Kate Dacey has the list of this week’s new manga at The Manga Critic.
The New York Times Graphic Books Best-Seller list is up, and there are only five volumes of Naruto on it this week. And there are two surprises: vol. 3 of Return to Labyrinth and vol. 2 of Otomen.
Anime Boston was this weekend; I didn’t go, although I did manage to have a nice dinner with a number of the attendees. Kate Dacey posts a handful of photos at The Manga Critic. Meanwhile, Deb Aoki was at FanimeCon on the other coast, and she has a photo gallery at About.com.
Kate also has the news that Fanfare/Ponent Mon will be at the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) festival in New York in June.
Neil Cohn blogs about a Korean study that shows that “cartoony” images evoke more empathy than more realistically drawn images.
The Japan Times tries its hand at a Manga 101 article. This one is more interesting than most, simply because it comes from a different perspective. For instance:
Nakano also points out that Japanese children have developed the habit of buying manga for themselves.
Kids here had more money during the country’s rapid economic growth period between the 1960s and early 1990s than their counterparts in other countries, he says. Also, many went to cram schools and they used the dinner money their parents gave them to buy ¥200 comics along with their meal at a convenience store.
Erica Friedman posts this week’s yuri news and answers readers’ questions at Okazu.
eManga, Digital’s online manga site, has some serious sales going on through noon tomorrow, so go, take a look!
New blog alert: Heart of Manga, which features impressions and reviews of manga, mostly shoujo. Blogger Laura launched her site earlier this month and has already won an award. Nice going!
News from Japan: Ed posts the weekly manga rankings from Taiyosha at MangaCast. Andrew Cunningham takes a look at the latest manga from Yokahama Kaidashi Kikou creator Hitoshi Ashinano at The Eastern Standard. At Animie vice, Gia reports that Jesus and Buddha, who have been sharing an apartment for a while in Saint Oniisan, will now team up to fight the forces of evil (in this case, the social-networking site Mixi) in a series of one-shots, Sansei Sentai Holy Men, in Kodansha’s Morning Two magazine. (Yes, that’s them in the picture.)
Reviews: Be sure to read Kate Dacey’s review of vol. 1 of Blood + Adagio at The Manga Critic. Kate knows her stuff when it comes to Russian history, but she’s willing to live with a bishie Rasputin and the notion that vampires were the real cause of the Russian Revolution—it’s just that the rest of the story doesn’t work. Meanwhile, it’s Manga Minis time over at Manga Recon.
Lexie on vols. 1 and 2 of 20th Century Boys (Poisoned Rationality)
Connie on vol. 13 of Baby and Me (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 19 of Banana Fish (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on Batman: Death Mask (Kuriousity)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 1 of Cirque Du Freak (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Shojo Flash on the Clover omnibus (Shojo Flash)
David Welsh on Fire Investigator Nanase (Precocious Curmudgeon)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Mania.com)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Gakuen Alice (Soliloquy in Blue)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Gakuen Alice at Okazu.
Tangognat on Gakuen Heaven Nakajima (Tangognat)
Billy Aguiar on Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea (Prospero’s Manga)
Dan Polley on vol. 3 of Gun Blaze West (Comics Village)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Julie on vol. 9 of High School Debut (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lori Henderson on vol. 9 of High School Debut (Comics Village)
Connie on vol. 10 of High School Debut (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of I Hate You More Than Anyone (Slightly Biased Manga)
Dave Ferraro on Ikigami (Comics-and-More)
Anna on vol. 1 of King of Cards (2 screenshot limit)
Cathy on Living for Tomorrow (it can’t all be about manga…)
James Fleenor on vol. 1 of Maid Sama (Anime Sentinel)
Diana Dang on Maid War Chronicle (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
John Baichtal on The Manga Guide to Electricity (Geek Dad)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 3 of Mixed Vegetables (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Moon Child (There is is, Plain as Daylight)
Jason Yadao on Mushishi (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Connie on vol. 17 of Nana (Slightly Biased Manga)
AnaKhouri on vol. 1 of Nephilim (Yellow Menace)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 13 of Path of the Assassin (Mania.com)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Real (Kuriousity)
Julie on Suggestive Eyes (MangaCast)
Tangognat on vol. 1 of Takeru: Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil (Tangognat)
Julie on vol. 5 of Venus in Love (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vols. 2 and 3 of Very! Very! Sweet (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Yurara (Comics Village)
OMG, Brigid! Yesterday my site traffic went through the roof. Thank you sooo much for the post link. I hope your readers find my content interesting enough to revisit. Your site is a great inspiration for me. Thanks, again!
Happy to help, Laura! I really enjoyed reading your reviews—and I’m looking forward to many more!