The Crystal Ball - 2012 Manga Preview

Written by A. H. on 08 Dec 2011

Despite financial crises and the loss of one of its biggest western proponents last year in the form of Tokyopop, it still isn't a bad time to be a manga fan, with releases aplenty gracing store shelves.

But what of 2012, and what major new releases will it offer the discerning manga fan?  Allow us to peer into the depths of our crystal ball (okay, okay, so we mostly just used the Internet and our own roster of anticipated titles) and give you a run-down of the major titles we think you should be excited about over the year to come.

Continuing titles

Before jumping ahead and looking at brand-new releases for 2011, it shouldn't be forgotten that there are plenty of on-going series which will continue into next year.

Starting out with Viz Media, we probably don't need to mention the continuation of Shounen Jump powerhouses including the likes of Naruto, Bleach and One Piece alongside series such as Bakuman and Blue Exorcist.

On the shoujo side of things, we have the likes of Kimi ni Todoke and Skip Beat continuing, with series such as Bokurano: Ours, Cross Game and House of Five Leaves amongst the other on-going series under their roster.

Elsewhere, Dark Horse Comics' manga division have some high-profile on-going series of their own, with Oh My Goddess!, Gantz and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service all with new volumes currently confirmed for a 2012 release.

Alongside offerings such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei and Mardock Scramble, Kodansha Comics USA will also be continuing releases of a little series called Sailor Moon into 2012, naturally.

Moving on to Seven Seas Entertainment, we can expect more volumes of A Certain Scientific Railgun, Toradora and Amnesia Labyrinth in 2012, while Gunslinger Girl should also see further releases next year from the company.

Finally, we can't forget Yen Press of course, who have a cornucopia of high-profile titles of their own which continue next year - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and its Haruhi-chan spin off, Spice & Wolf, K-ON!, High School of the Dead, Kobato and Sunshine Sketch are just some of the series confirmed to have volumes in the offing for 2012.

So, as if that wasn't enough to be getting on with already, what are the hottest new manga releases for 2012 that have hit our radar?