April sales figures are in, and manga continues to dominate the NPD Adult Graphic Novels list. Though the list includes some perennial favorites–Berserk, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia—Spy x Family saw a big jump in sales after its anime debuted on Crunchyroll last month. ICv2’s Brigid Alverson points out that “April marks the fourth consecutive month that manga has completely filled the chart of the top 20 Adult graphic novels in the book channel.” Manga sales aren’t quite as robust in comic book stores, but three titles made ComicsHub’s Top 20 Graphic Novels for April: Chainsaw Man (4), Kaiju No. 8 (16), and Spy x Family (20). For additional insights into the current state of the manga, check our Madeline Dunnett’s recent post at Anime News Network. MANGA NEWS Kodansha just announced the...
May 13, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
The Manga Review, 5/6/22
When it comes to manga commentary, I freely admit that I’m more of a reader than a listener. Mangasplaining, however, is helping change my mind about manga podcasts.…
The Manga Review, 5/20/22
This year’s Eisner nominations have just been announced. In the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia category, VIZ Media garnered five of the six nominations with crowd-pleasers such as…
The Manga Review, 5/27/22
Everybody’s talking about Tokyopop this week, as the publisher that brought us Mixx, Sailor Moon, and Rising Stars of Manga celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. To mark the occasion,…
The Manga Review, 4/22/22
Back in the roaring aughts–when earnest manga fans posted reviews on LiveJournal and Blogger–link posts were a simple, effective way to connect with like-minded readers. The widespread adoption…
The Manga Review, 7/22/22
Great news for fans of Fumiyo Kouno: the crew at Mangasplaining has teamed up with UDON to publish Kouno’s Giga Town: Manpu Zufu (A Catalog of Manga Symbols). Giga…
Manga the Week of 7/13/22
SEAN: It’s July, and I am joyful for the many volumes of manga we are getting. ASH: For sure! SEAN: Airship debuts, in both print AND digital, Wait…
Berserk, Berserk, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
Manga the Week of 4/13/22
SEAN: Spring has sprung, the grass has ris’, I wonder where the manga is? MICHELLE: Wings? SEAN: Yen On has only one title, but it’s a debut. The…
Manga the Week of 1/5/22
SEAN: Welcome to 2022, a year unlike any other (and hopefully nothing like 2020 or 2021). What manga do we have? Well, we start with light novels, as…
Manga the Week of 10/5/22
SEAN: It’s October, so all your manga tastes like pumpkin spice. Go one, try a page. MICHELLE: Why, it’s positively delightful! SEAN: Airship first. After a long wait,…
Manga the Week of 5/11/22
SEAN: The week of Mother’s Day, and what manga will moms be reading? Yen On has a 5th volume of Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so…
Death Note, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II, Juliet, Saga of Tanya the Evil
Manga the Week of 5/4/22
SEAN: It’s May! A time to smell the fresh air, get outside, and continue to wear a mask. ASH: Pretty helpful for seasonal allergies among other things. SEAN:…
Manga the Week of 5/18/22
SEAN: It’s May, but the winds are blowing here like it’s March. What manga is blowing our way? Airship debuts The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes…
Adachi and Shimamura, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man
Manga the Week of 5/25/22
SEAN: It’s only the end of May but the heat here is making it feel like mid-July. What about the manga? Well… The debut from Yen On is…
High School DxD, Magical Girl Raising Project, Warlords of Sigrdrifa
Manga the Week of 5/13/20
SEAN: Mid-May (Mother’s Day) and we’re feeling the loss of many books, though there’s still enough coming out that people should be kept busy. ASH: Indeed! It certainly…
The Manga Review, 7/8/22
By now, if you’ve been on Twitter or Facebook, you’ve undoubtedly learned that Kazuki Takahashi died on Wednesday. Media outlets from National Public Radio to the New York…
The Manga Review, 9/16/22
In an essay for The Nation, author Viken Berberian explains how manga became one of the world’s favorite forms of entertainment. He notes that in 2021, “manga made…
The Manga Review, 6/24/22
Hi, all! Its been a relatively slow news week manga-wise and a crazy week for me work-wise, so I’m going to dispense with the snappy introduction and get…
The Manga Review, 10/7/22
Bust out that Sailor Moon costume–New York Comic Con is in full swing! If you’re looking for a good manga panel, I highly recommend This Manga Is Awesome!…
The Manga Review, 9/23/22
This has been a relatively quiet week on the manga beat, so I’m going to lead off with a question: what are you reading? Is there a series…
The Manga Review, 6/10/22
After Kentarou Miura passed away last year, fans feared that they would never see his long-running saga Berserk reach a proper conclusion. Then on June 7th, artist Kouji Mori announced…
The Manga Review, 8/26/22
On Wednesday, Tokyopop released Peremoha: Victory for Ukraine, an anthology of nine stories written shortly after the first Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. These stories,…
The Manga Review, 8/19/22
Attention manga shoppers! Kodansha is currently holding a blow-out sale on digital manga. And when I say “blow out,” I mean it: they’re offering deep discounts on over…
The Manga Review, 11/4/22
This week’s biggest news story: Kadokawa has purchased Anime News Network. On November 1st, publisher Christopher MacDonald posted an open letter to ANN’s readership to reassure them that the…
The Manga Review, 6/3/22
Two weeks ago, Seven Seas’ employees formed the United Workers of Seven Seas (UW7S). Their goal? To negotiate a standard benefits package that includes health insurance, retirement plans,…
The Manga Review, 11/11/22
Earlier this week artist Kentaro Sato accused Musk of using an image from Magical Girl Site, which is currently being serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion. “Twitter’s new CEO…
The Manga Review, 10/14/22
Historically, New York Comic Con was the event for big licensing announcements, but in recent years manga publishers have focused more on promoting their best-selling series than on unveiling…
The Manga Review, 4/29/22
Back in March, Titan Comics announced that it would launching its own manga imprint, Titan Manga, with the publication of a new “director’s cut” of Takashi Okazaki’s Afro-Samurai. This…
The Manga Review, 6/17/22
Big news from Yen Press: the publisher is launching IZE Press, a new imprint dedicated to Korean webnovels and webtoons. The imprint will debut this fall with three…
The Manga Review, 10/28/22
Over the last year, The Comics Journal has been translating essays by prolific manga critic Natsume Fusanosuke. The topics have run the gamut from Taiyo Matsumoto’s distinctive visual…
The Manga Review, 10/21/22
“Manga won”–that was Heidi MacDonald’s pithy assessment of New York Comic Con 2022, as she noted how much the show was tilting towards Asian comics. “We all know…
The Manga Review, 11/18/22
Last week, ICv2 publisher Milton Griepp sat down for a lengthy conversation with Dark Horse Comics’ CEO Mike Richardson. The two discussed the company’s history–particularly its early investment…
The Manga Review, 7/15/22
Do you know about Azuki? This year-old company is working hard to make it easy for you to read your favorite manga on a phone, tablet, or laptop.…
The Manga Review, 7/1/22
Good news: The United Workers of Seven Seas (UW7S) achieved a major victory this week when the company agreed to recognize their union. Though management has not yet…
Manga the Week of 6/22/22
SEAN: When a manga meets a manga, coming through the rye… ASH: None, they say, have I. (And they would be very wrong.) SEAN: Yen On gives us…
Bungo Stray Dogs, Bungo Stray Dogs 2, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sword Art Online
22/7 Episode 13: The New Ingredients
The long awaited translation of the bonus 13th episode of 22/7 is here at last. It of course is about the 3 newbies. Let’s see what they got.
Anime Orbit Weekly [5/22/22]
Anime Orbit Weekly is a weekly column where I summarize my journey through anime, manga, and the related spheres of popular culture over the past week. Expect spoilers for covered ma…
School Rumble Volume 22 Manga Review (Finale)
AstroNerdBoy reviews School Rumble Volume 22 manga, which Del Rey never published and Kodansha only published digitally.
Higanjima (Manga) Volume 5 Review
Plot: Akira manages to free Atsushi from Miyabi’s mind control, and the group makes their escape. Most of them make their way across a rope bridge, but Atsushi…
My Monster Secret Volume 22 Manga Review (Finale)
AstroNerdBoy reviews My Monster Secret Volume 22, the final volume in this excellent series. And as expected, all of the stories are tied up.
Manga the Week of 9/21/22
SEAN: OK, now it’s the first week of Autumn, and there’s even rain! A good week to read some manga! ASH: Truly! SEAN: Airship starts us off with…
Manga the Week of 11/2/22
SEAN: Is it Halloween yet? Oh my God, it’s already past! You fools! You absolute fools! ASH: The time! How it flies! SEAN: We start with Airship’s print…
Manga the Week of 3/8/22
SEAN: It's March, and to celebrate New England is finally getting a bit of snow. But what manga are we getting? Airship has no print releases, but they…
Manga the Week of 6/15/22
SEAN: It’s Hurricane Season! Are you being rocked? Are you being racially profiled and imprisoned? Or are you reading manga? Airship, in print, has the 5th Accomplishments of…
Ascendance of a Bookworm, DARLING in the FRANXX, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
Manga the Week of 3/22/23
SEAN: Warning: It's Yen Press week. Be prepared for more than usual. ASH: Good to know! SEAN: Airship has some print titles. We get Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation…
Manga the Week of 2/2/22
SEAN: Traditionally, February is the most depressing month of the year. Let’s find some manga to cheer you up. ASH: Sounds good to me! SEAN: Yen Press has…
JUJUTSU KAISEN, Yona of the Dawn, Black Clover, Dr. STONE, Interspecies Reviewers
Manga the Week of 9/7/22
SEAN: It’s September, and Manga Bookshelf doesn’t even have an AOL account. What are we going to do? ASH: LOL SEAN: Airship has early digital releases for the…
Shangri-La, Ascendance of a Bookworm, Classroom of the Elite, Demon Lord, Retry!, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles
Manga the Week of 7/6/22
SEAN: July, and the fireworks are here. Oh god. They’re everywhere. *whimper* MICHELLE: Someone in my neighborhood actually set off fireworks for Father’s Day. My cat was not…
Manga the Week of 1/19/22
SEAN: The third week of January brings many and varied things to help warm us up in these cold nights. Yen On has three debuts. Dragon and Ceremony…
Manga the Week of 8/3/22
SEAN: August is here. Still hot. But now hot in August rather than July! ASH: I’m not sure it’s allowed to be August yet. SEAN: Yen On has…
Manga the Week of 11/23/22
SEAN: The deluge. ASH: Ride the wave! SEAN: Yen On has some debuts. Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian (Tokidoki Bosotto Roshiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san)…