World Trigger Chapters 1-72 review

World Trigger Story & Art by Daisuke Ashihara Chapters 1-72 Review

When Osamu meets Yuma for the first time they don’t realize the conflicts yet to unfold or really who the other even is. As the war between humanity and aliens, referred to as neighbors, unfolds how will events play out? Can Yuma even be trusted? Soon the two will find themselves embroiled in a web of secrets and a war of epic proportions.

Serialized in the boys’ anthology Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan, World Trigger has a cast of thousands and this can be detrimental at times. This does not become a problem until later chapters though. Earlier chapters feature introducing the core players in the plot. However, this means that thus far character development for many people has been limited at best.  Currently it is probably one of the better manga being serialized in the English version of Weekly Shonen Jump. The world itself is rather dark and fascinating.

Another core character, who is not introduced for a few chapters, is Chika who becomes one of the driving forces for the series. It’s clear the series has a grand story to tell and has already started going in compelling directions. The plot begins to become more gradual in the latter half of this set of chapters with the recent arc running for roughly half a year to date. In conclusion, World Trigger is a rather interesting series and worth a read if one is a fan of science fiction. 

HELLO KITTY® SHOWS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF ONE JUST IMAGINES IN ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASE FROM PERFECT SQUARE

HELLO KITTY^® SHOWS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF ONE JUST IMAGINES IN ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASE FROM PERFECT SQUARE

Creativity And Friendship Combine In New All Ages Release HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE

San Francisco, CA, August 26, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, invites readers of all ages to tap their creative sides for some whimsical new graphic novel adventures with the release of HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE, available now.

HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE is published under the Perfect Square imprint and expands the line of full-color HELLO KITTY^® original graphic novels inspired by the global pop icon. JUST IMAGINE brings back the talented team of HELLO KITTY artists including Jacob Chabot, Ian McGinty and Jorge Monlongo, and introduces artist Giovanni Castro and special guest artist Sarah Goodreau. HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE is rated ‘A’ for All Ages and will carry an MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN.

Anything is possible if you just imagine...

Hello Kitty and her friends are letting their imaginations run wild – dreaming up rainy day adventures, inventing amazing machines and solving problems in the most inventive ways. When creativity and friendship combine, the possibilities are endless!

“As Hello Kitty marks her 40th anniversary she's as popular as ever, keeping up with the maker movement in HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE," says Traci Todd, Senior Editor, Children's Publishing. “We hope the young and young at heart will enjoy these new stories and discover their own spirits of creativity and inspiration as well.”

Don’t miss additional full-color HELLO KITTY original graphic novel titles available in-print from Perfect Square including, HELLO KITTY: HERE WE GO!, HELLO KITTY: SURPRISE!, and HELLO KITTY: DELICIOUS!, as well as the brand new HELLO KITTY, HELLO 40 commemorative story and art anthology.

Created by Sanrio, Hello Kitty^® is a true lifestyle brand that enjoys tremendous international popularity. In North America, and throughout the world, Hello Kitty is a leading brand that is loved by fans of all ages. The pop icon has more than 14 million followers on Facebook.

HELLO KITTY artist Jacob Chabot is a prolific New York City-based cartoonist, illustrator and writer. His comics have appeared in publications such as Nickelodeon Magazine, Mad Magazine, SpongeBob SquarePants comics, and various Marvel titles. He also illustrated HELLO KITTY editions including HERE WE GO!, DELICIOUS! and SURPRISE!, as well as Voltron Force: Shelter from the Storm and Voltron Force: True Colors for Perfect Square. His comic series, The Mighty Skullboy Army, is published by Dark Horse, and in 2008 Chabot was also nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Book for Teens.

Artist Ian McGinty resides in Savannah, Georgia, and his portfolio includes Adventure Time: Candy Capers (kaBoom!), Bravest Warriors (kaBoom!), HELLO KITTY (VIZ Media), UGLYDOLL (VIZ Media), and Suckers (Zenescope). He is also creator of Chomp! (Top Shelf).

Book and comic illustrator and game designer Jorge Monlongo hails from Spain and combines traditional and digital techniques to create worlds in beautiful colors that hide secrets. JUST IMAGINE… is his latest HELLO KITTY title for VIZ Media/Perfect Square and his work has also been featured in several prominent magazines, including Rolling Stone.

Artist Giovanni Castro was born in Colombia, studied art there, and now lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. He works mainly in editorial illustration and comics. Castro has worked with traditional media, but nowadays he does his illustrations digitally. He loves science fiction and historical themes and is interested in history, art and languages.

HELLO KITTY guest artist Sarah Goodreau was born and raised in Massachusetts. Pursuing a lifetime interest in art, she traveled south to study at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Afterwards she spent three years as an illustrator in New York City until moving to Amsterdam where she currently resides.

VIZ Media’s Perfect Square imprint focuses on delivering original comics, manga (graphic novels) and other children’s 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 Sanrio^®                                                              

Sanrio is the global lifestyle brand best known for pop icon Hello Kitty^®, who celebrates her 40^th Anniversary this year with a museum exhibition and Hello Kitty Con 2014, the first ever Hello Kitty convention.   Home to many endearing characters including Chococat^® My Melody^®, Badtz-Maru^® and Keroppi^®, Sanrio was founded on the ‘small gift, big smile^®’ philosophy – that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. Since 1960, this philosophy has served as the inspiration for the broad spectrum of unique products and experiences.  Today, more than 50,000 Sanrio-branded items are available in over 130 countries and upwards of 15,000 U.S. retail locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and over 80 Sanrio boutiques. For more information please visit www.sanrio.com and www.facebook.com/hellokitty

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 ANNOUNCES LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY AND DVD COMBO PACK FOR THE PARANORMAL ANIME ACTION COMEDY BLOOD LAD

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES LIMITED EDITION

BLU-RAY AND DVD COMBO PACK FOR THE PARANORMAL ANIME ACTION COMEDY BLOOD LAD

An Otaku Vampire Obsessed With The Human World Falls For a Pretty Girl That Becomes A Ghost; 10-Episode Anime Series Also Features Talented English Dub Cast

San Francisco, CA, August 25, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, gives fans and viewers the opportunity to add BLOOD LAD to their personal home media collections as it announces the release of the complete anime series as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, and also as a Standard Edition DVD set, on September 2^nd. VIZ Media is the exclusive North American master licensor for the BLOOD LAD anime property.

The 10-episode paranormal action comedy about a nerdy vampire that is obsessed with the human word is rated ‘TV-14’ and will be offered as a Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with an MSRP of $69.99 U.S. / $89.99 CAN. The special set comes packaged in a full-color chipboard box featuring 4 discs containing the entire series as well as the BLOOD LAD “BLOOD LAD-EX” OVA short film and a 96 page premium art booklet featuring episode guides, art, interviews and more. Other combo pack bonus features include an interactive art gallery,  nearly a half-hour of English dub session outtakes, an Anime Central convention chalk art video along with series trailers and clean opening and ending segments.

The Standard Edition 2-disc DVD set for BLOOD LAD features the complete series and OVA film and will be offered at an MSRP $44.82 U.S. / $43.24 CAN. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and standard DVD set both feature English dubbed and original Japanese stereo audio selections (with English Subtitles).

The Demon World: a place where it's good to be bad. Werewolves, zombies, and even the Abominable Snowman fight day and night for the title of Territory Boss. The vampire Staz, however, finds the whole thing to be a serious pain. He spends his time watching anime, playing video games, and daydreaming about going to the Human World. That all changes when he meets Fuyumi, a human girl who instantly wins Staz's heart but subsequently loses her life to a man-eating plant. Staz refuses to give up on the girl of his dreams and travels across the Demon and Human Worlds in search of a way to bring Fuyumi back to life by any bloody means necessary.

The English dub cast for BLOOD LAD notably stars Bryce Papenbrook as Staz and Xanthe Huynh as Fuyumi and also features talented voice actors such as Johnny Yong Bosch, Kyle Hebert, Cristina Vee and Wendee Lee in key supporting roles.

“BLOOD LAD was adapted from Yuki Kodama's bestselling manga series and offers a hilarious, action packed story featuring plenty of adventure and laughable situations, and fans won’t want to miss the chance to own the complete series as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Animation Marketing Manager. “The combo pack also features a wealth of entertaining bonus material including the BLOOD LAD OVA which picks up right after the series’ final episode and follows Staz and Fuyumi as they journey to the Demon Acropolis. Don’t miss this special release coming next month!”

For more information on BLOOD LAD, or other award-winning anime 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 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.

Stealth Symphony chapters 13-20 Story by Ryohgo Narita, Art by Yoichi Amano Review

In this final set of chapters the series finally kicks into full gear as the plot unfolds at a rapid pace. Every panel is filled with exposition which would have probably flowed much more naturally had the series not been cancelled. The artwork is incredible. This truly could have been a great series had it not started on a sour note.

Without going into spoilers, the series is filled with twists and turns all culminating in a rather dark climax. It is definitely still worth recommending if only for this final set of chapters. In conclusion, I’ll miss reviewing this series; from its awful early chapters to its dark conclusion it was quite a ride.

Rating: 8/10

Stealth Symphony is available digitally from Viz Media. 

Tomica strips 1-16 review

Tomica strips 1-16 by David Covas Lourenco and Deon de Lange Review

The titular Tomica must break into a base. As the enemy prepares to fire on him, questions arise: just who is Tomica? What are his motives? A science fiction epic is about to unfold!

Tomica, a South African webcomic, is at the very least very, very well drawn. At this point there are a lot of questions about the origins of the protagonist and I’m curious to see where the story will go. As it is a comic strip that seems to be geared toward a younger audience it seems to be a tad more focused on comedy but only slightly so.

The series visually reminded me of Nausicaa in some regards which I really enjoyed. As said above, the artwork is really gorgeous. A lot of effort was clearly put into this work and it shows. If you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path I highly recommending checking this out even if there’s a lot of questions in my mind about it.

Tomica is available digitally from UO Comics with a print release in the works.

Annarasumanara chapters 0-6 review

Annarasumanara chapters 0-6 Story & Art by Ilkwon Ha Review

Struggling to make ends meet due to her parents’ absence, Yui continues about her daily life with her sister. One day a mysterious magician appears and turns her world upside down. Will Yui’s life ever be the same?

Rather experimental in nature, Annarasumanara is a rather compelling read. The heroine is a sympathetic, believable character and the story flows rather naturally. The artwork is well done making good use of repetition to prove a point though the person sitting next Yui at school is bafflingly and feels rather out of place in the series.

The series could stand to have more three dimensional antagonists though that seems to be a problem in comics as a whole. In conclusion, Annarasumanara is a delightful coming of age story with a few odd elements. That being said, these elements are nowhere near detrimental enough to not recommend this series.

Rating: 8/10

Annarasumanara is available digitally on Line Webtoons.

Heart of Thomas review

Heart of Thomas Story & Art by Moto Hagio Review

At an all boys’ school in Germany, Thomas’ death weighed heavily on those around him. Around the same time, a mysterious boy appears who will shake Thomas’ school to its very core. As the drama unfolds, how will all these connected people interact? One thing is for certain: at the heart of it all lies Thomas.

Heart of Thomas is nothing short of a masterpiece of LGBT comics. The characters are very well fleshed out, the story is filled with twists and turns, and the art is very well done though very different from modern Japanese comics (the series was created several decades ago). Oddly though, Thomas is more of a background character. True he is the one to set the plot in motion but for long periods of time the book will go without so much as mentioning him.

The ending is particularly frustrating from a romance fan’s standpoint. The story has lots of melodrama though which makes the book hard to put down. In conclusion, Heart of Thomas is a necessary read for those interested in historical comics and is every bit compelling for people simply looking for a good read.

Heart of Thomas is available in English from Fantagraphics Books.