As soon as the new season of the Gintama anime started, I noticed a couple of tweets asking whether the Gin Tama ((From here then on I will refer to Gintama as the Japanese version while Gin Tama as the VIZ releases)) manga was cancelled since the US Viz release of the 23rd volume was declared as the final volume. The manga is still going strong in Japan and when I checked my 23rd volume, it didn’t have a joke on being the last volume. Hence, I was surprised with the blurb in the same way that I was surprised that this even happened at all. How did one of Japan’s most popular titles close its pages in the US? Perhaps I should first ask: how did Gintama get translated in the first place?
Category: Fujoshi Life
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Hoping for better days
It’s my birthday today.And I was hoping to write down an awesome post about the exciting new wave in BL only to find it inappropriate after last weekend’s disaster. While Japan is a good sea away from my country, the past few years have brought me closer and closer to Japan. What was once just a geographical existence, Japan eventually turned into a home for friends, colleagues, and inspirations. I was there last year and it felt like a surreal home hence my heart was crushed when I saw the waves flush out homes along the coast.
It had been difficult for the past few days but I’m quite surprised that the Japanese are resilient and are moving forward. Our Japan office is up and kicking and so are our favorite mangaka and other entertainment folks. Last night, and still to this morning, some of my favorite artists like Naoki Urasawa, Natsume Ono, and other artists in Morning started drawing images of hope.
We just called our Japanese office and it seems that the tremors have not stopped. They said that they have been given a three day warning for the next big earthquake which might be at 7.0 magnitude. Even as they told us this story, they still sounded like a cheery lot and is waiting for better days to come ahead. I’m really astounded and inspired by their courage hence, like the mangakas from morning, ãŒã‚“ã°ã£ã¦æ—¥æœ¬ï¼
If you wish to donate for the calamity victims in Japan, feel free to donate at The Nippon Foundation’s CanPan Tsunami fund.
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Shueisha ventures into BL with BL-ink
I thought that this has got to be the funniest joke but it turns out, it was no joke at all.
I’ve seen this being tweeted for some while but it wasn’t long until I finally saw the commercial for Shueisha’s new quarterly BL magazine (under its subsidiary Homesha), BL-ink.
But don’t they have Weekly Shounen Jump already?
I know. It’s crazy. But it seems Weekly Shounen Jump is not the “Sweet BL†that BL-ink is trying to offer. The magazine is a dedicated BL magazine for Homesha and I think this is perhaps an outright acceptance of the popularity of BL. ((strangely, the niconico video has only been seen by 1000++ people!))
What I found interesting was it took some google powers to find the site. It’s mostly mentioned as BLink which doesn’t come out much in searches. Looking at Shueisha’s website doesn’t even announce the magazine (or at least I didn’t see it.) I had to find the websites of actual authors in the magazine to actually figure out that it should be searched as BL-ink to finally find the proper search term for the said magazine.
As I mentioned, BL-ink will be sold more under Homesha, but it’s inevitable to not associate this publishing firm with Shueisha. In fact, in the advertisements, they would proudly put the banner of Shueisha as if it’s quite important and crucial that Shueisha’s involved in this. After all, the company has had a love affair with fujÅshi especially with Shounen Jump.
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Vertical does it right again
I’m stoked.
This entry would have been written a lot early if I didn’t have my tabletop game last night. Ed Chavez of Vertical really shook the American manga scene by storm by announcing Vertical’s acquisitions by bringing in manga classic Princess Knight (リボンã®é¨Žå£«), No Longer Human (äººé–“å¤±æ ¼), and the wine journey Drops of God (神ã®é›«).
I believe the manga scene has been in want of the lovely gender-bender Tezuka title which pretty much changed and shaped manga today, for many critical reasons. For people to finally have access to this once elusive title is something to be joyous for. And what a great and lovely title to add to Vertical’s line of Tezuka titles. I think this just truly caps it off, but of course, there’s still quite a lot of Tezuka for us to enjoy.
No Longer Human is also quite a title in their roster. I’m not exactly sure what the story of this manga is, but I can trust in Ed’s choices that it’s a title that would blow us away. What I do know though is that Usamaru Furuya is the kind of author how knows how to exploit human emotions in his panels. I have read his work Suicide Club (自殺サークル) and that was a strong provocative title not only because of its theme but also because of Furuya’s own storytelling.
Perhaps what I am most excited about is Drops of God. France and even Indonesia is way ahead of US in terms of discovering the passion that comes with every page of this comic. Sure, it’s a manga about wine but the imagination that comes with every sip are not limited to a bouquet of rosemary or almonds. We’re talking about wine tastings that take you to the fields of Bourdeaux and eventually up the Mattenhorn. It’s bloody amazing and is actually one of my favorite mangas outside of BL and to see it out in English means that more of my friends will finally see why I have an obsession with Tomine and Shizuku. ((In the end, this fujoshi cannot help but ship this pair so bad))
These three titles all deserve the attention and it’s great that Vertical is bringing them out in english. Collectively though, I’m excited with one more thing: the covers. I’m quite sure you guys are familiar with my obsession for Vertical’s beautiful covers and I am excited on how they will spin and repackage these comics particularly Drops of God who particularly has lovely covers already.
Yesterday was a great day for manga and I heard that Ed still has more up his sleeves. Is he going to sweep my Morning titles and grab curious fan favorite St. Oniisan? Maybe something unknown but great like Himawari Legend? Will they shock Urasawa followers with Billy Bat? God knows really, but for sure, Vertical will not disappoint.
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Food Manga Library Open in Ateneo
Ateneo de Manila University, my alma mater, Â is opening its food manga library to the public and its students. To those who are interested in checking out this library should take advantage of seeing all the amazing food manga out there.
This is quite an interesting collection of books with over 100 titles to choose from. In this delicious manga library are complete collections of great food manga giants such as Oishinbo, Cooking Papa, The Chef, Mister Ajikko, Osen, Chuuka Ichiban (Cooking Master Boy), Addicted to Curry, and the popular Yakitate Japan. At the same time, it also contains short takes such as Kinou Nani Tabeta, Oishii Kankei, Oishii Ginza, Barista, Green, and a couple of other titles that celebrate the glory of food through manga.
The Food Manga Library is for free, and is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. You are more than welcome to peruse through the titles, write down some amazing recipes from these manga, and have a feast with your eyes with every page.
I’ve personally seen the collection and my only suggestion is… don’t go there hungry.
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Sneak Peek at 2011 Manga Taishou List
It’s Manga Taishou season again and I haven’t even started reading Therma Romae (once… I find my copy somewhere). Out of all the award ceremonies, I tend to enjoy the selection in Manga Taishou because these manga do not disappoint at all. Some awards tend to let some title win awards in order to boost its popularity. I honestly don’t know how some of these awards go behind the scenes, but yeah, so far, some winners are rather questionable. I cannot say the same for Manga Taisho though. When I look at their list, it all boils down to which manga were most amazing in the past year.
The list of the nominees is out and here’s my two cents on who have a shot of bringing home the Manga Taisho… well, at least those that I have read…
Otoyomegatari. The Bride Stories by Kaoru Mori. A very strong contender and quite popular to both critics and fans. I have full faith that there’s a high chance that Mori-san might bag this one. Can’t say much about the committee but if they gave it to Therma Romae last year, they might give this eclectic beautiful title a chance. I mean for chrissakes, she’s holding a kind of antelope on her shoulders. I’m quite sure the expectations will be high on this one.
Sangatsu no Lion. March Comes in Like a Lion by Chica Umino. This is quite an interesting tale and it’s one of those heartwarming stories that you can’t stop reading. The shougi is a nice extra but it ain’t anything like Hikaru no Go. This might have a good chance and I’m trying to think if there was something amazing that happened since its last nomination. This is Chica Umino and if you’ve read Honey and Clover, you can imagine the pace of this story. Between this and Otoyomegatari… my bet’s on the latter.
Omo ni Naitemasu by Akiko Higashimura. Filling in the loss of the amusing Himawari in Morning is her new work Omo ni Naitemasu. My friend and I have been fans of Himawari and we were hoping that this title would follow. While the humor is there, the plot in itself is a little difficult to swallow. The female lead is a mistress/muse to an artist and sometimes you just want to whack her head for longing such a horrible man. It’s a cohesive story but not exactly the best of the lot.
I think what I love more about looking at the list is the number of titles I have yet to read. So far, these are the ones that caught my eye.
Don’t Cry Girl by Tomoko Yamashita. This girl’s a BL artist and I enjoy her work immensely. I’m not exactly sure what this title is – if it’s a seinen or a josei. Either way, it looks interesting.
I am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. I’ve been trying to find this comic but it often escapes my mind. Maybe I should give it a shot next time.
Un chocolatier de l’amour perdu by Setona Mizushiro. It has macarons on the cover. While it’s quite josei-ish in art… it looks yummy.
Hana no Zubora Meshi by Masayuki Kusumi & Etsuko Mizusawa. I doubt this manga is about food but that girl on the cover looks like she’s enjoying what she’s doing (with those morsels of rice all over her face.) It looks yummier and maybe… just maybe… I might get to enjoy this one.
I wish all of the nominees good luck and I can’t wait to hear the results of this one!
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Why change something that’s already as good as it is?
This week marks the start of the Moyashimon live action TV-series. Beyond the cute bacterias… like every good manga turned into a drama… the drama produced was completely different from the manga. AGAIN.
Can’t these drama folks keep the story as it is, the way the people have loved it in the manga, the way that the manga is popular to begin with? For those who have followed dramas, we have seen how in the likes of Yoshinaga Fumi’s Antique, they had to make Ono straight rather than gay. Now… they kind of jumbled the story line of Moyashimon, turned Kei into a girl and… I… whatever happened to the relaxed pace of my bacterial manga!?! Everything bursted out of this comic like hiochi that the sudden skips from this to that made the story lose its laidback yet interesting turn of events.
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Those Nakamura Eyes
I have been terribly busy as of late due to school concerns but there’s this one mangaka that sets me at ease whenever I read her mangas. I love looking people’s eyes but I never really paid attention to them in manga. To me, most of them are drawn generally the same. They can be expressive I’ve never been drawn into them in a way thatÂ
I would just stare at those eyes for a good long while and mumble “beautiful.” At least until I read Nakamura Asumiko’s Double Mints. -
If this is awesome, what can get more awesome than this?
Yes. This totally made my day. I’ve been trying…. TRYING to restrain myself from oggling a little too much but I honestly can’t. Americans you guys are lucky folks for having Hagio Moto during Comic Con and I think the world is blessed to have more of her stories FINALLY printed in English. And since the news said that it won’t be the last, we’re all looking forward to more.
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Hooray for Gintama on Philippine TV
Should Gintama even be shown on TV!?! Well, it’s been a long time hasn’t it? I have been busy as of late but never too busy to tell you guys about how fun it is to watch Gintama on our local TV!
I think I’ve been dreaming for years to hear Gintama in our language Tagalog. We have the same strong accents and when we start talking dirty we really talk dirty. So to finally see Gintama on a local TV station, ABS-CBN was like a dream come true. Well… sort of. Like with everything, it takes a while to get used to things.
