In past years the manga magazine market in Japan has experienced a rapid decline, what will be the consequence of this trend? After watching Naoki Urasawa's talk on NHK's "Professional: Styles of Work" series, the author of the Japanese manga blog Mandana Tsushin Blog (Manga Bookshelf Transmissions) was surprise by Urasawa's nervous attitude toward fans' reaction at the sudden ending of 20th Century Boy, and published an article on the current manga magazine scene, how it affects a magazine's serializations, and what the future may hold for the market. Below a portion of the article that takes a look at the mange magazine scene in Japan:

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Yamamoto Kenji's manga Chaotic RunES will be going on hiatus in the June issue of Akita Shoten's Champion Red. According to Champion Red's Editorial Department, Yamamoto Kenji was forced to stop drawing due to his rapidly deteriorating eyesight that has left him almost blind. Below is part of a letter from Champion Red's Editorial Department:

The author Kenji Yamamoto is rapidly losing his eyesight, currently his eyes cannot even recognize objects. According to his doctor, Yamamoto has ablatio retinae caused by intraocular hemorrhage, and so the Editorial Department has determined it impossible for him to continue drawing.

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Two new series will be starting in the upcoming issues of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump:

Jump Issue 24:
- Boku no Watashi no Yushi Gaku by Shuichi Aso

Jump Issue 25:
- Hitomi no Catobelpas by Tanaka Yasunori

Source: Weekly Jump

The official site for Futabasha's shoujo manga magazine Comic High! has opened at www.comichigh.jp. Comic High! is a shoujo manga magazine aimed at males, genres like moe, yuri, youth, yaoi, fantasy, heartful and gag are all included in this magazine.

According to Publishers Weekly, Vertical is planning to launch a new (currently unnamed) contemporary manga imprint in 2008 in order to expand its manga line-up. According to the report, the imprint will mainly focus on shojo manga for teens:

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According to Mainchi Daily News, Barazoku, a Japanese gay men's magazine, will be revived for the third time. This time, the magazine will serialized a previously unpublished manga by Junichi Yamakawa, who is known for his Kuso Miso Technique:

"Barazoku," a gay icon since it became the first magazine for the homosexual community, is back on bookstore shelves again -- the third time it has been resurrected since going into hiatus in September 2004 following 33 straight years of publication for the non-straight.

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This month several new manga rental services opened in Japan. In the U.S., similar services also exist. Originally spotted on ChunHyang72's Manga Minute Blog, Manga Takeout is a netflix-like service that allows subscribers to rent manga books. Shipping is free and manga subscription includes the rental of Anime DVDs as well. Also included is a "quick return" feature, which allows subscribers to report when books are returned so their next set of manga books can be sent.

JBC Publishing has announced plans to make Fullmetal Alchemist available through subscription. FMA is the first JBC title available through subscription. According to JBC's Public Relations department, currently subscription services for other manga have not been planned. Go here for more information on how to acquire FMA online.

Source: Papo de Budega

ANN reports that the web manga Yasagure Panda (Cynical Panda) will be adapted into a live-action DVD:

The series originally appeared here under the subtitle "Sanzoku Underground." The online comic concluded in late 2004, but the artist has moved on to another online comic. Since then, Cynical Panda has become a cult hit. The comics were eventually published in book form by Artist House Publishing in late 2005. The artist, also known as Sanzoku, maintains a website with old and new comics here.

Newtype USA is currently looking for a full-time Japanese-to-English translator:

Primary duties consist of performing English translations of Japanese text and proofing completed translations, though other writing, editing and administrative tasks may be required.

Source: ANN