"This community was established as a journal covering manga as a whole. Here people can listen to and respond to opinions on manga titles from every where and from every genre and for every demographic. Manga is an art form. It is a form of expression that combines a variety of artistic qualities. You can listen to reviews, commentary, news and information about the medium all coming from the perspectives of a few dedicated manga lovers." - MangaCast Intro
Introduction
What is podcasting? The word "podcast" came from Apple's "iPod" and the word "broadcasting." Like RSS, podcasting is a way of distributing multimedia files over the internet through syndication, listening to podcast is like reading news or articles, except you listen to an audio file in MP3 format. People can listen to the podcast online, or download it into their favorite MP3 player.
So what happens when we mix podcasting with manga? We get MangaCast of course! Created on July 21st, 2005, MangaCast has since become the premier manga podcasting site on the internet.
Founded by Ed Chavez and Jarred Pine, MangaCast aims to provide fans with a whole new manga experience. In an age where everything on the internet is displayed and read on a screen, MangaCast provides its visitors with manga reviews, news, and discussions in a nice little audio package, presented through the voices of a few dedicated manga enthusiasts. With the emerging technology of syndication and podcasting, fans no longer have to worry about developing eye cancer, instead they can listen to the latest roundtable discussion on their iPod while jogging, or putting on a pair of earphones while comfortably lying in bed.
While hosted on LiveJournal, MangaCast provides a lot more professional and interesting content than many other sites, and its clever use of podcasting makes it stand out in the endless sea of mediocre manga websites/blogs. When you get past the reviews and convention reports, you'll discover a whole new world of information coming straight from Japan. On MangaCast you'll find Japanese manga release dates, sales ranking, introduction to Japanese manga anthologies, and more. For anyone interested in wanting to find out more about what's going on in the homeland of manga, checking out MangaCast is a must.
A Brief History of Time
While only a year old, there were still some important dates that should be remembered:
October 2007
MangaCast v2.0, powered by WordPress, goes "live." The old LiveJournal site is also still being updated.
Mar 17 2007
First post from the last of MC's new recruits, alierarobot.
Mar 17 2007
Pea, MangaCast's Indonesian reviewer/writer makes her debut post.
Mar 14 2007
Manga Maniac Cafe's Julie announces partnership with MangaCast.
Sept 25 2006
Attack of the PodViews, MangaCast experiments with distributing previews/PDF through RSS feed.
Sept 20 2006
MangaCast invites readers to voice their opinions about current topic or news item through Skype.
July 29 2006
How to Build a Better MangaCast? 1 year anniversary, MangaCast gets ready for Version 2.
June 15 2006
MangaBlogCast #1 from Jack and Brigid.
May 23 2006
The first Yomis, an U.S. manga award from MangaCast.
Feb 3 2006
Manga Curry No Maki Volume #1, bi-monthly podcast that "covers a few topics in the world of manga news, info, releases, and other good stuff." in a good 'ol manga mix.
Oct 13 2005
Manga Recon Show #001, Erin from the Ninja Consultant Podcast
July 24 2005
SamaCast #1 from Jarred Pine.
July 21 2005
MangaCast launched, Podcast Episode 1 - covering non other than SDCC.
The Way of Podcasting
A simple step-by-step guide on how to make your very own podcast.
Contents
As its name implies, MangaCast's main attraction is its many manga-related podcasts, so what are these podcasts, and what are they about?
MangaCast - The original MangaCast that was born along with the website, plain and simple. With each podcast comes a review of a manga, sometimes two.
SamaCast - The sports manga podcast by Jarred. Done in "innings," it was originally its own podcast, and later became part of MangaCast. Its main purpose is to promote sports manga in the U.S.
Manga Recon Show - Reviews from Erin of the Ninja Consultant, where Erin reads the reviews that are posted on her "Manga Recon" column on Buzzscope.com.
MangaTheory - A project started by Tristan, who talks about the manga culture, it's meant to create conversations and make people think. MangaTheory is currently on hiatus due to Tristan's busy life in Japan.
Manga Curry No Maki - The Maki is a full course meal of manga news and commentary Where Ed and Jarred talks about anything manga...think of it as a manga variety show. It's a Mix or a Roll of manga, "Maki" means to mix and another kanji can mean roll (like the sushi), hence the name Maki. The "Curry" part comes from Ed's obsession with curry, as well as the manga Addicted to Curry. At the end of each episode of Manga Curry no Maki, Ed and Jarred also includes Curry recipes from Addicted to Curry.
Maki Side Dish - Side dish of Manga Curry no Maki, a smaller mix of Curry, something to tide the fans over till the next full course of Maki.
MangaBlogCast - A collaboration between MangaCast and MangaBlog that is focused on manga news, for more information go here.
Attack of the PodViews - An experiment involving distributing previews/PDF through RSS feed.
Other Features
MangaCast is not all about podcast, originally intended to be more of a manga news community, although later on MangaCast focused most of its attentions on reviews, traces of news-related contents can still be found lying around.
Layout Reservoir
Just because it's Live Journal doesn't mean the theme can be ignored, take a look at the various layouts of MangaCast.
The Future and MangaCast 2.0 (2007)
A year has passed since MangaCast was featured on Backstage, many changes took place, and some new faces can be found among the crew.
We catch up with Ed once again to discuss the past, present and future of MangaCast!
Also included is a small peak at the mysterious MangaCast 2.0.
Behind the Scene
Want to know more about the people behind the podcasts?
Podcast hosts:
Ed Chavez (naniwa)
Co-founder/Manga Librarian
Jarred Pine (jpine)
Co-founder/SAMA Master
Erin (ninjaconsultant)
Guest host/Resident Ninja
Jack Tse (jacktse)
Reviewer/Love Roman
Contributors:
Megan (dqbunny)
Novel editor
Christian (chmblspuzz)
Viking manga editor
My Bergström (momiji_mii)
Shojo editor
David (personaltaylor)
Love Manga
Julie (mangamaniac)
Manga Maniac Cafe
Pea (readilbert)
Indonesian reviewer/writer
Aleria (alierarobot)
Want to know what it's like to be a staff of MangaCast? Read on for more Question/Answers and interviews.
The Yomis
So Japan has their own Tezuka Award and their Kodansha Award, what about the U.S.? We have the Yomis of course! With the launch of the Yomis during 2006's SDCC, MangaCast has created one of the first manga-only award events in the U.S.
The Podcast Continues
Although relatively young compared to some of its companions in the Mangasphere, MangaCast has made it possible to enjoy manga not just by staring at static images with blood-shot eyes, but by listening to the lively voices of energetic manga fans, fueled by their love for manga. As MangaCast's info page puts it: "Manga is an art form. It is a form of expression that combines a variety of artistic qualities."