Missed this when it was originally posted to the site but mid-August my review of Crimson Cross was posted over on AnimeNewsNetwork.
What to say about this one… well, it wasn’t bad, persay, but I’d felt like I’d read a near-exact story a hundred times before. It’s a vampire story about the son of Van Hellsing who is turned half vampire and thusly spends his grim days hunting the uber-power vampire who turned him. Along the way he meets carbon-copies of the same female archtype to give him some sort term angst. He broods, he reflects and generally fails at defeating the vampire. There’s a werewolf in there too somewhere. It’s just really stereotypical, unfortunately, and I found myself bored half way through when I realized it wasn’t going anywhere different than the usual.
This book was also another case where I was really underwhelmed by their graphic design decision for the front of the book. The thick flat-colour maroon border just suffocates the artwork – I don’t understand why they wouldn’t use a full-bleed of the art itself.
Overall, it’s as my review says, I can only really recommend this book to “those entirely new to the concept, or those so smitten that they must have all there is to do with the undead-leeches.” Sadly it’s a been-there-bit-that experience.
Reading manga online isn’t for everyone. Looking at any screen for hours can make your head hurt and your eyeballs fell like they’ve been dipped in bleach. Luckily, I was designed in a lab specifically to avoid those symptoms. I love reading manga online. I love that I control the vertical and the horizontal, that I can sharpen a single image to crystal clarity. I love that no trees were killed in order for me to enjoy a particular volume. I love that I can read the many works of Makoto Tateno and not worry about where in my tiny house I’ll fit them.
But while I like reading manga on my computer screen, that doesn’t mean I give every manga company that posts their wares online a pass. In fact, because I enjoy it so much, I want to see it done right. For the most part there’s not a big difference between publishers’ online manga viewers. It’s a pretty basic concept: it’s manga, and it’s online. This article is to point out the tiny details that differentiate them, the little things that either makes reading manga online a pleasure or a pain.
Read more…
Another week, another slew of new releases! I was too late to get a hold of a copy of 20th Century Boys (Vol. 10) but there was still plenty of other good titles to pick up (now with some pictures):
BLU, the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop, had a couple of new titles out this week. The most exciting of which was the third volume of Voice or Noise. The second volume was released in February 2008 so it’s been quite a wait for this follow-up. None the less I’m as excited to finally purchase a copy now as I was looking forward to it after finishing the last. Great boys’ love series!
The other title I picked up from them is Scarlet, a one-shot by the same creator who did Cute Devil. Honestly, I don’t have much interest in this artist or this premise but I bought the painfully overpriced book all the same because it marks a new (potentially continued?) book style and I wanted to check it out/support it. It sports a larger-than-the-norm trim size and colour inserts at the front. I flipped through it and it was actually a bit disorienting reading a BLU title suddenly notably larger, though snazzy all the same. It’s great to see, especially since it takes a step closer to almost justifying the $18.99 price tag.
Continuing on the semi-boys’ love trend, I was amazed to see a whole slew of DokiDoki titles on the shelf of Chapters (the B&N/Borders equivalent to you Americans out there). They’ve only ever carried sparse copies of Vampire Hunter D from Digital Manga so seeing them branch out to this varied imprint was exciting, plus very promising to the local boys’ love fanbase who are too timid to special order. Though not boys’ love, I purchased a physical copy of Alice the 101st which I reviewed earlier in the month for ANN.
Moving onto other genres, I picked up a copy of Bakuman (Vol. 01) – the team of Death Note makes a manga about making manga – and the fourth volume of Ooku in which it feels like the faux-Shakespearean speech that I really dislike seems more toned down (or is that just me?). In the mail I got a copy of the newest volume of Butterflies, Flowers which is hilarious – I am completely enamoured with the mature silliness of this series and I hope many others are too.
And lastly, thanks to my local library, I’ve been reading the Manga Guide to Databases. After reading the Manga Guide to Statistics last week and being impressed with how much I actually retained from it, I sought out this one as I’ve been wanting a basic introduction to databases. Yay for learning?
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Manga-ka: Shin Yong-Gwan
Publisher: DMP
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2010
Synopsis: “In a serendipitous moment, a young girl meets Akamushi, finds him so beautiful and unforgettable, falls in love with him at first sight. Turns out her grandfather and mother are haunted by a “Waraigao” demon – a demon that attacks living human bodies from inside the body to erode and eventually deteriorate their nerves that kills them. Akamushi senses that her family is in danger, follows her home, only to discover that she is being attacked by her own family member that was fully possessed by “Waraigao.” Can Akamushi eliminate the demon and save her life?”
The story that made up the entire first volume ends fairly swiftly here in the second. It comes as a bit of a surprise since the first volume felt as though it was setting up what would be the continuing plot throughout the series. Turns out to the story’s benefit however that this isn’t the case.
Read more…
Manga-ka: Minoru Murao
Publisher: Digital Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2008
Synopsis: “It is an age of paranoia, superstition and religious fanaticism and the kingdom of Excludo is being engulfed in flames. The people are under the thrall of witch hysteria and burnings and executions have become a common sight. But the witch trials and inquisitions are a fraud and countless innocent women, falsely accused as witches, are being burned at the stake. Just when all hope seems lost, along comes the Black Knight-Mist, and his sidekick Euphemia, a “true witch” to avenge the innocent and force their own brand of justice on the wicked!”
Knights is a throw-back to the sword and sorcery anime of the nineties such as Slayers or Record of Lodoss War. It wasn’t until I read this manga that I realized how much I missed the genre’s appearance in anime and manga. Knights has a little bit of everything: sword fights, interesting characters, and a unique magic system. Even if you’re not a fan of medieval fantasy though, it’s still worth giving volume one a try.
Read more…
Anime Expo, North America’s largest anime convention, is upon us once again this weekend! The internet’s been buzzing with excitement from industry folk, bloggers, guests and attendees alike in the weeks leading up to it – and though I can only speak as a spectator to the spectators – it certainly feels like the excitement has reached a level greater than the decline of last year, which saw less industry-presence and fewer announcements.
The big manga news to start goes to Digital Manga who had their panel on Thursday evening. AnimeNewsNetwork is covering all the major events of the convention and thanks to them I’m able to offer the abridged version here for your curious eyes:
Read more…
Author: Arika Kuga
Manga-ka: Taishi Zaou
Publisher: DokiDoki
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009
Synopsis: “On the night of the year-end party, in high spirits and under the influence of the party’s free-flowing alcohol, Satori ends up sleeping with Asou. Since then, every day that Asou comes over, he does nothing beyond kiss Satori over and over, and as much as it perplexes him, Satori is unable to resist his advances. But one day Satori hears a nasty rumor that Asou has a girlfriend!”
This is the first boys’ love novel I’ve read that isn’t a June publication, though it is published by another Digital Manga imprint, Doki Doki. I enjoyed it – for some reason, it had a different feel to the prose. It maybe sounded a little less like it had been translated from Japanese than the June novels tend to do, and a little more like the English you might expect from a native speaker. I don’t know that either style is necessary better, or even that I like one or the other better. They’re just different.
Read more…
Gardena, CA (May 19. 2010)- Digital Manga Publishing is excited to announce their special guest for Yaoi-Con 2010, the prolific and fan-favorite yaoi mangaka-Hinako Takanaga! The creator of numerous manga, including Little Butterfly, The Devil’s Secret, Challengers, Croquis, Love Round!!, Liberty Liberty, and the soon to be released The Tyrant Falls In Love, Hinako Takanaga has been one of the most popular yaoi mangaka in the US, and will be making her second appearance at Yaoi-Con!
So come up to San Francisco in October, and meet the immensely talented Hinako Takanaga in person, and hear her answer questions about her process and her work!
Yaoi-Con takes place over the Halloween weekend, October 29-October 31, and at a brand new location in Burlingame, CA! For more information on Yaoi-Con, including location, hotels, and registration, please visit their site at: www.yaoicon.com
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Manga-ka: Saiko Takaki
Publisher: Digital Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009
Synopsis: “The City, a tiny metropolis of a few hundred sheltered citizens floating serenely on a seemingly random course a few feet above the ground, has long been thought safe from the predation of marauding monsters. It seems like a paradise – a paradise shattered when an invasion of an apparent vampire threatens the small haven! While the Vampire Hunter known only as “D” struggles to exterminate the scourge, a former denizen of the city, the attractive Lori Knight, and the brash John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII seize control of the city, lurching it onto a new and deadly course. D’s travails are just the beginning…”
In this fourth volume of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D, D finds himself under the employ of the mayor of a floating city, with a mystery to solve amidst the usual doomed atmosphere of his post-apocalyptic realm. Taking an approach similar to OEL projects, this is a work Digital Manga commissioned themselves, and it presents a complete adaptation of the fourth Vampire Hunter D novel without the usual chapter breaks and cliff hangers of serialized manga. Allowing for a natural yet efficient pace, the story reveals it secrets while also creating questions like a good mystery should. Takaki continues to provide a stunning interpretation of Kikuchi’s work that comes close to the ethereal nature of Yoshitaka Amano’s illustrations, while also providing her own touches to the comic.
Read more…
IDW AND DIGITAL MANGA LAUNCH VAMPIRE HUNTER D
ON PLAYSTATION’S DIGITAL COMICS
Partnership brings first manga title to PSP™(PlayStation®Portable)
San Diego, CA (April 15, 2010) – IDW Publishing and Digital Manga Publishing forge ahead in the world of digital comics today by bringing the first manga title to Sony’s hot new PSP Digital Comics offering: Vampire Hunter D, as part of continued growth to become one of the best selling manga titles globally. Vampire Hunter D first gained notoriety when it landed ashore as an anime property in the late 1980’s. Its popularity has continued to grow with subsequent feature anime films, English adapted novel series and jumping boundaries over to manga form. With over 17 million copies sold in books, video, and merchandise worldwide, the Vampire Hunter D property now debuts in this new digital medium.
“We’re very excited to release the very first digital manga on the PSP and to kick off our partnership with Digital Manga,” said Jeff Webber, Director of ePublishing at IDW. “Vampire Hunter D is an excellent story to launch the PSP manga catalogue, offering this popular series for manga fans worldwide through this new platform. We’ll be rolling out the first volume of the series as a new chapter each week for the next six weeks.”
Read more…
Author: Carole Mortimer
Manga-ka: Hinoto Mori
Publisher: Harlequin K.K./SOFTBANK Creative Corp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Synopsis: “Out of the blue, Leonie is asked by Rachel, a renowned actress, to write her biography. Although she has published a biography once before, she has no idea why Rachel chose her as the author. Her doubts about the job deepen with Rachel’s son, Luke, who for some reason relentlessly intimidates her. As Rachel was unmarried when giving birth to Luke, it was one of the biggest scandals at the time. While being aware of his hostile attitude, Leonie is drawn to his cold green eyes, and she decides to accept the job…”
I’ve read a few Harlequin romance manga before and wasn’t that impressed, so I admit I went into Keeping Luke’s Secret with a bit of a bias against it. To the manga’s credit, it managed to hook me from page one and keep me reading until the end. While there are several gaping holes in the plot, I was more concerned with what would happen next when I was reading rather than the inconsistency in each reveal.
Read more…
Pop Japan Travel announces the Yaoi-centric “Fujoshi Paradise” Tour!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gardena, CA (April 2, 2010) – Pop Japan Travel, the premier provider of pop culture-themed tours of Japan, is pleased to announce their latest tour for yaoi fans: the 2010 Fujoshi Paradise Tour.
Designed with the sizeable international fan base for yaoi in mind, the Fujoshi Paradise Tour isn’t just another tour of Tokyo. The tour is a full week of activities and experiences just for the yaoi fan, such as an exclusive meal at a butler cafe, and is hosted by tour guides from the yaoi publishing industry and yaoi fandom alike. Pop Japan Travel has also announced that famed manga creator Makoto Tateno, the creator of yaoi series like Hero Heel, Yellow and Blue Sheep Reverie will also be meeting with tour participants for a private Q&A session and a night out on the town.
Read more…
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Manga-ka: Yong-Gwan
Publisher: Digital Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009
Synopsis: “Traveling in-between the world of the living and the twilight world of the dead, Akamushi,the shaman is known as the Red Spider Exorcist. With the powers of a giant spider, he combats the demons of the netherworld. When career woman Megumi is suddenly pursued and attacked by unholy demons, she seeks Akamushi’s help. But as it seems, the minions of the underworld may also be too much for Akamushi to handle. But why are these creatures of twilight after her? What truths will unravel about her true self and everyone around her? And what of Akamushi—can he use his unique shamanic spider-like powers to cast out and purify himself from the demon scourge?”
An evening stroll soon takes a potentially disastrous turn for a young woman named Megumi who finds herself trailed by a group of suspicious men. Running into an alley, she’s steered towards the aid of a mysterious man named Akamushi, one whose prowess could prove more deadly than the very forces she seeks to escape from.
Read more…
On the one night in who-knows-how-long that I decide to go to bed a few hours early, Digital Manga goes and finally drops the F-word! You know the one, boys’ love fans. But I can’t complain about having good news to wake up to. Fans rejoice – Ayano Yamane’s popular Finders series is no longer in English-license limbo!
Digital Manga has announced that they will be releasing the Finders Series under their June boys’ love imprint. It looks like it’ll be printed at their 801Media cut-size. Digital Manga has set up a website specific for the release at FinderSeries.com. Along with the press release, the site has short character bios and the series’ synopsis.
“While our on assignment trying to document the illegal activities of the Japanese underworld, the photographer Takaba crosses paths with the dark and mysterious leader Asami. Asami takes Takaba captive, in an attempt to subjugate and possess him. But when the son of the Chinese mafia enters demanding evidence that Takaba may have, will Takaba be able to survive being caught in the crosshairs of a deadly underworld feud?”
The first volume of June’s edition of Finders will be in summer 2010 – which isn’t that far off from right now. It’s almost as if they were conveniently timing it for some event with overlapping interest…
Though the excitement over this news is already apparent, it’s been long-anticipated along with the concern from fans that by being published under the June imprint could mean that the Finder Series will face minor edits and censoring of the original work. Many assumed that because of the graphic nature of Finder Series it would be published under their 801Media imprint to avoid this (myself included admittedly), as they have with other of Ayano Yamane’s series. While Digital Manga has censored some of its June imprint work in the past, these edits were very minimal and this does not mean that the Finder Series will have changes.
Those interested in the news can check out Digital Manga’s complete press release which also includes word directly from Libre Shuppan, Japanese license-holders of the series.
As a short history lesson, the Finder Series was previously licensed by the now-defunct BeBeautiful which released three volumes of the 5-book series, all of which have spent years selling for inordinate amounts of money after they went out of print. Those who couldn’t afford $200 a book need weep no longer.
Gardena, CA, March 11, 2010—Digital Manga Publishing and Libre Shuppan are proud to announce the licensing of the Finder Series by Ayano Yamane! The Finder series has been one of the most heavily requested series from our readers, and has been considered by fans of the yaoi genre to be the quintessential yaoi title. From one of Japan’s top-selling yaoi mangaka, Ayano Yamane, DMP is proud to release the Finder series beginning with volume one in the summer of 2010 under the June’ imprint. For more information, news updates, and to keep on top of all things Finder, visit the Finder website at !
From our friends at Libre Shuppan:
We are pleased to announce that Kazuma Kodaka’s KIZUNA-絆- and Ayano Yamane’s Finder Series, both of which were previously licensed by Central Park Media, are now acquired by Digital Manga Publishing (DMP). For these series, all volumes will be newly translated and will be published under DMP’s June imprint. Finder Series is set to be released in Summer of 2010 and Kizuna is scheduled for September of 2010.
For further inquiries regarding this matter, feel free to contact us at rights@libre-pub.co.jp or Digital Manga Inc, at contact@emanga.com We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading our books and for your continued support.
FINDER VOL. 1: TARGET IN THE VIEWFINDER, Rated M+ (for ages 18+), MSRP: $13.95, Available: SUMMER 2010, SIZE: B6, June’ Imprint
While out on assignment trying to document the illegal activities of the Japanese underworld, photographer Takaba crosses paths with the dark and mysterious leader Asami. Asami takes Takaba captive, in an attempt to subjugate and possess him. But when the son of the Chinese mafia enters demanding evidence that Takaba may have, will Takaba be able to survive being caught in the crosshairs of a deadly underworld feud?
Read more…
