The anonymous blogger at the official Kodansha Comics Tumblr has posted an incredibly informative article on why some manga titles don’t get licensed to be published in English. The reasons are their own, of course, but they’re logical and sensible, so I suspect other publishers think about the decision similarly in determining what’s likely to be successful here. Many of the reasons are obvious, such as avoiding series that are too long or too old, or those with subject matter […]

Which manga fan hasn’t dreamed of helping bring books they love to the US market? Kodansha Comics is currently hiring (on a one-year contract) a manga editor. Note that in addition to the usual skills — multitasking, good communication, able to meet schedules — you must be able to read Japanese. But please note a few caveats: There was a similar job posting a year ago. I don’t know if that person didn’t work out, or they’re expanding — I […]

Inspired by Kodansha Comics, I thought this would be a good time to update my timeline of josei manga available in English. In the two years since that post, Vertical has been the primary company carrying the flag of manga for adult women. They reprinted Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa in three omnibus volumes from 2012-2013, as well as putting out two stand-alone singles: In summer 2012, Sakuran: Blossoms Wild by Moyoco Anno (author of Happy Mania) In summer 2013, […]

I am thrilled to hear that the long-anticipated What Did You Eat Yesterday? is coming from Vertical in March 2014. I’m a huge fan of Fumi Yoshinaga’s works, including her previous book of restaurant reviews, Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! There are seven Japenese volumes out so far of Kinō Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?), beginning from 2007, and Vertical plans to bring them out one every two months. The story is about a […]

Earlier this month, Kodansha Comics announced that they were launching an ebook program. (In spite of their name, Kodansha publishes manga, including such well-known titles as Akira, The Ghost in the Shell, Fairy Tail, and Sailor Moon.) They announced the debut on “multiple platforms, including Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Google Play”… but not the best-known comic site, comiXology. But then, their American partner is Random House, so they’re focused on the bookstore market and book […]

I haven’t seen any official notice of this, so maybe everyone already knows and I just missed a press release, but while browsing the list of SuBLime Manga yaoi books at their website, I started noticing some familiar titles. All had one thing in common: a description that said “This volume was produced as a direct-to-Kindle release from Japan. Please enjoy!” I’m not sure what that means, or whether they’re available to non-Kindle readers, but all of these titles were […]

JManga launched in August 2011 as a digital portal for selling online manga, often titles not available in English in print. Last night came news that it was suddenly shutting down. Points are no longer available for purchase. “Purchases” with existing point balances can be made through Tuesday, March 26, but since all viewing is online, you will only be able to read the titles before May 30, at which point it all shuts down. An apology was included in […]