February 03, 2005
boy I read a lot
Was chatting with someone last night and mentioned that I was following way too many manga series right now. It seems like I get at least one new manga every week. So I decided to make a list of what I'm getting, have gotten, and have given up on. (J) indicates Japanese-only.
Read more of "boy I read a lot" [possible spoiler alert!]
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2004
ADV Manga's long holiday break
So... no ADV Manga releases at all from December 04 through January 05, huh? guess the whole manga staff must be out picketing Comcast or something.XD
Whatever the bug is, they'd better fix it soon.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2004
the quiet popularity of Aria
Well, it seems that vol 3 of Aria just flew off the shelves. On a random check of Arlington bookstores while holiday shopping over the weekend, no one had it - including the Borders where I got mine during lunch two weeks ago. 
Lucky!
Anyway, many good revelations in vol 3. Not the least of which:
Read more of "the quiet popularity of Aria" [possible spoiler alert!]
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2004
S/he Said
Gender confusion appears to be the shoujo flavor of the week over at Viz-ya. Hana Kimi has a girl disguising as a boy to sneak into the all-boys' school her idol attends. Here is Greenwood has the beguilingly femme-from-the-neck-up Shun. There is of course the granddaddy of all cross-gender confusion comedy, Ranma 1/2, and possibly the first yuri series to gain attention in the West, Revolutionary Girl Utena. And then there is W Juliet, which I picked up yesterday, which turns the genre on its head by having a girl who looks like a boy discovering that her pretty new classmate is actually a boy who has to dress like a girl in order to prove a point to his domineering father. (Yes. Scorecards recommended.) It's hard not to notice a trend.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:03 PM
November 22, 2004
wings clipped
Someone who ACTUALLY SPEAKS JAPANESE has correctly translated the Shounen Weekly side note that got everybody excited about a Tsubasa anime. It was apparently an error of proximity - due to "anime" being closer to "tsubasa" than "XXXHOLIC", erroneous conclusions were jumped to by non-native readers.
Still, there's that Del Rey slip to think on. Unless they too got their info from that nefariously cryptic side note.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2004
in the blink of an eye
Viz updated their shojo list, probably after realizing that they hadn't added at least half their catalog and were doing a shojo survey. I know Here is Greenwood and Descendants of Darkness weren't there five minutes ago, because I was looking.
Anyway, I'm trying to think of stuff that I can trust them not to mess up (too badly), so that means stuff that's not set in Japan. Maybe Aqua. and maybe YKK (though I'm not sure that counts as shoujo). I'd like to see Someday's Dreamers and possibly Whisper of the Heart translated, but those are set in Japan and are shoujo and... I just don't trust them.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 08:32 PM | Comments (0)
Viz Needs Women
Viz is doing another shojo title survey. They're taking suggestions now.
Viz, wellll.... I'm not too fond of the way that they Americanize names. Not by making Hikaru Harry, for example, but by making everybody address each other by their given names when I know that in the original they were using family names. It's weird to see Hikaru calling Tsutsumi Kimihiro or Mitani Yuki. Or for that matter, calling Akira Akira. It's not just a Japanese thing, it's a matter of... protocol. The only manga where I know they've not done that is Kenshin (for which ANY change would surely get Viz torn apart), and InuYasha and Ranma, where nobody has any formality whatsover, it seems. (when you're queen of manga like Rumiko Takahashi, I suppose you get to make up your own protocol 
)
But when it comes to pure shoujo, well...switching from family name to personal name is usually a Big Frickin' Deal. And I'm not sure that Viz is up to the task of understanding - or respecting - that nuance.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 07:50 PM
November 11, 2004
an exception to the rulebreaking
With all the rampant street-date breaking that's being going on with manga releases lately, I rather naively expected to find Aria vol 3 on the shelves by now. But alas, no luck. Maybe I'll try B&N today.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:45 AM
November 05, 2004
Tsubasa... the anime?!
According to the latest Del Rey Manga newsletter:
"On the anime front, NEGIMA and TSUBASA are on track to debut as TV anime in Japan in 2005. Hopefully this will mean a U.S. debut in 2006, but your guess is as good as mine. As for XXXHOLIC, there's a movie in the works that I can't wait to see!"
XXXHolic and Negima I knew about, but Tsubasa's a new one. An overhopeful slip, a typo, or... classified information?! It would be too cool if it were true, but it's only up to volume... 8 or so at the moment. (although that never stopped the Chrono Crusade people, who then had to make up a whole new plot.)
Read more of "Tsubasa... the anime?!" [possible spoiler alert!]
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 02:21 PM
November 04, 2004
mondo release schedules
Finally! I found a comprehensive release schedule thingy on Anime News Network. Best of all it shows all upcoming manga releases from all companies in one place.
I'd been looking for something like this for a long time, and was beginning to fear that I would have to make it myself. ^^; Yay ANN!
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 02:04 PM
November 02, 2004
Greenwood da!
I got the first volume of Here is Greenwood! 
So glad I stopped off at Pentagon City instead of waiting half an hour for the bus on the way home from Japanese class. At least something good comes out of this dark day.
Also got the 6th volume of Pita-Ten. This one... well, I'm continuing to read more out of morbid curiosity than anything else, because it's so different from the anime which was fluffy wuffy sparkly tinkly WAI!!!
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2004
awww! Bonding!
*ahem*
Largo and Erika, sittin' in a tree... or more precisely, on a couch playing Dead or Alive. Still very cute. I must say I'm more fond of this pairing than Piro x Kimiko.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2004
this week's manga haul
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle #3 and Hikaru no Go #2. Yay!
In the masthead of HnG I noticed a lot of Chinese and Korean names. I think I'm beginning to feel better about being a Chinese otaku.:)
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2004
more things to read!
This has been a big week for manga. At Barnes and Noble tonight I found Tactics #1 and Chrono Crusade #2. I almost expect to see Hikaru no Go #2 the next time I step into a bookstore.
It's just so NICE to be able to go to any bookstore and purchase manga~!!! *dance*
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2004
a real bloomer
I meant to be good...but dangit, it all came at me at once. I went to Suncoast tonight to get the new Anime Play with the Stan Sakai interview. I swore that I'd be good since AnimeUSA is coming up at the end of the month. But no, I had to look in that damn box beside the counter. Final damage: Negima #3, Wallflower #1, Descendants of Darkness #1 and... XXXHolic #3! Yayyy! Plus Anime Play, and the "special DVD edition" of Aladdin. (I wonder if it has the original lyrics for "Arabian Nights.")
So far Wallflower (nee Yamato Nadeshiko) is a winner. I'd picked it up on a whim, having only heard the bare bones of the plot. Imagine a reluctant Cinderella with four impossibly hot fairy godbrothers who have been tasked with turning her into a lady (not to be confused with making her a woman, you hentai pervs) in exchange for free rent. Yup, it's a shoujo manga all right.
Read more of "a real bloomer" [possible spoiler alert!]
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2004
appearances can deceive
Wow. I hadn't actually noticed it before, but that little schoolgirl whom Piro is giving art lessons to in MegaTokyo is turning out to be quite the bitch. And it's not the little schoolgirl I was expecting, either.
I only realized it recently when I saw this. And today when I was reading through some old strips (going to SPX made me want to seek out some good doujin) I came upon this in the MT archives. Whoa. Bitter teenager anyone?
Although it's really not a huge surprise. After all, she practically stole Piro's book bag and was too cowardly to return it, and wrote all over his sketchbook. The latter's a capital crime if ever I saw one.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2004
Finally!!! ADV Manga release updates
I wasn't planning on updating this blog again until I'd moved to Movable Type, but this momentous occasion (and stupid !*@#$!!) template! problems) compelled me to blog. ADV Manga has FINALLY updated their home page with releases, AND more importantly, release DATES, through the end of November.
After a long long LONG 
wait, Chrno - sorry, CHRONO Crusade finally starts coming out at a faster clip (vol 2 on Oct 4, vol 3 Nov 30). Not bad considering the first volume was released in frickin' MAY.
Aria vol 3 comes out November 23. Yay for it coming out at all, at the long wait since vol 2 (released in JULY). No date scheduled for vol 4.
There's more Full Metal Panic!? Oh my poor wallet...
Also of interest on October 4: Sakura Kinoshita's Tactics ... and MATANTEI LOKI RAGNAROK!!! AAAAA!!!!
(on a purely technical note, ADV appears to have dropped the ADVManga.com URL - it automatically redirects to ADVfilms.com/manga.asp. Hmmm.)
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
September 15, 2004
Kenshin goes monthly
According to a press release from Viz, Rurouni Kenshin will be released monthly beginning in October.
I wonder what this will do to the release schedule of their other books?
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)
Ai-yi-yi
I think this is the first time I've ever seen a manga review in the Washington Post Book World (although something in my foggy memory tells me that they reviewed Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series previously).
However, it's for Princess Ai. And apparently the only reason it's there is because of the Courtney Love connection. Oh well. Any publicity is good publicity.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2004
duuuude
Piro posted a preview of his finalized ALA poster (MT link)
I am SO asking Kevin to ask his wife to keep an eye out for this so I don't have to swipe it from the library.:)
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
August 30, 2004
irky things
While I am fully aware that it is beyond egotistical to believe that they are doing so just to annoy me, I find it irritating that certain allegedly professional media companies are apparently unable to furnish lists of products that they are purportedly to release in a month beginning less than a day from now.
Or,
WHEN IS BLEACH VOLUME 3 COMING OUT??!!! dammit.
And for that matter, WHERE'S HIKARU NO GO VOL 2?!
And for THAT matter, WHERE the HELL is YAMI NO MATSUEI???!!!
Seriously, they need take some people off Rurouni Kenshin and pay some attention to their other translation projects.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2004
tee hee hee
ooooOOOoooo!
[sings]Hayasaka and Largo, sittin' in a tree...
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
Manga outsells American graphic novels
According to ICV2, 47 of the top 50 graphic novels in the US this week are manga, with the top 37 spots being all manga titles. Fruits Basket #4 (with Shigure on the cover!!!)is the number one selling graphic novel.
Probably no surprise. If the mainstream bestseller lists deigned to include graphic novels in their listings, I bet manga would come in pretty high there too.
I don't think we're reached the point where gray-suited businessmen are reading Ruruoni Kenshin on their morning commute to their jobs on Wall Street - but thirty years down the road, who knows?
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2004
8/18 MegaTokyo
Good gravy! All the seemingly unconnected chaos was actually leading up to a point! And a good one, too!
Keep it up, Piro - you're doing GREAT!
(This is one of those story arcs that's going to look much better in the collection without all the DPD/SGD interruptions. I'm glad Piro has set the precedent of compiling the omake separately from the story strips. Would that more webcomic artists would do the same when confronted with the opportunity of putting their work in hard copy.)
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2004
~bounce~
Tokyopop is releasing translated versions of CLAMP's classic North Side and South Side Art Books! Street date is January 11 2005.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 04:37 PM | Comments (0)
Cardboard Tube Usagi!
Stan Sakai, TNGIC* drew a Very Special sketch of Usagi for Penny Arcade's Gabe (scroll down the page past the Doom3 and PAX posts).
* The Nicest Guy In Comics.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2004
Yay, more Planetes!
For some reason I thought it ended at vol 3. Apparently there are two more volumes to go, though technically it is Volume 4 in two parts. (Why not just call it Volumes 4 and 5 then?! Isn't 4, like, an unlucky number?!)
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
August 06, 2004
MegaGear LIVES!!! Really.
Seems the new Megatokyo online store crashed within minutes after opening on Saturday because Piro had greatly underestimated the traffic. Silly Piro, when are you going to realize that there are thousands of otaku out there who really do WANT to give you money???
Anyway, it's back up now.
http://www.megagear.com/
I see quite a few things on there I want for Christmas. I think I'll wait till they make Sad Girl in Snow available on a sweatshirt before ordering that one, though.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2004
Ghost in the Shell 2nd edition!
I am SO glad I resisted the temptation to buy this at Otakon. w00t!
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2004
Piro's airplane sketch
There's something indescribably sad about the image evoked by the title a handful of snow. This one reminds me of Reki on the train tracks for some reason...
Damn you Piro! You drew this on an AIRPLANE?!
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2004
Someone made a weatherfish!
Sadly, non-readers of the wonderful Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou would have no idea what I'm talking about or why this is momentous.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2004
NYT Reviews MegaTokyo
And says some very nice things about it.
The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > Chronicle | Comics: No More Wascally Wabbits (free registration required)
Hurrah for Piro! It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I do mean that literally and wholeheartedly, with the warmest of intentions. Yes, I still remember his kindness in autographing and drawing Pirogoeth and Boo in both my MT books when I poured out my sob story to Seraphim of not getting his autograph after stalking lining up at 3 different cons. Stan Sakai is still the nicest guy in comics, but Piro is a close second.
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2004
top-selling manga
According to ICv2 News, the top-selling manga for Q2 2004 are:
1. Rurouni Kenshin*
2. Fruits Basket*
3. Tsubasa*
4. Trigun
5. Alice 19th
6. D.N.Angel
7. Negima
8. InuYasha*
9. Naruto
10. Megatokyo*
11. Xxxholic*
What is surprising to me personally is that I read 6 of the top 11 titles (and 5 of the top ten [note titles with asterisks]... and I plan to pick up Negima at some point). Does that make me the manga reader equivalent of the average American Idol viewer? 
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Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)
