By Joseph Luster

It's a sign of good storytelling when even the most solemn of reflective moments resonates with the reader in some way, and that's a skill that mangaka Kou Yaginuma has been honing throughout the run of Twin Spica . If you've been following the series up to this point, then you know he dropped a major emotional bomb at the end of the last volume, and so volume 11 is all about picking up the pi...

By Joseph Luster

Cracking open Vertical Inc.'s release of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan brought back a lot of manga memories, specifically of Tokyopop's early-2000s publication of Toru Fujisawa's Great Teacher Onizuka manga, to which this serves as a follow-up. Most importantly, it reminded me why I used to love GTO so much, despite the original hitting a somewhat lackluster dip as the 25-volume series got deeper int...

By Joseph Luster

In the latest issue of Otaku USA magazine, Erin Finnegan touched on what makes Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Bakuman such an enticing read. The creative team behind Death Note wastes no time sugar-coating the grueling process behind actually getting professional manga published in a legit magazine like Weekly Shonen Jump . Even with all the connections in the world, leads Moritaka Mashiro a...

By Danica Davidson

Kurosu admits that his skill at drawing is average, but he still enrolls at an art university. While there, he is amazed by the work of fellow student Yukari. The two of them end up on the same train together, but when Yukari leaves his umbrella behind, Kurosu rushes out to give it to him. The train departs without Kurosu, leaving him stranded, so Yukari invites him to spend the night. Kurosu ...

By Lissa Pattillo

This year may have had some rocky points so far but it's also showing signs of the innovation we're bound to see more of over the next twelve months. Opinions on the method are varied, but everyone agrees that the publication of more niche titles is a welcome treat from Digital Manga's recent Kickstarter  to publish Osamu Tezuka's Barbara . With hopes to publish in July 2012 now that they...

By Lissa Pattillo

Week two of 2012! And no I won't be counting up the weeks of 2012 until we hit 2013. That said, it's already disorienting seeing the release dates coming out for 2013. It's like Christmas—the moment it's done, we're already seeing Valentine's Day stuff everywhere. It's only baby steps into 2012 and already I'm jotting down pre-order information for 2013. Go figure. But enough about the future,...

By Lissa Pattillo

Welcome to the new year and the first shipping week of 2012! It's unfortunate that the anime and manga industry is off to a rocky start with news that Bandai Entertainment is going though a big restructuring that involves no more new releases and lay-offs of its already minimal staff. Not what we like to hear! It's all the more reason to be thankful for the bountiful shipping lists we get ever...