New Manga Announcements from VIZ Media, Vertical and Seven Seas

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This weekend, many anime and manga fans have made a beeline to Baltimore to attend Otakon. Otakon is one of the biggest Japanese pop culture events of the year, so little wonder that several publishers made some new manga licensing announcements this weekend. Some, like Vertical and VIZ Media made their announcements at the show, while Seven Seas opted to break their news online. Here’s a round up of what’s been announced so far:

• Vertical adds What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Kinou Nani Tabeta?) by Fumi Yoshinaga (creator of Ooku and Not Love But Delicious Food to their 2014 schedule. The first volume will be out in March 2014, and new volumes of this ongoing 7-volume series will be released bi-monthly until it catches up with the Japanese releases. What Did You Eat Yesterday? is a charming, slice-of-life series about a gay couple who share details of their daily lives through the dishes they cook, eat, and share. Currently serialized in Kodansha’s Morning magazine (home of Vagabond, Chi’s Sweet Home and other awesome seinen comics series), Kinou Nani Tabeta? has also been nominated for several Japanese manga industry awards, including the Manga Taisho Awards (Cartoon Grand Prize) in 2008, and Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2009. It’s also been a long-time fixture in many manga fans’ licensing wish lists (including this year’s Best & Worst Manga roundup at San Diego Comic-Con 2013). You can see a preview scene from Where Did You Eat Yesterday? on Vertical’s Tumblr that’ll give you an idea of what’s in store.
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  Naoki Urasawa’s Monster Vol. 18 | MONSTER © 1995 Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts

  VIZ Media announces new omnibus editions of Monster by Naoki Urasawa – Before 20th Century Boys and Pluto was released in the US to almost universal critical acclaim, there was Monster, Urasawa’s thrilling suspense/murder mystery series that was released in 18 volumes by VIZ Media between 2006-2008. Many volumes of the original print run have since gone out of print and have been getting more and more difficult to find. Given that Urasawa has expressed distaste for digital publishing, this situation left many fans who wanted to read this series in a bit of a lurch, until now. The new Naoki Urasawa’s Monster: The Perfect Edition will be oversized, 2-in-1 omnibus editions that will retail for $19.99. The first volume will hit stores in July 2014, with new volumes to follow every three months.

• Seven Seas Manga adds Gakuen Polizi, a new yuri manga series by Milk Morinaga. Described as a story that “combines police drama with a romance story between girls,” Gakuen Polizi is by the creator of yuri fan fave Girlfriends and Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink (both titles now available from Seven Seas). Gakuen Polizi is currently serialized in Comic High!, a comics anthology magazine published by Futabasha. The first volume of Gakuen Polizi volume 1 will be released in June, 2014, with Volume 2 to follow in Fall 2014.Here’s the plot summary of the series, supplied by Seven Seas:
  

  

  Gakuen Polizi Vol. 1 | @Milk Morinaga / FUTABASHA

  As a child, Sasami Aoba fantasized about becoming a defender of justice, like the magical girls and “Sentai Rangers” she admired on TV. Years have passed and now Sasami has become a police officer herself. Her first assignment is to infiltrate Hanagaki All-Girls High School and ferret out any trouble she may find.

  On her first day posing as a student, Sasami is shocked to discover that a supposed book thief at school is actually a fellow undercover police officer, Sakuraba Midori. What’s more, Midori insists that she herself is the officer in charge of the school, not Sasami. Will the two girls become rivals, partners… or something more?

Which new manga are you most excited about picking up in 2014? Add your comments below!