MangaVizion

by Kenneth Jin-ho Cho

In Japan, manga is so all-encompassing that there's something for everyone: boys, girls, teenagers, housewives, businessman, etc. And to accommodate everyone, publishing houses put out monthly (editor's note: and more often weekly) magazine volumes that house several titles simultaneously. SHOUNEN ACE is a good example, printed for young teenage boys. In the States, such a format is only available in one title: MANGAVIZION.
Produced by Viz Communications, MANGAVIZION is a monthly manga anthology that offers three titles at once. And because Viz already publishes numerous manga titles in stand-alone format(RANMA 1/2, CRYING FREEMAN, etc), MANGAVIZION offers alternative manga stories published by the same artists.
Currently, MANGAVIZION offers the RUMIC WORLD by Takahashi Rumiko (RANMA 1/2), a series of short stories that Takahashi has done throughout her career; SAMURAI CRUSADER drawn by Ikegami Ryoichi (CRYING FREEMAN, SANCTUARY); and Kusunoki Kei's OGRE SLAYER, an title which Viz already sells in anime format. The three stories cover a decent spread of the manga spectrum: comedy, action/shonen, and action/romance/shoujo. The RUMIC WORLD series is a delight to read and, although I am not a big fan of either Ikegami or Kusunoki, I enjoyed both SAMURAI CRUSADER and OGRE SLAYER.
MANGAVIZION has a lot going for it. It's a great bargain for the price, offers variety in story and style and, quite surprisingly, is very minimal in advertising. The last factor is a big attraction to me, since I find ads in comics very annoying. There is room for improvement, though. Offering titles from artists who's other works are not currently being sold by Viz is an option. They do seem to be trying, though. In the April and May issues, MANGAVIZION had a two-part story from shoujo artist Nishi Keiko.
Having many manga titles under one banner is a great idea. After all, there are numerous magazines in print in Japan and this format is very successful in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. MANGAVIZION definitely warrants a look. And besides, it allows me to read shoujo titles without getting weird stares from the clerk.