Freebies

Yahoo! Comics Japan has recently launched a free online manga magazine called Flex Comix Flare. The target audience for the magazine is women. Here is the lineup, from ANN’s translation:

• Starting October 18: Kanashi no Homura: Yume Maboroshi no Gotoku by Eri Motomura is an historical epic set in Japan’s feudal era, and Nariyuki Mystery Club by Makoto Hasebe is a high school slapstick comedy.
• Starting October 25: Sayonara Boku no RyÅ« (Farewell, My Dragon) by Koh Karakemi is a story about a mountain village boy and his half-dragon.
• Starting November 1: Riegienda Monogatari (The Story of Riegienda) by Naoko Moto is a fantasy of a magical tea shop — literally named "Magical" — in the town of Riegienda.
• Starting November 8: Motonomoto no Ana no Naka by Taka Amano is a Japanese-style fantasy about a boy’s encounter with a mysterious figure in a library.

Of course, there are some caveats. The manga will be in raw form so there will be no translation; you will need to be able to read Japanese to fully enjoy the manga. The software requirements are any recent version of Windows (except for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition) and Internet Explorer 5 or higher.

ANN Story:
Yahoo! Comics Japan Launches Free Net Manga for Women

Japanese Source:
Ultimatum

Contests

If you are a reader from the UK, then you can enter two contests running on AnimeOnDVD.

First, they will be giving away two sets of Noein: Complete Series Box Set. Here is a synopsis from RightStuf!:

"In the near future, a violent battle takes place between the dimension La’cryma (protector of humanity) and the dimension Shangri-La, bent on the annihilation of all space-time. A group known as the Dragon Calvary is dispatched through space and time, searching for the only thing that can stop the invasion: the Dragon’s Torque.

In the present, twelve-year-old Haruka and her friend Yuu are contemplating running away from home when they meet a member of the Dragon Calvary named Karasu. He believes that Haruka possesses the Dragon’s Torque – and claims to be Yuu from fifteen years in the future…"

Second, they will be giving away two sets (not sure about this as their page for this contest has some incorrect information) of Robotech: The Complete Saga. Here is a synopsis from Wikipedia:

• The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga) concerns humanity’s battle against the Zentraedi, a race of giant warriors who are sent to earth to retrieve the flagship of the Robotech Master Zor. The ship contains the last known source of Protoculture in the universe.
• The Second Robotech War (The Masters) begins when the creators of the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters, attempt to take up where the Zentraedi left off, and capture the protoculture held within the remains of the SDF-1.
• The Third Robotech War (The New Generation) occurs after the alien Invid have been alerted to the existence of Protoculture on Earth by events that transpired at the end of the Second Robotech War. The planet is conquered, then enslaved, and it is up to the Robotech Expeditionary Force to retake their ancestral homeland.

Both contests are random drawings. Here are the contest information pages for Noein and for Robotech. Both contests are open until 8am on Friday, November 16. Again, these contests are open to UK residents only.

If you are a resident of the US or Canada, then here are a couple of contests for you. RightStuf! has two prize packages.

First, there is the Gackt package. Here is RightStuf!’s description of the contest:

"J-rock fans rejoice! Viz is bringing the video collections of one of the genre’s most popular artists to North American fans with the release of TWO Gackt video collections! To celebrate, they’ve put together a prize pack that includes both Gackt: The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 Red and Blue DVDs, plus a coffin cell phone charm, a copy of the Shojo Beat music issue with an article on the superstar, and a “Gackt” black vinyl totebag to carry it all!"

Then there is the Ping Pong package. This includes the DVD of the live-action movie plus an extra-large T-shirt and an athletic towel. Here is a synopsis of the movie from RighStuf!:

"Best friends Peco and Smile have been playing ping pong since they were little kids. While the unique and brazen Peco plays to win and loves the sport, the quiet and introverted Smile thinks of it as just a way to kill time with friends, and plays only because he looks up to Peco as his hero. Though Smile is the more talented player, he frequently and intentionally loses to Peco out of a misguided sense of friendship.

However, after Peco is badly beaten by his old pal Demon in an important inter-high school tournament and quits the game, Smile becomes the newest celebrity of ping pong. Smile begins training for the next championship, waiting for the return of his hero, whom he is destined to meet in one last match."

The contests are open to anyone 13 years or older. Check RightStuf!’s contest page for official rules and entry form. Both contests are open until December 6, 2007.

Sales

Here are three sales updates:

First, RightStuf!’s new sale is called "Book It" which naturally refers to a sale on graphic novels and books…in this case, from Tokyopop. You can take 33% off of the retail price of novels, manga, and art books. The sale also includes pre-orders. The coupon code is bookit. The sale ends November 18 at 11:59 CST.

AnimeNation has several sales going on under the umbrella title of Holiday Studio Sales:

• ADV Sale…you can take 40% off of any ADV release including pre-orders
• FUNimation Sale…you can take 35% off all current titles
• Nozomi Sale…you can take 40% off their titles through the end of November
• Hentai DVD Sale…you can take 40% off of titles from ASM, Critical Mass, and JapanAnime

Plus, you can use the coupon code ANHOLIDAYS to save an additional 10% on orders over $99.

Robert’s Anime Corner Store also has a holiday themed sale…"Gobble Up the Savings". Take up to 7% off any item in the store (excluding the deal of the day). This includes existing sale items. Here are the coupon codes:

• Save 3% off any order over $99 – GOBBLEUP3
• Save 5% off any order over $199 – GOBBLEUP5
• Save 7% off any order over $299 – GOBBLEUP7

Coupons are valid until midnight (EST), November 15.

Also, figure and toy purchases qualify for an additional 10% off.