Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 2 Nov 09

1) Sei Oniisan Vol 4 (320,529)

2) BLACK LAGOON Vol 9 (251,187)

3) Skip Beat! Vol 23 (198,297)

4) GANTZ Vol 27 (153,779)

5) Hayate no Gotoku! Vol 21 (105,717)

6) Kinou Nani Tabeta? Vol 3 (103,606)

7) PEACE MAKER Vol 4 (103,489)

8) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 2 (83,178)

9) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 1 (82,888)

10) ZETMAN Vol 13 (79,593)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (25 Oct 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.7%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 15.4%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 11.3%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.4%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 10.0%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.4%

7) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.1%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 8.1%

9) Pocket Monster DS (TV Tokyo) 7.2%

10) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.5%

Merchandise launch in conjunction with movie version of "Higashi no Eden"

In conjunction with the impending launch of Higashi no Eden's movie (Part 1: The King of Eden begins its roadshow on 28 Nov), there will be an official merchandise site launched from 23 Oct where goods of the movie can be bought. This site is produced in conjunction with Parco City Online Mall and will offer limited edition goods which cannot be bought elsewhere e.g. clear folders and notebooks. Books like the essay "Kamiyama Kenji no Eiga wa totta koto ga nai" or the blue-disc DVDs of the anime series will also be available. There will also be special-edition T-shirts and handphone straps produced to mark the launch of the website.

Meanwhile, there will also be a real-life shop, "Higashi no Eden Premium Shop" opened from 20 Nov to 13 Dec in Kichijoji, Tokyo (6th floor on Kichijoji Parco) where fans can visit the experience zone to feel the movie's atmosphere and buy limited edition goods which are launched before it is available at other shops. There will also be an exhibition of the original drawings of the anime. When the 2nd part of the movie "Paradise Lost" goes on roadshow next year, the shop will be reopened from 6 Jan 10 to 24 Jan. Opening hours of the shop will be from 10am to 9pm daily.

Parco City Online Mall: here

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 26 Oct 09

1) Hayate no Gotoku Vol 21 (160,433)

2) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 1 (87,125)

3) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 2 (86,683)

4) Hotaru no Hikari Vol 15 (81,056)

5) BLEACH Vol 41 (64,742)

6) GTO SHONAN 14 DAYS Vol 1 (62,525)

7) DEAR BOYS ACT 3 Vol 2 (61,347)

8) Lucky Star Vol 7 (59,807)

9) Otoyome Katari Vol 1 (59,181)

10) Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun Vol 3 (58,274)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (18 Oct 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 19.0%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.7%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 12.0%

4) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 11.6%

5) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.9%

6) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.7%

7) Pocket Monster DS (TV Tokyo) 7.7% / Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.7%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.6%

10) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.2%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 19 Oct 09

1) BLEACH Vol 41 (186,166)

2) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 26 (166,534)

3) Lucky Star Vol 7 (96,863)

4) Eyeshield 21 Vol 37 (74,501)

5) Hanma Baki Vol 20 (68,219)

6) Toriko Vol 6 (62,631)

7) Nurarin Hyon no Mago Vol 7 (60,476)

8) Drop Vol 8 (59,997)

9) Tegami Bachi Vol 8 (46,608)

10) Himea Nooru Vol 4 (41,500)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (11 Oct 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 15.5%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.0%

3) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 9.8%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.0%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 7.1%

6) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.8%

7) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.0%

8) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

9) Oasaru no George (NHK Education) 4.1%

10) Gintama (TV Tokyo) 3.9%　　

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 12 Oct 09

1) BLEACH Vol 41 (414,722)

2) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 26 (235,476)

3) Ooku Vol 5 (124,456)

4) Detroit Metal City Vol 8 (119,606)

5) Iryu Vol 21 (113,337)

6) Eyeshield 21 Vol 37 (109,645)

7) Toriko Vol 6 (95,058)

8) Nurari Hyon no Mago Vol 7 (85,323)

9) Berserk Vol 34 (80,629)

10) Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi ~ Onodera Ritsu no Ba-ai~ (71,913)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (4 Oct 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 19.8%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.8%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.3%

4) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.8%

5) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 7.8%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.2%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.8%

8) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 5.5%

9) Oasaru no George (NHK Education) 5.0%

10) Battle Splitz Shounen Gekihadan (TV Tokyo) 3.9%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 5 Oct 09

1) Berserk Vol 34 (183,755)

2) Soul Eater Vol 15 (117,158)

3) Vinland Saga Vol 8 (85,092)

4) Kekkaishi Vol 26 (77,343)

5) Ahiru no Sora Vol 25 (77,163)

6) FAIRY TAIL Vol 17 (72,854)

7) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 9 (71,496)

8) Yozakura Quartet Vol 7 (69,699)

9) Atashinchi Vol 15 (68,641)

10) Otomen Vol 9 (65,655)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (27 Sep 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 17.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.9%

3) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 9.8%

4) One Piece (NTV) 9.7%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.9%

6) Yatterman (NTV) 7.5%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.2%

8) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.6%

9) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.5%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) / Shin Majinga Shougeki Z Hen on television (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (21 Sep 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 14.2%

2) Crayon Shinchan (TV Asahi) 13.0%

3) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 12.2%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.2%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 9.0%

6) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 8.9%

7) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.9%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.1%

9) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.4%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) 5.8%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 28 Sep 09

1) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 9 (178,612)

2) Ahiru no Sora Vol 25 (166,689)

3) FAIRY TAIL Vol 17 (164,980)

4) Mahou Sensei Negima! Vol 27 (149,143)

5) Kekkaishi Vol 26 (145,212)

6) Soul Eater Vol 15 (142,798)

7) Air Gear Vol 26 (139,508)

8) Hajime no Ippo Vol 89 (133,627)

9) ONE PIECE Vol 55 (110,067)

10) MAJOR Vol 73 (108,255)

Aoi Bungaku Series starting from 10 Oct 09

NTV will be showing an animation series titled "Aoi Bungaku Series" which comprises of 6 famous literature works from various leading authors. The series will begin from 10 October at 1.20am (1.50am for the first OA) on Saturdays.

The idea for the series began when Shueisha re-published the 6 novels in a new version with covers drawn by famous manga artists Obata Takeshi (Death Note), Kubo Taito (BLEACH) and Konomi Takeshi (Shin Tennis no Oujisama). Based on their drawings, MADHOUSE will be in charge of producing the anime series.

Actor Sakai Masato will be playing the lead characters for each story as well as take on the role of a narrator. The six stories include works from Daizai Osamu - "Ningen Shinkaku" (4 episodes), "Hashire Meros" (2 episodes), from Sakaguchi Ango - "Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita" (2 episodes), from Natsume Souseki "Kokoro" (2 episodes) and from Akutagawa Ryuunosuke "Kumo no Ito" (1 episode) and "Jigokuhen" (1 episode). This is the third time that Sakai Masato tries his hand at voice acting and he has re-read the novels so as to prepare for the recording.

Crayon Shinchan's author, Usui Yoshito passes away

"Crayon Shinchan" author Usui Yoshito passed away after slipping from a cliff at Mount. Arafune and his body was found on 20 Sep 09. Crayon Shinchan's publisher, Futaba held an emergency press conference where they revealed that the last picture in Usui's digital camera was a topdown view of the cliff. It is believed that Usui slipped and fell down the cliff while taking this picture.

Usui had always loved to go on hiking trips in the mountains alone while taking pictures. However, this was the first time he visited Mount. Arafune and it turned out to be his last as well. According to police investigations, Usui had taken about 30 pictures of the scenery at Arafune. As the camera was still in the "on" mode when the body was found, it is said that Usui could have fallen right after taking this picture. In addition, there were no letters found on Usui thus the police has ruled out suicide or murder since it is highly likely that this is an accident.

With regards to the future of Crayon Shinchan's TV anime and movies, Futaba said that they are in the midst of negotiations with the related parties and Usui's family. Meanwhile, Usui's funeral will be held soon where only family members will attend. There are also talks going on as to whether to hold a farewell ceremony for Usui. As for the monthly Crayon Shinchan manga release, the publisher said that they have enough material until the Dec issue which will be published on 5 Nov. However, it is uncertain what they will do after that. Meanwhile, there will be a commemorative feature in the Nov issue which goes on sale from 5 Oct.