PR: Bakuman & One Piece Box Sets Coming Fall 2013

ONE PIECE © 1997
by Eiichiro Oda/SHUEISHA Inc.

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES EXCITING SHONEN JUMP MANGA BOX SET DEBUTS FOR FALL 2013

Catch Pirate Adventures In A New ONE PIECE Box Set And Manga Industry Drama In The Complete BAKUMAN。Box Set

San Francisco, CA, February 27, 2013 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has just announced new manga (graphic novel) acquisitions scheduled for Fall release under its popular Shonen Jump imprint. The upcoming releases include the complete BAKUMAN。series box set, and a box set collection of the first part of the ONE PIECE saga.

BAKUMAN。BOX SET · Rated ‘T’ for Teens ·

MSRP: $159.99 U.S. / $159.99 CAN · Available October 1^st 2013

Discover the mystery of manga-making in the bestselling series by Tsugumi Ohba, the creator of the hit series DEATH NOTE, available for the first time in a complete box set. The Box Set includes Volumes 1 through 20, plus the bonus mini-comic “Otter No. 11,” along with a full-color, two-sided poster.

In BAKUMAN。, average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world? Also catch BAKUMAN。in the pages of VIZ Media’s Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine.

Manga Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! R GN 1

Yu-Gi-Oh! R volume 1
Authors: Akira Ito & Kazuki Takahashi
Viz Media
216 pages

A Wicked Shadow! It's been many duels since Yugi defeated Maxmilion Pegasus, the super-rich designer of the collectible card game "Duel Monsters." But Yako Tenma, Pegasus' protégé, has never forgiven Yugi for his master's horrible fate. To draw Yugi out, Yako kidnaps Anzu Mazaki and takes her to the heart of the Kaibacorp building, guarded by dozens of the world's most dangerous gamers! But Yako's true plan for Anzu is much worse than mere revenge... (Source: Viz.com)

If you are a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan - if you spent your early otaku days watching the 4Kids dub on the WB, bought all the Shonen Jumps to get the extra trading cards at the back of each issue, actually went out and saw the Yu-Gi-Oh! film in theaters, own all 38 volumes of the original manga from Viz (some with super shiny covers!) - then you should probably not read Yu-Gi-Oh! R, not if you want your love of adults playing children's cards game with all the seriousness of stopping an impending apocalypse into deep seated loathing of the very franchise. This is from someone who genuinely loves Yu-Gi-Oh!, being one of the first anime I ever saw on television (2001? Yikes) and one of the few trading card games I ever bothered attempting to play.

R, however, is no Yu-Gi-Oh! of mine. It's quite forgettable in how ridiculous and mindless it is, and that's compared to the Dungeon Dice Monsters story arc (although Ryuji Otogi is oddly attractive, streaky eyeliner and all). And the worst part? It stretches on for another four volumes.

Hitsuzen In 3D: XXXHOLiC Goes Live Action

CLAMP's supernatural series XXXHOLiC seems to be getting a bit of a revival, two years after the end of the original manga. Not only is it getting a sequel series - XXXHOLiC Return (something which AstroNerdBoy does a good job explaining) - but it is also being adapted into a live action television program, set to air on the 24th and run a total of eight episodes.

Some of the casting choices seem odd at first, especially the fact that Yuuko is being played by actress/model Anne. However, it seems like Anne has the willowy frame and face meant to portray the time/space witch accurately. Shota Sometani holds the role of resident string bean and alcohol fetcher Kimihiro Watanuki. Keisuke Toyoshima will direct the series for WOWOW TV; he also worked on the video game Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes for the cinematography/cut scenes.

There have already been several promos released about the series, including a two-minute promote narrated by Anne as Yuuko and the first five minutes of the opening episode, set to run in its entirety Sunday. You can watch the five minute promo below.

Any CLAMP fans planning on catching this series?

PR: Digital Audio Version Of ALL YOU NEED IS KILL Now Available

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES A NEW AUDIOBOOK RELEASE OF THE HIT SCI-FI ACTION THRILLER 'ALL YOU NEED IS KILL' 

Acclaimed Novel Now In Production As A Major Feature Film From Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, VIZ Media Also Secures Publishing Rights To Official Movie Novel Edition

San Francisco, CA, February 20, 2013 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced the digital release by Simon & Schuster Audio of an unabridged audio book version of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s science fiction thriller ALL YOU NEED IS KILL. The acclaimed novel, read and narrated by Mike Martindale, is now available for $19.95 U.S. from the Simon & Schuster website.

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL is published in North America by VIZ Media’s Haikasoru imprint and is currently in production as a major feature film directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) and starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The film is slated for release in the spring of 2014, to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. Liman is directing the film from a screenplay by Dante W. Harper and Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth and Christopher McQuarrie, based on the novel. Erwin Stoff, Gregory Jacobs, Jeffrey Silver, Jason Hoffs and Tom Lassally are the producers, with Doug Liman, Dave Bartis, Joby Harold, Hidemi Fukuhara and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers.

Manga Review: Entangled Circumstances

Entangled Circumstances
Author: Kikuko Kikuya
Digital Manga Publishing
200 pages

Himeko and Shibui not only work for the same company, but had also attended university together. Himeko was wildly popular, and nicknamed "The Prince." But whatever Shibui may be trying not to recall about their shared past, one thing is certain - their present and future are tangled together, with the past knotting it quite firmly. Seeing Himeko everyday, Shibui finds his feelings ever more swayed. "Whatever it takes to get you..." (Source: Goodreads)

I have conflicted feelings about Entangled Circumstances, the first Kikuko Kikuya title I've read. It's a great book and a great bit of writing and art, but some of the issues presented within its pages have questionable ethics behind them. Which is not to say that Entangled Circumstances is a bad manga. Because it isn't! It's a good manga and a good yaoi to boot, but it has issues that it doesn't really deal with to any great extent. However, I would recommend this book to boys' love fans, with some minor caveats.

Fujoshi O'Clock (2/14/13)

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:

• Viz's SuBLime imprint has added several new titles, including new works by est em, Sakae Kusama and Yuiji Anada.
• Media Blasters has given their Ai No Kusabi release a date. They have also given it a list price and color cover. It has originally been planned for December of last year.
• Fans of the Sex/Love Pistols manga rejoice: the series is to resume serialization in Japan. It will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Magazine Be-Boy. 
• Move over, DMP and SuBLime, Otome's Way is the newest BL company to premiere with English language releases of yaoi manga titles.

Reviews:

• Connie at Slightly Biased Manga reviews volume one of SWEET POOL by Nitro+CHiRAL and Mayu Kurumazaki. It didn't seem to be her cup of tea but she didn't hate it.
• Rebecca Silverman at ANN reviews THE HEART OF THOMAS by Moto Hagio. To no one's surprise, it's an A across the board.
• Sheena at Sequential Tart reviews volume three of AWKWARD SILENCE by Hinako Takanaga; this seems to be a better volume than the previous two.
• at ANN reviews AMEIRO PARADOX by Isaku Natsume for Right Turn Only. It sounds interesting enough; maybe Otome's Way will license it next?

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!

PR: Tiger & Bunny Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray

© SUNRISE/T&B PARTNERS, MBS

Huzzah, I finally get to watch Tiger & Bunny on my television! So, does this mean T&B has a better chance of airing on Adult Swim?

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN DVD AND BLU-RAY RELEASE OF TIGER & BUNNY SET 1

Catch Japan’s First Corporate Superheroes In An Action-Packed Anime Series That Explores A Most Unlikely Friendship Between

A Washed-Up Veteran And A Rookie With An Attitude

San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2013 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, gives fans a rollicking dose of anime action with the DVD and Blu-ray release on February 19^th of TIGER & BUNNY Set 1. The 2-disc set, which contains Episodes 1-13 of the 26-episode action/sci-fi series, is rated TV-14, and will carry a DVD MSRP of $44.82 U.S. / $43.24 CAN, and a Blu-ray MSRP of $54.97 U.S. / $66.15 CAN.

To celebrate the new release, for a limited time only starting February 12^th, VIZ Media also invites North American fans to catch free virtual screening of TIGER & BUNNY Episode 1 (English dubbed) hosted by VIZ Media DVD/Blu-ray producer Reginald Rhodes. At the end of the screening, viewers will have the opportunity to enter to win TIGER & BUNNY Set 1 (Blu-ray edition) or a 16GB iPad Mini. The contest runs until March 5^th; please visit the TIGER & BUNNY official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TigerAndBunny or YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/vizmedia, for the special screening and contest instructions.

Where Will Blog Be This Weekend?

Nagareboshi Reviews will be at the Hyatt in downtown Saint Louis this weekend for Kawakon 2013! I'll be reporting for my community college's student-run newspaper, the Forum at Florissant Valley. If you manage to see me, say hello! And let me ask you a few questions, kol kol kol . . .

I'll be updating the Forum blog at fvforumblo.blogspot.com during the weekend so keep an eye on that space for further convention updates!

License Line: More More Moyoco

Hataraki Man (働きマン)

What is License Line? Put simply, it's a semi-regular feature on Nagareboshi Reviews in which yours truly posts about a certain anime/manga series that truly, desperately needs to be licensed and put on my shelves ASAP - from the obscure but well-deserving manga to the stream worthy but not yet DVD licensed anime.

Recently, we have the Manga Moveable Feast centered around josei manga-ka Moyoco Anno and it was wonderful and a bunch of great posts were generated because of it but it got me thinking: why is so little of her works available in English? Why is the only one I can easily buy Sakuran? And why is most of that work now out of print? Despite the josei (ladies' comics) genre being historically low-selling in North America, I think the current manga market can make Anno's work - which is mostly josei - viable again. 

Below the read more jump are three titles by Anno that would be great for release (or re-release) in English. And they're all under ten volumes - so they are affordable licenses to boot!

(Psst: Viz Media? She married Hideaki Anno. You know, the guy behind Neon Genesis Evangelion. Instant cross-promotion opportunity!)

PR: Digital Manga's Liquidation Sale Coming In March

Digital Manga's Warehouse Liquidation Sale, March 9-10, 10AM to 4PM: Manga and Anime Merchandise up to 70% Off!

Come on down to our Gardena warehouse to get your hands on deeply discounted manga and anime goods! Saturday and Sunday March 9 and 10 are the big days, so mark your calendars now! You can find our warehouse and office at:

Digital Manga, Inc.
1487 W. 178th St.
Suite 300 (third floor)
Gardena, CA 90248

Parking is free and while the lot is gated, the gate will be wide open, so drive right on in and look for the Digital Manga logo outside the building.

Everything is available on a first come, first serve basis and will be discounted up to 70%! We'll be swimming in manga and merchandise, so get there bright and early at 10AM.

Signal Boost: Naoki Urasawa Manga Moveable Feast

Last month's MMF was for manga-ka Moyoco Anno; this month is for a manga-ka arguably more well known for English language manga readers - Naoki Urasawa, author behind works such as Monster, Pluto, and 20th Century Boys. At one point, the Monster anime even aired on the SyFy channel on their anime Monday block.

Organization Anti-Social Geniuses will be hosting this next MMF and it will run from February 17th-24th.

The great thing about this Manga Moveable Feast is that a good amount of his work is available in English, making him much more accessible to fans new to his work. Below are his works that have been licensed for English language release:

• Monster (manga and anime)
• 20th Century Boys
• 21st Century Boys
• Pluto
• Master Keaton (anime)
• Yawara! (anime)

Much of his work can be purchased online or at your local book/comic book store. You can follow the Naoki Urasawa MMF on Twitter with the #UrasawaMMF hashtag.

New Code Geass: Akito the Exiled PV Online

Hat-tip to ANN for the video: Code Geass Akito the Exiled #2's Advance Promo Streamed. Akito the Exiled is the Code Geass OVA series that takes place before the TV series. Four episodes are planned in total for the OVA.

In a perfect world, Bandai would still have the Code Geass title and this new piece would be accompanied by a North American release date. Alas, Bandai stopped distribution of anime in North America last year. Who will save the Code Geass license now? No one knows.