Manga News and Information
JapanAs many manga readers know, manga magazines often contain colored pages. Seinen magazines have a mild transition of color pages; they change from cream to light orange, and so on. On the other hand, Shounen magazines, like Shounen Jump and Shounen Sunday, and Shoujo magazines, like Ribbon and Ciao, use intense colors for their paper, like yellow, orange, green, etc. *Note the “color pages” discussed here is not the “full-color” pages that appear in the beginning of a chapter, but the actual color of the paper the ink is printed on.
Naturally, Sunrise appealed to the Korean courts. However, Sunrise lost the appeal for the incredible reason that "In Korea, 'Gundam' is a general term for robots which appear in anime" (韓国では『ガンダム』とはアニメに登場するロボットの一般名詞である)! The "Gundam Trial" was so shocking to Japanese people that it had come to be seen as an urban legend. However, it was proven that it was no joke, but an actual trial. For more info, see here or here (創通＝Bandai). When "super robot" anime and manga were gaining momentum during the 80's, the popular shows weren't as easily accessible in South Korea as they are today. Surpassing even the modern fansubbers, people in South Korea began releasing Japanese animations as "Original South Korean Products" under different names, many of which were televised by Korean TV stations. Below are some examples of the "Original Korean Products" and their Japanese counterparts: The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has released an updated report (PDF) on the status of the Japanese Publication Industry. According to the report, sales figure of manga tankoubon (a compilation volume) has increased 4.2%, while manga anthology sales has decreased by 2.6% compared to last year. As a result the entire manga market experienced a net decrease of 0.5% (around 502.3 billion yen). Shogakukan's Kotae wa Mitsu Volume 1 and Tokyo Flowchart Volume 1 were released today in Japan, at the same time, Yahoo! Comic also began distributing the two manga online in e-book format. This marks the first time manga is released both on and offline. Source: Manga Jouhou
A few days ago, a shocking event took place in this otaku heaven that sent tremors throughout the otaku world - a maid was threatened, and subsequently molested, by a man. This incident is now being called "Maid Hunting," named after the controversial "Otaku Hunting" event that took place earlier this fall in Akihabara. According to reports, around 7:00pm on October 17th in front of the JR Akihabara Station, a 18 year old girl dressed as a maid (who was handing out flyers) was approached by a man. The man asked, "Are you a college student? Where do you work?" The maid was then asked to bring the man to the maid cafe she worked at. When they were climbing the stairs of the maid cafe, the man suddenly took out a small knife, and proceeded to forcefully molest the maid's lower body. Manga top 10 according to Tohan. Katsura Hibiki's latest BL novel, Mirage to Shakunetsu no Koi, published by Shinkosha under its Chocolat Novels Hyper label, was found plagiarizing the work of another author. This was pointed out by the author of the plagiarized novel as well as its readers, however, the author has asked to keep the name of the said novel from being released to the public. As a result, all of Katsura Hibiki's works have beem recalled, and her upcoming releases have been cancelled. Katsura Hibiki said in her apology that she regrets what she has done, and has decided to quit her job as a writer to show her regret. Recently a figurine of Saber (from Fate/stay-night) given away as a "hand-made collector's edition item" by a Chinese comic magazine called "Donghua Jidi" (Anime Base) became a hot topic of discussion in both China and Japan. The cause of the debates was the figurine's ugly appearance. According to Square Enix, Nagasarete Airantou by Takeshi Fujishiro will be adapted into an Anime in 2007. Nagasarete Airantou is currently serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan. A new Nintendo DS game by TDK Core called Ciao Manga School (ちゃおまんがスクール) will be released on November 9th. The game is based on a popular how-to-draw-manga tutorial section featured in shojo manga anthology Ciao. The game, utilizing DS's touch screen, puts the player in the shoes of a girl who is trying to have her work published by Ciao. Source: Akadot |
Manga Zombie
Finale: Panelosophy
An ongoing conversation about the philosophy behind manga both in the U.S. and abroad. Manga Ranking
Monthly charts of comparative manga rankings based on aggregate online sales listings from Matt Blind. |
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
