Welcome to The Pickle and Daweeb Show, where we transform into giant robots and destroy anime and manga with a missile barrage of news. Time for our predictions for 2022. Henshin!
Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress gets Booster Set in 2022
Bushiroad announced Lyrical Monasterio: Lyrical Booster 2, a new booster set for Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress. The set includes 80 new cards, and two new idols step into the spotlight with new decks. It’ll arrive in stores on April 1st, 2022.
Get Ready for 2022 with Anime Calendars
Yuru Camp, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Kiki’s Delivery Service, we’ve got calendars for 2022 for all of them and more. You can also grab $30 in store credit, if you’re lucky, by entering our December giveaway. You’ve got less than 20 days left, and many ways to enter.
Top Manga Sales in November
NPD BookScan released their list of top 20 manga graphics novels for November, 2021. Is it any surprise that the Demon Slayer Complete Box Set topped the chart? Viz Media, which publishes Demon Slayer, took 14 of the top spots, including third place with My Hero Academia, Vol. 29. Second place went to Attack on Titan, Vol. 34. More rankings went to other volumes in these properties, and Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun featured heavily.
Volume 9 of Chainsaw Man and Vol. 14 of Jujutsu Kaisen hit stores in February 2022. Also out in Feb is Deadpool: Samurai, Vol 1. ICv2 has some predictions for 2022 and manga’s top sellers, early in the new year.
Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! Price Changes Impact Value
Last week the Pickle and I talked about the Pokémon TCG dominating the TCG sales rankings in November, but a price change has impacted their value, with Sword & Shield Fusion Strike booster boxes seeing a 24% drop in value, according to ICv2. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, on the other hand, saw a 9% increase in value with their latest Maximum Gold El Dorado expansion. It’ll be interesting to see how both properties do over December and into the new year.
Trigger Warning! This One’s About Cowboy Bebop and Netflix!
Titan Comics will release a comic book adaptation of the Cowboy Bebop Netflix adaptation (yes, double the adaptation!), on January 19th, 2022. To bring you up to speed, the highly anticipated Netflix gig was panned by fans and any hope (or dread) of a second season was quickly ejected into the cold, airless void of space. This was followed by the recent death of Cowboy Bebop writer Keiko Nobumoto, which seemed somehow fated.
Now, before you throw yourself screaming from a tall building, this one’s worth a look, just for the stunning art, although, another trigger warning, the artist isn’t Japanese. I did say it was a comic and not a manga. ICv2 has more.
Do You Like Trains?
Japan is great for train lovers, and what trains are more iconically Japanese than shinkansen?
Shinkansen Zero-Kei is a trainline building game, themed around building shinkansen for the Olympics. It has a solo mode and supports up to four players. Supposedly it’s set in a realistic Japan, but we’re not sure about that point. It’ll release in 2022 for around $30. ICv2 has the full details.
So, You Want to Be a Manga Artist?
Humble Bundle has a Cartoon, Manga, and Animation bundle at the moment, with loads of books to teach you all about drawing like a pro. I don’t see anything about drawing eroge, but J-List has you covered on that front.
The Pickle’s Predictions for 2022
The dolphin uprising, which was delayed in 2021 because of the efforts of The Ocean Cleanup, will come to a head, with the aquatic mammals leaving their ocean homes to deliver a final ultimatum to all humanity: stop bungling things. This will lead to a glut of fish-themed isekai series, such as Can-o-Tuna, Swordfish Art on Fishing Line, and That Time I Got Re-Reincarnated As A Sea Slug, Again. These truly terrible titles will herald the wrath of our dolphin overlords, bringing about Armageddon. Do your taxes early!
Mission Complete!
Till next time, why not check out the J-List Store for the best goods for people of culture. If you have anime or manga-related news tips, or just want to hang out, then join us on Discord. Lastly, if you have amazing writing skills and would love to write for us, fill out our writer’s application.
A pickle-shaped Gundam launches off, back into space, ready to return to uncover manga and anime-related news!
