A new shoujo manga from Lovely Complex creator Aya Nakahara titled Nanakorobin (ナナコロビン) will begin in the March issue (2/13) of Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret.

A new manga called Broken Blood III (ブロッケンブラッドIII) by Shiono Kanjirouji is starting in Shonen Gahosha's Young King No.3 (1/12).

A new four-panel manga titled Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to (マンガ家さんとアシスタントさんと) from Hiroyuki, creator of Doujin Work, will begin serialization in the March issue (2/12) of Square Enix's Shonen Gangan. Also starting in the same issue is a new manga titled Tri-Piece (トライピース) by Tomoyuki Maru.

Source: Ultimatum

From Otaku Champloo comes a multi-part article looking at the relationship between Shonen Jump serializations and the fujoshi culture throughout the years, 2 parts have been published so far:

- A history of the fujoshi love affair with Jump
- Jump History and Fujoshi (2): Captain Tsubasa love

Via: MangaBlog

Manganovel, a service that offers Japanese manga downloads as well translations offered for sale by users to other users, is hosting the Manglish Contest:

Now Manganovel is hosting the Manglish Contest - Translate Manga Into English. Think up some cool translations of the dialog found in the contest pages on the Manganovel site. There are prizes to be won, with the best translation awarded an iPod touch. Entry is free, so have a go!

The contest began in October last year, the deadline for submission is the end of January 2008. Go here for more information on how to enter the contest.

Mantanweb has interviewed Keiko Takemiya, mangaka of To Terra..., regarding the Manglish Contest, Manga Jouhou has a translation of the interview:

Read More »

Nikkei.net reports that the JPO (Japan Publishing Organization) is collaborating with 470 publishers, 30 distributors and 6,300 bookstores to implement embedded IC tags inside 100 million manga in 2009.

The tag, which will later spread to regular books, aims to prevent shoplifting.

Source: MJ

In "Comic inspires classical concert," The Star Online looks at how manga like Nodame Cantabile are helping keep classical music alive:

But on the Eastern front, new methods are being brought into play to shake off those stereotypes and bring new audiences to classical music. Starting with a Japanese comic book, Nodame Cantabile, and continuing with a 2006 Japanese television drama of the same name, the latest offensive is a series of classical concerts in South Korea.

Anime! Anime! reports that the "Shojo Manga! Girls' Power!" tour will be traveling to four locations in Japan in 2008, including the Kawasaki City Museum between February 16 and March 30, and the Kyoto International Manga Museum from July 19 to August 31.

Source: ANN

According to a blog post by Doujin Work creator Hiroyuki, Doujin Work will be coming to an ending in the February issue (2/9) of Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara. However, a spin off series will start in the April issue of Manga Time Kirara.

Source: Canned Dogs

Asahi Shimbun has a cover story titled "Manga-fied," which looks at how Japanese manga is attracting a "growing legion of French people" to Japan:

Thanks to Japanese pop culture, people overseas have a readily accessible window into Japan and its traditions. [...] For French people in particular, this window has created an appeal that is proving hard to resist.

From Weekly Jump Readers' Journal comes an article feature titled "WSJ Illustrated Guide: pt. 6 (2000-present)," the final installment of a 6-part series of articles that look at important Shonen Jump serializations, with a focus on titles that were adapted into anime.

Pink Tentacle has a report on an article published on SciencePortal.jp, a website run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, which estimates how much it would take to build a Gundam in real life. The conclusion? It would take at least $725 million just for the parts and materials. ANN has more.

Source: theOtaku