Sunday 15 June 2014

Utsubora the Story of a Novelist review

Utsubora the Story of a Novelist Story & Art by Asumiko Nakamura Review

                Jun Mizorogi is a famous novelist but not all is what it seems with him. Upon hearing of the death of a fan of his he meets her twin sister. Along the way he is caught in the act of attempting plagiarism. Thus begins his downward descent into madness.

                Serialized in Manga Erotics F, Utsubora is a fascinating story of a novelist’s downward spiral. Nakamura’s artwork is gorgeous. There’s not a character that is not well developed; each character is a cog in a rather refined clockwork puzzle.

                That being said the book is not without flaw. It is rather long and lacks cohesion in parts. In the end, I was not entirely clear on all the details as it became rather complicated. That being said, it was nonetheless a compelling read for adult readers.

Rating: 8/10


Utsubora is available in print from Vertical Inc.

Sword Art Online Episodes 1-25 review

Sword Art Online Episodes 1-25 Directed by Tomohiko Ito, Produced by A-1 Pictures Review

                While playing a popular video game, Kirito finds himself, along with several thousand other people, trapped in the game. The only means of returning to the real world is to defeat the game. Can Kirito make it out? And who will he meet along the way?

                Based on a light novel by Reki Kawahara, Sword Art Online suffers greatly from an incredibly unnecessary and deeply disturbing second half. The uncomfortable elements introduced later on clearly serve no other purpose than too presumably titillate the show’s target demographic. The show is not clever enough to be making any sort of commentary; it is pure wish fulfillment as exhibited by the blank slate protagonist Kirito.

                It leaves a very fowl taste in the viewer’s mouth upon completion. Frankly, there are thousands of other shows one could watch that would leave a better impression than this. The first half, at the very least, has some redeeming aspects. The concept is interesting enough to carry the series for that first bit but the during the Fairy Dance arc is a long downward slide for the series it never recovers from.


Rating: 4/10

Tuesday 10 June 2014

VIZ Media Comes To ComiXology!

VIZ Media Comes To ComiXology!

VIZ Media & ComiXology Announce Digital Distribution Agreement

More than 500 VIZ Media manga titles are now available on comiXology throughout North America including NARUTO, ONE PIECE, BLEACH, & more!

June 10th, 2014 – New York, NY / San Francisco, CA – Today comiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform, and VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announced a digital distribution agreement to bring fan-favorite manga series to comiXology’s entire platform across North America.

To celebrate this announcement, VIZ Media has made available today more than 500 volumes of fan-favorite manga series on comiXology including NARUTO, ONE PIECE, BLEACH, NANA & more! Manga fans will be able to read all these great series using comiXology’s Manga Fixed Format – a dedicated right-to-left full-page manga reading experience.

“Launching over 500 volumes of VIZ Media manga is amazing for our manga fans,” said comiXology CEO David Steinberger. “The addition of VIZ Media today marks a huge increase in our manga offerings and I, for one, cannot wait to dive into today’s releases and the many thousands yet to come.”

“We’re excited to bring our great catalog of VIZ Media titles to comiXology,” said Gagan Singh, VIZ Media’s Executive Vice President. “ComiXology is the premier destination for digital comics and we’re happy to help make them the destination for manga. We can’t wait for manga fans to experience comiXology’s high resolution Manga Fixed Format developed especially for this content.”

The full list of manga titles launching today on comiXology from VIZ Media include:

BAKUMAN – all volumes
BLEACH – all volumes and same day as print
BLUE EXORCIST
CLAYMORE
DEATH NOTE
DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR (SAIYAJIN)
DRAGON BALL/ DRAGON BALL Z
HIKARU NO GO
KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC
NANA
NARUTO
ONE PIECE
ONE-PUNCH MAN
ROSARIO + VAMPIRE
ROSARIO + VAMPIRE SEASON II
RUROUNI KENSHIN
RUROUNI KENSHIN: RESTORATION
SHAMAN KING
TENJO TENGE
THE PRINCE OF TENNIS

With over 50,000 comics and graphic novels from more than 75 publishers, comiXology offers the widest selection of digital comics in the world. ComiXology’s immense catalog and cinematic Guided View reading experience makes it the best digital platform for comic and graphic novel fans worldwide.

Find your favorite comics and graphic novels at comixology.com and try the comiXology app available on all major mobile platforms.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

About comiXology

ComiXology, an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel industry by delivering a cloud-based digital comics platform that makes discovering, buying, and reading comics more fun than ever before. ComiXology’s Guided View reading technology transforms the comic book medium into an immersive and cinematic experience, helping comiXology become a top ten grossing iPad app in 2011 and 2012 and the top grossing non-game iPad app in 2012 and 2013. Offering the broadest library of comic book content from over 75 publishers – and independent creators as well – comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the planet has become a comic book fan. ComiXology is based in New York City, with operations in Los Angeles and Paris. For more information visit www.comixology.com.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

VIZ MEDIA’S PERFECT SQUARE IMPRINT ACQUIRES POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y MANGA SERIES

VIZ MEDIA’S PERFECT SQUARE IMPRINT ACQUIRES POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y MANGA SERIES

New All-Ages Manga Adventure Inspired By The Latest Generation of Pokémon Video Games Join an Expansive Catalog Of POKÉMON Manga Titles Published In North America

San Francisco, CA, June 4, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced the acquisition of the domestic publishing and digital media rights for the POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y manga (graphic novel) series. The manga is based on the Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games, which launched globally for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems in October 2013.

The new release will launch the latest story arc for the popular entertainment property and joins VIZ Media’s expansive catalog of POKÉMON manga and anime titles. The POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y series is rated ‘A’ for All Ages and will debut its first volume in print and digitally in December under the company’s Perfect Square imprint. Future volumes of the series, which is also ongoing in Japan, will be published twice yearly.

POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y is written by Hidenori Kusaka with artwork by Satoshi Yamamoto. As the new Champion of the Pokémon Battle Junior Tournament in the Kalos region, X is hailed as a child prodigy. But when all the media attention proves to be too much for him, he holes up in his room to hide from everyone, including his best friends. What will it take to get him to come out?! How about an attack on his hometown of Vaniville Town by the two new Legendary Pokémon, Xerneas and Yveltal, and a mysterious organization named Team Flare…?

“We are proud to expand our Perfect Square manga catalog with the acquisition of POKÉMON ADVENTURES X & Y and its positively themed story, dynamic characters and fun cast of new Pokémon that is sure to delight young as well as adult readers,” says Annette Roman, Editor. “We look forward to fans discovering the new series later this year!”

POKÉMON is one of the most successful international entertainment franchises of all time. More than 255 million POKÉMON video game titles and 20 billion Pokémon Trading Cards have been sold to-date worldwide. Pokémon the Series: XY marked the 17th season of POKÉMON animation and launched in the U.S. on Cartoon Network in January 2014. VIZ Media and its Perfect Square imprint are the official North American publishers of a variety of popular POKÉMON manga graphic novel series such as POKÉMON ADVENTURES, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: DIAMOND & PEARL, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: HEART/GOLD SOUL/SILVER, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: BLACK & WHITE as well as a variety of POKÉMON animated feature films.

VIZ Media’s Perfect Square imprint focuses on delivering original comics, manga (graphic novels) and other all ages’ books with an emphasis on strong storytelling, eye-popping graphics, empowering themes, and a dash of irreverence, that captures the imagination of a whole new generation.

Additional information on titles published by Perfect Square is available at www.PerfectSquare.com.

For more information on other manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

VIZ MEDIA KICKS OFF SUMMER READING ACTION WITH A JUNE DIGITAL MANGA UPDATE

VIZ MEDIA KICKS OFF SUMMER READING ACTION WITH A JUNE DIGITAL MANGA UPDATE

Catch The Exclusive Digital-First Debut Of Takeshi Obata’s
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, SERAPH OF THE END, And More

VIZ Media primes the summer reading season with a robust digital update for June and invites fans and readers to explore the latest collection of exciting releases available throughout the month.

New manga titles making their digital debut include today’s launch of the Shonen Jump Advanced series, SERAPH OF THE END. The BOYS OVER FLOWERS JEWELRY BOX shojo manga one-shot is scheduled for June 10th.

Fans also won’t want to miss the exclusive digital premiere, the same day as Japan on June 19th of Vol. 1 of the riveting manga adaptation of the sci-fi action drama – ALL YOU NEED IS KILL – by DEATH NOTE/BAKUMAN creator Takeshi Obata. This 2-volume series adapts the acclaimed Japanese novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (also available from VIZ Media/Haikasoru), that also inspired Edge of Tomorrow, the blockbuster summer action film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The post apocalyptic gothic vampire series, TRINITY BLOOD, rounds out new titles for the month with its digital debut on June 24th.

Other notable monthly updates to popular continuing manga series include DRAGON BALL Full Color (Saiyajin) (Vol. 3) on June 3rd, DEADMAN WONDERLAND (Vol. 3) on June 10th, to be followed by ONE-PUNCH MAN (Vol. 3) and FUTURE DIARY (Vol. 2) on June 24th. These new volumes join additions to 13 other popular VIZ Media series that will also be updated throughout the month of June.

Readers can enjoy these new June manga updates that are available on VIZManga.com and the VIZ MANGA App for the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones and 7” tablets. The titles may also be purchased through the Nook, Kindle, Kobo, iBooks and GooglePlay stores. These dynamic digital platforms offer fans the opportunity to explore and enjoy a massive catalog of new and classic manga titles that spans more than 2,000 volumes across nearly 200 different series.

Titles Available Now!

SERAPH OF THE END, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens ·
MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN) · Available Now!
After trumpets of the apocalypse proclaim the fall of humanity, vampires arise from the shadows to rule the earth. Yuichiro wants just one thing – to get revenge by killing each and every vampire. In the opening volume, Yuichiro’s dream is near-impossible, given that vampires are seven times stronger than humans, and the only way to kill them is by mastering Cursed Gear, advanced demon-possessed weaponry. Not to mention that humanity’s most elite Vampire Extermination Unit, the Moon Demon Company, wants nothing to do with Yuichiro unless he can prove he’s willing to work in a team – which is the last thing he wants!

Manga Titles Launching Later This Month:

BOYS OVER FLOWERS JEWELRY BOX (ONE-SHOT) · Rated ‘T’ for Teens · MSRP: $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) · Available June 10th!
One year after the original BOYS OVER FLOWERS series ended, lives move on... Although Tsukushi Makino is from a poor family, she attends an elite school for the super rich, where her life has become intertwined with the "F4," the ruling boys of the school, in a whirlwind of love and confusion!

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens ·
MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN) · Available June 19th!
Check out Takeshi Obata’s (DEATH NOTE, BAKUMAN) hit adaptation of the riveting sci-fi action story in a special digital release. When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his fifth iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally – the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji's escape or his final death?


TRINITY BLOOD, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens · MSRP: $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) · Available June 24th!
In a dark and distant future, Armageddon has given rise to the fabled Second Moon – and a perpetual war between the vampires and the humans! Esther is a nun in the city of Istavan.  When she crosses paths with Abel Nightroad, a priest sent from the Vatican to combat the local order of vampires, the pair forms a holy alliance to battle the most evil of threats. In this gorgeous, gothic-action series - part of the super-popular Trinity Blood franchise – the very survival of the human race is at stake!

The free VIZ Manga App continues to be the top application for reading digital manga and features a massive library of the most popular series in the world. Through the innovative VIZ Manga digital platform registered users are able to use one account to view their purchased manga across more devices than ever. New series and volumes are added every Tuesday. Fans can also find these titles and more for the NOOK, Kindle Fire, and Kobo ereaders, as well as in the iBooks and GooglePlay Stores.

All manga volumes are available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada within the VIZ Manga application starting from $6.99 (U.S. / CAN) each and readers can also explore all titles with free Chapter 1 previews of every series. For more information, please visit VIZManga.com or www.VIZ.com/apps.

Download the free VIZ Manga App for Android and iOS devices at www.VIZ.com/apps.

To learn more about VIZ Manga, please visit www.vizmanga.com.