sunny side up manga + anime blog

7.17.2009

Shinobi Life 1, Gift Under the Rainbow 1, Dachs 1, My Cinderella, Sweet Black (m&c! 22 July 2009 new manga)

by huamulan03

Shinobi Life © Conami Shoko/Akita Shoten

Ninja Kagetora drops from the heavens into the future (our now) and swears fealty to a young girl in Shinobi Life. However, our time-slipping stealth warrior is mistaken — "Princess" Beni is not the royal personage he's supposed to bodyguard. [Adapted from Baka-Updates Manga's series description]

Conami Shoko's fantasy historical romance manga debuts in Indonesia this 22 July.

Despite being premised on a Big Mis (the Silly Big Misunderstanding Plot to give the romantic cliché its full title), I'm optimistic about this series. I'm hoping the She's not the one! plotline is resolved quickly as Beni has no logical reason to keep the information to herself... or does she? In any case, I pray the story moves on to more emotional investment-worthy romantic conflict; I base my Pollyana-ism on the fact that the series is still ongoing in Princess. (Can't really sustain seven-volumes-plus narrative on something that could be resolved with a few minutes of talking now, can you? Oh, wait. This is shoujo we're talking about.)

My Cinderella
Meanwhile, here in Watashi no Cinderella, we have a real princess, Tsubaki. Tsubaki's papa orders her to date someone for her upcoming sweet sixteen. She chooses childhood friend Aoi whose alias is Cinderella. [Adapted from Aerandria Scans' description excerpted by Baka-Updates Manga]

W00t! The return of Kawase Natsuna-sensei! I heart her art, and her stories (Jewel of Magic, Story of the Neverland, The Witch Who Cannot Fly — all in my library) have always been, if not breathlessly satisfactory, then all's right with the world contentment-inducing.

Both of these new manga—My Cinderella and Shinobi Life—have BUY probabilities of over 75% and as such, get my personal stamp of GET!

More babble after m&c!'s 22 July release list (which includes volume 9 of Kirarin Revolution and volume 2 of Strawberry Love or Ichigo Doumei that took more than a year to get here).

m&c! manga (2009.07.22)

Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details and cover scans.

[Premiere] Dachs 1 by Ohyuki Shiwasu
[Premiere] Gift Under The Rainbow 1 of 2 by MOONSTONE & Yukiwo

Gift - Under the Rainbow
「ギフト～ｕｎｄｅｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｒａｉｎｂｏｗ～」
by MOONSTONE & Yukiwo
Kadokawa Shoten Comptiq, seinen
Volume 1 first published in Japan 2006.11
Based on the eroge Gift (ギフト)

Kirarin Revolution 9 of 14 by Nakahara An

Kirarin Revolution 「きらりん☆レボリューション」 by Nakahara An
Shogakukan Ciao, shoujo
Volume 9 first published in Japan 2007.03
Main story: Kirarin Revolution: Tokubetsuhen

[New] My Cinderella (Watashi no Cinderella) by Kawase Natsuna

Watashi no Cinderella 「私のシンデレラ」
by Kawase Natsuna
Hakusensha LaLa, LaLa DX, and LaLa Special, shoujo
This volume first published in Japan 2008.02

[Premiere] Shinobi Life 1 of 7+ by Conami Shoko

Shinobi Life 「シノビライフ」
by Conami Shoko
Akita Shoten Princess, shoujo
Volume 1 first published in Japan 2006.05
Published in English by TOKYOPOP (volume 3 street date: 2009.11.03)

Strawberry Love (Ichigo Doumei) 2 of 2+ by Morishita Nodoka

Strawberry Love 「イチゴ同盟」 by Morishita Nodoka
Kodansha Dessert, shoujo
Volume 2 first published in Japan 2007.06

[New] Sweet Black by Nishikata Mai

Sweet Black 「スイートブラック」 by Nishikata Mai
Hakusensha Hana to Yume, shoujo
This volume first published in Japan 2007.10

NOTE
(1) Source: Elex Media STO 22 July 2009.
(2) Links like this are Amazon.com search and/or product links (commercial), in case you're interested in another language version.

More New Manga

Sweet Black
「スイートブラック」 by Nishikata Mai

Just like Kawase Natsuna's My Cinderella and Nishikata Mai's own Venus Capriccio (released 8 July), this standalone features childhood friends — Sagiri and Haru. According to Baka-Updates Manga, Sagiri, a popular model, feels a rift widening between herself and the boy she used to know.

Will she be able to stop it?

To Buy or Not to Buy
85 percent GET! probability owing to the asplosion of warm and fluffies in Venus Capriccio.

The other new manga m&c! plans to release on the 22nd are: Gift - Under the Rainbow by MOONSTONE & Yukiwo and Dachs 1 by Ohyuki Shiwasu. Can't find anything on the latter (the only extant thing in Ohyuki-sensei's backlist (from Baka-Updates Manga) is Hamster Research Report, a collaboration with Masumura Hiroshi-sensei.)

The seinen harem Gift - Under the Rainbow, on the other hand, is a manga based on Gift, a visual novel by MOONSTONE. The adaptation is supposed to be two-volumes long, so I'm at a loss as to why the STO entry doesn't have a "1" attached to the title.

Whatever the reason, in this 'verse, Gift refers to a power possessed by everyone living in the town of Narasakicho, a power that can bring forth one miracle in the wielder's lifetime. Another quirk of the town is the ever-present rainbow arcing above it. The Gift story revolves around high school student Amami Haruhiko and his strong connection to Gift's mysterious power. [Adapted from Wiki's Gift (visual novel) entry]

To Buy or Not to Buy
NO to both.

One last thing: can anyone confirm if Ichigo Doumei is still ongoing, or has it already ended?

~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03) who must plow through Eensy Weensy Monster to make way for Shinobi Life 1

disclaimer

Cover images and source summaries used here for reference are © their respective intellectual rights holders. No infringement intended.

manga available this week (14-15 July 2009 street dates)

Level Comics (7.14): Fight!! Ippo 68 and Tokyo Juliet 7
Elex Media (7.15): Yotsuba&! 8, Rocket Man 8, Alice Academy 11, La Corda D'Oro 1, The Best Skilled Surgeon (Saijou no Meii) 1 by Irie Kenzo & Hashiguchi Takashi
m&c! (7.15): Bleach 13, Alive 15, Happy Café 10, Not an Angel (Tenshi Ja Nai!) 1-2 by Shigematsu Takako, Archlord 6 of 6, Battle Story Rockman Exe 4 of 4

...and next (21-22 July 2009 street dates)

Level Comics (7.21): Magister Negi Magi 19 (Yes, only one Level manga)
Elex Media (7.22): Eyeshield 21 volume 28, New Legenda Naga 3, SORA - The Wingless Duck 8, Comic Bomber 13 of 13, Shonen Star 55, Ghost Sweeper Mikami 34

other invaluable resources

7&Y · Amazon Japan · Baka-Updates Manga

Technorati tags
manga, m&c!, seinen, shoujo, Dachs, Gift - Under the Rainbow, Ichigo Doumei, Kirarin Revolution, My Cinderella, Shinobi Life, Sweet Black, Watashi no Cinderella

どうぞお入りください｡
Douzo ohairi kudasai...

7.16.2009

Yen Press to publish Twilight graphic novel; Edward, Bella, and Jacob finished art in Entertainment Weekly's 17 July issue

by huamulan03

I can already hear cash registers ringing up GN sales. What does Death Note (Hey, we want the apple back!) have to say?

Yen Press, in the closest thing to printing money that we've heard about this year, has secured the rights to the Twilight graphic novels. So sez ICv2, reporting today on a scoop by Entertainment Weekly.

Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's viscerally popular series, has been cited as one of the reasons for the recent manga downturn. Korean artist Young Kim arts the Twilight GN (publication date TBA). Finished chara designs (there is a WIP panel of Bella and Edward in biology class at EW.com) will be available for the ogling in the magazine's 17 July issue.

Founded in 2006, Yen Press is Hatchette Book Group's manga and GN imprint. It publishes Korean manhwa (absorbing Chocolat and Goong when ICE Kunion folded) and Japanese manga (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kuro Kami, Spiral) as well as a monthly mangazine, Yen Plus, which runs Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji).

I can already hear cash registers ringing up GN sales. What does Death Note (Hey, we want the apple back!) have to say?

~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03) via ICv2 - Twilight Graphic Novels

Technorati tags
graphic novel, Twilight, Stephenie Meyer, Yen Press

どうぞお入りください｡
Douzo ohairi kudasai...

7.15.2009

Eyeshield 21 volume 28, New Legenda Naga 3, SORA - The Wingless Duck 8, Comic Bomber 13 of 13, Shonen Star 55 (Elex Media 22 July 2009 manga)

by huamulan03

Ahiru no Sora © Hinata Takeshi/Kodansha

While I'm clueless over whether Kurumatani Sora actually weighs 44.4520523 kg, I do know he's supposed to be short on cm but tall on dreams of making it in basketball.

I heart this jammies-wearing cover of SORA - The Wingless Duck 8 so much that I had to lead with it for this Elex manga release. Not that I actually read the series, and what I know of the plot can be summed up as close to (theoretical) absolute zero.

Additionally, while I'm clueless over whether the eponymous Sora actually weighs 44.4520523 kg (98 lbs.), I do know he's supposed to be short on cm but tall on dreams of making it in basketball. The underdog overtones alone should be sufficient to provoke a read and who knows? Maybe I'll start next week and work my way up to Does he drink milk by the dam? volume 8.

Speaking of underdogs — or perhaps more appropriately, dark horses — brings me to Kobayakawa Sena and Eyeshield 21 volume 28, which actually cops the Most Wanted shounen manga honor for this sked. With the prospect of the absurdly strong Gao Rikiya wreaking major mayhem, is that any surprise?

(BTW, had to emphasize shounen again because all 7 titles + 1 manga anthology twizzling from Elex on the 22nd are such, with the exception of concluding seinen Comic Bomber 13.)

Comic Bomber 13 of 13 [Finale]
As the story of the controversial manga-ka Hono Moyuru (and friends) ends, Hero grows some and resigns from Studio Hono to start a new career in another magazine. Per predictable, the road to pro-dom is never easy.

One more translated-from-Komikologi synopsis (for Ryuurouden: Chuugen Ryouranhen or New Legenda Naga 3) tails the manga list, but before that —

Mangazines
Comic Bomber no Hono-sensei's Shonen Star kohai return next week, Satoyama Katsuki from Adachi Mitsuru's Katsu! among them. Issue #55 streets on the 21st.

Elex Media manga (2009.07.22)

Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details and cover scans.

Comic Bomber (Hoero Pen) 13 of 13 by Shimamoto Kazuhiko [Finale]

Hoero Pen 「吼えろペン」 by Shimamoto Kazuhiko
AKA Be Growl, Pen
Shogakukan Sunday Gene-X, seinen
Volume 13 first published in Japan 2004.12
Prequel: Moeyo Pen (one volume)
Sequel: Shin Hoero Pen (11 volumes)
First serialized in Indonesian in Shonen Star

Eyeshield 21 v28 of 37 by Inagaki Riichiro and Murata Yusuke

Eyeshield 21 「アイシールド２１」
by Inagaki Riichiro and Murata Yusuke
Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump, shounen
Volume 28 first published in Japan 2008.02
Published in English by VIZ Media (volume 27 street date: 2009.08.04)

Ghost Sweeper Mikami (GS Mikami Gokuraku Daisakusen!!) 34 of 39 by Shiina Takashi

GS Mikami Gokuraku Daisakusen!!
「ＧＳ美神　極楽大作戦！！」 by Shiina Takashi
Shogakukan Shonen Sunday, shounen
Volume 34 first published in Japan 1999.01

Lum, The Invader Girl (Urusei Yatsura) 12 of 34 by Takahashi Rumiko

Urusei Yatsura 「うる星やつら」 by Takahashi Rumiko
Shogakukan Shonen Sunday, shounen
Volume 12 first published in Japan 1984.11
Series re-released in 15 wideban and 18 bunkoban volumes

New Legenda Naga (Ryuurouden: Chuugen Ryouranhen) 3 of 5+ by Yamahara Yoshito

Ryuurouden: Chuugen Ryouranhen
「龍狼伝　中原繚乱編」 by Yamahara Yoshito
Sequel to Ryuurouden or Legenda Naga
Kodansha Gekkan Shounen Magazine, shounen
Volume 3 first published in Japan 2008.06

The Pitcher (Nanto Magoroku) 69 of 70+ by Sadayasu Kei

Nanto Magoroku 「なんと孫六」 by Sadayasu Kei
Kodansha Gekkan Shounen Magazine, shounen
Volume 69 first published in Japan 2008.09

SORA - The Wingless Duck (Ahiru no Sora) 8 of 24+ by Hinata Takeshi

Ahiru no Sora 「あひるの空」 by Hinata Takeshi
AKA Sora's Sky
Kodansha Shuukan Shounen Magazine, shounen
Volume 8 first published in Japan 2005.08

NOTE
(1) Sources: Elex Media STO 22 July 2009 (release schedule) and Komikologi July 2009 (synopses).
(2) Links like this are Amazon.com search and/or product links (commercial), in case you're interested in another language version.

New Legenda Naga 3
Ryuurouden: Chuugen Ryouranhen 「龍狼伝　中原繚乱編」 by Yamahara Yoshito

Shiro and allies triumph at the battle at Dang, thanks to help from the 300 dragon forces. But it's too early to celebrate as the enemy rallies; five thousand soldiers, led by the notorious general Liu Sun, breach the gate. With the dragon forces weakened from the previous fight, their only hope lies with the game plan concocted by military genius Shi Yuan.

mangazines (2009.07.21)

Shonen Star 55/2009
(Indonesian Shonen Sunday)

Featured story: Katsu! by Adachi Mitsuru:

The Japanese mass media is in a frenzy after Misaki announces to the world how much he loves Mizutani Kazuki. Meanwhile, interhigh starts and the boxing hopefuls have faces as cuddly as gangsters'. Satoyama — FIGHT-O!

Other Shonen Star serials:
Detektif Conan (Meitantei Conan) by Aoyama Gosho · D-LIVE!! by Minagawa Ryouji · Dr. Koto Shinryoujo by Yamada Takatoshi · Kekkaishi by Tanabe Yellow · Kurozakuro by Natsume Yoshinori · Look Up! (Miagete Goran) by Kusaba Michiteru · MÄR by Anzai Nobuyuki · Wild Life by Fujisaki Masato · Yakitate!! Japan by Hashiguchi Takashi

UP NEXT

m&c! 22 July 2009 manga: Shinobi Life 1 by Conami Shoko, Sweet Black by Nishikata Mai, My Cinderella (Watashi no Cinderella) by Kawase Natsuna, Gift Under the Rainbow by MOONSTONE & Yukiwo

~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03)