The summer conventions — Anime Expo, SDCC, and Otakon — have now come and gone, so it’s time to reflect on what ended up occurring during the month of July since a ton of news was shared at these 3 cons. I reached out to 6 people who cover either anime, manga, and/or light novels, and they shared the following:
- Biggest surprises of the 2019 convention season.
- Most disappointing announcement, event or news of the 2019 convention season.
- Most anticipated titles announced in the 2019 convention season.
Feel free to share in the comments section below what surprised, disappointed, and what you’re looking forward to that was announced during the summer conventions, but to get you going here’s thoughts from the following 6:
Tony Yao (Manga Therapy)
Deb Aoki (Publishers Weekly, ANN Contributor)
Kory Cerjak (Manga in Your Ears Podcast Co-Host, Fandom Post reviewer)
Lauren Orsini (Otaku Journalist creator, Senior Contributor at Forbes)
Justus R. Stone (Author of The Bleeding Worlds, YouTuber)
Sean Gaffney (A Case Suitable For Treatment creator, Manga Bookshelf contributor)
Biggest surprises
Tony Yao: To me, the biggest surprise this summer con season has been Akiko Higashimura winning the Eisner award at SDCC for “Best International Comic – Asia” for Tokyo Tarareba Girls. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised because dating as a 30+ year old is much, much harder than when you’re younger. So readers of any nationality can relate to that. Higashimura is not only a great mangaka, but she’s shown that she’s someone you can talk to about relationships and life. The growth of US fandom for Higashimura works is probably a surprise to her and her editors in Japan though. We really, really, really need to get her to a North American convention now.
Also, my 2nd biggest surprise is seeing Square Enix actually becoming a legit manga publisher. They got some great talent to help make them well-known in a medium that sometimes gets shared alongside video games (which we all know Square Enix is known for). Although I’m not a big fan of them as a video game publisher as of late (*insert bias for SquareSoft*), I am a fan of their manga titles. I just hope fans learn to associate Square Enix with manga over time because Square Enix still means Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts/Dragon Quest/NieR Automata to them and SE can’t over-rely on those properties as books.
Finally, Dragon Ball fandom never ceases to amaze the world.
Deb Aoki: I don’t know if this classifies as that kind of surprise you were thinking of, but Leyla Aker’s move from her post as VP of publishing at VIZ Media to Square Enix was kind of a big deal. I think Leyla was at VIZ for over 12 years, and was behind a lot of their most interesting initiatives, like their BL imprint, SuBLime, the now defunct SIGIkki imprint, and the simulpub expansion of Shonen Jump.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next at VIZ, and what she’ll do at Square Enix, along with Tania Biswas (formerly with Yen Press) and Masaaki Shimizu (who was with JManga back in the day).
Otherwise, I’m pleased to see that Saint Young Men will be released in print starting in December and that Sue & Tai-chan, a new manga by Konami Kanata, is coming out soon.
Kory Cerjak: The biggest surprise, if it counts, is Rose of Versailles finally getting a release date from Udon, who licensed it a full 4 years ago. Apparently coming in December, this long of a delay between announcement to release is not something I’ve ever seen before.
In the spirit of the question, it’s the Saiyuki re-release by Kodansha Comics. By reputation in my circle, Saiyuki does well for itself, but I didn’t really anecdotally see an appetite for it to be released. Omnibus hardcovers sound awesome though, so maybe I’ll buy them anyway…I like Saiyuki well enough.
Lauren Orsini: It’s pretty wild that Kemono Friends is getting an English dub. That franchise definitely went south after it was taken out of Tatsuki’s hands, but at least the fantastic first season (only season, in my opinion) will be getting wider mainstream appeal through a dub.
Justus R. Stone: Probably the biggest surprise for me was the licensing announcement by Sol Press of an R18 Hentai light novel. Now, J-Novel Club does have JK Haru, which has R18 content, but the series never seeks to titillate. That’s not the case with the title Sol Press has licensed, Busy Wizard: The Warlock Just Wants to Provide for His Wives. Not only is it a hentai, it has 5 volumes, meaning this isn’t just some small, one-off, experiment for Sol Press. I’m curious to see how this goes for them and whether this is a niche they move into. It could be a way for them to differentiate themselves from the other big English light novel publishers.
Sean Gaffney: Biggest surprise is also most anticipated, so this is both question 1 and 3, though I’ll have some other titles for 3 as well. Seeing the anime license of Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei blew my mind. The series was initially announced back like 11 years ago by Media Blasters, but it went nowhere and never came out. That said, it’s gonna be tricky to do it justice. The dialogue can be subtitled easily, the signs and onscreen text not so much. But I do love it to bits.
Biggest disappointments
Tony: I think that most disappointments related to the anime/manga industries with regards to events/announcements/presence have been put aside by what happened to Kyoto Animation just around the time of SDCC. It’s still a huge shock that something like that happened. As someone who’s been reading up on how to handle grief, I just hope that we don’t criticize the survivors for not being to move on even years later down the road.
Deb: It was pretty disappointing that there was so little manga-related events and announcements at San Diego Comic-Con, especially after last year’s appearance by Kohei Horikoshi.
VIZ had no manga title news to announce, but instead used their panel time to promote Seis Manos, their original animation co-production with Netflix/Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania). Kodansha was at Comic-Con, but mostly announced a handful of digital-first shojo manga titles (though they do sound interesting).
It’s been discouraging to watch manga publishers retreat more and more from San Diego Comic-Con, opting to bring guests and have bigger promotions and announcements at Anime Expo instead. I dislike how it makes manga and anime something “other” and maybe something “lesser” than Western comics, when in reality, a lot of people like both, and that some of the best quality and best-selling comics coming out today are originally published in Japan.
Kory: I don’t know if there is a most disappointing for me! Which is great. Every manga company that did license something sketch or relatively sketch or extremely isekai boobie manga had something else I was interested in. And that’s ok. There’s an audience for everything.
If I had to give a general disappointment, it’s just a lack of sports manga licenses, the only one being I think Discotek’s license of the Battery anime. The US has an appetite for live sports, and even esports now, so I’m always curious as to why sports fiction doesn’t stick. But in a niche of people who are stereotypically unlikely to watch any kind of sports, perhaps it’s never to be. I’ll still hope for an Adachi manga license or something though.
Lauren: I’m pretty upset with the decision not to just delay Fire Force until a later date, after people have had more time to grieve the Kyoto Animation arson tragedy. Instead, we’re going to “nice boat” the situation with a short pause, and then change the color of the flames like that will affect anything.
Justus: That distinction belongs to Seven Seas. Now, let me preface by saying I have no problem with what they licensed. At Night I Become a Monster sounds very good. And I know lots of Bloom Into You fans are pleased with getting the LN content. My disappointment stems from the fact that none of Seven Seas’ Anime Expo announcements felt intended for light novel audiences. Last year, Seven Seas brought out two big titles that the light novel fandom had been clamoring for. This year, the two licenses felt more directed at existing fans of Bloom Into You and to piggy-back on the popularity of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (At Night is the same author).
Sean: The light novel announcements were pretty meh. Bloom Into You novels pleased me greatly, but most of what I saw didn’t blow me away. More long titles, more isekai, more sort of yuri. That said, see Question #3 as well.
Most anticipated titles
Tony: “Love Me, Love Me Not“, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, the new Akira anime project, Metamorphose no Engawa, and oh yeah, seeing Saint Young Men in print!
Deb: The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions, out Spring 2020 from VIZ Media — which I bought in Japanese, but would love to read some of the commentary.
Downfall by Inio Asano from VIZ Media. A semi-autobiographical story about a manga artist dealing with burnout.
Sue and Tai-chan by Konami Kanata (Kodansha) – because there’s never enough cat manga from the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home. This one, about a curmudgeonly older cat and the spunky black kitten who comes to shake up her quiet sunset years.
There’s Something Wrong With Us by Natsumi Ando, the creator of Arisa and Kitchen Princess, coming in 2010 from Kodansha Comics. A much darker, suspenseful grown-up romance about a Japanese traditional sweets (wagashi) chef getting reunited from a boy from her past — she last saw him standing over the bodies of her dead parents, a mystery that’s still left unsolved. Now it’s years later, and he’s now her boss — but he doesn’t remember her from those days. It sounds like the kind of grown-up drama that people have been craving for a while.
Metamorphose no Engawa by Kaori Tsurutani, coming in April 2020 from Seven Seas. An elderly woman discovers boys love manga and enters the world of BL fandom, thanks to an unlikely friendship with a younger fujoshi. A heartwarming, sweet story that has won a bunch of awards in Japan.
And it’s nice to get an update on Rose of Versailles from Udon at Comic-Con.
Kory: I’ve really been wanting to read Saint Young Men since I learned about its existence a few years ago. It’s already had a digital release, but I’m very bad at reading digital manga. So I’m glad it’s getting a print release, which absolutely means I’m going to buy it. For new licenses, Seven Seas getting Metamorphose no Engawa is extremely exciting. Seven Seas has rather quickly become one of my favorite publishers with their branching into stuff like this, Satoko and Nada, Spirit Circle, The Voynich Hotel, The Bride Was a Boy…I could go on for too long. Also I’m always here for anything Denpa puts out, especially if it’s more Oshimi (Shino Can’t Say Her own Name).
Lauren: Otakon was a whirlwind of exciting announcements. I was blown away by the sheer quantity of new Discotek licenses. I’m especially looking forward to The Great Passage on Blu-Ray — I read the novel earlier this year (by Shion Miura, the same author who wrote the novel that inspired Run With The Wind) and really enjoyed this quirky dramedy that made the esoteric topic of writing a dictionary into something interesting and humanized.
Though I didn’t attend the con itself this year (too pregnant) and heard most of the news secondhand, I was lucky enough to be at Otabrew, an offsite event in which Denpa Books announced its latest graphic novel releases. The one I’m looking forward to the most is Shino Can’t Say Her Name, a coming of age story by the creator of Inside Mari and Flowers of Evil. Shuzo Oshimi has such a knack for writing about the sincere and often cringey inner lives of teens!
Justus: Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina. I’ve been wanting this series for some time. Since reading I’ve Been Killing Slimes, I’ve had a great deal of affection for more laid-back, sweet, titles. This one sounds to be along those lines. Plus I just enjoy the idea of a series that isn’t too limited in its premise. The series follows a witch traveling across the world and having adventures (a little similar to Kino’s Journey). Not to mention I like the art too!
Sean: ZETSUBOU-SENSEI! For manga, definitely Metamorphose no Engawa, the Seven Seas title about an elderly woman and high school girl bonding over BL. It has the Jocelyne Allen seal of approval. On the light novel side, despite having a long title, being an isekai, and being sort of yuri, I am looking forward to Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress, which was apparently written in response to the controversy over women medical students being discriminated against in entrance exams.