29 November 2017 28 Comments

Manga Giveaway: A Cache of Kodansha Comics

November is nearly over which means it’s time for the usual monthly giveaway at Experiments in Manga! As has become tradition, November’s giveaway features a whole feast of manga rather than a single title. This month, everyone participating has the opportunity to win not one but four volumes of manga released (in print!) by Kodansha Comics in the last year: Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Volume 1 by Haruko Kumota, Kigurumi Guardians, Volume 1 by Lily Hoshino, Land of the Lustrous, Volume 1 by Haruko Ichikawa, and Love & Lies, Volume 1 by Musawo. As usual, the giveaway is open worldwide!

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

Although many manga publishers have started to release more and more titles digitally, Kodansha Comics in particular has been making tremendous strides in the digital realm over the last year or so. Personally, I much prefer a physical volume that I can hold in my hands, but I am still very happy that so much content is being officially translated and released. Even if it’s not in my preferred format, at least it’s available. But while I lament the digital titles that for one reason or another will likely never be published physically, there are still plenty of interesting and intriguing manga being released in print to keep me occupied.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a cache of Kodansha Comics?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your manga reading preferences and habits when it comes to print versus digital debate.
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 it is! Participants in the giveaway can earn up to two entries and have one week to submit comments. If needed or preferred, comments can also be sent to me via email at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com which I will then post here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on December 6, 2017. Best of luck!

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 Winner: A Cache of Kodansha Comics Winner

Filed Under: Features, Giveaways Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
27 November 2017 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: November 20-November 26, 2017

My News and Reviews

For everyone following along with Experiments in Manga, it’s probably obvious that things are running a little behind here right now. I intended to post an in-depth review last week (actually, two weeks ago), but life intervened. While I did manage to make some significant progress, the review is just not quite ready. However, I can confidently say that I’ll be able to post it later this week. (For real, this time!) There’s this month’s manga giveaway to look forward to on Wednesday, as well. So, after a couple of weeks of quiet, this week will be relatively busy here at the blog.

Quick Takes

Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Volume 2Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Volumes 2-3 by Haruko Kumota. Although rakugo isn’t completely unknown to me (I’ve even seen a live performance), most of my exposure to the art form has been through reading Descending Stories. The first volume introduced Kyoji, a young man who is given the name of Yotaro as part of his apprenticeship under a Yakumo, a highly-respected rakugo artist. While Yotaro does put hard work into learning the craft, his successes can more often be attributed to his natural charisma and earnest enthusiasm than actual technique. Yakumo’s stage presence and approach to rakugo is dramatically different. With the second and third volumes, Descending Stories begins to explore Yakumo’s backstory in greater detail. He details his own coming of age and relationship with and to rakugo. Yakumo, like Yotaro, struggled to find a way express himself through performance, bringing him into conflict with those closest to him. Descending Stories is an engrossing drama that becomes more compelling with each volume; I definitely plan on reading more of the series.

Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Volume 2The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Volumes 2-3 by Nagabe. One of the most beautiful, unusual, and unsettling manga that I’ve encountered this year is Nagabe’s The Girl from the Other Side. The artwork in particular is striking, but the series as a whole is incredibly atmospheric, a chilling fairytale-like story that unfolds at a tantalizingly slow pace with bursts of shocking violence and heartbreak. At times The Girl from the Other Side can be delightfully charming, but a sense of foreboding is a constant shadow. Shiva was abandoned to the Outside, perhaps for her own sake or perhaps for the sake of others. Now, however, she is being deliberately sought out to be brought back Inside. But while for the time being Shiva’s life may no longer be in immediate danger, her innocence is still poised to be shattered. Teacher continues to guard and protect her even as the curse, and the human response to that curse, threatens to destroy the two of them and their world. With both exceptional artwork and storytelling, The Girl from the Other Side is easily one of my favorite manga currently being released in English.

Filed Under: Features, My Week in Manga Tagged: , , , ,
20 November 2017 6 Comments

My Week in Manga: November 13-November 19, 2017

My News and Reviews

Last week was a very quiet one here at Experiments in Manga with nothing posted other than the usual My Week in Manga feature. However, I did manage to make some progress with my next in-depth review, so that should (hopefully!) be posted later this week. While not much was happening here at the blog, the North American manga publishers were all keeping pretty busy last week with a variety of license announcements, made either online or while at Anime NYC.

Starting with the online licensing spree from Seven Seas: The Bride & the Exorcist Knight manga by Keiko Ishihara; The Bride Was a Boy manga by Chii (an autobio comic by a transwoman–I’ll definitely be picking this up!); the Claudine manga by Riyoko Ikeda (I am absolutely thrilled by this license); teh Fairy Tale Battle Royale manga by Soraho Ina; the Harukana Receive manga by Nyoijizai; the How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom light novels by Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki (previously released digitally by J-Novel Club); the My Solo Exchange Diary manga by Nagata Kabi (a follow-up to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness); the Ojojojo manga by coolkyousinnjya; the Plus-Sized Elf manga by Synecdoche; the Space Battleship Yamato manga by Leiji Matsumoto (I’m so happy more influential classic manga is being translated); the True Tenchi Muyo! light novels is written by Masaki Kajishima and Yousuke Kuroda; the Versailles of the Dead manga by Kumiko Suekane; and the Wonderland manga by Yugo Ishikawa.

At Anime NYC, Kodansha Comics announced that it would be releasing Yasushi Baba’s Golosseum manga and Vertical Comics revealed that it would be publishing Tsutomu Nihei’s Aposimz. As for Viz Media, the publisher announced that it would be releasing a print edition of Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court’s My Hero Academia: Vigilantes manga (currently being released digitally) in addition to a brand new license, Okura and Coma Hashii’s That Blue Sky Feeling manga (I’m really looking forward to this one).

Yen Press has picked up quite a few things as well: Sanzo’s Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy manga; Tsukikage and Bob’s Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You Have a Ringer) light novels; Kazushige Nojima’s Final Fantasy VII short story collection; Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket Another manga; Yoh Yoshinari’s Little Witch Academia manga; Hiroumi Aoi’s Shibuya Goldfish manga; Yusaku Komiyama’s Star Wars: Lost Stars manga; Gao Yuzuki’s The Strange Creature at Kuroyuri Apartments manga; Keiichi Sigsawa’s Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online light novels; Soichiro Yamamoto’s Teasing Master Takagi-san manga; Mito Aoi’s Tsuno no Gakuen manga; and Akira Kareno’s WorldEnd light novels.

 Quick Takes

Land of the Lustrous, Volume 2Land of the Lustrous, Volumes 2-3 by Haruko Ichikawa. I found the first volume of Land of the Lustrous to be pretty, but perplexing; Ichikawa’s artwork can be absolutely stunning even while the plot remains somewhat impenetrable. Even so, I was and remain intrigued by Land of the Lustrous and its peculiar charm. The second and third volumes continue to explore the world that Ichikawa has created. Largely following Phos, who has been charged with writing a natural history (providing an excellent excuse to show readers around), more is slowly revealed about the Lustrous, the Lunarians with whom they battle, and the larger environment in which they live. The manga still seems to be primarily concerned about finding opportunities to display exquisite visuals–and there are certainly plenty of those–but the series’ underlying symbolism, themes, and mythologies are starting to coalesce and crystallize as well. Land of the Lustrous can be surprisingly philosophical even while being strange and surreal. I may not always understand exactly what’s going on, but I am captivated by the manga’s allure.

Void's Enigmatic Mansion, Volume 1Void’s Enigmatic Mansion, Volumes 1-2 by HeeEun Kim. It seems as though there are fewer manhwa being translated into English these days, but Yen Press still publishes some. The fifth and final volume of Void’s Enigmatic Mansion was released earlier this year which made me realize that I hadn’t actually gotten around to reading any of the series yet. JiEun Ha is credited as the creator of the original, but I haven’t been able to determine if that means there’s another version of the story out there in a different medium or if Ha simply developed the basic manhwa’s premise. In either case, Kim is the series’ adapter and artist. The titular mansion is a seven-story building, most of which the owner rents out. The mysterious Mr. Void hasn’t been seen yet (as far as readers know), but a number of his tenants have, none of whom live particularly happy lives. Void’s Enigmatic Mansion tends to be fairly episodic although there are also threads tying all of the characters and their unsettling stories together. Kim’s full-color illustrations can be quite beautiful, but they are also punctuated by shocking moments of blood and gore befitting the series’ horror.

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13 November 2017 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: November 6-November 12, 2017

My News and Reviews

The Bookshelf Overload for October was posted at Experiments in Manga last week, giving a quick summary of some of the interesting manga, anime, and other media that made their way into my home last month. Otherwise, it was a fairly quiet week at the blog, and it’s going to be even quieter this week. I’m currently work on my next in-depth review, but I suspect that it won’t be ready to reveal to the world until sometime next week. (Hopefully it will be worth the wait.) As for other interesting things recently found online: Brigid Alverson wrote up a recap of an interview with Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima from this year’s New York Comic Con for Barnes & Noble and over at Crunchyroll Evan Minto interviewed Frederik L. Schodt, a manga translator, scholar, and personal friend of Osamu Tezuka.

Quick Takes

Shirley, Volume 1Shirley, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori. Only the first volume of Shirley was ever released in English. It’s now well out-of-print, but it’s also well-worth picking up. I would love to see Yen Press release the entire series in a handsome omnibus that would be at home next to the new edition of Mori’s Emma. I believe that most if not all of the short manga in the first volume of Shirley precede Emma, but the collection was only published after the first volume of Emma was released. The artwork is simpler than that found in Mori’s most recent series in translation, A Bride’s Story, but it is still quite lovely and evocative. As a whole, Shirley is a charming work. Mori’s love of maids is quite evident. The first volume collects five episodic chapters which follow Bennett Cranley and the titular Shirley Madison, a young maid that Bennett hires, in addition to two other stories unrelated by plot although they both also feature Edwardian-era maids. Shirley is only thirteen when she starts working for Bennett and they develop a close, if somewhat unusual, relationship as a result. While Shirley is a very capable maid she is still young–at times its as though she’s more like Bennett’s ward rather than her employee. She’s a sweet, likeable girl, so it’s easy to see why Bennett would be so taken with her.

The Witch BoyThe Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag. I first learned about The Witch Boy while at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival earlier this year. Ostertag was on the panel “LGBTQ Comics Abroad” along with several other creators when she mentioned the upcoming publication of the graphic novel; I immediately added it to my list of comics to pick up when it was released. Ostertag is probably best known as the artist of the ongoing webcomic Strong Female Protagonist and has collaborated as an illustrator on several other comics projects as well. However, The Witch Boy is her debut work as both author and artist. The graphic novel is aimed at middle grade readers, but the comic will be able to be appreciated by adult audiences as well. Aster comes from a family of magic users–the women are taught the secrets of witchery while the men are expected to learn how to shapeshift, a tradition which is strictly adhered to. Much to his family’s dismay, Aster would much rather study with the girls than roughhouse with the boys. Forbidden from learning the women’s magic despite his talent for it, Aster longs for his family to accept his true self. The Witch Boy is a beautiful story with a wonderful message; I hope to read more of Ostertag’s writing in the future.

Attack on Titan: The Anime GuideAttack on Titan: The Anime Guide by Ryosuke Sakuma and Munehiko Inagaki. Kodansha Comics almost exclusively publishes manga, although over time a few other things have been released as well, most of which are in some way a part of the massively successful Attack on Titan franchise. One of the more recent non-manga offerings is Attack on Titan: The Anime Guide, a full-color volume consisting of artwork, character designs, process overviews, and other background information relating to the first season of the Attack on Titan anime. The Anime Guide will mostly appeal to readers who are already devoted fans of Attack on Titan. What interested me most were the numerous interviews included in the book. The most notable is the lengthy interview with and conversation between Hajime Isayama and Tetsuro Araki, the original creator of Attack on Titan and the series director of the anime respectively. (Isayama saw the anime as an opportunity to improve upon or even correct aspects of the manga with which he wasn’t completely satisfied.) The interviews with the anime’s chief animation directors, Titan designer, action animation directors, scriptwriter, voice actors, and theme song musicians were also interesting to read.

Filed Under: Features, My Week in Manga Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
10 November 2017 9 Comments

Bookshelf Overload: October 2017

Another month, another mountain of media that somehow made its way into my possession! (Actually, I know exactly how.) Thanks to some fantastic sales, I finally got around to filling in the gaps in my collection of Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond. I also ended up buying more anime than I usually do, too. In particular, Sentai Filmworks announced back in September that it would be discontinuing DVDs and has since been working to clear out stock. Since my eyesight is poor enough that I don’t usually notice a difference in visual quality between DVD and Blu-ray releases, I took the opportunity to pick up Space Brothers and a few other things at a greatly discounted price. As for October manga debuts, I was greatly impressed by Spirit Circle, Volume 1 by Satoshi Mizukami. I was also really looking forward to the release of Yokai Rental Shop, Volume 1 by Shin Mashiba since I enjoyed the creator’s earlier series Nightmare Inspector. Notably, manga translator and yokai scholar Zack Davisson released a new work in October, too–Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan is one of the newest titles from Chin Music Press, a publisher that takes great care with physical production and design, so in addition to being interesting, it’s also a beautiful book.

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 10 by Gamon Sakurai
Akuma no Riddle, Volumes 2-4 written by Yun Kouga, illustrated by Sunao Minakata
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 20 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Gangsta: Cursed, Volume 3 written by Kohske, illustrated by Syuhei Kamo
Imperfect Girl, Volume 1 by Mitsuru Hattori
Jackass! by Scarlet Beriko
The Key to the Kingdom, Volumes 1-6 by Kyoko Shitou
Kitaro’s Strange Adventures by Shigeru Mizuki
Prison School, Omnibus 8 by Akira Hiramoto
Spirit Circle, Volume 1 by Satoshi Mizukami
Super Dimensional Love Gun by Shintaro Kago
Vagabond, Omnibus 7-8 by Takehiko Inoue
Yokai Rental Shop, Volume 1 by Shin Mashiba

Comics!
The Academic Hour by Keren Katz
Awaken, Volume 1 by Koti Saavedra
The Big Book of Bisexual Trials and Errors by Elizabeth Beier
Can I Pet Your Werewolf? edited by Kel McDonald and Molly Muldoon
Cosmoknights: Prologue by Hannah Fisher
Flutter, Volume 3 written by Jennie Wood, illustrated by Jeff McComsey
Fujoshi Trapped in a Seme’s Perfect Body, Volume 3 written by Seru, illustrated by Joberu
Generations by Flavia Biondi
Goro, Issue 1 by Sarah Horrocks
Ladycastle written by Delilah Dawson, illustrated by Ashley A. Woods
Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata
Oh Joy, Sex Toy, Volume 4 created by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
Spinning by Tillie Walden
The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

Light Novels!
Juni Taisen: Zodiac War written by Nisiosin, illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura

Novels!
The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke
Milky Way Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa
Snakelust by Kenji Kagagami

Anthologies!
Japanese Gothic Tales by Kyōka Izumi

Poetry!
Bashō’s Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages by Bashō Matsuo
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

Nonfiction!
Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan by Zack Davisson
The Silver Spoon: Memoir of a Boyhood in Japan by Kansuke Naka

Anime!
Food Wars! directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani
Gosick, Part 2 directed by Hitoshi Nanba
Hozuki’s Coolheadedness directed by Hiro Kaburaki
Orange directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki
Pet Shop of Horrors directed by Toshio Hirata
Space Brothers directed by Ayumu Watanabe

Filed Under: Bookshelf Overload, Unshelved
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