Impressions: Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit

Dragon Ball Z can be summed up pretty well in a couple lines. Bad guy shows up, he kicks everyone's ass, and then they kick his ass. This formula just works for the series.

However, the topic of discussion here is DBZ Burst Limit. If you like DBZ, you'll love this game. I play my fair share of fighters (primarily Soul Calibur), DBZ games tend to almost always disappoint, regardless of my love for the series. Burst Limit, on the other hand, has a lot going for it.

I played through the single player mode, to unlock all the characters and I had a blast doing it. Throughout the story mode, you get to play as all the humans, Saiyajin, Freeza, and a tonne of other characters. The story focuses on some of the movies -- like Brolly's movie and Bardock's movie -- however; unfortunately, there is no Buu saga, and that's slightly disappointing if you're a fan of the franchise.

To read the full story on what Burst Limit has to offer, hit the jump.



This game has broken the mold of recent anime fighting games. It has no shop, and thank friggin' God for that. The most annoying thing ever in a game, is to unlock something, and then have to have to buy what you just unlocked, especially if you don't have the money to buy said item.

That said, the sheer amount of unlockeable content really stood out here. I got a "Z" rating on my first fight, and unlocked at least 6 different things. This made me feel like i was actually accomplishing something.

Now, most of these unlocks are Drama scenes -- which well get into later -- but there's also the unlock of the character you just played/defeated and also the unlock of the next chapter in the story. Another thing I liked was how easy the controls were to pick up. I brought a friend over and after about 20 minutes, he was dodging and giving me a pretty hard time.

The controls are easy to learn, hard to master, and that's just how I like my fighters.

Access to a moves list really helps; however, it's a good idea to play through the tutorials to get a good understanding of how some of the more complicated moves work. All in all, DBZ Burst Limit has a lot going for it.

Nonetheless, there are a few things that made me cringe. I hate this part, but onto the lesser points of the game.

Drama Scenes: These occur during every fight. They are very cool at first; however, after fighting a friend for the 20th time, and using the same characters, they can get a bit annoying. As far as I could tell, there wasn't a way to turn them off or skip them, as they are an important component of the gameplay.

The other thing that I found annoying was the camera. If you're pushed against a wall, it likes to randomly flip, disorienting you for a bit, which is enough to cost you the match when you're playing the story mode on a harder setting.

Other than those two things, there really wasn't much to nitpick at, this game is a great addition to any collection.By our new "rating" system, the "ratings" are: Pass; Rent; and Buy.

DBZ Burst Limit definitely gets a BUY. This game is one of the best anime fighters in a long time. DBZ fans would do well to consider a purchase.

[ADVANCE]

Nijū-Mensō no Musume To Get The Anime Treatment

Nijū-Mensō no Musume by Shinji Ohara will be one of the shows to look forward to this spring anime season. Anime News Network reports. The manga and soon to be anime is about a female thief named "Chiko". This series appears to be related to series of novels written by Ranpo Edogawa. CLAMP's manga Man of Many Faces also seems to have been inspired by these novels.

Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? In all honesty, I know absolutely nothing about this series, and information on it seems to be scarce even though it's said to have been in serialization for about five years and even garnered a sequel. If it's any good, we'll find out this spring when it's planned to air. I cannot remember the last crime-themed anime I watched. Whatever it was, it must have not been very good.


[Source: Anime News Network]

[ADVANCE]

Hellgate: London Special Edition Includes Graphic Novel

Even more game / manga publisher collaboration news for the day! This time, it concerns Flagship's Hellgate: London special edition (because we all know any game without one sucks).

Flagship has chosen Dark Horse to publish a Hellgate: London graphic novel that will be included in the special edition box. According to the press release, "In addition to the Hellgate: London game and the exclusive, special-edition, 104 page Hellgate: London graphic novel, the collectors set will also include a bonus DVD of The Making of Hellgate: London, as well as the game soundtrack, and a special Hellgate: London world map. "

And here's the obligatory quote:

“Dark Horse has been a perfect partner for graphic novels,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “Their attention to detail, creative talent, and dedication to representing the Hellgate: London world has been second to none.”

Press release after the jump as always.

EA AND NAMCO BANDAI GAMES ANNOUNCE OCTOBER 31ST RELEASE DATE

Redwood City, CA (August 6, 2007) –- Get ready to hack, slash, and shoot your way through a demon-infested London this Halloween! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that Hellgate: London, the premier title from Flagship Studios, will start hitting retail stores in North America on October 31, 2007 and in Europe on November 2, 2007 for the PC. Hellgate: London represents the next leap in the evolution of the action RPG genre, combining the depth and addictive gameplay of traditional RPGs with the visceral action of first-person shooters.

“We wanted to hit the sweet-spot for release in terms of the development schedule and delivering the highest-quality game to our players,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “Halloween was the perfect fit as it ensures that Hellgate: London will have an appropriate amount of beta testing, while also being an incredibly fun time to unleash the game.”

One of the most anticipated PC games and RPGs of the year, Hellgate: London offers infinite re-playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies and events. The player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through an innumerable amount of demons to advance through a deep, rich story-driven campaign. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow each player to create his or her own unique hero.

While some may prefer to slay demons solo, players will also be able to take the fight online*, teaming up with friends to save London in a secure, client-server environment and playing through the entire story-driven campaign for free. For those players who want to extend their Hellgate: London experience, Flagship is offering an optional subscription service which will give players access to huge amounts of content on an ongoing basis in the form of quests, character classes, demons, items, etc. More details about Hellgate: London’s online options are coming soon.

The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB, PEGI or BBFC. Visit www.esrb.org, www.pegionline.eu or www.bbfc.co.uk for updated rating information. For more information about Hellgate: London, log onto http://info.ea.com or the game’s official website at www.hellgatelondon.com.

* Internet connection required.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2007, EA posted revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

About Flagship Studios

Flagship Studios is a creator of innovative entertainment software, designing games that focus on ease of play, replayability, and fun. The studio was formed in 2003 by former executives and developers from Blizzard North® and represents the creators of the worldwide, best-selling Diablo® franchise. With members that are renowned within the gaming industry, Flagship Studios embodies a team that has worked together for over a decade and have numerous #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards to their credit. For more information about Flagship Studios log onto www.flagshipstudios.com.

About Namco Bandai Games America Inc.

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., is a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a part of the NAMCO BANDAI group of companies known for creating and publishing many of the industry's top video game franchises including the PAC-MAN®, SOULCALIBUR®, NARUTO™ and Tekken® brands. For more information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., and our products log onto www.namcobandaigames.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S and/or other countries. Hellgate™: London is a trademark and/or registered trademark of Flagship Studios, Inc. throughout the world. Licensed by NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

[ADVANCE]

Digital Manga Publishing Promotes Club Otakie With DS

Another example of Nintendo's newer systems really fitting in with very well the manga and anime industries. While the GBA was no slacker itself, I see a lot more potential for the DS and Wii to cater to the needs of what manga and anime fans would crave, especially considering some of the cooler niche titles on the systems.

A few months ago, Nintendo and TOKYOPOP announced that they would be teaming up to set up an anime theatre at Leipzig. Now, Digital Manga Publishing have announced that they will be creating a new mail order catalog, Club Otakie, for their fans. In order to promote this catalog, DMP will be hosting contests open to members from now till December 17th, where they will be giving out prizes every week.

This week's prize just so happened to be a DS Lite bundled with Brain Age 2 and a carrying case. Other prizes include goodies such as iPod Shuffles and $25 MasterCard Gift Cards. I'm fairly certain the DS won't be restricted to just this week, given the system's broad appeal. And what better game to ensure you're appealing to the widest age group possible than Brain Age 2?

Now, if only Nintendo and manga publishers would get even closer...

Press release after the jump.

Digital Manga Inc. Promotes Club Otakie Signups with Prizes like iPod Shuffles and Nintendo DS Lites!

Gardena, CA, October 16, 2007– Digital Manga, Inc. will be creating a new mail order catalog, Club Otakie, for fans. To promote the mail order catalog, Digital Manga is offering a contest for all signups where Digital Manga will be giving out prizes each week until December 17, 2007.

A total of 30 prizes will be awarded and contestants will be eligible to win a prize each week as long as they stay signed up!

Digital Manga, Inc. has selected its first winner, Diane R. from Lochbuie, Colorado, who will be winning a Nintendo DS Lite Pack, which includes Brain Age 2 and a carrying case. Other prizes that will be given away include iPod Shuffles and $25 MasterCard Gift Cards.

Winners will be announced on the Contest Detail page every week.

For more information on the contest and for list of prizes, go to http://www.emanga.com/signup.php

[ADVANCE]

Special A Getting Anime Treatment

This is the best anime-related news I've heard in the past few weeks. For those of you familiar with manga, Special A is going to be getting the anime treatment in the not-too-distant future.

Issue 21 (on sale October 5) of Hakusensha's Hana to Yume shōjo manga magazine has announced that Maki Minami's high school manga S.A (Special A) will be animated for Japanese television. The manga focuses on Hikari, a headstrong girl who enrolls in an elite academy and joins the school's special class ("Special A") to compete with Kei, a childhood rival who is actually in love with Hikari. The manga first began in Za Hana to Yume bimonthly magazine in 2003, but moved to its biweekly Hana to Yume sister publication in 2004. Viz Media will release the first English-translated volume on November 6.

While no dates have been announced just yet, knowing that Special A is getting animated is good enough to keep me tracking news on the series for the next few months. While working at the group that scanlated Special A, I used to read the series religiously.

Of course, the has now been licensed by Viz. Hopefully, they'll pick up the anime, too. This one's a no-brainer.

[Moon Phase via ANN]

[ADVANCE]

Scanlation of the Month - August 2007

It's that time of the month again at Manga Jouhou, and ... no, not that time of the month you pervs. Pull your filthy, filthy minds out of the gutter would you? Anyhoo, onto the scanlation recommendations for August!

As you'll notice, there is now a recommendation in the Yuri genre as well, much to you delights. And no, I won't explain what that is if you don't know already. Google it up.

Yuri: She-Wolf by Eiki Eiki (scanlated by Lililicious)

Shounen: Mirai Nikki – Future Diary by Esuno Sakae (scanlated by Luicifer @ Anime-Source)

Seinen: Hourou Musuko (”The Transient Son”) by Takako Shimura (scanlated by Kotonoha)

Hentai: Hanafuda by Okama (scanlated by Oishii Manga)

Yaoi: Border by Kazuma Kodaka (scanlated by Dangerous Pleasure)

[ADVANCE]

Impressions: JUNK - Record of the Last Hero vol. 2

The madness continues in JUNK volume 2 as Hiro and the mystery-maiden in the white JUNK suit finally come face to face.

When we last saw Hiro, he wasn't in the best of states after bombing his home, duking it out with the white JUNK suit, and running away with his tail between his legs. However, as JUNK volume 2 begins, we see Hiro leading a slightly more stable life. Having moved into his own place (and a pretty fancy one at that), and living off of his parents' life insurance money, Hiro chooses to wile away his time watching TV, eating junk food, sexing up his best friend's mom, obsessing over singing sensation Manami Hiraga, and learning about his JUNK suit.

[Read the full review]

[ADVANCE]

Scanlation of the Month - July 2007

Here are the scanlation recommendations for July, courtesy of Manga Jouhou. We were a bit late in getting them up this time, but we'll be sure to avoid this kind of thing happening in the future.

Shoujo: Safe Again Today by Jinsu Yoo and Suhla Park (scanlated by Entropy)

Shounen: Burning Pen by Kazuhiko Shimamoto (scanlated by Seven Star Stories)

Seinen: School of Water Business by Hikaru Murozumi and Shinobu Inokuma (scanlated by Tama-chan Scans)

Yaoi: Retsujou Kyoumushitsu by Takashi Kanzaki (scanlated by Attractive Fascinante)

Hentai: May Not Miss Pervert Fall in Love? by Saki Urara (scanlated by unknown group)

Except for the one I recommended, I haven't read any of those others. Time to give them a look! I always find myself searching wildly in the dark for something to read.

[ADVANCE]

SDCC: CLAMP & Dark Horse present: Mangettes

In an extremely enthusiastic attempt to reach out to their international readership, boy-loving female superstar manga-ka group CLAMP has struck up a deal with Dark Horse to publish an all new original series simultaneously in the United States, Japan, and Korea. Surprising? Not really, seeing as how CLAMP and Dark Horse have been in bed together for a while.

CLAMP’s original manga with Dark Horse will be launched simultaneously in the United States, Japan, and Korea. The story will come out in a small digest consisting of about eighty pages each, which will then be collected into trade paperbacks with bonus material. CLAMP and Dark Horse are coining the bilingual term Mangettes to describe this innovative new format for manga distribution. This digest format, or Mangette, signifies CLAMP's personal wish to reach their large international readership by now speaking to them directly as artists through Dark Horse, and on a basis of equality with their Japanese fans.

CLAMP and Dark Horse chose the term Mangettes to describe this revolutionary format, whose Japanese pronunciation, mangetsu, means “the full moon.” The two kanji in mangetsu also have the individual meanings of “fulfilled” and “monthly,” reflecting what will be a monthly appearance of each CLAMP Mangette.

According to CLAMP, “Mangettes are a completely brand new experience for us, too, and we’re really happy to be working on this. And we’re really looking forward to the day when we can bring you this new story from CLAMP, and the day when we can meet our fans face-to-face to hear what you think about Mangettes!”

Good news for all those who love CLAMP. While I'm not a very big fan of their works (save for X, which unfortunately, is on hiatus), I am happy to see that such collaborations are indeed possible. Overseas publishers and Japanese publishers and manga-ka getting closer can only be good for the industry. Nice going, Dark Horse.

Now, let's just hope that this new CLAMP series is a little different from the style they've adopted in all their other stories.

[Via Manga Jouhou]

[ADVANCE]

TOKYOPOP Talks Digital and Web 2.0

We've heard it time and time again. Web 2.0: the future of the Internet. It's affected every corner of the entertainment industry, from games to comics to manga. That said, it isn't surprising at all that TOKYOPOP has embraced the concept with their new Web 2.0-enabled site.

In addition to this, TOKYOPOP is also charging full steam ahead down the path of digital distribution. While all their user-uploaded content and online manga has been free for viewing so far, they are brainstorming different ways for this to be another profitable area for them.

Speaking with Newsarama, Jeremy Ross, TOKYOPOP’s Director of New Product Development shed a little light on some of what the manga publisher has planned:

“The TOKYOPOP website changed radically in July 2006 and became a place where users could upload their manga or comics for free. It’s a popular site. We get over a million unique visitors per month, and each visit is long. Fellow users vote on uploaded manga & comics using “POPS”, or popularity points. The most popular uploads rise to the top of the rankings. We’ve approached creators who caught our users’ & editors’ attention and are working with some now.

“We've recently launched TOKYOPOP 2.0, which builds on this base. The prior online manga and user profiles with manga and comics carry over. But there’s a lot of new features and a whole new site structure to explore.”

TOKYOPOP offers “shared-copyright contracts" to manga creators, which essentially means they make money off of their works in all the fields that TOKYOPOP is, if their material is published.

“One area where we do have revenue that will be divided according to our agreements is the successful mobile manga viewer we launched on all major cell phone carriers with our partner uclick. Our manga anthology for handsets commands the majority of subscription sales so far, and the business has been steady with a nice growth curve. On Verizon alone, we have had tens of thousands of users download the free trial each month with a healthy conversion rate to paid subscriptions.

“We have recently initiated a manga Pilot program in which we contract with a promising creator to create a pilot chapter that will be displayed on our website, then voted on and commented on by fans. Based on an evaluation of popular response and our editors’ reactions, Pilot creators may then be offered a shared-copyright deal for a complete series.”

Sounds good. Now, if only TOKYOPOP would focus a little less on content that leans more towards "manga" rather than "comics". I know TOKYOPOP believes OEL is the future of the print entertainment industry, but personally, I'm not a big fan of that belief.

[Newsarama via Manga Jouhou]

[ADVANCE]

Scanlation of the Month - June 2007

Starting now, I'm going to be linking to Jouhou's "Scanlation of the Month" features every month. Basically, a bunch of Manga Jouhou editors get together and do separate articles, covering one manga of their choice from several genres, including Shounen, Seinen, Shoujo, Yaoi and Hentai. Yes, I know there's no Yuri section ... a problem that will be rectified next month.

This is a step (the editorials in general, not the Yuri) I feel would contribute to FWA's non news-related manga content, and would be an interesting and helpful read for manga fans on the site. This month's scanlation recommendations are as follows:

Shoujo: Selected Pandaemonium by Ichiko Ima (scanlated by ETC)

Shounen: Rosario + Vampire by Akihisa IKEDA (scanlated by Zombie-Scans)

Seinen: Rubbers 7 by Sukune Inugami (scanlated by B.L.A.H.)

Yaoi: Rules by Kano MIyamoto (scanlated by Liquid Passion)

Hentai: Virgin na Kankei by Takumi Kobayashi (scanlated by Solaris-SVU)

I can personally vouch for Rosaria + Vampire, which is a pretty unique series in its own right. I honestly find our Scanlation of the Month editorials to be very helpful for people like me who can never have enough good manga to read, so I hope manga fans on FWA find them equally useful.

[ADVANCE]

Manga Jouhou Anime Expo report

One of our staffers at Manga Jouhou, riseabove77 (also a DrMaster Editor) is currently at AX, and has managed to throw together a brief and interesting report about the goings on at the event. Strangely enough, she reports that both Del Rey and TOKYOPOP were missing from the event.

Today I spoke on the DrMaster Panel and they announced three new titles:

-Purgatory Kabuki by Yasushi Suzuki, a conceptual game designer responsible for the design of games such as Ikaruga and Sin and Punishment.
-Phantoms, a short story collection by Yasushi Suzuki
-Metro Survive by Yuki Fujisawa, author of Bio-meat Nectar, UK Kingdom, and Elle.

You'll all be happy to know that I'll be receiving a review copy of Purgatory Kabuki the same week it releases. I reserved the series for myself the second I heard it was by the creative mind behind Ikaruga. Expect reviews within a week of the title releasing later this year.

Also mentioned are a few titles CMX discussed. I would recommend heading over and reading the entire post at the link above. All in all, riseabove says that AX seemed rather poorly organized this year. Indeed, if TOKYOPOP felt their presence was more important at Comic Con and Del Rey didn't turn up either, it couldn't have been much of an event.

[ADVANCE]

Hiromu Arakawa's Jūshin Enbu getting anime treatment

The July issue of Shōnen Gangan Powered, which will go on sale July 22nd has confirmed that Fullmetal Alchemist mangaka Hiromu Arakawa's second project Jūshin Enbu: Hero Tales will be getting the anime treatment.

As you can see from the pic above, Jūshin Enbu look extremely similar to FMA. I haven't had a chance to read the scanlations yet, but I plan to do it shortly.

[Via ANN]

[ADVANCE]

"How to" manga magazine launching in Japan

A monthly magazine by the name of Comics Drawing will be launched in Japan this fall by publisher Seibundo Shinkosha.

Seibundo Shinkosha already runs a "how tp" magazine named Animation Note, which focuses on anime industry techniques. The Comics Note announcement was made in the latest issue of this magazine, which went on sale June 16th.

Comics Drawing sounds like it would be a very useful resource for both professional as well as amateur mangaka. The mag will include character design tutorials, drawing tips and even interviews with leading artists to give it that added dash of authenticity.

How come Japan always gets the good stuff?

[Chuosha via ANN]

[ADVANCE]

TOKYOPOP and Video Games Live to host game music concert

TOKYOPOP certainly is getting increasingly involved with the game industry. A short while after the announcement of their partnership with Nintendo at Leipzig, it has been revealed that the publisher is teaming up with Video Games Live to host what they are calling the largest videogame music concert of all time.

The concert will take place in Dallas, Washington D.C., Houston, Detroit, Louisville, Los Angeles, Europe, South America, Canada and other locations across the world at various events including the E for All Expo. Here's the press release from TOKYOPOP's newsletter:

This summer, make sure you join us at Video Games Live, an immersive concert event featuring music from the biggest video games of all time. Top orchestras and choirs around the world perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussion, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive, one-of-a-kind entertainment experience. Last year, you may have rocked with us at one of our events around the globe, including an unforgettable blowout at the Hollywood Bowl... and this year's lineup is proving to be even better! Special events surround the show, including a pre- and post-show festival, where guests will enjoy interactive game demos, a costume contest, game competitions and the very popular meet-and-greet with top game composers and designers.

So, how is TOKYOPOP involved? Well, right underneath the press release were the four images you see above, so I'm willing to bet there will be musical pieces from those games performed at the concert. Considering this is partnership between them and VGL, I'd expect TOKYOPOP to have a very large presence at the event. That doesn't mean you won't get your share of Mario and Final Fantasy music, though. Check out the partial (I assume) list below:


Exciting stuff. I love it when the game and anime/manga industries come together.

Click here for the tour dates.

[ADVANCE]

Nintendo and TOKYOPOP get close at Leipzig

Every now and then, amidst all the exciting announcements comes something truly thought-provoking. Something really exciting. Something which gets the cogs in your head spinning faster than an electric drill, and makes you spend your entire morning pondering over its potential to grow into an affair of epic proportions.

These announcements are usually extremely subjective, and are a fine example of a case where beauty truly does lie in the eye of the beholder. For me, one such announcement popped up in my browser this morning.

Calling all anime fans: this year for the first time, the GC (Games Convention) joins forces with Nintendo and TOKYOPOP to include an anime cinema. From 22 to 26 August, visitors can enjoy a different anime and entertainment programme every day in Hall 4.

On a 340-square-metre area, GC visitors can immerse themselves in the colourful world of anime, with a total of 100 seats providing an opportunity to relax away from the turbulence of the games area. The latest film technology ensures an authentic cinema experience - and there's plenty of entertainment in the breaks as well.

Nintendo and TOKYOPOP providing a 100 seat anime theatre at Leipzig? Didn't see that one coming. However. At the risk of making this sound like some kind of shameless plug to a previous post, I'd like to point out this post, if you haven't read it already.

Let's not get our hopes up now. This is in no way an indication of anything other than a temporary collaboration between the two companies. My main guess is, the reason for this collaboration is that Nintendo's target audience does include a lot of manga and anime fans, which is why the Big N chose to poke around in that particular industry.

However, like I said before - one can still dream. I really did not see this announcement coming, but now that it has, I am kind of excited about the possibilities this could open up in the future.

[Via Kotaku]

[ADVANCE]

TOKYOPOP confirms solicitations for first half of 2008

TOKYOPOP certainly is on a role. The publisher recently confirmed its list of solicitations for the entire first half of 2008, and among the series planned for publishing are the FLCL novel, .hack//G.U.+, Rose Hip Rose, Futari H (or "ecchi") and a few series based on videogames.

The videogame book list consists of StarCraft Anthology, WarCraft Anthology, a Hellgate: London series and a Shin Megami Tensei series.

In all, the total list of 38 titles comprises manga, manhwa, world manga, art books, and novels. Personally, I can't wait for Rose Hip Rose. I read the scanlated version ages ago and the thought of having a licensed copy of my own generates a whole lot of nostalgia and excitement.

Oh, and Futari Ecchi of course.

[Via Anime News Network]

[ADVANCE]

DC to release Minx line aimed at female readers

One major reason manga is doing significantly better than comics are is because manga targets a wider audience of readers. Shounen, shoujo, seinen, josei, yuri, yaoi - manga is blessed with an extremely wide variety of genres that cater to nearly every kind of reader.

After observing this trend, DC Comics have decided to follow the lead of manga publishers and try to target a wider audience (namely, women) themselves. Their new titles for this purpose will be published under their "Minx" line of books.

"We were looking at the success of manga as a great sign that teenage girls were actually reading comics again," said Karen Berger, a senior vice president at DC Comics who oversees the Minx line. "Girls tend to read more than boys historically, and the fact that there hasn't been that much material in the comic and graphic novel form aimed for young girls before this just leaves the area wide open."

Good news for all. A wider variety of comics can only be a good thing in my opinion. I'm curious to see how "American shoujo" holds up against its Japanese counterpart. Personally, I'm of the opinion that American publications are restricted by way too many censorship attempts to actually release material as open-minded as your standard, adult-ish shoujo.

[Wall Street Journal via Manga Jouhou]

[ADVANCE]

Wii Manga Channel: Considering the possibilities

Madden NFL ’08. Mario Kart Wii. Zelda Wii. RPGs from Monolith. Titles from Ubisoft. Tons of games from all the developers who hopped on to the Wii train a tad late. Contrary to popular opinion, there isn’t going to be any shortage of quality titles for the Wii over the next few years. The DS was in the experimental stage up until as late as last year, and it is only now that we’re starting to see what the system is really capable of.

The Wii is probably going to mimic this pattern with a few dry spells along the way, which cannot be avoided due to the nuances of developing for the system’s unique motion-based interface. Overall, I expect Wii owners are probably going to be very happy with the system’s library of titles by 2009. The platform is just a bit more powerful than the original Xbox, cheap to develop for, seems to be the hot topic of gaming nowadays, and has opened up several opportunities for innovation in both the hardcore and casual gaming markets – more so in the latter due to the casual market’s recent growth.

However, despite the surmounting evidence that the Wii is all set for a successful tenure, people still doubt that the system’s lifespan will last beyond two or three years at the most. The 360 and PS3 are far more powerful in terms of hardware, and motion-sensing to the extent that the Wii uses it could easily be integrated into either – or both – systems. The PS3 already uses it to an extent.

However, it is these very same people who fail to comprehend the Wii strategy that Nintendo seems to be following. It isn’t about the games, it isn’t about the motion-sensing ... it isn’t even about the DS/Wii interactivity or the Virtual Console or any of that. What it is about is making the system an integral part of one’s interests and hobbies.

The idea for this article came to me earlier today after a lengthy conversation with a friend, which started off as a discussion on what to expect from Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (amazing how the conversation’s direction slowly inched away from Id Software to this) and QuakeCon. Well, actually the idea first originated from this old post on FWA.

Just in case you’re too lazy to click the link and give it a read, here’s a quick overview: Back in April, a Nintendo employee – specifically a Mr. Imamoto who managed the server design for the Wii Shop Channel – stated that it would be interesting to consider the possibility of making downloadable manga available on the Wii. The exact quote is as follows:

Lately, it's becoming popular to read manga with cellphones, but it may be fun if you're able to download manga using Wii, and able to read it on your TV.

Now, if you would allow me to divert your attention to this article here for a moment.

According to the Anime News Network, a cell-phone-based survey of 5,400 people conducted by an Internet research firm named Infoplant indicated that 40% of manga readers in Japan currently use (or plan to use) manga download services. That’s not all, though. An enormous 61.7% of these readers were women 19 years of age or below. Think about that.

The News Channel. The Weather Channel. The Voting Channel. These aren’t random offerings on Nintendo’s part. They are part of an extremely well thought out strategy – a strategy meant to cater to the interests and hobbies of the average person. The Virtual Console, the upcoming channel for original games and the Demo Channel – likewise, these are part of a strategy to cater to gamers. The one thing these channels all have in common is that they are specifically targeted at a certain type of consumer, be it older gamers who are now parents, gamers looking to pass the time, fans of retro gaming or hardcore gamers.

Similarly, a Manga Channel for the Wii could be the biggest thing since the News Channel. Digital distribution is clearly on the rise. Licensing companies like Viz or TOKYOPOP or Drama Queen that are making headway in the international manga market would jump at the opportunity to use such a popular system to promote their products. The same goes for manga magazines in Japan.

Acquiring the ever-growing manga fanbase would be absolutely fabulous for Nintendo's market expansion strategy. It would even make licensed games based on manga more appropriate for the Wii. Eyeshield 21, Naruto: Shippuuden, One Piece ... the system already seems to have a fair share of manga-based games heading its way. Surely, a downloadable manga service would only benefit the publishers of these games as far as penetration is concerned.

And then there’s the overwhelming majority of female manga readers to consider. If these readers could be convinced to pick up a Wii remote to read manga, who’s to say they wouldn’t care to explore the system’s capabilities further? The DS has already broadened the female gaming market – it’s only fitting for its spiritual successor to do the same.

But, let’s take it a step further. Why stop with manga? As I said before, each channel caters to a very specific audience. In the hardcore gaming department, there is a very large demographic of gamers that actually listen to music from games outside of the actual games themselves. Why not offer a “Game Music Channel” to these gamers? Once again, the rise of digital distribution makes this seem like a perfectly appropriate strategy to employ in order to extend the Wii’s lifespan and ensure its place in the living room right alongside your TV.

And then, there’s that matter of the upcoming DVD-enabled Wii as well. If you really think about it, the Wii is using the same strategy Sony employed for the first PlayStation, only to a far greater extent. The PS One’s success could be, in large, attributed to how it was marketed as a device that was an essential part of your entertainment unit, alongside your television and VCR. Instead of offering an integrated device that allows you to play games, watch high-definition movies, play music and stream videos from various other devices, the Wii could be a device that caters very specifically to gaming as well as non-gaming hobbies.

Neither the PlayStation 3 nor the Xbox 360 would be able to keep up in this regard, no matter how visually stunning content looks on the two systems or how their control schemes evolve. Wii is now an extremely popular brand name; one that is growing in popularity every single day. It targets specific audiences, and at the same time it targets everyone. A well thought out strategy for the Wii Channels, a good library of games, support for larger storage, a drop in price a couple of years from now, and the Wii could be a far more appealing product than anything Sony or Microsoft have to offer.

[ADVANCE]

The secrets of Manga's success

We all know that by now, manga is considered a storytelling medium far superior to comics by many. The comic market seems to be declining, while the manga market (and even the influence of manga) has been on the rise for a while now.

Why is this so? What makes manga so special? Is it the creation process? Is it the the creative minds behind all the various manga series? Is it the printing process? Manga Jouhou provides answers in a translated article from Oh My News, which tries to explore the possible reasons behind the success of manga. Some of the theories may surprise you. For instance:

American comic publishers publish colored magazines with higher paper quality than Japanese comics. You may think this would be better than Japanese comics, but there is a pitfall to this. Because they print color publications, they must limit the number of pages due to the high cost of printing. As a result, they are often limited to around 30 pages.

On the other hand, since Japanese publishers use only black ink and poor quality paper, the high number of pages doesn’t affect the price.

Extremely interesting feature overall, with some very good points made. Click here to give the translated article a read.

[ADVANCE]