I've been doing a bunch of reading lately. Included in it has been the first two and a half issues of Raijin Comics, the first issue of Shonen Jump, and some of the latest issue of Newtype USA.

First off, Raijin Comics. This is a weekly manga magazine that is being published in the US. From what I can tell from their web site, it is based out of Japan. I'm not quite sure about this yet. I'm actually finding I like a few of the stories in it. I will probably pick it up for a few more weeks and see if I still like it. So far I'm liking Guardian Angel Getten, The First President of Japan, and Slam Dunk. I'm also somewhat enjoying Fist of the Blue Sky.

Next is Shonen Jump. Viz's US version of the Japanese magazine of the same name. This one comes out only monthly though. It has titles like Dragonball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho. I enjoying reading through the first issue, but after reading Raijin I realized that it is going to take them forever to tell some of these stories by being monthly. I think I'd prefer both these magazines to be biweekly.

Now for Newtype USA. I was out wandering around Harvard Square yesterday and noticed the newest one was out. I arrived home to find my copy sitting on my mailbox. I've only flipped through a quarter of it, but it looks cool so far. The thing that was great about this month's issue was the bonus DVD with the first episode of Noir. The good, 5.1 sound, beautiful transfer. The mediocre, the dubbing. Actually, I don't think that the dubbing was that bad compared to some I've heard. And I think some of it was me being used to the Japanese voices. My big complaint is that they don't include the Japanese language track and subtitles. Does it take that much more effort?