ANN reports that Kodansha has announced its plan to to print 300,000 copies of its upcoming magazine Monthly Shonen Rival, and has spent over 250 million yen ($2.3 million) on advertising for the magazine's April 4th debut.

Also announced are the winners of the 1st Shonen Rival Comic Grand Prix:

the aspiring artist Amadori won the top prize of 3 million yen (about US$28,000). Amadori also received an offer to have the winning Mukō ga Wa no Masaka entry published in the new magazine. [...] The second place winners each won 1 million yen (US$9,400) and a chance to have the winning entry or new manga work serialized.

From Japan Focus comes a translation of an interview with Nakazawa Keiji, mangaka of Barefoot Gen:

His masterpiece is Barefoot Gen, in which Gen is a stand-in for Nakazawa himself. His works from Barefoot Gen on convey much bitter anger and sharp criticism toward a postwar Japanese politics that has never sought to affix responsibility on those who carried out the dropping of the atomic bomb and the aggressive war (the U.S. that dropped the atomic bomb, and the emperor and Japan’s wartime leaders who prosecuted the reckless war that incurred the dropping of the atomic bomb).

MediaWorks will release a special issue of Dengeki G's Festival! titled Dengeki G's Festival! ANIME. The first issue of Dengeki G's Festival! ANIME will be released on February 9th. Each issue of the magazine will run a feature on a specific anime, the series covered in the first issue will be Shakugan no Shana II. The magazine will also come with various Shakugan no Shana merchandises, including a Shana figurine, a Fumina Konoe figurine, and playing cards.

Source: Chuosha

Tokiwa-so (トキワ荘) is an apartment building in Shiinamachi, Tokyo, where now legendary but then up-and-coming mangaka such as Tezuka Osamu, Shotaro Ishinomori (Ishimori) and Fujio Akatsuka once lived, worked together, shared knowledge, and basically meeting up with colleagues and pitting their skills against each other.

In 1954, two young mangaka, Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, moved into Tokiwa-so. The duo, better known by their pen name of Fujiko Fujio, worked alongside the likes of Tezuka, and went on to create Doraemon, which became one of the best-selling manga in the world. While Fujimoto, also known as Fujiko F. Fujio, passed away in 1996 due to an accident, Abiko, Fujiko Fujio (A) is still active in the manga scene.

An interview with Fujiko Fujio (A) was recently published in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine. In the interview, Fujiko Fujio (A) talks about the days he spent at Tokiwa-so, as well as his memories of his colleagues:

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The Daily Yomiuri has an article that explores the dramatization of the manga Saito-san by Yua Oda. Also, Nichi Bei Times looks at the popularity of manga in France in "Manga Gaining Rapid Popularity in France."

ANN reports that four manga series are coming to an end in Japan:

• Emma by Kaoru Mori in the February issue (1/12) of Enterbrain's Monthly Comic Beam.
• Karin by Yuna Kagesaki in the February issue (1/9) of Fujimi Shobo's Dragon AGE.
• Idolmaster Xenoglossia by Mairi Kurosaki in the March issue (1/26) of Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Comp Ace.
• Advance of Zeta: The Flag of Titans by Tatsu Mizuki in the March issue (1/21) of MediaWorks' Monthly Dengeki Daioh

A manga adaptation of singer Eikichi Yazawa's autobiography Nariagari, titled Nariagari: Yazawa Eikichi Monogatari (成り上がり 矢沢永吉物語) (drawn by Sho Kitagawa), began in Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Charge No.3 (1/15).

Also, Tohru Fujisawa, mangaka of Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), will begin a new series titled Anhapi-! (Unhappy!) (アンはぴっ!) in Comic Charge No.5 (2/19).

Two new one-shots Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin- Special Chapter (Part 1) (銀牙－流れ星 銀－ 特別編 (前編)) by Yoshihiro Takahashi and Metaborika (めたボリカ) by Yuzuki Hikaru, will appear in Shueisha's Business Jump No.5 (2/1).

Two new series, Alice no 100℃c (アリスの100℃c) by Chizuna Nakajima (mangaka of Iinari! Aibration) and Yakuza Girl ~Blade Shikake no Hanayome~ (ヤクザガール ～ブレイド仕掛けの花嫁～) by Okuma Yu-go, will begin serialization in the April issue of Akita Shoten's Champion RED (2/19).

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Cloverfield Clues reports that the first chapter of Cloverfield: Kishin by Yoshiki Togawa, a tie-in manga created to promote the upcoming movie, has been posted online by Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shonen Ace.

Source: ANN and Wired

Top 10 manga (1/16) according to Tohan:

1. Worst (19)
2. Detective Conan (60)
3. Hanma Baki (11)
4. To-LOVE-Ru (7)
5. Pyuu to Fuku! Jaguar (14)
6. Hanma Baki 10.5 Gaiden Pick
7. Hayate the Combat Butler (14)
8. Mx0 (7)
9. Eensy-Weensy Monster (2)
10. Nodame Cantabile (19)

Additional Rankings:

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Canned Dogs reports that users of 2channel have voted for the best eromanga of 2007, and the results are in:

1st place
Cannon sensei tobashisugi

2nd place
Itsumo kimi wo kanjiteru
Trouble Scramble!
Giri giri Sisters

[...]

Also, otaku blog Ikimashou.net is celebrating its 2nd anniversary.

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