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NEWS: 'Kekkaishi' wins 52nd Shogakukan Manga Award




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barbapapa



Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 224
Location: Belgium
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:19 pm Reply with quote
Kind of old news. But still, very deserved; Kekkaishi is an underappreciated gem in the world of shounen.

Oh and by the by, Tanabe is a her, not a him Razz
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2992
Location: Los Angelas
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:46 pm Reply with quote
barbapapa wrote:

Oh and by the by, Tanabe is a her, not a him Razz


This is the same mistake I see all the time with different artist: Kei Toume, Himromu Arakawa. . While it's not that big of a deal, it wouldn't hurt to do a little research. At least it's nothing as balant and racist as annoucing the winner for the "best adapted movie" Departed based on a "Japanese" film like this year's Oscar did. roll.

Kekkaishi is like Bleach lite, the first volume was enjoyable but never really got the desire to continue reading furthur.
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Ohoni



Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 3421
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:28 pm Reply with quote
Very cool. Kekkaishi is a very fun series. I love the mechanics of the Kekkaijutsu stuff.
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kazenoyume



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 425
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:39 pm Reply with quote
I think Kekkaishi is far better written (and illustrated) than Bleach, no offense.

Kekkaishi is quite good. I think it's very underrated over here and I'm glad to see it gaining accolades. Hopefully that will help it gain some deserved exposure over here.

I did not know Tanabe was female. I tend to be drawn to female shounen mangaka for some reason, so I shouldn't be surprised.
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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 11:49 pm Reply with quote
There's even a picture of her on this article (in Japanese):
http://pc.webnt.jp/hotnews/news297.html
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barbapapa



Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 224
Location: Belgium
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:36 am Reply with quote
darkhunter wrote:
barbapapa wrote:

Oh and by the by, Tanabe is a her, not a him Razz


This is the same mistake I see all the time with different artist: Kei Toume, Himromu Arakawa. . While it's not that big of a deal, it wouldn't hurt to do a little research. At least it's nothing as balant and racist as annoucing the winner for the "best adapted movie" Departed based on a "Japanese" film like this year's Oscar did. roll.

Kekkaishi is like Bleach lite, the first volume was enjoyable but never really got the desire to continue reading furthur.


Well, if you only gave Kekkaishi a go for 1 volume; you cant really judge it for what it's worth. It took me 4-5 volumes to completely fall in love with it.
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godakame



Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 112
Location: Disney World
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 3:05 am Reply with quote
Tanabe's a woman? Hmm. I just assumed she was a he from the way she depicts herself in cartoon form: a fat short cubby angry-looking penguin... Then again, I suppose that could apply to women.
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barbapapa



Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 224
Location: Belgium
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 8:14 am Reply with quote
godakame wrote:
Tanabe's a woman? Hmm. I just assumed she was a he from the way she depicts herself in cartoon form: a fat short cubby angry-looking penguin... Then again, I suppose that could apply to women.


Hiromu Arakawa, of FMA, portrays herself as a short, chubby cow with glasses too Razz
Female shounen mangaka with a good sense of humor, both are.
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Mr.Shonen



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 269
Location: Brooklyn, NY
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 2:53 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, she draws herself as a penguin. But all in all, Kekkiashi deserves some praise, so more power to Tanabe and Shonen Sunday.
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Ohoni



Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 3421
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 7:10 pm Reply with quote
The problem with Kekkaishi (in a marketing sense) is that it's not as "extreme" as Bleach. Like the main character doesn't wield a big honk'in Cloud sword, he wields a sort of esoteric box-making ability. It's very cool to me, as a strategic-based series and all, but it just doesn't "pop" as much to the average consumer. I do hope it picks up though, my local bookstores don't even carry it unless you special order it. The anime is great too, and should definitely get picked up as soon as it reaches critical mass. It even seems made for American TV, with numerous little comercial breaks, rather than the traditional Japanese begining-middle-end breaks.
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kazenoyume



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 425
PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:58 am Reply with quote
Ohoni wrote:
The problem with Kekkaishi (in a marketing sense) is that it's not as "extreme" as Bleach. Like the main character doesn't wield a big honk'in Cloud sword, he wields a sort of esoteric box-making ability. It's very cool to me, as a strategic-based series and all, but it just doesn't "pop" as much to the average consumer. I do hope it picks up though, my local bookstores don't even carry it unless you special order it. The anime is great too, and should definitely get picked up as soon as it reaches critical mass. It even seems made for American TV, with numerous little comercial breaks, rather than the traditional Japanese begining-middle-end breaks.


I actually think a lot of it is that it's not a Shounen Jump title. Let's face it, with Viz releasing the Shounen Jump titles for a couple dollars less, buyers are going to pick them up. I'm not discouraging them from the 7.99 price, but I kind of wish they had non SJ titles at that price and I also kind of wish slapping the 'Shounen Jump' label on something wouldn't sell copies over things that don't feature it.

In recent years it seems that unless it had a popular run on TV (like Fullmetal Alchemist) or a big name preceding it (like InuYasha), a lot of fans don't take a second look at non SJ shounen titles.

That being said, I had the same problem getting a hold of it. My Borders had through volume five, but they haven't gotten anything new for at least five months. I had to special order 6-8. It's a little disconcerting. Companies like Tokyo Pop and sometimes Viz license seem to license cheapy cheesy titles in bulk, and many of them I've never met a single person who has read. Yet I can find them just fine at my bookstore. Ah well.

I think that if people gave Kekkaishi a chance, it could really gain some steam over here.
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