Not much to say about these, except that they’re out there. I’d like to see Red River or Basara given this treatment, but my guess is Viz will wait and see how successfully these two series perform:
Hot Gimmick VizBig Edition 1, releasing in March
Fushigi Yugi VizBig Editions, #1 available now — #2 releasing in April.
I’m not a great big loser fan boy…
What?
…Anyway, I’m not a great big loser fan boy but I play one on the internet, and I’ve knocked around enough forums and loser-fan-boy web sites to know the shows they like.
…WHAT?
You got something to say to me?
thought so. Pick on me, and I’ll take my spreadsheet and go home.
Lucky Star was one of those, and we can argue about what’s wrong with depicting high school students so they look to be about, what, 12? 10? (and what that implies) or why American nerds seem to have adopted Japanese depictions of Japanese fans as their own (though only one character in Lucky Star is a die-hard fan girl, and an atypical one at that) or we can question just why the show is so popular when there isn’t even an ongoing plot or any character development — which makes sense to me now that I know the original was a 4-koma comic strip.
The anime was sort of a cross between Azumanga Daioh and Genshiken, though that description doesn’t quite do it justice. If the comic strips are even half as densely laden with inside jokes and obscure references, I hope that Bandai loads these down with extensive footnotes (or even marginalia to gloss each and every panel) or there is no way the original jokes will play in English.
Said originals are soon to be available in English courtesy of Bandai, not that I can find an official announcement but the first two volumes have been spotted in the wild.
Vol 1. isbn 9781604961126, May
Vol 2. isbn 9781604961133, Aug
No pictures from Bandai USA yet, but here are the covers I found at amazon.co.jp for the two books
I’m not familiar with the series, but I had to post this one for the art.
I love artists who can actually draw clothing, and I have to say, that’s a nice sweater. (snicker if you must, and yes I know I just told you to stare at her chest and some of you will find your focus… elsewhere… but I mean it: that’s a nice sweater)
SO, I wasn’t familiar with it, but 2 seconds pulls up Remote on the ANN Encyclopedia and @Tokyopop — from the Tokyopop page:
Kurumi Ayaki is told by her fiance that they will have to put off the wedding — they just can’t afford it yet. They both decide to work harder to earn the money, and Kurumi is given the assignment of working in the Unsolved Crimes Division, Special Unit A. This is where she meets Inspector Himuro, a young genius who is unable to leave the underground room in which he resides, and who is physically unable to feel emotions. She acts as his ears and eyes as they attempt to uncover the mystery of the serial clown murders.
Now, “serial clown murders” might be considered a deal breaker (though clowns are obvious villains) but when Kurumi looks like that …I’m willing to give it a shot.
Remote, Story by Seimaru Amagi, Art by Tetsuya Koshiba.
Complete at 10 volumes; US editions 2004-06, some of the early volumes may be out of print. But I’ll be looking for these.
Carl Horn told a roomful of fans (myself included) as recently as this past September (Patrick Jefferson on ANN has the write-up of the DH panel at AWA)
Dark Horse will also continue to distribute the English translation of Style School. Style School is the alternative United States title for the Japanese magazine Small S (commonly referred to as “SS”, a title that Horn notes harbors inappropriate connotations for its U.S. readership). Style School is a special interest publication geared towards amateur and student artists and features “fairly elaborate double page spreads” of illustrations followed by five or six page breakdowns that describe the details of the creative process. The magazine is currently circulated in both Japanese and English to encourage cross-cultural dialogue. Volume #3 will be available on November 19th.
Of course, I forgot all about these until they crept back into online sales charts this week.
Style School 3 from November, op. cit. supra, and
Style School 4 coming out in March.
Dark Horse has previews up of the first three volumes if you wanted to sneak a peek at what’s inside
And Asukashinsha is accepting submissions: per their website, “We are the Japanese manga illustration magazine [SS]. We receive the application of an illustration from all over the world.” If your Japanese is at least as good as their English I’m sure the two of you will be able to work something out.
I don’t know of anyone reading these on a regular basis, other than Ed Sizemore and Johanna Draper Carlson over at Comics Worth Reading, who were good enough to read, partially synopsize, and review Vol.1 & Vol.2, respectively.
Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human
One could perhaps question the worth (or need) of an academic journal for English-language interpretation, implementation, and appreciation of Japanese Visual Culture and its varied—and now global—derivatives, but considering I’m the guy who just typed that sentence into a post on what is (despite my aspirations) just another fan blog, you won’t hear such arguments from me.
So long as Lunning is willing to edit this journal, and so long as contributors are willing to submit articles-of-scholarly-ambition for consideration, Mechademia has a long publishing history ahead of it. Right now they come out once a year (in November, seemingly)
Mechademia from the U. of Minnesota Press, $20 each.
Submissions for volume 5 (subtitled Fanthropologies) are due Jan 5.
…lest one assume that this new feature on the ‘bomber was going to be a soapbox for my own personal recommendations, or a curated listing of titles artistic, worthy, or notable for their history and pedigree…
Well, let’s disabuse any such notions right now:
Tantric Stripfighter Trina
description @ Tokyopop:
Tantric Stripfighter Trina fights an evil space federation…by taking off one piece at a time!… Young Trina Devi’s homeworld Rama was destroyed by mercenaries under government orders. Now the last of her kind, Trina is skilled in Rama’s native art of stripfighting: a tantalizing fusion of Shaolin martial arts and tantric sensuality. With her cybernetic sidekick Chrome Abbey and her robot assistant Bonds, Trina quests to take down the men who destroyed her planet, including a sleazy slave trafficker, a martial arts master and a terrifying Inquisitor backed by the intergalactic government, the COG and CROWN.
Really, what can I add to that. I typically would include a link to a sales site, particularly RightStuf.com, a site I personally like to patronize… but in this case, if you feel you really need to have this one I’m going to make you work for it.
Pre-order now, shipping in February — and yeah, I guess I will be buying a copy of this one myself.
Full Props to Shiei-sensei: The art of Amazing Agent Luna has always been a shade better than merely serviceable: aptly suited to material, dead on target in style, quite lovely on occasions — and while no one is throwing caution and their web reputation to the wind calling it either “classic” or “in some ways more ‘manga’ than some manga” I’ve always enjoyed the 7seas titles illustrated by Shiei and consider these books to be the most ‘Manga’ (…love Svet’s work too, but while she hit the right notes with Dramacon it’s solidly a western comic) of any OEL out there.
…but even having said that myself, and intending it to be a complement, I have to wonder: is that a complement?
Exhibit E in that ongoing debate is presented by the defense this month:
Amazing Agent Luna vol. 5
It’s been more than a year since the last volume (and might be even longer for some considering the inconsistent stocking patterns I’ve seen on this title) but one of the innovators of OEL is back with more of the same.
I think that’s a good thing. YMMV.
[editorial: I’m going to stop numbering these. That’d get old quick. Might do something special to celebrate Big Round Numbers, though]
The Tale of Genji, the 1000 year old classic of not just Japanese but World literature, what may be the first novel ever written in any language
…interpreted by Yoshitaka Amano.
80 pages of Amano would be worth $25 regardless of subject — but I have a feeling this is something special.
Amazon (as of this writing) has just two copies left. Other places are already out, even TfAW seems to be selling the last of their stock (nick&dent discounts) and if anyone is going to be stocking DH titles, it’s Things from Another World.
Who else thinks this deserves a reprint?
I hesitate scant seconds to post the following because I’m not sure how search engines will treat me (“be gentle, I haven’t done this before” ) and sure, I like Antique Bakery as much as the next guy (well, more than the guy to my right, who never got over Ono as a character concept, but less than the guy to my left who has six different types of doujinshi derived from this title saved to his hard drive) (& when is Antique Bakery coming out on DVD, btw? somebody needs to license that quick; the manga has long been a critics’ fav and I found the fansubs to be excellent — though the ending just kinda, well, ended. Not quite as nuanced as the manga version.) and may have read a couple of Aurora Deux titles when they first started just to see what the…
…well if I keep defending myself you’ll think I’m hiding something.
Anyway: Yaoi. Not my cup of chai, but it has a big fan base
— A fan base that at least one publisher is looking to expand.
The Yaoi Gold Bundle
as described on sales sites: “Four yaoi graphic novels bundled together for a savings of $16.81 off retail! The Aluria Chronicles – Yaoi vampire fantasy. Desire of the Gods – Romance between Norse Gods. Spirit Marked – An innocent is seduced by evil. Prisoner of the Immortal – Demon Yaoi.” The authors are cited as the Insanity Team [nice] (Yamila Abraham, Colter Hillman, Calissa Leigh, Yishan Li, & others?) and the bundle (a reported 648 pages) lists at $35 but can be found for less; sale prices in the wild have been spotted as low as 23 bucks and change. Considering that most yaoi titles I recall seeing retail in the $13-17 range, less than six bucks per is an excellent way to introduce yourself to the publisher and four new titles.
Any comments, Yamila? Is the same bundle also going to be available direct from Yaoi Press?
(Hint: If you have trouble finding it by title, try searching isbn 9781933664385.)
note: this comic is not about beer
note: this comic is not about Elvis
In my head, I sound like Yahtzee (quite a feat, given my inherited U.S.-flat-midwestern-accent.)
where I start my browsing day...
...and one source I trust for reviews, reports, and opinion on manga specifically. [disclaimer: I'm a contributor there]
