The official site for Wonderfest has announced that Wonderfest 2009 winter which was supposed to be held on the 15th of February has been cancelled as investigations on the elevator incident that happened earlier this year are still ongoing and they are unable to schedule the next event yet.
Only the coming winter Wonderfest is cancelled and Wonderfest itself will still continue to exist however.
After some predictable, anonymous sniping, the discussion that follows Isaac Hale’s post on Yaoi Con turns interesting, with contributions from the likes of Jason Thompson, Tina Anderson and Erica Friedman. The whole question of “lifestyle convention” versus “product category convention” seems like a particularly messy one in this case.
Here we are with this week’s release list! With Viz back in the game it is quite the long one so there should be a little something for everyone.
AURORA PUBLISHING
Hitohira GN Vol 1 (of 4), $10.95
Oh My God GN Vol 2 (of 2), $12.95
CMX
Astral Project GN Vol 1, $12.99
Flat Earth Exchange GN Vol 2, $9.99
DEL REY MANGA
Pastel GN Vol 12, $10.95
DIGITAL MANGA
Candy GN, $12.95
Clear Skies GN Vol 1 (of 2), $12.95
Enchanter GN Vol 9, $12.95
Gentlemans Kiss GN Vol 1 (of 2), $12.95
Guilty Verdict Novel Vol 1 (of 4), $8.95
Hot Limit GN, $12.95
Lovers Pledge GN, $12.95
Passion Forbidden Lovers Novel, $8.95
Wild Butterfly GN, $12.95
DR MASTER PUBLICATIONS
Four Constables Secret Of The Delirium Dagger GN Vol 2, $13.95
Mamoru The Shadow Protector GN Vol 2 (of 3), $9.95
Nephylym GN Vol 1, $9.95
GO! COMICS
After School Nightmare GN Vol 9 (of 10), $10.99
Angels Coffin GN, $10.99
Bound Beauty GN Vol 1, $10.99
JAPANIME
Kanji De Manga Vol 6, $9.99
SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT
He Is My Master GN Vol 4, $9.99
TOHAN CORPORATION
Art Of Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles, $31.95
Chronicles Hiro Suzuhira Art Works, $54.99
Clamp In Cardland Irreplaceable Book, $25.99
Goth Loli Vol 11, $18.99
Groundworks Ghost In The Shel Sac, $56.99
Groundworks Of Evangelion 1 0 You Are Not Alone, $69.99
Hobby Japan #58 (Oct 2008), $12.99
Megami Sep 2008, $14.99
Monster Hunter Illustrations, $68.95
Newtype Sep 2008, $10.99
Replicant #32, $27.99
TOKYOPOP
9 Lives GN Vol 1 (of 3), $9.99
Battle Royale HC Vol 4 (Of 5)(Ultimate Edition), $24.99
Dot Hack Sign Gu GN Vol 3 (Of 4), $9.99
Dot Hack Xxxx GN Vol 2 (Of 2), $9.99
Elemental Gelade GN Vol 9 (of 13), $9.99
Fruits Basket 18 Month Planner, $12.99
I Luv Halloween Ultimate Twisted Edition, $24.99
Initial D Vol GN 32 (of 36), $9.99
Missile Happy GN Vol 4 (of 5), $9.99
Pet Shop Of Horrors Tokyo GN Vol 3, $9.99
VIZ MEDIA
Baby & Me GN Vol 10, $8.99
Beauty Pop TP Vol 9, $8.99
Blank Slate GN Vol 1, $8.99
Complete Pokemon Pocket Guide Vol 1, $9.99
Complete Pokemon Pocket Guide Vol 2, $9.99
Crimson Hero TP Vol 9, $8.99
Dragon Drive TP Vol 10, $7.99
Eyeshield 21 TP Vol 22, $7.99
Gun Blaze West GN Vol 3, $7.99
Hikaru No Go TP Vol 13, $7.95
Hoshin Engi TP Vol 9, $7.99
Knights Of The Zodiac TP Vol 24, $7.95
La Corda Doro TP Vol 9, $8.99
Legend Of Zelda GN Vol 1, $7.99
Muhyo & Rojis Bureau of Supernatural Investigation TP Vol 7, $7.99
Naruto Chapter Book Vol 1 Boy Ninja, $4.99
Naruto Chapter Book Vol 2 Tests Of A Ninja, $4.99
Nora Last Chronicle Of Devildom GN Vol 1, $7.99
One Piece TP Vol 19, $7.95
Ral Omega Grad GN Vol 2, $7.99
Reborn GN Vol 9, $7.99
Rosario Vampire GN Vol 3, $7.99
Strawberry 100% TP Vol 6, $7.99
Tail Of The Moon TP Vol 13, $8.99
Time Stranger Kyoko GN Vol 2, $8.99
I think this week I’m going to try something a little new. After School Nightmare got talked up when I was out the other weekend so I’m going to give that series a go this week. Gender bending, bizzare dream worlds, and a well written story is what the fans promise. I’m looking forward to it.
Erin is dreamin’ of magic 8 balls, salary men, and ancient games:
DMP has once again grabbed my eye with hilarious titles like “Candy,” “Gentlemen’s Kiss,” and “Passion Forbidden Lovers,” the last of which seems to have combined words commonly found in yaoi titles. Perhaps at the office of some yaoi magazine in Japan there is a Magic 8 Ball with words like “Lover” “Student” and “Passion” written on it, and the editors shake it to come up with new titles.
I’m interested in “Gentlemen’s Kiss” because I think salaryman manga is way hotter than schoolboys. Maybe it’s because I’m almost 30…!
In all honestly I’m probably just going to buy Hikaru No Go.
Don’t worry Erin. Thirty isn’t so bad…
Eva is running with cute yaoi manga and manga that regularly gets turned into cute yaoi:
Oh My God vol 1 was pretty cute, so I’ll take a look at volume 2. (It should go without saying that I’ll be reading After School Nightmare and Hikaru no Go first, though. Won’t everyone?)
eva
who is significantly older than Erin and agrees that salarymen are way hotter…
Julie came out of her dreamland long enough to give us her choice picks for the week:
Beauty Pop - cause it’s fun
Tail of the Moon - cause I gotta find out what happened to Hanzo
Angel’s Coffin - cause it’s by You HiguriIt’s way too early to use complete sentences - sorry!
There we have it! Looks like it is a yaoi and shoujo week for us all. I’d also like to point out to all you sports manga fans that the new Eyeshield 21 is out this week. Much like Erin with Dark Horse titles, I feel a little guilty each time this title comes out and I don’t pick it up. Be sure to let us know what you all are going to pick up this week.
List was sourced from The Comic List.
Because the alternative is listening to my retirement plan gurgle feebly, and because I can watch anything on television for five minutes, I offer the following: my dream cast for Dancing With the Manga Stars!
It seems to me that there are certain types that must be included in every season of Dancing With the Stars: the athlete, the contestant with a potentially dramatic physical disability, the codger of either gender, at least one tertiary celebrity from a popular property, one hunky boy, and several air-quote stars, whose celebrity was either long in the past or of questionable provenance even at its peak. There must also be contestants who are engaging in career rehabilitation, and perhaps one that makes you think, “Surely he/she has better things to do with his/her time.”
-AF: “I know a cool horror izakaya in Shinjuku, assuming I can find it again. But then again, it wasn't that comfortable to sit at.”
-Salaryman: “However, what worries me is how hungrily everyone has accepted the venue to be "The Lock-Up", this happens to be one of the crappiest horror theme bars in Japan, probably a world-wide contender, but definately [sic] up there in Japan.”
I expected Salaryman to be a skinny Japanesque salaryman, but he is far more Euro-American-like. Perhaps my assumptions were due to his anti-umbrella-in-snow comments on his blog. I picture those who impose their views on others as A blood types, and A blood types as skinny little annoying things. My prejudice, my bad, but you would be surprised how often this stereotype is accurate in Japan. I probably should have realized he was not the typical Japanesque salaryman (even though foreign born) because Japanese seldom are able to see themselves from outside and be self-amused. Is anyone? Besides me, of course. He does look kind of like his logo, but without the glasses—he wore contacts that night.
Penguin is a low-key persona, pretty much like his blog. He does have a Mrs. Penguin, who is Japanese. Despite the youth of these bloggers, the oldest of whom was ten years younger than me, the vast majority of them are married. Some (perhaps one?) have kids. 
Tokyo Cowgirl looks pretty much like I imagined her, I think there is a real-life picture of her somewhere on her blog, but not as MTV strike-a-pose-ish as I would have thought and neither is Green-Eyed Geisha the tart as I expected. They are both lovely young people, who remind me of what my students must be like after hours. 
Although I only teach undergraduates now, and they are more of a graduate student age. They both were at one time exchange students at the university where I teach, and knew some of my fellow instructors. They had fond memories of Gaye Rowley, who is indeed a wonderful person.- Mad Tokyo: "Of course, like any group of people meeting for the first time, there was that initial awkwardness, the pauses in conversation and inevitable queries of, “Who are you again?” Luckily, alcohol is arguably the single greatest invention in the history of great inventions, and thanks to the 1,800 yen all-you-can drink special, there was no shortage of it to help get things going."
)
... The poll is open for about 20 more days now, so don't forget to vote... Oh and please don't let gorgeous Shawn here by Martin Ryter influence your decision. I'd like a somewhat unbiased result 
...Title: Tail of the Moon Vol 13
Author: Rinko Ueda
Publisher: Viz
ISBN: 9781421519531
May Contain Spoilers
Things are starting to look up for Usagi. First, she has a joyous reunion with her great-grandpa and her grandpa. When she learns that more of the Iga ninjas escaped death during the attack by Nobunaga, she gets more than a little upset that nobody let her know they were alive. Even I forgave them after learning their reasoning - they wanted to watch Usagi, who suddenly had to rely on herself, grow up. When she thought that everyone had been killed and she had to make sure that Mamezo stayed safe, she was forced to become more responsible and learn to depend on herself. She never would have achieved this new maturity if they had contacted her right away, and she never would have learned to stand on her own two feet.
She’s also discovered that she has a handsome group of admirers. I’m not so sure that I agree with her choice of a prospective spouse, being partial to Goemon as I am, but as least she picked someone with steady employment. It was also adorable how Yuki declared his feelings for her - what woman doesn’t long for a heartfelt confession of love accompanied by a lovely bouquet of flowers? I have always preferred a small sampling of comics to a bunch of dying foliage, but I have been assured that I am in the minority regarding this issue.
It is also very endearing that Yuki accepts that Usagi is still in love with Hanzo. Now if only he would tell her about the mysterious man who saved her from the misguided Ranmaru and a fiery death. It was interesting to note that Ranmaru is no longer an devotee of Usagi, and he isn’t impressed with the woman that she’s become. This just proves that he’s a big jerk. Hopefully he won’t be making any future guest appearances. Getting back to that mysterious rescuer, I wonder how long we will have to wait until it is revealed that Hanzo is still alive? And what has he been doing all of this time??
Only two more volume of Tail of the Moon to go, and the series continues to entertain. Why wasn’t this made into an anime??
Grade: B
Rated for Older Teen
Review copy provided by Viz
you know when you find something new, that is just so perfect it makes you deeply happy? like your new favorite CD that you play constantly, or a new amazing artist?
and then there are the prints. i don't know which one i love more, laika...
the polar bear...
or the deap sea diver? i can't choose, i love them all.
Bento contents:
Total calories (approx): 700 (how calories are calculated)
Time needed: 20-30 minutes
Type: Japanese, kyaraben-ish, special occasion bento!
This week actually marks the real first year anniversary of Just Bento. Although I officially opened the site in late October (see Welcome to Just Bento) I started writing up some articles and designing and installing the site after 2 years of procrastinating about it in early October. It’s rather like the olden days in Japan, when a baby would be officially registered some time after being born so that the official birthday would be a bit later than the actual birthday.
I’m planning a bigger celebration for Just Bento’s ‘official’ birthday later on, but in the meantime, to commemorate the moment when the site actually popped out from my head onto my server so to speak, I’ve stepped out of my usual pattern of quick-assembly bento to make a special occasion one, featuring an omuraisu (omurice) or rice omelette. The THX on the top is um, LOLspeak for Thanks (I meant to cut in Thanks but I cut the T in too far to the right, and too big) to thank all Just Bento readers for your support and encouragement. Without you, the site wouldn’t exist!
Since I’m no kyaraben/charaben artist, this bento can be assembled quite easily without any experience. It took me about 20 minutes to make. While the calorie count is a bit higher than usual, it is still loaded with vegetables and is quite a nutritionally complete bento.
Omuraisu (omurice) or rice omelette is a Japanese yohshoku (Western-style Japanese cooking) classic, and a perennial favorite with kids of all ages. This omuraisu is adapted for bento. It differs from the recipe for an omuraisu meant to be consumed immediately, since it’s safer to cook the egg through if you intend to use it in a bento. The omelette part is really a large thin omelette or usuyaki tamago, made without adding sugar or soy sauce.
For the wiener and broccoli ‘flower meadow’:
For the omelette:
For the rice filling:
Here are the steps to follow:
Now the fun part - assembling the bento!
Spread the omelette out on a plate (a concave one like this pasta plate is ideal):
Mound about 4 tablespoons of rice in the middle of the omelette. The rice shouldn’t cover more than half the area of the omelette.
Turn your bento box upside down on top of the plate.
Fiip the bento box and plate and take the plate off. If the omelette fell apart a bit, tuck the ends underneath neatly.
Arrange the rest of the rice around the omelette.
Stick the broccoli florets around the omelette into the rice.
Tuck the wiener ‘flowers’ in between the broccoli.
Cut a design into the top of the omelette with a sharp knife, or a cookie cutter. Clear up the edges of the bento box. (I actually messed up the H, but patched it up with the piece I accidentally cut off.)
Even if I made this bento myself, it was still fun to open up at lunch time. Try making something like this for someone special on their birthday, or to cheer them up - it’s just as fun, if not as sugary, as a cake! You could cut in their initials perhaps, age, or even their full name if you’re adept with a knife.
Alternative decoration for the omuraisu: Draw a face or other decoration on with ketchup! Note that the nozzle of a regular size Heinz ketchup squeeze bottle is too big to make a neat face, so you may want to transfer some into a fine-nozzle decoration bottle. I used the squeeze bottle pictured here.
While this bento may seem a bit complicated, it really isn’t! There are just two burners in use, 1 frying pan and 1 saucepan.
The word crisis in Japanese (危機=kiki) has the kanjis 危=”danger” and 機=”opportunity” (This kanji has also other meanings). The Japanese are pretty good finding ways to find opportunities when things turn bad, the best example is how they resurrected after the war.
A more recent example has been Nomura that just bought the Lehman Brothers Asian and (some) European divisions. It was interesting to read in Japanese newspapers how the Nomura was celebrating their success after creating the biggest independent investment bank in the world. Something that was IMPOSSIBLE some months ago.
危=”danger” y 機=”opportunity”.
After the US and Europe “initiated the crisis” tons of money have moved to Japan, because Japanese economy is considered low risk (no inflation and ridiculous interest rates). But this move of money is having many secondary effects. The Japanese yen is amazingly strong, some months ago you needed around 170 yen to buy 1 euro, now you only need 135 yen! This will affect a lot Japanese exports, and Japanese economy is based on exports! The Japanese prime minister Taro Aso announced that they will take some measures but even though this week has been crazy. Nikkei index broke the 10.000 level, Toyota shares fall 30% in some days, Nintendo has lost more than 50% in six months and Sony 20% in five days, and I could continue writing tons of companies.
Let’s see if the Japanese and the rest of the world can find the 機=”opportunity” in this dangerous=”危” crisis (危機=kiki). And yes I’m aware of this but I like it to be “opportunity” 
OFFICIAL “07-GHOST” WEBSITE NOW ONLINE
7 October 2008 LOS ANGELES
Manga publisher Go! Comi today announced the launch of 07ghost.com, the official website of the highly anticipated manga, 07-GHOST. The website features news about the series, forums, downloadable wallpapers and icons, and much more.
“Company websites dedicated to a single manga series aren’t very common,” says Go! Media Creative Director Audry Taylor, “but 07-GHOST is an uncommon series. It’s had fans in this country since it first started running in Japan, and we wanted to give the ‘early adopters’ a place where they could hang out and get more involved with the series.”
07-GHOST tells the story of Teito Klein, a former slave who is now pursued by the forces of the Barsburg Empire because of his exceptional ability to use a form of magic called Zaiphon, as he finds himself at the center of the conflict between Verloren, the God of Death, and the mysterious “beings of light” sent by Heaven to oppose him: the Seven Ghosts. The series is a major hit in Japan, where it appears alongside Loveless and Sayuki Reload in Ichijinsha’s Zero-Sum Magazine.
Volume 1 of 07-GHOST will be released in early December, with subsequent volumes released every three months. The official website can be found at www.07ghost.com.
ABOUT GO! COMI
Go! Comi is known for its exciting manga series and top-notch production values. Among its publications are the Bookscan best-sellers “The Devil Within” and “Her Majesty’s Dog,” and the Eisner Award-nominated “After School Nightmare,” which was named one of the Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens of 2008 by the Young Adult Library Services Association. Two other Go! Series, “Train + Train” and “Cantarella,” have also been cited by the YALSA Great Graphic Novels list.
If you have a thirst for the macabre, love bad taste zombie stories, don't mind smut and can turn a blind eye to Hanakuma's rather unusual illustration style, check out this title, which is on the shelves now.
While this is a very silly book, it’s also contains some very heavy underlying comments on the social politics of class warfare. Politics, slap-stick and gore! Perfect! This has definitely become one of my new favorite zombie comic of all time.
Tokyo Zombie was just published this year in English for the first time ever by the awesome people at Last Gasp. I can’t recommend the book enough. Everybody who loves zombies should read this.
It’s been a while since my last bento shopping update for San Francisco Bay Area locals, so there’s quite a bit today. I’ll be updating the San Francisco Bay Area bento shopping guide, the online bento shopping guide, and the store entries in the Bento Store Locator with this information for quick reference.
Summary:
Click for the full details on each store.
(Alert: Due to ongoing issues with my hosting provider, I’m going to be changing web hosts over the next few days to reduce site downtime and speed up loading time. The transition *should* be seamless to readers, but some of the latest reader comments might appear to go temporarily missing in the transition. I’ll do my best to move any stray comments to the new server — rest assured that they’re important to me, and haven’t disappeared into the ether!) (more…)
Share and Enjoy:
Here is another great way to enjoy new potatoes. It’s almost as simple to make as new potatoes with soy sauce and butter, though it uses a few more ingredients. Boiled whole new potatoes are panfried in a little sesame oil, then coated in a sticky sweet-salty-spicy miso sauce. The strong flavors of the miso sauce really go well with the blandness of the potatoes.
Boil the potatoes in their skins until they are tender (if you poke one with a knife point or skewer, it goes through easily).
Heat up a large frying pan. Heat up the sesame oil. Add the potatoes, and pan-fry them until they turn brown and crispy.
In the meantime, combine the miso, kochujang, sugar, grated garlic and ginger in a bowl with enough water to make it into a smooth, loose paste, about the consistency of ketchup. (I use a microplane to grate the garlic and ginger.)
Add the paste to the hot pan and toss the potatoes around rapidly to coat them well. The water will evaporate and the sauce will turn very sticky. Take off the the heat before the miso burns.
Serve sprinkled with lots of chopped green onions.
This is a very rich and strongly flavored dish, almost a meal unto itself. In Japan it would be a side dish, eaten with rice and soup and a couple more dishes such as grilled fish or meat plus pickles or salad, etc. You could serve these as a side dish as part of a Western style meal. It’s a great vegan dish - you could add some pan-fr
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