Chuang Yi recently announced the new manga we can expect in the coming months. They include:
- Bakegyamon by Tamura Mitsuhisa and Fujita Kazuhiro
- BOYS Esthetique* by Masaki Souko
- Great Waiters* by Washio Mie
- Love Remedy* by Kawamaru Shin
- Placebo by Yoshioka Sakaki
- Primo Passo by Kure Yuki
- Speed Grapher by GONZO
- Yankee-kun and Megane-chan by Yoshikawa Miki
* Working title
From what I've been able to discover, it's a mix of short completed series (if not outright one-shots) and currents from Shogakukan and Kodansha—with the odd Hakusensha title thrown in.
For synopses, go to CY. My initial thoughts on the series follow.
Bakegyamon
by Tamura Mitsuhisa and Fujita Kazuhiro
AKA Bakegyamon
First published by: Shogakukan
Series status: 5 volumes (ongoing?)
To read or not to read:
Zettai not. I don't seem to be the market for this title anyway.
BOYS Esthetique*
by Masaki Souko
AKA BOYSエステ (BOYS Este)
First published by: Kodansha
Series status: 6 volumes (ongoing?)
To read or not to read:
The currently airing TV Tokyo BOYS Este J-dorama is based on this manga. I'm intrigued by the plot which should raise a red flag because titles I buy because of the blurb usually end up unwubbed. Too high an expectation going in. But since I invest in characters and Shizuka (love da name!) sounds refeshingly out of the norm (not to mention there's all those bishounen), I might try out the first volume and see from there.
Great Waiters*
by Washio Mie
AKA 彼女がカフェに通う理由 (Kanojo ga Café ni Kayou Wake)
First published by: Shogakukan
Series status: 1 volume, complete
To read or not to read:
Nippon Export has this under the title Kanojo ga café ni kayou riyuu. Whatever, the blurb makes it sound like LoveCom met Anisaki Yuna's Tsundere and crossed paths with Matsuzuki Kou's Shiawase Kissa 3-chome and the four cross-dressing Hakusensha manga I'm reading but specifically Ouran High School Host Club. The art alone would've been enough to make me buy, until I saw that it had been illustrated by Washio Mie-sensei. My experience with her works (from the one-shot Anti-Chocolate and Wotome Sakazuni Chirunakare, released in Indonesia as the ungrammatical Don't Fall Before Bloom)—both a waste of time—makes me leery.
Love Remedy*
by Kawamaru Shin
AKA Ｄｒ．はそっと抱きしめる (Dr. wa sotto dakishimeru)
First published by: Shogakukan
Series status: 1 volume, complete
To read or not to read:
For some strange reason, the blurb with its young, talented and drop dead handsome elite med school doctors and their love lives
thing leaves me cold. I think I've been reading too many fanfics where Ouran's Ootori Kyouya is a doctor that I'm not biting this. Another "let's see" (let me dip my big toe in first with Kiss Me Doctor or Dr. wa amai kiss wo suru, published in Indonesia by m&c! as A Kiss from A Doctor).
Placebo
by Yoshioka Sakaki
AKA プラッシーボ (Placebo)
First published by: Kodansha
Series status: 2 volumes, complete
To read or not to read: Kai, the kid with the power to melt things with his hands, has the smarts...
Intrigued enough to buy and that's because of the front cover. Let's hope the law of DJABBTC, judging by appearances, doesn't trip me up.
Primo Passo
by Kure Yuki
AKA 金色のコルダ (Kin Iro no Corda)
First published by: Hakusensha
Series status: 8 volumes, current
To read or not to read:
I wubbed the La Corda d'Oro ~primo passo~ anime but reading the manga serialized in HanaLala gives me a headache. Still, I will prolly buy.
Speed Grapher
by GONZO
AKA スピードグラファー (Speed Grapher)
First published by: MediaWorks
Series status: 3 volumes (complete?)
To read or not to read:
I passed on the anime; will prolly pass the manga up, too.
Yankee-kun and Megane-chan
by Yoshikawa Miki
AKA ヤンキー君とメガネちゃん (Yankee-kun to Megane-chan)
First published by: Kodansha
Series status: 3 volumes, current
To read or not to read: This is GTO gone haywire!
As a GTO virgin but a Gokusen fanatic, I should probably take this series for a spin. The "megane" in the title is an added draw.
~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03) who just realized she views everything through a manga filter (her most important thing about the upcoming Gundam 00 is that Kouga Yun-sensei is the character designer ^^)
PS There's also Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea in the newly-licensed list.
disclaimer
Cover images and source summaries used here for reference are © their respective intellectual rights holders. No infringement intended.
6 veni, vidi, velcro (came, saw, got stuck):
Er, long time no see?
I don't normally go for the maid/butler/hostclub (excepting Ouran - hello?) genre but am slightly curious about that one whose title just escaped me. What is it about? No accident involving an odd stranger, an expensive vase and a flamboyant head butler, right? By that, of course I mean Ouran and Blood Hound and who knows what else *sigh*.
Rune-hun! I was just adding to my GH fanlistings and remembered you and here you are! Huggles called for ^^
Neway, ah'm assuming Great Waiters or 彼女がカフェに通う理由 Kanojo ga Café ni... was the title that escaped you ^^.
The CY synopsis went:
At 175cm, Ese never thought she would ever find a boyfriend because of her height and her rather tomboyish looks and demeanour. Under her friend's recommendation, however, a visit to the renowned 'Hot Café' causes her to fall for a charming waiter named Kono...who promptly drags her to fill the vacancy--as a male waiter?! Having the chance to get closer to him is one thing, but has Kono accidentally mistaken her for a boy?! How is Ese supposed to express her feelings for him now? With a café filled with handsome waiters and pretty girls who swoon over them, this 'pretty boy' has her work cut out for her!
k. So from that dere blurb, no maids, no butlers (flamboyant, head or otherwise), no hosts, no vase but odd stranger -- check.
I mentioned that it reminded me of Rabu Kon because of the the tall girl looking for love thing. Anisaki Yuna-sensei's Tsundere came in for comparison because of the all-male waiter café (except here I don't think the waitstaff all have to wear specs like in Tsundere). The another coffee shop sitch made me also drag in Matsuzuki Kou-sensei's Shiawase Kissa 3-chome/Happy Café for obvious reasons. The reverse trap trope of course brings Hakusensha manga to mind -- Hana-Kimi/Never Give Up/Penguin Kakumei -- but because she has to cater to the female clientele, it screams, Ouran!
Even without considering my previous sad experience with Washio Mie-sensei's works (which don't resonate with me), with this many "been there, done that, saw the movie" going against this title, I really don't think I'll be getting it...
Mmyes, the 175cm bit did remind me of Lovecon, which further reminded me of the sad experience of having missed my only chance to nab volumes 2-13 before Gramedia decided to ship the lot back thanks to low sales... wherever "back" is. Reason considered, I didn't see why #14 should be there at all so I asked a saleslady. And she said they were testing the market's loyalty with #14.
...Is that how they treat newcomers like myself? Am I supposed to be content with #14? Am I supposed to read the series backwards? I'd act as became a harassed customer but, well, I was distracted by the latest Yuukan Club. Heh.
To be on-topic *blush*. Now, Kanojo ga. It reads like your run-of-the-mill maid/butler/hostclub fare, doesn't it? The art be the deciding factor, definitely. Oh. And thanks for your synopsis ^^.
And, yes, the omission of one Hara Masako is, indeed, very glaring. Btw, hasn't your GH enthusiasm faltered somewhat with the lack of new material? With the nevercoming of #10?
Yah, don't you just hate when Gramedia rides cavalier over customers? I remember way back, when I was reading Fushigi Yuugi, I had to tramp to at least three Gramedia branches just to complete the set because they had different "broken sizes" from one store to another and my usual one didn't want to help me find where the missing volumes were still available... sheesh.
And don't worry about going OT. It's just us, after all ^^
Oh, and still on Gramedia--Yuukan Club? Is that recommended? I confess I haven't read it... only vaguely remember seeing it on the shelf (unless I was hallucinating). Care to fill me in?
As for GH, must admit that it *did* falter there for a bit, but a lavish dose of GH fanfics took care of that impending investment stoppage quick ^^
Yuukan Club is definitely recommended if you won't mind comedy/crack/upper-crustness/crack/gen/action/crack terribly. Oh, and mind the suspension of disbelief. And it's old school!! #7 should be well on its way to hitting the shelves now.
Ok, will definitely check Yuukan Club out when I next stop by Gramedia (and hope they haven't done a Rabu Kon on it ^^;
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Arigatou gozaimuchness,
Niki