Mega Man Megamix Vol. 1 in Review

The first of many Mega Man manga brought to you by UDON – Mega Man Megamix Vol. 1 – has released in comic book stores and should be hitting other book stores soon if not already. Chances are if you read this site, you’re probably not sitting on the fence about getting a copy. But who knows, maybe you need a little insight. Well AWD! who runs Starfield Creations (and is a close pal of mine) has such a review that may entice you. Aside from going over the comic in a general stance, AWD! also makes comparisons of the book to previous editions that sold in Japan. Here’s a little snippet to give you the bottom-line:

What can I say? The book is a fantastic take on the series as a whole. At first, All I could really think to myself was: finally! We “non-linguist” types can appreciate the story along with the pretty pictures. The story is given a much darker and action-packed take, as we are more akin to the younger audience target featured in the games. But let’s face it, we WANTED it to be taken more seriously, and Ariga certainly delivered.

Mega Man Megamix is sounding pretty cool. If not available in your local book store, you can always try Amazon.

Rockman Gigamix Vol. 2 Cover, Release Detals

While we’re about to get the original Rockman Megamix here in North America (known as Mega Man Megamix of course), you have to remember that Japan is already up to Rockman Gigamix. And in fact, the second volume is coming out in Japan this month on the 27th for ¥1,200 (roughly $13.40 US). If you’ll remember, this is the volume set to contain the fan-submitted throwaway characters that Ariga held a contest for last year. Check out the covers and inserts below, via Tanomikomu Shop.

Judging by these images, Gigamix Vol. 2 will continue the space theme that was focused on in Vol. 1, with the story of Rockman 3 and the mining colony planets.  This time, however, the comic will feature the debut of the Space Rulers (the Stardroids to us), as well as the introduction of Duo. Where you say? Well that strange looking white and blue robot over to the right is actually Duo’s original form! Incidentally, the lazy looking robot to the left comes from this artwork, but probably won’t be too significant.

With Rockman Gigamix Vol. 3 set to release in June, I have to wonder if the space theme will continue. And if that’s the case… maybe we can look forward to a story about Rockman 10? It would fit, given the subtitle of “The Menace from Outer Space!!”  Even more, however, I hope that UDON will start bringing us Gigamix before long!

News Credit: Dark Messiah Blog

Mega Man Megamix Vol. 1 press release, preview

Despite some concerns about the release dates of the Mega Man Official Complete Works books, UDON is still pushing ahead with releases, now announcing the release of volume one of Hitoshi Ariga’s Mega Man Megamix in this press release. And there are some previews too! Click the thumbnails for full size.

THE ORIGINAL BLUE BOMBER IS BACK IN MEGA MAN™ MEGAMIX!

UDON brings classic Mega Man™ Manga to English readers

Toronto, ON – Dec 1, 2009 –  Of all the characters in CAPCOM®’s vast videogame library, arguably none is more recognizable worldwide than Mega Man™. With more than 100 video games to his name, Mega Man is among  the most iconic figures of gaming, but despite this, the original blue bomber’s Japanese manga adventures have never been available to English readers. UDON has decided to rectify that, with the release of Mega Man™ Megamix Vol. 1 in January 2010.

Written and drawn by mangaka Hitoshi Ariga, the Megamix manga is a 3-volume series beloved for its stupendous artwork and exciting stories. Outside of Japan, Mega Man fans have dreamed of one day being able to enjoy these adventures… and now they finally can!

The series features appearances by all the franchise regulars like Proto Man, Dr. Wily, Dr. Light, Bass & Treble, Rush, Roll, and tons of villainous Robot Masters! UDON has gone directly to Megamix creator Hitoshi Ariga to obtain the original artwork files for the series, and ensure the best localization possible. Each volume of Megamix is also packed with character profiles, sketches, gag strips, and creator interviews. This is a series no Mega Man fan would dare miss out on!

Mega Man Megamix Vol.1 arrives January 27^th, 2010 everywhere manga is sold. For more updates stay tuned to www.UDONentertainment.com.

Capcom starts OSS comic strip; groaner already ensues

As another small, special promotion, Capcom of Japan’s Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star homepage will release eight yonkoma (4-panel) comic strips through November and December. The first is out now, which as you can see above I’ve mediocrely translated. I’m not much of a typeset guy, or very funny, as this one in particular required a little improvisation, so bear with me on these. This is definitely LBD’s taste in humor though.

Now for the Japanese nerditry corner. As you can tell, this comic’s humor is derived from wordplay. Net Battle, written in Japanese, is “netto batoru” (ネットバトル). However, we find out in this last frame that is is actually a “nettou” (熱湯) battle, which means boiling water. In Japanese it seems there’s little else to pun “netto” with. But what’s funnier than some wordplay and scalding your friend horribly with boiling  hot water? Though in fairness, I guess Mega and Proto aren’t friends yet in this game.

Aside from “ket battle,” the only other thing I could come up with was “wet battle,” but that lacks the implication of hotness. Also it just sounds… disturbing somehow.

The next comic comes out on the 12th, OSS’s release date. I can’t wait.

Ariga comments on character submissions, gives us some pointers

A few days ago, we posted that Hitoshi Ariga was taking applications for fan created characters to appear as “throwaway characters” in upcoming issues of Rockman Gigamix. So far he is purely delighted about the number of submissions that have come in so far, including those from outside of Japan. However, Ariga also feels there may have been a little something lost in translation. For that reason, he wants to give us some specific pointers to keep in mind when submitting entries from now on:

• Please do not enter robots created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily.
• The chosen robots that appear will not be villains.
• The chosen robots that appear will not face Rockman.
• They are defense robots who are protecting the Earth from enemies from space.
• The storyline for the upcoming Gigamix issues is set in stone, so these characters will not have any impact in the story.
• The robots will not do anything in particular in the comic, and probably will not have any lines.
• It is possible the robots will be destroyed the moment they appear (so don’t expect the selected robots to do anything cool).
• Not every robot submitted can be used, unfortunately.

He also makes a point that should he select any robot who was entered with the intention of being a Wily robot or the like will not have such a background in the comic and apologizes. Now of course, I made it pretty clear in the last post these would be throw away characters, and there was no point in making a character overly cool or with a deep background. But I can’t blame people for wanting to enter their cherished designs, even if it’s just to show off. Just remember that this is Ariga’s work, and I imagine he’s slightly embarrassed to bring this up. Then again, I do feel most non-Japanese entrants had the right idea, and plenty of Japanese entrants are “Something Man” entries themselves. Nevertheless, Ariga could have easily ignored non-Japanese entries as well, so I think this is rather big of him.

Anyway, just keep those points in mind and keep the submissions coming!

Ariga opens “Moburobo” oekaki; get your character in upcoming Rockman Gigamix

Ariga recently released the first volume of his new Rockman comic series Rockman Gigamix last week. Now he is looking for fan-made designs to use as extras in the remaining two volumes of Gigamix to come. And how is he taking applications? With oekaki! With this oekaki board, you can draw your character entry on the spot or upload an image you’ve already created by other means.

So what are the conditions for entry? Well, Ariga himself says to just have fun with it. Bear in mind, though, these are just extras, or rather “yarareyaku,” which so far as I can tell means “for the purpose of being destroyed,” so basically scrubs. Therefore there’s not much point in creating the most bad ass awesome character you can think of – he’s probably going to appear in just one or two panels with a bunch of other characters before being wiped out! Also, I’m certain drawing anything gross or offensive won’t get you anywhere.

If you’re unfamiliar with oekaki, you may want to try out on our own board first (and I imagine our oekaki gang will be excited about this news, too). The Moburobo board uses only Shi Painter and Shi Painter Pro. And of course, it will be in Japanese, but you probably only need to draw your image, and then enter a title, description and your name. Perhaps I will make a simple guide if I try to enter a character myself.

But hey, how cool would it be to have your own character appear in a Rockman Gigamix comic? Very cool! So by all means, give it a shot. Besides, I love stuff like this. It’s always a chance for us outside Japan to show our support for Rockman/Mega Man!

Thanks to Fireman for the tip.

Update: Now that I’ve had time to check out the site a little, I’ve found it’s extremely simple to put up your pic (as I’m sure some readers have found already). Unless you’re really dying to draw your image from scratch in the oekaki applet, just go here to upload your own picture. The fields are all in English, so no confusion! And you don’t need a password to upload a picture. That field is for you to create your own password, so you can go back and update your post if you wish.

Also, pictures need to be in JPG, GIF or PNG format, no greater than 400 x 400 in dimension, and no greater than 100KB in file size. If your picture isn’t uploading, one of more of these things may be the problem.

Rockman Gigamix Vol. 1 coming September 30th

The first volume of the long anticipated Rockman Gigamix, a new Rockman comic series from Hitoshi Ariga, will go on sale in Japan September 30th for ¥1,200 (roughly $13 US). Though details are foggy at the moment, the comic seems to contain Rockman comics that were previously published in special editions of Kodansha’s Comic Bombom, but is also expected to contain new material as well, encompassing the story of Rockman 3, etc.

Rockman Gigamix was previously delayed over the decision to change Gigamix from a two volume set into a three volume set. Volumes 2 and 3 don’t have official release dates yet, but 2 is expected to release by the end of the year, and 3 by March of 2010.

News Credit: Tanomikomu, Fireman