BookDragon Translation

NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki, translated by Jocelyne Allen, afterword by Kimie Imura

03 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Memoir, Nonfiction, Translation, Young Adult Readers

The work of Shigeru Mizuki, a legendary 90-year-old manga artist in his native Japan, arrived Stateside last year with the first-ever English translation of the award-winning Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, which draws on Mizuki's own experiences during World War II when he was drafted into Japan’s...

20th Century Boys (vol. 21) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

25 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

As this is the penultimate volume in the 22-part series, I suppose I should have savored it ...

5 Centimeters per Second by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Yukiko Seike, translated by Melissa Tanaka

06 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation

The copy of this story I hold in my hands is apparently the fourth iteration of a Japanese modern classic-in-the-making – it debuted in 2007 as an animated film, was then adapted (and expanded) as a novel in late 2007, became a manga in 2010, and...

I’ll Give It My All … Tomorrow (vols. 3-4) by Shunju Aono, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

30 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

  Nope, tomorrow still hasn’t arrived for midlife slacker Oguro. As volume 3 opens, Oguro continues to struggle with his manga-making, his disappointed father isn’t above smacking him since “just telling [him] isn’t doing it,” and his teenage daughter has little choice than to detachedly watch...

The Drops of God (vol. 4) by Tadashi Agi, illustrated by Shu Okimoto, translated by Maya Rosewood

19 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation

No oenophile am I, but I sure am addicted to this delicious new series. To catch up to this latest volume which hits shelves today, be sure to click here. The elusive chase continues between faux-siblings, Shizuku Kanzaki and his just-recently-adopted brother Issei Tomine, to identify...

Atlas: The Archaeology of an Imaginary City by Dung Kai-cheung, translated by Dung Kai-cheung, Anders Hansson, and Bonnie S. McDougall [in Library Journal]

15 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Chinese, Fiction, Repost, Translation

First published in 1997 – as an indirect response to the Hong Kong handover – Atlas marks Hong Kong native Dung’s English debut in translation. A self-described “verbal collection of maps” imagines the reclamation of a future city of Victoria (Hong Kong) through maps, memories,...

Reel Cuisine: Blockbuster Dishes from the Silver Screen by Nami Iijima, photography by Elina Yamasaki

06 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Japanese, Nonethnic-specific, Translation

This cookbook is probably the most unusual little collection I've ever come across ...

The Drops of God (vols. 1-3) by Tadashi Agi, illustrated by Shu Okimoto, translated by Kate Robinson

26 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation

I'm the first to admit that I'm no oenophile, in spite of the years we lived in Northern California when we wandered the wineries of Napa, Sonoma, and even the tiny boutique arbors scattered through the Santa Cruz Mountains (the Loma Prieta earthquake on October...

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: 24 Stories by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel

24 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Short Stories, Translation

Another confession: While recently listening to Rupert Degas narrate parts of Hari Kunzru's Gods without Men, I got such a nostalgic pang to hear Degas read Haruki Murakami (after experiencing A Wild Sheep Chase, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and select stories from The Elephant Vanishes thus far in Degas'...

Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher

22 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Arab, Canadian, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Memoir, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Guy Delisle is a graphic genius who draws what he sees – simply and unadornedly – with droll, minimal commentary, and creates some of the most poignant, effective, resonating memoirs ever. French Canadian Delisle has undoubtedly found international fame as a traveling artist: he recreated his temporary assignments...

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, translated by Erdağ M. Göknar

18 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Repost, Translation, Turkish

Mixed in with the many death-and-destruction titles I've been reading the last few months, my most recent choices inadvertently seem to have an added layer of death-and-destruction-in-the-name-of-God. Too many books, regardless of genre or target audience, seem to offer irrefutable proof that the rules and...

The Devotion of Suspect X [Detective Galileo 1] by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander

11 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

I had quite the challenging training day on Tuesday – five hours of driving to the mountains and back, with 5.5 hours running up and down two summits in the rain, rain, rain – but the miles couldn't have gone faster thanks to Suspect X stuck in my...

A Bride’s Story (vols. 2-3) by Kaoru Mori, translated by William Flanagan

27 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Central Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

What began as a visual marvel in volume 1, surely does not disappoint in the continuing two volumes. 'Exquisite' still hardly does the panels justice, but just know that every page will make you want to linger to discover and enjoy the glorious details – the...

Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk, translated by Maureen Freely

12 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Translation, Turkish

In spite of its heft (500+ pages, or 20.5 hours if you let the perfectly-paced John Lee read to you), not much really happens in The Museum of Innocence. I'm adding here the requisite spoiler alert, but I'm fairly certain that most readers will guess the outcome...

20th Century Boys (vol. 20) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

11 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Manga addict though I am, I DO try to keep manga posts spaced out, so I don't look TOO panel-dependent (even though I am!). But right now, I can't contain my effusive excitement over the latest volume of 20th Century Boys – which hit shelves yesterday! –...

Princess Knight (vols. 1-2) by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Maya Rosewood

10 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

With all that swashbuckling fun, Princess Knight – recently available in full, in English translation, in two volumes – is seemingly one of the godfather of manga's more goofy stories. Up in heaven, God's in the process of deciding gender for each about-to-be-born baby, assigning a girl heart...

Mr. Reaper by Tatsuya Miyanishi, translated by Vertical, Inc.

06 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

While most of us all know our birthdays, not all of us know when we might pass from this life. "The only one who knows, / the one who decides the day / is me, the Reaper." Out in the forest, the Reaper points out a...

Bakuman (vols. 3-5) by Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata, translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki

25 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Manga-maker wannabes: check out this illuminating insider look (but do start with volumes 1 and 2), then make sure to study every detail if you're hoping to break into one of the toughest industries around. But before we talk story, here's a quick refresher on names:...

Dororo: Omnibus Edition by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Dawn T. Laabs

19 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Oh, what a plethora of choices for accessing this swashbuckling series by the godfather of manga: you could go with the original 1960s manga series in Japanese, watch the 26-part anime from 1969 or the live-action film (available dubbed in English even!) from 2007, play the video...

The Secret World of Arrietty (vols. 1-2) planning by Hayao Miyazaki, based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton, translated Rieko Izutsu-Vajirasarn and Jim Hubbert

17 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

The latest from Studio Ghibli, powered by the creative genius of legendary Hayao Miyazaki, introduces brave Arrietty, her auburn tresses pulled up by a tiny orange clothespin, ready to explore and conquer the "bean" world. Released by Disney in the U.S. last month, the animated...