New York Anime Festival 2009

Del Rey

Panelists: Ali Kokmen, Trisha Narwani, Mutsumi Miyazaki

Despite a technology glitch that prevented Del Rey from showing their Powerpoint presentation, the panelists were undeterred and started the hour with announcements on new acquisitions.

The first new license was Here I Am! (Koko ni Iru yo!), a shoujo series about a young girl who finds herself. Created by Ema Toyami (Pixie Pop: Gokkun Pucho), the first volume will be released sometime in Fall 2010.

Del Rey also announced Hiro Mashima's Rave Master (Rave), which will be released September 2010. The anime adaptation was released in North America by Tokyopop in 2004, and was subsequently aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block. It was also aired earlier this year on the Sci Fi Channel.

Other new acquisitions include Runa Rindo's Yokai Navi Runa, a supernatural fantasy story about an orphan girl who learns that she has supernatural powers, and Natsumi Ando's Arisa, a serious shoujo manga about reunited twin sisters who must deal with the painful aftermath of a suicide attempt. Yokai Navi Runa will be released May 2010, while Arisa will be released November 2010.

Del Rey also confirmed that they have picked up the remaining volumes of Samurai Deeper Kyo, by Akimine Kamijyō. They will publish the last four volumes in two omnibus releases; the first 34 volumes were published by Tokyopop. Del Rey also has the rights to Code:Breaker, from the same creator.

The panelists spent the rest of the presentation talking about recent and upcoming releases, including the Wolverine and X-Men Misfits manga, created through a partnership with Marvel Comics. The first volume of X-Men Misfits spent several weeks on the New York Times graphic novel bestseller list. Del Rey also has a partnership with Cartoon Network, with graphic novels based on titles like Ben 10 and Secret Saturdays.

Other upcoming releases include CLAMP in America, a 300+ page book celebrating 20 years of CLAMP in the US, and a graphic novel version of the popular Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. They will also be releasing a graphic novel prequel to The Last Airbender.

The panel concluded with a Q&A session, which eventually disintegrated into a playful banter about which North American manga publisher would win in a cage fight.