Digital Manga is currently running a contest that some of you may be interested in: you can win a Cafe Kichijouji de manga and shitajiki (pencil board) simply by entering a ballot at this page. Hey, who’d turn down free manga? I haven’t read the series, but if I win one of these, I’ll be sure to review it!
The manga news seems to be running a bit dry at the moment, but I’ll be at Ohayocon in Columbus, OH, USA this weekend and hopefully I’ll find some new material to write on!
In the meantime, I’ll note that Tokyopop’s 6th “Rising Stars of Manga” contest will be closing on January 13th, a little more than a week from today. Check out the prizes and the rules on their website - some of the fabulous entries in previous years were showcased in a tankubon, and as I reported a few weeks back, two Rising Stars will begin running in U.S. newspapers as of this month. So if you’ve got some drawing talent and a little extra time, have a look at this before the contest closes!
Boys Over Flowers (In Japanese known as Hana Yori Dango (花より男子) is a manga series written by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine, Margaret, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and has been collected into 36 volumes. Recently, the series has started to be released in a deluxe edition (larger pages and with all the color artwork from the magazine reproduced).
As of this writing, the story has been adapted in Japan into an anime TV series, a live-action television drama, an animated one-shot OVA, and a live-action movie. It has also served as the basis for a live-action drama TV series from Taiwan called Meteor Garden, which has spawned off an idol-singer group, F4. Also, an all-new Japanese live-action drama series premiered on October 2005 on TBS. The live-action drama was completed in December 2005, spanning 9 full-hour episodes.
Tsukushi Makino (牧野つくし Makino Tsukushi), a working-class girl, attends an elite elevator school called Eitoku Academy, populated by children from rich, high-society families. She is the “weed” of the school surrounded by all the rich kids including the “Flower” Four (F4). The F4 leader and son of the wealthiest, most powerful family in Japan, Tsukasa Domyoji (道明寺 司 Dōmyōji Tsukasa), takes an interest in Tsukushi, because she is the only girl at Eitoku who doesn’t fawn over him. However, his hot-headed nature and bullying ways are originally a major turn-off for Tsukushi, who has her sights set on someone else.
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Links:
Official Anime Site
Livejournal Community
Hana Yori Dango Portal
hanayoridango.com
A public forum discussing the planned Kyoto International Manga Museum was held on December 17th in Kyoto City, Nakagyo Ward. There, city official and citizens exchanged opinions on the project. When opened next autumn, this will be Japan’s first museum solely dedicated to manga. Animation will also be featured among the 200,000 items on display.
Source: Anime News Service
Digital Manga has updated their website with information about the new titles announced in November, and they’ve also added some previously unmentioned titles, Almost Crying by Mako Takahashi and J-Boy by Biblos, an anthology of 1-shot stories from Biblos’s Japanese magazine Junk Boy.
Source: Anime News Network
On December 19th, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has taken the first steps toward the enactment of a bill that would regulate violent manga published in the country. The legislation move was made public as part of the emergency task force’s “Hanzai kara kodomo wo mamoru” (Children Are Defended From Crime) initiative. According language used by the LDP, the goal is the promotion and maintenance of a healthy environment for young people. This comes against a recent backdrop of increased crime against women and children. They claim a link in many of these criminal acts exists between kiddie porn, violent comics and even games. The LDP feels it necessary to reform the current state. Some prefectures and cities have already been restricting such kiddie porn etc. by creating and enforcing ordinances. An attempt will be made to draft and pass the “Seishounen Kenzen Ikusei Suishin Kihonhou” (Fundamental Law Of Youth Health). Some anti-violence manga related items are expected to end up in a final bill that will then go before the diet. Currently, the LDP is trying to rouse public opinion on the matter.
Source: Anime News Service
I suppose this is a companion piece of sorts to my Anime post today. Oricon Style undertook a survey of its readers in order to determine the top five manga of the year; since I haven’t reviewed some of these great titles, I’ll tell you now that I expect they’re worth checking out!
1. NANA
2. Hana Yori Dango
3. DEATH NOTE
4. Dragon Zakura
5. Honey And Clover
The list is of course pretty subjective, because of the sheer number of titles released this year, and most of these seem to be releatively recent releases, though they do correspond with the Top 10 Tankubon sellers I was blogging about until recently. If you’re looking for more recommendations, I’d advise checking out Bleach, D.Gray-man, BERSERK, Ichigo 100%, Yotsubato!, Mahou Sensei Negima!, Tsubasa-RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE or some of the other titles that appeared in the Weekly Top Ten throughout the year.
Source: Oricon
Del Rey will be launching a mature line for a couple of their upcoming manga releases, including Basilisk and Suzuka.
While the manga will not be labelled with a different imprint, they will be presented with different packaging than Del Rey’s other manga. They will be shrink wrapped, rated M for mature and will have a larger, 5.5″ x 8.25″ trim (compared to the 5″ x 7.5″ standard). They will also have a higher $13.95 price point.Del Rey informed us that they will not be censoring the mature manga and that publishing it in this manner is a way for them to responsibly publish it in its entirety.
Basilisk volume 1 is due in May 2006 while Suzuka volume 1 will be released in September 2006.
Source: Anime News Network
According to this announcement, Makoto Raiku, the manga-ka for Zatch Bell has hurt his hand and will be taking some time off from the manga to heal and plan future chapters of the manga. The article states that, due to the injury, he can not play games, sign documents, eat properly, etc…
Goodness. An injured hand or wrist is big trouble for a full time mangaka…let’s hope that for the sake of the Gash Bell fans that he recovers soon!
Source: Anime News Network
Originally this manga was serialised in Ribon, a Japanese magazine for girls. As of 2004, it has become a completed series with a total of seven volumes, and an artbook. The manga is published in English by Viz Media with translations by Tomo Kimura. As the manga began to gain popularity, an anime version of the story was simultaneously made and completed before the manga’s ending. Produced by Nihon Ad Systems, the anime is one of the most popular series, enjoying high ratings. It aired on TV Tokyo and has yet to be licensed outside Japan.
Full Moon focuses on a 12-year old girl named Mitsuki Koyama (神山満月 Kōyama Mitsuki). While Mitsuki is a talented singer, and indeed dreams of becoming a pop idol, she is afflicted by throat cancer, which seems curable only through surgery that will destroy her voice. One day she discovers two shinigami, Takuto and Meroko, the “Negi Ramen” or “Onion Noodles”, whom only she can see. These shinigami tell her she has but one year left to live. She doesn’t look old enough to be a singer, so she makes a deal with one of the shinigami, Takuto, to transform her into a 16-year-old body who goes by the stage name of “Full Moon” in order to achieve her dream of becoming a singer. Not only does she become older, but when she is in this form her throat is healthy, and she is able to sing without any difficulty.
To start a career as a singer, 16-year-old Mitsuki auditions in a singing contest. Even though there is much competition, she is able to win over the judges with her enthusiam for singing and her good voice. Two years before the shinigami came to her, she promised Eichi, a boy she met in an orphanage, that they would both achieve their dreams together. Eichi wanted to become an astronomer and she wanted to become a singer. Since she found out she is fated to die, she wants to achieve her dream and meet Eichi. In addition, Eichi has emigrated to America and is uncontactable. Mitsuki hopes that one day her songs will be heard by Eichi who will come back to her so they can be together again.
Links:
Full Moon wo Sagashite - Tsubasa ga habataku kagiri ~
~*~ Full Moon ~*~
Dreaming Of… (Fanlisting)
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