A Little Aside About Doujinshi

I keep seeing the accompanying image being dandied about the Internet as why Japanese fan comics, aka doujinshi, is the greatest thing ever and totally perfectly legal or something. After seeing a 'life facts' Twitter post it, I figured it was time to say something. Not because it's wrong, but it's a bit simplified. And it's not even a matter of the 140-character digit - the image is contained in a link!

First of all, something that is not clarified with this image: doujinshi aren't being sold side by side with the materials they are inspired by. They are sold in their own marketplaces, separate from commercial fare. Some major stores do carry doujinshi, but in separate areas. The Fate/Zero fan comics aren't being sold next to the original light novel.

Second, I cannot for the life of me think of anyone who is making a profit from selling doujinshi. A lot of manga-ka use doujinshi as a springboard to launch their original content. Most doujinshi-ka do it for the love of the series their comics are based on; whatever sales they make usually go towards covering the expenses of production and probably paying any assistants involved with the comic. So companies aren't so quick to come after someone who, after covering costs for supplies, printing, assistants, convention fares, and gas money, has barely any cash left over to buy some convenience store onigiri.

Manga Review: Soul Eater GN 16

Soul Eater volume 16
Author: Atsushi Ohkubo
Yen Press
192 pages

Like the other members of the newly formed Spartoi unit, Maka and Soul undergo rigorous training, probing the boundaries of Soul's hard-won new potential as a weapon. Maka's soul perception ability has made her the enemy's next target, and she and Soul will have to kick it up to a whole new level-and fast! Noah and his followers are coming, ready or not!! (Source: Yen Press)

Ladies and gentlemen, Maka Albarn will kick your butt. It's not even a question, it's a fact. And now that the Baba Yaga Castle arc has ended, everyone can see why Maka is so awesome. Once at school, someone saw my Soul Eater bag and asked me, "Maka or Soul?" My answer: "Maka, of course. Soul is nothing without her." A weapon is nothing without their meister, and Maka is one pretty cool meister.

In this volume of Soul Eater, we see why Maka's abilities as a meister are so great - and why they've made her a target for the attentions of DWMA's many enemies. We also revisit the issue of Medusa's black blood experiments and get launched head first into a battle between ex-allies that will certainly leave lasting scars on this series. Stuff's about to get real in here.

PR: Viz Media To Publish Master Keaton Manga

VIZ MEDIA ACQUIRES NAOKI URASAWA’S THRILLING SUSPENSE SERIES MASTER KEATON

Manga Series About An Investigator With An Unorthodox Set Of Skills From The Award-Winning Creator Of MONSTER And 20^th CENTURY BOYS Debuts In English In December

San Francisco, CA, March 4, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced it has acquired the North American publishing rights for Naoki Urasawa’s post–Cold War suspense thriller, MASTER KEATON. The 12-volume manga (graphic novel) series has never before been available in English and is scheduled to launch in print in December under the VIZ Signature imprint.

MASTER KEATON was created and drawn by the award-winning manga artist Naoki Urasawa, story coproduced with Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki. MASTER KEATON will be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and carry an MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN. Each paperback volume will receive a deluxe treatment, including 18 pages of full-color artwork. In addition to publishing MASTER KEATON in North America, VIZ Media will also release it in print in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Open Thread: Blue Exorcist On Toonami

Here's an open thread for Monday morning: the English dubbed Blue Exorcist/Ao No Exorcist now airing on Toonami! Now that two episodes of this Aniplex licensed anime have aired on TV, what do y'all think about the dub job? Whose voices are you looking forward to? (As you can tell, this is really for folks who haven't watched the dub on Neon Alley/DVD yet, like me!)

For your reference, here are the main cast & their voice actors who have been featured so far (hat tip to ANN for the cast list):
Rin Okumura: Bryce Papenbrook
Yukio Okumura: Johnny Yong Bosch
Father Fujimoto: Kirk Thornton
Mephisto: Sam Regal

Fujoshi O'Clock (3/1/14)

What time is it? It's . . . Fujoshi O'Clock, the biweekly feature at Nagareboshi Review, when I bring to you the latest fujoshi-related news and reviews and various shiny BL-flavored things. Why? Because rotten girls need love too!

This week on Fujoshi O'Clock:

• Over at SuBLime Manga, Viz Media's BL manga imprint, a wallpaper of Kou Yoneda's NightS is now available online to use on desktops and smart devices.
• Mode: Verbose has a post all about their love of the uke, the 'bottom' of the seme/uke trope relationship that runs abundant through yaoi.
• The latest Fujoshi Files at Oguie Maniax is Suzuki Ikuyo from Hanaukyou Maid Team. Ugyuu, maid with glasses!

Reviews:

• Manga Worth Reading reviews The Man of Tango by Tetuzoh Okadaya, a story of passion and ballroom dancing. Unfortunately, it sounds like the artwork can get wonky at times. Still, Strictly Ballroom meets boys' love!
• Experiments in Manga reviews Writing the Boys of Love by Jeffrey Angles, which examines male-male romance in Japanese literature during specific time periods. Looks very academic minded.

Am I missing your blog? Got some awesome fujoshi-related news and reviews you think deserve a shout-out? Poke me with a link and a bit of description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love!