According to ICv2, Tokyopop will be releasing Fruits Basket creator Natsuki Takaya's first manga, Phantom Dream, this December:

The five volume series, Takaya's first published manga, was known as Geneimuso in Japan. It will be cross-promoted with Fruits Basket via a preview in Fruits Basket Vol. 21.

Also, MangaBlog reports that Tokyopop is planning on promoting volume 19 of its Fruits Basket manga by making the manga completely free online to Tokyopop.com members for 19 minutes:

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From Tech-On! comes an interview (Part 1, Part 2) with Tadashi Fukuda, president of Kadokawa Digix Inc., a Kadokawa group company, who talks about the recent deal between Kadokawa Group Holdings Inc. and YouTube/Google which might eventually allow users to upload Kadokawa's official contents to Youtube:

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ICv2 has an article that looks at Tokyopop's arsenal of videogame manga, including the Warcraft, Starcraft and Kingdom Hearts franchise.

Also revealed in the article is that Castlevania: Curse of Darkness by Kou Sasakura, a 2-volume series based on Konami's Castlevania franchise, will be released by Tokyopop this September.

Nation's Largest Convention Welcomes Famed Pokemon Director

Anaheim, California (March 12, 2008) ‹ Famed director Masamitsu Hidaka is the first addition to the hottest line up of Anime Expo® 2008 Guests of Honor for the highly anticipated 2008 convention July 3-6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. More information can be found on the website www.anime-expo.org.

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San Francisco, CA (March 10, 2008) -- eigoMANGA and AsianWeek Produces The Anime Street Pavilion At The Fourth Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration In San Francisco's Japantown.

The Anime Street Pavilion celebrates the otaku (anime fan) culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anime fans all over the Bay Area are invited to an exciting day-long programming line-up of live Japanese rock performances, an anime theme runway fashion show featuring original anime clothing lines from Japanese and Bay Area fashion designers, anime cosplay masquerade, as well as additional features from the Fourth Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration.

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SAN JOSE, CA - March, 2008 - DrMaster Publications has announced the impending release of three new titles, Mamoru the Shadow Protector by Sai Madara & Taro Achi, Nephylym by Rei Kusakabe, and Feng Shui Academy by Haruka Shouji.

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Adult manga publisher Icarus Publishing has released the first issue of its digital manga magazine Comic AG...for free. The magazine is available through BitTorrent.

Unique Subjects And Genres Ranging From Action Adventure And Romance To Vampires And Horror To Be Offered

San Francisco, CA, March 11, 2008 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced its plans to launch nine eagerly awaited new manga (graphic novel) series in the Second Quarter of 2008.

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AHN is reporting that legislation is being drafted in Japan, under international pressure, to ban possession of child pornography. However, the, "the prohibition reportedly exempts manga comics and animated film." The Guardian has more:

Manga belonging to the popular "lolicon" - Japanese slang for Lolita complex - genre are likely to escape the ban, as MPs are concerned that outlawing them could infringe on freedom of expression and drive men who use them as an outlet for their sexual urges to commit more serious offences.

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Celebrating its soon-to-be 1,000th post and 1,000,000th visitor, yuri blog Okazu has announced two contests, the 1 Million Visitor Art Contest and the 1000th Post Contest.