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Happy White Day! Who Would You Give Chocolates To? (And More!)
Yes, that picture is 3 years old, but it is still relevant today.
March 14 marks White Day, the famous holiday where men in Asia give chocolates to women who have given them the lucky honor of receiving chocolates on Valentine’s Day. As most of you know, Valentine’s Day works very differently in Asia than in North America and Europe.
Here’s a couple of questions that’s sure to get some fun responses: which female characters would you want to give chocolates to?
I’m not going to leave the women out either (thanks to the above photo). To the women: which male characters do you want to give you chocolates?
If you want my opinion, here’s my top 3 female characters I would give chocolates to:
Rukia Kuchiki (BLEACH)
Tsukuyo (Gintama)
Nico Robin (One Piece)
What? You think I was going to list the girls from K-ON!? Nope, I’m not into moeblobs. I like my female characters to be quite refined.
Now, for more fun, here’s my top 3 choices for male characters I want to give me chocolates if I were a woman.
Shinsuke Takasugi (Gintama)
Onizuka Eikichi (Great Teacher Onizuka)
Ryosuke Takahashi (Initial D)
Intrigued, aren’t you? If you understand what makes these characters popular, then you’ll probably know what makes me tick.
I made my choices known. So, great lovable anime/manga fans, what are yours?
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Another Issue For VIZ Media - What Can Replace Naruto and BLEACH?
Pop Quiz: What will happen when two of these iconic characters are eventually gone from the spotlight?
Wow, VIZ Media. They’ve been getting a lot of attention lately, huh? After reading Zach Logan’s editorial “The War On Manga”, I decided to browse the many comments on the entry. One excerpt from a comment stood out to me, especially given with how sales in the U.S. manga industry haven’t been looking so grand for quite some time. This is the excerpt:
Viz is now jointly owned by Shueisha, so the real strings are being pulled straight from the top. Naruto and Bleach will be ending within 2 years tops. What is their business plan when 2 of the Big 3 are no longer propping up house?
Given the fact that Naruto and BLEACH are ranked as the top 2 manga properties in the U.S. at the moment, are both appearing to finish up in the future, and have EXTREMELY huge fan communities, is Shueisha really doing anything to make sure that there will be a new holy trinity alongside One Piece? Yes, scanlations are a big issue, but another key issue is how to get a new generation of fans (and potential buyers) in the West to be interested in reading manga going forward, given that Shonen Jump material is still the starting point for a majority of new fans.
Once Naruto and BLEACH are done, what can VIZ turn to as their main titles (besides One Piece) for promoting Shonen Jump Alpha when it really takes off? The other Shonen Jump Alpha titles they have (Bakuman, Toriko, and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan) look to be hitting it off with fans, but are they as special as those two titles? Do these titles really relate to teenagers and young adults as well as Naruto and BLEACH have? The closest popular title that can take a spot in the trinity is Hunter x Hunter, but the title is published irregularly and that just won’t do when it comes to generating sales.
As of right now, it feels like Shueisha will just keep on riding One Piece’s popularity going forward since it’s become a cultural symbol in Japan. That doesn’t seem to help VIZ at all, as One Piece isn’t super-popular in North America when compared to Japan. Perhaps a Shonen Jump Advanced online magazine featuring Blue Exorcist, Rosario + Vampire, and D.Gray Man could be in the makings.
I’m sure there has to be some aspiring artists who will rise and be inspired by the likes of Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, and Tite Kubo, like how Akira Toriyama was an inspiration to them. Though as Bakuman has hinted with the low birth rate these days in Japan (which decreases the chances of a super-popular mainstream manga), the hopes of that happening are dim.
Manga in the U.S. isn’t going to die immediately if Naruto and BLEACH end. However, it feels that there has to be some simple Shonen Jump battle manga (no disrespect to One Piece) that appeals to teenagers/young adults to get the ball rolling and spark interest in the wide world of manga itself. While some fans may find them boring, the success of extremely popular titles (i.e. “typical Shonen Jump” titles) helps to give non-popular titles a chance to breathe life. Back when I was a teen, Dragon Ball Z, one of the most popular Jump series of all-time, was the reason why I got into manga. I started buying many manga volumes and developed a taste for other series that have better stories as I got older. The U.S. manga industry NEEDS popular, teen-friendly Shonen Jump titles to sell, no matter how cliche or overrated they may be, in order to stay afloat since Shonen Jump is still the top manga imprint in America. For now, Blue Exorcist appears to be a good successor to Naruto/BLEACH for VIZ, even though it’s a JUMP Square title.
Then again, I wonder if Japanese publishers truly care about the West at all when it comes to promoting manga internationally. Here’s a tweet for thought.
Such is the life of one being involved with manga in the U.S. or west of Asia, is it not?
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Tite Kubo - The Best Poet in Manga? The Poetry of BLEACH
With much of the hoopla surrounding the final arc of the BLEACH manga, I want to take a look at a feature of BLEACH that doesn’t get enough attention: the poems. Every volume of the manga has a poem centered around the character featured on its respective cover. A majority of these poems are very enlightening and one has to wonder about Kubo’s intentions in inserting them into the manga.
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20 Things To Anticipate For The Next/Final Arc of BLEACH →
I normally do not reblog, but this is too good to pass up.
To see much, much more just check out the Repeat and Reboot posts for everything, since this is just pick of some of what is to come!
- The new arc kicks off immediately after the Lost Agent arc and will take place in an ‘Ice Palace’ located underground.
- Grimmjow and Neliel (possibly…
Basically, everything will come full-circle? And we’ll know the full motivations of the whole cast? I do wonder about how “oppressive” the Soul King is. Does he treat souls as just parts that provide some sort of sustenance? Will he be a fancier version of Kyubey (from Puella Magi Madoka Magica)?
Here’s a teaser shot of an interview conducted with Tite Kubo about he final arc:
If the Seireitei is going to be destroyed in a huge way, I wonder how everyone will band together. Big moments of catastrophe often lead to huge changes in character for many people. Certain individuals begin to take initiative for the better. What minor character will begin to shine?
Even though Kubo could still be trolling with the story, the only thing that’s definite is that the psychology of his characters will be even MORE interesting to explore going forward.
Oh, Kubo, WHY CAN’T I QUIT YOU?
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A Case of Mental Sadism: Changing Bonds with Shukuro Tsukishima (BLEACH)
一緒に数えてくれるかい
Let’s count together for me
君についた
The bite marks
僕の歯形を
That I left on you
- BLEACH Volume 52: End of Bond
It has been quite an interesting time for Tite Kubo’s BLEACH. The current “Lost Agent” (Volumes 49-current) arc has gotten some attention for seemingly rebooting the series and not hitting it off with some fans. The arc introduced even more new characters, including one whose power is extremely frightening when used for the wrong purpose: Shukuro Tsukishima. He is arguably a character that is on the same level as the previous antagonist of BLEACH, Sosuke Aizen, in terms of causing mental trauma towards anyone he targets. Tsukishima looks to be the perfect fighter that knows (and enjoys) the best way to destroy a person: by breaking them emotionally to the point of despair.
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If Rukia Kuchiki Summarized The Events of Her Return in BLEACH.
Found this from the MangaHelpers BLEACH Humor Thread. I just had to post this up because I greatly missed Rukia’s terrible drawings and this is just too good not to share with everyone.
Also, much props to the IchiRuki community for trending the hashtag, #Rukiaisback, in Indonesia earlier this week.
Is it just me or has these past few weeks been a great time to be a BLEACH fan or what?
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10 Years of Shinigami, Hollows, & Lots of Fighting: My Love/Hate Relationship with BLEACH
(Glad to see Ginjo & Tsukishima make it to the party.)
Has it been 10 years already? It felt like it was yesterday when I began following Tite Kubo’s BLEACH. Back when the world was not in disarray, BLEACH was one of my personal favorite anime/manga series to watch/read. I just loved following the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, & friends. As much as the series’ storyline has deteriorated over the last 3-4 years, I will still see this series to the end. Why can’t I quit BLEACH despite being disappointed multiple times in the story? Maybe because the series still resonates in my heart, like an ex-girlfriend who I can’t seem to get out of my mind.
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BLEACH Soul Society Butlers at Garcon Cafe in Harajuku
Ladies, would you love to be served by these lovely gents dressed in black kimonos?
More information about Garcon Cafe’s BLEACH event can be found here. I want that Hollow Ichigo omelette!
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Why Girls Are Liking Shonen Manga
Hey, girls like battles as much as boys do.
According to the “wonderful” site that is Sankaku Complex, more and more girls in Japan are interested in reading shonen manga than shoujo manga. This relates to what I discussed in an interview by Fanboy.com.
I spoke about how there are series like Katekyo Hitman Reborn! & Kuroshitsuji filled with very attractive-looking male characters. There’s also the fact that shonen manga seems to have a fair share of teenage characters that appeal to a wide audience. Another supposed reason for girls reading shonen manga are that they are less concerned about being feminine when compared to boys trying to be manly.
Though it could just come down to this: shonen plots are just plain better than shoujo plots. Most shojou manga these days typically seems to be all the same: high school girls trying to date a guy they like & the emotional drama that ensues. Shonen plots can be pretty diverse compared to shoujo plots. At times, there may be TOO MUCH fighting in shonen manga, but they’re usually more exciting to most fans. Look at a series like BLEACH, which has a huge number of both male & female fans. Shoujo JUMP, here we come!
To female shonen readers, why do you read shonen manga?
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Rage Is One Scary Emotion: Yammy Llargo (BLEACH)
“Now, go ahead. Piss me off more, more, more… It’s only gonna make the way you guys die all the more messy.”
Off the heels of doing last year’s Ulquiorra Cifer entry, I want to take a look at one of the more interesting (but unliked) Espada in all of Tite Kubo’s BLEACH. Yes, the Espada who REALLY fluctuates in power, Yammy Llargo. He is both the weakest & strongest of the 10 members. What makes him unique is that his power is completely fueled by an emotion that plagues everyone & one that leads to so many problems, rage.
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