Here’s my look at this week’s new manga releases at MTV Geek.

It’s a good time to be a yaoi fan, as the new releases, digital and print, just keep on coming. Animate USA announced several new titles, including Kou Yoneda’s one-shot Kanjou Spectrum, and Viz’s brand-new imprint SuBLime Manga announced two more, Youka Nitta’s Kiss Ariki and Hinako Takanaga’s Awkward Silence. Digital Manga announced more new titles, both print and digital, via Twitter.

If that’s not your cup of tea, head over to JManga, which announced five new digital releases this week (including the foodie manga Kodoku no Gourmet) and will have ten more for us next week.

The Manga Moveable Feast continues its focus on Osamu Tezuka this week, and Kate Dacey rounds up all the Day Two commentary at The Manga Critic.

News from Japan: Hikaru Nakamura, who is back from maternity leave, will resume work on Saint Young Men in issue 56 of Morning 2, which is out next month.

Reviews

Carlo Santos on vol. 9 of Bakuman (ANN)
Sean T. Collins on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (Attentiondeficitdisorderly)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Princess Knight (Okazu)
Anna on vol. 6 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Toriko (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Joy Kim on Twin Spica (Joy Kim)

On the other hand, John Jakala is wondering why Viz has released so few digital volumes of non-Shonen Jump manga lately.

Sakura Con is looking amazingly good this year; ANN has the guest lineup, which includes Kodansha editor Katsushi Ota, Toradora! artist Zekkyō, and Full Metal Panic artist Retsu Tateo.

These things are never guaranteed, but ANN has spotted a listing for a graphic adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon, presumably a followup to the Twilight graphic novels published by Yen Press.

Reviews

Lori Henderson on vols. 14 and 15 of Black Jack (Manga Village)
Connie on vol. 3 of Blue Exorcist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on The Book of Human Insects (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on Chayamachi’s Collection: BLANC (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Chobits (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 3 of Cross Game (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 12 of Kimi ni Todoke (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 6 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Tenjho Tenge (The Comic Book Bin)

Meanwhile, at Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo spots some new yaoi titles in digital and in print from Digital Manga, Yaoi Press, and SuBLime.

Returning to the present, the Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast celebrates the work of Osamu Tezuka, and your host Kate Dacey kicks it off with an introduction to Tezuka at The Manga Critic. Connie adds a Guide to English Language Editions of Tezuka’s Work at Slightly Biased Manga. Rob McMonigal adds his appreciation of Tezuka at Panel Patter. Lori Henderson focuses on Tezuka in her Manga Wrap-Up post, and Kate rounds up all the MMF links in her Day One post, and here’s an odd bit of Tezuka news: The Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa is about to publish an original comic that uses Tezuka’s characters, an arrangement that sprang from the friendship between the two creators and has been blessed by Tezuka’s editor.

Michelle Smith discusses reading Viz manga on the Nook, and Melinda Beasi and Sean Gaffney review some new JManga selections, in the latest Going Digital column at Manga Bookshelf.

Erica Friedman has the latest yuri anime and manga news in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

ANN’s Brian Hanson sums up the problem with Mangastream, and all of scanlation: “Essentially, our little niche fandom has done a great job of supporting itself, but a terrible job of supporting anything resembling an actual industry.” And if you haven’t read Deb Aoki’s editorial, go check it out now, and don’t miss the lively discussion in the comments section.

Helen McCarthy has some thoughts on Eric Khoo’s film Tatsumi.

News from Japan: The nominees for the 16th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize have been announced, and they include Chica Umino’s March Comes In Like a Lion and Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan, which Kodansha Comics will be publishing in English later this year. Crunchyroll’s Mikikazu Komatsu takes a look at Kochi Indies Magazine, which is aimed at aspiring manga-ka. Also: Here are some scans of a K-ON! x One Piece doujinshi to start your week off right. Shun Matsuena is drawing a Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple spinoff for Shonen Sunday to celebrate the release of the OVA.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith turn in some short reviews of recent yaoi manga in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown discusses this week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Justin on Ayako (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (Okazu)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana and vol. 18 of Hayate the Combat Butler (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Honey Hunt (Blogcritics)
Carlo Santos on vol. 55 of Naruto (Anime News Network)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Soulless (The Manga Critic)

Jason Thompson discusses one of my favorite manga, Disappearance Diary, in his House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Tony Yao wonders what Viz will do once Naruto and Bleach have ended.

At Okazu Erica Friedman compiles a handy list of yuri manga available outside of Japan and picks up on some new yuri titles at JManga.

Derek Bown’s latest Combat Commentary focuses on a battle of wills, not fists in Bakuman.

Matt Blind is catching up with another post on manga best-sellers (online sales) for the week ending February 5 and another Manga Radar post to go with it.

Khursten Santos spots a Kaoru Mori collection she would like to see licensed.

Manga/anime/figurine collector Safetygirl shows off her dedicated Otaku Room at The Manga Critic.

If you read French, check out this 31-page preview of the Square Enix manga Lost Paradise at Manga news.

News from Japan: Manga-ka Hikaru Nakamura is returning from maternity leave and will resume work on Arakawa Under the Bridge; no word on her other manga, Saint Young Men. Three Steps Over Japan takes a peek inside the covers of Monthly Shonen Magazine.

Reviews: Omar posts some short reviews of recent manga at About Heroes.

Leroy Douresseaux on The Art of The Secret World of Arrietty (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Cardcaptor Sakura (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on Chou no you ni, Hana no you ni (Okazu)
Kristin on vols. 10-12 of Kimi ni Todoke (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1 and 2 of One Missed Call (Manga Xanadu)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
TSOTE on Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sweetpea616 on part 2 of Tramps Like Us (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (Experiments in Manga)
Kinukitty on Yakuza Cafe (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Jocelyne Allen on Yume no Q-SAKU (untranslated manga by Suehiro Maruo) (Brain Vs. Blog)

Kate Dacey has the 411 on Kodoku no Gourmet, a foodie manga coming soon to JManga.

Ed Sizemore talks to Helen McCarthy, Ada Palmer, and Kate Dacey about gender roles in Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight in the latest Manga Out Loud podcast.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber asks the readers: Should she make the switch to digital in the middle of a series?

Matt Blind has the latest manga best-sellers and a new Manga Radar post as well at Manga Bookshelf.

Erica Friedman looks at Shueisha’s brand new magazine Cocohana, billed as a shoujo magazine for adults.

The American miniseries I Kill Giants has won the Japanese government’s International Manga Award.

News from Japan: AstroNerdBoy has been following Ken Akamatsu’s Tweets, which contain some interesting news: Akamatsu is no longer exclusive to Kodansha (the end of his contract coincides neatly with the end of Negima!), and he has gotten his original art back for a number of series. AstroNerdBoy speculates that Akamatsu may do his next manga on his free manga site J-Comi, possibly following up with print tankoubons. In other news, the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 manga will begin serialization in Newtype Ace with a 63-page opening chapter. Futabasha is suing three Chinese companies who are using Crayon Shin-Chan on their products without authorization. The manga museum in Ishinomaki, which was severely damaged in the earthquake and tsunami last year, has put up a display of manga art in 35 local stores. The Mainichi Daily News looks at the popularity of One Piece, suggesting that its message of hope and loyalty resonates in these uncertain times. And ANN has the most recent Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: It’s time for another round of rapid-fire reviews from Carlo Santos in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

Kristin on vol. 18 of 20th Century Boys and vol. 4 of Kingyo Used Books (Comic Attack)
Alexander Hoffman on Breathe Deeply (Manga Village)
Anna on vol. 1 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Manga Report)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Drifters (The Manga Critic)
Justin S. on vol. 1 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ken Haley on vols. 1 and 2 of Gunsmith Cats: Burst (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of Hayate the Combat Butler (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate Dacey on How to Draw Shoujo Manga (The Manga Critic)
Joseph Luster on vol. 3 of No Longer Human (Otaku USA)
Kristin on One Piece Color Walk 2 and vol. 7 of Toriko (Comic Attack)
Kelakagandy on vol. 1 of Soulless (kelakagandy’s ramblings)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of The Tyrant Falls in Love (Kuriousity)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Uglies: Shay’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)

And while you’re translating thought into action, drop in to Manga Bookshelf and enter their Valentines Day giveaway–you could be the lucky winner of vol. 1 of 13th Boy.

With Shonen Jump Alpha up and running, and most of the bugs shaken out, Viz is adding a stick to their carrots: Yesterday the scanlation group Mangastream announced it was dropping Viz titles under pressure from the publisher. AstroNerdBoy adds more commentary on the Mangastream affair, including his opinion on what they—and Viz—are doing wrong. Deb Aoki has a clear-eyed editorial at About.com, pointing out that as aggrieved as the Mangastream folks may be, in the end, they don’t own the content.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Reviews: It’s a new week and time for a new set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown recounts a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Amy Grockl on An Arranged Marriage (Manga Village)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Bed of My Dear King (Comics Worth Reading)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Devil and Her Love Song (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jia Li on Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll (Manga Bookshelf)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Anna on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on Seasons (Okazu)

Erica Friedman rounds up the latest yuri news at Okazu.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has a question for her readers: What is your favorite Tezuka manga?

Do you read Bleach for the poetry? Tony Yao enjoys it, and he posts a few of his favorite Tite Kubo poems at Manga Therapy.

A Scottish fan shows off her manga collection to The Manga Critic, Kate Dacey.

Wandering Son is the first manga to make it on to the American Library Association’s Rainbow List of GLBT-friendly books.

Kimagure Orange Road creator Izumi Matsumoto will be a guest at Katsucon this weekend.

News from Japan: Ken Akamatsu is winding up Negima, and AstroNerdBoy has his Facebook post saying that the series is not being truncated, and that this will be a “good ending.”

Reviews: Jocelyne Allen takes a look at Hakoniwa Mushi, a book of short manga by Akino Kondoh, and she shows off some of the striking art at Brain Vs. Book. This manga hasn’t been translated into English yet, but I’d love to see it.

Connie on vol. 8 of Arata: The Legend (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on vol. 9 of Bakuman (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 15 of Black Jack (Slightly Biased Manga)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 17 of Black Jack (Genji Press)
Connie on vols. 1 and 2 of Blue Exorcist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 2 and 3 of Cage of Eden (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Chobits (Blogcritics)
Connie on Dost Thou Know? (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 9 of Future Diary (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Gorgeous Carat Galaxy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson and Alex Hoffman on High School of the Dead (Manga Village)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of Love Hina (omnibus edition)
Connie on vol. 1 of Love Pistols (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 9 of Mars (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on Men of Tattoos (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vols. 4 and 5 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Slightly Biased Manga)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 3 of No Longer Human (Genji Press)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Only Serious About You (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 17 of Ouran High School Host Club (ANN)
Connie on Poison (You Higuri artbook) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Ratman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Recipe for Gertrude (Slightly Biased Manga)
Carlo Santos on vol. 4 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (The Comic Book Bin)
Justin on A Zoo in Winter (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

Shaenon Garrity is the guest writer for this week’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN, and she picks a good one: Mars, by Fuyumi Soryo, who went on to make one of my favorite manga, ES: Eternal Sabbath.

AstroNerdBoy notes a new translation team for Kodansha’s Love Hina omnibuses: Alethea and Athena Nibley (whose other credits include Fruits Basket) will be taking over.

Reviews: Wolfen Moondaughter discusses four yaoi manga at Sequential Tart. At The Manga Critic, Kate Dacey goes on two second dates with vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana and vol. 2 of Gate 7, but only one is a keeper.

Wolfen Moondaughter on The Bed of My Dear King (Sequential Tart)
Chris Beveridge on vol. 8 of Chi’s Sweet Home (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 16 of Higurashi: When They Cry (The Fandom Post)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 1 of Husband, Honeymoon (Sequential Tart)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 2 of Love Hina (omnibus edition) (Sequential Tart)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 1 of Love Pistols (Sequential Tart)
Angela Eastman on vol. 6 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Fandom Post)
Wolfen Moondaughter on Oku-San’s Daily Fantasies (Sequential Tart)
Sakura Eries on vol. 6 of Oresama Teacher (The Fandom Post)
Paige McKee on vol. 3 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Sequential Tart)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (Sequential Tart)
Erica Friedman on Yurikan Miel (Okazu)

I picked over this week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo does the same in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney takes a look at next week’s new manga.

At ANN, Carlo Santos does a side-by-side comparison of Viz’s digital manga on the Nook and the iPad. One caveat: Some of his criticisms of the way page turns work on the Nook are based on a pre-release version of the software that has since been corrected. However, he has plenty of other things to say regarding screen size, interface, and the reading experience, so just keep his introductory note in mind as you read the article.

Matt Blind has a new set of manga best-sellers (drawn from online sales) and a new edition of Manga Radar with some old and new manga for him to add to his 10,000-title database.

Derik Bown pits Alucard agaisnt Alexander Anderson in his latest Combat Commentary post at Manga Bookshelf.

If you can read French, check out this interview with Atsushi Kaneko, creator of Bambi and Her Pink Gun and SOIL, who passed through Paris on his way to Angouleme.

News from Japan: Black Jack is back! Akita Shoten will revive the classic Tezuka comic with new stories based on real medical experiences sent in by readers. There’s no word on who will write or draw it, but really—what could possibly go wrong? The French site Manga news has word of two series that are ending soon, Boku ha Beatles and Aishiterutte Itte mo ii yo. The 13th volume of Evangelion—the first in two years—is on the way. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Danica Davidson on vol. 3 of Ai Ore (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 38 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Danica Davidson on Manga Shakespeare: Othello (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Danica Davidson on vol. 5 of My Girlfriend’s a Geek (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 12 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Poor Poor Lips

JManga has three new titles up this week: Vol. 1 of Japan Sinks, by Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito; I Love You, Chief Clerk, a yaoi manga; and the yuri title Poor Poor Lips, which was localized in partnership with ALC Publishing. At her blog, Okazu, ALC principal Erica Friedman asks readers to e-mail JManga and urge them to set up a global yuri portal—right now the manga is restricted to North American readers, and that’s just bogus.

AstroNerdBoy outlines his vision for Kodansha’s upcoming edition of Genshiken Nidaime.

Have you fallen behind on a series or two? Do you just feel like a manga binge? Either way, check out Barnes & Noble’s three-for-two manga sale, which runs through tomorrow. The deal is for online purchases only, and it can’t be combined with other discounts, but still… three for the price of two!

News from Japan: Details are still sketchy, but Bunny Drop creator Yumi Unita will launch a new series, tentatively titled Itohen, in the April issue of Feel Young. Meanwhile, the 10th and final volume of Bunny Drop will be out in March. Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond will resume serialization in Kodansha’s Morning magazine next month, after a long hiatus due first to Inoue’s health problem and then to his loss of enthusiasm for the series.

Reviews

Kristin on vol. 3 of Blue Exorcist and vol. 12 of Black Bird (Comic Attack)
Brad Rice on vol. 1 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Japanator)
Lori Henderson on The Innocent (Manga Xanadu)
Animemiz on Wandering Son (Anime Diet)