Anyone Have Copies of Yen+?

A quick weekend update; I’ll be working on reviews for Kasumi, and Haridama, Magic Cram School vols. 1 here in the next few days. Kasumi especially is an interesting book to write about. I hope you check out my review.

In other news, does anyone have copies of Yen+ they’d be willing to part with? I’m trying to get copies of issues 2, 3, and possibly 4 (depending if it comes in the mail in the next few days). If you want to trade, I can do that, or I can pay for them. Please drop me an email at mangawidget (at) gmail (dot) com.

Also: how interesting is the Drops of God phenomenon? I love when manga has that kind of effect on people. I haven’t heard anything about licensure… does anyone know if one of the English publishers has gotten a license yet?

Why Consolidation Isn’t Necessarily A Bad Thing

When I first heard about the consolidation of Yen Press and Orbit, I was a little unnerved (if you haven’t heard about the press release yet, check out here or here to give it a read), but the more that I think about this merger, I’m not so sure that I’m scared of it, or that I even think it’s a bad thing.

As you should well know by now, Yen Press is the manga and graphics novel imprint of Hatchette Book Group. The company seems to be tightening up on their imprints, and probably refocusing resources in these two imprints to insure that loose ends are tied up and that the manga and sci-fi publishing industries are recession-tight. From what I’ve read on Tiamat’s Manga Reviews, and from his comments over at MangaBlog, it seems as though things are going to stay more or less the same. This really doesn’t change all that much for manga readers, or people with subscriptions to Yen Press. Branding really shouldn’t change, and my thought is that the two imprints will work under one name, with a more focused management, things on the office level will stay the same.

What this merger seems to indicate is that Hatchette seems pretty serious about Yen Press and it’s stake in the manga market. At 1% market share (which is a bit less than Dark Horse’s 3.5%, but still much larger than publishers like Broccoli Books) and with upcoming releases like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, it’s apparent that Yen Press is poised to start playing with the big dogs. This is a good thing, and I think that this merge is not a sign of bad things, but rather, a re-commitment to the two imprints and their management.

Regardless, what matters here is the manga. As long as Yen Press continues to publish outstanding manga, I’ll continue to pony up my hard-earned dollars.

Review: Zombie Powder, vol. 1

Zombie Powder, vol. #1
Written and Illustrated by Tite Kubo
Viz Media’s Shonen Jump
Rated OT for Older Teen, $7.99 USA, $10.99 CAN
189 pgs.

Tite Kubo is more well known for his mega-hit, 300-chapter spanning Bleach. Bleach is one of the top shonen manga currently being printed in the USA,  hitting 23 volumes earlier this summer. The popularity of Kubo’s work is a testiment to the ability of manga to thrive in the US, and when you read Zombie Powder, it’s easy to see why.

Tite Kubo (the pen-name for Noriaki Kubo) has a real eye for dynamic fight scenes and angles. He conveys motion and tension with a style unlike other manga-ka, and his distinct, no-holds bared style shows off his imaginative fight scenes.

We start the book with an introduction to two characters, Gamma Akutabi, a hunter of the 12 Rings of the Dead. It’s said that when a person collects these 12 rings, he or she has the power to become immortal, or bring a person back to life. Gamma has his wallet stolen byElwood, a lowly gang member who is trying to save up money to fix his sister’s heart condition.

Things get hairy pretty quickly when Elwood’s boss finds out that Gamma is hanging out with him, and a tragic turn of events forces Elwood to start travelling with Gamma. From there on out, the two meet up with Gamma’s partner, C.T. Smith, an unsurpassed marksman.

A few ridiculously intense fight scenes, some torture, and a few more fight scenes later, and the book is done. The plot is stretched kind of thin, although Kubo does a good job of giving character backgrounds through dialog as fights are rolling about the pages. Kubo breaks up tension by interspersing humorous scenes with bad guys running away, or Elwood stealing someone’s wallet, which gives the manga a real tongue-in-cheek feel, despite the extraordinary amount of violence. I like the characters; they’re well designed, and they’ve got a lot of personality.

Viz has done the same type of printing as other novels before this, so I’m not going to belabor the point that the paper isn’t high quality and that I wish there could be some full color pages in the book, but they did keep the manga-ka’s notes about characters in manga, interspersed between chapters instead of at the end of the book. I do like the price point for viz’s shounen manga, but I’d rather have Yen Press’ (or is it Orbit now?) full color pages and better paper quality, even if it comes at a higher price.

Certainly, this manga isn’t a thinker’s kind of story. This manga is definitely not going to make you think about much of anything. But, if you’re up for some gratuitous violence, some cheap thrills, and some amazing fight scenes, this manga is right up your alley.

Review: Rosario+Vampire vol. 2

Rosario + Vampire, vol. #2
Written and Illustrated by Akihisa Ikeda
Viz Media’s Shonen Jump Advanced
Rated OT for Older Teen, $7.99 USA, $9.50 CAN
181 pgs.

Going to a school full of monsters and being the only human on campus is probably something I’d worry about, if I were in the situation of Tsukune, the lead of Ikeda’s Rosario +Vampire. In this second volume, Tsukune, Moka, and Kurumu add a friend to their growing group (or should I say harem?), an old enemy comes back as an ally, and Moka and Tsukune do the whole Rosario-pulling, ass-kicking thing a few times.

After the first volume, I was fairly ambivilent as to whether or not I would continue to read the series. It was interesting because I was a fan of the monsters and the set up, and the art was good most of the time, but the repetative plot was cloying, and I wanted a little more substance.

Thankfully, I decided to pick up the second volume. Things pick up a lot, and we finally start to see where the series is going to be going.

We start the volume with a new character, a little witch named Yukari Sendo. She’s the head of the class, but she’s got a bit of mischievious streak, and she knows how to pull a good prank. After being attacked by some students because she’s only “half a monster.” In Rosario, it seems, that witches are on the borderline between real monsters and humans, and they’re hated equally by both sides of the spectrum. Initially, she causes Tsukune a lot of grief, but after the first chapter of the book, she becomes part of the group. It’s a great addition, because she acts as the comic foil to some of the shinanigans that Kurumu and Ginei (that’s the werewolf from the first novel) get into. Ginei seems to have recovered from the violent beating that Moka gave him last volume, and while he’s ever the pervert, he’s part of what moves the plot in this second volume.

So Tsukune has a harem now (if you want to call it that), and the harem comedy style does this manga a lot of good. It gives it more of a sense of direction, and you can tell that Ikeda is more assured in this volume than last. He doesn’t strictly rely on the plot loops from the first volume, and fleshes out the characters a bit more. Most importantly, the end of this volume gives us a bit of a cliff-hanger into volume #3, and it’s a dozy. What would happen if the school found out that Tsukune was a human? Nothing good, I’m sure.

I’m still puzzled as to how the art in this book can vary as much as it does; at points, its absolutely gorgeous, and at other times, it’s fairly mediocre. Ikeda is still having problems in this volume drawing his lead male, but the girls get plenty of attention. There’s a bit of fan service in this volume (how can there not be?) mostly focused around Kurumu. It is, however, not blatent, and it’s part of the plot of the story, so I guess it’s okay. We also learn in Kurumu’s chapter some of her latent powers; trust me, she can be just as scary as Moka-sans rosario.

Viz did a decent job with this book; the price tag is right for the print quality, and none of the writing felt obviously rewritten.

Things are looking up with this volume. The elements that made the first volume sparkle are still here, and better plotting, and more interesting monsters make this volume a good read. If volume #3 follows the trend set up in this volume, this series may very well make it to to my Recommended Reading list.

Review: I, Otaku, Struggle In Akihabara, vol. 1

I, Otaku, Struggle in Akihabara: vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Jiro Suzuki
Seven Seas Entertainment LLC.
Rated T for Teen, $9.99 USA
177 pgs.

I, Otaku is a manga about the life and times of a underground anime and manga fan, named Sota. Following in the footsteps of the renowned Genshiken, I, Otaku tries to live up to the high bar that predicessor otaku comedies have set for it.

The art of the bookitself is highly stylized, and the art style is similar to the style of Sumomomo, Momomo, the recently serialized manga from Yen Press by Shinobu Ohtaka. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m a big fan of the style. It’s part of the reason why I can’t stand Sumomomo, Momomo, but that’s a rant for another day. Mostly, the art can be quite detailed at times, and the panels are never crowded, but the sketchiness, and roughness of the drawings in certain panels make its art fairly mediocre.

Seven Seas has done a good job with this novel. The editing is supurb, and there are no guttering issues that prevented me from reading the book. In addition, Seven Seas has made the first page of the manga a glossy, full color page, which is nice. The book is printed on standard manga-grade paper, and the book is well put together.

As far as content goes, I, Otaku is a series that has a lot going for it, as far as otakudom comedies go. Avid-fan main character? Check. Clueless girlfriend? Check? Ultra-obsessed store clerk? Check. Otaku wildness? Check.

While this manga has all the ingredients it takes to make up a good otaku-based comedy, it lacks one main ingredient; charm.  From the opening panels to the final story, I, Otaku has plenty of laughs, but leaves no mark on the reader. Unlike Genshiken, the characters leave no lasting impressions (at least, no lasting fond impressions), and even after reading the book, I’m left wondering what the point is. I, Otaku has its moments, but those moments are merely moments, and are few and far between.

I’m impressed with the work that Seven Seas has done with this manga, but in the end, I’m not impressed enough with the story to continue reading. Rent it if you’re really interested, or borrow it from a friend. It’s probably not worth the purchase.

PS: I do recommend Genshiken, if you are interested in otaku comedy. It is far less likely to disappoint.

Tokyopop on Digital

ICv2 has a two part interview of Tokyopop’s Marco Pavia posted today, and it’s a spectacular read. Here’s a link to the first part, and you can access the second part from the website.

This interview hopefully sheds a little light on the current goings-on at the manga giant, and it’s good to see that the company is still running in the black. Marco has stated (and hopefully cleared up some nasty rumors) that none of Tokyopop’s series that are currently in print are being cut or cancelled. Rather, their printing schedule is being reworked from a quarterly or bimonthly release to a release twice a year. While this isn’t exactly great news, it’s better than the alternative.

One of the more interesting comments Marco made was about the effect of scanlations on book sales in the US. Marco has pointed out that Tokyopop does not have the time or resources to take on manga pirates and people who host scanlations of liscenced manga, and I think it’s fairly safe to assume that this sentiment is across the board. Piracy is going to continue to affect sales of all media, including manga, as time progresses. The best way to beat the pirate is to continue to develop a product that consumers are willing to buy, and digital may be a part of that.

Aside from pirating, but still focusing on digital, one thing that did interest me was a specific correlation between digital manga and manga sales:

On our site, we’ve run manga for free for a limited time and we’ve seen a spike in sales.  Two Fruits Baskets ago, we released a whole volume online for free for a limited time, and we actually saw a spike in that volume’s book sales over the first week compared to the previous volume’s book sales over its first week.  A few other series–Loveless–some of our original stuff–we’ve definitely seen a positive impact on sales when we’ve released something for free for a limited time as a promotional, marketing tactic. (Emphasis my own)

It’s an interesting correlation here; that free releases of digitized manga on Tokyopop’s website actually increases net book sales.  Whether it’s because of the ability of potential customers to sample the manga before they bought it, or the introduction to the series that doesn’t require a trip to the local Borders or Barnes & Noble, digital manga (in one form or the other) is having a positive impact on manga sales.

This is good news. The fact that digital manga is having an impact on the way consumers view, and decide to purchase manga is more evidence that digital manga may be part of the future of the genre. Marco even admits later in the interview that there may be a time when books no longer exist, and that digital will be the future of publishing:

[Digital manga is] definitely the future.  I’d like to think that books will be around forever, but realistically, that might not be the case.  [Tokyopop is] prepared.  We are releasing manga digitally across a number of platforms.  We’re looking at different models, whether it’ subscription, sponsorship-based, but it’s anyone’s guess right now what the model will be.

Like my discussions here on Tiamat’s Manga Reviews have indicated, it appears that the issues with the distribution and business model of the digital manga landscape are the major stumbling block for digital distribution. However, it’s good to see that Tokyopop is taking a vested interest in this form of publishing.

(Im)Patiently Waiting

Just a quick thought for the day, since I’m fairly bogged down today and tomorrow:

Is anyone having problems with receiving their issues of Yen Plus? I subscribed a little under a month ago, and I haven’t heard or received anything from Yen Press. Maybe I’m just impatient, but I wanted to check with anyone that’s keeping track of this blog who might have subscribed recently.

Speaking of anthologies, what’s the deal with Del Ray’s Faust? I’ll have to formulate some thoughts, but it seems to me that we may be seeing something like a manga periodical from the company that’s stayed away from them for quite some time. The question is, can it truly be called a manga periodical?

Review: Kaze no Hana vol. 1

Kaze no Hana: vol. 1
Written by Ushio Mizta, Illustrated by Akiyoshi Ohta
Yen Press
Rated T for Teen, $10.99 USA, $11.99 CAN
187 pgs.

After finishing the first volume of Kaze no Hana, the best complement I think I am able to give the series is that it is… interesting. The book focuses Momoka, a girl who lost her parents and her memory four years previous to the beginning of the story in an “accident.” The first volume chronicles her move back to her hometown and her reunion with family and friends. When she arrives, she learns that she is a child of one of the eight Dragon families, protectors of an ancient seal that holds a corrupt god prisoner. The events that follow show her transition into a new life as she struggles to regain her memory.

Kaze no Hana is a mysterious book, but the mystery isn’t always because of the plotline. The writing is sketchy at times, and the writer throws the reader into a group of people and host of concepts that can be fairly overwhelming.  A lot goes on in this first novel, and nothing is truly explained in full. For some, this might cause curiosity, but for me, it’s just caused plenty of frustration. Yen Press tries to help cure some of this confusion by including an excellent translator’s notes and a glossary of terms at the end of the book, but even this extra help doesn’t always cut the mustard.

My other big issue with Kaze no Hana is its character base. Most, if not all of the characters are enigmatic, and their introduction feels rather rushed. While this would not normally be a death knell for any piece of writing (see Negima! for instance), when you complicate these enigmatic characters with an enigmatic story that doesn’t seem to go anywhere, things get a lot harder to swallow.

On a more positive note, I am a fan of the art style. Ohta is a good illustrator, and the book shines with his work. This one positive, is, however, not enough to overcome the problems this manga is shackled with.

While normally I’m a big fan of Yen Press and the work they do, I found Kaze no Hana fairly hard to like (not that this is Yen Press’ fault, their notes at the end of the volume make things at least a bit more tolerable). The lack of a cohesive storyline, characters that are hard to like, and the technical issues of the book make it a frustrating read. While I read plenty of Yen Press books, this is one I’ll be staying away from in the future.

Digital Distribution of Comics (It’s Really Not That Farfetched)

My apologies for not updating sooner; it’s been a crazy week, and I’ve been preparing for a conference this weekend.

While I wasn’t able to go to NYAF (because, let’s face it, I can’t really afford the gas to get there), I have been keeping up with all the announcements and documentation of all the roundtable discussions. In particular,  the state of the manga industry panel has lead me to ask a few questions about the “state of the manga industry” or, as I like to think of it “the state of where US manga publishers would like to go in the next, eh, six months or so.”

We know that US manga is still profitable. Dark Horse has reported a 20-year high in sales of its manga lines, and people in the industry keep telling us that it’s going pretty well for them. The amount of manga publishers is continuing to increase, and news of an eventual Kodansha imprint here in the States is only an indication of where the business is going.

One of the most interesting statements made at the state of the industry roundtable was Michael Gombos and Kurt Hassler’s dismissal of digital distribution.  Blaming the lack of a universal format and explaining that manga “is meant to be read on the page” is what we got out of them. Frankly, some of us are upset.

That includes me.

See, digital distrubition isn’t about a universal format, and manga certainly isn’t only meant to be “read on the page”. That kind of attitude is what’s killing the music business right now. For the longest time, music was only an analog kind of experence. Play your tapes, your CDs, but don’t use your computer. Your Walkman is fine, thank you. The problem with that attitude is that, while your analog distribution may be pretty fricking great, people have been reading manga on the internet for years. Scanlations have always been a huge part of the industry, and the last time I checked, you get those on the internet, right?

Business is not necessarily about a feel or a perception; it’s about finding a consumer and playing to their needs in a way that is profitable. Manga has found its place in the comics world, but in a society where everyone is always on the run, how much more convenient can mobile manga be? Digital distribution allows manga fans a chance to download and go, and it allows consumers the chance to customize their manga experience.

Think, for example, on the possiblities of a RSS-type manga feed, where users could subscribe to manga series through objects like the iPhone or home computer. Each time a new chapter came out, the manga would be instantly queued for download, and purchased for a micro-transaction type fee. A small manga distribution application would be all it would take to get this kind of digital manga into the hands of a busy fandom. The advantage for consumers is a way to sample manga more liberally, and do so without downloading scanlations of licensed manga, or spend hours in the local Borders trying to find their next series. It also allows customers to keep a more “periodical” relationship with their favorite series that is more in tune with manga in Japan, in that a new chapter would come out every week or every few weeks, instead of one tankoban coming out four times a year.

This isn’t just for consumers though. The manga industry profits too. Without knowing too much about the publishing scene, I can almost guarentee that manga are, at one point or the other, digitized so that translations can be applied to the original comic image. In this sense, the apple is ripe for the plucking.

It’s a shame to see major publishers brush aside digital distribution. Truly, it’s money waiting to be made.