Monday, July 13, 2009

Manga Starts on Sunday!




This news is old by a few days, but I wanted to mention it. In case you haven't heard, Viz is starting up an imprint for Shonen Sunday (much like Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat, and Signature). Shonen Sunday tends to have some hidden gems (like Kekkaishi), but it rarely has megahits on the level of Shonen Jump (at least in the US), aside from maybe Inuyasha. There are a few series currently running in Shonen Sunday that seem interesting, but I'm secretly hoping for some classic titles like Patlabor and Urusei Yatsura (which Viz previously released for a very short time well before the manga boom), as well as stuff like Touch or Ushio & Tora.
Viz has already released several Sunday manga, like Inuyasha, Case Closed (Detective Conan), Kekkaishi, Hayate the Combat Butler, and MAR. It won't be a magazine, just a name, but bringing them all under the same imprint will create an assocation between the titles that probably wasn't their before, and will hopefully improve their sales. I guess pretty soon the likes of Inuyasha, Kekkaishi, and the rest will bear an SS logo on the spine (driving collectors of those series crazy with a logo change midway into the series). Viz has really been doing some great stuff lately. First One Piece being sped up by a lot, then Ikki Comix, now this? Keep the surprises coming! They were kind of lackluster at AX, so they should've made this announcement then...unless this is some sort of pre-Comic Con announcement which they'll elaborate more on there. There's nothing official yet, but the website they've put up has images from Maoh! Juvenile Remix, Hyde & Closer, and Arata Kangatari, so I think it'd be safe to assume those will be headed our way soon. Good job, Viz!

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