In the article "U.S. anime expert: Girls drive market," Daily Yomiuri reports that Trulee Karahashi, the new chief executive officer of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), is suggesting that girls are the driving force behind the U.S.'s manga and anime market:

While an obsessed male otaku might be the stereotypical image of an anime fan, Karahashi painted a different picture. She said that Anime Expo attendance is equally divided between genders, which "mirror[s] the overall fan base."

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Earlier in July, Kanon Akamatsu, the cosplaying wife of Love Hina and Negima creator Ken Akamatsu, launched a new "Official Kanon Website" at kanon00.com. Various photos (including cosplay) are posted on the site. The site also links to Kanon Akamatsu's blog, where she talks about her experience with otaku, manga and Ken Akamatsu (The blog was opened in 2006, and managed to attract over 30,000 visitors a few months after its launch).

From MangaCast comes the Diamond Previews for October 2007, which provides information on new U.S. releases for December 2007/January 2008.

Comics2Film has posted an article criticizing Global Manga titled "Everything is manga? Manga style? Bullcrap!" In response, Tintin Pantoja began working on a Global Manga Manifesto.

Via: MangaBlog

Publishers Weekly is reporting that Borders is expanding its relationship with Sony by offering Sony's e-book reader in over 500 of its physical store locations:

Borders has been selling the Sony Reader in 270 of its superstore since last November and will now offer it for sale in more than 500 outlets. "We have been doing very well with it," Borders spokesperson Anne Roman said of the Reader. The rollout to additional stores will begin in October.

Source: ANN

From Animation Insider comes an interview with Writer, translator and interpreter Frederik L. Schodt, who talks about the works of Osamu Tezuka:

Writer, translator and interpreter Frederik L. Schodt once again joins Animation Insider to share his latest research and findings as they relate to Japanese arts and culture with the recent Stone Bridge Press publication The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution.

Via: MangaBlog

On 9/14, JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) published its March 2007 report on the state of the content market in Hong Kong. Compared to past reports, this report is more concise, contains more information, and makes many references to the Japanese market.

According to the report, around 60 to 70 percent of comics published in Hong Kong are Japanese manga, and Japanese manga makes up almost 100% of trade paperback sales. The report goes on to mention how various other Japanese medias, such as anime and films, have also made great progress in Hong Kong's content market.

Source: Anime! Anime!

From MangaBlog's Brigid comes an interview with Japanime CEO Glenn Kardy:

Japanime is based in Japan, with office space in a converted restaurant near Tokyo where Kardy sometimes holds meetings sitting in a tatami room. From there, he and his team produce books designed by Japanese artists to appeal to an American audience. Their newest offering, Moe USA, is a twist on global manga: An Original English Language manga by a Japanese artist.

The following manga appeared on the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending September 16th:

• #50 - Naruto, Volume 18 - Viz - (Last week: #37)
• #72 - Naruto, Volume 17 - Viz - (Last week: #65)
• #86 - Naruto, Volume 16 - Viz - (Last week: #74)

Also, Comicsnob posts the online manga sales rankings:

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A round up of the new comic release list and views for the week of September 19th 2007:

• ComicList: ComicList for 09/19/2007
• MangaCast: New Manga Release List ~ Sept 19, 2007
• Comicsnob: Watch it: Manga et al. for the week of September 16th
• Manga Recon: Weekly Recon, 9/19/07
• theOtaku: New Manga Releases
• Precocious Curmudgeon: Upcoming 9/19/2007