2chan.us

Note: I frequently encounter people complaining that cheap moe/fanservice anime are being made because they sell better than “serious” anime. However, these shows typically sell extremely poorly – I hope this list will help improve your internet arguments. I’ve added a somewhat-accurate list of genres/original source material.

Source: Anime sales thread material repository on livedoor bbs, presumably from 2ch originally.

These numbers are per-volume averages, with each DVD in a box set being counted as an individual volume. (*) indicates series still being released when the list was made in 2010/05.

List of 2000-2010 TV anime DVD/BDs with 10,000+ sales

Who says SHAFT needs industry awards?

In the name of trying to keep up that “cultural exchange” theme, I’ll introduce an appropriate member of one of our favorite literary genres, the Touhou doujinshi.

New Hori-ZUN 2, 44p, by circle ddiction (http://ddiction.org/index_en.html)

New Hori-ZUN 2, part of a series whose first volume I totally forgot to ask my bro @nforza26 to send me, is an attempt at an exciting and highly educational Touhou-themed English textbook series based on New Horizon, an actual exciting and highly-educational English textbook I am completely unfamiliar with.

As you may recognize from some of the e-famous artist names, several of the authors of this book are actually American, which is completely different from being Japanese, and yet it is one of the higher quality doujin I have seen!

The authors have mastered difficult doujin techniques such as 4komas, Arial, having a circle name even though you’re the only member of the circle, and Yume Nikki references.

However, as far as textbooks go it’s a little undirected. The text (the usual character comedy Touhou lends itself to, although decent enough) is more complex than volume 1, but how will the reader know if he understands all of it? I think there should be more exercises. Of course, the less useful it is the more like the actual Japanese school system it is, so either way they win.

You can find this circle at the upcoming Winter Comiket. In the meantime, the authors can be found on the Internet.

Fushigi no kuni no Marisa (Marisa in Wonderland), by circle COSMIC FORGE (http://www.cosmicforge.net/)

Available via mail order from Manga Pal!

(Japanese translation available at tsurupeta.info)

Tokuma Shoten, the publisher of Denno Coil and Taisho Yakyuu Musume among other things, will reissue the 1968 Kitaro’s Vietnam War in December. That’s Kitaro as in Gegege no Kitaro.

【鬼太郎のベトナム戦記】 1968年発表の幻の作品集の復刻企画。~水木しげるが描くベトナム戦争の真実~。子泣き爺が潜水艦に攻撃を仕掛け、ねずみ男がゲバラに変装？　決死の戦いを繰り広げる妖怪達……。 戦いの合間に田植えをする農民達。……サイゴンへの道は遠い。この伝説の作品を巻頭に、以下作品を収録。初出は以下。 『鬼太郎のベトナム戦記』：『宝石』1968年7~12月　 『ゲゲゲの鬼太郎　蓮華王国』：『小説マガジン』1977年7月　　 『ゲゲゲの鬼太郎　妖怪ロッキード』：『プレイコミック』1976年11月

Kitaro’s Vietnam War: We plan to reissue this elusive work first published in 1968. The truth of the Vietnam War as illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki. Konaki-jijii devising submarine attacks, Nezumi Otoko as Che Guevara? The youkai unveil an all-out battle to the death… and in the mist of the slaughter, the farmers planting their rice… the road to Saigon is long. The included works follow with their first apperances: “Kitaro’s Vietnam War”: “Houseki” July-December 1968. “Gegege no Kitaro in the Lotus Kingdom”: “Shousetsu Magazine” July 1977. “Gegege no Kitaro and the Lockheed Youkai”: “Play Comics” November 1976.

Amazon.co.jp. Descriptions of some of the stories here. The volume was last reprinted in 2000 by Bunshun; copies of that reprinting fetch 30,000 yen.