xxxHOLiC 3, If You Were Here 5, Team Medical Dragon 1, Love & Collage 2: Level Comics 24 June 2008 manga releases

Some people have observed that Level Comics's 24 June 2008 release list is surprisingly generous: There are eight manga titles scheduled where there are usually 4 to 6.

I would submit that this seeming windfall is NOT the onset of more Level manga streeting per week. If we revisit previous release schedules, the four extra titles—volume 2 of Level's #3-ranked bestselling manga Love and Collage; volume 12 of the #16-ranked Negima!; the series premiere of Team Medical Dragon; and the third tankō of the #8-ranked xxxHOLiC—were actually scheduled to come out sometime May 2008. So it's probably more a case of Level playing catch up.

Level Comics manga (2008.06.24)

Toggle the release links to see details and cover scans

1. Fight!! Ippo (Hajime no Ippo) 48 of 84+ by Morikawa Joji

Hajime no Ippo 「 はじめの一歩 」 by Morikawa Joji Kodansha Weekly Shounen Magazine, shōnen This volume first published in Japan 1999.06 Indonesian version rescheduled from a May 2008 release Hajime no Ippo ranked fourth in the Top-selling Level Comics manga list

2. If You Were Here (Anata ga Ireba) 5 of 8 by Yoshimura Akemi

Anata ga Ireba 「 あなたがいれば 」 by Yoshimura Akemi Shogakukan Petit Comic, shōjo This volume first published in Japan 2004.09

3. Love and Collage (Ai Kora) 2 of 12 by Inoue Kazurou

Ai Kora 「 あいこら 」 by Inoue Kazurou Shogakukan Shonen Sunday, shōnen This volume first published in Japan 2006.02

4. Magister Negi Magi (Mahou Sensei Negima!) 12 of 22+ by Akamatsu Ken

Mahou Sensei Negima! 「 魔法先生ネギま！ 」 by Akamatsu Ken Kodansha Weekly Shounen Magazine, shōnen This volume first published in Japan 2005.10

5. [Premiere] Team Medical Dragon (Iryū -Team Medical Dragon-) 1 of 17+ by Nogizaka Taro & Nagai Akira

Iryū -Team Medical Dragon- 「 医龍 」 by Nogizaka Taro & Nagai Akira Shogakukan Big Comic Superior, seinen This volume first published in Japan 2002.09

6. Vagabond 22 of 28+ by Inoue Takehiko

Vagabond 「 バガボンド 」 by Inoue Takehiko Kodansha Morning KC, seinen This volume first published in Japan 2006.02

7. When You Wish Upon A Star (Hoshi no Furu Machi) 2 of 7+ by Hara Hidenori

Hoshi no Furu Machi 「 ほしのふるまち 」 by Hara Hidenori Shogakukan Young Sunday, seinen This volume first published in Japan 2006.08

8. xxxHOLiC 3 of 13+ by CLAMP

xxxHOLiC 「 ×××ＨＯＬｉＣ 」 by CLAMP Kodansha Weekly Young Magazine, seinen This volume first published in Japan 2004.02

Source: Elex Media STO 25 Juni 2008; all manga priced IDR 16,000 except for xxxHOLiC 3 which carries an IDR 17,000 price tag

Highlights

Since there's only one new series debut (much awaited though it is), let's get right to the breakdowns (of the non-nervous variety).

By genre
Seinen leads shōnen by one title, and despite there being only one shōjo (If You Were Here or Anata ga Ireba), the Get pledges of this Yoshimura Akemi-sensei title gave CLAMP's xxxHOLiC decent competition. I say this because I did a quick count over at the EMO thread.

By original publisher
It's a tie between Shogakukan and Kodansha. I wouldn't have noted this down except it's usually one or the other. This 4-4 draw, I believe, is the first time that both publishers are sharing the same crown (must be crowded under there).

Technorati tags
manga, Level Comics, seinen, shounen, shoujo, Ai Kora, Anata ga Ireba, Hajime no Ippo, Hoshi no Furu Machi, Mahou Sensei Negima!, Team Medical Dragon, Vagabond, xxxHOLiC, CLAMP

~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03) via Elex Media
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