During their webinar this evening, Tokyopop officially announced their acquisition of Kenji Sonishi’s Neko Ramen. The first volume of the English edition, Neko Ramen: Order Up!, was initially spotted on Amazon this past November.

Coming on the heels of a lengthy bout of pre-announcement hints and related media via their newsletters, Tokyopop is launching Neko Ramen with a hefty campaign including its own website, contests and Facebook page complete with the series’ trailer. Tokyopop has also already posted several preview strips on its website with future comics strips accessible to those who subscribe to their weekly newsletter.

The first of the currently-three Neko Ramen books (the series is still on-going) is scheduled for June 2010 and will be priced at $10.99/US. The books are rated for youth so readers young and old can enjoy some hairballs in this 4-koma style series about a cat who runs a ramen shop.

Along with news about Neko Ramen, Tokyopop staffers confirmed they’ll be speeding up Gakuen Alice to bi-monthly starting in June of this year. They also responded with a “no comment” to questions regarding their recent Twitter-teases about the license for the Hetalia 4-koma series.

A bunch of interesting news and previews this past week – what better way to spend a lazy Sunday than getting caught up on a bunch of them! From contests to continuations, there should be a little something for everyone in this lengthy round-up of the week’s what-have-yous:

RightStuf’s most recent sale is on Tokyopop books, including their boys’ love imprint, BLU. Until February 1st, you’ll save at least 33% on each book. Perfect time to get caught up some series and get your hands on the recent ones – which include lots of fantastic new licenses including Alice in the Country of Hearts and Deadman Wonderland.

More information about Yen Press’s upcoming adaptation of Twilight has been released. The book will be a hardcover edition costing $19.99. It’s already one of the top-selling books on Amazon right now! Entertainment Weekly has an image of the cover and an interior preview. On a related note, Shannon Garrity has a great – and amusing – post comparing Twilight with most modern-day shoujo manga.

Fans of the series rejoice – Descendants of Darkness (Yami no Matsuei) is returning! After an eight year hiatus the supernatural manga laced with all that glorious homoerotic tension (perhaps biggest understatement of the new year so far) will be returning to publication with the release of its twelth volume in Japan. Viz Media has the English license to the series and has published up to volume eleven, last released in 2006.

DeviantArt is currently holding a contest: Ponyo Make A Splash – Online Banner Creation Contest. They’re looking for ad banners designed for use on the website to promote the upcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release of Studio Ghibli/Disney’s Ponyo. There are four different banner templates for designers to submit banners in. As for the prizes, “…each of the four winners will recieve a $500 Visa gift card, a devWEAR bag of Winner’s choice, a copy of Ponyo on DVD, a devWEAR shirt of Winner’s choice, and a one year Premium Membership to deviantART.”

After the continuation was pushed back to Spring 2010in early 2009, it looks like Yu Watase is finally able to put Fushigi Yuugi’s prequel series, Genbu Kaiden, back into her busy production schedule! She posts about it over on her personal blog, though no complete translation is yet publicly posted of the entry. Viz Media has released the currently available nine volumes of the series. (via Manga Xanadu)

Lastly, the fairly-silent-in-recent-months publisher, GoComi has posted an update of their status via their forums. There isn’t a lot of specific news but they assure readers that despite some economic problems, they’re still plugging forward and going at it their best. Unfortunately a number of titles have gone on hold. You can read the whole post over there which also includes information of the potential future of their website community, the popularity of 07-Ghost and word about the status of books sold through their online store. (via @danielle_leigh1)

Manga-ka: Shoko Conami
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “Beni convinces Kagetora to go back with her to the future – as a student! Everything is going fine until they meet a strange and mysterious classmate, Iwatsuru. As Kagetora and Beni’s interest in one another blossoms, Beni’s Father reminds Kagetora that he is only a mere body guard and nothing more! What’s worse, he reveals that he has already arranged Beni to get married – to Iwatsuru!”

Whether it’s a comedic exchange of misunderstandings or one look at Beni and Kagetora’s pained expressions when fate intervenes, volume two of Shinobi Life continues to ensure your heart will laugh and ache right along with theirs. Thankfully the same can be said for their times of romantic bliss as well and as the two come to care deeply for one another, the smallest of moments can provide these gifts. But with an emotionally detached Father pulling the strings and an old foe making a surprise reappearance, there’s still much more to this story than just a remarkably compelling romance.

Read more…

Since the earthquake that struck Haiti quickly nabbed media attention around the world, support has been flooding in from every corner of the globe. The internet is certainly no exception and many artists have opened commissions and auctions to sell their services and work for charitable donations in support of Haiti.

Two well known manga-style artists have also done just that. Christy Lijewski (artist of RePlay!, published by Tokyopop) and KOSEN (artist of Saihoshi, published by Yaoi Press) have each put up a piece of their original artwork on eBay with all proceeds going to a Haiti support charity. Great art for a great cause!

Christy Lijewski is selling the original copic-coloured artwork commissioned by Tokyopop for the cover of the third and final volume of RePlay. The auction ends January 23, 2010.

KOSEN is selling an original copic-coloured drawing of the character Yinn from their boys’ love fantasy series, Saihoshi. The auction ends January 19, 2010.

Tokyopop has announced the date and time of their next Tokyopop Insider, the company’s web-based panels where they offer news, question-periods and special guests for interested parties on the internet.

Date: Thursday, February 4, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST

Benjamin, artist of Orange and Remember - two full-colour comics published by Tokyopop – will be attending as the panel’s special guest. He’ll be speaking about his works and answering questions for aspiring artists.

Manga-ka: Shoko Conami
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2008

Synopsis: “Energetic and strong-willed, Beni doesn’t care if she lives or dies as long as her death will result in embarrassing her arrogant father! But one day, she suddenly encounters Kagetora, a ninja who’s fallen from the sky and swears complete loyalty to her – as her bodyguard. Kagetora has time traveled from a long, long time ago, and has devoted his life to protecting Princess Beni. Little does Kagetora know that this Beni is not the real princess…”

A rich girl with daddy-issues and a time-traveling ninja – what may not scream instant classic still achieves its own irrefutable charm. Shinobi Life is a satisfying story about a proverbial fish out of water proving to be exactly what one woman needs to find happiness. But in true romantic fashion, nothing comes quite that easily and they’ll have more than their share of speed bumps on the road to a happily ever after.

Read more…

Lives of Butterfly Puzzles on Amazon? … so to speak. Fellow Kuriousity reviewer Andre has spotted some new books on Amazon.ca early this week from Tokyopop:

Lives (Vol. 01) – Masayuki Taguchi [Nov 29 2010]

“The peaceful lives of many are taken away as a freak meteor shower destroys the Kanto area of Japan. However, the lives of the victims aren’t lost, as they start to awaken one by one into a strange pre-historic world…”

Butterfly (Vol. 01) – Yu Aikawa [Jan 3 2011]

Puzzle+ (Vol. 01) – Manami Sugano (unconfirmed) [Jan 3 2011]

Please keep in mind that until titles are officially annouced by the company, all listings found on retail sites remain purely speculative.

Found via Manga Xanadu, information about Tokyopop’s next webinar has been posted to their website. Scheduled to happen on Monday, November 30, the webinar will be directed live from Japan and will have Tokyopop editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl interviewing the company’s CEO, Stu Levy, “in a discussion about the past, present and future of TOKYOPOP from a CEO perspective.”

Sounds like this has high potential to be an interesting and informative one, and though the exact time of the webinar has not yet been posted, I’ve got my fingers crossed it’ll prove convenient for a good number of us curious. Get your questions ready!

With convention season behind us, it’s always fun to know there’s still new manga licenses coming our way! Granted new listings on Amazon aren’t as exciting or confirmed, but they do manage to sate the eagerness somewhat.

Note: While I have contacted Tokyopop regarding these new titles, there has been no confirmation as to the licenses. As with all Amazon listings, they remain speculation until confirmed by the publisher.

Neko Ramen Volume 1: Hey! Order Up! – Kenji Sonishi
Calling – Miu Ootsuki (BLU)
Scarlet – Hiro Madarame (BLU)

Neko Ramen sounds ripe with humour potential, the story of a cat who also happens to sell ramen. It’s another series from the artist of Viz’s Leave It To PET!. In regards to Scarlet and Calling, I’m really eager to see more of them because they both sport some fantasticlooking cover artwork – I hope the interior is just as eye-pleasing!

And though I don’t believe this is a new title, fans of Fruits Basket will be happy to see the next fan book, Fruits Basket Fanbook: Banquet, coming their way in May 2010.

Manga-ka: Matsuri Akino
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “Endangered species, mysterious attacks, dangerous mafia assassins and long lost love are wrapped up together in these tales of woe and triumph. This time, Taizuu meets his match. Can he quit smoking and manage to stay alive? Perhaps, but only if he can remember one thing: in Count D’s pet shop, not all animals are friendly… or real!”

With the more retro looking art style and occasionally dated looking styles, it’s often easy to fall into the mindset that Pet Shop of Horrors takes place out of our time. The opening chapter in this book pulls readers into the here however has Count D is introduced to an entirely different kind of mystery – the internet!

Read more…

This past Thursday, Tokyopop held another of its webinars – an open to the public live video feed where they announce new information and take Q & A from attendees.

This week they had a special guest – Goda-san – the creator of the popular, Domo. The Tokyopop representatives, Cindy Suzuki and Lillian Diaz-Pryzbyl, were there to speak with him about creating Domo while Tokyopop rep Vy Nguyen collected questions from the virtual audience.

If you ever wanted to learn more about Domo, then this Domo-nar was certainly your chance!

Read more…

Manga-ka: Julietta Suzuki
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: September 2009

Synopsis: “What does it mean to be truly human…? Odette is a lovely android built by Professor Yoshizawa. Curious to find out what it’s like to be human, she convinces the Professor to enroll her in high school. And thus, with a new group of friends in tow, Odette sets out to discover the true meaning of life as a human, where even the simple stuff is an adventure!”

Karakuri Odette brings us a fresh breath in the realm of android manga. In place of the more escapist concepts of A.I Love You or Absolute Boyfriend, we are given a fairly realistic, laid back take on what it would be like if androids interacted with humans.

Read more…

New York Anime Fest is happening this weekend and the mangaverse is ripe with all the newest info as it comes thanks to numerous dedicated bloggers and Twitter-folk. Anime News Network has its dedicated staff on hand to cover the big anime/manga news, and though sadly their servers aren’t holding up as well as their staff, they’re still the best up-to-date resource (past speedy Twitter-ers!) for all your NYAF goodies.

Tokyopop had its panel earlier today and had a bunch of announcement. Sadly their simulataneous broadcast was foiled by technical difficulties, but of course the show went on!

New licenses:

Songs and Laughter by Natsuki Takaya
.hack//Link by Megane Kikuya/CyberConnect2
Ratman by Inui Sekihiko
Qwasar Stigmata by Yoshino Hiroyuki/Satou Kenetsu

BLU Manga (TP’s yaoi imprint)

Croquis by Hinako Takanaga
Blood Honey by Yozakura Sakyou
Love Knot by Ichijou Lemon
Cute Demon by Madarame Hiro
Love Story in the Isolated Island by Duo Brand

Tokyopop staff were also greeted with positive response to repeated news that they’ll be returning to a higher quality paper print for their books and just in time for the return of some fan favourites, such as the fourth volume of Suppli and the eighth volume of V.B. Rose.

Along with an update on the upcoming movie-adaptation of the Tokypop released, Priest, they also shared word that they’ll be releasing graphic novels based on two Hollywood films, the recently debuted Shutter Island and the upcoming Joss Whedon written Cabin in the Woods.

Earlier this afternoon, Tokyopop also sent out a press release outlining their previously announced titles debuting in 2010. Lots of fun stuff on the horizon!

Los Angeles, CA (September 25, 2009) ― TOKYOPOP is thrilled to unveil its manga and graphic novel offerings for the first four months of 2010 — a year packed with new titles from fan-favorites Tachibana Higuchi, Tanaka Suzuki and Benjamin, as well as soon-to-be-treasured works from creators new to the U.S.!

Read more…

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.

Read more…