Manga Giveaway: A Cache of Kodansha Comics Winner

Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Volume 1Kigurumi Guardians, Volume 1
Land of the Lustrous, Volume 1Love and Lies, Volume 1

And the winner of the manga giveaway for a cache of Kodansha Comics is… Dawn!

As the winner, Dawn (whose terrific Anime Nostalgia Podcast also happens to be hosting a giveaway right now) will be receiving the first volumes of Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju by Haruko Kumota, Kigurumi Guardians by Lily Hoshino, Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa, and Love & Lies by Musawo, all of which debuted in English from Kodansha Comics this past year. In addition to its print releases, Kodansha Comics has also had a particularly good showing in 2017 digitally. And so for this giveaway, I asked participants to tell me a little about their own reading habits and preferences when it comes to print versus digital manga. The responses were really great, so be sure to check out the giveaway comments!

Kodansha Comics’ 2017 Print Manga Debuts
Aho-Girl by Hiroyuki
Appleseed Alpha by Iou Kuroda
Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card by CLAMP
Clockwork Planet by Kuro
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju by Haruko Kumota
Fairy Tail: Rhodonite by Kyouta Shibano
Fairy Tail: S by Hiro Mashima
Frau Faust by Kore Yamazaki
Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta
Kigurumi Guardians by Lily Hoshino
Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight by Rin Mikimoto
Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa
Love and Lies by Musawo
Neo Parasyte M by Various
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime written by Fuse and illustrated by Taiki Kawakami
To Your Eternity by Yoshitoki Oima
Toppu GP by Kosuke Fujishima
Waiting for Spring by Anashin
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty by Megumi Morino

Kodansha Comics’ 2017 Digital Debuts
Ace of the Diamond by Yuji Terajima
All-Out by Shiori Amase]
All-Rounder Meguru by Hiroki Endo
Altair: A Record of Battles by Kotono Kato
Aoba-kun’s Confessions by Ema Toyama
Ayanashi by Yukihiro Kajimoto
Beauty Bunny by Mari Yoshino
Black Panther and Sweet by Pedoro Toriumi
Blame! Academy and So On by Tsutomu Nihei
Chihayafuru by Yuki Suetsugu
Cosplay Animal by Watari Sakou
Days by Tsuyoshi Yasuda
Deathtopia by Yoshinobu Yamada
Domestic Girlfriend by Kei Sasuga
Drifting Dragons by Taku Kuwabara
Drowning Love by George Asakura
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life written by Hinowa Kouzuki, illustrated by Waka Miyama
The Full-Time Wife Escapist by Tsunami Umino
Giant Killing written by Masaya Tsunamoto, illustrated by Tsujitomo
Grand Blue Dreaming written by Kenji Inoue, illustrated by Kimitake Yoshioka
GTO: Paradise Lost by Toru Fujisawa
Hotaru’s Way by Satoru Hiura
House of the Sun by Taamo
Hozuki’s Coolheadedness by Natsumi Eguchi
I Want to Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die by Umi Shiina
I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World by Taamo
Kasane by Daruma Matsuura
Kokkoku: Moment by Moment by Seita Horio
Koundori: Dr. Stork by You Suzunoki
Love’s Reach by Rin Mikimoto
Lovesick Ellie by Fujimomo
Magical Sempai by Azu
Museum by Ryousuke Tomoe
My Brother the Shut In by Kinoko Higurashi
Our Precious Conversations by Robico
Peach Heaven by Mari Yoshino
PTSD Radio by Masaaki Nakayama
Rave Master by Hiro Mashima
Real Girl by Mao Nanami
Shojo Fight! by Yoko Nihonbashi
A Springtime with Ninjas by Narumi Hasegaki
Tokyo Tarareba Girls by Akiko Higashimura
Tsuredure Children by Toshiya Wakabayashi
Until Your Bones Rot by Yae Utsumi
Wave, Listen to Me! by Hiroaki Samura

Assuming that I didn’t miss any (I’m sure I have and some of the digital titles probably haven’t even been revealed yet), Kodansha Comics had twenty print debuts last year (most if not all of which are also available digitally) and forty-five digital debuts (a few of which will eventually be released in print, too). By the end of the year, Kodansha Comics will have debuted more than sixty-five new titles in addition to its other continuing series! It’s great to see how much is being published in English these days in print and digitally, and not just by Kodansha Comics. Thank you to everyone who shared your reading preferences with me! Both digital and print manga have their pros and cons, so I found all of your responses very interesting. I hope to see you again at the end of December for one last giveaway here at Experiments in Manga!

Manga Giveaway: Oresama Teacher Giveaway Winner

Oresama Teacher, Volume 1And the winner of the Oresama Teacher manga giveaway is… Candy Ha!

As the winner, Candy will be receiving the first volume of Izumi Tsubaki’s manga series Oresama Teacher as released in English by Viz Media’s Shojo Beat imprint. I’m behind the times and only recently started reading Oresama Teacher but I’ve been enjoying it tremendously. In particular, the series reminded me of how much I enjoy manga about delinquents, so for this giveaway I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite delinquents from manga. As usual, I’ve gathered together a list of manga below, but be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s individual responses.

Some of the manga released in English with notable delinquents:
Arisa by Natsumi Ando
Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida
Blue Spring by Taiyo Matsumoto
Cromartie High School by Eiji Nonaka
Dengeki Daisy by Kyousuke Motomi
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Great Teacher Onizuka by Tohru Fujisawa
Great Teacher Onizuka: 14 Day in Shonan by Tohru Fujisawa
Great Teacher Onizuka: The Early Years by Tohru Fujisawa
Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto by Nami Sano
Hey, Sensei? by Yaya Sakuragi
Kamikaze Girls by Yukio Kanesada
Karakuri Odette by Julietta Suzuki
Love Attack by Shizuru Seino
Love Full of Scars by Psyche Delico
Mars by Fuyumi Soryo
Midori Days by Kazurou Inoue
My Little Monster by Robico
Oresama Teacher by Izumi Tsubaki
Persona 4 by Shuji Sogabe
Real by Takehiko Inoue
Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima
Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue
Tekkon Kinkreet by Taiyo Matsumoto
Yamada and the Seven Witches by Miki Yoshikawa
Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi
Worst by Hiroshi Takahashi

Once again, the above list isn’t at all comprehensive, but it does include a variety of different types of manga. Delinquents show up in sports manga, speculative fiction, boys’ love, romance, comedy, drama, and more. Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway by sharing your favorite manga delinquents with me. I’m already thinking ahead to the next monthly giveaway and hope that you’ll all join me in the fun again!

Manga Giveaway: Assassin’s Creed Giveaway Winner

Assassin's Creed: Awakening, Volume 1And the winner of the Assassin’s Creed: Awakening manga giveaway is… Sean Kleefeld!

As the winner, Sean (who does some great writing about comics) will be receiving a copy of the first volume in Takashi Yano and Kenji Oiwa’s Assassin’s Creed: Awakening as published in English by Titan Comics. Since pirates feature very prominently in the series, I wanted to learn about some of the giveaway participant’s favorite pirates from manga. Perhaps unsurprisingly considering the popularity of the series characters from Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece were mentioned several times, but some lesser-known pirates can be found in the giveaway comments, too.

Some of the manga released in English featuring pirates:
Assassin’s Creed: Awakening written by Takashi Yano, illustrated by Kenji Oiwa
Basara by Yumi Tamura
Berserk by Kentaro Miura
Black Lagoon by Rei Hiroe
Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace by Chibimaru
Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto
Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage written by Leiji Matsumoto, illustrated by Kouiti Shimaboshi
Cirque du Freak by Takahiro Arai
Elemental Gelade by Mayumi Azuma
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass by Akira Himekawa
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto
Stone by Sin-ichi Hiromoto
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Wanted by Matsuri Hino
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

I’m certain that the above list isn’t comprehensive, but I was a little surprised by how few series I was able to easily come up with that feature pirates! Still, it’s an interesting mix which includes historical pirates, fantasy pirates, space pirates, and more. Thank you to everyone who participated by sharing your personal favorites with me! I hope to see you all again for the next monthly giveaway.

Manga Giveaway: A Variety of Vertical Comics Winner

Devils' Line, Volume 1Flying Witch, Volume 1
Mysterious Girlfriend X, Omnibus 1Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Volume 1

And the winner of the Variety of Vertical Comics manga giveaway is… Michelle Gauthier!

As the winner, Michelle will be receiving the first volume of four manga series released by Vertical Comics: Ryo Hanada’s Devils’ Line, Chihiro Ishizuka’s Flying Witch, Riichi Ueshiba’s Mysterious Girlfriend X, and Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou: My Ordinary Life. Since this giveaway focused on Vertical Comics, I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite Vertical manga, too. Check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses, and check out below for a list of some of Vertical’s manga.

Manga from Vertical Comics:
Arakawa under the Bridge by Hikaru Nakamura
Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei
Chi’s Sweet Home by Konami Kanata
Devil’s Line by Ryo Hanada
Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito
Dream Fossil by Satoshi Kon
Flying Witch by Chihiro Ishizuka
The Flowers of Evil by Shuzo Oshimi
FukuFuku: Kitten Tales by Konami Kanata
The Garden of Words written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Midori Motohashi
A Girl on the Shore by Inio Asano
The Gods Lie by Kaori Okazaki
Helvetica Standard Bold by Keiichi Arawai
Immortal Hounds by Ryo Yasohachi
Imperfect Girl written by Nisioisin, illustrated by Mitsuru Hattori
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa, illustrated by Tomofumi Ogasawara
My Neighbor Seki by Takuma Morishige
Mysterious Girlfriend X by Riichi Ueshiba
Nichijou: My Ordinary Life by Keiichi Arawi
Ninja Slayer written by Yoshiaki Tabata, illustrated by Yuuki Yogo
Prophecy by Tetsuya Tsutsui
She and Her Cat written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts by Maybe
Tokyo ESP by Hajime Segawa
Witchcraft Works by Ryu Mizunagi

The above list only includes the manga that have been released (or will be released very soon) under the Vertical Comics imprint which was launched in 2014, but Vertical began publishing manga well before then. (I’m fairly certain that Vertical’s first manga was Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha back in 2003, but I could be wrong.) Even before specifically devoting an imprint to manga and anime-related titles, Vertical has always had a strong catalog of titles which are well-worth reading. Thank you to everyone who shared your particular Vertical favorites with me! I hope you’ll all participate in the next giveaway, too.

Manga Giveaway: The Royal Tutor Giveaway Winner

The Royal Tutor, Volume 1And the winner of The Royal Tutor manga giveaway is… Black_wind!

As the winner, Black_wind will be receiving a copy of The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai as published in English by Yen Press. I have a particular fondness for court intrigue, so for this giveaway I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite member of royalty from a manga since it often seems as though you can’t have one without the other. Be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses as well as the list below for even more manga!

Some of the manga available in English featuring royalty:
ACCA 13 by Natsume Ono
Andromeda Stories written by Ryu Mitsuse, illustrated by Keiko Takemiya
The Angel of Elhamburg by Aki
Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
Basara by Yumi Tamura
Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane
Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma
Emma by Kaoru Mori
The Heroic Legend of Arslan by Hiromu Arakawa
Iono-sama Fanatics by Miyabi Fujieda
Ludwig II by You Higuri
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
No Need for Tenchi! by Hitoshi Okuda
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga
Red River by Chie Shinohara
Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno
The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda
The Royal Tutor by Higasa Akai
The Seven Princes of the Thousand-Year Labyrinth written by Yu Aikawa, illustrated by Haruno Atori
The Story of Saiunkoku written by Sai Yukino, illustrated by Kairi Yura
Sugar Sugar Rune by Moyoco Anno
Two Flowers for the Dragon by Nari Kusakawa
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

As usual, the above certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should at least provide some interesting starting places for readers looking for a bit of royal flair in their manga. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and shared your favorite members of royalty with me. I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!