Manga-ka: Hyouta Fujiyama
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: September 2009
Synopsis: “After a night of serious boozing, a jilted young man named Ryuka speaks his wish for true love atop a starlit hill. His words reach the ears of Ixto, the spirit of the last quarter moon, who decides to grant Ryuka’s wish. Unfortunately for Ryuka, Ixto’s handpicked selections to be the young man’s lover are all men themselves! Critically-acclaimed boys’ love mangaka Hyouta Fujiyama lends her copious talents to this wacky, role-playing fantasy-romance that will tickle your funny bone and tug at your heart!”
Heartbroken and rejected, Ryuka spends a lonely evening drowning in alcohol to leave his pain behind him. Walking atop the ‘Wishing Hill’ to sober up, he instead finds his deepest wish heard by an on-duty spirit, Ixto. Ixto comes down to Earth and offers to Ryuka a selection of hand-chosen young men to soothe his aching heart, but Ryuka’s not gay! Or at least not yet, as Ixto takes it upon himself to console the man, even if he doesn’t want it, and puts in a place a powerful magical spell that sets Ryuka on a road of choose-your-own-adventure antics of bandits, cat boys and lusty-maybe-lovers.
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Author/Artist: Judith Park
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2009
Synopsis: “Dionne is best friends with her older brother, Lyon. Even though things don’t always run smoothly in their family, nothing in the world can shake them as long as they can rely on one another! But one day, an unexpected misfortune brings their seemingly bright world into disarray… and Dionne fears she may never be understood and loved again. When her parents offer their shocking solution, her emotions only become more tangled. Will Dionne ever be able to recover from this tragedy?”
Lyon is Dionne’s whole world, the perfect big brother and her only true escape from the loneliness she feels at the neglect of her parents. When a tragedy strikes that takes him away, both she and her best friend, who just recently began dating Lyon, must deal with the loss. But, on top of that, Dionne must learn to accept something else… Lyon’s never-before-known clone! Dun dun duuuun…
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Manga-ka: Chaco Abeno
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: June 2009
Synopsis: “In the throes of his first love, Kentarou Sawai can’t even count on beginner’s luck to get him closer to Karen Toguin, the girl of his dreams. When he spontaneously enrolls in Karen’s high school just to be closer to her, his hopes are crushed when it turns out she’s on a leave of absence! Now poor, luckless Kentarou is stuck in a dorm full of girls who aren’t Karen and insist on pushing Kentarou to the brink of insanity! Can Kentarou hold on to his love for Karen, or will his new living experience make him swear off all women for good?!”
I think the first thing that really grabbed my attention about this book was the art. It’s fairly standard to the manga style, but it’s incredibly clean and crisp, which is always nice to see. The book is laid out very nicely, with each episodic chapter easy to read. Sadly, though, there isn’t a whole lot of plot to drive this story. It’s based on stereotypical gimmicks and situations that are, again, standard in the genre.
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Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2009
Synopsis: “In the Country of Oto, Syaoran fought his former mentor, Seishiro, and lost badly. Now Seishiro is back, and this time Syaoran is determined not to allow him to escape with Sakura’s feather. Many things have change since their first battle, but is Syaoran now strong enough to withstand Seishiro’s vampire-killing skills?”
Old faces return to stir up some new trouble, including the vampire hunter Seishiro, mentor to Syaoran and possessor of one of Sakura’s powerful memory shards. The end of the previous book saw another climatic fight for survival that this book offers only momentary respite from for the series’ band of weary travellers but its time well needed to fill in small gaps in the plot and prepare for the danger that’s followed them there, to Kurogane’s home country of Japan.
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Gardena, CA (August 27, 2009) – Digital Manga Publishing is proud to present their newest reissue, the Little Butterfly Omnibus! Collecting the now out of print three volumes of Little Butterfly, the omnibus edition spans over 560 pages! Hinako Takanaga has long been a fan favorite and her Little Butterfly manga, one of the early yaoi titles printed by Digital Manga Publishing, quickly became a top seller, and has continued to be one of the most requested manga series in the Digital Manga library. Finally, the three beautiful issues of Little Butterfly will be available in this limited omnibus edition!
As a special thank you to our fans, Digital Manga Publishing will make exclusively available at Yaoi-Con only, a limited number of the Little Butterfly Omnibus for purchase! The street date is not until February 2010, and we will only be making the book available for Yaoi-Con attendees! After Yaoi-Con, the book will not be available until it ships to stores next year. So come to Yaoi-Con to own this beautiful title, way, WAY ahead of it’s ship date!
Also at Yaoi-Con, in honor of our amazing guest, Makoto Tateno, Digital Manga Publishing will have early advances of the Yellow Omnibus: Volume 1 AS WELL as early advances of Yellow 2: Episode 1 for con attendees! Yellow has remained one of Digital Manga’s best selling titles, and Yellow 2: Episode 1 is a special series of short stories written exclusively for cell phones in Japan. Never before published in print, Yellow 2 will be a three episode series of short 64 page booklets following additional adventures of Taki and Goh. Come and get these amazing advances, and then have them signed in person by the amazing Makoto Tateno!
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Gardena, CA (August 26, 2009) – Pop Japan Travel, originator of the best pop-culture tours of Japan, is proud to announce another amazing tour, the Jump Festa 2010 tour! Yes, even though it takes place in 2009-it’s called Jump Festa 2010! Do you love Naruto? Bleach? One Piece? Then check out the Jump Festa festival, put on by Shueisha/Shonen Jump Comics in Japan, which brings out anime and manga from some of the best of the Shonen Jump Comics line-up, including exclusive peeks and the manga-ka themselves!
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A Digital Manga Twitter-point to their updated 2010 releases revealed a new boys’ love license – Fusanosuke Inariya’s Maiden Rose! (Yay!!) The series was previously licensed by DramaQueen, along with the other recently exposed license Omen by Makoto Tateno, and both are listed for release in early 2010. Maiden Rose will be released under Digital Manga’s June imprint and is the story of two soldiers who share a master/servant relationship amidst the violence of war.
Maiden Rose has been one of the most anticipated license-saves among boys’ love communities and has garnered further fandom as of late due to the recently released Maiden Rose OVA in Japan.
Digital Manga also continues to entice their fans to speculate on a big license announcement they’ll be making at the upcoming Yaoi Con. Amane Yamano’s Finder series, lost along with the death of BeBeautiful, is one of the most guessed title with Hinako Takanaga’s Tyrant Who Falls In Love coming in close second. Digital Manga has already released several books by both artists across their multiple imprints. Both titles are highly anticipated and will undoubtedly be met with much excitement if either are the big news (from myself included for sure!). Anyone else want to offer some guesses?
Edit: Digital Manga has just tonight sent out a press release with more information regarding their Little Butterfly and Yellow omnibus books, including news that they will both be available months early to attendees of Yaoi Con.
Manga-ka: Yuna Kagesaki
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: April 2006
Synopsis: “Karin is a cute little girl who also happens to be a vampire… with a twist. Once a month, she experiences intense bleeding from her nose – we’re talking gushers! In other words, she’s a vamp with blood to spare, so rather than stealing blood from humans, she actually gives her blood to them.”
Karin Maaka is keeping a dark secret; she’s actually… a vampire! But Karin isn’t just any vampire you see, which helps to ensure that this isn’t just any vampire story. Instead of needing to consume blood from humans, Karin is instead inexplicably hit with an over abundance of blood once a month, leaving her with a need to give humans blood instead of taking it away. If she doesn’t indulge this need, then the blood spurts from her like a fountain, one that would leave anyone more than a little light headed and readers likely more than a little compelled to keep on reading.
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Manga-ka: Peach-Pit
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: June 2009
Synopsis: “Z-Loan’s forced to duke it out with A-Loan to see who can earn ten million yen first! But just as the challenge gets underway, the illegal zombies are nowhere to be found! Just what is going on!? Michiru hones her Shinigami Eyes under Zarame’s tutelage as faces from the past make sudden appearances, with some even joining the team! When the illegal zombies finally show up on school grounds, A-Loan and Z-Loan find themselves locked in and fighting side by side. Can they actually cooperate with one another? And who’ll get the money first!?”
The story takes an interesting turn here in the sixth volume of Zombie Loan, as we discover that Z-Loan now has some competition which opened up right across the street: A-Loan! And to make matters worse, with the new trio of legal zombies out there collecting bounties, they are presented with a most alarming challenge. If they aren’t able to raise ten million yen by the end of the month, the entire Z-Loan will go under.
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Author: Raina Telgemeier & Dave Roman
Artist: Anzu
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2009
Synopsis: “High school student Kitty Pryde has always been the odd girl out. A mutant, she was born with strange powers, magical talents that make her the class freak. But Kitty’s world is changed when she’s invited to study at Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, a special home for mutant teens. There’s just one catch: Kitty’s the only girl at the all-boy school, and she ends up just feeling like a freak all over again.”
Kitty Pryde is a young teenager with a secret: she has the ability to phase through solid objects. Confused and apprehensive, she is invited to be the first female student in Xavier’s Institute, a private school for ‘the gifted’. There she meets an assortment of characters, and though they may have their strange abilities in common, not all have the same agenda for being there. But, when surrounded by pretty boys and being the only girl, Kitty has more than her own problems in mind in this intentionally shoujo-styled re-imagining of Marvel’s X-Men.
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VIZ MEDIA TO DEBUT THE IMAGINATIVE STEAMPUNK ACTION MANGA SERIES TEGAMI BACHI: LETTER BEE
Unique Series Combines Lush Artwork With An Adventure Story About A Special Delivery Boy That Reunites Lost Souls
With The Ones They Love
San Francisco, CA, August 24, 2009– VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the North American debut of the new steampunk/action manga series TEGAMI BACHI: LETTER BEE on September 1st. The series, rated ‘T’ for Teens, will be published under the company’s SHONEN JUMP imprint and will carry an MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.50 CAN.
In a land of perpetual night, your heart is your light.
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Author: Hidenori Kusaka
Manga-ka: Mato
Publisher: Viz Kids
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: June 2009
Synopsis: “Red doesn’t just want to train Pokemon, he wants to be their friend too. Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl seem game. But independent Pikachu won’t be so easy to win over! And watch out for Team Rocket, Red… They only want to be your enemy!”
Red has always loved Pokemon, creatures with remarkable powers who come in nearly every shape and size. After an accident turns out beneficial for him, Red sets out on the adventure he’s always dreamed of: to see and capture every Pokemon in the world! With his Pokemon-friends and partners at his side, and a sparky new addition to their team who is notably far less apt to cooperate, the group leaves their home of Pallet Town to traverse the big wide world and live all there is to experience about the multitude of Pokemon out there.
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Over on the Tokyopop website, staffers have put up an article about their next Toykopop webinar, coming to an internet near you on Wednesday, September 2nd.
“Did you miss out on the first Insider? Wanted to join but got stuck in traffic? Well not to worry because we’re having another Insider on Wednesday, September 2nd and at a traffic friendly time of 7PM PST! We’ve got more exclusive news coming your way. Want the inside scoop on what TOKYOPOP has in store for the future? Want to confirm those forum rumors? Have a questions that you’re just itching to ask? Then stick around for the Q&A session.”
To combat the complaints over the early time of their previous seminar, which was 1PM PST, this second one will begin at 7PM PST. For those of you like me in the Atlantic time zone, that means 11PM (I’ll definitely be out of work by then at least).
You can read my outline of the first Tokyopop webinar here: Tokyopop Webinar Part One. The previous (and first) webinar was held on August 6th.
Edit: Tokyopop has changed the time of its second webinar to Wednesday, September 2nd.
Manga-ka: Momoko Tenzen
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: April 2009
Synopsis: “Megumu Okazaki is a well-liked college grad student, still reeling over a recent break-up. When younger classmate, Hisashi Kina, catches Megumu on the rebound, one thing leads to another – and to bed. Now, the two of them are involved in a relationship together that’s a little less-than-defined. Megumu has no interest in continuing to sleep with someone he doesn’t love, but for Hisashi, real feelings are definitely involved. To complicate the situation, Megumu’s not sure he’s truly put his past love behind him. How can Megumu understand his own feelings for Hisashi, or even be fair to him, when his heart is being pulled in so many different directions?”
This manga takes very little time to set things up. Within a few pages you’re right in the middle of Megumu and Hisashi’s problematic (but not dysfunctional) relationship. Eventually the manga does flashback to show how these two got together, but I liked how it started with them as an established couple.
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Manga-ka: Mahiro Maeda, Yuri Ariwara
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2008
Synopsis: “To those who betrayed me, who stole everything from me, I will give death and despair unto death. Your wives and children, your loyal followers, one by one they will fall to my charms.”
While vacationing on the moon, Albert, a young Parisian nobleman, meets The Count of Monte Cristo, a fabulously rich aristocrat from the far reaches of the galaxy. Fascinated by the count’s sophistication and intelligence, Albert is unaware of the older man’s dark purpose: to enact revenge for a terrible act of betrayal committed against him twenty-five years ago. Soon, all of Paris, including Albert’s own mother and father, will feel the terror of the count’s vengeance. Read more…
