takaya

Also, Bandai Entertainment announced that it has acquired the rights to the Code Geass manga and light novel series.

Source: theOtaku

From YaoiSuki comes a brief talk with CPM's John O'Donnell regarding their company's licensing dispute with Japanese BL publisher Libre Publishing:

Since putting up their notice, O'Donnell says Libre has not taken any action to settle the matter, and even refuses to sit down with O'Donnell or any other CPM representatives to try and work it out. Libre has not filed a lawsuit. He hopes that Libre will bring their lawyers to the U.S. so that the matter can be settled, but thinks that they are trying to deliberately harm the sales of the books until CPM's license expires so that they can license the series to another company.

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NEW YORK, NY - December 9, 2007 - Marvel Entertainment and Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today plans to publish two new manga series based on Marvel Entertainment's highly popular X-Men series.

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theOtaku reports that Yen Press has announced several new manga acquisitions at NYAF07:

  • Shoulder a Coffin Kuro
  • Hidamari Sketch (to be released as Sunshine Sketch)
  • Suzunari!
  • Astro

Also mentioned is that Yen Press has licensed ICE Kunion's manhwa titles:

Yen Press acquired manhwa publisher ICE Kunion's titles, and they're reprinting the previously-released books very soon.

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ANN and About.com Manga report that Go! Comi has confirmed several new acquisitions at this year's New York Anime Festival:

  • Bogle by Shino Taira & Yuko Ichiju
  • Kurogane Communication by Tomomasa Takuma
  • Song of the Hanging Sky by Toriko Gin
  • Three in Love by Shioko Mizuki
  • Ultimate Venus by Takako Shigematsu
  • Yggdrasil by Lay Mutsuki

DIMENSIONAL MANGA PRESS RELEASE: DECEMBER 2007

Dimensional Manga is a publishing company registered under the company name Fifth Dimension Limited. It specializes in producing manga for worldwide audiences. Its first title is Demon Prince: Children of Gaia (14 part series). Volume 1 is scheduled for release in February 2008. It will be distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors and has appeared in December ’07 issue of Diamond Previews (Page 3).

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Del Rey Manga has announced several new licenses at this year's NYAF07:

Manga:

  • Gankutsuoh by Maeda & Arihara Yura
  • Papillion by Ueda Miwa
  • Kami-chama Karin chu by Koge Donbo
  • Mao-chan by Ran & Akamatsu Ken

Light Novel:

  • xxxHOLiC AnotherHOLiC by NishiOishin
  • Kubikiri Cycle by NishiOisin

ANN reports that mangaka Susumu Katsumata, winner of the Grand Prize of the 35th Japanese Cartoonists' Association Awards, passed away on December 3rd due to melanoma:

He was 63 years old. Only close family members and relatives will be requested to attend his funeral, and his chief mourner will be his oldest son Daichi.

New York, NY - Thursday, December 6, 2007: Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC - the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—has formed a new manga imprint with Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC. Seven Seas, founded in 2004, publishes manga, manga-inspired novels, illustrated juvenile fiction, and more, and is one of the only publishers that produces original manga content in the US.

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San Jose, CA, December 2007. DrMaster has just announced the publication of Purgatory Kabuki volume 1 by Yasushi Suzuki, Junk volume 5 by Kia Asamiya, and Iron Wok Jan volume 27, the final volume of the popular series by author Shinji Saiyjo.

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Diverse Selection Of Anime-Inspired Live Action Feature Films To Be Shown Include LOVE*COM, HONEY & CLOVER, NANA, PING PONG, KAMIKAZE GIRLS And GACKT: THE GREATEST FILMOGRAPHY RED

New York, NY, DECEMBER 6, 2007 - VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced that six of its award-winning live action feature films will screen at the debut of the New York Anime Festival (NYAF), taking place December 7-9, 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.

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Core Magazine's adult manga magazine Comic Mega Plus will come to an end with the release of volume 50. A new adult manga magazine, titled Comic 0 EX (Comic Zero EX), will succeed Comic Mega Plus. The first issue of Comic 0 EX will be released on December 10th.

The winners of the 2007 Japanese Media Arts Festival have been announced. One grand prize, four excellence prize, and one encouragement prize were given in each of the four categories. Below are the winners of the manga category:

ICv2 reports that Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly will be releasing the Yoshihiro Tatsumi short stories collection Good-Bye in May of 2008:

The 208-page anthology of stories drawn in 1971 and 1972 provides plenty of examples Tatsumi's gekiga manga. Tatsumi coined the title gekiga (literally "dramatic comics") to describe his seriously intentioned work in reaction to the etymological roots of the word manga, which means "irresponsible pictures."

Industry Leader In Anime And Manga To Sponsor Manga Lounge In Booth 454 And Participate In Key Industry Panel Discussions At Highly Anticipated Convention

New York, NY, December 4, 2007 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced its participation and sponsorship of a variety of events at the inaugural 2007 New York Anime Festival (NYAF), taking place December 7-9, 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.

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IN FASHION WE TRUST! TOKYOPOP PROUDLY DEBUTS...GOTHIC & LOLITA BIBLE

Translated for the First Time Ever in English, Much-Anticipated Japanese Fashion and Culture Guide Bows on U.S. Shores February 2008

New York Anime Fest, New York (December, 2007)-TOKYOPOP, the leader of the global manga revolution, is thrilled to debut from the streets of Harajuku, Tokyo, the Gothic & Lolita Bible, a quarterly mook (magazine/book hybrid) that is a combination fashion magazine, culture guide, and art book.

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On November 28th, a Kodansha employee, pretending to be a college student conducting marketing research, sent email surveys to Japanese manga bloggers to obtain "confidential" information on Japanese manga blogs. Kodansha has released an apology on their website stating that "this is an 'abominable act,' and the person responsible will be dealt with accordingly."

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Issue Hits In Time For The Holidays And Features A Newer, Older NARUTO, Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Card, Special ONE PIECE Video Game Coverage and More!

San Francisco, CA, December 3, 2007 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced exciting content for its January 2008 issue of SHONEN JUMP Magazine. The issue is expected to hit retail outlets nationwide tomorrow, December 4th, in plenty of time for the holidays, and offers a host of new surprises and exciting editorial content sure to delight even the most discriminating fan. This issue also marks the 5th anniversary of SHONEN JUMP Magazine, the most popular English-language comics anthology.

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Kaze Shinobu: your guide to beyond spacetime

A natural high

As a manga artist, Kaze Shinobu has a pretty unique approach to his trans-dimensional material. He opens up his subconscious and draws what appears to him without plan or pause. It's a kind of automatic drawing. Maybe his editors press for changes later on in the process, but fundamentally that's his method. Apparently he holes himself up in a purpose-made cardboard pyramid to give the astral juices a chance to flow. With his psychedelic color sense and oddball drawing habits, you might reasonably suspect that Kaze's creative processes are chemically assisted. But that's actually not the case. His trances are naturally induced. To reach them he lives a healthy – almost monkish – existence. He's practically a vegetarian, which is very rare indeed in today's Japan (oddly enough, given its vegetarian past).

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topWeekly Jump Reader's Journal reports that "throughout Jump's 40th anniversary year, the spine of each and every Jump issue will connect together to form one massive image to celebrate the anniversary."

Also, several new series are starting in Weekly Shounen Jump in December:

  • Jump No.1 (12/3)
    - Psyren (PSYREN -サイレン-) by Iwashiro Toshiaki
  • Jump No.2 (12/10)
    - K.O.SEN by Murase Katsutoshi
  • Jump No.3 (12/17)
    - Muddy by Sho Aimoto
  • Jump No.4/5 (12/25)
    - Shinritsu Mesopotamia Gakuen (私立メソポタミア学園) by Oe Shinichiro

A new medical manga titled Saijou no Meii (最上の命医) by Takashi Hashiguchi, mangaka of Yakitate!! Japan, will begin serialization in Weekly Shounen Sunday No.1 (12/5).

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From About.com:Manga comes an interview with Slam Dunk and Vagabond creator Takehiko Inoue. Also available is a photo gallery from Takehiko Inoue's mural painting event at Kinokuniya NYC.

Also available is an interview with Jason Thompson, manga editor and author of Manga: The Complete Guide, and his Top 10 Manga List.

Anime! Anime! reports that Toranoana, one of the biggest doujinshi retail chain in Japan, has launched an online stores that provides downloads of doujin manga, CG arts, doujin games and more. ANN has more:

The store gives dōjin creators the option of using Keyring PDF, a copy-protected version of Adobe's Portable Document Format standard. Most of the currently available manga and art collections sell for well under 1,000 yen (US$9.00), and many games sell for under 2,000 yen (US$18.00).

According to MangaBlog, Tokyopop will be shooting a a "mock-umentary" called Van Von Hunter in Maiden Quest (based on the Van Van Hunter manga) at this year's at NYAF:

TOKYOPOP is making movies at New York Anime Fest—on Saturday, December 8, at 10:30 a.m. in Manga Panel Room 1A24, TOKYOPOP will be filming "Van Von Hunter in Maiden Quest," a hilarious mock-umentary based on the three-volume manga series "Van Von Hunter."