Happy 10th Anniversary, Digimon Next!

A few hours ago Japan's clock rolled over to December 17th, 2015, marking the ten-year anniversary of Digimon Next's first publication. Written by Hamazaki Tatsuya (One Piece, .hack//G.U., STEINS;GATE) and illustrated by Okano Takeshi (Hell Teacher Nūbē), the manga was serialized in V Jump magazine until December 21st, 2007, and later compiled into four tankōbon volumes from 2006 to 2008.

Written as a classical Digimon alternative to the then-controversial Savers, Next emulated the style and aesthetics of previous Digimon seasons, as well as of its predecessor V-Tamer 01. Unlike the late-middle-school-to-early-high-school characters of Savers, most of the cast in Next are elementary-age; the manga followed fifth grader Tatsuno Tsurugi on a quest to save the Digital World from the Demon Lord Barbamon, emphasizing the same strategic elements as V-Tamer but featuring the newer Digimon used in Savers. Next promoted the latest virtual pets, beginning with the then-new Digimon Mini, moving up to the Digivice iC, and finally to the Digimon Twin.

While it focused on the Savers-era Digimon, Next diverted from the anime at several points, avoiding the use of Burst Modes in the storyline and instead using alternative evolutions derived from the Twin. The manga went on to outlive Savers by nine months, ending its serial run just prior to the second death of the Digimon brand in 2008. Although Next was never officially brought over to the west, the manga was fantranslated very close to its original release schedule by several groups, jumping from the late Digimon Himitsu, to WtW Scanlations, DATS, and eventually Digital Starlight. It was one of the Digimon fandom's first manga translation projects, alongside V-Tamer. These translations are still easily available on the web through a variety of hosts.

Digimon-Only Event Digital ∞ Infinity To Be Held in January

Last June the for-profit doujinshi market event organizer Studio YOU began scheduling the Digimon series-only event "Digital ∞ Infinity." Set to take place on January 11th, 2016, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM JST, Digital ∞ Infinity will feature 100 spaces rented out to a minimum of 20 different artist circles. These circles will exclusively be selling Digimon series doujin manga, self-published fanmade comics. In addition to the artist circles already committed, Studio YOU is renting out space to any fan circles that are willing to pay the 3500/7000 yen (approx. $30/$60) fee, granting them either one or two spaces (consisting of chairs and half-desk plus entry for three persons) depending on which price they opt for. The event details are projected to be finalized around December 14th, when the deadline for space registration ends.

Tokyo Distribution Center, the scheduled site of the event. Original image uploaded by TRC.

Although the manga will be fanmade, the quality of doujin work is often on par with professional manga. In the past former Digimon series animators and staff have been known to occasionally publish their own doujin at such events, such as Adventure 02 animation director Takeda Yoshihiro. The event was originally going to be held at the Oota City Industrial Plaza PiO, but in early October Studio YOU announced a change of location to the Tokyo Distribution Center (abbreviated as TRC, for Toukyou Ryuutsuu Center). No age limit has been specified on the event; typically minors are able to enter these markets and purchase general audiences doujin, but will be refused the sale of any Restricted-18 works.

The admission fee for consumers attending the market is currently undecided, but attending cosplayers will be charged a 500 yen entry fee for their "cosplay ticket." Additionally, cosplayers are asked not to bring model weapons to the event, change using specified locker rooms rather than the public restrooms, and only take photos within a predetermined "cosplay zone." Video recording on the premises is prohibited.

V-Tamer 01 Goes on Amazon Kindle This Month

August 11th, 2015. Amazon Japan has prematurely uploaded the covers for digital editions of Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01, leaking that all nine volumes of the manga will be available via digital purchase for Kindle users living in Japan beginning on August 21st, twelve years to the day that V-Tamer finished its original run. Mangaka Yabuno Tenya had previously mentioned a V-Tamer related announcement would be found in the August 21st issue of V-Jump magazine, hinting that fans should not be putting any money in the expensive physical volumes currently available. Yabuno was likely referring to this in his message, but whether there is any further V-Tamer material to come remains to be seen, as any scans of the issue are still a week away.

The Amazon listings make reference to the inclusion of color chapters, the C'Mon Digimon storyline, as well as crossover omake with other Digimon series, all of which were found in the physical volumes from 2003.

Digimon V-Tamer 01 Mangaka Teases 8/21 V-Jump Announcement

Six hours ago the artist behind Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01, Yabuno Tenya, uploaded a commemorative Odaiba Day sketch to his Twitter account honoring August 1st. Yabuno's sketch promises new information about V-Tamer 01 in the August 21st issue of V-Jump magazine, the magazine that originally serialized V-Tamer 01 for over four years. August 21st was also the date on which the manga's final chapter was published in V-Jump. Yabuno tweeted the following;

Ｖテイマー落書。8月21日にならないと詳しく告知できないそうなので、また、その頃ちゃんと描きます。どうぞよろしくお願いします！
"V-Tamer scribble. While it seems that until August 21st I cannot give a detailed announcement, still, at that time I will draw again. Thank you very much!"

Japanese fans on Twitter are ecstatic at the news, with many of them having a particular nostalgia for V-Tamer, which predated the Adventure anime series in Japan. Many are shocked by the news, not expecting anything new related to the long-finished series. Exactly what kind of V-Tamer material will be included in this coming issue of V-Jump is uncertain, but fan support for Yabuno's work is strong. In a later comment, Yabuno cryptically added "Somehow, I wonder if this is too suggestive of the announcement... (^^; Uumm, for now, it's better not to buy the expensive volumes on Amazon." While a reprint of the manga is possible, this may not be the only V-Tamer related news to come out of the issue--reserving the announcement for that month's V-Jump may point to something slightly more substantial than just a reissue.

V-Tamer 01 remains the longest continuously running Digimon manga in franchise history, chronicling the adventure of Yagami Taichi (based on a prototype of the Adventure protagonist) and his V-dramon Zeromaru. During its run, the manga featured crossover sidestories with every season of the animated Digimon franchise through Frontier. It was originally used to promote the Digital Monster virtual pets and later the Pendulum series devices, although it opted not to include the Pendulum X series developed late in the manga's life. After its storyline was completed the manga was later compiled into nine volumes. A new entry in the series now would be the first new material for V-Tamer 01 in twelve years to the day.