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OH. MY. GOD.

(Thank you, Chris.)

Can you draw an owl? If so, enter the CWR Owly Contest. Seriously. This has GOT to be easier than that stupid bear-or-pirate art test.

If the Japanese canon doesn't satisfy you, take heart: Koreanimation comes to theaters in the guise of Wonderful Days.

Sadly, Viz has canceled its Animerica Extra magazine. (ANN; no specific link). Well, it had gotten kinda dated anyway; starting out as a manga anthology mag long before Shonen Jump ever showed up on US newsstands, Animerica Extra -- aimed at more mature manga fans rather than tweeners -- was recently converted to shojo-only after SJ started running and now I guess it's all over. (Most of the stuff on Extra was doing better in GN format anyway.)

New stuff. Always with the new stuff.

VIZ announces Legendz and Dr. Slump for their Shonen Jump line. Still no official word on Fullmetal Alchemist, though.

New titles from CMX ... CPM (I have to say, KUNG FU JUNGLE BOY is like, the greatest four-word string ever conceived) ... on-screen adaptation of Santa Inoue's Tokyo Tribes picked up by MTV and Inoue wants Dr. Dre to do the soundtrack ... yes I'm being lazy because I ran a lot of errands today and I don't care. :P

And for today's scanlation off the beaten path, head to Doujinshi Corner for another dose of Cardcaptor Sakura as told by amateur comickers.

Previews Postviews

Fine, fine, since everyone else is snarking up Previews, here are some new manga releases that caught my eye for the first few months of 2005 (courtesy of AoD's list):

ADV Manga:
Cromartie High School Vol. 1. Already adapted into a well-liked anime series, this one is a raucous comedy that parodies those ridiculously macho "tough guy" titles (like the one DMP can't stop pimping, Worst). Also, Freddie Mercury is a character in it.

Tokyopop:
CLAMP No Kiseki Vol. 1. I already looked over the Japanese edition of this, and now readers will have the English-language version that you can actually find in bookstores.

RG Veda Vol. 1. If Tokyo Babylon and Legend of Chun Hyang didn't clue you in, yes, Tokyopop is apparently going through CLAMP's back catalog in reverse chronological order.

Um ... that's about it Yes.

And ... c'mon folks, there's no reason anyone should have to buy a Yu-Gi-Oh card for $25000.

Fullmetal Press Release

BIG NEWS OF THE (coming) YEAR. It seems that Andrew Arnold, he of the Time.comix column, has inadvertently gotten Viz to leak what might be the most important manga licensing announcement for 2005:
[corrected for minor typography]
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
By Hiromu Arakawa
A long awaited 4-volume* manga series that tells the story of young brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric who attempt to use the science of alchemy to bring their mother back to life, with life changing and action packed results. (June)

*huh? This has just reached Vol. 9 in Japan and is slated to run for 20 volumes. I'm not sure if this is a misprint, confused facts, or what.

It may sound like a fairly conventional shonen adventure from the premise, but believe me, FMA is surprisingly touching, amusing, and deep, sometimes all at once. Don't be surprised to see it topping the Bookscan charts (especially since the Cartoon Network run of the anime series will be about halfway through when the first volume comes out).

Viz announces four new shoujo titles due in March 2005. Interesting that they're branching out into short story anthologies. It's just as well, since trying to keep up with multiple ongoing series is hard. Especially if they're really addictive ...

Never one to turn down a cross-media marketing opportunity, Tokyopop announces manga/DVD bundles of Fruits Basket (Vol. 6 manga, Eps 1 and 2 DVD) and Initial D (Vol. 1 manga, Vol. 9 DVD).

The Japan Forum on International Relations advises PM Junichiro Koizumi to promote the awesome aspects of Japanese culture -- but c'mon guys, "Gross National Cool" just sounds silly.

Japanese parents are growing concerned about sexed-up shoujo manga. " ... topics once even taboo among adults, think of incest and pack rape, pop up in little girl's comics." I guess TP had better start stocking up on the shrinkwrap if they plan to license any of these. :p (Why didn't the article cite any titles, though?)

Stray Rabbits and Fighting Rabbits

YACB does quick manga reviews and finds some comics not really worth reading.

Reading Along looks at CMX's release of Swan and finds a charming ballet comic, though it could've been printed better.

Malaysia's The Star profiles Sonny Liew, that oh-so-gifted penciler of My Faith in Frankie, Malinky Robot and others. Yes, I suppose Frankie is vaguely manga-esque, but it's also so much more. :D

If you try just one scanlation this week -- or possibly month -- please, PLEASE read Flower Cookies from Kotonoha. It's the most delightful little story about a stray rabbit that gets adopted by an elementary school class, and the artwork is a far cry from what you may be used to in domestic releases.

Also corrected the previous post about manga in France, after I got some help from an actual French speaker. ^^ Thanks Audrey!