It’s been way too long since I read the first volume of Buddha by Osamu Tezuka. I really liked it, but it sorta fell to the wayside when pitted versus aliens, time travelers and espers… I’ve been feeling pretty thoughtful lately, so I figured I’d take the Buddha Vol. 2 off the shelf and read it already!
I sorta stopped watching the NHK Ni Youkoso anime a while back. I think I should probably start up again, considering the anime is finished… That didn’t keep me from reading the first volume of Welcome To The NHK: the manga! The manga is rated 18+, so it must be more entertaining than the anime, right?
I was checking out MangaBlog and they had a post about the Young Adult Library Services Association’s list of recommended graphic novels for teens. MangaBlog filtered out all of the non-manga, and here’s what they got:
Dramacon, by Svetlana Chmakova
Inverloch, vol. 1, by Sarah Ellerton
Sorcerers and Secretaries, vol. 1, by Amy Kim Ganter
Psy-Comm, vol. 1, by Jason Henderson and Tony Salvaggio
Death Note, vols. 1-3, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Off*Beat, vol. 1, by Jen Lee Quick
Chocolat, vols. 1-3, by Ji-Sang Shin and Geo
Monster, vol. 1, by Naoki Urasawa
Nana, vols. 1-2, by Ai Yazawa
Antique Bakery, vols. 2-4, by Fumi Yoshinaga
Cantarella, vol. 1, by You Higuri
I immediately noticed the ratio of non-Japanese manga to Japanese manga was strangely high. 6 of the 11 picks are either American made “manga” or Korean manhwa. The Japanese manga that were picked included Death Note, Nana, and Monster, which are totally popular in Japan.
I suppose that in the context of this being a list from the American Library Association, more American titles would be picked. After all, DC Comics had 9 titles on the list. It’s a step in the right direction to even include some manga, but it seems like the list is definitely catering to the American writers; the ratio of American to Japanese manga released in the United States is very low.
I suppose that I can’t really comment on the quality of American manga since I haven’t read any before. I have seen a few of the previews in Tokyopop’s free Manga sampler. What I saw seemed derivative at best. But maybe I’m just being a manga snob…
Also, I think it’s funny that Antique Bakery had volumes 2-4 on the list. What the heck happened in volume 1 that made it unsuitable for the list? Apparently this manga is very BL, so I can take a few guesses…
The last volume of Kamui was pretty much one giant flashback. In Kamui volume 5, we finally get to see how Atsuma is doing after being stabbed in the back by Sumire. Plus fights and smooches!
I remember watching The World of Narue the anime back when I knew it as “Narue no Sekai.” It was pretty awesome, and I remember that the OP by CooRie was tight. I just got a chance to check out the manga that was published by CPM to go along with the anime. It’s a good thing I can’t remember much about the anime, or the story might’ve been spoiled…
Popo Can is a lesser known manga from Infinity Studios that was released in July of 2005. I thought the title looked interesting, so decided to take a shot at reading it. I’m really disappointed that this manga hasn’t gotten more recognition!
Years upon years ago, when I had just started watching anime, I come across a series called “E’S Otherwise.” I think I only saw the first episode, and then it happened to get licensed by ADV. Apparently the E’s manga is incredibly popular in Japan. Broccoli Books recently released the first volume for English consumption. Let’s see if I remember anything from the anime…
Kekkaishi is one of the Fall 2006 anime that I didn’t watch. It’s also a long running shounen manga series by Yellow Tanabe with 7 volumes already out in the US. Since it’s sometimes nice to read the book before watching the story, I decided to hold off on the anime until finishing this book.
Happy New Year, everybody! I hope you all have dreams of Mt. Fuji, eggplants, and hawks! Apparently, if your first dream of the new year contains those things, you’ll have good luck… Anyway, I figured I’d check out the anime resolution I made last year, and make up a new one for 2007.
My last year’s resolution was to finish the anime that I started watching. I guess that in this case, “anime I started watching” should mean past the second or third episode, since I watch almost every first episode of anime, and there’s no way I’m gonna watch every episode ever!
Looking at the list from last year, it’s kinda sad that I still haven’t finished Bakuretsu Tenshi, Full Metal Alchemist, Futakoi Alternative, Maburaho, Mezzo DSA, Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo, ROD The TV, Tenjou Tenge, or Tsukuyomi Moon Phase. I only finished like, 4 shows on that list! I think I deleted most of them anyway… I just noticed that almost all of those shows have been licensed. Coincidence?
As for the list of this years shows that I haven’t finished, the list is long…
Since it’s the holiday season and all, people are probably buying tons of gifts. If there’s an anime fan on your shopping list, chances are you might not know what they want. Well, Basugasubakuhatsu is here to save the day! I’ll be suggesting anime or manga related gifts for all kinds of otaku!