October marks the English-language series finale of Naruto Naruto may have ended in Japan last year, but VIZ Media released the final volume of the long-running ninja manga earlier this week. To celebrate the occasion, VIZ Media is offering exclusive bundles collecting all 72 volumes of the series on VIZManga.com and ComiXology. In addition, the Naruto…
Attack on NYCC: Kodansha Teases Big Manga Announcement
New York Comic-con is officially in full swing, and people are lining up for the most popular events–including some of our own WWACers! In addition to celebrity panels and autograph sessions, there are sure to be some major announcements. I’m hoping for new North American manga licenses myself, but maybe that’s just me being greedy….
Shinbun Saturday: Manga, Angels, and Tentacle Monsters
More Assassination Classroom action on the way Can get enough of a certain alien tentacle monster? Don’t worry! Yusei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom is getting a spin-off series next month. Slated to run in Saikyou Jump, Koro-sensei Q! will be drawn and written by Kizuku Watanabe and Jou Aoto and feature the titular character as a…
Academic Shockwave: Japanese Universities Set to Cut Humanities and Social Sciences Programs
Forget the age-old rivalry between the hard sciences and liberal arts. Last June, the Japanese Education Minister requested that the country’s universities cut their programs in the humanities and social sciences. Instead of offering courses in economics, literature, and law, the proposal advised higher academic institutions to focus on the more “practical” STEM disciplines to…
Sunday Art Gala: WWAC Peanutized for The Peanuts Movie
If there’s one thing we love here at WWAC, it’s making adorable avatars of ourselves in various formats. With the upcoming release of The Peanuts Movie, we happily Snoopy-danced our way over to the Peanutizer to produce these little gems and share our special memories of Charlie Brown and the gang.
Shinbun Saturday: Japanese Company To Debut Popular Ebook Store in English
Kadokawa to launch English-language version of their online bookstore Japanese company Kadokawa will be launching an English-language version of BookWalker, their online ebook store, this fall. One of Japan’s largest publishing and entertainment companies, Kadokawa will be adding 700+ manga and light novel titles to the etailer in October. Fans will likely recognize some of…
Sex, Drugs, and Being Whole : Welcome to the World of Gangsta
It’s hard being an older fan of manga and anime. Think about the most popular titles: Naruto, Attack on Titan, and Noragami. Do you notice a pattern? About their protagonists maybe? That’s right. They’re teenagers. Even up-and-coming Tokyo Ghoul features young college students. That’s nice and all, but what about those of us who are…
Happily Never After vs Aggressive Heteronormativity: Families in Naruto
Long-running ninja shounen manga series, Naruto, concluded late last year with Chapter 700. It’s a finale that’s gone down in history as a serious competitor with the Harry Potter epilogue for Most Banal Ending Award. Why? Much like Harry Potter, everyone gets paired. Everyone. Yes, even that person. While the ship wars may lead you…
Shinbun Saturday: TOKYOPOP Aims for 2016 Relaunch
TOKYOPOP talks more about its future plans TOKYOPOP sent waves through the industry earlier this year at Anime Expo when they announced their intention to get back into the manga business. Some of it stirred up memories about the company’s influence on the North American manga scene; others raised concerns about their questionable contracts. More…
He Blinded Me With Science, or The Science of Attack on Titan
The Science of Attack on Titan Writer: Rikao Tanagita Illustrations: Hajime Isayama and Maru Fujishima Translation: Ko Ransom Kodansha Comics June 2015 The ubiquitous Attack on Titan strikes again! We have the original manga, spin-off series, light novels, anime adaptations, live action movies, videogames, and now…a pop science book? Not the first thing that would…
Shinbun Saturday: Famous Mangaka Bids Twitter Farewell
Bleach creator leaves social media Fans of the series were caught off-guard by Tite Kubo’s sudden departure from Twitter on September 10, sans a specific explanation from the creator. Kubo’s only message was “[Notice] Tomorrow night, after about 24 hours I will delete my Twitter account. Until that time, please direct message me.” His account…
Shinbun Saturday: Manga Continues Its Digital Expansion
More Manga Hits ComiXology Earlier this week, VIZ Media announced that manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump would now be available on ComiXology. Now English-language speakers can read the latest chapters of One Piece and Bleach on the same day they’re released in Japan. Kodansha Comics also joins the digital platform, adding more than 350 manga…