Manly Manga and More...

OLD DRAFTS: My Manga Collection [Pics Inside - BLOG DEAD]

invaeon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:42:28 +0000

I planned on writing a similar blogpost for ages, but my manga was always lying around/not here/borrowed/whatever. So I came to the conclusion that I will always have displaced manga and decided to post on what I have at the moment.

Two of my most loved series: Blade of the Immortal and Homunculus. Chonchu, as you can see, I purchased as well, which I regret now, but can’t change. Same goes for Eight; both series started out nicely but ending up crashing. Volume 1-3 of Eight were awesome, but four just killed it. Booo Japanese publishers for cancelling series mid-through! Volume 1 and 2 are still rented to a friend. I wouldn’t know where to put them anyway…

Awesome series on this shelf as well: KK, Yotsuba, REAL, Black Lagoon and EDEN! Here you can see the big height differences between American manga and German manga. And again between the publishers (Carlsen: Kyoko Karasuma; Tokyopop: Yotsuba&!). I hate how volume 5 of Black Lagoon got cut(?) though, but all of books of that edition were affected, so I can’t exchange it.

Mushishi is one of the best seinen manga. It’s able to create a very unique atmosphere. The first volumes of Junk were very entertaining – the later ones: not so much. In the second row there’s Astral Project, which I enjoyed very much. Kamiyadori and Category: Freaks, I wouldn’t recommend. The core ideas are interesting, but both mangaka don’t explore the possibilities enough. I’m not sure if Category:Freaks is actually still being published or not Kamiyadori is complete – lacks a nice ending though.

The first row contains some pretty cool manga, like Dragon Head or Agharta. I myself am not a big fan of BAA, but I bought it cheaply via ebay (like so many other manga). Still, Ikkyu is probably my favorite series here. The thin thing on the far right is the artbook from Yasushi Suzuki. In the 2nd row we have Airgear (stopped buying), Rebirth (total crap), King of Bandit Jing (art is at least good), Speed Grapher (horrible), XS (good art, crappy story), Time/Era of Death (shittiest shit), Get Backers (fine for shounen – I guess).

My precious little ones! All the Robot volumes. Sadly, it seems Udon won’t publish volume 6 onwards. I didn’t find a release date on the site and so my hope for a continuation is bleak. The two Vagabond artbooks were a bit disappointing. Not the content, but the hard binding (term?) made it hard to actually embrace the featured art samples. I had also hoped for some comment or interview. Oh, well. Missing on the shelf is: Flash by Benjamin. Finally a display of his art without the interference of his annoying bubbles and whiny sub-par effort to spin a story about them. Finally. And then there’s Flight volume 1-3. I know that many manga lovers dislike (most) comics (I’m one of them, superheroes…eww…), but Flight should definitely be considered.

Genshiken really doesn’t deserve to be on that shelf, but I didn’t have any space left to put all the nine volumes next to each other. There’s only Hiroki Endo’s Short Stories volume 1 ~~because I still have to buy volume 2~~, despite being a big Endo fan. ~~Shame on me.~~ Now that I think of it, I should just exchange some manga from the rows, as the 2nd row consists incredible awesome manga: Me & The Devil Blues (DONE). And yep, that is Jack Thompson’s – for me – totally useless manga guide book in the background.

A mishmash between “good and evil”: Blood Alone and King of Thorn, and WWaW are awesome manga; the rest, not so much. Sure, I do enjoy DitVB, but it’s far from being breathtaking or groundbreaking. The second row contains some manhua by Benjamin: Oneday, Remember and Orange, as well as ALIVE (needs more Tsutomu Takahashi in Germany), Gon, and Purgatory Kabuki by Yasushi Suzuki.

CotCS is – strangely – one of the Korean “shounen” manhwa I somewhat enjoy, don’t ask me why. Then there’s Shin Angyo Onshi, both art and story are way above average (except maybe the first three volumes), BAA:LO and GSG I don’t buy anymore and then there’s Dan Gu aka Shaman Warrior (Panini versus Dark Horse – what a difference, in price and format).

VAGABOND! Or what’s currently at my place. Other volumes are borrowed. Then there’s NGE (hi@flashlight), Mr. Despair and Claymore. Claymore is rather generic, so I stopped buying it, yeah I know, after 13 volumes, but that’s because I bought them in batches.

And yes, that’s most of the manga I possess in photographs! And yes, manga are the only “Japanese” things in my room, if you don’t count my Benjamin posters (yes, I know he’s Chinese!). The only anime I own are FLCL and Karas but they aren’t really pic-worthy. I think I have voiced my disapproval of it before anyway, so no surprises there. Same goes for anything related to anime: figurines/games/j-pop and so on .

OLD DRAFTS: Comic Salon Wrap-Up Or: Better Late Than Never!

invaeon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:41:02 +0000

Several big German newspapers’ online editorials published articles on their respective webpages about the Comic Salon. All the reports are in German, so you English folks won’t be able to read them, but they also added some pictures. Don’t expect too much variety, as all three (FAZ, SZ and Spiegel) basically use the same pictures.

Article One: FAZ basically talks about the fight German comic artists have gone through to finally gain a little more acceptance over here. Furthermore it’s criticizing the exhibition of Chinese manhua for not actually informing the visitor about the present comic industry situation in China. I have to agree. The exhibition was very nice too look at, but information was scarce. They also mention Yao Fei La (be careful it’s in French!), artist of 80° , answering the question: “What’s the difference between Japanese and Chinese comics?” with the sentence that Chinese manhua are more subtle, as it’s not about “A loves B, who loves C, but C loves A”, but simply “A loves B.” I wonder if he meant simpler and not subtle?

Article Two: The article on süddeutsche.de first focuses on the growth of the Comic Salon since its first time 24 years ago in 1984. Apparently someone took a video of it and it was shown at this year’s Comic Salon. He then writes more about the manhua exhibition, also complaining about it being generic, art and story-wise. He then briefly talks about the panel discussion of the history of Chinese comics by sinologist Andreas Seifert. Seifert concludes that manhua is not a medium of the masses, but instead a medium of the westerly oriented Chinese youth. Christoph Haas then goes on to talk about the different comic artist and the winners of the Max and Moritz Price, it’s all “western” comic folks though, so who cares?

Stefan Pannor is writing the third article for Spiegel Online. He’s comparing the Comic Salon to the little village of the smurfs(sp?), which I might relate to, if he hadn’t said that it was missing women. What…?! There were so many females attending the convention on Saturday, maybe he didn’t leave the comic book area and didn’t go to the manhua/manga booths? The rest of the text is mainly about the situation in Germany, which most of the authors give a positive future.

Onto the manga-sites: For more pictures, especially lots of cosplay pictures check out pummeldex. They have a few pictures of Benjamin and Eiki Eiki too. Also, they fetched Eiki Eiki for an interview and will post the interview on their website. Depending on the length I might translate it.

I have mentioned splashcomics’ coverage before, but hey, maybe somebody missed it! They have many pictures available and videos of most, if not all, discussions that took place, so if you know German, hit it!

I mentioned the Max and Moritz Price in my prior post about the Comic Salon. I think it’s no surprise that Jiro Taniguchi‘s Harukana Machi E managed to win the Max & Moritz Price for the manga category, after it was already voted Comic of the Year a few weeks back. It was able to win versus Lady Snowblood by Kazuo Koike & Kazuo Kamimura, What a Wonderful World by Inio Asano. I personally would’ve loved to see What a Wonderful World to win, alas the average age of the jury probably was too hight to be able to relate more to What a Wonderful World than to Harukana Machi E. I just love Asano‘s works and am so happy to see Solanin be released by VIZ.

Some interesting anecdotes I read on Xiao Pan’s blog. Benjamin’s Remember was sold out on Saturday evening, neither Xiao Pan, nor Tokyopop did have any copies left at that time. Tokyopop clearly underestimated Germany’s will to spend 14€ on an art-book by an -for Germans- unknown artist. Guess the good result could be caused by splendid advertisement? Or the fact that Benjamin was present and also attracted Comic lovers and not only manga lovers?

OLD DRAFTS: Finder Volume One Gets Indexed

invaeon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:40:38 +0000

Via SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons) decided to index Finder volume 1 that means: Tokyopop.de isn’t allowed to promote it, online shops aren’t allowed to offer it anymore, shops are, but if the person is 18+ and asks for the specific volume.

The exact reason for the indexing hasn’t been sent to Tokyopop.de yet. The problem is that even if it was marked 18+ (I think it was), minors still were able to buy it. The reason for that is that it’s not mandatory to check the ID. It’s all voluntary. Now one might question the system as is, but I think one can agree that Finder shouldn’t get into the hands of minors.

The fangirl reaction on the Tokyopop.de board has been unsurprisingly active. I personally am no big fan of the BPjM, but from what I’ve seen of Finder, I think it might actually justified. Rape, SM and other “obscenities” shouldn’t be available to minors.

New Licenses for Fall/Winter 2009/2010

invaeon — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:26:54 +0000

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)

German Manga Releases in March

invaeon — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:47:12 +0000

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.

Seinen
Futari Ecchi Volume #38 (Carlsen)
Gekkoh Volume #3 (Panini)
Lone Wolf & Cub Volume #26 (Panini)
Tenjo Tenge Volume #19 (Panini)
Battle Royale Volume #2 (Tokyopop)

Shounen
Hitomi no Catoblepas Complete Edition (Carlsen)
Karin Volume #8 (Carlsen)
Kekkaishi Volume #8 (Carlsen)
Shaman King Volume #30 (Carlsen)
NHK ni Youkoso! Volume #2 (Carlsen)
Chrome Breaker Volume #3 (Egmont)
Mahou Sensei Negima NEO Volume #2 (Egmont)
Air Gear Volume #6 (Heyne)
Fullmetal Alchemist Volume #13 (Panini)
Bleach Volume #33 (Tokyopop)
Gintama Volume #12 (Tokyopop)
Faeries’ Landing Volume #8 (Tokyopop)
School Rumble Volume #18 (Tokyopop)
The Prince of Tennis Volume #28 (Tokyopop)

Josei
Mehyou to Chuujitsu na Geboku (Tokyopop)
Darling wa Namamono ni Tsuki Volume #4 (Tokyopop)

Shoujo
Houkago Hokenshitsu Volume #1 (Carlsen)
Gakuen Alice Volume #7 (Carlsen)
Anatolia Story Volume #16 (Egmont)
Desire Climax Volume #1 (Egmont)
Love Celeb – King Egoist Volume #5 (Egmont)
Nana Volume #19 (Egmont)
Tenshi Ja Nai!! Volume #6 (Egmont)
Tonari no Guardian Volume #1 (Egmont)
Ciel Volume #7 (Tokyopop)
Rockin’ Heaven Volume #7 (Tokyopop)
Hell Girl Volume #4
Love Berrish! Volume #4 (Tokyopop)
Chronicles of the Grim Peddler Volume #5 (Tokyopop)

Shounen Ai
Nee, Sensei? (Carlsen)
Silver Diamond Volume #10 (Carlsen)
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru Volume #3 (Carlsen)
When a Man Loves a Man Volume #9 (Carlsen)
Hero Heel Volume #3 (Egmont)
The Summit Volume #6 (Egmont)
Aitsu ni Koishita Yottsu no Wake (Panini)
Bukiyou na Silent Volume #2 (Tokyopop)
Viewfinder Volume #4 (Tokyopop)

Global Manga
Killing Iago Volume #1 (Carlsen)
Warrior Cats Volume #3 (Tokyopop)
Stracraft – Frontline Volume #2 (Tokyopop)

Art-books/Guidebooks
Naruto: Hiden – Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book (Carlsen)

* are on my shopping list

- Not included are: Novels & Magazines!

German Manga Releases in February

invaeon — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:57:12 +0000

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.

Seinen
Ikkyu Volume #2 (Carlsen)
Lady Snowblood: Resurrection (Carlsen)
Shin Angyo Onshi Volume #11 (Carlsen)
Vagabond Volume #26 (Egmont)
Brave 10 Volume #3 (Panini)

Shounen
Blood+ Volume #4 (Carlsen)
Dragon Ball Z: The Ginyu-Saga Volume #1 (Carlsen)
Naruto Volume #34 (Carlsen)
One Piece Volume #49 (Carlsen)
Shadow Lady Volume #1 (Carlsen)
Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume #38 (Carlsen)
Detective Conan Volume #60 (Egmont)
Get Backers Volume #15 (Egmont)
Inuyasha Volume #55 (Egmont)
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Volume #21 (Egmont)
Kagetora Volume #11 (Heyne)
Bleach Volume #33 (Tokyopop)
Claymore Volume #4 (Tokyopop)
D. Gray-man Volume #15 (Tokyopop)
Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! Volume #9 (Tokyopop)
King of Hell Volume #11 (Tokyopop)
The Prince of Tennis Volume #27 (Tokyopop)
To-LOVE-Ru -Trouble- Volume #3 (Tokyopop)

Josei
Spicy Pink Volume #2 (Tokyopop)

Shoujo
Fruits Basket Volume #17 (Carlsen)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Volume #20 (Carlsen)
Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou Volume #20 (Carlsen)
Special A Volume #6 (Carlsen)
Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne – Perfect Edition Volume #6 (Egmont)
Darker than Black Volume #2 (Panini)
Aishiteruze Baby Volume #3 (Tokyopop)
Aozora Pop Volume #2 (Tokyopop)
Kyousou Heaven Volume 1 (Tokyopop)
Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #3 (Tokyopop)
Sweet & Sensitive Volume #17 (Tokyopop)

Shounen Ai
Mad Love Chase Volume #4 (Carlsen)
Onozomi no Mama ni (Carlsen)
Tenohira no Seiza (Carlsen)
Brother x Brother Volume #3 (Egmont)
Netemo Sametemo Volume #3 (Egmont)
Ousama Game Volume #1 (Egmont)

Global Manga
Gott Gauss Volume #2 (Egmont)
Dramacon Ultimate Edition (Tokyopop)
Bone Collector’s Edition Volume #8 (Tokyopop)

* are on my shopping list

February Shopping List

invaeon — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:04:41 +0000

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?

More Charts, More Bestsellers

invaeon — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:52:03 +0000

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

Carlsen’s Bestsellers for 2008

invaeon — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:36:37 +0000

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

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

Tokyopop.de’s Top 20 #45-52

invaeon — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:48:16 +0000

Here are the rest of Tokyopop.de‘s Top 20 for last year. I was too lazy to count the different demographics for each week, so you just have them in ‘raw’ form. There aren’t too many differences between them anyways. Death Note does still sell well. Finder is a guaranteed bestseller. And the rest are mainly shoujo titles, like Rockin’ Heaven, Mitsu x Mitsu Drops or Shinshi Doumei Cross. And I bet Ellen Schreiber is a BILLIONAIRE by now! It’s a GIRL’s world, after all!

Week #45
1. (2) Finder Volume #2
2. (1) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
3. (-) Love Berrish! Volume #2
4. (5) Blue Dragon: Ral Ω Grado Volume #4
5. (8) Hot Days
6. (7) Operation Love (Light Novel) Volume #1
7. (4) Bleach Volume #29
8. (6) Hell Girl Volume #2
9. (10) To-LOVE-Ru – Trouble Volume #2
10. (RE) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #7
11. (RE) Death Note Volume #1
12. (13) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #1
13. (11) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #1
14. (9) Death Note: L-Change the World
15. (RE) Death Note Volume #2
16. (17) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #1
17. (15) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #9
18. (RE) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #2
19. (16) Zombie Powder Volume #3
20. (12) Saint Dragon Girl Miracle Volume #5

Week #46
1. (2) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
2. (1) Finder Volume #2
3. (-) Love Berrish! Volume #2
4. (6) Operation Love (Light Novel) Volume #1
5. (13) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #1
6. (7) Bleach Volume #29
7. (5) Hot Days
8. (4) Blue Dragon: Ral Ω Grado Volume #4
9. (15) Death Note Volume #2
10. (8) Hell Girl Volume #2
11. (14) Death Note: L-Change the World
12. (11) Death Note Volume #1
13. (10) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #7
14. (16) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #1
15. (12) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #1
16. (20) Saint Dragon Girl Miracle Volume #5
17. (-) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #9
18. (19) Zombie Powder Volume #3
19. (RE) Finder Volume #1
20. (RE) Bleach Volume #1

Week #47
1. (2) Finder Volume #2
2. (1) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
3. (8) Blue Dragon: Ral Ω Grado Volume #4
4. (3) Love Berrish! Volume #2
5. (17) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #9
6. (11) Death Note: L-Change the World
7. (9) Death Note Volume #2
8. (6) Bleach Volume #29
9. (4) Operation Love (Light Novel) Volume #1
10. (13) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #7
11. (15) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #1
12. (5) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #1
13. (RE) WarCraft: Legends
14. (New) Tränen eines Engels
15. (RE) Death Note Volume #5
16. (New) Shinshi Doumei Cross Box Set Volume #10
17. (RE) Death Note Volume #9
18. (14) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #1
19. (12) Death Note Volume #1
20. (7) Hot Days

Week #48
1. (16) Shinshi Doumei Cross Box Set Volume #10
2. (New) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #8
3. (New) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #10
4. (14) Tränen eines Engels
5. (New) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #2
6. (New) Bleach Volume #30
7. (New) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #2
8. (New) Aishiteruze Baby Volume #2
9. (New) Claymore Volume #3
10. (1) Finder Volume #2
11. (2) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
12. (New) Battle Royale Volume #1
13. (New) School Rumble Volume #17
14. (5) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #9
15. (New) The Prince of Tennis Volume #25
16. (8) Bleach Volume #29
17. (11) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #1
18. (RE) Death Note Volume #3
19. (7) Death Note Volume #2
20. (10) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #7

Week #49:
1. (3) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #10
2. (1) Shinshi Doumei Cross Box Set Volume #10
3. (4) Tränen eines Engels
4. (2) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #8
5. (-) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #2
6. (7) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #2
7. (6) Bleach Volume #30
8. (11) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
9. (10) Finder Volume #2
10. (8) Aishiteruze Baby Volume #2
11. (14) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #9
12. (-) Battle Royale Volume #1
13. (17) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #1
14. (RE) Death Note: L – Change the World
15. (9) Claymore Volume #3
16. (18) Death Note Volume #3
17. (19) Death Note Volume #2
18. (13) School Rumble Volume #17
19. (RE) Vampire Kisses Volume #1
20. (RE) Freche Mädchen – Freche Manga Volume #1

Week #50
1. (-) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #10
2. (4) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #8
3. (2) Shinshi Doumei Cross Box Set Volume #10
4. (3) Tränen eines Engels
5. (-) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #2
6. (7) Bleach Volume #30
7. (6) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #2
8. (8) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
9. (14) Deatn Note: L – Change the World
10. (9) Finder Volume #2
11. (RE) Death Note Volume #4
12. (20) Freche Mädchen – Freche Manga Volume #1
13. (10) Aishiteruze Baby Volume #2
14. (19) Vampire Kisses Volume #1
15. (-) Claymore Volume #3
16. (RE) Death Note Volume #5
17. (RE) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #4
18. (RE) Death Note Volume #12
19. (RE) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #5
20. (RE) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #1

Week #51
1. (New) Finder Volume #3
2. (4) Tränen eines Engels
3. (3) Shinshi Doumei Cross Box Set Volume #10
4. (2) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #8
5. (1) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #10
6. (5) Kagakushitsu e Douzo Volume #2
7. (New) Bleach Volume #31
8. (New) Love Berrish! Volume #3
9. (8) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
10. (14) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #1
11. (New) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #2
12. (RE) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #9
13. (7) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #2
14. (10) Finder Volume #2
15. (9) Death Note: L – Change the World
16. (13) Aishiteruze Baby Volume #2
17. (RE) Love Berrish! Volume #2
18. (RE) WarCraft: Legends Volume #1
19. (6) Bleach Volume #30
20. (RE) Death Note Volume #3

Week #52
1. (-) Finder Volume #3
2. (11) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #2
3. (8) Love Berrish! Volume #3
4. (7) Bleach Volume #31
5. (New) Hot Dinner
6. (3) Shinshi Doumei Cross Box Set Volume #10
7. (New) Hell Girl Volume #3
8. (2) Tränen eines Engels
9. (New) Aozora Pop Volume #1
10. (5) Shinshi Doumei Cross Volume #10
11. (4) Mitsu x Mitsu Drops Volume #8
12. (New) Freche Mädchen – freche Manga Volume #2
13. (New) Gothic Sports Volume #4
14. (10) Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives Volume #1
15. (New) Zombie Powder Volume #4
16. (9) Rockin’ Heaven Volume #6
17. (RE) Death Note Volume #1
18. (13) Nagatachou Strawberry Volume #2
19. (New) Darling wa Namamono ni Tsuki Volume #3
20. (New) WarCraft: Legends Volume #2