It’s reassuring to see Del Rey list eight new manga volumes this month, given recent concern about their plans for the format. And they’re mostly single books, too, with only one of the omnibus combined editions they’ve been putting out recently. (That one finishes off the Rave Master series (SEP10 0981, $24.99) on December 1, rescheduled from June 2011.)

I’m also noticing writeups that are a lot more friendly to this particular purchasing audience, who might not be as familiar with manga as some. Ghost Hunt Volume 11 (SEP10 0976, $11.99), for example, is compared to Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] and The Ring, and there’s lots of “for fans of [another well-known manga series]” or “by the author of [other title]” mentions. Those connections are a help to buyers with limited knowledge.

Top of my list from Del Rey is their Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Book 8 (SEP10 0982, $10.99), described as both “Heathers goes to Japan” and “for readers of Genshiken and Mushishi“. (I see the former, not so much the latter, connection, but I admire how creative their ad writer is being.) I enjoy the series for its black humor, distinctive look, and episodic nature.

I’m also intrigued by the Del Rey debut of I Am Here! Volume 1 (SEP10 0977, $16.99 — that higher price is because it’s almost 500 pages). It’s about a romance between a shy blogger and the most popular boy in class. That’s something many readers can either relate to or dream about.

Tokyopop

Sometimes I miss Tokyopop’s expansive catalog spreads they used to run during the flush times. With 17 books listed on only two pages here, it can be difficult to read the little text, especially since it’s white on black. The only thing I want to mention is the final volume of Sgt. Frog, Book 20 (SEP10 1131, $10.99). Wow, it seems like ages ago that I first read this series. (In manga terms, I guess five years is an era.)

Tokyopop is only offering one yaoi title this month, and there’s no mention of the Blu imprint. Since that site hasn’t been updated since April, is there something they aren’t telling us about their yaoi plans?

Viz

The backbone of my manga buying these days, with several new installments of series I’m enjoying, all due in December:

20th Century Boys 12	Library Wars 3	Butterflies, Flowers 5	Ooku 5
SEP10 1166	SEP10 1177	SEP10 1183	SEP10 1189
$12.99	$9.99	$9.99	$12.99
Order this book	Order this book	Order this book	Order this book
Previous review	Previous review	Previous review	Previous review

Yen Press

Since I have become a Fumi Yoshinaga fangirl, the manga I’m most excited about ordering this month is Not Love But Delicious Foods (SEP10 1204, $10.99). It’s all about a manga artist who enjoys eating out with friends. I cannot wait to savor this.

Yesterday afternoon, the news came over twitter that Satoshi Kon had died. Normally, the death of a director doesn’t affect me. However, Kon’s death hit me hard. He is only one of only four anime directors I devotedly follow. His films had a deep impact on me, and he is the only one of the four that I got to meet in person.

When I first got into anime, I started reading any book I could find on the subject and looking for recommendations of shows and films to watch. Films like Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Totoro, and Perfect Blue kept coming up in every “best of” list I found. I had already seen Ghost in the Shell and Akira, so I decided to try Perfect Blue. If I had any reservations about being a fan, or doubts to the artistic value of anime, Perfect Blue erased them all. It was the confirmation that I had stumbled upon a vast treasure.

Perfect Blue is the story of a young pop idol singer, Mima, being pushed to become an actress by her manager. The talent agency wants to mature Mima’s image and so has her cast in an erotic thriller. Perfect Blue is a brilliant film on par with the works of Hitchcock. It proved to me that animated stories could be as complex and layered as live-action films. It was the first time ‘mature’ cartoon meant more than just having nudity.

Kon’s next film was Millennium Actress. I was fortunate enough to see this in the theater, and I was blown away. Not only was the film gorgeous to look at it, it was a masterpiece of storytelling. A retired actress, Chiyoko, recounts her life and the movies she made. When I saw it for the first time, I was flabbergasted at how seamlessly Kon blended memory and movie reality. Watching it again last night, I was moved by the unrequited love at the heart of Chiyoko’s life story. It’s my favorite Kon film.

Tokyo Godfather was a bit of a departure for Kon. It was a straight-forward narrative, a Christmas story of three homeless people that find an abandoned baby and their adventures trying to locate the child’s parents. In a culture that likes to pretend the homeless don’t exist, Kon had the courage to make them heroes. Whether intentionally or not, Kon crafted a Christmas story that actually resonated with the Gospel narratives. Jesus walked among the outcast of Jewish society. He ministered to adulterers, lepers, Roman soldiers, etc. So this story of a child and the three ‘angels’ that look after her has lessons for audiences of all faith traditions.

His final completed film was Paprika. This film holds very special memories for me. I got to see Paprika and Tokyo Godfather in Washington, DC, as part of the Cherry Blossom festival in 2008. Kon himself was in attendance to introduce the films and take questions after. It was a thrill for me to see a director I deeply admired in person.

It’s a story I tell too often. While the end credits for Tokyo Godfathers were rolling, I approached Kon and asked him to sign the postcard that came with the Tokyo Godfathers DVD. The Smithsonian hadn’t scheduled an autograph session, but I couldn’t let this chance pass. I figured the worst that could happen would be security escorting me out, but at least I’d have my signature. Thankfully, I wasn’t kicked out. After I got my signature, and an unexpected sketch, I turned around to find twenty or so people lined up behind me. Kon gratuitously gave signatures to everyone. I prized that signature before; now, I cherish it with all my heart.

Kon was a great director, period. He just chose to work in the animated medium. All of his films are masterpieces visually and narratively. Working in animation gave him the freedom to tell stories that delved deeply into human psychology and raised questions about reality, how we perceive reality, and our memories. He loved to explore how the borders between these three blurred and can get confused. He is one of the extremely rare directors to never make a bad film.

Kon is survived by his wife and a legend of fans. I know I won’t be the only person who will spend the next few days grieving his passing. My prayers go out to his wife and relatives. The greatest testament to a man can have is positive impact his life had on others. By that measure Kon was a truly great man. May his kind increase.

Tokyopop has announced (via Facebook) that, while the anticipated Hetaila: Axis Powers series will be available in print on September 21, you can buy it digitally through digital download partner Zinio right now. For its 148 pages, the digital price is $5.99 US; in print, it’s $12.99. That illustrates Tokyopop’s variable pricing — why it’s not the now-standard price of $10.99, I don’t know. Either they expect it to sell worse than other titles, and need to profit more on each book to cover costs, or they expect it to sell better, and just want to make more money.

Update: (8/17/10) Tokyopop has clarified on Twitter that the price should be $10.99, explaining that it had been listed as the higher price in their system a “long time ago” and the “data feed needs to catch up”.

There’s been debate about the timing of digital releases, with superhero comic companies getting press for putting one or two of their publications online for purchase the same day as the print copy is available to buy. I’m not aware of any doing the digital release first — but then, superhero comics aren’t licensed publications already available in a different language elsewhere.

Hetalia is already well-known among the fan community (as illustrated by how many cosplay characters), many of whom have likely read it online already without paying. So putting out the digital version first is possibly an attempt to make some money off it now, although I’m not sure how successful that will be. Tokyopop freelance editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber is encouraging support of the book (as you’d expect, since she worked on it, but it’s great to hear more about it from someone who’s familiar with it).

The comments at the announcement thread are interesting, with several saying that they’ll wait for print, either because they prefer hardcopy or because “Zinio is too expensive!” Others joke about reading scans or say they’ll check with their library. That’s because of the coolest part of Tokyopop’s digital release program:

We have made (*free*) digital editions of HETALIA available to all US public libraries–get your library card (also *free*) & go to your public library’s web site. If they don’t have a copy, ask them to order it through the “OverDrive Digital Library Reserve” program.

I’m guessing that libraries that aren’t already part of that program won’t join just for this, but if you’re interested, and you have a compatible device, it’s worth asking about.

That joke’s meant to point out how weird I find it to pull one genre/format/not sure how they define it, exactly, into its own ghetto, but at least that gives the superhero books room not to be dominated by those non-American comics. Although the question of definition comes up again this week, as two of the ten manga entries are licensed works with no Japanese connection. What makes Warriors: Ravenpaw’s Path Volume 3 (#1) and Return to Labyrinth Volume 4 (#4) manga, other than that they’re published by Tokyopop?

The rest of the top ten list is, as expected, all Viz — the most successful American manga publisher — with the exception of Del Rey’s Negima! Magister Negi Magi Volume 27 (#5), a canny blend of Harry Potter and fan service. Makes me wonder — do Del Rey’s licensed graphic novels, such as the Dean Koontz Odd books, get put in “manga” too?

Everything is new this week or the previous, except for the long-running Naruto, whose 48th volume (!) is in its 10th week on the chart. I don’t follow the lists enough to know how often Tokyopop places or which titles make the list, but their only two entries are both spinoffs from other media, books and movie, respectively. Which leads to my main point, best seen by looking at the paperback graphic novels list.

Six of the ten entries there (#1, 3-7) are the Scott Pilgrim books, as interest peaks before the opening of the movie adaptation today. Three of the rest (#2, 8, 9) are Walking Dead collections, as viewers prepare for the upcoming TV show, debuting on AMC in October. And 6 of those 9 titles have double-digit weeks on the list. That’s what drives interest and sales these days — is it a movie or TV show? Will it be? Did someone think this comic was good enough to dump millions into making it move with actors?

Or do we already know the author, so we feel like we’re guaranteed a predictable amount of enjoyment? That explains two of the hardcover best-sellers: Troublemaker, co-written by Janet Evanovich, in second place on its third week on the list, and the Twilight graphic novel (#8). Plus, Kick-Ass, at #3 after 22 weeks, is still riding movie attention, although I’m surprised it’s placing so well so long after the film came and went.

The rest of the hardcover list, with one exception, is all Blackest Night titles, six books (#1, 4-6, 9, 10). I’m not sure if Green Lantern interest is building due to next summer’s movie or if there are a lot of superhero fans who love blending zombies and Rainbow Bright into the genre.

It’s the manga we love to hate — manga so bad it makes you wonder if a professional editor had a hand in shepherding the work to press, or if the artist was simply given a generous amount of rope with which to hang himself.

To win a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of all of Kate’s bad manga, you’ll need to submit your own bad manga candidate, following directions at that link. For ideas, check out her recent candidates.

I haven’t had time to go back through my reviews to pick my own submission. (I try to forget the bad ones as soon as possible, although if you recall something I savaged, please, remind me in the comments.) The only one that comes to mind is Hot Gimmick, just because its message — that it’s ok to be abused, almost raped, and treated as a doormat if you’re in LUV — is so putrid and dangerous. How can you like a book that contains the line, “Maybe if we got married, he’d finally be nice to me”?

I suspect high on Ed’s list of worst manga is Le Chevalier d’Eon for being both dull and exploitive, an unusual combination, but not one that redeems the series. Another of his candidates is the “odious” Maria Holic, for “read[ing] like a bigot openly mocking people who aren’t ‘normal’.”

The Death Note Collection
Buy this DVD

It’s a three-disc set with a list price of $39.98 US, containing both the Death Note live-action movie and its sequel Death Note II: The Last Name, plus a bonus disc with “more than two hours of all-new behind-the-scenes footage”. The films can be run either with an English-dubbed dialogue track or with Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Both movies will also be shown at Viz Cinema in San Francisco on September 4, starting at noon. Combo tickets are $35 but include a copy of the Blu-ray as well as a poster, or you can watch both movies without the gifts for $15, one for $10.

Viz Pictures is also holding a giveaway contest open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Enter to win autographed posters for Death Note and Death Note II. Three winners will each get posters “along with an autograph from one of the three lead actors –- Tatsuya Fujiwara (who played Light), Erika Toda (Misa) and actor Kenichi Matusyama (L/Ryuzaki)”. Contest ends September 24.

On weeks when Viz releases manga, I find my $15 budget picks both easy and hard. Easy, because their manga purchases take up most or all of the money; hard, because I have to limit myself to only one or two volumes. Still, that’s a good way to focus on the good stuff and truly appreciate the worlds these stories create.

20th Century Boys
Book 10
Buy this book

This week, top of my list is Ooku: The Inner Chambers Book 4. I adore this alternate history series about an historical Japan where most of the men have died. Others have complained about the faux-Shakespearean take on the translation, but I love the flavor. For me, it adds to the period feel.

If the language or concept is too big a stumbling block for you, then here’s a second choice: 20th Century Boys Book 10, the latest chapter of the epic by Naoki Urasawa. It’s a sprawling adventure involving secret societies, giant robots, rock ‘n’ roll, and how you handle growing up and taking responsibility for making a difference.

Both books are also reminders that it’s a good thing that I’m going on vacation soon, since I still have to read Ooku 3 and 20th Century Boys 8 and 9 as well as these new volumes! Time for some great reading catchup.

Part two of my trip to Otakon.

Saturday

noitaminA: Experiments in Animation

9:00 AM – This panel was hosted by Alex Leavitt. This was my first year getting to know Alex, and he is another must-see panelist. I regret it took me this long to finally attend his panels.

noitaminA (Animation backwards) is a block of late-night television animation on Fuji TV aimed at non-traditional anime viewers. Specifically, it’s designed for adult females. Thus, it has featured shows like Honey and Clover, Nodame Canticle, and Hataraki Man. noitaminA has enjoyed success in its time slot.

One sobering slide showed how little money anime production companies are given to make a season (13 shows). The slide showed a sponsor giving $460,000 to create a season, but after the marketing companies and television executives take their cut, that leaves $75,000 to go to the animation company. Again, that’s $75,000 to make all 13 episodes. Now you can see why there is a personnel crisis in Japanese animation.

Super Sentai 101

10:30 AM – This panel was hosted by two members of Rangercast.net. As the title indicates, this panel was an introduction to the genre of live action shows know as Super Sentai. Here in the US, we know the genre as the Power Ranger franchise.

The Super Sentai genre was created by Shotaro Ishinomori, who got his start working on anime like the original Astro Boy and Cyborg 009 series. The genre traces its orgins back to 1977 with the show Himitsu Sentai Goranger. The first true Super Sentai show was Battle Fever J in 1979, and there has been a Super Sentai show on TV every year since then.

This panel went well, since the presenters were familiar with each of the shows they presented. Their only flaw was not downloading the clips they planned to use to their computer or a flash drive. Instead, they relied on the convention center wi-fi to connect to YouTube to pull up the clips. They had more success than I would have suspected, but the connection was slow, and they didn’t get to show all the clips they had planned.

Anime in Academia

Panelists Alex Leavitt, Andrea Horbinski, Ada Palmer, and Mikhail Koulikov.

12:30 PM – This was another panel hosted by Alex Leavitt. His guests were Andrea Horbinski, Ada Palmer, and Mikhai Koulikov. The panel grew out of the Anime and Manga Research Circle mailing list.

Alex began with a list of resources including Susan J. Napier’s Anime From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle, Frederik L. Schodt’s Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics, Hiroki Azuma’s Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals, and the academic journal Mechademia.

The panel touched on a wide range of topics. They started out talking about what manga and anime they were currently enjoying. They discussed the problem of how what is available to the US affects the way people in the US perceive anime and manga. Because of how quickly series go out of print in America, it’s hard to come up with a suggested reading list for use in classrooms. They also covered what it’s like to do research in Japan, the benefits and the struggles, among other topics.

Really, an hour isn’t enough time to seriously dwell on any one topic of anime in academia. The panel was a good sample of the problems that people who want to be scholars of anime and manga face in the current academic setting. I’d like to see the panel expand into two hours and pick one topic and explore all the implications it means for a scholar. For example, what does it take to publish an anime-themed research article in a peer review journal?

Podcasting Your Fandom

2:00PM – This panel was supposed to be hosted by the guys at the Otaku Generation podcast. Unfortunately, some idiot pulled the fire alarm, and we had to evacuate the convention center.

What’s amazing is that 28,000 people calmly and quickly evacuated a building the size of two city blocks in about 20 minutes. The fire marshall verified it was a false alarm, and everyone was let back in. All told it only took an hour away from the convention schedule. Kudos to the congoers and staff for keeping calm and orderly.

Phenomenology of Ikari Shinji

5:00 PM – This panel, hosted by James, Tracy, and Skinner, was a complete let-down and a waste of my time. They began with the question, “Is it ever sensible to value an individual over a universal rule?” It’s a vague question based on Kantian ethics. They didn’t try to define the terms of the discussion, and any attempt to set boundaries was dismissed.

The conversation went off-track into a discussion of how we can know if what we experience is real or a dream. Again, attempts to define the discussion were brushed aside. It was simply argument for the sake of argument. The panelists and most of the audience desperately need to take a Philosophy 101 course. It would have eliminated 95% of what was said. I’ll avoid these types of panels in the future.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Strategies of the Stars

6:00 PM – This panel was led by two guys who names I didn’t get. That’s unfortunate because they really know this series inside and out.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a space opera adapted from the 18-novel series by Yoshiki Tanaka. The anime consists of 101 half-hour televison episodes, 2 movies, and 1 OVA. None of the novels nor any of the anime has ever been licensed for release in the US, but all of the anime has been fansubbed. The panel was an excellent introduction to the series; it made me wish it was available officially in the US.

Fanthopology

7:30 PM – The panelist was a no-show. However, instead of disbanding the crowd, the staff member decided that since the panel was on the study of fan culture, we could hold our own impromptu discussion. I wish I could have gotten the staff member’s name. He should be lauded for creating a wonderful organic experience.

He asked if anyone had ever done any writing on fandom. Well, it turned out that Charles Dunbar was sitting next to me, and he is doing his Ph.D. dissertation on conventions and fandom. Also in the crowd were two people who had done master’s-level work on fandom and a person that had done some work on fanfic and fan culture in high school. The four panelists then proceeded to have a free-flowing discussion.

Charles had his camcorder with him and asked me to tape the panel. Because of this, I was unable to take notes. Thankfully, Lauren of Otakujournalist.com emailed me the notes that she took. I can’t thank her enough for her kindness.

I will only just briefly give a sense of the flow of the discussion here. It began with the idea that fan culture really goes back to the ancient Greeks. Their tales of gods and heroes could be thought of as fanfic, since they were stories created by devotees out of their enthusiasm. This kind of fandom can be traced throughout human history. Fandom stems from the core of human psychology. We are wired for devotion, be it to religion, celebrities, hobbies, etc. Examples of mainstream fandom are sports fans, music fans, and movie fans.

There was a brief discussion of the history of the term ‘otaku’ in Japan. The term has enjoyed a checkered history that reflects how Japanese culture has never been truly comfortable accepting anime/manga fandom. Although the term ‘otaku’ is usually used for anime/manga fans, it has found broader use in Japanese culture, too. You can be an otaku for Godzilla, trains, sports cars, etc.

It was an incredible and exciting discussion. Without a doubt, it was my favorite moment of the convention. It was unscripted and authentic. I walked out of the room euphoric and optimistic about fandom. Just writing about the event is bring back all the excitement I felt then. These are intelligent, passionate people, and I am honored to be included among them.

Sunday

Ramen Fighter Miki

9:00 AM – In this comedy anime, Miki helps her mother out at the family-owned ramen shop. Unfortunately, Miki is easily distracted and is given to flights of imagination. It’s a fun series with lots of slapstick humor.

After watching a couple episodes of Miki, I decided to head down to the dealer room for a final look around. I picked up some Black Jack volumes that I was missing. Then I found myself in another impromptu discussion with fellow bloggers. We talked about the con, the guests, and other miscellany. It was a great moment to take a breather and process what we had experienced so far.

The Rise of Manhwa

2:00 PM – Another disappointing panel. You can read my write-up over at Mangabookshelf.com.

I throughly enjoyed myself this year at Otakon. I got to meet old friends, meet people I’d only talked to over the internet, and make new friends. It was a rich variety of experiences. I’ll be back next year to do it all again. I highly recommend any East Coast anime or manga fan to make the trek to Baltimore at least once. You won’t regret it.

Next stop, New York Anime Fest in October.

This past weekend, I attended Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland. This was my second year attending Otakon as press, and I was one of 28,044 people at the convention. (This figure will be significant later.)

This year marked a couple of changes in my convention attendance behavior. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been attending more panels and watching less anime at conventions. I only saw one anime show this year, Ramen Fighter Miki, and I only watched it because there was nothing else scheduled Sunday morning that I found interesting. Second, I spent less than half the money I normally do in the dealer’s room. As I’ve been trying to simply my life and bookshelves, I find I’m only willing to buy manga that I know I will be keeping as a permanent part of my collection.

With that in mind, here’s what I did while there on Friday.

Vertical Panel

10:30 AM – Vertical Inc. Marketing Director Ed Chavez had two special guests with him from Japan: Felipe Smith, author of Peepo Choo, and Chi, the star of Chi’s Sweet Home. Ed started out talking about how Vertical is a book publisher that offers a wide range of books from Japan. They don’t focus exclusively on manga, and that makes them slightly different from other manga publishers.

Felipe Smith, Chi, Ed Chavez

Vertical is also unique in that it saw growth of 18% in 2009 and is looking at 22% growth this year if current sales trends hold up. Their best selling books are actually the craft books by Arazi Aronzo.

There were no new licenses announced at Otakon, but Ed discussed some upcoming releases. A new edition of Apollo’s Song will be coming out in August. It will broken up into two books, each priced at $10.95. The trim size will be similar to what other manga companies are using. This is Ed’s favorite of the Tezuka works available from Vertical. He says it’s Phoenix with eros added.

Ed and Felipe discussed Peepo Choo. It will be three volumes total. Felipe has been living in Japan for almost three years now. He is currently working with editors preparing his next series. Felipe was amazed at all the manga available in Japan, especially the genres that haven’t been introduced in the US. Seeing the true diversity of manga changed his understanding of manga. Ed commented that the entire Vertical staff enjoyed working on Peepo Choo and making it available to the US.

Other manga to look forward to are 7 Billion Needles by Nobuaki Tadano, coming out in September this year, and Ayako by Osamu Tezuka, coming out in November of this year. Ed hinted at a couple of licenses they are currently negotiating for but haven’t finalized yet .

Anime Journalism: The Story Behind the Story

Noon – This was the panel that I hosted. My guests were Christopher Macdonald, EIC of Anime News Network and Brad Rice, EIC of Japanator. You can hear of the audio of the panel at Manga Out Loud.

Part of the Anime Journalism panel audience

I have to confess I was very nervous. I’ve been reading ANN for about 7 years now and have tremendous respect for Chris and the website he’s built. I’ve only been aware of Japanator for about a year, but I am also impressed by Brad’s work there. The panel went perfectly. Chris and Brad did most of the talking and naturally hit on all the main points that I was hoping to discuss. If anything, I was worried that we might run out of material. Thankfully, that didn’t happen either.

I’m not sure if I’ll do this or any other panels next year. However, this was a good experience and certainly makes me favorable to doing panels again.

Takamasa Sakurai

3:00 PM – One of Otakon’s featured guests, Sakurai sees himself as a anime diplomat. His lecture was entitled, “Anime, Manga & Harajuku Fashion: The Secret of Global Competitiveness”. He began by showing the popularity of cosplay across the globe with pictures of cosplayers from Brazil, Italy, France, China, America, Spain, etc.

In essence, Sakurai sees anime and cosplay as a way of promoting understanding across diverse cultures. We feel a bond with other people who like the same anime show or cosplay as the same character. Sakurai thinks that Japan has the potential to be the leading diplomatic power through the popularity of its pop culture products. However, he believes that the Japanese people fail to see the impact anime and cosplay is having on the world. They also fail to understand how anime serves as a gateway for many people into the study and appreciation of traditional Japanese culture. The anime industry is becoming too insular and isn’t attempting to make exportable shows. If anime stops being exportable, then Japan will lose this chance at being a significant global power.

I can’t say I agree with Sakurai’s optimism about the power of cosplay to break down cultural barriers or that a country can become a significant global force based on the popularity of its television shows. Obviously, shared interests do help people create bridges of understanding. However, I can’t see two warring countries calling in Japan to negotiate a peace treaty because Naruto is popular with the kids on both sides of the battle.

Dead Like Us: Shinigami and the Japanese Idea of Death

5:00 PM – This panel was run by Charles Dunbar. I first meet Charles earlier this year at the Anime Mid-Atlantic convention, when I attended his panel “Modern Mythology: Mythic Elements in Anime and Video Games”. His panels are very popular and fill up quickly. This panel was no exception. If Charles is giving a panel at a convention, attend that panel. You won’t be disappointed.

Charles packs a lot of information into his panels. This is a very brief overview of the ideas presented. He told me that he will be breaking this panel up into two separate panels for next year. The discussion began with an overview of some of the religious traditions found in Japan: Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity. At its heart, Japanese religion is syncretic. Shinigami are a great example of this.

Charles quickly moved through Japanese concepts of death and dying, a look at ghosts in Japan, and gods of death. The term ‘shinigami’ was first coined in a play entitled Shinigami, which is believed to be based on an Italian opera based on a Grimm Brothers fairy tale. Shingami usually are shown in one of five roles: 1) Force of Nature, 2) Celestial Agent, 3) Guardians of Humanity, 4) Bounty Hunters, or 5) Agents of Death.

It’s interesting to note that white is the color of death in Japan and black is the color of honor/duty/tradition.

Yoshida Brothers Concert

8:30 PM – The Yosida Brothers are masters of the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument. The concert was nothing short of amazing. This is not the slow mourning music you usually see played in movies. This music was upbeat and their fingers were flying across the fret. My fingers got tired just watching them play. It was the best way to end Friday.

Saturday, I went to pick up a couple of CDs and was heartbroken that they had sold out. Thankfully, you can get their CDs from Amazon. I’ve already ordered The Best of the Yoshida Brothers and Prism.

That ended my first day at Otakon. Stay tuned for part two of my convention report.

The panelist then expressed his preference for Korean comics. He said he felt that manhwa did a better job at creating alternate, but realistic, worlds. He also stated the belief that Korean artists are less influenced by manga than by alternative artists in the US and Europe.

Unfortunately, the panel overall was disappointing, with the moderator making several key mistakes. Follow the link to find out what they were.

Update: Ed’s Otakon coverage starts here.

Update: (8/6/10) Here’s a panel transcript from someone who attended.

Now, on to what I’d like to buy this week if I only had $15.

Top of my list is always Boom!’s Muppet Show comic. So issue #8 takes the first $3.

My next spend is going to be a Viz manga volume, but at $10 each, which one? There are new installments of several series I’ve enjoyed — Hikaru No Go Volume 20 and Otomen Volume 7 — plus two debuts I’m curious about: Bakuman Volume 1 and Seiho Boys High School Volume 1. But I think my choice will be the second (and final) volume of Flower in a Storm, which I thought was a funny action/romantic comedy.

Thankfully, I’ve already read the $11 Sayonara, Zetsubo-Sensei Volume 7, out from Del Rey.

So that leaves $2, and the new Previews catalog is $4.50. I’ll hope my retailer gives me a price break, since putting all those comics in front of me will hopefully increase sales for him.

At the store, I’d probably flip through Wonder Woman #601, just to see how the new/revamped history continues from issue #600. But in looking at DC and Marvel titles for this week, what’s with all the alternate covers and variant printings? It makes it very difficult to tell when a new comic is available and hard to avoid rebuying something I already have. Wait, I think I answered my own question.

What looks good to you this week?

… there’s another casualty in the manga market downturn. Longtime Del Rey manager marketing manager Ali Kokmen (who is roaming the floor at Comic-Con) has been laid off. Like every other manga publisher, Del Rey has been cutting back on the number of titles it publishes, and there is much speculation about the impact of Japanese publisher Kodansha, which supplies most of Del Rey’s manga list, launching a U.S. office and its effect on the Del Rey Manga licenses. There is much speculation that Kokmen’s departure may be the first indication of changes coming in the comics publishing program at Del Rey.

We’ve been worried about that here at MangaWorthReading.com, what with Del Rey’s growing dependence on licensed graphic novel adaptations of prose books they publish. Those have been growing in number while manga declined. Combined with the move to manga omnibus editions, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a continued cutback in the titles they publish, although that would be disappointing.

Update: Heidi reminds us that Del Rey is still distributing Kodansha manga, and parent company Random House distributes DC’s graphic novels.

The film stars Kenichi Matsuyama, who played ‘L’ in the Death Note films, and includes appearances by Gene Simmons and Marty Friedman of Megadeth. The DVD is scheduled for release in the fall of this year. If Viz handles this like they did Death Note, there will be a theatrical limited release as well.

Here’s the press release plot description:

In the film, Soichi Negishi (played by Kenichi Matsuyama) is a sweet and shy young man who dreams of becoming a trendy singer/songwriter. But for some reason, he is forced into joining the devil-worshiping death metal band “Detroit Metal City” (DMC). In full stage make-up and costume, he transforms into Johannes Krauser II, the vulgar-mouthed lead vocalist of the band. But he must keep this a secret from his crush, Yuri Aikawa, who despises death metal. What would she think if she found out? But against Negishi’s will, DMC rises to stardom. Things get even more complicated when the legendary king of death metal, Jack ill Dark (played by Gene Simmons), challenges DMC to a duel in the film’s climatic finale. What will be the fate of innocent Negishi as he climbs to the top of the death metal world?

The series has sold more than 4.5 million copies in Japan so far.

I’m afraid I’m too swamped to have anything new to add, but I have covered most of Yoshinaga’s work previously in these reviews:

• All My Darling Daughters
• Antique Bakery
• Flower of Life Book 1
• Flower of Life Book 2
• Flower of Life Book 3
• Flower of Life Book 4
• Garden Dreams
• Ichigenme… The First Class Is Civil Law
• The Moon and the Sandals Book 1
• The Moon and the Sandals Book 2
• Ooku: The Inner Chambers
• Solfege

It pains me to announce that this is the last week of manga reading on One Manga (!!). Manga publishers have recently changed their stance on manga scanlations and made it clear that they no longer approve of it. We have decided to abide by their wishes, and remove all manga content (regardless of licensing status) from the site. The removal of content will happen gradually (so you can at least finish some of the outstanding reading you have), but we expect all content to be gone by early next week (RIP OM July ’10).

So what next? We’re not really sure at this point, but we have some ideas we would like to try out. Until then, the One Manga forums will remain active and we encourage all of you to continue using them. OMF has developed into a great community and it would be a shame to see that disappear.

You can also show us some love in this moment of sadness by ‘liking’ our brand new Facebook page. It would be nice to see just how many of you came to enjoy our ‘better than peanut butter and jelly’ invention.

Regardless of whether you stay with us or not, on behalf of the One Manga team, I would like to thank you all for your unwavering support over the years. Through the ups and downs you have stuck with us, and that is what kept us going.

The “community” thing is what Z-Cult FM said they were trying, once DC and Marvel yanked their comics from that site three years ago, and now they no longer exist.

Looking for another source for free manga online? That Google search reveals that MangaFox, Manga Volume, and various others are still operating … for now.

Update: As I was reminded in comments, the OneManga mirror site 1000Manga is also still available, although now comes word that they will shut down also.

And their method of announcement was fun, too — they put anagrams and clues on Twitter. From their press release:

Seven Seas is now pleased to confirm that it has licensed the following manga:

* Amnesia Labyrinth (volume 1 coming February 2011)
From Nagaru Tanigawa, the author of the acclaimed The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya series, comes a new offbeat tale of murder and demented love!

Amnesia Labyrinth

* ToraDora! (volume 1 coming March 2011)
Ryuji Takasu has learned the hard way that appearances can be deceiving. For despite his inwardly sweet personality, his unintentionally sharp gaze and aggressive features give him the air of a delinquent thug, putting his chances at making new friends, let alone a girlfriend, next to zero.

* A Certain Scientific Railgun (volume 1 coming June 2011)
Welcome to a world where mysticism and science collide, and supernatural powers are derived from either science or religion. At the heart of this world is Academy City, an advanced metropolis whose population is comprised mostly of students. The majority of students are enrolled in the city’s “Power Curriculum Program,” where they must learn to master their latent psychic powers.

Subsequent volumes in each series will follow every 3-4 months.

You can read more about these series in the press release at the company’s website.

Ed Sizemore, site contributor, and I think Viz should translate the remaining material and complete the series in English. So does Jason. He suggests

Now that Viz has the SigIkki line for its underground/cult manga, it seems like Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga would be a perfect addition to the SigIkki online comics site. After all, the sequel manga even ran in the Japanese IKKI, so why not? I’ve just submitted a request at the SigIkki contact form.

If more of us did the same, maybe Viz would consider it?

• Aria by Kozue Amano
• Fruits Basket by Natsuke Takaya
• All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga
• Ichigenme… The First Class Is Civil Law by Fumi Yoshinaga
• Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga
• Monster by Naoki Urasawa

I found it refreshing and interesting to see these favorite titles through new eyes, and Caroline had a ton of great observations about them. Thanks also to @mizzelle for filling in my memory gap: I was thinking of the Masters of Disaster from Batman and the Outsiders, a pair of villains called Heatstroke and Coldsnap.

An international coalition of Japanese and American-based manga publishers have joined together to combat what they call the “rampant and growing problem” of scanlations, the practice of posting scanned and translated editions of Japanese comics online without permission of the copyright holders. The group is threatening legal action against 30 scanlation sites.

Since manga sales aren’t as high as they used to be — a statement true of most industries, especially entertainment ones, in a recession that has yet to let go its hold — manga industry companies can no longer afford to turn a blind eye:

Many manga publishers and retailers who used to believe that scanlations actually attracted new readers, now blame the sales decline on the rise of giant for-profit scanlation sites that have allowed a new generation of fans to grow up reading manga for free online.

It’s a convenient source of blame that allows publishers to ignore the general economic slowdown, any publisher-specific issues (perhaps your current series aren’t as desirable, or fans are reacting to rising prices), or other factors that may also affect sales negatively. And yes, some customers with less spending money (because they’re poor or young) prefer “free” to “$10 a book”, especially for titles they may not love or be uncertain about. In other words, reasons for reading free online manga may differ per person. (Disclaimer: I have reviewed a scanlated series before, one that otherwise wasn’t available in English. I think there is a significant distinction to be made between “I can’t get it legally in my language” and “I don’t want to pay for what I can get free”.)

The international anti-scan effort includes all major publishers: “such major Japanese houses as Kodansha, Shogakukan, and Shueisha” and “U.S.-based manga publishers Vertical, Viz Media, Tokyopop, and Yen Press, the manga/graphic novel imprint of the Hachette Book Group.” According to a spokesperson, “It is our sincere hope that offending sites will take it upon themselves to immediately cease their activities. Where this is not the case, however, we will seek injunctive relief and statutory damages.” They will also report sites to law enforcement groups. However, strangely, “the group has yet to file any lawsuits and has declined to name specific scanlators”. Do they not want to tip off the sites they are targeting before they sue? Or was this announcement intended as a scare effort, to try and make sites shut down out of fear without any actual legal action? Can some of these sites even be effectively prosecuted? Lawsuits have failed to shut down the Pirate Bay, although companies have been trying for years, due to international complications and differing laws in different countries. And suing sites fans love may cause a backlash.

Note that not all manga publishers are against scanlation sites. Dark Horse (whose manga sales went up this year) and Digital Manga (who wants to hire scanlators for no up-front pay, just back-end profits, in a speculative venture), for example, don’t blame them for sales difficulties. Vertical and Yen Press, in contrast, are very anti-online manga. So I’m curious — now, a month later, what is the actual effect? (Bearing in mind, of course, that the HTML Comics shutdown was reportedly in the works for a year or more before the site was actually taken down.)

While some popular sites took down titles, those changes in many cases were misleading or temporary. As the link says, “removals are likely to be largely cosmetic as visitors and fans continue to be able to access series via RSS subscriptions or mobile phone applications. Observers have also noticed that since pulling the titles, a few of the illegal scans have gone back up on the aggregator sites.” So the chapters are gone, unless you know the trick to get to them, or the removal was to look like sites were playing along while the news was hot. In one case I found, OneManga.com doesn’t have the work but similar site 1000manga.com does, and OneManga will kindly tell you that. What’s the difference? Who knows. That domain may be registered in a more pirate-friendly country or under different (at least on paper) ownership.

Former aggregator Manga Helpers did remove all infringing material, instead publishing text translations and attempted to launch a release platform site called OpenManga.

I’ve also found it interesting to note how some of the discussion has revolved around “it was different then”. Old-style scanlation groups, who took down translations if series were licensed, are considered fan-based, while the big aggregator sites are bad because they’re in it for money (ad revenue). Some former scanlators have even been hired by U.S. publishers for their translation skills. And knowing what American fans are talking about can give publishers an idea of what to pursue for upcoming licenses. Many of those scanlation groups, who do the original translating, have requested their works be removed from the aggregators. The problem there is, once something’s on the internet, it may be there forever, regardless of what the original poster does or wants.

Jake Forbes speculates that growing international approaches and technology might eliminate the middleman, that is, the American licensed publisher. The comments to that post include the interesting factoid that manga cafes are hated in Japan. Lissa Pattillo has summed up many of the arguments for and against scanlations in this “quit doing it!” post while Kimi-chan breaks down different audience types. My favorite:

… the too dim to look in a bookstore type. Yes, seriously, there are actual conversations posted by teens who have been caught by surprise at the long list of titles being removed from sites such as MangaFox, AnimeA, and now Mangatoshokan after a cease and desist order from the likes of Viz Media. Not shock at how much pirated material was out there, but, wait for it… “Wow, a lot of stuff suddenly got licensed!” Hello?!

… anyone who actually BUYS manga would know many of the titles have been licensed for YEARS. These kids “like” manga, but let’s face it, they are not on the otaku wavelength as 1. they don’t look to buy it 2. obviously don’t follow manga/anime news to keep informed 3. never been to a con, or they would have seen the licensed editions, and so on. One REALLY wants to introduce these kids to the amazing concept of a BOOKSTORE where you look for stuff you might like to read, and then… BUY IT!

So will anything change? It hasn’t for now. That may change if actual legal action is taken. Let’s end on this NPR blog summation post, just because they indicate the general uncertainty of the market at this point and say nice things about my site.