Missing the Boat: Requiem for JManga

I missed the boat on JManga, and I'm kicking myself about it a little now.  Like many manga readers, I didn't immediately jump on the JManga bandwagon even though I was pretty happy with it in concept.  I watched with joy as it licensed and released series I would never have dreamed would be licensed in English. I kept a list of the manga I was dying to read.  It is a long list, fed by reviews in Otaku USA and online at places like Manga Bookshelf.  And I waited, not subscribing because, well, frankly, I didn't want to pay that much to rent a manga volume.  I bought e-manga from EManga and SuBLime because they offered me content I could keep, even if only in the form of electrons, and even if I didn't want it as badly as I wanted certain titles on JManga.  I did not sign up on JManga even when they lowered the price because it still wasn't really money exchanged for ownership of content.  I was waiting for JManga to jump on the letting-readers-download-electronic-versions-of-content bandwagon.  I was sure it was only a matter of time.  Now I am kicking myself because I think maybe I was being stupid. 

I've rented anime from Netflix for years, so why did I have this "I want to own it in some tangible form, even if it's a PDF" mindset when it came to books?  Maybe part of it was because I was waiting for the rental to get affordable.  I mean, I have always been very careful to make Netflix a good deal for me.  I ended up paying $1-2 to rent a DVD that would've cost me $30 SRP to buy ($18 if purchased in a Right Stuf sale).  This is how I have an extensive collection of titles I like and like to rewatch even though I built a lot of it while working for peanuts at Borders.  Maybe part of it is that it's hard for a budget-conscious tightwad like me to justify spending $7-10 renting a single book when buying physical volumes of manga I love costs $6-14.  Scarce resources allocated to tangible assets I could trust I would be able to re-read until some disaster wiped out my physical collection (knock on wood :).

And now, suddenly, JManga is gone.

I wish they would have given me a week's warning.  I got an unexpected tax refund back this year, and if I had known even a day before they stopped selling, I would have dropped enough money to read all the volumes on my list because I would have realized that this was my last and only chance, and it's better to have read and lost than never to have read at all.  Instead, I found out the day after they closed, so I never had the chance to give them that money; not that, apparently, it would have made a difference.

Now I sit here, staring at my fluorescent pink list of volumes I will never get the chance to read unless some saintly publisher picks them up.  My Darling Kitten Hair, Fujoshi Rumi, the last volume of Your & My Secret, the last volume of Walkin' Butterfly, est em's works, Wonder, Dousei Ai, Pride, and so many others: I want to pay someone to get an electronic copy of these that I can keep and re-read even if the economy tanks more and publishers go out of business.  I want to give money in exchange for something more tangible than a reading "experience."  But that may be too expensive in the reality that is the world's economy and the whims of Japanese publishers.

I use my money now to buy legal, physical and electronic copies of manga, and I will continue to do so because I recognize the importance of supporting something you love by voting with your economic clout (the dollar).  I will continue to do so as more publishers rise and fall, as series I love are cancelled in mid-stride or one volume from the end, and as my dedication is tested time and again by that seductive lie that I should just give up and download illegal stuff for free because no one will publish what I want to give them money for anyway. 

I own a lot of manga in physical and electronic formats, and I re-read frequently.  I have a lot to be thankful for.  And I'll know better next time that if it's something I really want to read, even if I have to wrestle with the budget, even if it's not really mine to keep in any way, if I really want to read it, the time is now, today.  Because there may not be a tomorrow.

Why do I torture myself? Musashi #9's last volume

I recently received my copy of the last volume of Musashi #9 that CMX will be publishing. Like a big idiot, I even read the last chapter, knowing that this book would continue the tradition of starting a new story arc with the last chapter of the graphic novel.  And now, unless an extremely unlikely license rescue occurs, I will never get to find out what happens in this story, let alone the overarching story.  I doubt they live happily ever after, and maybe it all ends in serious tragedy.  Maybe it's better to leave things here, with action and intrigue and hilariously awkward and sweet moments stolen between saving the world.  Maybe it's better not to know, but I still find this situation to be a serious bummer.

Musashi #9 has always struck me as a rather unique serious published in the United States. I'm not really sure what publishing category or demographic it was aimed at.  (And no, I haven't looked that information up.)  It definitely didn't feel shojo me (younger teen girl) for all its sparse, occasionally slightly melodramatic bits of romance. It almost felt more older shonen (younger boys 7-15) with the action and plotting and tactics and the way the story arcs resolved. It was a bit too something for seinen, despite the main point-of-view character's young adult maleness, lots of danger and explosions, and conspiracy-theory awesomeness.  I wouldn't really say josei, either, for all it had a mature, tail-kicking female heroine. Whatever it was, I thought it was great, and I really look forward to each irregular volume.

I think partly because it didn't really fit anywhere, I never really heard much buzz about it.  I kind of feel like I'm one of the only people who liked this series, which may explain a lot, but then again, CMX did manage to squeeze out an extra volume of this series and not others that I thought were much more popular.

Excuse me while I get a little teary-eyed once again over the tragedy of the death of CMX.

Thank you, CMX staff for some very excellent series.

Also, the great manga migration is mostly over, so we should be returning to our regularly scheduled posting at least every Sunday and Wednesday.  See you then.

Requiem for Go!Comi

The death of this publisher was not nearly as unexpected or huge as CMX's, but it still made me sad.  If you were collecting any of these titles, you should really get a move on picking up the ones you're missing because something tells me they'll be even harder to find even faster. 

Complete Series I've enjoyed at least part of

• Afterschool Nightmare: This one deserved all the critical acclaim it received.  Solid series.
• Angel's Coffin: I like historical fiction and You Higuri.  So there.
• Black Sun, Silver Moon: I enjoyed it, not just for the zombie puppy. It was kind of sloppily plotted (and I don't say that because of all the undead/zombie killing), but there was some quality angst there.
• Bran Doll: Trashy, pointless, weird fun.
• Crossroad: Had some interesting issues dealt with in different ways than I'd seen before.  And the tone was kind of unique, too.
• Devil Within: Trashy, creepy, totally fell apart at the end, but still weirdly compelling.
• Her Majesty's Dog: Really liked this one, too, for its interesting interpersonal relationships and people behaving in unexpected ways nonetheless consistent with their deeper than usual characters.
• Night of the Beasts: Chika Shiomi knows how to not give you what you expect in your horror stories. 
• Tenshi Ja Nai!!: Kinda creepy sometimes, but I did enjoy the ride.

Probably Incomplete Series I've enjoyed at least part of

• 07-Ghost: Had such potential.
• Bogle: Fun caper-y brainlessness.
• Bound Beauty: Not nearly as creepy as it could have been; this one was actually a lot of fun.
• Cantarella: I AM SAD. How, aside from reading history books, will we ever find out what happened to Cesar?!  And moth-guy?  And the fictional characters?!?!
• Cross x Break: Okay, this one was just funny and mysterious from page 1.
• Crown: Stylish, silly, lots of fun.
• CY-Believers: Can't remember a thing about it, but I liked the first volume.
• Hikkatsu!: Come on.  He kills appliances.  Martial arts and appliances.  Best fighting move names ever.
• Kurogane Communication: Sweet, sad, wistful sort of post-apocalyptical story.
• Song of the Hanging Sky: Okay, I'll admit it: I thought Cantarella was the series I would be most disappointed about, but Song of the Hanging Sky is.  This series was just brilliant.  The art, the story, the characters, the world, the plot, the choices . . .  I may actually cry that I will never find out what happens to all these poor people.

Sigh.  I would like to hope that someone would pick some of the best of these up.  +anima didn't do that well, but there's this other manga about kids with wings that's doing pretty well for Yen Press.  Someone (Yen Press, Tokyopop) pick up Song of the Hanging Sky.  DMP might like 07 or Cantarella if it ever gets finished in Japan . . .

Thanks for the good times, Go!Comi.  Rest in Peace.

Any series you have fond memories of or will miss?

Requiem for CMX

CMX, one of my favorite manga publishers, is dying. 

To mourn their passing, I'm taking a trip down memory lane to celebrate all the good times CMX brought me.  I made some lists.  Shut up; it's soothing. Connie over at Slightly Biased Manga did the same thing in an angry, funny, well-written post that includes more than bare bones summaries of some of her favorites.

What do my lists tell you?  (Aside from the fact that I am an indiscriminate, omnivorous reader, which you may already know, and the fact that I was too saddened [actually, just in too much pain] to do all the links, though I may try to fill some in later.)

1. CMX has made me very happy over the last six years.  I was slowly (as my budget allowed) collecting a LOT of their series, and I am heartbroken to see them summarily ungently kicked into that good night.
2. You should buy any of these titles that interest you before they're gone. 

What don't my lists tell you?  Which ones I've talked about in "What I Read" posts.  Most of them had at least some CMX.

Complete Series I've enjoyed at least part of

• Astral Project: Trippy.
• Battle of Genryu: I really wanted to know what was going to happen next.
• Canon: A little shojo horror from a master of it. A lot of reversals in such a short series.
• Chikyu Misaki: Cute and sometimes creepy. The baby loch ness monster thing was just irresistable, and you had to love the guest starring role featuring WOlverine.
• Cipher: THe 80s will never die! Just a treat the whole way through, even when it was pretty dark. If you liked Fame back in the day . . .
• Deka Kyoshi: I really did like this one for its ability to go to very dark places that kids sometimes have to face unprepared because no one will talk to them about certain situations.
• Devil Does Exist: Snotty, bratty, and fun romantic comedy with very stylish artwork.
• Dokkoida?!: Dumbest superhero costume ever; silly and stupid and fun series.
• Emma: Beautiful in every way.
• Empty Empire: I still wanted to know what happened next.
• Flat Earth Exchange: In the end, I really did enjoy it.
• Gals!: SuperGALS! forever! Like the anti-afterschool special.
• Jihai: Short, sweet sci-fi trilogy about what we do to make the most of the time we have. And stuff.
• Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne: Tanemura. 'Nough said.
• Key to the Kingdom: Really underappreciated gem of old-school, straight-fantasy. Great stuff.
• Kiichi and the Magic Books: Quirky, sad, wonderful.
• King of Cards: Yeah, why did they license this? It wasn't because Tateno was famous here (that came later), but I thought this series was a hoot because of the versatility it showed.
• Land of the Blindfolded: Sweet, sometimes sad romance with some supernatural touches.
• Lapis Lazuli Crown: Fun, quick shojo goodness.
• Lizard Prince: Yeah, kind of adorable and quirky and relaxing.
• March on Earth: Yes, there was some melodrama, but there were these transcendent moments that made it worthwhile.
• Monster Collection: Trashy, violent, fanservice in its quirky fantasy version.
• Moon Child: Out of this world. Literally. And that ending. Like a roller coaster in a dark building.
• Name of the Flower: Sad, quirky, tender story about how we can't save each other sometimes.
• Omukae Desu: Weird and wonderful.
• Oyayubihime Infinity: Fate, destiny, tattoos. Really fun.
• Palette of 12 Secret Colors: Breezy, lovely, quirky, wonderful, like most of this author's stuff.
• Penguin Revolution: Cheerful and genki and adorable.
• Pieces of a Spiral: Wanted to know what happened.
• Recipe for Gertrude: Adored this quirky, category-defying work of weirdness with its somewhat detached heroine and its odd moments of tenderness and humor.
• Seimaden: Dark love story fantasy. Cough You Higuri Cough.
• Sword of the Dark Ones: Violence, swords, angst, shorter than Berserk.
• Tears of a Lamb: Kind of a psychological vaguely relational school drama.
• Tenryu: The Dragon Cycle: I like the artist. Her characters are delightfully cranky on a regular basis.
• Tower of the Future: Fan of the artist, but I did like this story's quirkiness.
• VS (Versus): Bring on the music melodrama!
• Young Magician: Dark, dark fantasy where very bad things happen.

Incomplete Series I've enjoyed at least part of

• Apothecarius Argentum: This one hurts.  Sort of classy and classic and restrained and just great.
• Ballad of a Shinigami: Quirky short stories about a little Shinigami and the people she meets.
• Broken Blade ?: Shonen mech fantasy magic world political drama love story war thing. Very nice.
• Crayon Shinchan: So very, very wrong. I had to babysit a kid like this once, so I know they exist.
• Fire Investigator Nanase: I was curious to find out how it all turned out.
• From Eroica With Love: Ridiculous, hilarious, highly inappropriate.
• Gon: Astounding and brilliant. No text, just things that would make the Nature Chanel seem benign and boring.
• I Hate You More Than Anyone: Funny, twisted romantic comedy.
• Musashi Number Nine: I am a sucker for teenage spies.
• Swan: Oh, dear.  I loved this one.
• Two Flowers for the Dragon: I wrote about this delightful title once.
• Venus Capriccio: Cute and breezy romantic story with a slight twist.
• Venus in Love: I kind of adored this melodrama-free slice-of-romantic-life college story.

Series I never had a chance to enjoy even part of (but wanted to)

Classical Medley, Diamond Girl, Go Go Heaven!!, Go West!, Kikaider Code 02, King of Debris, My Darling! Miss Bancho, Oh! My Brother, Steel Fist Riku, Stolen Hearts, Suihelibe!, Tale of an Unknown Country, Teru Teru x Shonen, Time Guardian, World I Create, Any of the new ones with one volume out.

Here are some other announcements and reactions.  Excuse me while I go cry.

Do you have any CMX series you're going to really miss?

Waiting for Tokyopop

Why do I do this to myself? 

I finally read the first volume of the light novel series The Good Witch of the West.  It was good, which is why I'm once again annoyed at Tokyopop (the English language publisher, in theory) for just leaving everybody hanging.  Are they scrapping it (like the excellent Kino's Journey and the interesting Scrapped Princess)?  Is it just on hold until the economy gets less shaky?  Does anyone even know at Tokyopop since they aren't even responding on their own forum or informing their marketing people/sales reps?

I should know better than to start a Tokyopop series since the ones they do finish publishing are often so-so, and the great ones just disappear.  Like many other manga readers who have been with Tokyopop since before they started the 100% authentic manga revolution, I'm trying not to lose all faith in them, but they are making it increasingly hard for fans to care about them because they don't appear to care about their readers, (you know, the ones paying their salaries and stuff).

Thank you for your continued release of 12 Kingdoms, but there's so much more you could be doing.  Be great again, Tokyopop!  Please!

Dazzle - What is it about this manga that I like?

I am trying to figure out once again what I find so compelling about Dazzle.  Seriously.  It definitely strained the limits of my 3 volume test, but even though I wasn't crazy about the first few volumes, I ended up hooked somehow. 

I mean, there's so much not to like.  The character designs are sometimes ugly and inconsistent, perspective and formal art stuff is often notably absent.  It feels like it's full of cliches and like I should hold that against it, but in the end, I think it just moves too fast for me to get a grasp on what I shouldn't like.

I mean, half the time, the plot and action going on don't make sense.  It can be senselessly violent.  The characters seem shallow but constructed to seem deeper, the sort of clunky contrivance that usually makes me grind my teeth. 

But they are deeper.  They have so many layers, onions weep, but the revelations are just sort of flung out there in the middle of the action or during the bipolar lows.  And then we don't have time to process because we're fighting again (verbal sparring or to-the-death combat). 

It's a huge mess, and every volume makes you change gears multiple times.  There's so many mysteries for the sake of being mysterious that I should hate it, but I don't.

Maybe I like that they're playing for keeps.  This is not a kiddie manga (or if it is, well, that's scary).  People die, sometimes pretty horribly, and they don't come back.  It may be a fantasy world, but dead is dead (increasingly important as the story goes on).

Now that I think about it, Dazzle sometimes reminds me a bit of Gundam Wing, especially the way they mix the action with the sci-fi with the random philosophizing about the nature of war, humanity, and other important things while people are being slaughtered and violence is being extremely present.

I love the banter.  A good crabby exchange of dialogue can cover a multitude of sins.  It's got that snarky, cranky vibe Saiyuki managed to capture, where the road trippers love irritating each other sometimes even more than fighting.

Dazzle may be filled with absurdities, but if you sit back and enjoy the ride and don't think about how impossible it all is, you may just find yourself getting some hard thinking done when all you thought you were doing was watching the show.  Keep those tissues handy for later volumes; this is not a nice world to live in.

To top it all off, now that I'm really addicted, Tokyopop may not be publishing it anymore. 

Until I hear of its final fate, I will content myself by pointing out that it was getting all melodramatic when it stopped, and I will ignore the fact that I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT REALLY BAD!!!!!  I am an adult, and I am patient. 

Also, I'm easily distracted, so you don't have to worry about my blood pressure.

Hey, what's that over there?  It's shiny . . .


Are there any shows/series you like that sort of defy your own logic?  Stories that you should despise for bad execution or whatever, but you just can't look away?

Dreaming about Kodocha

I was excited when Kodocha was licensed, super-excited because I heard the whole thing was licensed.  I was therefore kind of devastated when that turned out not to be true.  (And I won't even get started about Galaxy Railways.)

I couldn't wait to see all the things that weren't in the amazing Kodocha manga (as well as a stellar things that were).  I loved the hyper-activity in motion.  I was stunned by the amazing performance Laura Bailey put in as Sana; I even watched the whole thing dubbed in honor of her incredible effort.  I told my friends about it; some of them bought it.  Then we all had to deal with the misery of not seeing half of the show.  If you're listening, Funimation, I would totally pay to see the rest of it, even without the dub, but I can't because I am such a law-abiding citizen.  Sometimes, I wish I weren't.

I feel like companies shouldn't be able to license things if they're not going to follow through.  When a show or manga I like gets canceled (Beck, Beyond the Beyond, Never Give Up, Dazzle, Galaxy Railways), it irritates me because I feel like the studio has broken a promise it made to me when it purchased the license and got my hopes up. 

Of course Tokyopop and Funimation made me no guarantees, but they're the big companies who do the research and licensing; they should know what they can make money on.  They should not jerk me around.  They should know they are my conduit to legal manga and anime, the only kind I have access to since I am so straight-laced as to only access legal content legally (and pay for it because I understand how much I need to support it with my consumer vote of approval--the dollar--to make sure it keeps coming).  Why do they keep hurting me by leaving me hanging? 

This economy sure isn't helping. 

Maybe I should look at this positively: every canceled bit helps my wallet, right?

What anime/manga has left you hanging?  What do you really wish we could legally access more of?  Would you be willing to buy inferior versions (streamed stuff, subbed-only, manga online/e-book format) just to get your hands on the rest?