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!

So, as part of my job (and something that I like to do), I read about four newspapers daily. And today, the New York Times Dining Section has an interesting little story about a maid cafe in Culver City, California.

Thankfully, the reporter spoke with an expert in otaku culture -- Patrick Macias, editor of Otaku USA magazine. He talks about otaku and the concept of moe, and the article mentions cosplay, as well. The cafe sounds interesting in terms of the Japanese pop art on display (I'm an avid appreciator modern/post-modern art), and it seems to have a tongue-in-cheek sensibility while still paying homage to, as the Times puts it, "certain eccentricities of modern Japanese culture."

While I personally, as a feminist, find the whole "moe" fad a little distasteful, I like how the cafe owner places her cafe, Royal/T, in perspective, stating: "Our maids don’t call customers master and the girls are sweet rather than flirty...We want customers to come in and feel like they’re in Alice in Wonderland, not Hooter’s."

Looks like Time magazine finally figured out that movies based on graphic novels make big money...Check out the story here.

Obligatory references to the big movies that have come out so far this summer, as well as those yet to come, including Iron Man, Wanted, Hellboy 2, The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk, among others. Thankfully, the writer speaks with folks that show the other side of the coin -- the flops and misses, like Bryan Singer's Batman and Robin, and the idea that banking on graphic novels as movies subverts the creative process in some ways.

With the success of comic book-based movies this summer, Tokyopop's latest move and Disney's creation of Kingdom Comics (which is mentioned in the article), I think it's an interesting time for the comics biz in which they have massive pop culture appeal, but declining readership of their primary product line -- comic books (well, if this post on Heroes Con is any indication of what's going on industry-wide).

Well, according to lilrivkah, aka Rivkah, the author of Steady Beat, the printed books just might be. She relates her sad story here, sharing a convo with her editor wherein she was told that all of TP's non-licensed properties will be only online and may never see print. As a fan of Dan Hipp's Gyakushu!, this really hurts. But, only time can tell what will happen to other series and whether we'll ever see them on a bookstore shelf...

Sounds like Tokyopop's print side is going down FAST...What do you think is next for this manga company's sinking ship?

The Los Angeles Times Magazine had an interesting article on an otaku tour of the city by the Los Angeles Times Tokyo bureau chief. The writer's visit encompasses the otaku haven of Akihabara, goes on to the road less traveled in Shomben Yokocho, or "Piss Alley," and ends at Golden Gai.

It's not too long of a read and features interviews with Michael Arias, director of Tekkon Kinkreet, and Leo Lewis, reporter for The Times of London and contributing writer to Roland Kelt's Japanimerica book.
The best line of the article, I think, is the one at the end: We're all outside time here--plopped into an oddly themed fantasy, ticking into the obsessive Tokyo future.

I finally finished reading through an article Patrick Macias (he of Otaku USA editorial fame) wrote on Stan Lee (he of Spiderman, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, X-Men, etc. fame) in today's Japan Times. And, before you ask, yes, it is in English.

Lee talks about his current manga and anime projects in Japan and muses upon his past success in comic books. I enjoyed it and I hope you do, too!

Okay, latest news out says that Disney will produce anime "Made in Japan"! In the unforgettable words of Stewie Griffin, "What the deuce?"

My initial reaction is "Disney's slowly taking over the world!" And, of course, then I remember, they've kind of already done that, what with multi-million dollar-grossing films and all. I was also concerned about the Disney-fication of animation in Japan, but then I remember that Osamu Tezuka, the "godfather of manga," was highly influenced by Walt Disney and his work (and the work of other manga and anime artists thereafter) reflects that. Just one look at "Steamboat Willie" and you'll see the influence of the "big eyes, little mouth." Mind you, Tezuka was also influenced by Max Fleischer's work, too.

After reading the article, TBO, it seems like a smart decision for Disney business-wise-- by localizing production and stories, Disney will be able to increase market share in a country dominated by animation produced in that country (and, let's face it, anime is an important cultural export for Japan). Not only will they be creating new programming, but they'll also be adapting other Disney stories, like Lilo and Stitch.

But it isn't only a "win" for Disney, it's good for Japan, too. Japan's economy, which has been in a recession for years, needs this. As any fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender knows, lots of animation is farmed out to other Asian countries, most notably Korea. So, the move will provide more Japanese animators with jobs, if nothing else. And what's better than providing another venue for Japanese animation?

But, enough about what I think, what do you think?

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 )

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.

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...

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... )

There was a really interesting discussion on the marketing of manga and anime on the Uncle Bear blog yesterday. In it, the writer discusses the reasons why he's stopped his attempts to find anime/manga that appeal to him and he bases the discussion on the lack of genre marketing within anime/manga. He postulates that the anime/manga market, as a whole, has a target demographic of teenagers and that, since he's outside of that demographic, finds it entirely too difficult to find titles he would like. Furthermore, if companies started to market via genres within anime/manga, i.e., horror or sci fi, it may drive people outside the main demographic to make more purchases. Also, in the comments someone mentions that publishers/marketers need to remove the jargon/"insider baseball" terms, like shojo and shonen, and simply say teen girl's romance or teen boy's action instead. It's an interesting bit of commentary in my opinion and shows how much more the industry needs to "grow" in its perception of consumers in order to become more marketable/profitable.

For anyone looking to relive old times, The Comics Journal has an interview with Jason Thompson, wherein Thompson muses on his start in the manga business. For anyone out of the loop, Thompson is the author of Manga: The Complete Guide and is manga editor for Otaku USA. In comparing this interview with the above blog commentary, it's interesting to see how far the industry has come in the past decade or so.

Also, since I just got into the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, I was interested to hear that a director for the film adaptation of the first book has been signed.

Lastly, we haven't seen the last of Wallace & Gromit! It seems that creator Nick Park is going to do a 30-minute short for BBC1. To keep up with the production, you can check out WallaceandGromit.com for updates. Claymation is one of my favorite forms of animation, albeit a somewhat "lost art" in the age of digital animation...

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 )

The big news this week is that Geneon--the company that brought you Hellsing, Chobits, and Samurai Champloo--is pulling out of the U.S. market. And speculation has already begun on what caused it and how fans will survive. Thankfully, retailers like RightStuf.com are stocking up on product while they wait to see what's going to happen with Geneon licenses...So, if you were waiting to get a Geneon title, now's the time to act.

In other news, Anime Blog has a new "Anime and Manga News Interview Edition" out. They have excerpts of interviews from Arina Tanemura, author of Gentlemen's Alliance and Full Moon; Takehiko Inoue, author of the soon-to-be-serialized Slam Dunk; and Gualtiero Cannarsi, Italian dub director of Studio Ghibli films; among others. While the Tanemura stuff is similar to what she spoke about at Comic-Con, the other content is pretty interesting, especially how Buena Vista Italia screwed up the dubs of Princess Mononoke. Also, the interview with Vertical's former director of marketing is a real eye-opener regarding the industry's acceptance of light novel reviews by fans...

And for once, I lament the fact that I'm not in Los Angeles...Looks like Tokyopop's got a couple of job openings that I'm actually qualified for. T_____T

Lastly, I'm excited for tonight's Avatar episode. I know a TON of people have seen it already, but I'm okay with waiting. Granted, it didn't stop me from checking out spoiler-related info, so I'm really interested to see what all the fuss is about...

USA Today has a very interesting article in today's issue on the business of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Coming from a marketing background, it's interesting to see how they plan to grow the increasingly popular Avatar franchise. Nickelodeon's president even goes so far as to compare it to the Harry Potter franchise, in terms of its potential.

I also find it interesting to see myself lumped into the category of "fan," albeit increasingly outside of the show's target demo (young boys). For those that like keeping their favorite shows, bands, or books to themselves as a well-kept secret, you may find yourself groaning at the projects already planned, which include a roller coaster, a new video game, and the well-publicized three-film deal with M. Night Shyamalan.

Do you think the high-fueled growth of the Avatar franchise is in the best interests of the show, or is it just another way to make a quick buck at the expense of the show's integrity?

'Cuz it sure is a strange day for news...Read on!

- For the indie rock/comic book lover in me, there's The Hold Steady's comic book of "Boys and Girls in America." They're a great alt rock band out of Minnesota and if you're looking for some awesome music to listen to, I HIGHLY suggest them. To peep their comic book, check out this page.
- To prove that my childhood can be raped in ways I can't even imagine, looks like the G.I. Joe live-action film has got a director. Why, oh, why G.I. Joe?
- Weird and overly thoughtful "Heroes" preview is right here.
- If you live under a rock, here's the hi-res "Avatar: The Last Airbender" trailer. If for some reason you can't get the trailer to start playing, check out AvatarSpirit.net for mirror sites. And don't post this on any video-sharing sites, or we'll all get in trouble. Looks like Nick offered this up exclusively to fansites ONLY...
- An interesting conversation regarding manga as comics for the current generation at The Visual Linguist.
- A Japanese doujinshi artist was arrested for printing obscene material, check out a short brief here or the NOT WORK SAFE round-up page here.

Hope you all enjoy the weekend! This is my last official weekend of summer, since school starts next week...

Thought I'd throw out a couple of links...

Now, I'm a lover of all things comics--I've been going to Comic-Con for years, and grew up on Archie and Disney comics, along with the good ol' Sunday comics page in the local newspaper. And while I still read the "funnies page" first, I probably haven't read Peanuts in ages. But, this page has some great links to manga-ized characters from Charles Schultz's beloved comic. It's been floating around "the Interwebs" for some time, but I just had to share!

There's also a nice little interview with Jason Thompson, author of "Manga: The Complete Guide" here. Talking about his new book and what kinds of information it'll provide. He's got an encyclopedic knowledge of all things manga and I'm sure the book will be an awesome way to learn about new and old manga titles alike.

( Fanfic writing updates... )

...it looks like BusinessWeek had a little interview with Satoshi Kon for their "The Future of Work" column.

Enjoy the quick read and your weekend!

Happy Friday all! So, I haven't been posting much lately--we spent last weekend in Chicago (it was hot, humid, and then it rained...but we had lots of fun visiting family) and I've been busy with work and wedding stuff all this week.

But, I found a couple of interesting things that I wanted to share with you. So, remember Voltron: Defender of the Universe? Well, it looks like there's a live-action film being made about it...I guess the box office success of Transformers has everyone thinking twice about other mecha-themed movies. The article, from Hollywood trade Variety, also mentions other animated classics going live action, including Alvin and the Chipmunks (I don't even want to imagine this sure-to-be travesty), He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Street Fighter (didn't they learn the first time around that this was a bad idea?).

The Anime Blog has an interesting poll up today about policing the anime fan community. The author talks about how lolicon, shotacon, and hentai could be ruinous to the general anime fan community and keeping some people away from the animated genre as a whole...It's an interesting conversation and moves into the role of industry- and self-censorship in the anime fandom.

Lastly, I couldn't help but laugh at the introductory news release from Yen Press. Remember my quick description of Sundome from their Comic-Con panel? Well, look at the nice little spin Yen Press gave it (from MangaBlog):

The first, acquired from Akita Shoten, is Kazuto Okada’s high school sex comedy Sundome (Rated M: Mature). Scheduled for release in January, Sundome is the story of an apathetic young man whose dull existence is forever changed when an assertive young woman wants to join the same after-school club in which he is a member. If only all after-school clubs were as hands on as this!

Ah, nothing like good ol' PR spin first thing in the morning...Not to mention a serious double entendre! XD