Otakuism

A lot of announcements at this year’s Comic-con, the newly annual trades show for manga licensors. Some interesting stuff announced along with the usual mid-rank titles you never hear of. Here’s the announcements from the top three, and probably overall most popular, companies.

Viz:

- Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Ogiwara Noriko
- Muhyo and Rosie’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by Nishi Yoshiyuki
- GYO by Ito Junji
- Uzumaki by Ito Junji
- Togari by Yoshinori Natsume
- Portus
- Hoshin Engi by Fujisaki Ryu
- Gintama by Sorachi Hideaki
- Pretty Face by Kano Yasuhiro
- Strawberry 100% by Kawashita Mizuki
- Millenium Snowby Hatori Bisco
- Yurara by Shiomi Chika (??)
- Love Com by Nakahara Aya

Gintama’s already been releasing chapters in Shounen Jump for awhile now, and Strawberry 100%, more commonly known as Ichigo 100%, was already announced some time back in the summer. Apparently GYO and Uzumaki are series Viz already printed, probably back in the nineties, and are going to be reprinted now. If your going to reprint titles, then why not do Sanctuary? It deserves a proper release and would go perfectly in the Viz Signature line next to Monster. The rest of the series I really don’t know much about, though I recall Pretty Face being popular, or maybe I heard wrong. Of the new titles Muhyo and Rosie’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (picured above) looks the most interesting to me. Though whether I end up buying it is something completely different.

Tokyopop

- Full Metal Panic! by: Shouji Gatou/Shiki Doji
- Welcome to the NHK by: Takimoto Tatsuhiko
- Pick of the Litter! by Suda Yuriko
- KuruiZaki no Hana by Mizuki Hakase
- Baku by Mizuki Hakase
- Cherry Juice by Fukushima Haruka
- Takumi-Kun Series by Barefoot Waltz (BLU Manga)
- Alex Unlimited by Dan Jolley (PopFiction)

If you look at that list then you’ll see that Light Novel fans have a lot to be happy about, with both the Full Metal Panic! series and the NHK light novel picked up. As a fan I love this, but a part of me grimaces that Tokyopop got them. It’s mainly do to my continuing annoyance with their crappy novel production values and their refusal to use the already good cover art for their own shoddy designs. And their press announcements always sound so high and mighty, like how their whole manga on cellphones system is akin to the second coming of christ. Please get over yourself Tokyopop. There are far better publishers than you out there. As for the other titles nothing really interesting. Your usual mixture of hasbeen titles TP seems to love. Calling You, an excellent little light novel that Andrew Cunningham reviewed here, is finally given a release date of June, even though it was supposed to be out in January. Sounds just like Kino no Tabi. I should probably end this now before it becomes ten paragraphs worth of tokyopop hate.

Del Rey:

- Shiki Tsukai by Zekuu Tooru
- Pumpkin Scissors by Iwanaga Ryoutarou
- Aventura by Midorikawa Shin
- Psycho Busters by Aoki Yuuya

Ah, Del Rey. My second favorite publisher next to Seven Sea’s. Probably the most stand-out title on that short list is Pumpkin Scissors. I stopped watching the anime at episode six, but I’ve heard the manga is a lot better so I’ll probably pick it up. As an aside, did the anime get any better later on? Should I try it again or just leave it? The rest of the titles I don’t know that much about, but their probably not that bad. I wonder when Del Rey will license the Kujibiki Unbalance manga, once it’s collected in volumes that is? Cause you know they have to now. Now for the lesser known companies who aren’t releasing anything I know:

Seven Sea’s:

- Lamp no Ou-sama by Shigematsu Takako
- Hikkatsu! by Yagami Yu
- Kanna by Kirishima Takeru
- Love Master A by Hashimoto Kyouko
• OEL Manga:
- Masque of the Red Death by: Wendy Pini

CMX:

- Two Flowers of the Dragon by Kusakawa Nari
- Venus in Love by Nakaji Yuuki
- Tears of a Lamb by Hidaka Banri
- King of Cards by Tateno Makoto
- I Hate You More than Anyone by Hidaka Banri

Dark Horse:

- Oh! My Goddess - First End by Yumi Touma