April 02, 2012 Issue

Submitted by urian brown on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 13:06

Cover
Art by Eiichiro Oda
Normally I don’t write about the cover, but this one is exceptional for a couple of reasons. First, it’s amazing art! Even for an Oda cover this one’s really nice.  Second, it was a special cover for Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump celebrating the opening of the One Piece art exhibit. And that’s why they’re all dressed up!

One Piece
by Eiichiro Oda
Just as some of the mysteries of the strange island Punk Hazard are solved, a plethora of new ones pop up! The latest is—what is Trafalgar Law doing there? And why won’t he show Smoker his lab?

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan
by Hiroshi Shiibashi
Gorgeous color spread! Although this art was originally meant for print, seeing it backlit really brings it alive. This chapter has some pages that artistically push the boundaries of the SJ brand. Oh, and there’s a crazy fight with lots of snakes.

Naruto
by Masashi Kishimoto
The first page in-depth summary explaining the current status of the war is amazing. Naruto is on fire, right now! Madara vs. the five Kage and a showdown between Itachi, Sasuke and Kabuto! It’s everything we’ve been waiting to see!

Bakuman
story by Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata
Never before in my life have I cared so much about a voice actor getting a role! That’s the mark of a great storyteller—they can make anything totally riveting! There's also some pretty amazing catty voice actresses action.

Blue Exorcist Sneak Peek of Volume 7
by Kazue Kato
If you don’t know the story of Blue Exorcist, it goes like this—born the son of Satan, Rin Okumura rejects his heritage and becomes an Exorcist to defeat his evil father. And in this sneak peek, Rin’s friends struggle to come to terms with his powers while the Impure King threatens to wipe them all out!

Toriko
Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Toriko’s taking a week off, but we have an exciting interview by  to tide you over!

 What did all y'all think of this issue? Tell me the truth!

Urian Brown - - King of the Forums

Comments

Submitted by otterin on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 15:05

I enjoy Alpha for One Piece and Bakuman but I would resubscribe in a heartbeat if Viz decided to include Katekyo Hitman Reborn! to Alpha. Please, there's no reason to keep alienating your fanbase more than you already have. KHR needs a respectable and accurate translation worth the quality of a $10 price tag, as soon as Viz does that the English speaking fans will be falling over themselves to give you their money. Please give the English speaking KHR fans a reason to trust you.

Submitted by dUsTeAtEr on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 16:06

this was an awesome issue!!!
i loved the toriko interview and blue exorcist, and i hope blue exorcist is added to the magazine with claymore/tegami bachi/rosario vampire season 2 and d. gray man.

and also, Reborn! should be added as well. even if you don't want to release the graphic novels, put it in alpha so fans don't have to read scanlations.

Submitted by hOlO69 on Tue, 04/03/2012 - 15:31

still no reborn. i'm not interested.

Submitted by VongolaNinja on Wed, 04/04/2012 - 16:59

For other Reborn! fans, I hope that you remember that Viz has subbed the entire anime, so we do have the Future Arc in some form, and with high quality translations. Outside of buying the manga, I would go over to Vizanime.com and support the series there as well, so Viz becomes further aware of its fanbase. For others, keep in mind that Alpha is still relatively young--less that four months; if we support the anime and keep making our desires known, hopefully Viz will realize that there is an audience for this!

Submitted by otterin on Wed, 04/04/2012 - 19:04

Um, not to burst your bubble or anything but Viz didn't sub the anime for Reborn. They didn't translate the anime or sub it, it came from Crunchy Roll and Viz just added their watermark to it. I REALLY want the rest of the manga series and there is an audience for it in not only the US but the other English speaking countries around the world as well.