International Manga Awards runner-up Madeleine Rosca has posted the final part of her International Manga Award trip to Japan.

Daily Yomiuri Online has published an article looking at Japan Football Museum's Captain Tsubasa Exhibition that began on July 21st:

The exhibition, subtitled Everyone was once a Captain Tsubasa, displays enlarged copies of key scenes from the 26-year-long series, comments from professional players who were influenced by Captain Tsubasa and copies of the comic books translated into various languages including Italian, German and Chinese.

A new series titled Salaryman Trader Arashi by Mitsuru Sugaya will begin serialization in Comic Gumbo issue 30+31, on sale August 7th. The protagonist of this new manga will be Ishino Arashi, who also appeared in the manga Game Center Arashi by Mitsuru Sugaya, published by Shogakukan over 20 years ago.

Source: Canned Dog

Ultimatum Tidbits reports that the light novel series Ookami to Koushinryou by Isuna Hasekura (author) and Juu Ayakura (illustrator) will be adapted into a TV animation. The announcement can be found on the cover of the fifth volume of the light novel.

In June, Dengeki Online also announced Ookami to Koushinryou's adaptation into a manga (drawn by Koume Keito).

Source: LightNovel.org

Daily Yomiuri Online has published a report on the TV dramatization of the manga Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa, and how the drama will be aired on August 10th to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of Hiroshima:

Monday will mark the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. So as not to forget what happened in World War II, Fuji TV will air Aug. 10 and 11 from 9 p.m. a two-night special drama, Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen), based on a manga featuring a little boy who survived the atomic bombing.

Letters to the Chairman is a service which delivers constructive requests to corporate chairmen in users' stead. If supporters of the request increase, action is taken by letter or by phone. Among the "letters" posted is one written to "The Editor-in-Chief of Shonen Jump", requesting the revival of Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter X Hunter.

The Hunter X Hunter request for the Editor-in Chief of Shonen Jump stands out among a huge list of request-letters directed at restaurants and convenience stores. The HxH letter reads:

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The official website of Kodansha's new monthly magazine Shonen Rival is now available at http://www.shonenrival.com/. According to the website, the reason the magazine is called "Shonen Rival" is to show "the rivalry between the protagonist and his rivals. Also, when a boy matures, the concept of rivalry is indispensable."

Also mentioned is the 1st Shonen Rival Comic Grand Prix. The winning works will be serialized in Shonen Rival, and the grand prize winner will receive 3,000,000 yen.

ANN reports that Sony Music Entertainment will be holding auditions for the two main female leads in the movie based on the manga Pride by Yukari Ichijo:

The manga characters Shio and Moe are aspiring opera singers and competing music college students, so the producers are looking for females between 16 and 25 years old with the desire to become singers (familiarity with the manga is recommended). The deadline for applications and demo samples is August 31.

Otaku Champloo reports that today is Yaoi day:

Today we are celebrating Yaoi no Hi, an otaku holiday derived from the 801 combi that represents 'ya-o-i' in Japanese culture.

Via: MangaBlog

Top 10 manga (8/01) according to Tohan:

1. Vagabond, Volume 26
2. Koukou Debut, Volume 9
3. Detective Conan, Volume 58
4. Keroro Gunso, Volume 15
5. Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu, Volume 8
6. Tenjho Tenge, Volume 17
7. Saiyuki Gaiden, Volume 3
8. Zipang, Volume 30
9. Kekkaishi, Volume 17
10. Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Volume 5

Additional Rankings:

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