Aria to Return! But It’s Still From Tokyopop

Aria 2 by Kozue Amano

In this roundup of recent manga announcements comes mention in passing of a beloved manga series returning.

Aria, the gorgeously illustrated story by Kozue Amano of women apprenticing to be gondoliers on Mars in a sci-fi future, was first published in the US by ADV Manga in 2004. They put out three volumes, then Tokyopop picked up the license and released six, plus a two-volume prequel, Aqua, beginning in 2007. The sixth book came out in 2010, although the series was known to be in trouble (along with the publisher) starting in 2009.

Aria 2 by Kozue Amano

Now Tokyopop is talking about putting out Aria: The Masterpiece, a set of hardcover omnibus editions containing two of the previous books in each one. The first volume is scheduled for February to reprint the two Aqua books (although the Amazon listing, as shown in that link, says it’s paperback). No price yet listed that I know of.

The series is great, and I would like to see it back in print. (I can only dream that we’d get the remaining six unpublished books in future!) However, as site readers know, many people rightly have legitimate concerns supporting the publisher, given their long-standing history of troublesome decisions and their negative effects on the industry. This is when it becomes tricky to boycott — when they talk about releasing something truly good.



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