Completely Futile

JAPANESE MANGA ANTHOLOGY CIRCULATION FIGURES, 2005: PART II

Here are the manga anthologies which appeared in both the 2004 and 2005 lists, in descending order of percentage change in circulation. As with the table in Part I of this post, in this and the following two tables an asterisk following the percentage indicates that the circulation for 2004 and/or 2005 was not audited.

1. V Jump +19.0%
2*. Kairakuten +16.7%
3. Shounen Ace +16.5%
4. Comic Ran Twins +8.7%
5. Comic Ran +5.1%
6. Betsucomi +4.9%
7. LaLa +4.1%
8. Magazine Special +3.4%
9. Ciel +1.8%
10. Cookie +0.4%
11. Nakayoshi +0.1%
12. Young Animal +0.1%
13*. Monthly Dengeki Comic Gao 0%
14*. Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh 0%
15*. Dengeki Moeoh 0%
16*. Elegance Eve 0%
17*. For Mrs. 0%
18*. Manga Action 0%
19*. Manga Time 0%
20*. Manga Time Original 0%
21. Ultra Jump 0%
22*. Weekly Manga Goraku 0%
23*. Weekly Manga Sunday 0%
24*. Weekly Manga Times 0%
25*. Weekly Shounen Champion 0%
26*. Young Champion 0%
27. Sunday Gene-X -0.4%
28. Shoujo -0.8%
29. Gundam Ace -1.0%
30. Weekly Shounen Jump -1.4%
31. Be Love -1.5%
32. Hana to Yume -1.7%
33. Ciao -3.0%
34. Petit Comic -3.0%
35. Young Magazine -3.1%
36. Monthly Shounen Magazine -3.1%
37. LaLa DX -3.2%
38. Super Jump -3.3%
39. Chorus -3.6%
40. Office You -3.6%
41. Shounen Sunday Chou (Super) -4.1%
42*. Young King Ours -4.2%
43*. Young King -4.3%
44. Deluxe Margaret -4.6%
45. Weekly Young Jump -4.9%
46. Feel Young -5.6%
47. Asuka -5.9%
48. Bessatsu Margaret -5.9%
49. Young Sunday -6.1%
50. Flowers -6.2%
51. Bessatsu Friend -6.4%
52*. Young Comic -6.4%
53. Monthly Shounen Jump -6.5%
54. Big Comic Original -6.9%
55. Bessatsu Corocoro Special -6.9%
56. The Dessert -7.3%
57. Afternoon -7.4%
58. Big Comic -7.5%
59. Silky -7.7%
60. The Margaret -7.7%
61. Weekly Shounen Sunday -8.0%
62. Weekly Comic Bunch -8.0%
63. Monthly Comic Tokujou -8.4%
64. Big Comic Superior -8.5%
65. You -8.5%
66. One More Kiss -8.6%
67. Corocoro -9.5%
68. Big Comic Spirits -9.5%
69. Kiss -9.6%
70. Business Jump -9.6%
71. Cheese! -10.9%
72. Bessatsu Hana to Yume -11.1%
73. Dessert -11.7%
74. Weekly Shounen Magazine -13.1%
75. Judy -13.4%
76. Evening -13.9%
77. Ikki -14.5%
78*. Comic Aqua -16.7%
79. Margaret -17.0%
80. Dragon Age -17.1%
81. The Betsufure [1] -17.8%
82. Ribbon Original -18.9%
83. Monthly Magazine Z -20.5%
84. Morning -20.7%
85. Ribbon -26.3%
86. Comic Bom Bom -26.9%
87*. Zoukan Ran Twins Sengoku Bushou Retsuden -27.8%

[1] Juliet in 2004

Here are the changes in circulation from 2003 to 2004, for comparison:

1*. Kairakuten, +100%
2. Ciao, +17.0%
3. Shoujo, +13.9%
4*. Manga Action, +11.4%
5. Cookie, +7.0%
6. Afternoon, +3.3%
7. Bessatsu Friend, +1.7%
8. Dessert, +0.8%
9. Petit Momo, 0%
10. Elle Teen, 0%
11*. Weekly Manga Goraku, 0%
12*. Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh, 0%
13*. Monthly Dengeki Comic Gao, 0%
14*. Weekly Manga Sunday, 0%
15. Corocoro, -1.9%
16. Magazine Special, -2.7%
17. Monthly Shounen Gan Gan, -4.1%
18. Comic Ran, -4.4%
19. Business Jump, -5.3%
20. The Dessert, -6.2%
21*. Young King, -6.7%
22. Comic Bom Bom, -6.7%
23*. Weekly Manga Times, -7.4%
24. Betsucomi, -7.4%
25. Petit Comic, -7.4%
26. Weekly Shounen Jump, -7.6%
27. Office You, -7.6%
28. Monthly Magazine Z, -7.9%
29. Big Comic, -8.5%
30. Monthly Shounen Magazine, -8.6%
31. Bessatsu Corocoro Special, -8.7%
32. Young You, -9.2%
33. Feel Young, -9.4%
34. Super Jump, -9.8%
35. Juliet, -9.8%
36. LaLa DX, -10.2%
37. Comic Ran Twins, -10.3%
38. Weekly Young Jump, -10.8%
39. Weekly Shounen Sunday, -11.4%
40. Morning, -11.5%
41. Hana to Yume, -11.6%
42. Nakayoshi, -12.1%
43. Monthly Shounen Jump, -12.4%
44. Big Comic Original, -13.0%
45. Silky, -13.2%
46. You, -13.3%
47. Judy, -13.4%
48. Big Comic Superior, -13.5%
49*. Young Comic, -13.8%
50. Be Love, -13.8%
51. Young Sunday, -13.9%
52. Young Magazine, -14.4%
53. Weekly Shounen Magazine, -14.7%
54. Kiss, -15.6%
55. Cheese!, -15.9%
56. Chorus, -16.0%
57. Young Animal, -16.2%
58. LaLa, -16.6%
59. Big Comic Spirits, -17.2%
60*. Young King Ours, -17.4%
61*. Young Champion, -18.2%
62. Bessatsu Hana to Yume, -18.3%
63. Bessatsu Margaret, -18.6%
64. Evening, -19.3%
65. Margaret, -19.4%
66. Ultra Jump, -20.0%
67*. Manga Time, -20.0%
68*. Elegance Eve, -20.0%
69*. Manga Time Original, -21.1%
70. The Margaret, -22.6%
71. Flowers, -22.7%
72. One More Kiss, -23.7%
73*. For Mrs., -23.8%
74. Deluxe Margaret, -24.7%
75. Ribbon, -26.3%
76. Gundam Ace, -29.5%
77. Shounen Sunday Chou (Super) [1], -36.9%
78*. Weekly Shounen Champion, -37.5%
79. Weekly Comic Bunch, -42.4%
80. V Jump, -51.7%
81. Ikki, -54.8%
82. Monthly Gan Gan Wing, -58.4%
83. Monthly G Fantasy, -59.5%
84. Dragon Age, -72.2%
85. Shounen Ace, -80.3%
86. Ciel, -80.5%
87. Asuka, -81.0%

[1] Zoukan Shounen Sunday Super in 2003

And the two-year changes from 2003 to 2005:

1*. Kairakuten, +133.3%
2. Ciao, +13.6%
3. Shoujo, +13.0%
4*. Manga Action, +11.4%
5. Cookie, +7.5%
6. Magazine Special, +0.7%
7. Comic Ran, +0.5%
8*. Monthly Dengeki Comic Gao, 0%
9*. Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh, 0%
10. Weekly Manga Goraku, 0%
11*.Weekly Manga Sunday, 0%
12. Comic Ran Twins, -2.4%
13. Betsucomi, -2.9%
14. Afternoon, -4.4%
15. Bessatsu Friend, -4.8%
16. Weekly Manga Times, -7.4%
17. Weekly Shounen Jump, -8.8%
18. Petit Comic, -10.2%
19. Young King, -10.7%
20. Office You, -11.0%
21. Dessert, -11.0%
22. Corocoro, -11.2%
23. Monthly Shounen Magazine, -11.5%
24. Nakayoshi, -12.0%
25. Super Jump, -12.7%
26. The Dessert, -13.0%
27. LaLa DX, -13.1%
28. Hana to Yume, -13.2%
29. LaLa, -13.2%
30. Business Jump, -14.4%
31. Feel Young, -14.5%
32. Bessatsu Corocoro Special, -15.1%
33. Weekly Young Jump, -15.2%
34. Big Comic, -15.4%
35. Young Animal, -16.2%
36. Young Magazine, -17.0%
37. Monthly Shounen Jump, -18.1%
38*. Young Champion, -18.2%
39. Weekly Shounen Sunday, -18.5%
40. Chorus, -19.0%
41. Big Comic Original, -19.0%
42. Young Sunday, -19.1%
43. Silky, -19.8%
44*. Elegance Eve, -20.0%
45. Manga Time, -20.0%
46. Ultra Jump, -20.0%
47. You, -20.7%
48. Big Comic Superior, -20.8%
49. Young King Ours, -20.9%
50. Manga Time Original, -21.1%
51. Bessatsu Margaret, -23.5%
52. Kiss, -23.7%
53*. For Mrs., -23.8%
54. Judy, -25.0%
55. Big Comic Spirits, -25.1%
56. Cheese!, -25.1%
57. Weekly Shounen Magazine, -25.8%
58. The Betsufure [1], -25.9%
59. Monthly Magazine Z, -26.8%
60. Bessatsu Hana to Yume, -27.4%
61. Flowers, -27.4%
62. Deluxe Margaret, -28.2%
63. The Margaret, -28.6%
64. Morning, -29.9%
65. Gundam Ace, -30.2%
66. One More Kiss, -30.3%
67. Evening, -30.6%
68. Comic Bom Bom, -31.8%
69. Margaret, -33.1%
70*. Weekly Shounen Champion, -37.5%
71. Shounen Sunday Chou (Super) [2], -39.5%
72. V Jump, -42.5%
73. Ribbon, -45.7%
74. Weekly Comic Bunch, -47.0%
75. Ikki, -61.3%
76. Dragon Age, -76.9%
77. Shounen Ace, -77.0%
78. Ciel, -80.1%
79. Asuka, -82.1%

[1] Juliet in 2003

[2] Zoukan Shounen Sunday Super in 2003

As far as I know, the Japanese website which originally posted these figures didn't indicate which, if any, of the 2003 circulation figures were independently audited. Unfortunately, this means that comparisons between the 2003-2004 period and the 2004-2005 period are on shaky ground. (Though I suspect that the apparent collapse between 2003 and 2004 of several titles, which were reported as having lost over half of their circulation, actually reflects a switch from self-reported to independently audited figures.) But if we assume that the 2003 figures are mostly accurate, then the general circulation decline seen between 2003 and 2004 was slowed, but by no means halted, in 2005.

Apart from this, what chiefly strikes me from the 2005 figures are the developments at the tops of the shounen and shoujo categories. Weekly Shounen Magazine, which was neck-and-neck with Weekly Shounen Jump in 2003 for first place among all the anthologies (again assuming the 2003 figures are mostly accurate), is now over half a million behind Jump: both declined in circulation, but Shounen Magazine declined over twice as much. But the pleasure of Jump's publisher Shuueisha at this is no doubt tempered by what happened to their flagship shoujo title Ribbon. In 2003 this was the No. 1 shoujo anthology. But in just two years it's lost nearly half its circulation, and now is no longer a serious contender for No. 1. What the heck happened?

MANGA CORNER: SUICIDE CLUB

I've recently read two manga by Usamaru Furuya, whose collection Garden I reviewed here. One, Plastic Girl, is one of the excellent manga I mentioned a few days ago, and I still intend to write about it eventually. Right now, though, I want to write about the other one, which I just finished, while the impression is still fresh in my mind. This is Suicide Club.

Suicide Club (Jissatsu Saakuru) is ostensibly an adaptation of the strange and enigmatic film of the same name, but it diverges from the film so much that it should be considered an independent work. After a brief prologue, it begins the same way as the film does: over fifty high school girls enter a subway station together and, smiling and holding hands, leap in front of a speeding train to their deaths (though the over-the-top (literally!) gore of the scene in the film is considerably toned down in the manga). But from that point on the manga discards virtually all the characters and events of the film, substituting a completely new story centered around Sayo, who took part in the mass suicide but somehow survived uninjured, and her friend Kyouko, neither of whom exist in the film. (I may not have these names right; the manga uses no furigana, even for characters' names.)

Furuya also utterly changes the meaning of the film (in so far as this can be determined). One of the things making the film both creepy and enigmatic is that the suicides are apparently motiveless: there's no indication that the victims were particularly unhappy. In the manga this isn't true. All the victims are unhappy; several injure themselves, as does the sole survivor, who is also a part-time prostitute. At first it seems as if Furuya is treating the problem of suicide from a sociological perspective. But later Furuya introduces non-realistic elements reminiscent of so-called "J-horror" (e.g. The Ring, One Missed Call).

We also learn more about the relationship between Sayo and Kyouko as the book proceeds. They had been close friends as children, but the coming of adolescence damaged their relationship: at a time when Sayo was particularly troubled, Kyouko was preoccupied with her first love affair, and this betrayal -- as both girls come to see it -- begins the chain of events leading to Sayo's joining in the mass suicide.

Suicide Club is not only much better than most manga that have been published in the U.S., it's also better than most English-language alternative comics. But considered on its own, I have to say that it's only partially successful. Basically, the story is a combination of three aspects: the sociological and J-horror aspects I mentioned above, and the story of the two girls' relationship. But these elements never quite jell together. Instead, they interfere with each other: it is the personal story that is most moving, but the other two aspects take up space that would have been better devoted to developing that aspect. Moreover, taken on their own the J-horror elements have a rote feel to them.

The art is restrained and doesn't call attention to itself: Furuya eschews flashy storytelling here, as he does the experimentation found in his early works Palepoli and Short Cuts. Nevertheless, his art is assured. He knows how to convey his characters' emotions without the exaggerated stylizations of most manga, a talent most American artists seem to lack.

Suicide Club contains some images of underage nudity which would make licensing dodgy, as with Garden. But it would have little chance of being licensed in the current market anyway. Only a trickle of "alternative manga" manage to get published in the U.S. And the ones that are published are mainly naturalistic stories similar to American alternative comics; Suicide Club would probably be rejected as too sensational. (It's a real shame that Viz, which published Short Cuts, stopped publishing alt-manga.) Fortunately, Suicide Club's Japanese is pretty easy to read, despite the lack of furigana.

Suicide Club is published by Wantsuumagajinsha, and its ISBN is 4-901579-09-6. It's 168 pages long, a little shorter than the average tankoubon (paperback manga collection); but it costs 1140 yen, which is pretty expensive. As partial compensation for this, it's in a larger format than most manga tankoubon, though smaller than most American GNs.

MY VISIT TO ASAHIYA

The second part of my 2005 manga circulation post is coming soon, I promise. But yesterday I made a day trip to Chicago, and while it was still fresh in my mind I wanted to mention a few things I bought or noticed at the Asahiya up there.

I didn't buy the next volume of CUTExGUY, as I'd threatened to, because it wasn't in stock. But I did get volume 20 of Fruits Basket, the most recent to appear (yay!). I also got volumes 2 and 3 of Boku to Kanojo no XXX (My and her XXX) by Ai Morinaga. This is yet another gender-bending comedy, though this one is either shounen or seinen (ComiPress lists the magazine in which it's serialized, which is usually how you determine the category, as both). ADV released the first volume here under the title Your and My Secret, but then abandoned the series for some reason. (I still see the first volume on the shelves in stores, so it can't be that terrible a seller.) I also bought volume 2 of Tokumu Houkoukan Yumihari (Special Task Force, the Battle Ship Yumihari) by Hitoshi Tomizawa, who also did Alien Nine and Milk Closet; I already own the first volume, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. (The rate at which I buy Japanese-language manga is greater than the rate at which I can read it, so my pile of unread manga steadily grows.) And I got a couple of other things which I may eventually get around to writing about.

Some stuff I noticed: the Chicago Asahiya now has a boys'-love section, albeit a small one (about fifty volumes, more or less), for those who are fans of the genre. You'll find it in one of the bookcases touching the case containing new manga releases: it's back-to-back with the case for Full Metal Alchemist products. As with virtually all the manga at Asahiya, the books are all untranslated and shrink-wrapped, though there's an opening at the top enabling one to take a discreet peek at the artwork. The books are mainly from Be-Boy and Biblos, if I recall correctly (the spines of the Be-Boy books have a very distinctive look, which is what drew my attention to the section in the first place). I don't know enough about the genre to say how they compare with what's been brought over here.

I was looking at the cover to a different book (not boys'-love) and I noticed that there's a Japanese-language manga anthology, Comic High, whose slogan is "Girlish comics for boys and girls." Interesting, isn't it, that in the U.S., where sex roles are supposedly less restrictive, it's hard to imagine any sort of popular culture product being advertised with a slogan like this. To be sure, the fact that the slogan is in English, which many Japanese understand imperfectly, may provide some cover.

Continuing the unconventional-gender-roles theme, I noticed that there was an issue of Comic Yurihime on sale. This is an anthology magazine featuring yuri -- i. e. same-sex romantic relationships between girls or women -- and from its appearance it seemed to be targeted at female readers. I considered buying it just out of curiosity, but decided to leave it for someone who might really need it. (I'll admit that the fact it would have cost over twelve bucks played a role in this decision.)

JAPANESE MANGA ANTHOLOGY CIRCULATION FIGURES, 2005: PART I

Recently I noticed that the 2005 circulation figures for Japanese manga anthologies have been put online. As with the 2003 and 2004 figures, I thought I'd translate them for anyone who's interested. My post is rather long, so I've divided it into two parts: the first part with the figures themselves, and the second part with some simple analysis.

As before, I've tried to give the titles in the form that would be most recognizable to Western fans. Also as before, I don't know whether these figures are average circulation for 2005, or the circulation of the last issue in 2005, or what. Also as before, this list is far from complete. All three of the anthologies published by Square Enix that were on the 2004 list have been dropped from this list, though they're presumably still being published. (One of their current anthologies is Full Metal Alchemist, so I'd guess they're doing pretty well.) Both of Kindaieigasha's listed anthologies have also been dropped (Erutiin and Petit Momo, both shoujo titles). The only other to be dropped, Young You, suspended publication in November 2005. These facts make me suspect that being listed must be voluntary on the publishers' part, but I don't know for sure.

In 2004 and 2005 most of the circulation figures were confirmed by audit. I've marked with a single asterisk those figures that haven't been so verified. Other footnotes are on the bottom of the table.

SHOUNEN (BOY'S) MANGA
Weekly Shounen Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 3,240,000
2004: 2,994,897
2005: 2,953,750
Weekly Shounen Magazine (Koudansha)
2003: 3,190,000
2004: 2,721,633
2005: 2,365,750
Corocoro Comic (Shogakukan)
2003: 1,222,000
2004: 1,198,333
2005: 1,085,000
Weekly Shounen Sunday (Shogakukan)
2003: 1,311,000
2004: 1,160,913
2005: 1,068,265
Monthly Shounen Magazine (Koudansha)
2003: 1,140,000
2004: 1,041,417
2005: 1,009,167
Weekly Shounen Champion (Akita Shoten)
2003: 800,000
2004: 500,000*
2005: 500,000*
Monthly Shounen Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 510,000
2004: 446,666
2005: 417,500
Bessatsu [special volume] Corocoro Special (Shogakukan)
2003: 263,000
2004: 240,000
2005: 223,333
Monthly Dengeki [electric shock or blitzkrieg] Comic Gao! (Media Works)
2003: 200,000
2004: 200,000*
2005: 200,000*
V Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 310,000
2004: 149,833
2005: 178,334
Comic Bom Bom (Koudansha)
2003: 200,000
2004: 186,666
2005: 136,417
Magazine Special (Koudansha),
2003: 110,000
2004: 107,083
2005: 110,750
Shounen Ace (Kadokawa Shoten),
2003: 300,000
2004: 59,167
2005: 68,917
Dragon Age (Kadokawa Shoten),
2003: 200,000
2004: 55,667
2005: 46,167
Shounen Sunday Chou (Super) (Shogakukan)
2003: 65,000 [1]
2004: 41,000
2005: 39,333

SEINEN (YOUNG MEN'S) MANGA
Weekly Young Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 1,275,000
2004: 1,136,666
2005: 1,081,459
Young Magazine (Koudansha)
2003: 1,220,000
2004: 1,044,489
2005: 1,012,209
Big Comic Original (Shogakukan)
2003: 1,184,000
2004: 1,030,000
2005: 958,958
Big Comic (Shogakukan)
2003: 741,000
2004: 677,916
2005: 627,083
Weekly Manga Goraku [entertainment] (Nihonbungeisha)
2003: 500,000
2004: 500,000*
2005: 500,000*
Weekly Manga Times (Houbunsha)
2003: 540,000
2004: 500,000*
2005: 500,000*
Morning (Koudansha)
2003: 660,000
2004: 584,167
2005: 462,979
Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan)
2003: 556,000
2004: 460,354
2005: 416,625
Business Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 440,000
2004: 416,875
2005: 376,667
Super Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 410,000
2004: 370,000
2005: 357,917
Kairakuten [Pleasure heaven] (Wanimagajinsha)
2003: 150,000
2004: 300,000*
2005: 350,000*
Big Comic Superior (Shogakukan)
2003: 428,000
2004: 370,400
2005: 339,000
Manga Time (Houbunsha)
2003: 400,000
2004: 320,000*
2005: 320,000*
Manga Time Original (Houbunsha)
2003: 380,000
2004: 300,000*
2005: 300,000*
Weekly Manga Sunday (Jitsugyounonihonsha)
2003: 300,000
2004: 300,000*
2005: 300,000*
Young King (Shounengahousha)
2003: 300,000
2004: 280,000*
2005: 268,000*
Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh (Media Works)
2003: 250,000
2004: 250,000*
2005: 250,000*
Manga Action (Futabasha)
2003: 220,000
2004: 245,000*
2005: 245,000*
Weekly Comic Bunch (Shinchousha)
2003: 450,000
2004: 259,271
2005: 238,568
Young Sunday (Shogakukan)
2003: 285,000
2004: 245,417
2005: 230,479
Evening (Koudansha)
2003: 330,000
2004: 266,250
2005: 229,125
Gundam Ace (Kadokawa Shoten)
2003: 300,000
2004: 211,416
2005: 209,292
Young Animal (Hakusensha)
2003: 240,000
2004: 201,083
2005: 201,209
Comic Ran [disorder, riot] (Riidosha)
2003: 200,000
2004: 191,201
2005: 200,975
Young Champion (Akita Shoten)
2003: 220,000
2004: 180,000*
2005: 180,000*
Young Animal Ran [storm, tempest] (Hakusensha)
2005: 150,000*
Comic Ran [disorder, riot] Twins (Riidosha)
2003: 150,000
2004: 134,571
2005: 146,325
Afternoon (Koudansha)
2003: 140,000
2004: 144,583
2005: 133,834
Zoukan [special edition] Ran [disorder, riot] Twins Sengoku Bushou Retsuden [series of biographies of civil wars military commanders], (Riidosha)
2004: 180,000*
2005: 130,000*
Young Comic (Shounengahousha)
2003: 145,000
2004: 125,000*
2005: 117,000*
Young King Ours (Shounengahousha)
2003: 115,000
2004: 95,000*
2005: 91,000*
Monthly Comic Tokujou [special energetic] (Shuueisha)
2004: 99,166
2005: 90,834
Dengeki Moeoh [moe king] (Media Works)
2004: 90,000*
2005: 90,000*
Ultra Jump (Shuueisha)
2003: 90,000
2004: 72,000
2005: 72,000
Sunday Gene-X (Shogakukan)
2004: 39,167
2005: 39,000
Monthly Magazine Z (Koudansha)
2003: 50,000
2004: 46,041
2005: 36,584
Ikki (Shogakukan)
2003: 75,000
2004: 33,916
2005: 29,000
Comic Beam (Enterbrain)
2005: 25,000*

SHOUJO (GIRLS') COMICS
Ciao (Shogakukan),
2003: 910,000
2004: 1,065,000
2005: 1,033,333
Ribbon (Shuueisha)
2003: 990,000
2004: 729,167
2005: 537,500
Nakayoshi (Koudansha)
2003: 520,000
2004: 457,083
2005: 457,500
Bessatsu Margaret (Shuueisha),
2003: 465,000
2004: 378,333
2005: 355,833
Shoujo Comic (Shogakukan)
2003: 265,000
2004: 301,956
2005: 299,565
Hana to Yume [flower and dream] (Hakusensha)
2003: 340,000
2004: 300,416
2005: 295,208
Deluxe Margaret (Shuueisha)
2003: 290,000
2004: 218,333
2005: 208,334
Cookie (Shuueisha)
2003: 190,000
2004: 203,333
2005: 204,167
The Margaret (Shuueisha)
2003: 280,000
2004: 216,666
2005: 200,000
Margaret (Shuueisha)
2003: 260,000
2004: 209,565
2005: 173,913
LaLa (Hakusensha)
2003: 200,000
2004: 166,750
2005: 173,583
Cheese! (Shogakukan)
2003: 208,000
2004: 174,833
2005: 155,833
Petit Comic (Shogakukan)
2003: 131,000
2004: 121,250
2005: 117,583
Betsucomi (Shogakukan)
2003: 110,000
2004: 101,833
2005: 106,833
Bessatsu Hana to Yume (Hakusensha)
2003: 130,000
2004: 106,166
2005: 94,334
Ribbon Original (Shuueisha)
2004: 101,666
2005: 82,500
LaLa DX (Hakusensha)
2003: 80,000
2004: 71,833
2005: 69,500
Asuka (Kadokawa Shoten)
2003: 200,000
2004: 38,000
2005: 35,750
Ciel (Kadokawa Shoten)
2003: 120,000
2004: 23,417
2005: 23,833

JOSEI (Young Women's) COMICS
You (Shuueisha)
2003: 270,000
2004: 234,166
2005: 214,167
Be Love (Koudansha)
2003: 240,000
2004: 206,875
2005: 203,750
Dessert (Koudansha)
2003: 220,000
2004: 221,666
2005: 195,750
Bessatsu Friend (Koudansha)
2003: 200,000
2004: 203,333
2005: 190,417
Kiss (Koudansha)
2003: 240,000
2004: 202,583
2005: 183,208
The Dessert (Koudansha)
2003: 210,000
2004: 197,083
2005: 182,750
Elegance Eve (Akita Shoten)
2003: 200,000
2004: 160,000*
2005: 160,000*
Chorus (Shuueisha)
2003: 180,000
2004: 151,250
2005: 145,833
Judy (Shogakukan)
2003: 181,000
2004: 156,833
2005: 135,833
The Betsufure [2] (Koudansha)
2003: 170,000
2004: 153,333
2005: 126,000
Office You (Shuueisha)
2003: 140,000
2004: 129,333
2005: 124,667
One More Kiss (Koudansha)
2003: 130,000
2004: 99,166
2005: 90,660
Silky (Hakusensha)
2003: 100,000
2004: 86,833
2005: 80,167
Feel Young (Shuueisha)
2003: 80,000
2004: 72,458
2005: 68,396
Flowers (Shogakukan)
2003: 75,000
2004: 58,000
2005: 54,417
Comic Aqua (Aqua Shuppan)
2004: 36,000*
2005: 30,000*

MRS. COMICS
For Mrs. (Akita Shoten)
2003: 210,000
2004: 160,000*
2005: 160,000*

[1] The 2003 figure is actually for a magazine called "Zoukan [Special edition] Shounen Sunday (Super)." I don't know whether these are the same magazine or not.

[2] The Betsufure was formerly known as Juliet, and the 2003 and 2004 figures here are for Juliet.

(Edited 6/25/06 to fix an error: "Deluxe Margaret" was mistakenly transcribed as "Deluxe Magazine")

MANGA CORNER: CUTExGUY

In the last few weeks I've read several excellent manga. They were so good, in fact, that I've put off reviewing them because I was scared of not being able to do them justice. So instead, here's another shoujo gender-bending comedy: CUTExGUY vol. 1 by Makoto Tateno.

Sumi, a high-school student, is in love with her classmate Mitsuru, but hasn't told him. She hears a rumor that he likes more mature girls, so in order to work up the courage to confess, she takes a drug given to her by her scientist father which will make her sexier and more mature. Or so she thinks. In fact her father, using her as an involuntary guinea pig, slips her a drug which turns her temporarily into a guy, and a very masculine, rugged guy at that. This transformation,which Sumi desperately tries to keep secret, recurs every time her feelings about Mitsuru get too strong. And since Mitsuru regards her as a best friend and keeps confiding his problems to her, that happens a lot. As a further complication, "Jun" (as Sumi's male persona becomes known) proves to be Mitsuru's ideal of masculinity, and Mitsuru, who is rather girlish, asks "him" to be allowed to become "his" pupil. (There's no actual yaoi in this volume, but a lot of jokes about it.) Throw in a lustful, voluptuous teacher who chases after Jun, and a couple of other sex-changers, and you get...

...Nothing particularly original, unfortunately. Nor is the art distinctive. Still, the book is entertaining enough. I don't think it's worth the ten or more bucks an English version would cost, but I'd probably spend six bucks for the next Japanese volume at the Arlington Heights Asahiya.

CUTExGUY is published by Hakusensha. There are three volumes out so far; the price for vol. 1 is 390 yen, and its ISBN is 4-592-18191-3. Here's amazon.co.jp's partly-English page for vol. 1. (I've found it's easy to order from them even if you don't know Japanese, though the shipping costs will be high, at least for a single volume.)

And I really do intend to write up those excellent manga I mentioned.

BOOK CORNER: STARTLED BY HIS FURRY SHORTS

The night before last I finished reading Startled by His Furry Shorts by Louise Rennison, the seventh and most recent installment of the Georgia Nicholson saga. (This one barely even pretends to work as a stand-along novel: it begins where the previous installment's cliffhanger left off, and it ends with another cliffhanger.) It was amusing enough, but it wasn't exactly fresh. Basically, it's Georgia saying and doing the same things she said and did in the previous six books. And much more saying than doing: there's little in the way of incident in this one. It would be understandable if Rennison were reluctant to walk away from the character who made her rich and famous (or at least moderately so), but perhaps it's time to wrap up the series (and it's pretty obvious by now how it's going to end) and move on.