Last week, Claire and I discussed the divide between comics and manga, the basic thrust of which is: manga are comics; comics are manga. But you know, sometimes words fail us all. Let’s dive into this debate using—what else?—a comic!
Shinbun Saturday: New Film Adaptations, New Licenses, New Chapters!
NYCC manga industry round-up New York Comic Con took place last weekend and the manga industry played a pretty big role! While I’m sure a lot of this had to do with Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto) being a guest, that was still great to see. The biggest news to come out of NYCC is probably the…
Manga are Comics. Comics are Manga.
In the world of visual storytelling, there exists a divide. You see, there are manga fans, and there are comics fans, and seldom the twain do meet.
NYCC 2015: A Q&A with Kodansha Comics
I was at New York Comic Con (NYCC) this past weekend, and got the opportunity to sit, and chat with the Kodansha execs: Mr. Hiroaki Morita (President of Kodansha Advance Media/Vice-President of Kodansha) Mr. Kohei Furukawa (President and CEO of Kodansha USA/Vice-President and Head of Rights, Media, Digital, and International at Kodansha) Mr. Yasumasa Shimizu (Senior Vice-President…
Shinbun Saturday: A Ninja Manga Goes Out with Style
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…
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…
5 Shoujo Manga Characters and the Boy Band Members Who Played Them
If there’s one thing the 90s left me as a legacy, it’s an undeniable weakness for boy bands. My tween existence played out against background music from *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, and a couple one-hit wonders that ended up on mixtapes I’d make on Sunday afternoon. As I’ve grown up, those Sunday afternoons sometimes involved…
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…