Zassosha's manga magazine PUFF is known by many fans as one of the definite study guides for those who appreciate manga. Every year, PUFF holds a special manga award feature called "Manga Best Ten," where readers vote for their favorite manga of the year, some even call this award the "Manga Oscar."

The winners of the 2006 Manga Best Ten were announced in the April issue of PUFF (2/28). Below are the winners of the long/short stories award:

Long Stories

1. Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya [Hana to Yume / Hakusensha]
2. Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi - [Weekly Shonen Jump / Shueisha]
3. Bleach by Tite Kubo - [Weekly Shonen Jump / Shueisha]
4. Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa - [Monthly Shonen Gangan / Square Enix]
5. xxxHOLiC by CLAMP - [Weekly Young Magazine / Kodansha]
6. Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto - [Weekly Shonen Jump / Shueisha]
7. D.Gray-man by Katsura Hoshino - [Weekly Shonen Jump / Shueisha]
8. Kyo Kara Maoh! by Temari Matsumoto - [Asuka / Kadokawa Shoten]
9. Honey and Clover by Chika Umino - [Chorus / Shueisha]
10. Saiyuki Reload by Kazuya Minekura - [Comic Zero Sum / Ichijinsha]

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The Suginami Animation Museum announced on March 4th that over 100,000 admission tickets have been sold since its opening in March 2005, proving proving itself to be a special tourist spot representing the anime and manga world. The museum also celebrated its 2nd anniversary on the same day.

According to a page from a Kodansha sales order, Koji Kumeta's Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei will be be adapted into an anime TV series. *Note that there has been no official announcement of an anime adaption from Kodansha as of now.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, which began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 2005, is about a depressed teacher whose attempts to commit suicide are constantly foiled by his 32 equally troubled students.

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Ken Akamatsu's Mahou Sensei Negima! Part 1 (First Semester) ended in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine. According to Ken Akamatsu's online dairy (2/27 entry), Part 2 (Summer Break) will begin within a few weeks (possibly in Shonen Magazine issue 16, on sale 3/21).

Ken Akamatsu also mentioned on his dairy that a Negima-related surprise will be announced in April regarding "a plan that has never been done before."

MangaCast translates the weekly Doujinshi ranking (03/03) in Japan according to Toranoana, and the weekly BL Doujinshi ranking (02/24) in Japan according to Toranoana's BL specialty store Princess Side.

Shueisha has announced that volume one of its Gintama manga has now sold over one million copies. One of the major factor behind the sudden increase in sales was the announcement of a Gintama anime. Volume 17 of Gintama will go on sale in Japan in March.

Source: ANS

Manga Jouhou translates an interview with 07th Expansion, the group responsible for the popular doujin game Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. The original interview came from Akiba Blog's K, who is also a staff from the editorial department of Square Enix's Gan Gan Powered.

A manga adaptation of Production IG's anime Sisters of Wellber has begun serialization in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade. The art is drawn by Naruse Takami, who won last year's Comic Blade NEO award for most promising artist.

Source: Animaxis

According to the preview page on the BJ website, Kei Toume's Sing Yesterday for Me will resume serialization in Business Jump issue 8 (3/15). Sing Yesterday for Me went on hiatus in September of 2006, and many thought the series ended for good due to the announcement message.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its seinen manga magazine Young Sunday, Shogakukan has launched a special anniversary website at YSC20.com.