- I'm thinking about the shuttering of JManga, an e-manga website that seemed to have the potential to be the dominate resource for legit, niche electronic manga titles. However, it seemed like their reliance on niche titles and lack of actual ownership of titles, among other issues, led to their downfall. This has left eManga to fill in the void left by their oncoming closing of shop, but their efforts may not be enough.
- I'm thinking about Vertical Inc., specifically their move to put certain underselling titles into digital release. Very excited to see Twin Spica is one of those titles; it's a series I would recommend to pretty much everyone who reads manga or has an interest in coming-of-age stories about a girl who wants to be an astronaut.
- Lastly, I'm thinking about manga adaptations of video games. I recently blew through a stack of Legend of Zelda manga, covering games like Oracle of Seasons/Ages, Majora's Mask, and Minish Cup. I confess, I've only played several Zelda games, so a lot of it was reading the story for the first time. However, they made games that I cannot play for not owning a certain console more accessible, and they were entertaining enough to peak my interest in the games I can play. Are some manga adaptations just really long adverts for video games? It's not like reading the manga version of Phantom Hourglass will ever perfectly replicate the experience of playing it, but it makes a reader want to check out the game - well, if done correctly, that is (and can we get some love for Captain Linebeck going on here?).
What are you thinking about this week? Please share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section.
