And twenty years from now, middle-aged Americans will be clamoring for Ultimate Naruto

As noted by Thought Balloons, Love Manga and Franklin's Findings: DON! GURU GURU! Japanese comics aren't for kids anymore?! Asahi Shimbun reports that "the market has been sustained by people in their late 20s and those in their 30s. Members of that age group have been a driving force for the comics market, and publishers target them with revised versions of comics they read when they were young." But Japan's manga market operates much like any other consumer-goods-producing industry sector, so it's most likely just a business cycle. However: "The Research Institute for Publications attributes the sluggish market to the fact that many comics-inspired animation programs aired on television last year failed to become hits." Translation: most of last year's anime sucked. Cross-marketing is crucial in selling manga targeted at younger readers, and if the anime isn't there to nudge these kids into buying the manga, then you've got trouble. The blockbuster show of 2004 was Fullmetal Alchemist, and everything else beyond that was very ordinary.

And then ... it turns out that the writer for Tokyopop's homegrown title Sokora Refugees is also the graphic novel buyer for Borders and Waldenbooks. That's definitely the kind of thing that makes people go "HMMMM," and makes Tokyopop go "well, it was based on the quality of the book." What I really want to know is whether people ever buy these titles for any other reason than sheer curiosity about the latest "Americans doing manga."

Sakura saku

Johanna @ CWR/CD has a nice roundup of the latest manga chatter, and there sure has been a lot this past week ...

As Active Anime and Love Manga have noted, Tokyopop has just picked up the Sakura Wars manga. The steampunk-ness is kinda neat, but it is a manga based on an anime based on a video game. A video game that's part strategy, part dating sim. One of those things you get into, or you don't.

LM also found a link to Osamu Tezuka's manga adaptations of Disney's Bambi and Pinocchio (1951 and 1952, respectively). Now that's some cool stuff, and I think I echo everyone's sentiments in hoping that this makes it to English-speaking shores.

It's another meaty sixty-minute manga column at PCG as Bill reads Nausicaä and reminds us that, in addition to his career as a master animator, Hayao Miyazaki rules all at comics.

AoD has an advance look at one of Viz's highly anticipated shounen releases, Hunter x Hunter.

20th century boys ... and fashionable judo girls?!

Har har har. Tokyopop takes a cheap shot at the manga-publisher-who-shall-not-be-named. Gee, TP, maybe you should just tell us how terrific Blame! is. Let the comic sell itself.

Speaking of comics that sell themselves, I still think charts are awesome! Sin City is getting a big push due to the movie, but Hot Gimmick is still holding strong, and holy crap, is that Imadoki at No. 2 over Fruits Basket (No. 4)?! Looks like the onigiri has some competition from the dandelion!

Some more news on ADV's layoffs -- "It turns out that the layoffs were made back in the fourth quarter, at a time when ADV, Tokyopop and other manga publishers told ICv2 that, in contrast to the robust increases in number of titles in previous years, they were holding steady or reducing the number of manga releases in 2005." So it's not that bad. Also, I was rather down on them in the previous post, but they've got some promising manga releases coming out this year: Cromartie High School (which I can't stop pimping), Full Metal Panic! Overload, and Yotsubato!. Interestingly, these are all (more or less) comedy titles.

Keep an eye out for ALC publishing: the yuri manga publisher has signed a deal with Diamond, meaning that we may actually get to see their stuff on the shelves now (honestly, I didn't even know they existed until this article). "ALC Publishing was founded in 2003 to create and disseminate high-quality yuri manga to the worldwide English speaking audience. ALC is a division of Yuricon, a celebration of yuri and shoujo-ai in anime and manga." The perfect counterpoint to DMP, if I do say so myself.

And today's special reading material: Dual Translations has started work on Yawara!, by 20th Century Boys creator Naoki Urasawa. The cover of the manga sums it up better than I ever could: "Lovely and cute Miss YAWARA INOKUMA is a fashionable judo girl!"

Rising Stars of blogging!

Dave @ YACB makes note of a bookstore owner's personal observation that "normal book" retailers aren't necessarily so hot for manga these days. Yep, kids still read the books at the store all the time -- but as he says, "the sales continue to increase while I fine tune the selection and the word gets out that we stock them."

From Thought Balloons: ADV lays off "as many as 40 employees, with possibly about 25 from its manga division." Well, it's not like they were doing so hot anyway, taking an entire year between volumes of Gunslinger Girl ...

PreCur and Love Manga are picking out their favorites in TP's Rising Stars contest, and "Can I Sit Here?" looks like it could be the People's Choice winner. Ask actual RSOM contestants and would-be contestants, though, and for them it's "Baggage" as the top contender. Comic bloggers versus comic makers: WHO WILL WIN?!

You know, I get tons of searches directed to this site looking for "pictures." Of ... stuff, and whatever. So here, Love Manga has pictures of DMP's new yaoi releases. Enjoy!

For your bedtime reading

A special post to note that Kotonoha has just updated with new material: "Extracurricular Lessons" from the Comic Cue 1-shots, the next chapter of Milk Closet, and another one of Mohiro Kitoh's short stories. (I'm utterly hooked on Kitoh's stuff after reading the first five ... )

I think I'll call him ... Freddie.

I stand corrected re: the manga-style Josie; the promo image was not done by Tania del Rio as she will only be writing for the series. In fact, the promo image wasn't even done by the penciler either. A closer look at the signature reveals that it was drawn by editor Nelson Ribeiro, who thankfully will not be doing any of the art in the actual comic.

In Japan, even the video-games-based-on-comics are more diverse: IGN has a first look at Nana for PS2, based on the hit shoujo series.

The game puts you in control of a person who lives next to the two Nanas, in room 707. The purpose of the game is two fold. You get to experience the storyline featured between volumes 5 and 8 of the original comic, meeting up with characters like Len, Takumi and, of course, your two next door neighbors. In addition, you also get to experience life in Tokyo, making a schedule, taking on part time jobs, buying clothes and furniture and setting up your own room.

Dave @ YACB becomes something like the 27th person on the blogosphere to review Worst, but he also delves into the wonderfully absurd Cromartie High School, a satirical send-up of badass fighting manga. (Come on, what's not to like about a comic where Freddie Mercury is a recurring character?)

AoD has an early look at Baron: The Cat Returns, the fairytale-like manga that inspired the Studio Ghibli film of the same name.

Legal Drag

Now this is odd. Studio Plug'n Play, an English-language yaoi doujinshi circle, got shut down by Shogakukan. That's right, it wasn't the American licensors that went after them, it was the original publishers themselves. From the site: "Because of our recent legal trouble with Shogakukan, Inc. over illegal use of their Inuyasha property and the subsequent fine we must pay, Studio Plug'n Play will not be making doujinshi in 2006."

Does this spell trouble for other American fans who may be profiting off manga-based fancomics?

So the preview image for Tania Del Rio's "manga-style" Josie and the Pussycats is up, and is it just me or did she have an artistic brainfart on this one? I thought her style in Sabrina was pretty cute, and this is certainly more of the same, but it feels like it got worse. Erm, Josie's head is inexplicably huge, for starters, and her hair is ... off-center. Let's hope this was just a bad pin-up day and the rest of the comic meets the levels of Del Rio's previous work.

On AoD, a list of new DMP release dates. Highlights include Antique Bakery and Bambi and her Pink Gun on 6/20, Cafe Kichijouji de, Jazz and La Esperança on 10/20, and the much-anticipated robot on 7/20, which will be $24.95 due to its being big and pretty and in color. (Oh, hey, here are some preview pages from the Japanese edition.)

And no week can start out right without another installment of Yuuto!

Hemisphere

Everyone decided to blog at once, so today I make a separate post just for linkage.

A couple of interesting fresh articles from Thought Balloons: a dust-up about libraries stocking 'racy' manga in Portland, Maine (yeah, like Tokyo Mew Mew is soooo going to corrupt young girls), and interestingly it's a student speaking out against manga this time. Keromaru responds with insights on cultural differences.

Across the Atlantic, UK-based Gollancz has acquired several manga licenses through Viz.

Key manga releases of the last few weeks (mostly for continuing series) get updated in the CWR review section.

Meanwhile, Chris @ 212 has a few reviews of his own, looking at a host of Vol. 1s -- mostly Viz's new shoujo releases and then some action titles.

And then, Johnny B checks out Bambi and her Pink Gun and likes it!