Is out as well.
Volume 29 is delayed a month. It will be coming out next month here.
Skip Beat 25
October 23rd, 2011Kamisama Kiss 5
October 23rd, 2011Is out.
I’ll post my notes for this volume after I’ve received my copy.
Olympos
October 10th, 2011I’m translating/adapting this 2-volume manga by Aki.
Julietta Suzuki Autograph Session
October 2nd, 2011Yesterday I was at the Keibundo bookstore in Ogikubo for Suzuki-sensei’s autograph session commemorating the publication of volume 10.
While we were waiting in line, we were able to look at two binders containing b&w manuscripts and the actual magazine pages, so you could compare the two. The binders also contained many color illustrations as well.
I had to fill in a paper with my name (as would be written by the sensei) and who my favorite character is. I wrote Mizuki, thus here’s the autographed page:
As souvenirs, I received a color plastic file:
A “drawn just for this autograph session information paper”:
And a photo-size printout of a new year color illustration:
Top 10 Best-selling Mangaka
September 28th, 2011Last month’s Nikkei Entertainment magazine had a listing of top 50 best-selling mangaka. FYI, I list the top 10 here, together with the number of their books sold since Jan 2010:
Eiichiro Oda (ONE PIECE) – 54,856,000 copies
Masashi Kishimoto (NARUTO) – 11,035,000 copies
Karuho Shiina (Kimi ni Todoke) – 8,768,000 copies
Hiro Mashima (FAIRY TAIL) – 7,743,000 copies
Taito Kubo (BLEACH) – 6,954,000 copies
Takeshi Obata (Bakuman) – 6,264,000 copies
Hideaki Sorachi (Gintama) – 6,227,000 copies
Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) – 5,883,000 copies
Hikaru Nakamura (Saint Young Men) – 5,541,000 copies
Hiroshi Shiibashi (Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan) – 4,623,000 copies
Black Butler comes in 26th with 2,358,000 copies sold.
COBS ONLINE Article
September 26th, 2011When I taught my manga translation lesson, COBS ONLINE, a portal site for business people in their 20s, attended my lesson and interviewed me.
Here’s their article.
Animate Girls Festival
September 24th, 2011I was in Ikebukuro yesterday for this event. Square Enix had some Pandora Hearts manuscripts on display, but it was in the same area as the cafe space and the limited-items shop space, and there was such a loooong line, I gave up and went to the BL area instead.
As long I didn’t join the lines for buying stuff, the area wasn’t that crowded, and I was able to take a good look at color and b&w manuscripts that various mangaka had on display. There were also panel displays of “let’s get through this earthquake disaster” messages and illustrations.
As expected, there was a huge line for the Tiger&Bunny purikura. There were big panels from the anime where you could take photos, and original color illustrations by Katsura Masakazu on display.
Eva Keitai Strap
September 13th, 2011The Lawson convenience store chain is doing a Eva campaign, and I got a keitai strap when I bought two snacks:
I guess there’ll be more goods available when the third movie is released next fall.
Saturn Apartments Doujinshi
September 4th, 2011At last month’s comitia, Iwaoka-sensei came out with a Saturn Apartments doujinshi. Here’s the cover:
And the back cover:
The doujinshi contains a short manga where Jin and Mitsu go clean windows on the upper level, a short manga that takes place right after the final chapter (and before the epilogue), and a “what they’re doing five years later” for each of the characters.
There’s a comment from Iwaoka-sensei’s one assistant, and she mentions that she only did screentone work, and that EVERYTHING was drawn by Iwaoka-sensei herself, including all the inking. This must be the major reason why each installment was kept to 20 pages.
Male Maid Cafe Cookies
August 26th, 2011Last Sunday I went to Tokyo Big Sight for comitia, and found this omiyage in the souvenir shop:
They’re maids, but they’re all guys. Inside the box was a trading card:
And each cookie has the face of a maid printed on it:
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