At AnimeNext this year, there were only two industry panels with Aniplex and Vertical. I was able to attend the manga industry panel. This is going to be a summary of what was presented at Anime NEXT. More importantly, there has been no new announcements, so Vertical presents a repeat of what was done at A-Kon.
- Limit volume, 5 has been released around May. It is a shojo title that should appeal to readers of both genders.
- GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, volume 9 also released around May. This is the final volume, and brings full circle of the teacher known as GTO, from when he was introduced to the American readers in Tokyopop’s manga to now. Onizuka grows up.
- Knights of Sidonia, volume 3 was released just in time for June, so convention goers had the opportunity to pick it up early.
- Flowers of Evil, with the recent anime being aired on Crunchy Roll has been a seller for Vertical. Six volumes were available at Vertical booth during the convention. Ed spoke about the anime has been a positive correlation for manga sales.
- Gundam: The Origins Part 2. This is a love song that Vertical had thrown their money and effort into translating for overseas fans. This second volume just got released in English. It is a book series that is worth’s its weight in content.
- Wolfsmund part 1 was available at this convention. It is a series created from a former assistant to Emma and Beserk. It has German on the cover, so reading it out loud is an activity I heard over the weekend.
- Twin Knights is the sequel to Princess Knight and would be available around July. Vertical mentions as a publisher that they are probably going to be publishing fewer classic titles in the future.
- Helter Skelter is going to be on sale around August. This is a Josei title that deals with physical beauty and the spiral of a model who changed her entire appearance by plastic surgery.
- Chi Sweet Home’s success has pushed the series to be extended to about 13 volumes. Vertical is going to be releasing volume 10 by August, with volume 11 being release next year.
- Summer Wars Part 1 is going to be out by NYCC. This is the manga adaptation of the hit movie adaptation. Vertical is condensing its original Japanese three volume release to a two volume set.
- Tropic of the Sea is the only manga ever written by the late great Satoshi Kon. A great feature of this book is an essay from Kon, that details his transformation from mangaka to animator.
- Sickness Unto Death is going to be a two volume manga series modern retelling of the same title from Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. This is expected to be sold later this year around September and November.
- Pink – Love and Crocodiles by Kyoko Okazaki is a collected manga, that was initially published in magazines and later reprinted into this one volume book. This is a coming of age tale of seeking happiness.
- Sushi Simplicity is a cookbook that details 60 different recipes on making sushi in about 20 minutes or so. No need for any fancy sushi presses or cutters.
- A Dog in Water was the only novel that was presented at this panel. It is a crime fiction novel from Kazuhiro Kiuchi who created Be-Bop High School.
- From the New World volume 1 is going to be on sale around November. This is the manga adaption for the light novel and anime series of Shin Sekai Yori that is currently streaming on Crunchy Roll.
- I became aware that Vertical is slated to publish more origami books in the future.
They sell Flowers of Evil? That’s cool. People will be amazed how manga is more beautiful than anime.
Yes this is the English publisher for Flowers of Evil. The manga was actually published in English before the anime even aired, so that was a surprise.