The January 2010 issue of Yen Plus magazine added a last minute new title to the magazine- a manga adaptation of the popular novel & TV series "Gossip Girl." That's right, a manga... of Gossip Girl. Come on, guys. You don't want me to unsubscribe from your magazine, do you? What the hell? Okay, granted I've never given the books or the TV series a chance. I'm also not quite the target demographic for this, what with me being neither a girl or a teenager.

Korean artist Baek Hye-Kyung (Bring it On, Happy Spider, Chiro) is the artist for the new series, making it sort of manhwa & sort of an OEL manga. "Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only" will also consist of new original stories rather than a straight up adaptation of the teen novels. According to Yen Press publishing director Kurt Hassler:

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With 2009 almost over, it's time to start taking a look back at the past year. One annual survey conducted in Japan asks light novel readers who their favorite character was for the year, & the results for 2009 characters are quite surprising. That is to say, the top 5 characters are all male. In fact, males dominate most of the top 10, which is quite different results from what you'd see in anime & manga surveys of the same sort. For instance, popular & well known novel series like Bakemonogatari, Magical Index, Seitokai no Ichizon, & ToraDora all make the list. Each one of these titles are well known for their attractive female characters, & yet on this survey either the male characters rank higher than the girls, or the girls don't even rank at all.

Mikoto "BiriBiri" Misaka was the highest ranked female at #6. If you were wondering why Haruhi didn't make the list, you gotta tell Tanigawa to get off his lazy butt & start the next novel already. & just to make things even weirder, the top character- Hideyoshi Kinoshita from "Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu" (pictured above)- is a trap. I guess the only thing better than a male light novel character is one that looks like a girl. The top 10 results:

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Yen Press must be pretty happy with their manga adaptation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride, which is a staple in their Yen Plus magazine & more recently has gone on to do fairy well in graphic novel format. Its success must be the reason behind Yen announcing another manga adaptation of one of Patterson's novel series- Daniel X.

Korean artist Seung-hui Kye has been penned to draw the manga, & will also be added to the Yen Plus magazine. While the first collected novel is scheduled to come out in Summer 2010, there's no mention when the story will start appearing in the magazine. I'd imagine it'd be soon though.

Source: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16220.html

Much to my total surprise, apparently there exists a prose adaptation of the Death Note spin-off movie L: Change the World. So a movie that has very little to do with the manga series it's based off of- who's total existence depended on changing the outcome of said original story & creating an alternate universe- gets a novel adaptation? I had never heard of it before, but apparently it is a translation of a Japanese version of the novel. Incidentally, the original Japanese author is only listed as "M." I doubt the "M" is a reference to Mello, but you never know.

The book is on sale now, & I've already seen it at Barnes & Noble. The cover art & clear slipcase is pretty nice looking, actually. Here's a summary of what this adaptation of a spin-off of an adaptation is about:

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In what may be a historic event for fans of hentai & general animated pornography, Playboy Magazine's current issue has its first ever animated Playmate of the Month, who also graces the cover of the issue. That character is Marge Simpson, from the extremely long running "the Simpsons" animated series on FOX. This collector's edition of the November issue is on sale now where magazines are sold.

As much as I'd like to applaud Playboy for making the leap to 2D characters (something you'd usually expect Japan to do, not America), they couldn't come up with a more sexually desirable character than Marge Simpson? Is she considered a MILF or something? Because I certainly never felt any attraction towards her. But apparently this was done to attract a younger audience- guys in their twenties rather than thirties.

I heard before hand that all the artwork of Marge in the issue would be handled tastefully, & that there'd be no actual nudity. & while I guess both those statements are technically true, I'm still shocked by her centerfold picture. You can check out the NSFW images below:

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A new shojo manga magazine may be launching in the US sometime next year in order to replace the late Shojo Beat magazine. A small group of fans lead by Publisher/Editorial Director Garrett Boast are in the process of getting ShojoBerry Magazine off the ground. Currently they're looking at Tekkoshocon in April 2010 as a chance to launch a promotional issue of the magazine. They staff actually started to come together right after Viz ended Shojo Beat, as they felt there was a need to have a manga magazine for girls out there on the market. Currently you can sign up as a Fan of ShojoBerry on Facebook, or join the mailing list on their official website.

Source: http://www.animenation.net/blog/2009/10/09/new-shoujo-manga-mag-in-development

At New York Anime Festival this past weekend, Viz Media confirmed that they would indeed be simulcasting InuYasha: the Final Act when it begins airing later this week. & unlike their simulcast for Naruto Shippuden, InuYasha will actually be a same-day simulcast rather then 1 week later. & yes, it will still be completely free. Viz also confirmed that Monster will indeed be airing on SyFy's AniMonday block beginning next month. They also revealed at their panel that the episodes will be added online to Hulu a day after they air on TV.

In terms of new licenses they didn't have any new anime titles, but they did have some new manga & novels. For manga, they've licensed Gente, Library Wars, Grand Guignol Orchestra, & Nice to Meet You Kamisama. & for their Haikasoru book line (Japanese novels translated into English), they'll be releasing Book of Heroes, Loups-Garous, Slum Online, & Next Continent.

Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2009/new-york-anime-festival/viz-media

Yen Press has revealed the American cover for the the first Spice & Wolf novel, the original basis for the anime & manga. & as you can see, it's quite different from the original Japanese cover. This new version looks very much like the average American sci-fi/fantasy title you'd find in a bookstore, rather than the manga-looking cover that one usually finds on light novels. & yes, that is a real life Holo on the cover.

Just like how Yen Press changed the covers for the American versions of the Haruhi Suzumiya novels, the change here is meant to attract a broader audience & readership. While the expression goes "Don't judge a book by its cover," most people tend to do just that. The average literate American likely wont pick up a book if it has an anime looking cover on it. On the other hand, anime fans will likely go searching for this book when it goes on sale, so they don't need to be persuaded by the cover. Since light novels typically haven't done well here in the US, it makes sense that Yen tries to do something new & creative to change that.

Yen Press also says they hope that if Spice & Wolf really can reach a larger audience, it'll persuade new readers to check out manga next, thereby expanding its audience. & rest assured, purists, because they're looking out for you too. The December issue of Yen Plus magazine will include an alternative slipcover for the novel, one featuring the original Japanese artwork. Again, similar to what they've done for the Haruhi novels.

Source: http://yenpress.us/?p=1696

Although officially not out until April 1, the American release of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya light novel is on sale now all over the place!

I first noticed the book on the shelves of my local Barnes & Noble bookstore late last week. Unfortunately all they were carrying was the regular paperback edition with an original American-created cover. Naturally I wanted the limited edition hardcover with the Japanese cover. So I checked online to see if Amazon was breaking the street date as well, & sure enough they are! I placed an order for the hardcover book & the package arrived today! So I'm betting on no matter where you look, you'll find one version or another of the book on sale now.

I'm reading through it right now. It's an easy read, so it wont take up too much of your time. You can check out a 12-page preview too on Little Brown's Join the SOS Brigade website. Of course, I've already seen the story told in this book in both anime & manga formats. So I'm more looking forward to the rest of the light novels hitting American shores, since for the most part I've been ignoring spoilers & fan translations of the novels. Though as far as I can tell, no further publication dates have been set yet. Hopefully we don't have to wait another year. So yeah, listen to your brigade leader & go buy it now!

http://www.jointhesosbrigade.com

With the Haruhi manga coming out this week in the US, we can now start looking forward to the English release of the original light novels next. You may remember that when the novels were first announced as licensed, "Little, Brown Books for Young Readers" said they were going to release it in hardcover & paperback formats. But aside from a change in price in the hardcover edition ($16.99 to $14.99), we're now learning of their strategy for these two different formats.

The hardcover version is meant to appeal to those who are already Haruhi fans or just hardcore anime fans in general. The paperback version, however, is meant to appeal to a mainstream, broader new audience. Or more specifically, general tween girls. The mainstream paperback version will also sport an original cover, while only the hardcover version will use the one based on the Japanese version. This news might make one uneasy of what to expect from the translated version, but the fact that they're keeping the term "moe" in the book & not translating it is promising. The otaku hardcover version will have an initial print of 10,000 copies, whereas the mainstream paperback version will have 50,000.

They're also planning a lot of promotional tie-ins as well, with ads in girl magazines, special MySpace & Facebook pages, launch parties that girls can volunteer to host & receive free gifts, & a special new website (which hasn't opened yet). Exciting times for otaku AND tween girls! Who'da thunk it?

Source: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6607239.html

Another industry panel at the New York Anime Festival that I thought was worth mentioning was from Yen Press. The biggest news is that they licensed the Spice & Wolf light novel series, of which the anime series was based off of. They also announced a couple new manga licenses: Hero Tales (by FullMetal Alchemist manga-ka Hiromu Arakawa), 13th Boy, Sugarholic, & Welcome to Wakaba-soh (by Sola manga-ka Chako Abeno).

But what makes me wish I was at that panel the most was that they were giving out free copies of the Haruhi Suzumiya manga, a whole frigging month before they come out. ;;_;; The first volume supposedly contains an excerpt of the Haruhi light novel series, which wont start coming out here until next year. Next month & next year can't come fast enough.

Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2008/new-york-anime-festival-yen-press

"Spice & Wolf" just concluded last week here on NebsTV, & as if it were destined by the stars, at the same time some interesting news came out. The ninth volume of the Spice & Wolf light novel series (which is what the anime was based off of) came out in Japan, & on the packaging for it was some news regarding the anime adaptation.

Apparently the anime did well enough & got good reviews/word of mouth that they're looking at a "new development." No official word on what exactly said developments are, but it seems pretty certain they're talking about doing a second anime season. Which of course, would be totally awesome. That's all for now, though. Stay tuned.

Source: http://www.japanator.com/elephant/post.phtml?pk=8625

It doesn't get any bigger than this for "the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" fans! Announced the day before New York Comic-Con, Yen Press announced yesterday that they acquired the American rights to the second Haruhi Suzumiya manga series. Just like the anime series of the same name, the manga is based off of the original Haruhi light novels, but aim at a slightly younger crowd. Now this doesn't mean it's aimed at kids mind you, but rather teenagers. This becomes more apparent since Yen Press is giving the manga series an "Older Teen (16+)" rating. So far they've licensed the first 4 volumes, since at the time of negotiations that's all that was released in Japan, with the fifth volume having come out just recently in Japan. The first English volume will come out this October, with future volumes coming out every 4 months. It will also include both full color & black-and-white illustrations.

Perhaps at this point you might be wondering why chose to go with the second manga series instead of the first, well that's because the first one sucked & was canceled in Japan after just one volume. The reason being fans were upset that the story was too different from the source material. Yen Press promises the manga will be uncensored, despite being very ecchi in some areas. Spokesman Kurt Hassler spoke the following about that issue:

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Nirvana Album Licensed to "Rock Band":
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1186000560335_entire_nirvana_album_licensed_to_rock_band_

4 Player Co-Op Confirmed for "Halo 3":
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1185916560991_four_player_coop_confirmed_for_halo_3_

Rockstar Appeals "Manhunt 2" Ban:
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1185989280230_rockstar_appeals_manhunt_2_uk_ban

Federal Agents Target Gaming Pirates:
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1185991620389_federal_agents_target_gaming_pirates

Real Harry Potter Endures Pottermania:
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1185980580137_real_harry_potter_weathers_pottermania

Video Game Lets Players be Immigrants:
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1186082160426_video_game_lets_players_be_immigrants

Retailers Leak $50 Xbox 360 Price Cut?:
http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/news/article/1185826560390_retailers_leak_50_xbox_360_price_cut

Oooh boy, this was bound to happen. After book 6's infamous "Snape Kills Dumbledore" video, & then after book 7 was leaked online days before the novel came out in stores, people had to expect something similar to happen this time around. & sure enough, many people were more than happy to spoil the ending of the last Harry Potter book to fans waiting in line for it. This video here is definitely a highlight.

I was actually at a local Harry Potter midnight launch party as well with a friend of mine. The book was for him, as I never really got into the whole Potter craze. But I had read some of the book online myself as well as the entire epilogue, & was more than tempted to yell out all the spoilers I knew to the unsuspecting huge crowds in front of me. Needless to say, I remained a good boy. :)