ANS reports that Japanese fans are accusing mangaka Rin Yoshii's manga SWITCH of copying a photograph from the November 06 issue of the fashion magazine SWEET. A comparison between the original photograph and the SWITCH manga scan can be seen here and here (the scan is from the January 07 issue of Shuisha's Cookie).

According to announcements from the magazine as well as diary entries of its authors, Tsukasa Shobo's adult/bishojo manga magazine Comic Dolphin will cease publication in March.

Source: Ultimatum Talk

Yomiuri Online looks at baseball mangaka Shinji Mizushima's effort in promoting an independent pro baseball league in Japan, the Hokushinetsu Baseball Challenge League.

Source: The Beat

NHK's latest "Professional: Styles of Work" series featured Naoki Urasawa, mangaka of Monster and 20th Century Boys. In the article, Urasawa talks about what professionalism means to him: "Professional is...the fact that there is a deadline, and the people who do their best until that deadline."

Humans are Complicated

Naoki Urasawa is one of today's "superstar mangaka," his works have sold over a 100 million copies. One of the reason Urasawa's manga attracts so many fans is due to his manga character's expressions. Urasawa could express deep emotions with a simple touch of his pen:

"I feel that I have done well when I draw my character's face like he is feeling the pain, or he is feeling sad, or he is worrying...the character can have all kinds of emotions."

Occasionally Urasawa even places his character in front of a mirror to inspect his own artworks.

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CLAMP member Mokona will be holding an autograph session in February:

Shibuya:
Start: 13:00.
Place: Logos Gallery (where an special exposition will be held from February 16th~28th.
Tickets will be given for the first 200 people who purchase CLAMP Mokona no Okimonokimono at Logos Gallery on February 16th at 10:00.

Ikebukuro:
Start: 17:00.
Place: Libro Ikebukuro Parco Shop.
Tickets will be given for the first 200 people who purchase CLAMP Mokona no Okimonokimono at Libro Ikebukuro Parco Shop on February 15th at 17:00.

*Translation from Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs

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Creator's Partner has announced a new free manga magazine aimed at girl otaku. The magazine, titled bourgeon, will be made available both in print and online.

From ANS:

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From Manga Jouhou comes a complete translation of Yomiuri Online's 2006 article, which looks back on the Japanese manga industry in 2006.

New Akiba reports that during the 25th Anniversary Jisedai World Hobby Fest, a new Obake no Q-taro (by Fujiko Fujio) manga titled Shin Obake no Q-taro was announced for Shogakukan's children's magazine CoroCoro Comic.

Source: Manga Jouhou

A live event called Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou (????????????????????????) will be held at Omiya Sonic City on 3/18. The event, expected to last four hours, will feature all five SOS-dan members, as well as Tsuruya-san, Kyon's sister, and Taniguchi.

On 1/20, Animate began selling tickets in advance at selected stores and online website for 4,500 yen. As expected, the tickets were sold out in a very short amount of time. Now the tickets are available on Yahoo Auction for 10x the original price. The ticket of a good seat was sold for 66,000 yen, while tickets of slightly less desirable seats are around 30,000 yen.

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The winners of the 52nd Shogakukan Manga Awards have been announced.

Children's Category:
- Kirarin Revolution by An Nakahara
Serialized in Ciao (Shogakukan)

Boys' Category:
- Kekkaishi by Yellow Tanabe
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan)

Girls' Category:
- 7 Seeds by Yumi Tamura
Serialized in Flowers (Shogakukan)

General Category:
- Bengoshi No Kuzu by Iura Hideo
Serialized in Big Comic Original (Shogakukan)

Judging Committee Special Award:
- Kimagure Concept by Hoi Choi Production
Serialized in Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan)

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