A new day is dawning, as live action versions of anime television shows take hold in the United States and people forget that Japan has been doing it for years, one man, nay one 17 year old cynic, takes it upon himself to keep track of other aspects of the wonders of japanese entertainment. Whether this be the latest manga in Japan, the newest releases brought to the USA and UK, or the anime that are hitting shelves and television screens in different continents respectively, he will be there. He may well be short-sighted enough to have given the column a ridiculous name, but god damn him it's as sexy as a voluptuous walrus anthro rubbing against a sweaty geeks thigh.
............. Not very much at all, you sick sick bastards. BRING ON SWEET RAMEN!!
Yes I like cringe inducing openers, expect those in editions to come. So basically Sweet Ramen is a bi-monthly (as in one every TWO months, not two a month) multi-column, looking at manga and anime related news in America, the United Kingdom, and of course Japan. Or at least I hope to stay that focused. This first segment is News, a basic and choppy summary of noteworthy happenings in the wide world of anime & manga. Enjoy it, or I shall send a raving boy named Aaron after your SOULS!
Now, whether you know it or not, the big news in the manga community these last two months has been Jump SQ II. Those who manage to keep up with manga events may be slightly confused. After all, Jump SQ itself only just came out late last year (more on that another time) and there is no foreseeable reason to make ANOTHER new anthology to fit all this manga goodness in.
Well the best way of explaining this magazine would be to first grab your attention. Do you have any knowledge of the American legend himself, Stan Lee? You know, the springboard for some of Marvel Comic's most beloved creations, such as the X-men? Now stare bewildered at me, like one would at a highly sexed cheese grater chasing down the best piece of camembert in the shop to slaughter with it's grinding fetishism (I now call rule 34 on that analogy).
Why would I feel the need to mention an American when talking about a Japanese anthology? Well Mr. Lee has decided to preview his new collaboration with one Hiroyuki Takei (of Shaman King, Butsu Zone & Jumbor Barutronica fame) in this springboard for new artists and series. Of course there will be other features within, such as Weekly Jump or Jump SQ Manga-ka (authors essentially) doing little things or features to help sell it, but honestly STAN MOTHERLICKING LEE! If there was ever an event to celebrate the artform of comics to every otaku and geek in the world, then this is enough to make all worldwide go into a song and dance until all that remains is a pile of sweat and a groove in the chair where a person once was. Basically, this is the stuff of never-ending promise, AND WILL RULE THE WORLD! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
May have gotten carried away.... I wonder if they noticed...
Anyway, now i'm done slathering rabid joy across the page, I should really inform you of what the whole thing is. The series is called Karakuridôji Ultimo, and is the tale of two mysterious floating figures appearing over Farmless City. With a mass of confusion occurring down below, the two figures (Vice and Ultimo, curiously named after characters created in previous series by Takei and Lee respectively) battle it out, wreaking destruction in their wake as the good Ultimo tries to destroy Vice. Now all this description and rambling must be getting old, so here's the all important shot to sell it to you all:
Isn't it nice that i've given up typing endlessly without visual aid?
You just try and say that Ultimo and Vice don't look incredibly cool. 'Cause I would have to kick you in the arse with a shoe made of rusty nails and children's tears. That isn't to say that this is the only pull of Jump SQ II (out April 18th), as their are many other series coming into it to sell themselves to the public, not to mention the aforementioned special appearances of manga from associated publications! just look at all the pretty images on the main webpage! And in regards to that hanging question of whether we truly need this magazine? This is fortunately a one-off, otherwise we would explode from the immense power involved in this many new series being thrown at us.
Little UFOs? Flower Nipples? NOODLES?! What more could a person want?
But enough about Shueisha, we get enough of that with the Naruto overplay on televisions, magazines and the internet. Which is surprising considering another moment of interest was Naruto finally caving into fan-wankery and continuing to focus on Sasuke for what is surely over a year now, and yet it is lapped up by the fans. Depressing really...
Everything in the world must have a rival, be it characters in a story, two people in a workplace chasing the same person, or even sloths, as they compete with spears over who gets the last piece of..... sloth..... food? Anyway, what i'm trying unsuccessfully to segue to is the appearance of a new magazine from Kodansha, who regularly release a lot of their series under the english language label/s Del Rey (US) and Tanoshimi (UK). This magazine is known simply as SHONEN RIVAL, and is collectively fueled by a massive array of genres, and a line-up of potential new artists and popular established ones, such as the authors of popular series like 666 Satan (O-parts hunter to us english people), Rave Master/Fairy Tail, and Hajime no Ippo. Those three artists appearing would be enough to have you foaming at the mouth like that somewhat disturbing dog picture further up the page, but this anthology contains over 18 series across 5 genres, which is no mean feat. Let's bask in the mild glory of the first issue's cover:
Yes, that's Monster Hunter Orage, a manga based around Capcom's popular gaming franchise. It looks pretty snazzy.
Now the other interesting news bits are generally what animes are surfacing this spring in Japan, and I think we can all relax for now, as they will be covered in tomorrow's preview Sweet Ramen. Until then, relax in the knowledge that my painful writing style and lack of wit shall forever be contained within this article, and shall only surface in the many sections present over the next few days.
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NOTES:
Other things to keep an eye out for include (but are not limited to):
Previews of the best (and worst) anime sets coming out in the US
The aforementioned anime spring previews
Reviews of the last couple of month's manga releases in the US and UK
& My manga of the month, DOUBLE ARTS!
So humour me and stick around. Although if you really can't stand the thought of that, hit me with painful criticism at: