Manga-ka: Jun Mochizuki
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009
Synopsis: “The air of celebration surrounding fifteen-year-old Oz Vessalius’s coming-of-age ceremony quickly turns to horror when he is condemned for a sin about which he knows nothing. He is thrown into an eternal, inescapable prison known as the Abyss from which there is no escape. There, he meets a young girl named Alice, who is not what she seems. Now that the relentless cogs of fate have begun to turn, do they lead only to crushing despair for Oz, or is there some shred of hope for him to grasp on to?”
After taking in Mochizuki’s Crimson Shell in a previous review, this ongoing series offers similar flavors with it’s gothic British setting, endless mansions and frilly outfits. However, it manages to avoid being a retread of the previous series, just another tale offered in complimentary window dressing. Mochizuki presents us with yet more pseudo-Victorian gothic wonderment, and ups the ante a bit with some cleverly chosen ties to a literary classic, and a fairly involving plot centering on intentions most sinister for all concerned.
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Manhwa-ga: SangEun Lee
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2010
Synopsis: “Hee-So’s stuck with Sae-Bom on cooking duty at the Scout’s joint volunteer outing at a local orphanage, ruining her chances of showing off in front of Won-Hun! And Sae-Bom’s no help either, ‘cose she’s too busy making lunch for her dearest Whie-Young! Suddenly, it occurs to Hee-So that making lunch of Won-Jun might not be such a bad idea. But when the two girls go make their special deliveries, a dangerous accident threatens both their lives. And in the heat of the moment, Won-Jun, who witnesses the accident, takes a most unexpected course of action. Has he gone and irreparably crushed Hee-So’s dreams? Will Whie-Young be able to pick up the pieces?”
Love-triangles are nothing new to any story containing a sliver of romantic drama. Two boys love the same girl? Two girls love the same boy? No biggie. But 13th Boy pulls off the far lesser utilized love-cluster – the dreaded love-square. If you thought things were already looking shaky enough for Hee-So’s love life, wait until you see it all laid bare in this third volume.
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Manhwa-ga: Lee YoungYou
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: December 2009
Synopsis: “When Hee-Ju’s hostage negotiations for Ya-Ho with Ha-Eun, Yumei and Mi-Woo go south, the tragic result of his failed attempts leads to heartbreak for Myung-Ee and company. And to make matters worse, those on Earth aren’t the only ones on the move. The leader of the Moon Foxes is about to make a trip to the Blu Planet and mete out heavenly punishment to those who get in his way… that is, if he can stay awake long enough!”
Tears are shed, pasts are hinted at, the supposedly dead come back to life and foxes continue to hunt rabbits and rabbits continue to hunt foxes. While a reread of previous books allows a semblance of clarity to the book’s still-growing cast and multi-faction plot, it leaves one to question if this should be necessary every time a new book comes out.
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Manga-ka: GooGoo Gong
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2009
Synopsis: “Thrust in the middle of a family feud, Jae-Gyu reluctantly accepts Whie-Hwan’s proposal. For the next month, she’s agreed to pose as his live-in girlfriend and obey his every command! It’s been less than a week since she moved to Seoul, and already she’s in way over her head! And small-town life has done little to prepare her for the dark deeds of city nightlife. When Jae-Gyu’s ignorance lands her in a roomful of eager playboys with money to burn, will it be her millionaire “boyfriend” or her rock star admirer who comes to the rescue?”
Taking the path of so many girls’ comics before it, Sugarholic presents us with yet more complicated shenanigans that lead to two characters faking a relationship. Does it manage to overcome it’s clichéd plot? Fortunately GooGoo Gong does manage to squeeze some originality into this work, a fairly standard Korean shojo comic.
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Yen Press has officially announced a handful of new 2010 titles on their website this week, including a Fumi Yoshinaga title (yay!) and another Haruhi Suzumiya property:
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-Chan
“The first volume of the highly anticipated yon koma featuring all new adventures from Haruhi and the rest of the S.O.S. Brigade will debut in October 2010 to the cheers of Haruhi fans everywhere!”
K-ON – kakifly
“The four girls who make up their high school music club have set Japan on fire, and their fame is only going to grow when they take the stage for the first time in the states this fall!”
Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime – Mizuki Nomura
“BOOK GIRL AND THE SUICIDAL MIME is the story of Konoha Inoue, a gifted writer who’s lost his passion, who’s inducted into his school’s literature club by it’s only other member, the beautiful Touko Amano – a book goblin who literally devours the printed word! Trust us, you’ll want to eat this one up!”
Not Love But Delicious Food – Fumi Yoshinaga
“Yoshinaga Fumi fans are in for a rare delicacy in November 2010 when Yen publishes NOT LOVE BUT DELICIOUS FOODS, a manga chronicling Y-Naga’s love of food and eateries in Japan. There are some hardcore Yoshinaga Fumi fans on staff at Yen Press, and they are salivating in anticipation of this book’s release!”
Golidlocks and the Seven Squat Bears – Émile Bravo
“Readers young and old alike will delight in the misadventures of these dwarf bruins as they attempt to rid their home of the giant lady who’s fallen asleep in their beds. Expect to see lots of cameo appearances by some of your favorite fairy tale figures from your youth!”
Also, a thank you to all of my readers who e-mailed me regarding these new titles when they popped up on Amazon a couple weeks ago – you’re super eagle-eyed and very considerate! Though I had found the titles when they initially went live on retail sites I chose not to post about them by request from the publisher. Your e-mails were much appreciated and I hope noone feels slighted by the delay in the news posting. It’s more fun to hear from the publisher directly, officially and confirmed I think :)
Author:: Jin Zhou Huang
Manga-ka: Hiromu Arakawa
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2009
Synopsis: “Legend speaks of seven heroes, each one bearing the power of one of the stars of the Big Dipper. Two of these stars are constantly in conflict, destined to battle and throw the world into chaos… Not that Taitou has ever paid much attention to old stories. Headstrong and defiant, he is the last in his village to complete his coming-of-age ceremony – a fact his sister Laila incessantly teases him about. When he is finally deemed worthy, he is presented with the Kenkaranbu, an ancient sword that can only be drawn by a true hero.”
Successful manga-ka often undertake side projects, – from Rumiko Takahashi’s publication of Maison Ikkoku while publishing weekly chapters of Urusei Yatsura, to the multiple projects often undertaken by CLAMP. With Fullmetal Alchemist being one of the biggest hits in the past decade among anime and manga fans, Hiromu Arakawa has decided to add herself to a list of famous multi-taskers with her own side project, Hero Tales. Published simultaneously with her Fullmetal Alchemist work, does it live up to the hype of her more well known title?
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Yen Press has had submission guidelines on their website for some time now but in their most recent issue of Yen+, they’ve published a more specific call for proposals from artists:
“Are you a professional artist working in a style heavily influenced by manga? Then YEN PLUS wants to talk to you! One of the primary aims of a manga anthology is to help to develop talent at a professional level, and YEN PLUS is no different. Going forward, we are going to be featuring short stories commissioned from professional artists and developed with the YEN PLUS editorial staff in the magazine. The goal is to give creators a feel for working with us (and vice versa), a sense of the experience of serialization in a monthly anthology, as well as exposure to a broad reading audience.
It’s worth pointing out that this is not intended to be a “pitch” for a long-running manga series. This is simply an exercise. YEN PLUS would likely request, among other things, first serial rights for inclusion in the magazine, the rights to display the work on our website promotionally as well as the first option to develop the concept with you into a longer project in the event of an enthusiastic response to the work. (It may not be a pitch, but you never know…SOUL EATER started out as a short story just like this!
Interested? Here’s what you need to do: Send a proposal for a 30 page manga story along with 5 to 10 completed sequential renderings of that story to the editorial staff of Yen Press.”
Karen already sums up what makes this sound like a pretty sweet deal for up-and-coming artists over at Japanator. Though there isn’t a lot mentioned here contract-wise, it does sound like Yen Press is more open to allowing creators to maintain rights to their work plus the proposal length sounds great – a perfect size for the editors at Yen to get an idea of what you’re proposing without the artist needing to spend months of their life putting an entire finished piece together. Amen to that!
Yen Press is currently publishing Canadian-creator Svetlana Chmakova’s Nightschool in their Yen+ anthology alongside their continuously growing library of books from around the world.
Author/Artist: David Ratte
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009
Synopsis: “In Sam’s world, pollution is such that everyone is forced to wear gas masks at all times. He lives with a lovely young woman whose face he has not seen in years. Though pollution still poses a few (arguably) negligible problems here and there, Sam finds the state of his world. . . normal!”
Yen Press has experimented with an assortment of colour French and Chinese comics in addition to translating black and white manga. Toxic Planet brings us another of these titles, this time a series of comic strips from French creator David Ratte. Darkly satirizing both polluters and environmentalists, Ratte has created a collection that walks a fine line between preachiness and parody.
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Manhwa-ga: KookHwa Huh/SuJin Kim
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: December 2009
Synopsis: “Now that she has discovered Si-Joon’s secret fiancée, Doe-Doe will stop at nothing to rip the masked girl away from Si-Joon, whom she has already claimed as her own. But Mu-Yeon’s affection for Si-Joon is not something to be trifled with, especially when dark spiritual forces are involved. As memories of his past life with Mu-Yeon resurface, the time when Si-Joon will have to face the mystery of the pig bride head-on is drawing near. But will he be prepared when the moment comes?”
Past-live dream exposés, the feeling of sinister eyes upon him and the clock ticking ever closer, Si-Joon has more than a few things on his mind. But with his life (or is it his chastity?) at risk at the hands of an ‘assassin’ on top of that, and his constant refusal of Mu-Yeon’s advances, the Pig Bride needs to turn to some different tactics with only a day left to lift her curse and have Si-Joon finally confess his feelings of love (whether they exist or not).
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Manga-ka: Yuji Iwahara
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009
Synopsis: “Nine lives might not be enough to survive this catfight! At Matabi Academy, students are allowed to bring their pet cats to the dorms. For Yumi Hayakawa, whose favorite hobby is making clothes for her kitty Kansuke, Matabi seems like a sure bet. After all, nothing can possibly go wrong with her best friend at her side! But on the first day of school, the two find themselves face-to-face with a murderous demonic minion on campus! Will Yumi and Kansuke be able to defend themselves and their school against an ancient cat demon’s thirst for vengeance?”
Cat Paradise seemingly brings us yet another high school manga. As a fan of Iwahara’s King of Thorn, however, I was looking forward to a similar, mildly eccentric action-oriented work full of distinctive and illustrative artwork. Could he give us all that within the confines of yet another teen manga? Iwahara delivers, managing to make what might otherwise be a generic series into an engrossing, unconventional read. While not as tense or dramatic as King of Thorn, this story nevertheless gives us the goods, adding some fun moments and concepts while foreshadowing potential for even more intriguing future chapters.
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This past holiday season I sent out holiday cards to a number of publishers – my little way of showing my appreciation to those companies who helped make 2009 a real treat for both me and my readers here on Kuriousity.
I created custom Christmas cards for Yen Press, Vertical, Viz Media, Digital Manga and Yaoi Press, and since then a couple have asked me to share the artwork. I put it off a couple weeks to ensure everyone had time to receive their cards and maintain some charm to the surprise ;)
The curious can now check out my five manga-holiday images under the cut. All pre-existing characters belong to their respective copyright holders/companies/people-of-greatness.
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Manga-ka: Mikage
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009
Synopsis: “Nanako has been pouring all her effort into her exam prep class, however she still isn’t meeting her high expectations. But never say die! With the help of her friends, Nanako struggles through procrastination and distraction, determined to reach her goal. Unfortunately, that goal comes with a hefty price tag, and as the cost of study guides, enrollment, and dorm fees climbs, the penny-pinching Nanako jumps on the chance to make some extra cash with a part-time job… at a maid café?! Now with even more work on her plate, will Nanako ever be able to pull up her grades and make it into the college of her dreams?”
The penny pinching Nanako is still at it, out to get the best deal on everything without realizing she’s shorting herself on life’s little pleasures. Best friend and roommate, Akane is still on hand but the madly in love (with Nanako) Shino is too busy with college life to hang around as much as she used to. Like in all cute, fluffy and girly manga, crazy hijinks ensue on this adventure through life as the all discover more about themselves and each other.
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Manhwa-ga: JiUn Yun
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009
Synopsis: “Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are exorcists-for-hire, traveling throughout the country in search of grudges and ghosts. Each encounter reveals a story of tragedy and loss, sentiments they are all too familiar with themselves. But sometimes the violence of the most murderous spirits is nothing compared to the cruelty of the living.”
A new story from the mind of JiUn Yun, the author and artist for Cynical Orange, Time and Again is a collection of ghost stories she’s based off poems and tales from primarily Chinese literature. There are five stories in total and they’re all strung together by either the presence or mention of one Yoo Ju – a young and talented, though also arrogant and lazy, exorcist.
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Manga-ka: Jun Mochizuki
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009
Synopsis: “Rescued from the darkness by Xeno, a mysterious swordsman, Claudia the Rose Witch is the foundation of the Crimson-Shell, a special division of the Red Rose-an organization aiming to capture the results of one mad scientist’s experiments, the deadly Black Roses. But when Xeno’s loyalties are called into question, will Claudia be strong enough to believe in her dearest friend?”
Fans often see manga as primarily never-ending epics, when in fact, much of the material published in Japan is far shorter. Works are more commonly intended to just be short stories or mini-series, often earlier works of creators who later go on to longer series. Crimson-Shell is one such series, from the creator of Pandora Heart, Jun Mochizuki.
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Author: Masashiro Totsuka
Manga-ka: Aguri Igarashi
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: September 2009
Synopsis: “With the expert Tama-chan on the squad, Kojiro feels confident in his team’s chances in the upcoming kendo meet. But the match is rapidly approaching, and he’s still shy one member – not to mention getting newbie Miya and elusive Saya up to speed. With a year of all-you-can-eat sushi on the line, Kojiro’s determined to use every trick he can think of to win, but just how far is he willing to go?!”
When reading the first issue of the Yen Plus anthology, of the Japanese series I was most absorbed by Bamboo Blade. It offered a more down to earth, approachable read that complimented the general audiences vibe of the Korean and domestic series, despite it’s seinen origins. Over the course of the series it became a favourite. The serialization has ended, but Yen delivers more Bamboo Blade direct to trade paperback with this second volume.
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