Media Blasters Reduces Staff with Layoffs, Furloughs
posted on 2010-03-08 18:30 ESTANN has confirmed that the North American anime and manga distributor Media Blasters is undergoing a round of staff layoffs and furloughs that began on Friday and will continue through Tuesday. At least 13 employees have been laid off or furloughed; most were from the company's print and accounting departments, but the acquisitions, video production, and sales departments were also affected. The company had less than 50 employees before the layoffs and furloughs.
Media Blasters CEO John Sirabella told ANN that the company hopes to rehire the furloughed employees and explained the circumstances that led to the layoffs: "Recently, some of our larger vendors have slowed down quite a bit, so we have to take precautions." He added, "We are hoping that if we start to see the orders flow back from these vendors, we can bring [the furloughed employees] back later."
Media Blasters had to push back several titles last year, but Sirabella said that the company is trying to make sure that titles on the current schedule will ship on time. He does not anticipate that these layoffs will affect the company's release schedule.
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Zipang's Kawaguchi, Suppli's Okazaki Launch New Manga
posted on 2010-03-08 23:57 ESTManga creator Kaiji Kawaguchi (Zipang, Eagle, The Silent Service) and Tetsuo Fujii, the grand prize winner of the 25th Manga Open contest for new artists, will launch a manga series called Boku wa Beatles (We Are The Beatles) in this year's 15th issue of Kodansha's Morning magazine on Thursday. Fujii created the original concept for the manga, and Kawaguchi is drawing it. Kawaguchi had just ended his time-travelling naval manga Zipang in the same magazine last November, but he was already planning his next manga for this year. Viz published the Eagle manga in North America, Central Park Media released The Silent Service anime special, and Geneon Entertainment (USA) released the Zipang television anime.
Mari Okazaki (Suppli) will also launch a new manga, tentatively titled & (And), in the May issue of Shodensha's Feel Young magazine on April 8. Like Kawaguchi, Okazaki ended her last manga (the Suppli workplace romance story) last November in the same magazine her new series is launching. Tokyopop revealed at an online "webinar" panel that it will resume publishing Suppli from the fourth volume in North America this year.
Ultimate Venus creator Takako Shigematsu launched her Shin Kami-sama no Iu Tōri! manga series in the April issue of Monthly Princess on Saturday. Go! Comi published Ultimate Venus in North America.
[Via News Paradise, Kodansha, Comic Natalie]
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