Canned Dogs reports that the November issue of Comic Gum will come with a special Sena★Sena supplementary booklet.

Sena★Sena is a project from the otaku blog Senaka Otaroad, where many popular artists work on medias involving the blog's mascot Senaka-chan. For more info visit here.

From Heisei Democracy comes an article titled "Doujinshi, Obscenity, and Japan's Imperiled Freedom of Speech," which takes a brief look at the history doujinshi and obscenity laws in Japan:

In the light of the recent arrest of a doujin artist on obscenity charges we take a look back at the past five years in the history of free speech regulation and litigation vis a vis drawn pornography in Japan. We examine the current state of affairs and speculate as to the fate of the free speech right enshrined in article 13 of Japan's constitution, one that now seems to rest on a very fragile footing indeed.

Manga cafes in Japan are becoming a place of refuge for the poor who can't afford to live in their own home or a hotel. According to Mainichi Shimbun, a recent survey conducted by the government revealed that the number of homeless people who lives in Internet and manga cafes has reached about 5,400:

Those in their 20s form the largest age group, followed by people in their 50s. The figures highlight employment problems that are affecting middle-aged and elderly people as well as those in their 20s.

Via: MangaBlog

• Konami's OAV and TV anime Sky Girls (スカイガールズ) was adapted into a manga in the October issue of Kodansha's Monthly Magazine Z (8/25). Also began in the same issue was a manga titled Hakokan Younin Burai-cho Himegami (箱館妖人無頼帖 ヒメガミ) by Nozomu Tamaki.

• A manga adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (機動戦士ガンダムOO) will begin the December issue of Monthly Magazine Z (10/26), a preview will be made available in the November issue.

• Two new manga, Ray Sweeper (レイスイーパー) by Narumi Kakinouchi (creator of Vampire Princess Miyu) and Lieutenant-Scarlet (ルテナン・スカーレット) by Takao Ukyo (Original story by Ryoe Tsukimura), will start in Jive's Monthly Comic Rush November issue (9/26).

• A new manga titled Tobaku Haouden Zero (賭博覇王伝 零(ゼロ)) by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, who won the Kodansha Manga Award in 1998 for his manga Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji, will begin serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine issue 40 (9/5).

• Ramen Tenshi Pretty Menma (ラーメン天使 プリティメンマ), a fictional game from the Genshiken manga, will be adapted into a real manga, and will start serialization in the November issue of Media Factory's Comic Alive (9/27).

• The official site for the adult manga magazine Comic Hotmilk has opened at http://www.coremagazine.co.jp/hotmilk/

In early July, Production I.G. announced its plan to acquire manga publisher Mag Garden on December 1st, 2007 through a stock swap.

Production I.G. has been experiencing a steady decline in profit for the last three and a half years. Last week Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan Economic Times) interviewed the president of Production I.G., Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, about the merger of the two companies and their business strategy.

Below is a translation of a part of the interview:

Read More »

According to the latest diary entry from Kouji Seo, Suzuka, currently serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine and published in the U.S. by Del Rey Manga, will end in Shonen Magazine issue 42 (9/21) after 3+ years of serialization. According to the entry, the final manuscript was handed in on the 25th of this month.

A new manga titled Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya will start in the November issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq Ace. The story will be based on Type-Moon's Fate/stay night, Hiroshi Hiroyama will be in charge of the art. According to the report, the manga will focus on Illya's everyday life...with a magical girl twist?

Source: Moon Phase

A new Fist of the North Star side story titled Shirogane no Seija (The Silver Saint) began serialization in issue 39 of Coamix's Comic Bunch (8/24). The new series is illustrated by Yuka Nagate, and follows the story of Toki, a character from Fist of the North Star.

Also, a new manga titled Legion by Fujisawa Yuuki, creator of Metro Survive, began serialization in Akita Shoten's Play Comic No. 17 (8/23).

Source: Ultimatum Tidbits

Moon Phase reports that a new manga titled Moriguchi Orito no Teiou Gaku will begin serialization in the February 2008 issue of Dengeki Daioh (on sale 12/21). The manga will be drawn by Sanada Rin and writtin by Okayu Masaki, author of the light novel Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan.

Source: LightNovel.org

An illustrator named Masaya Miyashita (39) from Matsuyama city was arrested for creating and selling obscene manga. Police confiscated 6,600 manga during the arrest. According to reports, the artist ordered 17,000 copies of his work from a printing company in Okayama Prefecture, and even allowed doujin bookstores to sell the manga in Tokyo and Kanagawa last year.

Read More »