Since I had a such a good response to my prior Tokyopop posts, I thought I'd share a link to an interesting article on Newsarama.com regarding Tokyopop. The article, the first in a three-part series, shares what creators think of what's gone down at TP, from its restructuring to the near-elimination of their OEL line.

Good interviews from many respected sequential artist-types (I say sequential art because many of the creators interviewed also do graphic novels and comic books, not just OEL manga). Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts here!

Looks like Weezer's newest album is being promoted in Japan with a poster drawn by manga artist Manabu Akisige, a longtime Weezer fan. It features the two main characters of his Go-On! rock manga listening to the band's new album. Evidently, Weezer plays a pivotal role in the main characters' relationship development. Cool, huh?

Speaking of cool, here's a list of the Top 25 animated films -- and while the placement of some movies is questionable, there are certainly plenty of old favs, too. Sometimes, it's nice to be reminded of all the awesome old-school, hand-drawn animation that's out there...

So, after all the controversy surrounding "The Pact," Tokyopop's easy-to-read contract for new OEL creators, it seems the publisher has decided to split into two companies and lay off 39 of their 90-100 employees. There will be the publishing side and a movie/multimedia line (think cellphone manga and their MySpace TV page), aka Tokyopop Media.

Another little noted fact: TP is pulling out of both San Diego Comic-Con International and there are rumors swirling as to whether or not they'll be at Anime Expo.

Oh, and there's more: looks like TP has burned a lot bridges in Hollywood, which may not bode well for the newly christened Tokyopop Media...

Anyway, looks like we'll be seeing A LOT fewer manga titles out of Tokyopop, if nothing else. How do you think this bodes for the manga industry? Is it because of bad biz decisions on TP's part, or is this a peek at what's to come?

Had to pass this funny bit along! For the uninformed, shokushu goukan is tentacle rape...Even if you've never seen/read hentai, you should be somewhat familiar with the sub-genre, as it's what most folks are (unfortunately) familiar with if they don't understand manga or anime well.

Anyhoo, looks like Dwight, a character from the American version of The Office, is a manga fan, or so says his blog. Of course, his favorite series in Ranma 1/2, "the story of a teenaged boy trained from a young age to be a martial arts master."

Unfortunately, it looks like there was a mix-up at the bookstore and he got some tentacle-themed reads...XD

I got an e-mail earlier today from Tokyopop regarding their new Pilot Program, where fans vote for the OEL manga they'd like to see continued based on a one-chapter preview. Little did I know that this program has been cooked up in order to screw over artists.

Lots of unhappy people as you can see...The biggest complaints come from the "pact" they set up with manga artists/writers. Also, there's the whole anti-French thing that's right up there with "freedom fries."

Anyway, I'm not so sure I'll be wanting to purchase any Tokyopop products in the near future considering my money will go to support these types of business practices...I've taken action like this against other companies in the past, but never with an entertainment company. If nothing else, I'll be very selective regarding any series that I decide to keep up with from Tokyopop.

So, does a company's actions affect whether or not you give them your business?

EDIT: divalea, aka comics veteran Lea Hernandez, has a run-down on all the new discussions buzzing across the Interwebz on The Pact. Check out the updates here.

With the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender coming up this July, I got to thinking about how I happened to get into the fandom at a fairly opportune time. Part of that is just luck and timing in terms of when I discovered the program. The other part of that is the fact that, since this is an American production, there wasn't a time-lag between when I "discovered" it (perhaps in its English-licensed release) and when it started in Japan.

I notice that when I discover fandoms, especially those based on manga, I'm a little "late to the party" if you will. By the time I get there, the comm's dead, or the fans already know the ending because they've been keeping up with it since it was first scanlated. So, there's very little action.

And, let's be honest, most folks like being, if not the first, then an early discoverer of something. Or at least picking up on something at the height of its popularity (we are social creatures after all and "following the herd" isn't necessarily unheard of). No one likes being the last fan...

But, for those of you "in the know," how do you go about discovering a new title, either anime or manga? Is it sheer luck, or do you look purposefully for them? Is it relying on your friends that just so happen to be on the cusp of everything?

I've only been actively reading manga for a little more than a year now, so I'm curious as to how you discovered Love*Com before its English debut or Death Note and Honey and Clover before Viz got a hold of it...

So, I just remembered that Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, May 3. On this most special of days, comic book stores across the world give away free comics!

It's this simple -- just show up and grab a copy of the free titles that are available! This is how I got hooked on Last Blood and Gyakushu!. And, this year, there's more manga being given away, including a Shonen Jump sampler.

Of course, there's tons more to check out, so find your closest participating retailer and pick up some new reads!

Anyone interested in revenge? I hear it's a dish best served cold...If so, check out Dan Hipp's Gyakushu!. Yes, I know I'm a total fangirl when it comes to Dan Hipp, but what can I say, the guy's got a pretty face TALENT.

Anyway, the second volume of Gyakushu! is hitting the shelves at your local manga shop tomorrow and it will not disappoint! I've read through the volume two preview, and let me say this, it's freakin' amazing! Hipp really does a great job illustrating the stark fight scenes with his graphic style and he's got an entertaining narrative voice...And if you're interested in seeing how he goes about creating a volume, check out his blog. There's an awesome desktop that he's also got posted on his blog-- which, you guessed it, is now currently on my work computer. Come on, it's red and black-- our school colors! Okay, that's a stretch, but I don't really care. It looks REALLY cool...

So, yeah, check out Gyakushu!, either via the free online preview at TOKYOPOP, or "in the flesh," alright?

Oh, and don't forget to vote today if you're one of the U.S. states involved in "Super Tuesday"! I was the second person at my polling place today...Can we say "happy to do their civic duty"? XD

Excuse my lame Beastie Boys' reference, but I have to share this little ol' link.

For those not in the know, shaenon has been doing a cool installment called "Overlooked Manga Festival" on her journal for a while now and, as she's coming to a close on OMF, asked readers for suggestions of other manga that she hasn't shown the love for.

So, of course, this opinionated lady had to get a few words in edgewise. ^__~ You can check out my recommendations for overlooked manga, as well as those suggested by others, here. Maybe you'll find a series that you may have overlooked until now?

So, I started and ended yesterday with delicious baked goods. During the start to my workday, my co-worker mentioned that she made my pumpkin muffins recently. For those not in the know, I love baking and make a mean pumpkin and cranberry muffin. It was a nice treat to hear how she and her boyfriend enjoyed them during the holiday break. It also reminded me how I need to get in the kitchen and whip up some deliciousness during this upcoming rainy weekend.

Of course, I went through the rest of my day as I normally do-- work, lunch break where I watch a J-drama and eat, more work, go home, and then head out to a meeting for a professional association I'm involved with. So, I get to the meeting place in Mission Valley a little early and decide to go next door to my local manga shop, Rising Sun Creations, to see if they put out their new stuff yet. When, lo and behold, I found all four volumes of Antique Bakery sitting there shrink-wrapped on the front table and on sale for $25.99!!!

Now, I've been wanting to get into cooking manga for some time because I love food. I also love goofy humor-- I was a huge fan of the original, straight-from-Japan, and horribly dubbed Iron Chef. Unfortunately, I'm already currently reading a lot of different series right now and don't have the inclination to start reading Iron Wok Jan or Yakitate!! Japan. But, I had heard lots of good things about Antique Bakery (thank you Manga: The Complete Guide!) and had been searching for it for the past couple of weeks. It's only four volumes and features lots of interesting tidbits about baking French pastries...

So, long story short, I got it for a total of $28 and started reading it last night. I've been enjoying scratch-and-sniff covers, small doses of shonen ai/yaoi (which I've actually never read before), and mouth-watering pastries since, along with laughing out loud for healthy measure. The sub-plot is also interesting and I'm looking forward to finishing volumes three and four tonight.

Unfortunately, it's also made me want to go get a chocolate croissant or something from the local cafe, along with a nice cafe au lait or something along those lines...

It seems like everywhere I look, someone's pregnant. My aunt's having a baby next month and a friend of ours is pregnant, too. Not to mention the whole Jamie-Lynn Spears' thing. While, normally, I don't pay any attention to celeb news (no, really), this celeb pregnancy has been hard to ignore because of the media repercussions. Since I work in the media, I try to keep abreast of media-related news. And, sadly, this has been a big deal.

While Nick is supporting Spears through the ordeal, many have said that they need to do something more so that it doesn't send the wrong message to their key demographic, 9 to 14 year olds, including possibly canceling her show "Zoey 101." Granted, I could care less about her horrible little TV show, so I wouldn't be upset if it were canceled. But it's the last season of the program and filming's wrapped, so why cancel it?

And there's talk of Nick bringing in one of their big guns, reporter Linda Ellerbee, to do one of those thought-provoking after-school specials/news hour discussions on important topics. Oh, and did I mention the Spears' mom, Lynne, got her book deal, wherein she gives advice on being a mother, has been cancelled by her Christian publisher? Well, duh...

So, like I said before horribly trailing off-topic, everywhere I look, someone's pregnant. Even when I'm least expecting it...

( Even in my manga! SPOILER ALERT: Dramacon and NANA )

On my morning ritual of eating breakfast in the office while checking out pop culture news, I ran into this. ( A quick rant about a magazine that I fail to get in a timely fashion. )

On another note, I read through this really interesting post on the Publisher's Weekly Web site. In it, the comics blogger, Heidi MacDonald, dissects what went down at the first-ever New York Anime Festival. If you have the chance to read it, look through the comments, too. Interesting discussion going on there on the fans that showed up, what companies weren't there, and what the growing "otaku" culture is looking like...

And, with the end of another year, Johanna Draper Carlson looks at her manga favs and disappointments in 2007. As we get closer to the end of 2007, I'm sure more and more folks will be releasing their lists of picks and pans soon enough. ( Death Note gets some serious criticism. )

As far as new series that quickly became favorites, I'd have to agree with Carlson that Lovely Complex is easy to love-- quirky rom-com that isn't your typical shojo fare. Other series that I've been reading are either continuing series, old series, or only have a volume out, so it's simply too early to review them. ( New manga to be excited about in 2008 )

And there's more than just manga to love in '08-- there are tons of great movies from manga-inspired live-action flicks like Honey and Clover and Lovely Complex, to comic book-based sequels like The Dark Knight and Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

So, what were your favs of 2007 and what are you looking forward to most in '08?

After hearing all the fanfare and news about the New York Anime Festival, I really regret not going. I had a free roundtrip from the airline I frequent and could've had the days off. Alas, finals are nipping at my heels, so it would have been fun, but bad for the whole grad school thing. Ugh, responsibility wins out again...Anyways, on to the manga and anime news from the festival (and, of course, my somewhat snarky thoughts on it)! ( The awesome, the interesting, and the controversial... )

Speaking of finals and distractions (like why am I posting in LJ right now when I could be working on a feature article or reading through my research paper that's due this afternoon one last time?), I got a shipment of manga last week, including more delicious volumes of Mayoko Anno's Happy Mania and Yayoi Ogawa's Tramps Like Us, aka Kimi Wa Petto. ( Where Rena's guilty pleasures=josei manga )

Speaking of Tramps Like Us, I downloaded torrent files of the fansubbed version of the Japanese TV show Kimi Wa Petto (I know, I'm a bad little pirate, aren't I?), but being unskilled in such things, I have NO idea how to watch them. So, hypoactive will you PLEASE show me how to download these properly so I can watch them over winter break? ( Wherein I beg my abfab cousin to help me... )

Well, I guess I should get going. I've got a feature article to write and I really should read through my research paper one last time. For anyone following my trials and tribulations in grad school, I did my paper on media fandom and its growth through the 1900s to the present, with a little exploration of fan fiction. I'm considering the topic for my master's thesis, especially since there's a ton of literature that I haven't had the chance to read yet. I really only scratched the surface of the topic in my paper.

There's quite a bit of descriptive research on media fandom, fans in general, and fan fiction. Also, there's a ton of literature on slash fic and reasons for its existence, which I found a little surprising. On the other hand, I suppose since it's such an interesting genre within fanfic it's really not that surprising that academics would study it. Anyway, if anyone's interested in reading my research paper, I might post it here somewhere. Any takers?

Imagine you're a manga blogger and you get this e-mail from a college student, asking for somewhat confidential information about your blog...He's asking for thinks like numbers of recent hits, why you choose what you do to discuss, etc. But there's this sneaking suspicion that somethings not legit...Oh, I don't know, like maybe it says Kodansha Information System Dept. at the bottom of the e-mail?!?

So, yeah, some arse of an employee actually did this at Kodansha. But what's the big deal, Rena? So what if he did a little lying to get the info--it's not like the info was top secret to begin with...

( Why lying is bad for the industry... )

So, while I have no explanations as to why this person did what they did-- there's no excuse for pulling stunts like these, especially in this type of media environment. There's no such things as secrets in the age of the Internet...Any lie you tell (as a PR person or marketer) WILL be exposed, one way or another.

I just realized that it has been some time since my last LJ post, so you've been forewarned that this will end up being a looooong post (use of LJ cuts employed where necessary, though). I've been crazy busy with work-- it's like all of our university's faculty have decided that they MUST get a news release written about their latest event, study, class, etc. and it has to go out ASAP. Not to mention other end-of-the-year work-related stuff (updating lists and getting our year-end clip report together) and, oh yeah, grad school!

As far as grad school goes, the first semester is almost over! Just two more weeks and then finals. I do have a paper that I've been researching for some time-- it's supposed to be a test-drive on my master's thesis and I've been reading a lot about active audiences, my topic of choice. Active audience research is pretty much focused on fandoms, which is why I find it interesting, especially the research done on fanfic writers and fanartists. ( But it's weird being a subject of study... )

Anyway, I'm insanely thankful that my first semester of grad school is nearly at an end and am happily looking forward to winter break. Speaking of being thankful, I decided to compile a little list that I'm dubbing: ( Fangirlish Things to be Thankful for This Year )

Speaking of newfound manga addiction-- I finally got my copy of Manga: The Complete Guide! It took a few weeks to get it mailed, but I did pay less than $12 for it, so who am I to complain? ( Here's what I loved (and found a little annoying)... )

In conclusion, life is good and is about to get better! Hope all my American friends had a great Thanksgiving and that everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday season and that you get everything your otaku-, nerd-, or geek-oriented heart desires!

  According to the Anime Blog, yesterday was Pocky Day in Japan. The funny thing is, it looks like Pocky-maker Glico created the holiday to one-up Korean cookie stick maker Lotte, which established their holiday (also Nov. 11) as a marketing scheme...Ah, marketing, how you can twist anything heartfelt into a reason to make money! For examples, see any major American holiday...

Or how real life has taken over...I've become increasingly busy with school, as we near the end of the semester. I can't believe how quickly it's all gone and how the holidays are right around the corner!

( I get to study fandom communities for school! )

I also read a very interesting article The Times (U.K.) regarding how "Hataraki Man" is inspiring Japanese women and the male-dominated workplace. It's an interesting critique of the comic, which illustrates how a career woman deals with her demanding work schedule by switching on her "Man Switch," and how women in Japan deal with working for and with men. Creator Moyoko Anno also chimes in with her thoughts regarding women's role in the workplace.

Also, for all the Vampire Hunter D lovers out there (like me!), Publisher's Weekly had an interesting article on how DMP took the series from novel form to manga. It also presents the fact that the first volume was rushed, possibly raising some worries for the hardcore D fans. According to the article, DMP General Manager Fred Lui had this to say regarding the illustrator's work: “Some of the early pages were done really well,” said Lui. “But with pressures to get the book produced in a timely manner, a lot of things started to fall apart.” So, suffice it to say it'll be interesting to see how the volume progresses art-wise. From the preview I read in Otaku USA a couple of months ago, it looks like it'll be on the mark. Then again, that was JUST the beginning of the manga, not the end...Also, I find it great that the writer of Vampire Hunter D, Hideyuki Kikuchi, specifically chose digital illustrator, amateur manga illustrator, and fan Saiko Takaki. Being a fan can work for you!

Anyway, I probably won't be online much for the next few weeks, except to post little tidbits of interest like this...

On the wonderful suggestion of beyondthemoor earlier this year, I picked up the first two volumes of Dramacon and instantly fell in love with the story by Svetlana Chmakova, aka svetlania. If you, like me, have been waiting in sweet anticipation for the third volume, you can whet your whistle with this, a preview of the first chapter of the third book. Of course, you do have to sign up for a TOKYOPOP profile to read through the second half of the chapter, but it's worth it! Trust me. ^__~

Lots of interesting stuff to ogle, including the short preview they had in the TOKYOPOP "Shojo Your Mojo" sampler that was given out at cons this year. So, check it out...Happy reading!

In the wake of the pre-emption of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai and the cancellation of Kodomo no Jikan, aka Nymphet (remember the brouhaha over its English manga translation?), in Japan, and the worries of the Taiwanese regarding Death Note, I got to thinking about some concepts that I've been discussing in one of my grad school classes. Namely, the concept of media effects, or how a medium can affect its consumers.

In a discussion on an anime/manga review blog, the writer sums it up easily: Do anime and manga influence kids? The recent "pulling" of a couple of shows that can be argued as influential makes it seem as if network TV execs certainly think so (at least in Japan). And can you blame them when stuff like this and this happen?

( So here are my thoughts... )

I think I vomited a little in my mouth during last night's Avatar. ( Cut for spoilerage... )

In other non-Avatar news, I just read an interesting little essay, titled "Manga is a Feminist Issue," by Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica, a book which explores how Japanese culture has invaded the U.S. In the short piece, Kelts explains the strong female characters in an upcoming anime film, how manga fans are predominantly female in the U.S., and how Japan, despite progress, is still a male-dominated culture. I found it an interesting read...Kelts also did a radio interview with National Public Radio regarding "manga diplomacy," which has recently been pushed by Japanese politicians trying to highlight Japan's cultural contributions globally. The podcast also links to a very good article in the Wall Street Journal that criticizes the current push by Japan to use anime and manga as a PR tool.

To continue the conversation from yesterday regarding downloading anime and manga, here's a little news bit from Anime News Network regarding the halt of fansubbing on Romeo x Juliet. Looks like FUNimation sent a "cease and desist" letter to the fansub group, Shinsen-Subs, and the group complied. It's entirely possible that such actions will become more prevalent in the future, especially as companies take more steps to safegood their licenses and products in an ever-increasingly competitive U.S. market (see Geneon).

Speaking of Geneon, looks like Bandai will be distributing its products exclusively online, as its previous distributor, Geneon, is out of the biz as far as we know. For now, the site (dotanime.us) is under construction...

( On the fanfic front )