Goodbye JManga

March 14, 2013 by 1 Comment

Well, I’ve been wondering why JManga seemed to be spinning its wheels a bit in terms of new releases, and I got my answer today when the notice was posted on the site that the service was going to be terminated. It is really too bad, because they were a unique outlet for niche manga, but as much as I would like to think that there are thousands upon thousands of North American manga fans wanting to read obscure josei manga and manga about train station bento boxes, maybe there are only about fifty or so people willing to pay for it.

Jmanga gave me review points, which I greatly appreciated. I did sign up and pay for the service at the beginning, but at launch time there wasn’t enough content on there to keep me busy. While I greatly enjoyed the few series from Jmanga I was able to read, it was only in more recent months that they started releasing more titles in the genres I enjoy from publishers like Ohzora and Shueisha. Some people have pointed to a lack of support for iPads as one reason why they didn’t subscribe more to JManga, and the titles I read on JManga I read because I was so interested in them that I was willing to read them in my browser, which isn’t really my preferred viewing methods for digital comics.

Jmanga was an ambitious effort, and it is unfortunate that it is shutting down. I imagine this will have a chilling effect on digital manga distribution in the future. I’ll always be delighted that JManga gave me a chance to read the last volume of a josei series that I thought I’d never get to finish, Walkin’ Butterfly. Jmanga had some fun Harlequin and romance manga, and it enabled me to read Est Em’s manga about Centaur Salarymen. Those were some great reading experiences, and I’ll miss Jmanga for what it was and what it had the potential to be. I’m going to be rereading some of my favorite titles before the site goes dark.

Midnight Secretary!!!!!

February 14, 2013 by 8 Comments

I am often excited when Viz announces new series, but I am extra excited to see that they are going to be bringing out Midnight Secretary and also Happy Marriage. More mature shojo/josei manga is a category that I wish more US manga publishers would pursue because as much as I do enjoy high school romance, it is very nice to have titles featuring main characters who are not teenagers. I think these acquisitions would appeal to fans of more mature manga like Butterflies, Flowers.

Here’s the scoop from the Viz Press release about these titles:

HAPPY MARRIAGE?! • Rated “M” for Mature •
MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN • Available August 6, 2013
In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president Hokuto Mamiya – a man she doesn’t know – at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?!

230px-Midnight_Secretary_vol01

MIDNIGHT SECRETARY • Rated “M” for Mature •
MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN • Available September 3, 2013
Kaya Satozuka is a brilliant secretary who excels at her job, which is why she doesn’t bat an eye when she’s assigned to be personal secretary to Kyohei Touma, the very difficult managing director of Touma Foods. It doesn’t faze her when her new boss seems determined to make her fail, and she even manages to take it in stride when she discovers the secret behind his prickly behavior…he’s a vampire! But while Kaya easily adapts to late nights and keeping a schedule of his “dinner dates,” will her ultra-competence help when Kyohei’s smoldering gaze starts turning her way?!

PR: Viz Digital Sale

December 4, 2012 by 2 Comments

Well, this is exciting and has me contemplating stocking up on digital manga for my winter vacation! Viz is putting their digital titles on sale until January 8 at 20% off. There are a few series that I haven’t been getting in print that I’m thinking of picking up in the sale like Blue Exorcist and some of the recent volumes of Cross Game. The digital VizBig edition of Fushigi Yugi might inspire me to replace some of my print volumes. What looks good to you?

Here’s the press release with full details:

December 4, 2012

VIZ MEDIA OFFERS A NEW HOLIDAY PROMOTION THAT GIVES FANS 20% OFF ON ALL DIGITAL MANGA ON VIZMANGA.COM AND THE VIZ MANGA APP THRU JANUARY 8th

Explore New Titles Or Catch Up On Ongoing Series With A Special Discount That Applies To The Entire VIZ Manga Library Of Over 1,000 Digital Volumes

VIZ Media has just announced a special new promotion to wrap up 2012 that offers 20% off on all digital manga (graphic novel) titles featured on VIZManga.com and available through the VIZ Manga App, including top-selling titles BAKUMAN｡, BLEACH, BLUE EXORCIST, NANA, NARUTO, ONE PIECE, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more. Enjoy the fun of manga throughout the holiday season with this special offer that runs for a limited-time only from now until Tuesday, January 8th.

Through the innovative VIZ Manga digital platform, registered users are able to use one account to view their purchased manga across more devices than ever, allowing for complete interoperability to read manga. The free VIZ Manga App is the top application for reading manga on the Apple iPhone®, iPod® touch, iPad® and supported Android-powered smart phones and tablets (including the Kindle Fire), and may be downloaded through the iTunes Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore. The platform is also accessible from VIZManga.com for desktop and laptop computers.

The VIZ Manga platform features a massive library of the most popular manga series in the world, featuring over 1,000 volumes across over 100 different series, with new series and volumes added every Tuesday. All manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada within the application starting from $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) each.

Download the free VIZ Manga App for your Android and iOS devices at www.VIZ.com/apps.

To learn more about VIZ Manga, and to explore free Chapter 1 previews of every manga title, please visit VIZManga.com.

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Great Deal for Shueisha titles from Jmanga

October 9, 2012 by 1 Comment

Jmanga is featuring shojo titles from Shueisha, with great deals when you buy both volumes.

Or, you can sample the titles Crazy for You and Pride over on Jmanga7, Jmanga’s new free site.

Crazy for You is by the author of Kimi Ni Todoke, which is published by Viz. Here’s the series info from Jmanga:

Brought up in an all-girls high school, Sachi is a natural airhead who has been single for her whole life. During her first match-making party, she meets a boy called Yuki-chan, and suddenly her history of being boyfriendless has come to an end…?!

And Pride sounds like soapy fun:

Shio Asami, the wealthy daughter of a famous, deceased opera singer, aims to follow the same path as her mother. Moe Midorikawa, a young woman working several part-time jobs, dreams of becoming an opera singer as well. What will happen when these two meet?! Volume one is full of drama, love and rivalry!

Both of these series rocked up my to-read list and I hope to read and review them very soon!

Jmanga7 signup contest

August 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’ll be interesting to see what Jmanga.com does with Jmanga7, their new platform for ios and android devices with free manga content. Overall, I’ve been happy with the diversity of titles on Jmanga and their general responsiveness to feedback, especially on pricing. If you sign up now, you are entered into a contest to win a Nexus or free Jmanga.com subscription.

Here’s the full press release from Jmanga:

JManga Co., Ltd., the company behind the world’s first official manga portal website www.JManga.com, is proud to announce its brand new service, JManga7. JManga7.com will be beginning service in October 2012, however, in time with the 1 year anniversary of JManga.com’s launch, manga fans worldwide may now pre-register for JManga7 for a chance to win a Nexus7 (7 winners) and a 1 year free subscription (7 winners). Pre-registration is free. For more details and to pre-register, visit: www.JManga7.com

On JManga7 manga readers and aficionados around the globe will be able to access a wide variety of manga chapters to experience online or on their preferred iOS and Android devices. JManga7 will be kicking off with a large variety of titles, scheduled to be announced in September 2012, spanning across all genres of manga from
the hottest to the undiscovered. JManga7, as the name alludes, will be updated with new manga chapters 7 days a week, giving readers the chance to read their favorite manga, or discover something entirely new, every day. JManga7 will include exclusive manga content and some new chapters will be bundled into manga volumes that will be available for purchase on JManga.com after their release on JManga7.com.

Loads of manga will be available to read on JManga7 for free, with even more available with a monthly subscription. JManga.com Members will also be able to experience and enjoy JManga7 seamlessly using their existing JManga account.

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