Viz Manga

I tried Viz Manga. The manga viewing is pretty much like the sigikki site, although I think sigikki is easier to learn, and there's no paid component.(Viz makes up for that by taking older chapters off the site) You pay with paypal, and then you can view the manga in a flash based website. You have your own 'my manga' tab, so you can reread as much as possible. The manga is also the right price for digital. With print books, they will try to make a book cost $10, despite the fact that you can't resell it, and the fact that you're dependent on the company to keep supporting the product. But $5 is good for a digital 'rental'.

Due to its website based design, Viz Manga isn't 'portable' for that, you need to actually buy a book. But I think it's a good way to read those manga which you don't want to reread or have cluttering up your home. I'm pleased with this. I hope that in the future, companies will use digital manga as a way of releasing titles that are more niche.

Fantagraphics and Manga

An aside here from this great essay on Tokyopop and the page rate. Someone mentioned that Fantagraphics manga would be inaccessible to the youth. I think that Fantagraphics' manga line will echo it's American comics line. They have a lot of classics of the cartoon age, quirky indie comics, and the like. You probably won't see Samurai Harem from them, and their presentation will echo the content. It's the same as Vertical, which publishes a lot of art manga- Twin Spica has its original covers and Black Jack has a lovely artsy design.

I think there's plenty of places for manga to grow. The youth market is fairly well covered with everything from One Piece to Card Captor Sakura. Art manga is also growing with books like A Druken Dream and Ayako. Of course, I think we need more josei and yuri manga, but that may just be my personal preference. However, I am the sort of person who supports manga with my dollars instead of merely complaining, so...

For god's sake

Liscence the series that the Fruits Basket mangaka did after Fruits Basket. Even if they don't achieve mega best seller status, I think they'd have respectable sales.

Okazu's comments are interesting as Erika implores fans to think deeply about the market.

Tokyopop Falls

As they say the end of an era. I will post deeper thoughts later, but for now, I'm sad that just when Gakuen Alice was getting a plot(vol 16 was almost all plot, a very rare occurrence!), Tokyopop has to close down.

Yet again, you're not entitled to manga

You're not entitled to steal the books off the shelves, you're not entitled to have the volumes the instant they get off the press in Japan. (although I wonder about people who always need the newest thing the second it's created- they don't have a backlog at all? I have anime that I haven't watched from Christmas! I have not seen all of Wandering Son, and I love Wandering Son! I've finally gotten through most of my April release manga, but there's tons of stuff I haven't been able to read.)

Borders is more important than I thought

Apparently Borders was Toykopop's biggest cutomer. Even if I can't find Oresama Teacher or Eensy Weensy Monster(*blushes* stupid title, cute manga) on the Border's shelves....*sigh*

I bought House of Five Leaves instead. I love the 'ugly' art, the character studies, the many threads of obligation and desire that drag Masa into the Five Leaves... I want to buy the second volume and then read the whole third volume and then buy the third volume when it comes out.

Focus on Manga

Layoffs at Tokyopop Really, instead of useless reality shows or crappy low budget movies, focus on manga. Focus on quality. My Lady Kanako book has plenty of typos, even though it costs more than a similar book by another publisher. There's a recession on, and focusing on what made you a viable company in the first place may be the first path to weathering it. And making it so I can read old backlist manga on my kindle. But definitely, we don't need more reality shows.

For Fuck's Sake, Buy a Book

Create a job- buy a book. I'll often support web comics and other stuff by buying since I know that the economy is so rough. One more book sold is more opportunity for someone to make a living, and also for auxiliary jobs- editor, publisher, print dude, dude who puts books on shelves. So don't be a cheap fucking wad. Buy a book today. I did. (OK, it was Alice in the Country of Hearts Vol 4, all of which were near the front of the bookstore instead of in their designated place. But I bought a book like object, which is what counts.)

Manga Criticism and Skip Beat 22

The dynamic in the thread is interesting- a woman states that some may not want to deal with mansplainers, stalkers and other wackos while discussing manga, and some dude is like OMG, YOU'RE OVERREACTING!

Now, personally, I don't intellectually criticize manga because really, as a person who has no idea about the cultural context of manga, and who while I do sometimes enjoy vague 'intellectual' grumblings, I'm not interested enough to put much effort into creating them. Even if I wrote a 3000 word essay about the similarities between Tohru and Akito and how that contrast exemplifies the theme of redemption in Fruits Basket, really, is that even necessary?

I think we just have our own fan culture and folks need to try to understand it before they comment on it. For example, most of us rely on translations, so even if the stories are 30 years old, many of us have not read them- we have to rely on whether we can find either illegal translations or the good will of a company. Even manga that was released in the early 00s can be difficult to find in translation, and the conversations of people who read the official volumes only versus those who don't can diverge rather widely due to the time lag in between.

Instead of going on and on about theory, I'll review Skip Beat volume 22. I'm glad that we've gotten back to what's interesting in this manga- Kyoko's growth as an actress. Ren's acting lessons of course are shoehorned in here for Ren/Kyoko fans, but luckily, that doesn't detract much from Kyoko's amazing turnaround. I also liked how Chidori represents one possible future for Kyoko that she has avoided using her talent, and her luck. I was slightly surprised that Kyoko was able to apply makeup so well due to the fact she doesn't usually use it, but then again, that's within supension of disbelief. Overall, a satisfactory volume.

There are many things that don't need a movie

and Fruits Basket is one of them! Why doesn't Fruits Basket need a movie? Well, the first reason is that very few things really need a movie. The part of Fruits Basket I loved required time. It took time to develop relationships, it took time for us to understand the Sohma family dynamics- until volume 13 or so, we didn't know Akito's role or why her word was absolute, for example. What movies don't have is time.

Another reason is that Fruits Basket has loads of characters. There are 14 cursed people- all 12 of the original Chinese zodiac, Kyo, the cat, and Akito, the god. The interactions between these loads of characters is why Fruits Basket is popular. It's not because of people bumping into girls and turning into animals! Nor is it because of Hollywood style romance. We see friendship grow first, and then, tenderness, and then, love. The emotional weight of that such as it is can't really be expressed in a love montage.

There are other issues, such as the fact that the Sohma compound is very well...Japanese. I can imagine Shigure's house in America, and maybe the school, but not the compound. I of course wonder why every movie has to be set in America or fantasyland. There are so many great stories in America- women's stories, black people's stories, Arab people's stories, Latin@ stories, Native American stories- that aren't being told in film. Why go to some other country and butcher their comic book by Americanizing them when we have so many great ideas here?










More people reacting in pure horror

By The Way

Tokyopop wastes more money on stuff no one likes, and the mystery of why Princess Ai keeps coming out is solved.

BTW: Gakuen Alice vol 13 avoids doing something wacky like advancing the plot. But Gakuen Alice 14 sounds like it might actually advance the plot. Oddly, these volumes are coming out fairly quickly- it seems like it'd be 2 months between volumes instead of 3 or 4.

Also, Slam Dunk has very appealing art.

I feel better now

about my habit of going to Borders every week if they have a decent coupon. I of course buy the less expensive manga, as the cost of American comics is ridiculous. I can understand Fantagraphics stuff having a higher price point as they are 'art' comics, but commercial works like Spiderman don't need to be $20 for a thin book. I like manga since it's blatently commercial, delivering up my romance, sci fi, and bang zoom at a sensible price.

People are discussing people looking down on shoujo manga because it's girly I say let them look down their noses. Good storytelling and good art remain so whether it's a adventure series about retrieving the robes of a goddess and fighting off evil people who are genetic manipulators or an adventure story about people battling demons.
[The first is Ceres Celestial Legend, the second...every manga ever, but especially DGrayMan] I agree that people think that because something is marketed at teen girls it might be bad, which is silly- teen girls are people foremost. They love action, they love comedy, yes, they love romance, but all of those can be woven into stories that entertain and that enlighten. One loses out on good art if they are narrowly into "It's not marketed to me."

But I guess another issue is the fact that "everyone" is supposed to love "men's" things, but only women can like "women's" things, just like white movies are for "everyone" but "black" movies are for blacks. When we blindly believe things like that, we cut our selves off from good art, and that's inexcusable.

Top Ten Library Manga

Someone asked what top ten manga every library should have:

1)Naruto- it's popular for the kiddies.
2)Fruits Basket- I love shoujo.
3)To Terra- A classic that stretches the bounds of manga.
4)Yotsuba&!- All ages
5)Twin Spica- satisfies both literary manga lovers and young people.
6)Full Metal Alchemist- boys adventure.
7)Tramps like Us- Introduction to Josei.
8)Bunny Drop- a sweet story about fatherhood
9)Black Jack- Tezuka is required.
10)The Clique Manga- hahaha. OK, maybe that's a joke. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Also, top ten american comics:

1)Sandman-a classic
2)Runaways- OK, that's just my interest
3)Fun Home-literary graphic novel
4)Scott Pilgrim- is awesome.
5)Spiderman- for the kiddies.
6)Love and Rockets- a classic
7)Little Lulu- for the kiddies. Also,classic comic fans.
8)Peanuts Collections- those nice fantagraphics ones
9)Stuck Rubber Baby- a rare classic. [gay interest]
10)Jimmy Corrigan? I wish you guys could put Templar Arizona on your shelves.

I can't stop crying

I read Nana vol 21. I cried not just for Ren, not just for everything that had happened, but because this is the last. Yazawa's health is more important than manga, so I thank her for her great effort. I'm really grateful from the bottom of my heart.

A Wishlist

I wish that Viz would make a VizBig edition of Ceres Celestial Legend. I've been reading it through the library, although sadly they are missing plenty of volumes. Netflix is also missing a lot of volumes of anime- no Code Geass R2, and only half of Welcome to the NHK, which I'm super obsessed with now. I guess people are cutting down on movie rentals, but come on!

I would like to thank the people in charge of buying manga for the Memphis Public Library for buying To Terra, Black Jack and Andromedia Stories, so that more people can enjoy classic manga.

Not entitled!

Scanalation sites made to take down licensed titles. I don't blame Viz and others at all! You can't make money off of other people's work, and expect them not to have something to say about that. Works like fansubs and scanlations stayed off the radar because people had the sense to stop disturbing licensed works, making it seem more like legitimate fan work than just making a quick profit. Now that thin veneer has been wiped away, of course folks are going to crack down.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again- WE'RE NOT ENTITLED TO MANGA. Yep! You're not entitled to read DGrayMan for free! Now, thanks to the library, I do, but if the library stopped buying volumes or doesn't have the latest, I'm not going to bitch the library out. I'm not entitled to anyone's creations.

The Problem of Scanlation is Discussed

Intelligently, and without a bunch of excuses. I especially like the comment that mentioned that official publications tend to run behind. This of course divides the fans into those who follow the official releases and those who don't. People want to be in the loop. I wouldn't mind a month's delay and post them online, just as long as they put them in books, sort of a modified Ikki model. I don't really like reading manga on a screen, and so I'll want books.

Vintage Manga

I have to admit I am behind on my vintage manga collecting. Black Jack is one thing I need to start collecting. I agree with the idea of vintage manga having better production values- the people who are in the market for vintage manga tend to be adults and will pay the extra few dollars for something nice. One way I want this new vintage manga surge to grow is in reissuing classics like Sailor Moon in omnibuses so that people who have grown up with manga can pass it on to their children. People buying things like that also have a little more money to spend than teenagers.

On a slightly unrelated note- I'm excited for this giant size Little Lulu. Little Lulu is a classic for a reason, and can be shared with children of all ages.

A huge manga linkspolsion.

Should manga branch out to more mature books? I think so. Nobody can keep reading stories about teens who freak out about their first kiss forever.

Although by mature, I don't mean like this disguting Justice League comic. Look, kids! Comics, now with more sex and violence! isn't a good look. Sex and violence can be legitimate story telling devices, but you can't just slap it in. By the way, people complain about the price of manga, but $4 for 30 pages is a much worse deal than any manga I've seen.

This dude says nobody likes manga! I don't see any capes and tights in the hands of the middle schoolers today, dude. But the youth issue is important. Young people aren't used to paying for entertainment. You can have a hit that leaves you broke.

This lady talks about the issue of piracy, which folks tiptoe around, but it's a real issue. I also like how she didn't dismiss the fact that yes, teens like manga with girls and boys with superpowers. It's a perennial topic. The strength of manga is that it's full of variety-there are recurring themes- girls trapped in other worlds, shy high school romances, boys fighting against titanic forces, but within those boundaries you can create tons of different stories. You're not locked into 40 years of stories about Batman and his various foes or the Xmen. Every new series starts fresh, and has the opportunity to shine or fail on its own.

On the history of the manga boom and bust.

I also think this article about games also has resonance for manga fans. Although we don't have the divide between 'real' manly manga and 'fake' girly manga- it's a mystery that clicking frantically to get the crops in before time runs out isn't a real game but pushing A frantically to kill the zombies before your life runs out is.

The point about entitlement is important though- many of us forget that we are not entitled in any way shape or form to manga. It doesn't matter if we're broke, we spent all our money at the casino, or whatever.

Bookstores and CMX

These commentators are right that bookstores and libraries are the most important markets for manga. Even I an adult almost never set foot in a comics store. Bookstores are just so much more convenient- there's food, coffee, regular books, manga... So if I am taking a chance on a title I've never seen before, a book store is the first place I'll look. Libraries are also important for building a fanbase. Parents can check the books without risk, fans can check out new books, and there can be buzz created. Really, DC get your act together!