A new year, a new YEN PLUS!
Hitting stores this week, it’s the first YEN PLUS of the new year! This month, Sumomomo’s Momoko and the gang from One Fine Day are featured, along with all your other favorites. This is also Higurashi’s final appearance in the pages of YEN PLUS, so make sure your check it out! Keep sending us your fan art and feedback! And HAPPY HOLIDAYS from all of us at Yen!
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December 15th, 2008 at 8:32 PM
I’ve been compiling an FAQ page in response to some of the questions on subs from your posts on previous issues, so hopefully that will help. For now, here’s what the woman at subscription services told me:
*From the time you subscribe, it takes 4-6 weeks to process your order. So the first issue you would get if you order today is the March 2009 issue. In general, assume your sub will kick in not next issue, but the issue after. If you want to make sure, call the help line at 1-800-876-7598. They can even process a subscription for you right then, which may speed things up? (And they seem really friendly!)
*They send your magazine to you the first week of the prior month. So subscribers should already have their January issues. If not, it may be the busyness of the holiday season is to blame, but again, if you call the help line, they can tell you whether or not your magazine was sent out.
Hope that helps. Will have FAQs soon, but you will still need to direct subscription queries to the subscription hotline for the most part, as we are just humble editorial folks! Thanks for subscribing!
December 15th, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Awesome covers…one fine day >///< (squeal!!)
December 15th, 2008 at 11:18 PM
Waaaaah, this is Higurashi’s last issue? So sad! I really love that series. Oh well, guess I’ll just buy the volumes.
Question – when will we find out about the Soul Eater giveaway winners?
And another question – In place of Higurashi, will there be another manga placed in Yen Plus?
December 15th, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Hey abby, got my mangazine today, that was fast~ =o
Anyhow, I haven’t gone through it yet but “Higurashi’s final appearance in the pages of YEN PLUS” makes me sad.. I’m thinking of picking up the anime though, just cause you guys published it in Y+. =D Love the covers btw, and the mail angry-old-woman didn’t fold my magazine this time! Well, hope you guys YP have a great Christmas and a even better New Year’s~
InT~
December 15th, 2008 at 11:28 PM
o dangit, I forgot last time, and I forgot again this time.. Just a suggestion, put up a forum plox~ It would get people closer to others with same interests, it would make leaving feed backs and suggestions easier, fan art could be more easily sent, and well, everything but moderating a forum is good! Please consider it?
InT~
December 16th, 2008 at 7:38 AM
Ehh? Higurashi’s getting cut? Bummer; that was one of my faves. Will anything replace it?
December 16th, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Tania and I are packing up the Soul Eater giveaways this week, so hopefully all our lucky winners will get them around Christmas! I think we could manage to putting up a list of winners too…so you know whether or not your excitedly checking the mail is worth it or not…
Yes, yes, we’re very sad to see Higurashi go. But of course, we’ve always got something new around here! Next month, the Japanese side of the mag will feature Hiromu Arakawa’s HERO TALES…and there just might be a super secret surprise waiting on the flip side as well…
December 17th, 2008 at 1:53 AM
Personally, I’m sad to see Higurashi leave the magazine, but super excited that it’ll be coming out a lot faster now that it’s getting immediate volume releases.
On a side note, I’d be even more super excited if you announced a license for the various Umineko no Naku Koro ni manga (based off the next series of games the Higurashi creator did), considering that, so far, Umineko is vastly superior to Higurashi (in my humble opinion, at least). And considering I love Higurashi to death, that’s saying a lot.
December 17th, 2008 at 2:02 AM
I like surprises. Especially super secret ones.
InTraining, a couple days ago I created a Yen Plus fan group on Facebook just for kicks. It has a forum; I’m the only one to post in it so far, though. If you have a Facebook account, check it out.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50465207151
December 17th, 2008 at 2:43 AM
Awesome issue, not only was the cover One Fine Day (favorite manhwa ftw), but there was finally some fanart! I’m in there, in the top left corner, with my little doodle of No-Ah c: That made my day, thank you so much for printing mine (and everyone else’s) fanart!
I absolutely loved Nanai in this issue’s first chapter of OFD, he made me giggle xD Poor Guru has it rough, hahaha~
I’m sad to see Higurashi go, but I guess we’ll just have to but the books now c,:
Can’t wait for the next issue~!
December 17th, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Went to the bookstore two days ago thinking that there would still be time to get issue 5…it stinks to miss an issue but at least I have something to read during school this last week before the winter break.
(\_/)
(X.o)
(> <)
December 17th, 2008 at 6:39 PM
So this is Higurashi’s last run? Oh the depression. I’ll have to find it somewhere on the internet, because I dont have any manga places in my city.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Hero Tales O_O
SUPERCOOLAWESOMENESS!!!
The anime was great, I can’t wait to see the original manga!
December 17th, 2008 at 11:52 PM
Yen Press in just removing it from the magazine right? Are they still going to distribute the rest of the volumes?
December 18th, 2008 at 12:21 AM
im so happy they put in maximum ride in this book of yen..yay i love that book and wondered when it would come out. can somebody tell me where to go to read part of the manga, like a website or something like that. no stores please if you can.
thanks
December 18th, 2008 at 4:28 AM
why hirugashi why not something else less popular?
December 18th, 2008 at 1:44 PM
Why would you cut Higurashi, it’s one of the better series in the magazine. Please don’t let YP become only a marketing tool for the books, where you just cut things abruptly and say “buy the books”. We’re reading an anthology because we don’t want to buy the books. Tankoban pages are tiny and it’s more fun to experience a series serialized in an anthology.
I don’t understand why you would pull a series that you spent so much time hyping, even interviewing the creators of the game, just to cut it six issues into the magazine and say “welp, we’re finished with this now, buy that books if you want to find out what happens”. That’s not how real manga anthologies work, I’m sure you guys did some research about how they do it in Japan, right?
December 19th, 2008 at 8:03 AM
Aw man, I’m shocked(and crushed) to see Higurashi go!
This doesn’t mean you’re stopping at just Onikakushi-hen(Abducted by the Demon Arc) as far as releasing the compiled volumes though, right?
December 19th, 2008 at 4:20 PM
You realize that by cutting Higurashi and releasing it every 3 months you will never finish before 2011. Oh well, Hgurashi was the main reason I bought the magazine. I still plan on subscribing though
December 20th, 2008 at 5:07 AM
Dear Yen Plus,
Hey, got the new one now, but I’m bummed out. I can’t believe that Higurashi’ getting the boot from Yen Plus. That was a great story to read. But despite all that, I see that a new manga will take it’s place. It’ll be on the cover of the new Yen Plus, and it’s called Hero Tales. It’s inspired by Full Metal Alchemist, so it’ll be interesting to read it. Hope to see it soon! Later.
December 20th, 2008 at 5:14 AM
I almost forgot! I wonder if the super secret suprise cover is as cool as it sounds…
December 20th, 2008 at 12:12 PM
I’m actually a little happy Higurashi’s getting the cut, because it means they can start releasing the individual volumes a bit faster. (And considering how many volumes of Higurashi there are, it’d take years for them to finish if they continued to do it monthly)
December 21st, 2008 at 4:18 PM
No! Not Higurashi! That’s my favorite story…is it ending or just being moved to tankouban format? I’m so bummed.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 AM
Folks, according to Yen Press’s own web page for Higurashi, they’re still on track to release the volumes for it throughout 2009. The first one is already on shelves (I saw it in Borders the other day).
http://yenpress.us/?page_id=454
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:51 AM
I think it is just moving to tankouban format. I’m sure there will be many series coming and going in Yen+ over the years. I’m welcome for change.
December 24th, 2008 at 2:27 AM
I was so happy to see this at my local store. I checked everyday and to my surprise, I found it on the shelf today! Thank you very much! Just in time for Christmas as well <3
Can’t wait for the next volume ;3
December 25th, 2008 at 3:54 PM
Also, if you look here, the question is in the FAQ section:
How long will each series run in the magazine?
The length of time/number of volumes each series will run in the magazine varies from title to title. However, just because a series may stop running in the magazine, we will still continue publishing it in book form. Just click over to the BOOKS tab and check it out!
No need to worry.
December 25th, 2008 at 4:18 PM
What’s the logic behind cutting something anyway? What sort of thought goes into what gets cut and what stays? Perhaps you could do some kind of piece on that in the magazine. I don’t even feel like reading it anymore worried that the other series I like are going to disappear soon. I can’t afford to spend $10 on a single tankoban volume which is why the anthology format is great, it provides much more entertainment for the money and nice, large pages where you can see all the details of the artwork, and yet is still a “disposable” medium which doesn’t need to take up space on your shelf.
December 25th, 2008 at 4:52 PM
X-X Finally when I get a subscription for christms Higurashi was cut, which was pretty much the reason I wanted to subscribe…
December 26th, 2008 at 10:28 PM
OMG! My SE posters/pin came in today! I’m so happy I won!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:53 PM
It seems like Higurashi is pretty popular…in truth, I don’t like it much (don’t kill me). It must have been my friend sending me Youtube videos of repetitive girls laughing and chopping and laughing and… so on. Though I do think that some heads up on when series end in the mag should be told earlier, because some people may want to subscribe just for that series (but business is business, right?) Or something like that.
How come no one is happy about the ‘Hero Tales’ thing? T_T
*lonely fan*
Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays, everyone!
December 28th, 2008 at 10:05 PM
hey! i’m from brazil, but lived in canada for a semester..
i was wondering if you guys will ever sell your magazines outside the us!
big fan!
marina
December 29th, 2008 at 2:03 AM
I’m depressed! You didn’t publish the date of 09′ issue! I missed it!! DX I hope I can find it in Chapters before next month.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:06 AM
I’m sad to see Higurashi leave but I’m glad that it was in the magazine even if it was just for a short period of time because I don’t think I would have bought it had I not been exposed to it in Yen Plus first. I’m looking forward to future volumes of the manga.
I have some random theory’s of why it might have been cut. Keep in mind these are just my thoughts but Higurashi doesn’t have what you would call a linear story line. There are lots of restarts and switches in perspective. Maybe it was felt that the format wouldn’t lend itself well to a serial magazine as the story got more complex in future volumes.
Also I wonder if maybe the violence in later volumes might have required them to up the rating. I don’t know though as I havn’t read ahead in the series but I had heard that it get more violent.
December 31st, 2008 at 3:03 AM
Waah, this issue was so good! I’ll miss higurashi, but I’m way excited for Hero Tales! Plus that surprise! Wonder what it’ll be, hmm?
In other news, I got my Soul Eater poster and pin today, I was so happy! Such a lovely surprise. Thanks a bunch!
December 31st, 2008 at 10:39 PM
I for one am glad they’re nixing Higurashi. >_> To tell the truth, I was beginning to skip over it and Bamboo Blade. xD
All you Higurashi fans… shouldn’t you be happier now that it’s not in the magazine? Now you’ll get a new book every few months, instead of every year or so. o.o Yen Press is doing whatever they think will make the series more successful.
I’m cautiously optimistic for Hero Tales, as I’ve never read Fullmetal, but I really liked the anime. I hope that whatever the new title is, that it’s a good one. :3
January 1st, 2009 at 4:59 AM
Happy New Year!!
January 1st, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Onikakushi (Abducted By Demons) is only two volumes long. But there are others arcs, are you going to release theme in pocketform instead?
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 AM
Hey, YenPlus! Thanks for making me feel like a tool for shelling out close to $10.00 a month (which I can barely afford) for the privilege of owning your promotional vehicle cleverly disguised as a manga anthology. The “buy it if you EVER want to see chapter 7 of Max Ride” tactic feels more like a ransom demand than incentive to buy the volume. My current options are: a) just skipping the chapter altogether (with the probable result that I will be confused and inclined to lose interest when the story resumes in the anthology) or b) rifling through a copy of the volume in the bookstore before placing it back on the self.
You’ll note there’s no option c, wherein I actually purchase said volume. (Times are tough. I’m sure you watch the news…)
I completely understand the need to switch out Higurashi (though I really loved it) in order to speed the publishing pace of such a long series. However, since we were only 6 chapters in, it’s easy to feel like this was the plan from the start. I’m concerned that this may be the plan for all of the titles. Can we expect such rapid turnover of titles in the future to free up more “advertising space”? I resent the attempt to take your readers hostage and declare my intelligence officially insulted. Please re-examine this business strategy because, if it becomes a pattern, I will sadly no longer be among your readers – and that would pain me because I have so loved YenPlus. (Believe me, the fact that this has provoked such a strong reaction in me is testament to that.)
January 4th, 2009 at 3:37 PM
l’m happy about ”Hero Tales.” l love Hiromu.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:54 PM
Oh, fans, I too am very sad to see Higurashi go. But as some of you have pointed out, we WILL be releasing the complete series in book form. You can see when the first three arcs are scheduled by clicking over to the books tab. Please don’t be mad at Hero Tales for replacing Higurashi! I’ve been looking forward to this one since I started at Yen!
I’m sorry some of you are still having trouble with subscriptions. We do have a newly added FAQ page which may answer some questions, but you should call 1-800-876-7598 regarding your specific account.
And for those of you looking for back issues, I am told that if you go to a comic book shop and ask them very nicely, they should be able to order past issues of Yen Plus for you…
January 6th, 2009 at 6:21 AM
*squees at OFD being on the cover, I totally relate to Nanai XD Oh, and I wrote something for NaRae in case she ever reads these news articles XD (I blame Babelfish for the ruddy translation, but ah well…) (If you can’t see it, change your encoding for Korean X.=.X;)
?? NaRae! ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ? ?? Patterson ?? ??… ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?????!
January 6th, 2009 at 6:23 AM
edit to my last post, (Rawr) XD Ah well… I’m just praising NR on Max Ride… XD
January 6th, 2009 at 5:48 PM
I already bought issue 5. However I have not been able to read it due to my Advanced classes. I am sad to see Higurashi leave. I would turn the page, and there would be mina scaring me half to death. Then would there be more space for more chapters of different manga/manwah. I just didn’t want to see a magna/manwah end with out it ending in Yen plus.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:41 PM
I was wondering how long it’d be until Higurashi got switched out with another manga because of its release in Tankoban form (MONTHS ago…).
I do remember from issue 1, the very beginning, the staff mentioning that YP is an anthology to “advertise”/bring out lesser known titles and get them better known.
That’s YP’s purpose. Always has been. Guys, ignore the whines and moans of the fanboys/girls and keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s a great way to read manga/manhwa that hasn’t been released in tankoban form yet.
I for one both love anthologies AND tankobans. I’ll probably buy the higurashi manga in tankoban now.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:22 AM
Wait, youll have the other Higurashi Arcs, right? D:
January 7th, 2009 at 3:29 AM
I am really sad! Higurashi is gone. That (and Max Ride) are the only reason I even pick up YenPlus. I am happy that you are adding a new title and everything, I mean I love Fullmetal… It’s just, It’s going to make me cry to see Higurashi go. There is about 6 chapters per Arc. (Four question, four Answer, then side stories.)It wouldn’t take that long to publish them. I was really excited Higurashi is in my favorite magazine! Well that’s a great Chritmas present. Now I have to read over 200 pages per volume in the bookstore so I can have another old lady ask me if I work there, (It’s a long story… *sigh*) Just because you want to pulish $10 books faster. I rather read shojo, at least they aren’t cuting my manga. I’ll find away to read my Higurashi another way! *HUMPH* No thanks to YenPlus!
January 7th, 2009 at 2:41 PM
i love yen plus….. i didnt have the chance to buy the first three magazine but… I bought 4 and 5…
and i’m waiting for the 6th one..hehe..
so when is it gonna come out?
January 7th, 2009 at 9:54 PM
Can I order back issues?
January 9th, 2009 at 12:58 AM
Dear yen plus,
I haven’t recieved the January issue even though I subscribe in August and I just got my Dec issue today :[ is it because I live in NY?
From
T.C
January 9th, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Well Yenplus, seems there is a mix on this issue. (I recently got the new one~) I’m not complaing what you did was good or bad, I’m just going to say you may want to consider somethings. Its true, if a manga is popular than you should release it quicker however it seems Higurashi was one of your gimmick mangas for yen plus. Maybe we’ll see better things in the future but for now… if it’s not being released like every month… it’ll be hard to please fans (3 months is definitely good but still a monthly magazine doesn’t make it feel so long)
Also, I do in fact hate that you made a gimmick for needing to buy the maximum ride manga. Though this was probably some marketing strategy? maybe to test out something? I dunno… hell it could just be you needed more space this month, but it too was a winner and makes the fans feel forced to buy not only a subscription to keep up but also the 1st volume. I will still buy it because I like a lot of series (I’m more or less surprised since its hard to find in stores…)
Hopefully I will see better results in march? or maybe april/may. And also! when is that amateur contest going to happen? ^_^
January 10th, 2009 at 1:15 AM
I stopped buying the manga anthology Shojo Beat because of Viz Media’s policy of only publishing series for a limited time as a kind of “advertisement” for the graphic novels.
This is a plea to Yen Press: Please do not fall into that same pattern! Yen Plus is a fantastic magazine and the first manga anthology since Shonen Jump that I think has the power to succeed. I understand the explanation you have given for dropping Higurashi, but I hope that the same fate does not also befall either of the serials being brought in to replace it.
For the same reason, I am very upset by your announcement that Yen Plus will be skipping over a chapter of Maximum Ride, calling it a “graphic novel exclusive.” I felt a little insulted by that. We have already paid for the magazine and all the chapters in it, yet you construct a ploy to get us to buy a collection of the same chapters we already own just to get the one you won’t publish? That is a cheap trick that is beneath such a fan-oriented company such as yourselves.
That’s it for constructive criticism. I simply love Yen Plus so much that I felt I had to let you know when I feel you have damaged to reputation of your magazine. Though I do have two other suggestions/requests:
Anthologies should also contain articles – in this case cultural pieces would be great. For example: a companion to Sarasah that helps explain all the confusing historical references regarding ancient Korea, or an article about kendo for Bamboo Blade.
Has Yen Press ever considered publishing light novels? Yen Plus would be a great place to either preview one or serialize, just like magazines in Japan do.
Thank you for reading (I hope) and keep up the excellent work!
January 10th, 2009 at 7:27 PM
@Clay
Thanks for your feedback! And in response to your question about light novels, Yen Press has announced two novel series: Kieli and Spice and Wolf. The first volume of Kieli is set to release in July, and Spice and Wolf is tentatively scheduled for December!
January 11th, 2009 at 11:21 AM
I went to my bookstore looking for a newish Shonen Jump, but found Yen’s February instead. Always a nice surprise, I wasn’t expected to see it out already.
As for the whole Higurashi thing. It really is a long series. And quite frankly the chapter after the next one is so freaking gruesome that I don’t know if it would bode well for whatever traget demographic Yen is aimed at. I got so hooked on Higurashi that I looked for and found the anime hiding in a bush out in the desert…
Seriously though, if the end of the first manga arc is anything like the fourth episode of the manga…*shudder*
January 11th, 2009 at 11:21 AM
I meant the chapter after the last published one, but yeah it is past 6 AM here.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:02 PM
What I would really like to know is which series will end soon. Also I belive that the series that will end soon will be those that are popular enough to make it big in tankoban format. That means those that are less popular will be fodder for us to feed on to fuel the magazine. While the best manga will most likely be sent away from the magazine and will make their debut. We will then have to pay for the book if we want to continue it. They should just keep the magazine intact, and provide for more chapters per magazine through more advertisement. They only advertise Yen press and a few other books that are not really manga. If they advertised Anime, manga, and other anime related products they could afford to make it phone book size.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:18 AM
woot! just got the february issue, and I ?’s the super secret surprise manwha!!! ^^ it’s peachy cool~!
January 15th, 2009 at 4:18 AM
woot! just got the february issue, and I ?’s the super secret surprise manwha!!! ^^ it’s peachy cool~!
January 21st, 2009 at 7:14 PM
Uhwahh! Higurashi is leaving? ;^; It’s my most favorite anime/manga/video game series of all time! But I hope that the volumes will be coming out even sooner now! I being as big a nerd as I am have already marked the calendars. I haven’t gotten the chance to thank you for bringing the manga to america yet. I must say I lost the ability to speak when I was browsing through you’re magazine and saw it there. Thank you so much, and I’m a dedicated fan of Yen+ all the same! Especially that Soul Eater!
February 11th, 2009 at 2:33 AM
cutting Higurashi is a bad move. Don’t become a shonen jump.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:08 PM
What?
They’re ending Higurashi?
..;__; B-but,we didn’t get to Tsumborohoroshi-hen yet.
Oh,wait,they mean Onikakushi’s ending
July 17th, 2010 at 1:45 PM
?????? ??? ??????
?