MangaBlog

ICv2 talks to Dr. Joachim Kaps, the head of Tokyopop Germany, about the loss of their Kodansha licenses. Kaps says he has no idea why Kodansha decided not to renew the licenses, but he points out that two other German publishers, Egmont and Heyne, have cancelled a number of Kodansha series because of low sales. (Heyne is Del Rey’s sister company.) But Tokyopop had planned to continue with their Kodansha series, he said. At the Icarus Comics blog, Simon Jones hears from the head of Carlsen, another German manga publisher, that their Kodansha series are not affected. Alex Hoffman speculates about what this might mean to the U.S. manga industry at Manga Widget.

At The Comics Reporter, David Welsh writes about ten books he’s looking forward to in 2009. This is an impressive list and should give hope to anyone worried about the manga industry in the U.S., especially those who are looking for more mature titles. At the other end of the spectrum, Ryan at Same Hat! Same Hat! has some previews of what to expect from horror manga-ka Shintaro Kago this year. As always, don’t click on this one if you’re squeamish (but do if you’re not, because some of the cartoons are pretty funny).

Kai-Ming Cha sums up the year in manga—her analysis may surprise you—and lists her top ten manga of 2008. Dave Ferraro posts his own top ten list at Comics-and-More. And at About.com, Deb Aoki is letting the fans decide: Voting is now open for the best new shoujo and shonen manga of the year.

The Yaoi Review takes a brief look at some January yaoi releases.

At Japanator, God Len posts this week’s new releases. Also, the Japanator folks publish their licensing wish list for the year to come.

Canned Dogs shares some art from Mudazumo naki kaikaku (The Legend of Koizumi), a manga in which world leaders battle for supremacy in an epic game of mahjong. Yes, that’s George Bush in the picture.

Matt Blind has some top 20 and top 30 charts for the week ending Jan. 4 at Rocket Bomber.

CLAMP fans are giving back: Lissa Pattillo reports on a CLAMP appreciation fanbook and gives a link for those who would like to participate.
News from Japan: Canned Dogs has the 2008 circulation figures for Japanese manga, anime, and gaming magazines. ANN reports that Houbunsha is launching a quarterly yuri anthology.

Reviews: Carlo Santos kicks the new year with his latest Right Turn Only!! column and tosses out a challenge to readers: Send him a review of “the manga series you wish you hadn’t gotten into but it’s too late now.” Tiamat’s Disciple takes a look at vol. 7 of Chocolat and vol. 6 of The Antique Gift Shop. Lissa Pattillo puts in her two cents on vol. 6 of The Antique Gift Shop as well. Julie checks out vol. 1 of Vagabond,o the VIZBIG edition, at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Erica Friedman reviews vol. 2 of Your and My Secret at Okazu. Billy Aguiar gives the thumbs-up to Gaba Kawa at Prospero’s Manga. Emily’s latest finds are Yacchimaina!! and Wagamama na Junai at Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page. Casey Brienza has a brief review of vol. 1 of Hayate x Blade at her LJ. James Fleenor enjoys vol. 1 of Momo Tama despite the pink cover. Travers C. takes a look at vol. 4 of Sundome and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time at TaCk’s Pop Culture. Sesho devotes his latest podcast to Edu-Manga: Ludwig van Beethoven and posts a print review of vol. 2 of Sand Chronicles. Oyceter reads the Chinese translation of Fumi Yoshinaga’s All My Darling Daughters at Sakura of DOOM. Snow Wildsmith reads Lovers Pledge at Fujoshi Librarian. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie moves quickly through vols. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Do Whatever You Want. Diana Dang reviews vol. 1 of 07-Ghost and vol. 1 of Cross x Break at Stop, Drop, and Read!

Vacation’s over! Christopher Butcher gets you right back to work with a meaty analysis of the manga market and some predictions for the future at Comics212. In case that’s not enough for you, Erica Friedman includes some advice for anime and manga companies for the coming year in her weekly yuri roundup at Okazu.

Micole looks at all the manga and other graphic novels she read in 2008 and picks the cream of the crop. Kethylia presents her list as well.

At the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Jason Yadao looks back at the year in manga.

The Manga Recon team presents their picks of the week.

Lindsay Muscato interviews Mail Order Ninja creator Josh Elder. (Via Journalista.)

At Rocket Bomber, Matt Blind summarizes the online sales rankings from last week and presents his emerging trends report and new releases and pre-orders.

Over at Heisei Democracy (warning: NSFW!), Seiya lists ten Japanese things that don’t translate too well, including doujinshi and Kodomo no Jikan.

News from Japan: Ed Chavez gives us the weekly manga rankings from Taiyosha and rounds up other Japanese news in his MangaScope column. ANN has the list of the top-selling manga series and light novels of 2008 and an inside peek at manga circles.

Reviews: Danielle Leigh is keeping a reading diary over at Comics Should Be Good, with short impressions of whatever she’s reading at the moment. She covers three titles in her first entry, takes a longer look at vols. 1-4 of Yumekui Kenbun: Nightmare Inspector in the second, and goes back to short takes in the third. Danielle has eclectic tastes so her posts are always worth a look! Michelle Smith has spent her vacation wisely, reading vols. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 of Monster. I can’t wait to see her take on vol. 18, now that I have wrapped up my review for Comics Foundry. Lissa Pattillo reviews vol. 17 of Black Cat and A Capable Man, and guest reviewer Marsha Reid checks out vol. 5 of Cynical Orange at Kuriousity. Julie gives her take on Shards of Affection at MangaCast and vol. 12 of Moon Child and vol. 7 of High School Debut at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Erica Friedman casts a slightly jaded eye on vol. 1 of Futari ha PreCure Splash Star at Okazu. At Manga Recon, Sam Kusek takes a look at a classic manga, Rumic Theater: One or Double, by Rumiko Takahashi. Cat-loving Lori Henderson isn’t gaga over vol. 10 of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, but she doesn’t hate it either. Connie reads vol. 13 of Trigun Maximum, vol. 3 of Real, vol. 25 of Bleach, and vol. 2 of June at Slightly Biased Manga. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood reviews You Make My Head Spin, Heaven’s Will, vol. 2 of Captive Hearts, vol. 16 of Skip Beat! and vol. 9 of Kurohime, and Scott Campbell checks out vol. 3 of Mechademia, the academic journal covering anime and manga. Tangognat reviews vol. 1 of Cross x Break. At ANN, Casey Brienza finds plenty of cliches in vol. 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry but concludes that it’s better than she expected. Alan David Doane reads Solanin at the ADD Blog (via Journalista).

Today’s big news comes at the end of Manly Manga and More’s best of 2008 post: Kodansha has not renewed its contracts with Tokyopop Germany. The German arm of Tokyopop publishes Beck, Cromartie High School, School Rumble, Perfect Girl and Hell Girl, according to Jonathan, so all those series have been canceled. Christopher Butcher and Simon Jones have more thoughts on this, and Simon locates the announcement on a German forum.

ComiPress is celebrating the new year in a big way, with a roundup of 2008-in-review posts, a look at Oricon’s list of the top manga in Japan, and Chloe Ferguson’s year-in-review Panelosophy column. Matt Blind continues his month-by-month summaries of online sales with a look at the best-selling manga of November. And happy news for otaku: Heisei Democracy and Ikimashou are back online. Content note: HD is pretty NSFW, and I’m sure Ikimashou will be too, once Randall gets everything up and running again.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman looks at the top ten yuri phenomena of 2008.

Meanwhile, at About.com, Deb Aoki looks at 10 trends and 5 unanswered questions to watch for in 2009.

The MangaCast crew look at this week’s new manga and present their 2009 wish list as well. David Welsh points out a few highlights from the latest crop at Precocious Curmudgeon.

News from Japan: ComiPress rounds up coverage of Comiket 75. At MangaCast, Ed treats us to a look at the manga magazines’ New Years’ covers.

Reviews: Phil Guie takes a look at vol. 1 of The Flat Earth/Exchange at Manga Recon. Michelle Smith reads vols. 6, 7, 8, and 9 of Monster and takes a break to look at The Walking Man as well. Johanna Draper Carlson recommends the series Parasyte at Comics Worth Reading, but Ed Sizemore is less taken with the Genshiken Official Book. Tiamat’s Disciple has some thoughts on vol. 5 of Hissing and vol. 4 of COMIC. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie’s recent reads include vol. 3 of Human Club, vol. 8 of Hoshin Engi, vol. 5 of One Thousand and One Nights, and vol. 1 of Nora: The Last Chronicles of Devildom. David Welsh has decidedly mixed feelings about Gantz at Precocious Curmudgeon. Ed Chavez has an audio review of vol. 3 of Hanami up at MangaCast. New at Comics Village: Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Claymore and John Thomas on vol. 1 of Eden: It’s an Endless World. Julie checks out vol. 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry, vol. 16 of Skip Beat! and vol. 1 of Basilisk at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Lissa Pattillo reads The Dawn of Love at Kuriousity.

The Manzai Comics, vol. 1
Story by Atsuko Asano
Art by Hizuru Imai
Rated T, for ages 13+
Aurora, $10.95

Manzai is a type of standup comedy, popular in Japan, that features a straight man and a goofy guy who misunderstands everything the straight man says. It’s a shame that the Aurora folks didn’t think to put in a translator’s note to that effect, because while I figured out pretty quickly that manzai was some sort of a comedy routine, I didn’t really get the whole concept until I looked it up.

The Manzai Comics is a curious mishmash of broad comedy routines and high-school drama. The story opens with an example of manzai, when Takashi, a high school student, asks Ayumu, the new kid in school, to “go out” with him. “Do it with me!” he pleads. Naturally, Ayumu thinks he’s being asked out on a date, when in fact Takashi is asking him to be his comedy partner.

If you think that’s hilarious, well, this is the book for you, as the real-life misunderstandings and the manzai routines blend into one another. Read the rest of this entry »

Quote of the day:

I have had my fill of nihilistic manga and anime. Story after story shows how messed up the human race is, how prone to casual violence, how unable to connect with each other, how short-sighted, how pathetic. Religion can’t save us, and in fact usually just exacerbates these problems. And love is impossible. In most of the stories it’s less that love doesn’t exist, and more that human beings can’t trust each other enough to really be open to love. Some of these stories, like End of Evangelion, are works of genius. But man are they bleak. And the creepy misogyny doesn’t help any either. I always feel like I have to wash my eyes out after viewing these things. I’m just reaching my limit.

—Nick Mullins, who then proceeds to recommend a bleak, nihilistic manga.

At Comixology, on the other hand, Kristy Valenti has had too much of sanitized, overly inspirational biographies, and the edu-manga bios of Anne Frank, Helen Keller, and Albert Einstein that she read recently didn’t make her feel any better.

The Manga Life team collaborates on a best of 2008 roundtable. One side note that I found interesting is that pretty much everyone there is working on manga in some professional capacity as well as reviewing it. Also, Fruits Basket translators Alethea and Athena Nibley reflect on the past year in their column.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman lists her top ten yuri manga of 2008. Salimbol of The Chocolate Mud Wyvern Presents gives a rundown of the top manga and anime of 2008.

Deb Aoki is looking forward to the most anticipated new manga of 2009 at About.com.

If your resolution is to try something new in 2009, Gia has some suggestions for manga for comics readers and comics for manga readers at Anime Vice.

God Len posts this week’s new releases at Japanator. Also: DIY Pocky!

There’s some new blood at Heisei Democracy, which had been lying dormant for a while, and Seiya has an interesting piece on manga cafes in general and the manga cafe MIKA in particular. Be warned before you click, though, that there’s a lot of eroge/figures stuff so the site is quite NSFW, particularly if the people at your workplace don’t get the figures thing to begin with.

Weirdly, the Icarus blog is quite SFW at the moment, and I suggest you head over there to read the lengthy comment thread on yaoi pricing (which ends up touching on more general issues of manga pricing and quality as well).

A former fan expresses her disappointment with Tokyopop.

News from Japan: The Asahi Shimbun has an article on the National Diet Library, Japan’s national library, that touches on this problem:

Another challenge facing the institution is the preservation of manga comic magazines, which attract the interest of many overseas researchers.

The ink on manga magazines tends to smudge rather quickly, causing the pictures to blur. Under current copyright rules, preserving manga publications in digital form for wide availability requires permission from various parties concerned. It would be a tall order and require tremendous clerical costs.

I like the bit about the magazines being of interest to “overseas researchers”—aren’t Japanese researchers interested? Meanwhile, here’s a nice little piece about Glass Mask, which I would love to see translated over here. ANN has lots of manga news: Gatou Asou, who designed the characters for the Moribito anime, is launching a new manga, Tokyo Bardo, in Young Gangan magazine; seven of the series that moved from the defunct Young Sunday magazine to YS Special are ending; and High School Debut creator Kazune Kawahara is treating readers to a one-shot follow-up in the March issue of Deluxe Margaret.

Reviews: At MangaCast, Ed’s latest podcast is on vol. 8 of School Rumble (in which they finally get around to having the school fair—comedy gold!). Alex Hoffman posts an expanded version of his earlier review of vol. 1 of Croquis Pop at Manga Widget. Plenty of action but not enough story is Jason Van Horn’s verdict on vol. 33 of Naruto at The Hachiko. Connie reads Red Blinds the Foolish, vol. 4 of Ikebukuro West Gate Park, and vol. 6 of Go Go Heaven at Slightly Biased Manga. Holly Ellingwood reviews vol. 3 of Toto: The Wonderful Adventure and vol. 3 of Yozakura Quartet at Active Anime. Dave Ferraro checks out vol. 1 of Daemonium at Comics-and-More. Michelle Smith enjoys vol. 5 of Monster at Soliloquy in Blue. Tanuki at Sgt. Tanuki’s Lonely Hearts Club Blog writes about a Japanese historical manga, Hi izuri tokoro no tenshi, that buries a decent story in too much history. At Mania.com, Danielle Van Gorder reads vol. 1 of Vampire’s Portrait and Erin Jones finds the sound of a wrist being crushed to be the most interesting part of vol. 4 of Kanna. Erica Friedman finds a few things to like about vol. 1 of My-HiME, despite a “nasty edge” to the fanservice, at Okazu. Julie reads vol. 1 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and vol. 1 of Go West! at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Lissa Pattillo reviews Y Square Plus and vol. 2 of Cross x Break at Kuriousity. Tiamat’s Disciple likes vol. 2 of Very! Very! Sweet better than vol. 1, which is the opposite of my opinion, but he brings up some interesting points. At Manga Life, Barb Lien-Cooper reviews vol. 2 of Ghost Talker’s Daydream and Park Cooper gives his take on vols. 1 and 2 of Black Jack. Carlo Santos checks out vol. 3 of Black Lagoon at ANN. Billy Aguiar reviews vol. 1 of St. Dragon Girl at Prospero’s Manga. James Fleenor posts his impression of vol. 2 of Warcraft Legends at Anime Sentinel. Snow Wildsmith reviews Red Blinds the Foolish at Fujoshi Librarian. Charles Tan enjoys vol. 7 of Chinese Hero at Comics Village. And the Manga Recon team rounds out the year with Chloe Ferguson’s review of Angel’s Coffin and a flurry of Manga Minis.

Happy New Year, everyone! See you in 2009!

ICv2 has posted their list of the top manga properties for fall 2008, and the chart makes interesting reading. Naruto continues to rule at the top of the charts, but Fruits Basket has been displaced from the number two slot by Vampire Knight. This is interesting as I think Vampire Knight appeals to a slightly older reader than Furuba. Bleach is number four, then comes Queenie Chan’s In Odd We Trust. Despite the fact that the series ended a while ago, Death Note is number six. Overall, the chart has a good mix of titles—everything from Beauty Pop to Berserk. In terms of publisher share, Viz dominates with 12 series, while Tokyopop and Del Rey have five titles each, Dark Horse has two, and Yen brings up the rear with just one, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, at number 25.

The new ICv2 Guide to Anime and Manga is out, and the number-crunchers there are predicting a 10% drop in manga releases in 2009:

In the ICv2 manga survey at the end of 2007 publishers indicated that they planned to publish 1,731 volumes of manga, an 18% increase over the 1,468 volumes released in 2006, but the actual number of manga released in 2008 appears to be around 1,356 as publishers cut titles during the second half of the year. The total from ICv2’s 2009 Manga Survey indicates that publishers are planning to release 1,224.

Watch this space, as the guide also lists the top 25 manga properties, but that link isn’t up yet.

Ultimo, the one-shot manga created by Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei (creator of Shaman King) will begin its run as a full-blown series in the Japanese Jump Square magazine in February. No word yet on when it will make the leap to the U.S., but both ANN and Gia think it will be soon.

David Welsh looks at some promising titles from the latest Previews at Precocious Curmudgeon.

Alex Hoffman posts his 2009 wish list at Manga Widget.

Casey Brienza discusses what moe creators could learn from Broadway musicals.

Things may be slow in the rest of the world, but Erica Friedman still finds some yuri news to report at Okazu.

At ComiPress, Matt Blind analyzes online sales and calculates the top manga for October.

News from Japan: In his latest MangaScope, Ed Chavez looks at some best-of lists and some promising new manga, including a new title from Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda. Ed also posts the Toranoana doujin rankings for your edification. ANN reports on a new manga from the illustrator of Slayers, Rui Araizumi, and the demise of both Sakura Taisen and the magazine that carries it, Magazine Z.

Reviews: Martin Butler reviews Junji Ito’s Uzumaki at his new blog, Mono no Aware. At Precocious Curmudgeon, David Welsh enjoys vols. 1 and 2 of Cross X Break but feels compelled to ask

Is there a name for the manga category that can be described as shônen-y shôjo done by boys’-love creators who don’t entirely abandon their primary category?

Lissa Pattillo checks out Seduce Me After the Show, vol. 6 of One Thousand and One Nights, and vol. 2 of A Gentlemen’s Kiss at Kuriousity. Julie reads vol. 5 of Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Andrew Wheeler warms up with three sexy manga, Object of Desire, Red Blinds the Foolish, and vol. 4 of Sundome, at ComicMix. Wilma Jandoc of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin takes a look at two short series, Lagoon Engine and Omukae Desu. Michelle Smith reviews vol. 3 of Time Stranger Kyoko and vol. 4 of Venus in Love at Soliloquy in Blue and is disappointed by vol. 1 of Phantom Dream, by Fruits Basket creator Natsuki Takaya, at Manga Recon. Justin Colussy-Estes, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoys vol. 1 of Go West! at Comics Village. Ed Chavez posts an audio review of vol. 2 of Black Lagoon at MangaCast. Casey Brienza gives You Higuri’s one-shot Angel’s Coffin a mixed review at ANN and reviews Gentle Cage at her LJ. Tiamat’s Disciple weighs in on vol. 6 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, vol. 3 of Croquis Pop, and Y Square Plus. Julie is not too impressed with vol. 2 of Kitchen Princess at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Kris takes a look at Red Blinds the Foolish, Anima, and vol. 1 of Kyo Kara MAOH! at Manic About Manga. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie posts reviews of vols. 9 and 10 of Let Dai, vol. 3 of With the Light, vols. 1 and 2 of Human Club, vols. 2 and 3 of Ikebukuro West Gate Park, vols. 16 and 17 of Boys Be…, and vol. 3 of Time Stranger Kyoko. New at Boys Next Door: Shards of Affection, White Brand, and vol. 3 of Hero Heel.

Here’s your worthwhile read for the day: At Yaoi 911, Alex Woolfson analyzes a survey of readers of translated yaoi and points out some interesting conclusions drawn from both the questions and the comments section.

The MangaCast team picks the best of this week’s new releases.

Among the missing: Ed Chavez updates his list of manga that are cancelled or simply in limbo and notes who he would like to pick up the licenses. Kris follows up with a wish list of her own at Manic About Manga.

The retrospectives are coming! The retrospectives are coming! At The Anime Almanac, Scott VonSchilling takes a look back at manga and anime in 2008 and hazards a few predictions for 2009. David Welsh lists his favorite continuing series of 2008 at Precocious Curmudgeon. Deb Aoki gives her best continuing series list as well at About.com, and she throws in her nominations for best magazine and worst manga, winding up with this trenchant comment:

Can someone tell me who are these hordes of mysterious “fans” who are clamoring for more Princess Ai, while I’m left waiting in vain for Suppli Volume 4? Siigh.

Word!

Christopher Butcher read all 18 volumes of Monster in one sitting, and he has some comments and some questions at Comics212.

In what may be an ominous sign, Johanna Draper Carlson reports that one publisher is cutting back on review copies.

The Telegraph takes a look at office-themed manga.

Yamila Abraham of Yaoi Press reflects on her decision to go with Diamond Book Distributors as YP’s distributor.

Matt Blind runs the numbers at Rocket Bomber, with a look at the top 500 manga (online sales), new releases and pre-orders (with a note that it’s awfully confusing out there right now as to what is coming out when), emerging trends report, and the rankings summary.

Translator Tomo Kimura enjoys her first taste of mahjong manga.

News from Japan: At Anime Vice, Gia reports that Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuutsi, a chibi gag manga based on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, is outselling the original. ANN reports on new launches by Minoru Toyoda (Love Roma), Yuki Tanaka (Jinja no Susume), and Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!). Here’s another one: Mai Nishitaka, creator of Venus Capriccio, has a manga in the works called Cyboy, about an attempt to create the perfect male. And in the city of Sakai, the public library has reversed a decision to restrict circulation of boys-love manga that was made after a library user complained that allowing the books to circulate freely was harmful to children and somehow constituted sexual harassment and a burden on the taxpayers as well. ANN also lists last week’s comics rankings.

Reviews: Ed Sizemore thoroughly enjoys vol. 1 of Mao-Chan at Comics Worth Reading. Ed Chavez has a podcast review up of Red Blinds the Foolish, the latest manga from est em, at MangaCast. Alex Hoffman gives vol. 1 of My-Hime a low grade but Lori Henderson gives thumbs up to vol. 1 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning at Comics Village. Connie posts reviews of vol. 14 of Hikaru no Go, vol. 10 of Monster, vol. 17 of Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 3 of Category: Freaks, vol. 4 of Variante, and vol. 1 of Sounds of Love at Slightly Biased Manga. Erica Friedman critiques vol. 2 of Day of the Revolution and Clover at Okazu. Tangognat checks out Castle of Dreams, a thick collection of short manga by Masami Tsuda, the creator of Kare Kano. Emily’s randomness generator turns up Himitsu no Oniisan at Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page. Kethylia reads the light novel Passion: Forbidden Lovers. Matthew Alexander gives a good review to vol. 1 of Vagabond (the VizBig edition) and Adrianne Hess enjoys vol. 1 of Burst Angel at Mania.com. Bill Sherman wraps up a long-running series with his look at vol. 27 of Iron Wok Jan at Blogcritics. Michelle Smith reviews vol. 4 of Monster at Soliloquy in Blue. Tiamat’s Disciple has a one-word reaction to vol. 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry: Awesome! However, he does elaborate a bit after that. Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlante reviews vols. 9 and 10 of Love*Com and posts short takes on a number of other books at Manga Life. Lissa Pattillo checks out vol. 2 of Blank Slate and guest reviewer Marsha Reid takes a look at vol. 7 of Angel Diary at Kuriousity. Julie reads vol. 4 of Parasyte and Make More Love and Peace at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Kris reviews the Dany & Dany artbook Dark Dreams as well as Black Sun and Object of Desire at Manic About Manga. At Stop, Drop, and Read!, Diana Dang gives her take on Ultimate Venus, After School Nightmare, and Bound Beauty.

As the year winds to a close, Katherine Dacey takes a year-end snapshot of the manga industry at Good Comics for Kids. Amazingly, the news isn’t all bad. Kate also makes a big announcement at Manga Recon: She’s moving on from her senior editor post and turning over the reins to the very capable Michelle Smith. While I’m delighted, because this leaves Kate more time to write for GC4K, I will miss her Manga Recon posts; she has definitely left the place in better shape than she found it.

Roland Kelts alerted me to this article in The Christian Science Monitor about the surging popularity of Japanese pop culture in the U.S.; naturally, as one of the go-to guys on the topic, he is among those quoted. The article has plenty of interesting nuggets, including an interview with the creators of The Kindaichi Case Files and the news that Sarah Palin’s glasses were Japanese.

David Welsh takes a look back at the year in manga at Precocious Curmudgeon, with lists of the best series debuts and conclusions of the year.

Deb Aoki lists her picks for the top manga of 2008 at About.com.

Matt Blind posts the top manga rankings for September 2008 at ComiPress.

At the MangaCast, Ed Chavez takes a look at the demise of Manganovel. His diagnosis: Not enough buy-in from the Japanese publishers, and as a result, not enough compelling series to draw in the readers. Ed also posts the manga list from the January Previews for those who like to plan ahead, and Simon Jones highlights upcoming manga from Previews Adult. In his New Year’s Wish List, Simon suggests breaking up Previews into several different genre-based catalogs, which strikes me as a good idea, actually.

God Len lists this week’s new releases at Japanator.

Lissa Pattillo finds a few new items on Amazon, including a possible unannounced new title for Go!Comi, and another from Kitty Media at RightStuf.

Lori Henderson finds an interesting example of supply and demand at Manga Xanadu: A back issue of Yen Plus goes for over $100 on Ebay.

Meanwhile, at the Icarus blog, Simon Jones wants to know how price-sensitive yaoi readers are. Read the comments for some responses.

PingMag, a Japanese online shopping magazine, has an interesting interview with 1960s-era mangaka Eiko Hanamura, who didn’t set out to be a manga artist but ended up having the knack.

LJ’er lynkemma links to two literary essays on Death Note at Manga Talk.

Matt Blind is highlighting some interesting manga finds at Rocket Bomber. Go take a look!

Here’s an interesting story from November that I found while cleaning out my in-box: the German government is using manga to turn Muslim youth away from extremism. Because nothing gets to teenagers like government-sponsored propaganda!

Your super-global manga moment for the day: Manga in Gaelic, drawn by a Brazilian artist.

Job board: Viz is looking for interns. (Hat tip: Charles Tan.)

News from Japan: MangaCast posts the Dec. 22 manga rankings from Taiyosha.

Reviews: The Manga Guide to Statistics gets the once-over at Slashdot. J. Caleb Mozzocco weighs in as well at Blog@Newsarama, and Mark C. Chu-Carroll focuses on the math content in his review at Good Math, Bad Math. Carlo Santos ushers in the holidays with a look at Yokaiden, Rosario+Vampire, and Beet the Vandel Buster, among others, in his latest Right Turn Only!! column. Edward Zacharias is finally inspired to write a review of vol. 19 of One Piece, after following the series all this time. Read all about it at Animanga Nation. Dale North reviews the Genshiken Official Book at Japanator. Ed Chavez podcasts his thoughts on Object of Desire and Mangamaniac Julie reviews Today’s Ulterior Motives at MangaCast. At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie goes in a different direction with a look at vol. 2 of Gantz. Tiamat’s Disciple checks out vol. 3 of Kaze no Hana and vol. 4 of Alice on Deadlines. Lissa Pattillo reads Color of Rage, vol. 4 of Freak: Legend of the Nonblonds, Shards of Affection, and vol. 5 of Moon Boy at Kuriousity. Charles Tan checks out vol. 6 of Chinese Hero at Comics Village. New at Active Anime: Scott Campbell on vol. 2 of Ghost Talker’s Daydream, Holly Ellingwood on vol. 8 of Kitchen Princess, and Rachel Bentham on Secret Moon. At Manic About Manga, Kris reads vol. 1 of breath (from new kid on the block Yaoi Generation), vol. 4 of Star Project Chiro, and The Lily and the Rose. Snow Wildsmith takes a good look at vol. 1 of breath as well at Fujoshi Librarian. Mania is making their site a bit more user-friendly by posting lists of recent reviews; recent entries include Greg Hackmann on Solanin, Robert Harris on vol. 15 of The Wallflower, Matthew Alexander on the adult title Aqua Bless, and Danielle Van Gorder on A Capable Man (another 18+ title), vol. 13 of Nana, and vol. 6 of Black Sun, Silver Moon. New at The Star of Malaysia: Shaun A. Noordin on vol. 1 of Ghost Slayers Ayashi and Kurogane on vol. 1 of S.S. Astro and vol. 1 of Nui. Alex Hoffman reads vol. 1 of Stray Little Devil at Manga Widget. Leroy Douresseaux reviews Junior Escort, vol. 1 of Princess Ai: The Prism of Midnight Dawn, and vol. 1 of Black Sun at The Comic Book Bin. AnaKhouri is not too impressed with vols. 1 and 2 of Dark Metro at Yellow Menace. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie checks out vol. 3 of Suppli, vol. 2 of Time Stranger Kyoko, Dear Myself, vol. 1 of Croquis Pop, vol. 6 of Bastard, vol. 3 of Aria, and vol. 8 of Let Dai.

ICv2 has Diamond’s top 300 graphic novels for November chart.

David Welsh looks back at Five Memorable Moments in Manga for 2008 in his latest Flipped column. Back at Precocious Curmudgeon, he puts in the good word for Suppli, a josei manga that may be in jeopardy.

I predict this will be a memorable moment of 2009: First Second, which is known for their high-quality graphic novels, will be publishing their first manhwa, The Color of Earth.

ANN updates its list of new manga expected in 2009.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman rounds up the week in yuri, provides a sneak peek at Yuri Monogatari 6, and launches her consulting service specializing in Microniche Marketing, that is, getting the word out to a niche within a niche.

John Thomas writes about end-of-the-year traditions and offers some gift ideas at Mecha Mecha Media. Also getting into the holiday spirit are Lori Henderson, who is counting down the Twelve Manga of Christmas at Manga Xanadu, and Ed Chavez, who is looking at Japanese Christmas manga covers at MangaCast.

Jonathan lists the German manga releases for December at Manly Manga and More.

News from Japan: ANN lists the top-selling manga in Japan last week (part one, part two) and notes a couple of new manga launches: Mirai Nikki: Paradox, by Sakai Esuno, in Kadokawa Shoten’s Ace Assault, and Asuka@Mirai-Kei, by Kazuhiko Shinamoto, in Shogakukan’s Monthly Sunday GX. Sensual Phrase creator Mayu Shinjo will relaunch Ayakashi no Koi Emaki in the Jan. 5 issue of Margaret.

Reviews: Here’s a new find: Stop, Drop, and Read, where teenager Diana Dang posts brief reviews of what she’s been reading lately, including vol. 1 of Koi Cupid and Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventure in Japan. At Comics Village, Katherine Farmar reads one of my favorites, vol. 1 of ES: Eternal Sabbath. Michelle Smith is unimpressed by vol. 25 of Bleach but looks more favorably on vol. 13 of Monster and vol. 2 of Cat Street at Soliloquy in Blue. Mangamaniac Julie reviews Today’s Ulterior Motives at MangaCast and Object of Desire and vol. 2 of Blank Slate at the Manga Maniac Cafe. At Okazu, Erica Friedman continues her look at vol. 14 of Yuri Hime and also checks out vol. 2 of Girl Friends. Greg McElhatton reviews vol. 1 of Yokaiden at Read About Comics.