TOKYOPOP & Pocky want you to get your creative juices flowing! Submit an original piece of artwork or a 1-3 panel comic that includes images of Pocky – you can create a box of Pocky, characters enjoying Pocky, or an intriguing Pocky world! Five winners will be chosen to win some amazing prizes!

Here are the prizes:

• Grand Prize: $1,000
• Second through fifth place winners will recieve $20 Borders gift cards
• Winning artwork will be displayed at San Diego Comic Con.

Submit an original piece of art that includes any images of Pocky & make sure they are:

• Total Size: 10 MB
• Resolution: 300 jpeg, at least 5″ 7″
• Art submissions must be either a piece of artwork OR a 1-3 panel comic
• Submissions should be digital format and must sent in .jpg file format to fancontent@tokyopop.com
• Deadline: July 1, 2009

For additional details, visit tokyopop.com. Good luck! Are you planning to submit an entry?

All you need to do is create your own music video using either the Bizenghast or Riding Shotgun manga or both. Here’s an example of one of the manga music episodes:

To enter:

• Read all the fine print before entering.
• Create your music video and submit it to the contest page.

Deadline:

• Sunday, March 23, 2008, before 11:59 pm.

Prizes:

• The creator of the winning video will earn an Apple Video Ipod jam packed with TOKYOPOP music and ALL of the imanga webisodes! And that’s not all…
• The winning video will also be featured on TOKYOPOP TV’s Youtube page!

If you’re interested in mixing your own manga music video, get to it; the deadline is 11:59 March 23!

When I found out that the Gothic & Lolita Bible was being licensed for release in the U.S., I was pretty psyched! For those of you who might not know what that is, it’s a collector’s magazine (dubbed a “mook” by the Japanese–somewhere between a magazine and a book) that showcases some amazing fashions unique to Tokyo. As the title implies, it’s an assorted collection of Gothic and Lolita styles as well as Punk and mixtures of said fashions (such as Gothic Lolita). It appeals to both cosplayers and fashionistas worldwide–but until now, only those able to read Japanese could bask in its entire glory.

Review

The editors state in a “popcast” that the first English Bible is more of a beginner’s guide than anything else, and that they plan on having more in-depth issues following this one. My question is: Was a beginner’s guide really necessary? Thousands of Gothic and Lolita adherents have been waiting years for this moment; we don’t need an introduction to the fashion we already like. Luckily, there is a good chunk of content that isn’t tailored specifically to the beginner–for example, there are quite a few interviews, and I enjoyed every single one! It’s also fun to read translations of some of the things I’ve seen in my Japanese Bibles.

The biggest disappointment for me is the noticeable lack of Gothic representation within the new English content. What gives the Gothic & Lolita Bible (abbreviated GLB) its namesake is the endless duality it provides by showcasing Gothic AND Lolita side-by-side. It’s 50/50, not 30/70, as senior editor Jenna Winterberg expressed in the popcast. She also noted that Gothic styles in Japan look different than they do here, a comment that I appreciate–why not show how different they are and appeal to those who enjoy them?

Why not take it a step further and examine Western-based news and trends that appeal to both Goths and Lolitas? For example, Goth-prince Voltaire, who hails from New York, recently recorded a music video with Gothic Lolitas cast among other elegant extras. Why not do an interview with him in the future? To offset that, an interview with someone from the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright store opening in San Fransisco could be placed next to it.

I do like Lolita fashion, but it’s not my preferred identity within the Gothic and Lolita spectrum, and unlike the Japanese version, the English GLB hasn’t represented me very well.

Despite this, the articles are quick, easy reads, and the vocabulary is smooth like butter. I also have to hand it to the photo management–all of the pictures are beautifully sharp, even the ones submitted by fans. This is a crucial asset to a fashion magazine.

Content

Although they’re skillfully written, the content of most of the new English articles read more like they were written by observers of Gothic and Lolita than participants. More specifically, they read like a fanatical rehash of egl community FAQs and conversations. If I wanted that, I would just go to the egl community. Ironically, the article written by egl community members is probably the most authentic to the Gothic and Lolita subculture outside of Japan.

One of my biggest pet-peeves about Gothic and Lolita articles is that for some reason, people think that backing up their claims with research is unnecessary. I don’t even know how to correct the history article in the front of the magazine, because parts of it are true for Gothic Lolita (that it has ties to Visual-kei), but not for all Lolita, which is what the author claims to be writing about halfway through the article–and it doesn’t even mention Gothic or Lolita origins prior to their popularity in the late ’90s. There are other articles where they seem to use “Lolita” as shorthand for “Gothic and Lolita” that made me think, Wait, are you talking about both, or just Lolita?

The translated content was a let-down as well. Because most of us can’t read Japanese, the GLBs have been more like picture books than magazines. When I heard the first English version would include translations from four GLBs, I was hoping I would finally be able to read some of those interesting-looking articles. But in fact, there are more reprinted photos than translated articles. Oh well, so much for that hope.

What’s more, I assumed they would either choose content from the four earliest or four most recent volumes, but they seem to have randomly chosen volumes 15, 16, 21, and 23. Volume 16, from which they reprinted the brand catalog, is from 2005–three years ago!

The interviews are the Bible’s saving grace. They’ve reeled in some of the most influential figures of Gothic and Lolita in Japan, including Nana Kitade and Mitsukazu Mihara. They’ve also managed to catch some time from some brand-house employees as well as some Lolitas closer to home, namely Aimee Major Steinberger, author of Japan Ai, and Vivien Hoffpauir of the store Candy Violet. Being able to delve into the lives of all of these talented people was an absolute pleasure, and their thoughts on Gothic and Lolita resonated well with me.

Fan Participation

The magazine’s strongest point is the amount of participation they requested from fans and adherents of the fashion. Not only do they include some art and poetry, but an entire article is written by Lolitas from the egl community, complete with photos of some of its members. A call for submissions appears on more than one page.

There isn’t much to discuss here because it doesn’t seem like many have answered to Tokyopop’s call yet. I hope more people participate in the future, because the GLB editors are extending a generous hand out to us. The more they know what we like and want, the better they will be able to please us in the future.

Patterns

The patterns were chosen well, because there are items for Goths and Lolitas, in the true spirit of the Gothic & Lolita Bible. Also, they are not clothes, but accessories–an Alice bow and matching bag, a wolf hat and matching gloves, a bunny-ear cape, and a pirate/punk cat-ear headpiece–so no worries about the patterns not fitting you!

There are difficulty levels printed near the items and they seem simple enough to make, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to assemble them without a basic knowledge of sewing terms and techniques. All four sets of accessories are printed on one page, so the directions for each item are small and precise and there are no pictures to guide you through the process.

Conclusion

The first volume of the English GLB is either hit or miss. Some might find delightful relief in a Gothic and Lolita publication that they can actually read, and others might cringe at how hard it tries to be Lolita. I suggest checking out a visual review of the magazine before you decide to fork over $20 for something you might either love or hate. You can view Tokyopop’s popcast, an amazon.com preview, or if you can’t wait, head to your local bookstore and flip through a copy yourself. (Note: It seems some store catalogs list this as the “Gothic & Lolita Collection”–just an fyi in case you need them to help you locate it.)

“I could also read American comics, but I prefer the Japanese ones because they’re less clumsy.”

According to Tokyopop Germany managing director, Joachim Kaps, manga accounts for 70% of all comics sales in Germany. It has become so popular, that they (as well as another publisher, Carlsen Manga) are producing and exporting manga from Germany. One example is Gothic Sports by Anike Hage (Vol. 3’s cover is shown in this month’s manga releases article).

From a units sold standpoint, manga is even more popular in France. Readers there say they prefer the graphics of manga over western comics. They also believe that the stories told in manga address more relevant issues for teens.

Perhaps in reaction to the rising popularity of manga, French illustrator and author Albert Uderzo, best known for his Asterix series, published Asterix and the Falling Sky in 2005. This volume, while still set in 1st century B.C. Gaul (France), departs from the previous 32 volumes by introducing two sets of aliens from outer space. One is the evil Nagma (anagram of manga) who want to steal the Gaul’s druid potion so that they can conquer more planets. The comic also pokes fun at Americans. The other alien group is called the Tadsilweny (anagram for Walt Disney) and they want to confiscate the potion since they consider it a dangerous weapon.

The brief British reference said that Tokyopop UK had it sales double from $4 million in 2006 to $8 million in 2007. There was also mention of British experiments with publishing their own manga with adaptations of Shakespeare and the Bible.

The article mentioned one interesting point. Europe is “the largest consumer of manga outside Japan“. They referred to a report by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) which said that the combined manga sales in Germany and France “totaled $212.6 million last year” (which probably means 2006). The article did not have a link to the report, but a similar report is mentioned in a ComiPress article. That article states that Germany and France combined for a range of 20.6 billion yen ($188.6 million) to 23.6 billion yen ($216.1 million) while the US that year (2005) had sales of 20 billion yen ($183 million).

On a related note, according to an ANN article, the Japanese government has allocated 147 million yen (about $1.34 million) “to spread anime, manga, and other elements of Japanese popular culture in Eastern Europe“. The money will be used to pay for 30 teachers to go to Hungary and three other countries to teach Japanese and Japanese popular culture.

Business Week Article (via ANN): Europe’s Manga Mania

ComiPress Article: New Report from JETRO on the Manga Market in Germany
JETRO Report (Japanese) and pdf link

ANN Article: Japan Plans 147M Yen to Spread Anime, Manga in Europe

ANN Japanese Sources: Nikkan Sports, Asahi Shimbun

“The main character of the manga, a young man called Shizuku Kanzaki, discovers the beauty of wine after his father, a famous wine critic, dies and leaves an unusual will: a description of 12 wines he considers to be the best in the world, comparing them to Jesus Christ’s disciples.

The first person to find these “disciples” will inherit the father’s wine collection, a contest that pits Shizuku against his adoptive brother, Issey Tomine, who works as a sommelier.”

As wines have been introduced in the manga, readers have been going out to purchase them. According to Reuters, winemakers have noticed the Kami no Shizuku effect:

“The minute it was translated into Korean, we had calls from three importers,” said Basaline Granger Despagne, whose family has grown wine near France’s Dordogne river for 250 years. Their Chateau Mont Perat 2001 Bordeaux appears early on in the manga.

“When it was translated into Chinese, people called us from Taiwan saying, ‘I bought some Mont Perat and sold 50 cases in two days because of the manga’,” she said in a phone interview.

Umberto Cosmo, whose family produces Colli di Conegliano Rosso Contrada di Concenigo, was pleased to hear that his wine appeared in the manga. In a phone interview with Reuters, he said that sales jumped by 30% after the manga came out.

The Decanter.com article also comments about how the manga describes wine:

“The books are notable for their unconventional descriptions of the wines featured. For instance, Mont Perat is likened to a concert given by the rock group Queen, with the wine’s acidity taking the place of Freddie Mercury’s vocals.”

Mangaka Yuko Kibayashi, under a nom de plume, and with the help of her brother Shin plan to continue the series for another four to five years revealing the identity of the 12 “disciple” wines during the course of the series.

Kami no Shizuku is currently published in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Not surprisingly, a French version is scheduled to be published in 2008 with the possibility of an Italian version to follow. Also, there are rumors of a live-action adaptation.

Image of Kami no Shizuku, Vol. 1 from beNippon.com
Image of Château Mont-Pérat (2001) from snooth.com

Decanter.com article (via ANN): Manga comics ignite interest in wine

Reuters Story: FEATURE-Taste of heaven: Manga spreads ‘Drops of God’ in Asia

Pizza Hut has recently been using anime as one way to promote their pizzas. They had product placement within the series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Darker than Black. They had a promotional campaign tied to the theatrical release of the Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone movie. Now, they have a similar campaign under way tied to the shōjo series Maria-sama ga Miteru. According to the series official website…hopefully, I have interpreted the Japanese translation (Babelfish) correctly…customers who buy a medium pizza will get a limited edition Maria-sama ga Miteru design pizza box, while supplies last. Additionally, Pizza Hut Club members will have access to a special computer wallpaper and mobile phone graphic. The campaign will run from January 7 thru February 13. All orders made online will be entered in a drawing where the prizes are a stamp sheet signed by the main cast (1), a script signed by the “Red Rose” cast (3), a script signed by the “Yellow Rose” cast (3), a script signed by the “White Rose” cast (3), and the Season 3 OVA fan disc – Vol. 1 (20). Entry to the drawing can also be made by mail. The entry deadline is February 19. Note: This campaign is for Japan only.

Images © Oyuki Konno/Shueisha, Yamayurikai 02

Maria-sama ga Miteru official website

ANN Article: MariMite Pizza Hut Japan Campaign, Fan Disk Announced
Japanese Source: Moon Phase

In 2006, Nissin Foods celebrated the 35th anniversary of the introduction of one of their most famous products, Cup Noodles, with a campaign called the Freedom Project. It included the usual print and TV ads as well as special 35th anniversary designs for their Cup Noodles. What made this campaign different is that Nissin commissioned the creation of a 6 part OVA called Freedom as its centerpiece. It was created by Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), who also was the character and mecha designer. Of course, there was plenty of product placement throughout the series.

Last month, Nissin started airing two commercials for another of its products, Donbei Instant Noodles. For this campaign, they have characters from Mobile Suit Gundam sing the praises of Donbei. The “Mieru” commercial shows Amuro Ray delirious from hunger after a long battle and crying for joy when he sees floating bowls of Donbei Udon and Soba.

The other commercial features Zeon leader Gihren Zabi giving his “Sieg Zeon” speech, except he says “Juicy Udon” instead of “Sieg Zeon”.

Tohru Furuya and Banjou Ginga, the seiyū for Amuro and Gihren, reprised their Mobile Suit Gundam roles for the spots.

Nissin has posted both the “Mieru” commericial (in low, middle, or high quality) and the “Eat up, my countrymen” commercial (in low, middle, or high quality). You will need Windows Media Player for playback.

Freedom, Noodle and Gundam Images ©Nissin, Sunrise, Sotsu Agency, and Bandai Visual

ANN Article: Gundam Characters Hawk Instant Noodles in Japan
Japanese Source: Nikkei Trendy Net

Last November, Anime Anime (via ANN) reported that Japanese retailer kamikau.com was offering 20 different styles of tissue boxes with designs from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Each style costs 525 yen (about $4.79 US) and includes 100 2-ply white tissues. Each features artwork from the series on 5 sides. The set of 20 is offered at 10,500 yen (about $95.82 US)…so no discount. To protect the tissue box, kamikau sells a clear acrylic cover for 2100 yen (about $19.16 US). They also offer a customization service, so people can create their own style (using the images found in the 20 pre-made styles) for no extra charge.

Images © 2006 Nagaru Tanigawa/Noizi Ito/member of SOS and © 2006 Morizane – Shoji Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Anime Anime Article (Japanese): 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱」のボックスティッシュ インターネットで限定販売

ANN Article: Not-So-Daily Link of the Day: Haruhi Tissue Boxes

In the past anime and manga have been used to promote beauty and personal hygiene products for women (The Rose of Versailles bath powder sets) and children (Shin-chan Eau de Toilette, Body Fresh Spray, and Cologne). Now, the hair product division of German-based company Schwarzkopf & Henkel (home care, personal care, and adhesives) will be introducing a new line of hair coloring products for men.

Pictured above and below are the current line of bleaching and darkening products.

According to ANN, “the new lineup will include more unusual colors: beige, ash, gray, blonde, khaki (greenish tint), and blood (reddish tint)”. The projected price for each color is 700 yen (about $6.43 US). The launch date is February 4, 2008.

The characters used for the 2007 line and those that will appear on the 2008 line come from the high school fighting manga Crows and its sequel Worst by Hiroshi Takahashi. Here is a synopsis of Worst from DMP:

“Worst is a high impact gang-related title that deals with teenage boys fighting their way through high school on order to gain respect. There is no room for deceit and underhanded tricks at the notorious High School ‘Suzuran.’ These young men follow a strict honor code when it comes to brawling, very reminiscent of the mafia in the early days. Traditionally called a ‘Yankee Manga’ (’Yankee’ having a different meaning and pronunciation than in English) typically involves delinquent young men and thugs like ‘Hana Tsukishima’ who is making his way through the ranks to rule over the rest at school.”

You will notice that the main character, Hana Tsukishima, doesn’t appear to have much hair and that he isn’t on any of the products above. Not to worry, Schwarzkopf & Henkel is using his image to sell their line of facial tissues.

On a related note, last October, a live-action prequel called Crows Zero directed by Takashi Miike opened in theaters around Japan and Korea. Schwarzkopf & Henkel used this as an opportunity for cross promotion. They gave away posters signed by Takahashi-san and the film’s star Shun Oguri (Hana Yori Dango).

Product Images: ©2007 Schwarzkopf & Henkel K.K. All Right Reserved
Character Images: © Hiroshi Takahashi (Monthly Shonen Champion) 2002-2007

ANN Story: Manga Used to Sell Hair Coloring Products…for Men

Japanese Source (which also shows a photo of the upcoming product line): Sankei Shimbun

Finally, one more piece about products for men. It seems the juggernaut of kawaii, Hello Kitty, has decided to enter the arena. Sanrio Co. will be rolling out a line of products aimed at young men including bags, watches, and T-shirts. The products will go on sale in Japan this month with later releases planned in other Asian nations as well as the US.

There will be some minor modifications to the look of Hello Kitty for men. According to Sanrio (via the Associated Press), the shape of the head will feature:

“…a more rugged, cool look to appeal to men in their teens and 20s. For example, a picture of the cat on a $36 black T-shirt has the words, ‘hello kitty,’ instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.”

While this will be the first time Sanrio has developed Hello Kitty items specifically for men, they did have a trial run of sorts last fall. They collaborated on a “limited edition” of men’s clothing with designers in Tokyo’s Harajuku section. This was noted in the Hello Kitty World blog.

As to why Sanrio decided to enter the men’s fashion market, spokesperson Kazuo Tohmatsu said:

“We think Hello Kitty is accepted by young men as a design statement in fashion.” He added, “Young men these days grew up with character goods. That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty.”

Photos of Products: © Associated Press/AP Photo/Koji Sasahara
Images of Hello Kitty: © 1976-2008 Sanrio Co., Ltd.

Associated Press Story (via The Miami Herald): Hello Kitty targets hip young (tom)cats

ANN Story: Hello Kitty Takes on Men for Next Conquest

Lolitas and their Gothic companions are invited to share their own photos and illustrations in this debut issue.

The mook (book-like magazine) is intended to be printed in “hybrid format,” including both translated text from four Japanese issues as well as new content for the English release. This content is said to include interviews with Mitsukazu Mihara and Nana Kitade as well as Japan Ai author Aimee Major Steinberger. Also included in the mook are English-language patterns for creating your own accessories, among other exciting topics.

Too excited to wait? Pre-order it from Tokyopop’s website or Amazon!

See also:
About Manga
ComiPress
Anime News Network
La Carmina