It’s almost the end of the month which means it’s yet again time for another giveaway at Experiments in Manga. This month I’m offering up an entire series: Yumi Tamura’s two-volume shoujo action thriller Chicago! The series was released in English by Viz Media a decade or so ago, but is now out of print. This month’s giveaway will give you a chance to snag a complete set of the manga. And, as always, the giveaway is open worldwide!
Chicago probably wouldn’t have come across my radar if it wasn’t for the fact that it was created by Yumi Tamura. Tamura is also the mangaka of Basara, a series that I absolutely love. Back when I was trying to track down some of the harder-to-find print volumes of Basara (the print edition is going out of print, but a digital version is now available), I discovered that Tamura’s Chicago and Wild Com. had also been translated. And so, simply because I enjoyed Tamura’s work so much on Basara, I picked them up. There are other mangaka whose work I will read no matter what it is, too, including but certainly not limited to Moyoco Anno, Usamaru Furuya, Fumi Yoshinaga, and Takeshi Obata. It can be interesting to see both the similarities and differences among the manga created by the same person; some mangaka have an incredible range.
So, you may be wondering, how can you win Yumi Tamura’s Chicago?
1) Are there any mangaka whose work you enjoy so much that you make a point to read anything they create? If so, tell me a little about them and what you like about their manga in the comments below. (If not, you can simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).
There you go! It’s as easy as that. You all have one week to submit comments and each person can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. If you have trouble with the comment form, or if you would prefer, entries can also be sent directly to me at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the comments here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on September 2, 2015. Good luck to you all!
VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.
Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Yumi Tamura Giveaway Winner
Oh, I have two “anything with their name on it, I’ll buy it” mangaka:
1) Osamu Tezuka, sure, I think his early work is rather “meh” (like Mysterious Underground Men and Lost World, I thought they were both fairly awful), but damn if his good stuff isn’t really damn good
2) Fumi Yoshinaga, the woman can make anything an interesting drama or comedy. How does one output so much special work, I don’t get it!
1) I’m basically a CLAMP junkie. I had to read everything they did. I still have a couple left – besides dropping X midway because I was too mad at it – but I’ll get there. Wonderful body of work. (But generally if I like an author’s work decently I’ll go hunt down what else they’ve done as a rule just so I make sure I don’t miss out on anything…)
2) @Melody_kondrael on twitter
Oh let’s see…this has happened for me with CLAMP, Kaoru Mori, Setona Mizushiro, Eiji Otsuka, and Fumi Yoshinaga. I could probably add a few more that only have a couple of works published here, and when I liked one I sought out the other.
if it was drawn by Kaoru Mori, Mitsukazu Mihara or Yayoi Ogawa .. chances are I’ve read it! In fan-scanslation form if there was no other way
CLAMP used to be on that list, but halfway thru Tsubasa their own AU-fanfic just got really boring… so sad…
tweet tweet: https://twitter.com/persoconchii/status/636691009141874688
I’m a recent convert but I am totally down for anything by Kaoru Mori. Bride’s Story has been excellent, and I recently started Emma. Brilliant work. I’ve also got an eye out for Jiro Taniguchi, but I don’t have much of his work yet.
if you’ve enjoyed Emma, try out her proto-maid series SHIRLEY
Japan had 2 volumes, we only had 1 … printed by CMX back in the day
Wow, I love older shoujo!!! Thanks for this giveaway!
I always recommend Kyoko Hikawa’s From Far Away. I’ve read all her works that have come out, and enjoy them all, but From Far Away will always be my favorite. I read Basara (AMAZING manga!) before I found this manga, and everything I could ask for was in From Far Away: romance, action, adventure, believable and likeable characters, etc. It’s just a shame that this went out of print. Though some might disagree, I really like the older art style in manga.
Another mangaka I always recommend is Naoki Urasawa. I fell in love with his manga, Monster, and that’s due to the well-written story, realistic characters, and honesty that is so blatant throughout the story. The antagonist is so frightening in that he is someone you can both sympathize and detest. His other works, 20th Century Boys and Pluto, are also favorites of mine.
The final one, is Jun Mochizuki. I adore her Pandora Hearts series. There’s tragedy, hints of romance, betrayal, tender moments, and a whole whirlwind of emotions. It draws inspiration from Alice in Wonderland loosely, while weaving an intricate story that blends the darkest and more compassionate human emotions than most manga do. Characters die and when they do, it hurts. They feel real and you never want them to suffer. I can’t recommend it enough.
Thanks for this awesome giveaway!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Leafydream
1) Not anymore. I used to read Arina Tanemura’s manga but I wasn’t that interested by her newer ones. I wanted to say Togashi Yoshihiro but I have checked and he has written two earlier works I haven’t heard about, and I think they weren’t licenced in my country. Level E is really good, it’s surprising it is said it made people think Togashi was dead after Yuyu Hakusho.
2) Twitter: https://twitter.com/Majenta_Dream/status/637113519381442560
Koike and Kojima would have to be that for me. I started actually with Samurai Executioner before I picked up Lone Wolf and Cub. Aside that, I tend to read manga based on what I like, an interesting description, so on rather than by authors.
This title in the giveaway definitely slipped my radar so hope to win to remedy that.
Best, and keep on blogging.
I’m pretty open to any genre or type of story, so if I enjoy a story from any author then I’ll keep an eye out for more of their work. In particular, anything by Kaoru Mori, Aki, Yana Toboso, or Atsushi Oukubo I will make sure to read as soon as possible. Baccano and Durarara are some of my favorite stories ever, so while he’s not a mangaka, I will read absolutely anything with Ryohgo Narita’s name attached to it.
Posted on behalf of insaneben:
The manga creator I frequently follow is Yu Yagami.
He’s best known as the creator of Those Who Hunt Elves, but was also the artist for Dokkoida!? opposite writer Taro Achi (who wrote the light novels for the [underrated] Kage Kara Mamoru/Mamoru The Shadow Protector). (All three series have had anime adaptations in the past.) Yagami’s other works, including Go West and Hikkatsu, were also published stateside. (A couple of his more recent works, namely Those Who Hunt The Butterfly and a sequel to Those Who Hunt Elves, have yet to be published in the US.)
His work can best be described as the mundane gone insane, with quite a bit of potty humor thrown in for good measure (little white bears who poop out toilet paper rolls being one such example). The expressions of his characters, ranging from shock to disgust (but mostly shock and disgust), are usually chuckle-worthy. Whether it’s a trio of humans and one haunted tank trying to escape an elf-populated fantasy world, an unemployed 20-something having to survive on cheap food while protecting the city as a bargain-basement sentai hero, or a martial expert who can fix any device with one hit, there’s seemingly no end to Yu Yagami’s imaginative creativity.
I’ll read anything Setona Mizushiro puts out, although I haven’t read the entire backlog of her older work yet. Her characters are hypocritical, cowardly and awkward in ways that I wish I didn’t relate to, but that’s precisely what makes her stories so compelling.
1. I’ll read pretty much anything by CLAMP. They’ve written many different series including X, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tsubasa, and Xxxholic. I love their distinct art style, and they always create such unique, interesting worlds and characters. I’m currently trying to collect as much of CLAMP’s manga as I can.
2. I posted a tweet about the giveaway as @Bamboopanda27.