The Gundam anime experienced a small boost in popularity with the recent release of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime DVD Box. The original 43-episode Gundam anime was first aired in 1979, and now the DVD box set is experiencing positive sales. ITmedia News interviews Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the art director and character designer of Gundam, who talks about Gundam and his recent works. (by Koh Shimada)

Q: The DVD box set of the "First Gundam" is very popular.

A: Gundam is a very mysterious thing for me. I really don't see why Gundam is still popular after so many years. Sometimes I have to see it on due to the necessity of my job, but I think it's a poorly made work.

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Manga top 10 according to Tohan.

1. Bleach vol.26
2. D.Gray-man vol.10
3. Eyeshield 21 vol.23
4. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! vol.2
5. Dr. Coto's Clinic vol.21
6. Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar vol.12
7. Natsumi Yuujin Chou vol.3
8. Sengoku vol.12
9. Hanma Baki vol.6
10. To-LOVE-Ru vol.2

Mangaka Emiko Sugi passed away on February 10th at the Yokohama city hospital at the age of 47. The cause of death was stomach cancer. Emiko, known for her shojo series such as Luv Clinic, Ai Girl and Get You, debuted as a mangaka in 1977. According to Shogakukan, her works have sold over 18,000,000 volumes.

Source: excite

Hot sequel to hugely popular best selling manga series receives historic simultaneous worldwide release

Los Angeles, CA (February 12, 2007)-TOKYOPOP, leader of the Global Manga Revolution, and Gentosha Comics, one of Japan's top manga publishers,are proud to announce their historic partnership for the simultaneous worldwide release of Gravitation EX, the eagerly awaited sequel to Maki Murakami's best selling cult-classic manga series, Gravitation.

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Idol Master XENOGLOSSIA, a manga based on the yet-to-be-released anime, will begin serialization in Comptiq Ace Vol 12 (2/26). My-Re Kurosaki will be in charge of the art. This manga is different from Idol Master relations which is based on the game version of Idol Master and began serialization in the March issue of Ichijinsha's Comic REX.

MangaCast translates the weekly Doujinshi ranking in Japan (02/10) according to Toranoana, compiled by Akiba Blog, and the weekly BL Doujinshi ranking in Japan (02/10) according to Toranoana's BL specialty store Princess Side.

February marks the 1 year anniversary of Hunter X Hunter's hiatus in Shonen Jump. Created by the (in)famous Yoshihiro Togashi in 1998, Hunter X Hunter has experienced many breaks during its serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump. Toward the end of 2005, Hunter X Hunter's serialization stopped for over a month due to Togashi's illness. The manga returned in January 2006 only to go on hiatus again 4 chapters later. While the announcement in Jump stated that the series would resume serialization in early April, a year later the series has yet to return.

From TV Anime Resource Center comes information on Hunter X Hunter's irregular schedule, as well as its effect on the anime version of HxH. Also included is a chart that lists all the Hunter X Hunter-related announcements in Shonen Jump from 1998 to 2004, and more.

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Sankei Web recently published a multi-part article on the famous anime and manga creator Leiji Matsumoto, who talks about the importance of copyrights. In Part 1, Leiji Matsumoto discusses the pains and burdens a manga creator and his or her family faces, and the importance of copyright protection.

Battles on Copyright - Leiji Matsumoto Talks about Creators' Thoughts

"Creators fall dead in front of the wall of creativity." Veteran manga creator Leiji Matsumoto expresses the "labor pains" of creators in these words.

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Kadokawa Shoten will release a new bi-weekly seinen magazine titled Comic Charge in March. The first issue will come out on March 20th and sell for 290 yen. Comic Charge is Kadokawa Group's first manga magazine aimed at adult men, with its target audience being businessmen between the ages of 30 and 50.

Source: Animaxis

According to the cover wrap of Kodomo no Jikan volume 3, the popular moe/loli manga series will be adapted into an anime.

Kodomo no Jikan by Kaworu Watashiya is currently serialized in Futabasha's Comic High!, and is being published in the U.S. by Seven Seas under the name Nymphet.