Anyone who needed confirmation that Naruto is still selling as strong as ever need look no further than the latest data for 2008. ICv2 reports that the Nielsen BookScan data for 2008 shows Naruto clearly dominated the manga sales last year.

ICv2 says:

Naruto was the top manga, with nine volumes in the top [...]

Popularity: 7% [?]

As we approach Barack Obama’s historic inauguration, I felt it would be a good time to dig up a gem from last year. Many of you may recall that Barack made a cameo appearance in Chapter 206 of the Air Gear manga as “John Omaha”:

My Japanese is rather bad these days, but here’s what [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

Times are tough, folks. With this economic slowdown, many industries are hurting bad. Anime/manga sales have already been declining both here and abroad. If our favorite entertainment segment is going to survive these tough times, we need to do one thing…
Buy stuff.
Don’t buy just for yourself, because ’tis the season for giving. [...]

Popularity: 5% [?]

While scouring the interwebs, I found an interesting Washington Post article on the culture and historical roots of Halloween in Japan. I think it’s an interesting read for anime fans since it explains a lot of the demon traditions that we often see in anime and manga.
From the article:

“Anything that is unexplainable, anything that [...]

Popularity: 5% [?]

The original version of a classic manga comic written by Osamu Tezuka, will be reprinted for the first time in 62 years in February 2009 by Shogakukan Creative Inc., The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
According to the Yomiuri site:

“Shin Takarajima” (New Treasure Island) is an action adventure drama that was first printed by a small publisher [...]

Popularity: 4% [?]

Today’s Del Rey Manga newsletter contained a special alert urging fans to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in its efforts to defend a manga collector from federal prosecution for possession of manga that the government claims to be obscene.
Del Rey Marketing manager Ali T. Kokmen sent the newsletter. Here’s some excerpts:
CBLDF Executive [...]

Popularity: 8% [?]

Today I stumbled upon an interesting and well-written article on the subject of transgendered characters in manga. I’ve always found this a strange and yet surprisingly popular aspect of Japanese manga culture, and I’m happy to see someone write intelligently on the subject.
From the article at The Pitcher
As early as in the 80’s [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

Del Rey, one of the big players in the OEL manga market, has agreed to make manga titles based on a couple of Cartoon Network properties

Del Rey Manga, in collaboration with Cartoon Network Enterprises, announced a new manga publishing partnership that will launch with original manga based on two of Cartoon Network’s most successful series: [...]

Popularity: 6% [?]

Boing Boing found a gem: a kid’s manga about Apple Computer and its founders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.

Back in 1984, Japanese manga artist Mitsuru Sugaya wrote a fun comic book for kids about the birth of Apple. It was originally published as a two-part series in a popular manga compilation called Koro Koro Comics [...]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Here’s a fun piece of news. The NY Daily writes that young fashion designer Julie Haus is bringing a bit of manga inspiration to Fashion Week.
The models swap between a hot-pink, a sleek black and a zebra print dress. Haus’ inspiration, books from the manga comic series The Wallflower, are stacked nearby. The [...]

Popularity: 7% [?]