To begin with, some off topic updates:

- Still working on the ‘2007 year in review’ bit. Check back tomorrow/Wednesday for the second ‘half’ (much more than half actually, this post is a beast.)
- at the moment (Mon. 12 May 20:25) f.y.e. by way of www.fye.com is telling me that “all book product is currently unavailable.” They “apologize for the inconvenience” which is fine and SOP, but if it means that they are finally fixing their book categories to add, oh, I don’t know — say a popular category like manga to their classification system, a deficit that one annoying customer [me] has repeatedly brought to their attention, then this is hardly an inconvenience.

IF they fix this, then I’ll have to update my charts ‘FAQ’, and possibly also the formulation of the Manga 500, to reflect the change. Fye may still suck (it remains to be seen what the update is) but they may no longer suck for the same reasons.

And the former Ice Kunion titles are beginning to come out under the Yen Press aegis. Rejoice, Rejoice! No seriously, I’ve had the first two of One Thousand and One Nights for like, a year now — good to see motion on this title (and I’m sure, soon to be others)

And more notes [‘just talk about the new releases, will ya?’ - hold on, this is actually about the new releases…]

The conclusion to Rozen Maiden (Peach-Pit, Tokyopop)–the so-called vol. 8–releases this week. As it is only 96 pages, T’pop does the obvious thing and offers it for only $5.99. Despite rumors of relaunch (I’m not linking to a site named ‘moetron’ no matter how good their information) even if Peach-Pit negotiated a new deal in Japan, there’s no telling how that relates to manga releases in the States yet. …you know, if you happened to be a fan. (no comment one way or the other on that.)

Recommended but also Previously Cited: American Nerd: the Story of My People. It’s finally out, my fellow nerds/geeks/dorks/anoraks/otaku/dweebs: the first social history of our culture. …but not the jerks. You guys suck. And make me a soda.

Not anime, not manga, not comics, but oh-so-near-and-dear to my heart:

Meat: a Love Story. Now, for my money, the lovely blog Meathenge is the first, second, second-to-last, final, and most authoritative word on the subject (and who else eats dinner with a K-bar?) but I understand that Bourette’s Meat tackles the issue from another angle. Noted authority on the subject, John Madden (whose cookbook, the Ultimate Tailgating Book is sadly and inexplicably out of print) will of course tell you that one of the six major food groups is ‘large hunks of meat’ (#5 being beer, natch; and yes, that means meat is two of the six major food groups… you have a problem with that?) — Despite the title, Meat is not the output of a flesh-eating-fan-girl, at least on the outset — Bourette actually spent a week working undercover at a meat packing plant, and quit after just a week in disgust - with a resolve to become a vegetarian. Her resolve lasted just a shade over five weeks. For the resolution to that apparent dichotomy, I guess you’ll have to read her book.

You all knew I was a foodie: Hell, I picked Kitchen Princess last week, and My Pick o’ the Week this week is Yakitate!! Japan –

oh, yeah btw: Pick o’ the Week

Like other Viz Media titles, Y!!J vol 11 has actually been in stores since last Thursday, but that kind of beating-the-published-due-date activity, while admirable, doesn’t really count for much of an extra jump when a) poor underpaid bloggers w/o inside info have to rely on the damn published released dates, and besides b) we don’t post until Monday (usually Tues.; Mon. if you’re lucky). Anyway, Yakitate and other Viz titles have been out for 5 days already (at most outlets). We’re well and truly into the Monaco Cup by this point, as the appearance of Peirrot on the cover proves… but you need to be a die-hard fan, perhaps– one who has illegally downloaded the anime fansubs even– to know who Peirrot is, and why he is such a tool (a sublime judge of bread, and occasional deus-ex-machina, but still a tool.) But hell, in for a pound-cake, in for the whole damn bread-baker-shonen-pun-filled-outtake-absurdity of it all. And Tsukino is a personal favourite of mine. Comdemn me if you must, but Yakitate is still the most unique take on the standard-shonen-competition-template that we’re going to find in English translation. If you’re not reading it yet, it is highly recommended.

Full list after the break.

##

Manga (and manga-ish) Releases:
(Aqua/Aria) Aria 2 - Amano, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Basara 27 - Tamura, Viz $9.99 ::
Battle Club 6 - Shiozaki, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Chibi Vampire 8 - Kagesaki, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Crayon Shinchan 2 - Usui, CMX $7.99 ::
Demon Flowers 3 - Hakase, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Flame of Recca 27 - Takamisaki, Anzai, Viz $9.99 ::
Foxy Lady 1 - Tachibana, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Getbackers 24 - Rando, Aoki, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
GTO the Early Years: Shonan Junai Gumi 7 - Fujisawa, Tokyopop $12.99 ::
Harukaze Bitter Bop 2 - Betten, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Hayate the Combat Butler 7 - Togashi, Hata, Viz $9.99 ::
Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo 4 - Lee, Park, Yen Press $10.99 ::
Kedamono Damono 3 - Fukushima, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Kichi and the Magic Book 1 - Amano, CMX $9.99 ::
King of Cards 4 - Tateno, CMX $9.99 ::
Kingdom Hearts II 2 - Amano, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Legend 2 - Woo, Kara, Yen Press $10.99 ::
Love Mode 9 - Shimuzu, Tokyopop Blu $12.99 ::
Love Pistols 5 - Kotobuki, Tokyopop Blu $12.99 ::
Manga Sutra (Futari H) 2 - Aki, Tokyopop $19.99 ::
One Thousand and One Nights 4 - Han, Jeon, Yen Press $10.99 ::
Parasyte 3 - Iwaaki, Del Rey $12.95 ::
Project Arms 19 - Nanatsuki, Viz $9.99 ::
Rave Master 28 - Mashima, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Record of the Fallen Vampire 1 - Shirodaira, Viz $9.99 ::
Romance Papa 2 - Lee, Netcomics $9.99 ::
Rozen Maiden 8 - Peach-Pit, Tokyopop $5.99 ::
Samurai Deeper Kyo 28 - Kamijyo, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Sgt. Frog 15 - Yoshizaki, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Switch 2 - Naked Ape, Viz $9.99 ::
Tea for Two 1 - Sakuragi, Tokyopop Blu $12.99 ::
Togari 6 - Takanashi, Natsume, Viz $9.99 ::
Totally Captivated 2 - Yoo, Netcomics $9.99 ::
Toto! The Wonderful Adventure 1 - Osada, Del Rey $10.95 ::
Trinity Blood 6 - Kyujyo, Yoshida, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Tsubasa 17 - Clamp, Del Rey $10.95 ::
VB Rose 2 - Hidaka, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
White Night Melody 1 - Lin, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Wild Adapter 5 - Minekura, Tokyopop $9.99 ::
Yagyu Ninja Scrolls 3 - Segawa, Del Rey $13.95 ::
Yakitate! Japan 11 - Hasiguchi, Viz $9.99 ::
You Are So Cool 1 - Lee, Yen Press $10.99 ::

Also of Note:
American Nerd: the Story of My People - Nugent, Simon & Schuster $20 ::
Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert - Ebert, U of Chicago Press $18 ::
Cinema and Technology: Cultures, Theory, and Practices - Bennett, Furstenau, MacKenzie, Palgrave Macmillan $85 ::
Everything Is Cinema: the Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard - Brody, Holt $40 ::
Hong Kong Step by Step - , Langenscheidt $14.95 ::
Japanese Phrase Book and CD - , Berlitz $14.95 ::
Meat: A Love Story - Bourette, Penguin $24.95 ::
Springfield Reformation: The Simpsons(tm), Christianity, and American Culture - Heit, Continuum Intl Publ Group $65 ::
Tales From the Crypt 3 Zombielicious - Bilgrey, Gniewek, Salicrup, Papercutz $12.95 ::
The Art of Kung Fu Panda - , Welcome Enterprises $45 ::
The Art of Speed Racer [movie] - , Rizzoli $35 ::
The Indiana Jones Handbook - Kiernan, D’Agnese, Quirk Publ. $18.95 ::
Up Till Now: The Autobiography - Shatner, St. Martin’s $25.95 ::