Kuriousity | manga reviews and news

News

Licensing | Press Releases | Release Lists

Viz Media Plans a Dash of Shoujo for Autumn with new Shojo Beat Licenses

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, March 15, 2014

After their recent new titles for Viz Signature and Shonen Jump, Viz Media added some new content for their Shojo Beat imprint last week including a new license:

Yukarism – Chika Shiomi

Yukarism is the story of a young man with an uncanny ability to write about historical Japan. His secret is that he can actually travel back in time, allowing him to live through the eyes of his past life as a courtesan. While switching between his two lives, he also learns more about the strong connection he feels with a classmate.

It’s not often I use the word ‘he’ so often when writing about a shojo series. Still, it sounds neat. I hope a lot of the story takes place in his life as a courtesan, though I am also curious about what that past life means for his relationship with his classmate. How could I not with that picture above?

Chika Shiomi has been published several times in English previously, including Night of the Beasts, Rasetsu, Queen of Ragtonia, and Yurara. Andre previously reviewed Queen of Ragtonia, while I enjoyed what I read of Rasetsu.

Viz Media also announced they’d be releasing a special edition of Vampire Knight‘s final volume this October. It will include a variant cover and a mini art book. This limited edition copy will be available for $16.99 CAN, $14.99 US.

In added celebration for the series finale, there will also be a collection of Vampire Knight short prose stories released in December. Titled Vampire Knight: Fleeting Dreams, the collection will feature special full-colour artwork from Matsuri Hino. More information is available via Viz Media’s press release.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Light Novels, Matsuri Hino, Vampire Knight, Yukarism

Yen Press Collects Haruhi Anthologies for October Omnibus

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 12, 2014

No Comments »

Yen Press isn’t letting their Haruhi Suzumiya library gather any dust as they catch up with the release of its main series by year’s end. The publisher will be releasing a hefty collection of Haruhi stories later this year:

The Celebration of Haruhi Suzumiya – Various Creators

This omnibus collects three different anthologies of stories starring the characters of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Yen Press previously released an anthology like these ones on its own, The Misfortune of Kyon & Koizumi, which I read, enjoyed and reviewed last year.

These three Haruhi anthologies have stories from a bunch of different artists and writers, making them a fun read for the diversity of content. This omnibus collection clocks in at 528 pages and will be released in October. The book will cost $29.00/CAN, $26.00/US, and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.

News credit goes to AnimeNewsNetwork

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Omnibus, Yen Press

TCAF Welcomes Moyoco Anno to 2014 Event

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, March 10, 2014

1 Comment »

Exciting news from Toronto Comics Art Fest last week – the annual comics event announced manga artist Moyoco Anno as their newest special guest!

Moyoco Anno is a name familiar to many English manga fans; her works have been released by several manga publishers over the past decade. Plus, she’s pretty great! Her titles include Insufficient Direction, Sakuran, Flowers & Bees, Sugar Sugar Rune, Happy Mania and the upcoming In Clothes Called Fat.

Moyoco Anno previously attended New York Comic Con 2012.

Well-timed to this news from TCAF is Crunchyroll adding three new Moyoco Anno titles to their digital manga program. Buffalo 5 Girls is a completed one-shot, while Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen and The Diary of Ochibi-san will be on-going simultaneous publications once the schedules line-up.

I’ve gone to TCAF for the past three years and have always loved it. The atmosphere, the artist’s present and the city itself are always worth the trip. This year is looking no less enjoyable! Along with Moyoco Anno, TCAF also recently announced est em would be attending. Can you say excited?

Share on Tumblr

Categories: News
Tags: Canada, Conventions, Moyoco Anno, TCAF, Vertical Inc

Viz Media Flies Shonen Jump’s Jaco To Print and Assassins to the Classroom

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, March 9, 2014

No Comments »

Expanding on Viz Media’s recent press release, the company announced a couple new additions to its Shonen Jump imprint, starting with a new license:

Assassination Classroom – Matsui Yuusei

Assassination Classroom sounds like a strange one indeed, but I’ve seen quite a bit of excitement over its announcement. The story is about a classroom of students who are trying to kill their new teacher. Catch number one though – he’s actually an alien with super strength, strange tendril arms and plans to destroy the world. Catch two – they all think he’s a great teacher! Viz Media describes it as “a humorous and action-packed story”.

The first volume of Assassination Classroom will be available in December 2014 for $12.99/CAN, $9.99/US, and will be rated for Older Teens. Pre-orders are currently available on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

Viz Media also announced the print edition of Akira Toriyama’s Jaco the Galactic Patrolman. This series originally ran in their digital Shonen Jump anthology. Not only was it a really fun series, and a reminder of just how artistically skilled Akira Toriyama is, but also had a chapter that served as a prequel read to Dragonball. Very neat!

The one-shot print edition is scheduled for January 2014 for $12.99/CAN, $9.99/US. Jaco the Galactic Patrolman can be pre-ordered now via Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Akira Toriyama, Assassination Classroom, Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, Shonen Jump, Viz Media

Viz Media Adds Master Keaton and Resident Evil to Signature Line

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 5, 2014

No Comments »

Viz Media is on a roll with exciting PR. The publisher released another set of press releases yesterday with new licenses to announce, including these two titles for their Viz Signature imprint:

Master Keaton – Hokusei Katsushika/Takashi Nagasaki & Naoki Urasawa
Resident Evil – Naoki Serizawa

Master Keaton follows an archaeology professor with a keen skill at finding the truth, which he utilizes as a part-time insurance investigator. Keaton uses his years of education, military training and upbringing to solve the many mysteries that present themselves before him.

Suffice to say, many of us are thrilled to see a new Naoki Urasawa series coming out in English. Viz Media previously released several of his series – Monster, 20th Century Boys and Pluto – and they’re easily some of the best quality comics on my shelves. While Naoki Urasawa didn’t exclusively write Master Keaton, I’m eager for more of his great comic paneling and sense of story pacing.

Viz Media is releasing Master Keaton in “deluxe” editions that will be on sale for $22.99 CAN/ $19.99 US starting in December of this year. Each book will have 18 pages of full-colour content.

Resident Evil is a series from which its artist I’m not familiar with, but the franchise is certainly a stranger to few ears. This manga series is a prequel to Resident Evil 6, who’s lead character is the muscular, zombie-punching Chris Redfield. This five volume manga series explores where the global outbreak that left the world infected with the C-virus originated. Chris Redfield and his team are called to a high school in Singapore when things begin spiraling out of control for a Professor investigating a student’s sudden transformation.

The first volume of Resident Evil will be released in November for $14.99 CAN / $12.99 US.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Master Keaton, Naoki Serizawa, Naoki Urasawa, Resident Evil, Viz Media, Viz Signature

Viz Media Serves Up Two New Shoujos For Fall 2014

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, March 3, 2014

1 Comment »

Viz Media e-mailed out a press release today, announcing two new shoujo titles debuting this coming Fall:

Honey Blood – Miko Mitsuki
Kiss of the Rose Princess – Aya Shouoto

Both titles are rated Teen – kisses and hugs, but hold the sexy-times – and will be released for $12.99/CAN, $9.99/US. as single volume books.

Honey Blood is three volumes long and with it Shojo Beat adds another tale of vampiric romance to their library. In this series, high-schooler Hinata Sorazono is skeptical when a fellow student is supposedly attacked by a vampire. She starts to reconsider when her new neighbour turns out to be a famous author of vampire romances, but shares a lot in common with his undead leads.

Kiss of the Rose Princess has a plot that’s a little harder to grasp but let’s give it a go! One day a young woman named Anis Yamamoto is hit by a bat-like creature that falls out of the sky. It causes her to lose an important choker her Father gave her, but also grants her possession of four magical cards. Kissing each of said cards summons a knight at her command, but though she now has a mini army of pretty boys at her beck and call, what is she supposed to do with them? Kiss of the Rose Princess is nine volumes long.

As much as Shojo Beats license don’t sound that interesting to me at first, I tend to always end up enjoying most of them. They can be some darn good entertainment. Kiss of the Rose Princess actually does pique my interest though, sounding silly and fun and full of eye-candy. We’ll see how it reads when volume one is released in November. Honey Blood‘s first volume hits store shelves a month earlier in October.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Honey Blood, Kiss of the Rose Princess, Shojo Beat

Vertical Casts a Spell With Three Katsucon Licenses

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, February 26, 2014

No Comments »

Almost missed this one! I shame myself, Kuriousity readers.

Earlier in the month, Vertical Inc announced three new licenses during their attendance at Katsucon:

Demi-Human – Gamon Sakurai
Garden of Words – Makoto Shinkai / Midori Motohashi
Witchcraft Works – Ryū Mizunagi

Demi-Human takes place in our modern world after the sudden appearance of immortal beings, with their immortal traits soon showing in random humans. The story follows a Japanese student who is killed in an accident and, after finding himself revived as one of the demi-humans, is now on the run from those who were once his own kind.

The first volume of Demi-Human is scheduled for October 2014, with pre-orders available now on Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.

Garden of Words is a manga adaptation of an anime film of the same name. It tells the story of a young shoemaker who spends his days in a park sketching footwear. There he meets a young woman and we follow the evolution of their relationship. Sentai Filmworks has released the Garden of Words film in English and it is gorgeous.

Vertical Inc’s manga edition of Garden of Words is scheduled for October 2014 as a one-shot release. Pre-orders are available on Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.

Last but not least, Witchcraft Works follows a young man who in class sits next to his school’s most popular student, Kagari Ayaka. One day his life is in danger and who should come to his rescue but Kagari, except she’s dressed as a witch, is part of a group called the Workshop Witches, and proclaims from that day on she’ll protect him from anything.

An anime adaptation of Witchcraft Works has been streaming this season with Crunchyroll providing the English simulcast. The first volume of Witchcraft Works is scheduled for September 2014. Pre-orders are available via Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Ajin, Garden of Words, Vertical Inc, Witchcraft Works

Kodansha Comics Tackles Fantasy and Reality with Two New Licenses

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, February 20, 2014

No Comments »

Kodansha Comics took to social media yesterday to announce a trio of titles. While one was familiar to us – their Colossal edition of Attack on Titan – they also had two new series we’ll see later in the year:

Manga Dogs – Ema Toyama
Noragami – Adachitoka

Manga Dogs – originally called GDGD Dogs – is about a young woman named Kanna Tezuka who is already a professional manga artist at the age of fifteen. When her school starts a manga-creating club, she’s excited at the prospects. However, Kanna’s met with disappointment at finding a useless teacher and three club members with delusions about the life of creating comics. When she’s pressed into the role of their mentor, Kanna has to try and make the most of the situation by turning the boys around.

Manga Dogs is by Ema Toyama, whose had a couple series published in English previously – Missions of Love and I Am Here!. Neither of her series before have caught my interest but I’m always eager to read a comic about people making comics, so I’m eager to try out this new one.

Noragami is about a young man named Yato, who also happens to a God. However, he’s a God without a shrine or worshippers. Yato’s goal is to change all that though, but first he needs the money to get his own shrine built. He becomes a god-for-hire, doing all sorts of odd jobs to get one step closer to his dream and help some people along the way.

This is the second series out in English by Adachitoka, who provided the art for Alive!, published by Del Rey. I thought the art in Alive! was fantastic, so I’m really excited to see Adachitoka tackle another fantasy story with Noragami. Noragami also has an anime adaption that Funimation is currently streaming.

Volume one of both series are scheduled to be released sometime this Fall.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Kodansha Comics, Manga Dogs, Noragami

Kodansha Comics Plans Colossal Attack on Titan Omnibus

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, February 19, 2014

1 Comment »

Amidst some licensing news today, Kodansha Comics announced a repackaging of their bestselling series, Attack on Titan.

Scheduled for the end of May, this “colossal” edition will contain volumes one to five of Attack on Titan. That’s five volumes in one book, clocking in at a little over 1000 pages. Wow.

The book is being printed on “premium-quality paper”. This instills some faith the paper won’t be the flimsy, thin stuff we’re accustomed to in other omnibus editions – such as Viz Media’s VizBIG’s – and also gives further indication to just how massive this book will be. On top of that is news the book will be 7″ x 10.5″ – quite a bit larger than the original books, which are approximately 5″ x 7″.

Seven Seas Licenses First Yuri of 2014, Citrus

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, February 16, 2014

1 Comment »

Seven Seas is a licensing force that feels like it can’t be stopped! And I’m certainly not going to get in their way (though I am having a little difficulty keeping up!). At the end of January, they announced what we can only hope is their first yuri license of the year:

Citrus – Saburouta

The plot of Citrus sounds like one of those anime-stereotype sis-cest stories ,only with two girls. While I usually avoid those kinds of series, it looks like I’ll be making an exception for this one. It’s a yuri – I must!

Citrus follows a young woman who’s never been in love, yet finds herself both annoyed and enthralled by the student council president at her new school. However, it turns out said-president is her new step-sister and, to top it off, the two are now living together.

The first volume of Citrus is scheduled for December 2014 and will retail at $15.99/CAN, $13.99/US.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Citrus, Seven Seas, Yuri