“Best and Worst Manga of 2010” Panel Liveblog

Why? Because we like Deb Aoki and we like manga. πŸ™‚ This is, btw, happening at Comic Con 2010. Funimation panel is next!

4:31 PM – they’re starting now. They’re ribbing Carlo Santos now.

4:33 PM – introductions. Jason Thompson is speaking.

4:37 PM – the actual moderator appears, Tom Spurgeon, of ComicsReporter.com.

4:38 – Best manga (teens/all ages): Twin Spica (Vertical) by Ko Yaginuma. Described as a cross between Moyashimon and Planetes (both which I like).

4:42 PM – Cardcaptor Sakura (Dark Horse) omnibus edition. This is something of a re-release. + Clover. Edited by Carl Horn; I remember him being a worshiper of Hideaki Anno back in the Evangelion days. Christopher says Clover is an “interesting failure” though.

4:45 PMCat Paradise (Yen Press) by Yuji Iwahara. Deb Aoki: “X-Men with cats.”

4:47 PMChi’s Sweet Home (Vertical) by Kanata Konami. Christopher: surprisingly dark. Really? Never watched the anime though. Carlo Santos is not so hot on itβ€”he found it a bit episodic. The anime episodes were like 5 minutes each right?

4:51 PMKarakuri Odette (Tokyopop) by Julietta Suzuki. I’ve never heard of it.

4:52 PM – Kingyo Used Books (VIZ) by Seimu Yoshizaki. “Manga for manga nerds” (Carlo Santos). It’s apparently a manga nerd paradise. Nostalgic for manga we never had….Christopher likens it to Pluto.

4:57 PMMegaman Megamix (Udon) by Hitoshi Ariga. Um, wow…

4:58 PMKekkaishi (VIZ) by Yellow Tanabe. “You know who likes Kekkaishi in Japan? Freakin’ everybody…..Kinda like Bleach.” (Gets booed.)

5:01 PM – Best for adults: Oishinbo, 20th Century Boys, Pluto. I remember this was mentioned in last year’s panel…

5:02 PM – Stuff by Jiro Taniguchi: A Distant Neighborhood and The Summit of the Gods. I’ve been meaning to check his stuff out.

5:03 PMOoku (VIZ) by Fumi Yoshinaga. Christopher doesn’t like the way it’s translated though.

5:03 PMDetroit Metal City. A Drifting Life (Yoshihiro Tatsumi).

5:05 PMAge Called Blue/Red Blinds the Foolish (Deux/Netcomics) by Est Em. This is BL/yaoi.

5:06 PMNot Simple (VIZ) Natsume Ono. I actually like this one. It’s a pretty intense story.

5:06 PMBlack Lagoon (VIZ) by Rei Hiroe. But of course!

5:10 PM – International category. Twilight the Graphic Novel is mentioned, to much booing and consternation. Deb Aoki: “it’s the money machine that makes all other manga possible.”

5;10 PM – WORST: Orange Planet, Togainu no Chi.

5:11 PMRed Hot Chili Samurai. .hack books (“ALL OF THEM”) πŸ™‚ Maximum Ride, an adaptation of James Patterson story. They generally don’t like manga based on licensed existing properties.

5:13 PM – Most anticipated manga. AX Alternative Manga anthology (Top Shelf). Genkaku Picasso by Usamaru Furuya: draws very pretty girls, with a sick sense of humor. A Drunken Dream by Moto Hagio, who is here at Comic Con apparently. This is the author of They Were Eleven, and was one of the founders of shoujo manga.

5:17 PMNot Love but Delicious Foods. Cross Game (VIZ), by Mitsuru Adachi. (I like the anime.) The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo.

5:19 PM – UNLICENSED: Kami no Shizuku: this is the famous wine manga. It’s not licensed yet, but it’s seen some mainstream exposure already. Saint Young Men by Hkaru Nakamura: Jesus and Buddha as modern roommates. Otoyome Gatari, from the author of Victorian Romance Emma. The Music of Marie: “this is Miyazaki on LSD.”Β  Atagoul by Hiroshi Masumura. The Rose of Versailles–really, this has never been licensed? Perhaps Ms Ikeda is asking for tons of money.

That’s it!

Author: gendomike

Michael lives in the Los Angeles area, and has been into anime since he saw Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1999. Some of his favorite shows include Full Metal Alchemist, Honey and Clover, and Welcome to the NHK!. Since 2003 he has gone to at least one anime convention every year. A public radio junkie, which naturally led to podcasting, he now holds a seminary degree and is looking to become Dr. Rev. Otaku Bible Man any day now. Michael can be reached at mike.huang@animediet.net. You can also find his Twitter account at @gendomike.

2 thoughts on ““Best and Worst Manga of 2010” Panel Liveblog

Comments are closed.