Manga News and Information
Fujiko Fujio
In 1954, two young mangaka, Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, moved into Tokiwa-so. The duo, better known by their pen name of Fujiko Fujio, worked alongside the likes of Tezuka, and went on to create Doraemon, which became one of the best-selling manga in the world. While Fujimoto, also known as Fujiko F. Fujio, passed away in 1996 due to an accident, Abiko, Fujiko Fujio (A) is still active in the manga scene. An interview with Fujiko Fujio (A) was recently published in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine. In the interview, Fujiko Fujio (A) talks about the days he spent at Tokiwa-so, as well as his memories of his colleagues: A new book titled 2112 September 3rd, Doraemon is Born! (2112年9月3日、ドラえもんは本当に誕生する! ) was recently release in Japan. The book, written by Japan's first science navigator and sakurAi Science Factory's host Susumu Sakurai, claims that technologies found in Doraemon, such as the fourth-dimensional pocket, time machine and dokodemo door (a teleportation device), can become a reality through Einstein's theory of relativity. Itai News reports that a 19-year-old murderer who killed a mother and her one-year-old daughter back in 1999 may have been affected by Doraemon, according to the testimony given by the defendant. animeOnline has a brief translation:
On May 29th, Shogakukan announced that the 37-year-old amateur mangaka apologized to Shogakukan and Fujiko Production, and swore that such things will never happen again. Also, the mangaka admitted to his gaining of illegal profits from the work, and paid back a portion of his sales.
Ayacnews has posted comments from Fujiko F. Fujio that reveals his view on manga and "What kind of people will be able to become great mangaka." Fujiko F. Fujio's View on Manga and Manga Artists Osamu Tezuka: "Someone who doesn't have sufficient human relations skills will not be able to create manga, because manga is a conversation between the mangaka and his readers."
Although the doujinshi's author has stopped distributing the work, the Mandarake store in Akihabara has put up a poster that says: "Doraemon - Final Episode for 8,000 yen." In January, a manga appeared on Yahoo! Auction with a starting bid of 1,000,000 yen. The manga in question is Fujiko Fujio's first manga Utopia - The Last World War, published in 1953 under the pen name of Ashizuka Fujio. In the end, the extremely rare and valuable manga was sold for 1,500,000 yen to the highest bidder. Source: Animated Cartoon
The winners of the "Doraemon Secret Tools Design Contest" were announced on December 21st 2006 during an episode of the Doraemon anime. However, a woman who won the "Nice Idea Prize" was angered by one of the sponsors, TV Asahi, when she called up TV Asahi's customer service desk and was treated rudely. Later the woman complained about the incident in her blog, which raised many discussions regarding the topic. 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 |
Manga Zombie
Finale: Panelosophy
An ongoing conversation about the philosophy behind manga both in the U.S. and abroad. Manga Ranking
Monthly charts of comparative manga rankings based on aggregate online sales listings from Matt Blind. |
Tokiwa-so (トキワ荘) is an apartment building in Shiinamachi, Tokyo, where now legendary but then up-and-coming mangaka such as Tezuka Osamu, Shotaro Ishinomori (Ishimori) and Fujio Akatsuka once lived, worked together, shared knowledge, and basically meeting up with colleagues and pitting their skills against each other.
Earlier this year, Shogakukan announced that Doraemon - Last Episode, a fan-made conclusion to Fujiko F. Fujio's 
What does it take to be a good manga artist? A popular answer is "experience in life." According to many famous manga and anime creators, in order to become a good creator, an otaku should stop shutting themselves in their room, step outside, and live their life. However, 
Last month Shogakukan 
A doujinshi titled 
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
