Hello readers! Vernieda checking in from the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, where we’re kicking off April with showers. Hopefully, that means we’ll indeed get flowers in May!
Over the past couple years, we’ve been seeing lots of Kickstarters to bring over classic manga like Osamu Tezuka’s extensive catalog and more recently, anime like Escaflowne and Skip Beat! The most recent beneficiary of this trend is classic manga Kimagure Orange Road, the love triangle romantic comedy from the 1980s. KOR was one of the very first anime I ever watched back in the day (a friend of mine was really into the series), so it’d be great to introduce the manga to a whole new generation of fans.
Speaking of blasts from the past, Kazuya Minekura’s Saiyuki Reload Blast has gone on hiatus in Japan due to the mangaka’s poor health. That’s such a shame but to be honest, I hadn’t even realized the series was still being serialized! I was so into this manga back in the day but TOKYOPOP’s demise put a damper on that. I wonder if the current batch of manga readers even knows what Saiyuki is? Such a tragedy, if they don’t. Minekura’s artstyle is amazing.
After a slow start to 2016, it looks like we’re getting into the swing of things for new manga licenses. VIZ Media announced their plans to release horror master Junji Ito’s debut classic manga, Tomie, this winter. Shame on me. I hadn’t even realized that Tomie was his debut work! Yen Press also announced several new licenses, as well as their intention to release print versions of a few currently digital-only titles.
Fans in Australia and New Zealand, rejoice! Simon & Schuster will now be distributing VIZ Media’s extensive catalog in your countries.
And to round things off, I leave you this short manga, adapted from a short story originally published on 2ch. Warning: Have some tissues ready, just in case. I take no responsibility for racoon eyes caused by smeared mascara or eyeliner.
See you next week!
