Popular mangaka Moyoco Anno (Hataraki Man, Happy Mania) announced on her blog that she will be taking a rest from work due to health problems, and that all of her work other than Ochibisan will be put on hiatus. According to this Mainichi report:

Moyoco Anno has been in poor health for the past few years, and confessed her feelings in her blog: "during cases when my health failed, I tried to restart my work after a brief rest, but now even that has become difficult for me. Let me take a rest for a longer period of time, so I don't have to go over the same trouble again." [...] "although I can't say when I'll be back, I want to draw manga again. I want to be back so I can do it."

Source: Mainichi Shimbun

Japanese BL publisher Libre Publishing will be launching a new manga magazine called Kurofune ZERO on May 28th.

Source: Ultimatum

Mainichi Daily News has an article on how a 66-year-old doctor who served as the inspiration for the manga Dr. Koto Shinryojo will "carry on working after spring this year, despite reaching retirement age, thanks to support from local residents."

The Guardian has an article on how manga is influencing a wave of new Chinese designers.

The Star Online reports that eateries in Japan where customers and waiters role play themes from manga, particularly BL manga, are becoming increasingly popular.

Canned Dogs is reporting that several new series will begin serialization in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday:

• New manga (title rumored to be Gekkou Jourei) by Fujita Kazuhiro (Ushio to Tora, Karakuri Circus)
• MiXiM???12 by Nobuyuki Anzai (Flame of Recca, M??R)

INTERNET Watch is reporting that Yahoo! Japan has made 45 chapters of the Doraemon manga available online for free to promote the upcoming movie Doraemon: Nobita to Midori no Kyojin Den.

ANN has more:

Yahoo! Japan created an "Otona no Tame no Doraemon Tokush??" ("Doraemon Feature for Adults") section. [...] To browse the free chapters on the linked page, select one of the "???????????????" links and then select the "???????????? only works in IE" link in the resulting page. Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer are required.

Canned Dogs reports that the manga Kare to kanojo no kyoukaisen, which is currently serialized in Ichijinsha's Comic REX, ended unexpectedly due to the death of its mangaka, Yorishiro Tomoyuki:

The latest issue of Comic REX has revealed the saddening news that author Yorishiro Tomoyuki who had just started serialisation on Comic REX has passed away unexpectedly while he was working the 3rd chapter of his manga Kare to kanojo no kyoukaisen.

Top 10 manga (3/05) according to Tohan:

1. Mushishi (9)
2. Moyashimon (6)
3. Sangatsu no Lion (1)
4. Keroro Gunsou (16)
5. Five (8)
6. Tenjo Tenge (18)
7. B.O.D.Y. (12)
8. Trigun Maximum (14)
9. Team Medical Dragon (16)
10. Zipang (34)

Additional Rankings:

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In the latest Oricon poll, readers were asked who their favorite mangaka were. Below are the results:

1. Ai Yazawa
2. Akira Toriyama
3. Takehiko Inoue
4. Mitsuru Adachi
5. Yoshihiro Togashi
5. Eiichiro Oda
7. Naoki Urasawa
8. CLAMP
8. Fujiko F. Fujio
10. Osamu Tezuka

Source: Tokyograph

After 379 chapters, Takeshi Konomi's tennis manga The Prince of Tennis has finally ended in issue 14 (3/3) of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump.

Also ending in the same issue is Yoshiyuki Nishi's Muhyo to Rouji. Finally, Katsutoshi Murase's K.O.Sen will end in issue 15 of Weekly Jump.

Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter resumed serialization in issue 14 of Jump, and will run for 10 chapters before going back on hiatus.

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According to Shueisha, a special one-shot by Marvel's Stan Lee and Shaman King mangaka Takei Hiroyuki will appear in the newly announced Jump SQ.II, a special issue of Jump SQ that will be launched on 4/18.

Also, an one-shot titled Kare no Satsujin Keikaku by Mohiro Kitoh, mangaka of Bokurano, will appear in the May issue of Jump Square (4/4).