Tokiwa-so (トキワ荘) is an apartment building in Shiinamachi, Tokyo, where now legendary but then up-and-coming mangaka such as Tezuka Osamu, Shotaro Ishinomori (Ishimori) and Fujio Akatsuka once lived, worked together, shared knowledge, and basically meeting up with colleagues and pitting their skills against each other.

In 1954, two young mangaka, Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, moved into Tokiwa-so. The duo, better known by their pen name of Fujiko Fujio, worked alongside the likes of Tezuka, and went on to create Doraemon, which became one of the best-selling manga in the world. While Fujimoto, also known as Fujiko F. Fujio, passed away in 1996 due to an accident, Abiko, Fujiko Fujio (A) is still active in the manga scene.

An interview with Fujiko Fujio (A) was recently published in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine. In the interview, Fujiko Fujio (A) talks about the days he spent at Tokiwa-so, as well as his memories of his colleagues:

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Global fans stampede YaoiMagazine.com to order Vol. 1 Issue 1 of Yaoi Magazine!

York, Penn. - January 18, 2008 The first issue of Yaoi Magazine was made available for purchase on the YaoiMagazine.com website as well as on Amazon.com January 15, 2008. In the first day alone, sales exceeded S. A. Payne's (publisher) original expectation. "In just a few days orders have surpassed our original expectations by over 300%," said Payne. "We knew the market was out there, but I'm shocked to see how many orders are coming in, some for multiple copies! We've had orders placed from four countries outside of the U.S. as well."

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The following manga appeared on the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending January 13th:

• #127 - Naruto, Volume 27 - Viz - (Last week: #87)
• #142 - Naruto, Volume 26 - Viz - (Last week: #93)

GRIMES, IA, January 18, 2008 - Anime producer and mega-online anime retailer Right Stuf, Inc. is pleased to welcome Zac Bertschy - executive editor of Anime News Network (AnimeNewsNetwork.com) and managing editor of Protoculture Addicts - to episode 58 of ANIME TODAY.

In this new interview, Bertschy takes a look back at the successes and surprises of 2007, experiments in packaging and distribution, the differences between what series are popular with Japanese and Western fans, and the issues and challenges facing the North American anime industry in 2008.

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SAN JOSE, CA - January, 2008 - DrMaster has just announced the publication of Magic Lover's Tower, a two-volume series. It will definitely grant your wish for an enchanting story of love, fantasy, and all that heart-wrenching love-triangle drama!

Roxanne, the nerdy class cleanliness rep, is secretly in love with the bad boy of the class, Logan. One day she accidentally releases Baphalen, a magic being who was sealed in a painting by the Heavenly Courts as punishment. Baphalen is the celestial guardian of the incense urn of the Old Man Under the Moon, and possesses the fantastic Magic Lover's Staff. He decides to use his Magic Lover's Staff to help Roxanne get her wish of winning Logan's heart.

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According to Papo de Budega, the Association for Commemoration of the Centenarian of Japanese Immigration in Brazil has officially announced activities for its commemorations.

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The Daily Yomiuri has an article that explores the dramatization of the manga Saito-san by Yua Oda. Also, Nichi Bei Times looks at the popularity of manga in France in "Manga Gaining Rapid Popularity in France."

From the Los Angeles Times comes an article titled "The rise of Japan cool," which looks at various Japan-related topics, and comes with an interview with Tokyopop's Stu Levy:

In contrast, Northridge-born Stuart Levy has no problem selling his products to anyone who will buy them. The chief executive of Tokyopop, Levy has made millions licensing and creating anime and manga books and DVDs for America's new breed of comic hipsters.

Source: MangaBlog

ANN reports that four manga series are coming to an end in Japan:

• Emma by Kaoru Mori in the February issue (1/12) of Enterbrain's Monthly Comic Beam.
• Karin by Yuna Kagesaki in the February issue (1/9) of Fujimi Shobo's Dragon AGE.
• Idolmaster Xenoglossia by Mairi Kurosaki in the March issue (1/26) of Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Comp Ace.
• Advance of Zeta: The Flag of Titans by Tatsu Mizuki in the March issue (1/21) of MediaWorks' Monthly Dengeki Daioh

From Manly Manga and More... comes the German Manga Top 15 for December 2007 based on charts released by Egmont Manga & Anime (EMA) and Carlsen, below is the top 5 manga on the list:

1. Love Mode (8)
2. Detective Conan (53)
3. Inuyasha (48)
4. Naruto (27)
5. One Piece (45)

ICv2 is reporting that a Batman manga, drawn by Jiro Kuwata during the Batman craze in Japan in 1966, will be released in September 2008:

the world has collectors to thank for this volume documenting a little known example of cross-cultural fertilization, which will be available from Pantheon in September of 2008.

Via: MangaBlog

A manga adaptation of singer Eikichi Yazawa's autobiography Nariagari, titled Nariagari: Yazawa Eikichi Monogatari (成り上がり 矢沢永吉物語) (drawn by Sho Kitagawa), began in Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Charge No.3 (1/15).

Also, Tohru Fujisawa, mangaka of Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), will begin a new series titled Anhapi-! (Unhappy!) (アンはぴっ!) in Comic Charge No.5 (2/19).

Two new one-shots Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin- Special Chapter (Part 1) (銀牙－流れ星 銀－ 特別編 (前編)) by Yoshihiro Takahashi and Metaborika (めたボリカ) by Yuzuki Hikaru, will appear in Shueisha's Business Jump No.5 (2/1).

Two new series, Alice no 100℃c (アリスの100℃c) by Chizuna Nakajima (mangaka of Iinari! Aibration) and Yakuza Girl ~Blade Shikake no Hanayome~ (ヤクザガール ～ブレイド仕掛けの花嫁～) by Okuma Yu-go, will begin serialization in the April issue of Akita Shoten's Champion RED (2/19).

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Cloverfield Clues reports that the first chapter of Cloverfield: Kishin by Yoshiki Togawa, a tie-in manga created to promote the upcoming movie, has been posted online by Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shonen Ace.

Source: ANN and Wired

The Comics Reporter points out that the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has released its 2008 list of great graphic novels for teens:

• Top Ten List
• Full List of 43 Titles

ANN has an analysis of manga found in the list.

BRAVE STORY, written by Miyuki Miyabe and published domestically by VIZ, has won the 2008 Batchelder Award by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC).

The award, established in 1966, is a citation given to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States. The Association for Library Service to Children gives the award to encourage American publishers to seek out superior children's books abroad and to promote communication among the people of the world.

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A round up of the new comic release list and views for the week of January 16th 2008:

• ComicList: ComicList for 01/16/2008
• MangaCast: New Manga List ~ Jan 16, 2008
• Manga Recon: Weekly Recon, 1/16/08
• theOtaku: New Manga Releases
• Precocious Curmudgeon: Upcoming 1/16/2008

Top 10 manga (1/16) according to Tohan:

1. Worst (19)
2. Detective Conan (60)
3. Hanma Baki (11)
4. To-LOVE-Ru (7)
5. Pyuu to Fuku! Jaguar (14)
6. Hanma Baki 10.5 Gaiden Pick
7. Hayate the Combat Butler (14)
8. Mx0 (7)
9. Eensy-Weensy Monster (2)
10. Nodame Cantabile (19)

Additional Rankings:

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