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Cel Shaded
Jason Yadao
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Boys’ love tale cracks top-10 manga list
Looking at the manga shelves at some major book retailers, it would appear to be simple to determine what the hot properties are these days.
"Naruto," "Fruits Basket," "Negima" and "Fullmetal Alchemist" are all givens, considering their regular homes on national best-seller lists.
But how about "Loveless"? This shounen-ai (boys' love) title focusing on Ritsuka, a troubled catboy and object of the affections of his late older brother's guardian (and very much male) Soubi, doesn't exactly seem like something that would capture a wide audience. (Full disclosure: Your intrepid columnist recently tried watching volume 1 of the "Loveless" anime. His reaction: "Eww.")
Yet according to a report released last week by ICv2, analysts of pop-culture product trends, "Loveless" was the 10th most popular manga in the first quarter of 2006. Considering Tokyopop has only released one volume to date, that's rather considerable buzz.
The top 10 manga and their publishers for the first quarter of 2006, according to ICv2:
1. "Naruto" (Viz)
2. "Fullmetal Alchemist" (Viz)
3. "Kingdom Hearts" (Tokyopop)
4. "Fruits Basket" (Tokyopop)
5. "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle" (Del Rey)
6. "Death Note" (Viz)
7. "Rurouni Kenshin" (Viz)
8. "Negima" (Del Rey)
9. "Bleach" (Viz)
10. "Loveless" (Tokyopop)
The full ICv2 report, including an anime market analysis, is available for $10 plus shipping through www.icv2.com; I also have a copy on order and will look at some of the highlights in a future column ...
In Sunday's 'D&Q'
"Music," a certain pop singer once sang, "makes the people come together." It also makes for a pair of great stories. Join me as I sing the praises of "Piano: Melody of a Young Girl's Heart" and "Nodame Cantabile" in the Sunday Today section ...
Cel Shaded, a look at the world of Japanese anime and manga, appears every Monday. Reach
Jason S. Yadao at
jyadao@starbulletin.com