I’m still very late with everything, but better late than never! I guess the biggest news is that Egmont is continuing the series that were discontinued by Tokyopop earlier this year: Hell Girl, Perfect Girl and School Rumble. Note that the publishers themselves have not disclosed if they licensed more manga. This is not their official list, so I might’ve missed some. Oh, I left out all new Light Novel licenses.

Seinen
Furious Love by Kazuo Kamimura (Carlsen)
Keyaki no Ki by Jiro Taniguchi & Ryuichiro Utsumi (Carlsen)
Kirihito Sanka by Osamu Tezuka (Carlsen)

Shounen
Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo (Carlsen)
Code:Breaker by Akimine Kamuyo (Egmont)
Kaibutsu Oujo by Yasunori Mitsunaga (Egmont)
Zelda no Densetsu: Toki no Ocarina by Akira Himekawa (Tokyopop)
Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata (Tokyopop)

Shoujo
AAA by Haruka Fukushima (Carlsen)
Romantic Beauty by Nao Doumoto (Carlsen)
Ningyou Kyuutei Gakudan by Kaori Yuki (Carlsen)
Taisho Era Chronicles by You Higuri (Carlsen)
Black Bird by Kanoko Sakurakouji (Egmont)
Cosplay Animal by Watari Sakou (Egmont)
Koko ni Iru yo! by Ema Tooyama (Egmont)
Shinobi Life by Shouko Konami (Egmont)
Miyasaka Kaho Kessakushuu by Kaho Miyasaka (Egmont)
Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai by Otsuichi & Setsuri Tsuzuki (Egmont)
Zettai Kakusei Tenshi Mistress Fortune by Arina Tanemura (Tokyopop)
Nine Puzzle by Mayu Sakai (Tokyopop)
Love Cotton by Chan Kashinoki (Tokyopop)
Koisuru Yajuu by Kasane Katsumoto (Tokyopop)
Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu by Kanan Minami (Tokyopop)
14R by Yoko Maki (Tokyopop)

Shounen Ai
Arashi no Ato by Shoko Hidaka (Carlsen)
Gokujou no Koibito by Masara Minase (Carlsen)
Shiranai Kao by Shoko Hidaka (Carlsen)
Toiki Yori mo Yasashii by Masara Minase (Carlsen)
Toumei Shounen by Hotaru Odagiri (Carlsen)
Hitorijime Theory by Ren Kitakami (Carlsen)
Honenuki ni Saretai by Ren Kitakami (Carlsen)
Koi Cha no Osahou by Yaya Sakuragi (Carlsen)
Blood + Yako Joshi by Hirotaka Kisaragi (Carlsen)
Aoi Hitsuji no Yume by Makoto Tateno(Egmont)
Buttler’s Game by ??? (Egmont)
Saigo no Door wo Shimero! By Yugi Yamada (Egmont)
Tenki Yohou no Koibito by Madoka Machiko (Egmont)
Asa mo, Hiru mo, Yoru mo by Kotomi Aoki (Egmont)
Ai Ore! by Mayu Shinjo (Egmont)
Kono Akuma me! By Jun Mayama(Egmont)
Steal Moon by Makoto Tateno (Egmont)
Koyoi wa Kimi to Chi no Kiss wo by Makoto Tateno (Egmont)
Love Round!! by Hinako Takanaga (Tokyopop)
Maid Boy by CJ Michalski (Tokyopop)
Suspicious Facts by Hirotaka Kisaragi (Tokyopop)
Pure Love – Boys Love by Various (Tokyopop)
Konna Otoko wa Aisareru by Rie Honjoh (Tokyopop)
Ai no Kotoba mo Shiranaide by Rie Honjoh (Tokyopop)
Yubisaki wa Koi no Aji by Rie Honjoh (Tokyopop)

Global Manga
A Kiss from the Dark by Nadine Büttner & Michael Waaler (Carlsen)
Lilientod – Rosenkönig by Martina Peters & Anne Delseit (Carlsen)
Ninja – Hinter den Schatten by Malte von Tiesenhausen & Miyuki Tsuji (Carlsen)
Personal Paradise: Killer Kid by Melanie Schober (Carlsen)
Struwwelpeter: Die Rückkehr by David Füleki (Tokyopop)

Long overdue, but here they are: the releases for March. I can’t remember if I did buy the manga for March, but a quick glimpse at the German releases tells me that there aren’t really any interesting series to be bought anyway. Maybe on the other side of the Atlantic? More information once I post my shopping list.

Manga Releases in February, aye. I want to survive! Well, anyways, I managed to motivate myself enough to rearrange my books and folders, so I have a bit more room now for more manga, not much, but I guess I will have to sell some via ebay – if I weren’t so lazy.

Ah, I never thought I would be MIL (missing in laziness) for so long. I’m done with my exams as well as my extended essays (they were due to the end of march). I guess I’m behind a few months; after all this is still my February shopping list. Then again this was written on May the 5th. I’m not sure how active I will stay as I lost most of my motivation to read manga. They just seem boring to me. I’m reading occasionally, but not as much as I used to and I don’t enjoy it as much as well. And this blog is now more like a burden than an enjoyment, sigh. (I don’t know where to put my manga anyway, I have NO SPACE!)

Carlsen Manga
- Shin Angyo Onshi Volume #11
On their board they wrote that the sale figures declined quite a bit, nothing to fear cancellation, but they would be happy if more were to buy it. I hope people will, as Shin Angyo Onshi is probably the best manga by koreans out there. To promote SAO Carlsen will change the format for volume 12 onwards. I don’t like inconsistency in size on my shelf, but if that means better quality I’m okay with it.
- Ikkyu Volume #2
Ikkyu volume one was a very entertaining and informative read. The art serves the purpose well and I don’t mean that in a negative way. It’s a nice combination of entertainment and information and therefor it’s a WIN WIN situation for me.

Del Rey
- Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei Volume #1
The title is very intriguing. I’ve heard my fair share about it and many have doubt that a good localization of this manga is possible. Let’s see if Del Rey will proof them wrong.

DGN/DrMasters
- Purgatory Kabuki Volume #2
I’m not sure if this actually has been released already, as the specific link to the volume on the site isn’t working. Amazon lists it as a December release, but amazon has been wrong before when it comes to DrMasters releases. (Edit: arelease date isn’t specified, just 2009, so I guess it wasn’t released yet).

Egmont Manga
- Vagabond Volume #26
I don’t think I have to comment on Vagabond. It is one of the best ongoing historical seinen releases and as always I’m looking forward to enjoy a nice quiet afternoon after my exams are done.

Purchase Pending
Tokyopop.de
- Benjamin: One Day
I really like his art, but I just can’t connect to any of his stories. And despite the fact that his coloring is breathtaking it often hinders the deciphering of his images. His maybe unique ways to use metaphors is also something I have troubles understanding; perhaps it’s a cultural thing?

I guess this is a little late considering that I already posted Carlsen’s overall Top 25 for 2008. However, if you love charts you might like these ones nonetheless. Here are more of Carlsen’s manga bestsellers and this time for October, November and December.

October
Rank / Previous Rank / Manga /
1. (-) Naruto Volume #32
2. (-) DAISUKI (10/2008)
3. (15) Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Volume #18
4. (18) Pistol in one Hand
5. (7) Vampire Knight Volume #4
6. (16) Black Cat Volume #20
7. (21) Takumi-kun Volume #7
8. (5) Blood Hound
9. (23) Nousatsu Junkie Volume #9
10. (RE) Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru Volume #2
11. (3) Wanted!
12. (25) Royal 17 Volume #3
13. (RE) Mad Love Chase Volume #2
14. (RE) Crown Volume #4
15. (22) Kyo Kara Maoh! Volume #3
16. (RE) .hack//G.U.+ Volume #3
17. (RE) Blood+ Volume #2
18. (6) Futari Ecchi Volume #36
19. (4) Chibi Vampire Volume #6
20. (19) One Piece Volume #47
21. (New) Naruto – Official Character Data Book
22. (9) Shaman King Volume #28
23. (RE) Dragon Ball Z – The Saiyans Volume #4
24. (20) Silver Diamond Volume #8
25. (New) Arty Square
Seinen: 3 (+1) | Shounen: 6 (+1) | Josei: 0 (-) | Shoujo: 8 (-2) | Shoujo Ai: 0 | Shounen Ai: 6 (+2) | Light Novels: 1 (-2) | Art-books: 0 (-) | Global: 0 (-1) | Other: 1 (+1)

November
Rank / Previous Rank / Manga /
1. (-) Naruto Volume #33
2. (20) One Piece Volume #48
3. (2) DAISUKI (11/2008)
4. (RE) Junjo Romantica Volume #8
5. (10) Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru Volume #2
6. (14) Crown Volume #4
7. (22) Shaman King Volume #28
8. (18) Futari Ecchi Volume #37
9. (19) Chibi Vampire Volume #7
10. (RE) Special A Volume #5
11. (3) Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Volume #19
12. (New) Soba ni Oitene
13. (25) Arty Square
14. (New) Personal Paradise – Miss Misery
15. (20) Silver Diamond Volume #8
16. (RE) Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume #37
17. (5) Vampire Knight Volume #4
18. (RE) When A Man Loves A Man Volume #8
19. (New) Skip Beat! Volume #12
20. (RE) Battle Angel Alita – Last Order Volume #11
21. (RE) Only The Ring Finger Knows – Light Novel Volume #3
22. (8) Blood Hound
23. (11) Wanted!
24. (RE) E’s Otherwise Volume #3
25. (21) Naruto – Official Character Data Book
Seinen: 3 (-) | Shounen: 5 (-1) | Josei: 0 (-) | Shoujo: 7 (-1) | Shoujo Ai: 0 | Shounen Ai: 7 (+1) | Light Novels: 1 (-) | Art-books: 0 (-) | Global: 1 (-) | Other: 1 (-)

December
Rank / Previous Rank / Manga /
1. (-) Naruto Volume #33
2. (-) One Piece Volume #48
3. (17) Vampire Knight Volume #5
4. (3) DAISUKI (12/2008)
5. (9) Chibi Vampire Volume #7
6. (4) Junjo Romantica Volume #8
7. (8) Futari Ecchi Volume #37
8. (12) Soba ni Oitene
9. (New) Gakuen Heaven Volume # 2
10. (11) Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Volume #19
11. (20) Battle Angel Alita – Last Order Volume #11
12. (RE) Ludwig Revolution Volume #4
13. (21) Only The Ring Finger Knows – Light Novel Volume #3
14. (New) Etoile – Sanjuushi Seira
15. (RE) Mad Love Chase Volume #3
16. (18) When A Man Loves A Man Volume #8
17. (New) Ren’ai Cupid
18. (New) Kaichou wa Maid-sama! Volume #1
19. (7) Shaman King Volume #29
20. (RE) Nousatsu Junkie Volume #10
21. (RE) Ouran High School Host Club Volume # 12
22. (25) Naruto – Official Character Data Book
23. (RE) Hunter X Hunter Volume #21
24. (23) Wanted!
25. (5) Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru Volume #2

Here are Carlsen’s own bestsellers for 2008. I was surprised to see Neon Genesis Evangelion and Chibi Vampire rank so high, but besides that, nothing else strikes my eyes. If you wonder why Bleach isn’t on the list, the answer is because it’s Tokyopop.de’s license!

Ranking (only the best-sold volume of each series was counted):
1. (-) Naruto
2. (-) One Piece
3. (5) Vampire Knight
4. (3) DAISUKI
5. (New) Naruto – Innocent Heart, Demonic Blood
6. (8) Junjo Romantica
7. (15) Chibi Vampire
8. (New) Wanted!
9. (6) Futari Ecchi
10. (New) Ludwig Revolution
11. (New) Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru
12. (New) Love Mode
13. (New) Neon Genesis Evangelion
14. (19) Fruits Basket
15. (New) Kyo Kara Maoh! Light Novel
16. (New) Blood Hound Special
17. (New) Only The Ring Finger Knows Light Novel
18. (14) Crown
19. (New) Rin!
20. (New) Special A
21. (New) Black Cat
22. (New) Nousatsu Junkie
23. (New) Personal Paradise
24. (New) Shaman King
25. (New) Love Hustler

Total
Seinen: 2 (+1) | Shounen: 5 (+2) | Josei: 0 (-) | Shoujo: 10 (+3) | Shoujo Ai: 0 | Shounen Ai: 4 (-1) | Light Novels: 3 (+3) | Art-books: 0 (-) | Global: 1 (-3) | Other: 0 (-)

Note: The number in the brackets indicate the rank it previously had in last year’s list, which only was composed of 20 titles.

As always, here are the January releases in Germany. It’s a very nice “genre” mix and consists of titles beloved worldwide; possibly because there are nine seinen manga released this month. Furthermore, there are two very appealing, more mature shounen titles like: Welcome to NHK and Blood+. ALSO, THE HANDBALL WORLD CUP STARTED!

(My desktop PC and notebook both are malfunctioning, which is why I didn’t post this ~ a week earlier. This is how I browsed the net for more than a week! Violet/magenta/pink/fuchsia/whatever lines and a resolution of 640*480! My eyes still hurt!)

Before I’ll post their list of new licenses, here are my thoughts on the “cancellation” of Tokyopop’s titles from Kodansha.

I know that two of the canceled series were having a very, very hard time on the German market: Beck and Cromartie High School (last volume released in September 2007). I assumed, at first, that this would help Tokyopop.de financially, because both manga must have been a big strain on their resources. But then I looked at the other three, School Rumble, Hell Girl and Perfect Girl (Edit: The Wallflower ;)), before realizing something was amiss.

School Rumble appeared in their in-house charts (charts that Tokyopop.de has full control over) frequently. It never achieved a top 10 position, but placed decently in the top 10-20: Volume 11, 15, and 16 were able to stay in the charts for their respective release week. While volumes 13, 14, and 17 lasted a week longer, they never even managed 12th place like volume 12, which additionally was able to stay in the charts for three consecutive weeks.

The first Hell Girl volume – on the opposite end of the spectrum – did stay in the charts for 7 consecutive weeks, placing itself at spots: 8, 7, 5, 6, 13, 12, and 7. I doubt it wasn’t financially successful. Volume 2 even had a similar run, on it’s publication week it got 9th, and then further improved its position to 6 and 8, until it went off the list after a 10th place in its fourth week in the Top 20.

Same applies to Perfect Girl. It managed to stay in the charts for a very long time, even getting as high as 1st place on several occasions. And despite the fact that long-running series have a very hard time in Germany, it appears to have a very broad and loyal audience over here.

In conclusion, we have 2 very bad running series and 3 good running series. The fact that Kodansha did pull back the license for Perfect Girl, Hell Girl and School Rumble must hurt Tokyopop.de. A one-sided cancellation of the two bad-running manga would’ve looked suspicious; a cancellation of Kodansha’s whole property doesn’t. The ones who’ll have to suffer from this trade will – as usual – be the fans, especially if Kodansha decides to apply the same policy to other German companies in the future. When that happens… NO.

Now to the good news! The new licenses!

Seinen
Elfen Lied – Special Edition by Lynn Okamoto (12 Volumes / Complete)*

Shounen
Death Note – Black Edition by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata (13 Volumes / Complete)**
Rosario + Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda (10 Volumes / Ongoing – Sequel)

Josei
Sekai wa Bokura no Tameni! by Maki Enjoji (1 Volume / Complete)***
Ousama no Iinari by Kasane Katsumoto (1 Volume / Complete)***

Shoujo
Chocolate Cosmos by Nana Haruta (4 Volumes / Complete)
Dream Fantasia by Sae Rom Ok (? Volumes / ? / demographic unsure)
Princess Ai: The Prism of Midnight Dawn by Misaho Kujiradou ( ? / Ongoing / Sequel to Princess Ai)

Shounen Ai
Yubisaki wa Koi no Aji by Rie Honjoh (1 Volume / Complete)

Global
Benjamin: Flash by Benjamin (1 Volume / Complete)
Daemonium by Kôsen (Spanish) (? Volume(s) / Ongoing)

Comment: As I expected, most of the manga licenses are aimed at their female readers. I know that many (male) fans have requested Elfen Lied to be licensed, mainly because the anime is widely known and liked (for whatever reasons). Let’s see if the people who liked the anime will also purchase the manga; I don’t think they will though. Since I’m personally not a big fan of either, I don’t care, except that I welcome Tokyopop.de’s attempt to establish their mature line for male readers. It’s about time!

The only manga from their license list on my probable purchase list is: Flash by Benjamin. After my disappointment with Remember and Orange, I’m just not sure. It looks like an art book and his art, unlike his story, is epic. Still the high price of 30€ is a turn-off. I hope I can find some French reviews and some sample art from the book, so I can make up my mind.

PS: If anyone knows the person who writes their newsletter, please ask them to NOT continue to use smilies in their newsletters?! (^_______^ looks ugly and is horribly childish and unprofessional.)

* 2 in 1 and in the Battle Royale-format (21,4 x 14,4 x 4,2 cm)
** 2 in 1, bigger format, more colored pages, refined covers, limited print run of 6,666
*** the two have been mentioned in my earlier post, but under a different name.

Here’s my very late shopping list for December and my just-in-time list for January. Sadly, amazon just had to deliver my December orders after I left for my home town and by now the mail probably has been already sent back, because I didn’t fetch them within the 7-day period. Oh well, guess I’ll have to order them again. No money lost.

December

Carlsen Manga
- Black Lagoon Volume #7
Black Lagoon is a very action-heavy manga. Its strong point doesn’t necessarily lie in its plot, but rather in the intriguing characters and their interaction. It’s a perfect manga to read, when you don’t want to process heavy information.
- Syurayuki Hime – Fukkatsu No Shou – Single Volume
New material of this manga by Kazuo Koike & Kazuo Kamimura was discovered in 2006, published a year later and now it’ll be released in Germany! Awesome! I enjoyed Lady Snowblood and hope that the sequel can live up to its precursor.

Tokyopop.de
- Yotsuba&! Volume #6
Everyone adores Yotsuba&! I mean how can you not adore it?! It’s a hilarious spectacle! Has anyone asked where Kiyohiko Azuma gets his ideas from? I would be interested to know that.

Seven Seas Entertainment
- Dance with the Vampire Bund Volume #3
Hey, hey, hey! More Vampires! The series improved a fair bit in volume 2, but I hope it continues to do so in this volume. SSE does a fine job in the design and I can’t complain about the quality either. Of course I can’t scrutinize their translations, but so far I haven’t read anything bad them.

January

Egmont Manga
- Biomega Volume #1
The first manga by Tsutomu Nihei after Blame to be released in Germany! I loved Blame. It was different. It was confusing. It was mind-blowing.
- Eden: It’s an endless world Volume #17
Eden always manages to surprise me. This is the penultimate volume and I’m eager how Endo will finish his masterpiece. But at the same time I’m uneasy. To end a manga like Eden in a satisfying fashion shows the true quality of a mangaka. Hiroki Endo should belong to that category of mangaka.

UDON Entertainment
- ROBOT Volume #6
ROBOT opened up a new universe for me. The various artists allowed an art laymen, like myself, to experience different styles and broaden my simple “art horizon” exponentially. I owe ROBOT. Ed Chavez mentioned that UDON had/has troubles with its solicitation, but I hope that they’ll managed to solve problems and can release it ASAP.

VIZ Manga
- REAL Volume #3
Yes! What a month, Biomega, Eden and another REAL volume as well! I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I was never a big fan of basketball (or any American sport), but Inoue is always able to fascinate me with his works. REAL far transcends the simple sport genre and that’s why you don’t have to be a sports manga/basketball fan to like it.

Purchase Pending
Egmont
- Gunslinger Girl Volume #9
Uhh, I didn’t even know I was still collecting this manga. I don’t know, maybe I’ll buy this volume, catch up with the manga and then decide whether I’ll continue to buy it or not.