News

New Tokyopop Manga Release Details

TOKYOPOP sent out a press release today announcing their new Manga series for August and September.

Baby Birth, Forbidden Dance, X-Day and FLCL had already been announced http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=3285 in March.

News of .hack//legend of the Twilight Bracelet came in last week. The title has been shortened to .hack//Legend of the Twilight by request of the licensor.

Excerpts from Press Release

.hack//Legend of the Twilight (Sci-Fi / Action / Fantasy, Volume 1: September 9, 2003)

This highly anticipated manga is part of a multimedia phenomenon in Japan where it simultaneously released as a series of PlayStation 2 games, two unique anime shows and a manga-all of which were extremely successful. Additionally, the first anime series aired here on Cartoon Network, and the first two PlayStation games have been released in the U.S. to critical acclaim. Written by Tatsuya Hamazaki with art by Rei Izumi, .hack is the exciting story of two 14-year-old twins who enter and win a contest to portray legendary avatars in an ultra-advanced online game called "The World." What starts as a game turns out to be a quest to save the world!

BABY BIRTH (Sci-Fi / Action / Adventure, Volume 1: September 16, 2003)

Comics pro Jim Krueger (Foot Soldiers, Earth X, Universe X) delivers the English-language adaptation of this riveting manga originally created by artist Haruhiko Mikimoto (Macross) and writer Sukehiro Tomita. In Baby Birth's futuristic world, an ancient seal has been broken, sending a flood of demons into the mortal realm. The only hope of saving Earth from their horrid wrath lies in the hands of two individuals-both descendants of the great savior who banished these demons in the first place.

FORBIDDEN DANCE (Romance, Volume 1: August 5, 2003)

Sure to challenge the boundaries between men and women, this manga by Hinako Ashihara (Girls Lesson, Homemade Home) provides a clever commentary on love and the lengths that some will go to find it. Its story follows a young aspiring female dancer who attempts to join an all-male dance troupe in order to improve her skill and hopefully snag a guy in the process. So what if she's missing a Y-chromosome? She's got spunk, skill, and passion-and, in the end, she hopes that love will conquer all.

FLCL (Sci-Fi / Comedy, Volume 1: September 16, 2003)

Known to its legions of fans worldwide as Furi Kuri, FLCL burst upon the Japanese pop culture scene in early 2000. Its hyperkinetic visual flavor and utterly bizarre storyline expressed themselves in a six-volume direct-to-DVD anime show, three short text novels, two popular soundtrack recordings, and an irresistible two-volume manga series. FLCL-a product of the fertile imaginations at Gainax (Evangelion, Kare Kano)-is the story of Naota, a 12-year-old boy from whose forehead sprouts a giant robot, and Haruko, a fetching alien who rides a Vespa and wields a mean bass guitar ... who could ask for anything more?

X-DAY (Action / Adventure, Volume 1: August 12, 2003)

Written in response to the Columbine tragedy, X-Day is the gripping and controversial two-volume manga from author Setona Mizushiro (Mr. Mermaid). The story follows a group of teens whose mounting stress during senior year finals culminates in a plan to blow up their high school when nobody else is around.