general Manga Discussion Volume 4 - Page 6

That sucks, I've been waiting over a year for the 10th volume of Steel Angel Kurumi. Guess they didn't learn from Tokyopop's example but I think part of it is ADV also has their anime too.

If that's the case then ADV is going through something like Raijin comics did...for those who never were able to read any of their works, Raijin (a label from a company that I think was called "Gutsoon! Entertainment") was another manga publisher for a couple years, back around '03-04. They mainly tried to appeal to older, more mature readers (largely the 16+ crowd despite doing some for 13+) and were best known for publishing "Fist Of The North Star" in deluxe, full-color editions, their other notable titles were the sports-themed "Slam Dunk", the romantic comedy "Guardian Angel Getten", and the ecchi (17+) action/comedy "Bomber Girl". They also did a weekly manga magazine which later went monthly (much like Shonen Jump in format) as well as a handful of other titles. After about a year they suddenly ceased to exist and stopped publishing but hoped to resume at a later date. That hasn't yet happened (although one of their mangas that didn't get finished is now an anime that's being put out). So the ADV deal leads me to believe there could be similarities between the two although I don't yet know all the details.

Almost all ADV's titles are or were based on anime they've released or soon would. All their manga I read also were anime, and in fact I bought some of their anime after reading the mangas (at least Steel Angel Kurumi & Najica Blitz Tactics).

Since you've got the other Akamatsu ones already, you probably will like "Negima!", his latest project. I'd also recommend "DearS" and "Saber Marionette J" as well as "Najica Blitz Tactics".

From Tokyopop's website:

quote

Sora is a young energetic boy looking forward to exploring the world with his friends Riku and Kairi. The threesome is working hard on completing a raft that will allow them to leave their island but one day a mysterious force causes Sora to gain a special weapon known as the Keyblade. He fights some weird monsters and gets transported to a strange town. Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy leave their castle to search for the king and the chosen one who holds the 'key' to saving the world. Sora is attack again by creatures known as Heartless but is helped out by an old man named Cid and a warrior named Leon. He eventually meets up with Donald and Goofy and they join forces to go search for his friends and the King

It's based on the very popular PS2 game series. Basically it's an RPG where you get to fight alongside and against popular Disney and Final Fantasy characters. There currently are 2 volumes available-a 3rd volume comes out 4/11 (you can get it now from Tokyopop via their online store), a 4th volume comes out 7/11.

Amazing what you'd find if you checked out their website. You'd probably like it if you really are into the games, I haven't read it as it's something that really doesn't interest me that much.

Try one called GATE... It's pretty cool...