Kin Iro no Corda © Kure Yuki/Hakusensha
As most everyone has gone Yotsuba&! 8 ingenuous-green and The Best Skilled Surgeon 1 determined-light blue with touches of ER-red, let me underscore that I and my blog are pink (rgb (205, 140, 149), pink (rgb (205, 104, 137)), PINK (rgb (251, 96, 127))! (Although for this Elex manga schedule, it's actually La Corda D'Oro 1 red, Alice Academy 11 orange, and Rocket Man 8... teal? (Additionally, the latter shounen title refuses to lend itself to bishie sparkles.))
Speaking of bishies, I was (pleasantly) surprised when someone admitted that s/he had only heard of
La Corda D'Oro; that admission gives me my excuse (if I even needed any) to babble about Kure Yuki-sensei's manga adaptation of a KOEI Neo-romance game. (You probably know the others: Harukanaru Toki no Naka de and Neo Angelique; all reverse harem. The only Corda difference is the musical competition thing.)
La Corda D'Oro 1
Hino Kahoko is as normal as any Gen. Ed. student can aspire to be, but a bizarre incident involving a fairy, a violin and a strange campus myth pits her against a Blue Bishonen Ghetto in her school's music concours. Even with a magic violin and a mischievous "godmother" smoothing the way, can Kaho hope to find self-actualization (the apex of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Abraham Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation) and love in a field of keenest rivalry?
You bet.
Elex designates the first La Corda D'Oro tankou a Must-Have Manga. Agwee.
The Best Skilled Surgeon 1
Saijou Mikoto, on the other hand, bends/contorts/tussles circumstances into his favor. Saved from a bad heart and an early death by a brilliant heart surgeon, he dedicates his life to becoming the best pediatric surgeon evar!
From what I've read, The Best Skilled Surgeon AKA Saijou no Meii by Irie Kenzo- and Hashiguchi Takashi-sensei, in spite of the cardiac surgery trappings, is the farthest from (aloof, seinen) onii-chan Team Medical Dragon. But it reportedly has its own (Shonen Sunday-serializes-Watase-Yuu's-Arata Kangatari) charm. Purported appeal aside, it's going down as a Browse first before GET!ting.
Alice Academy 11
Persona's got Natsume and it's up to Blithe Spirit Mikan and Friend To All Living Things Ruka-pyon to extract Natsume from El Dread's talons. But before the rescue... *insert Ruka's infodump about a pre-Alice Gakuen Natsume and what really happened to the Fire Alice user's younger sister Aoi*
Okay, it's NOT actually an egregious infodump, especially when one considers (as TV Tropes points out) that there's much backstory yet to be resolved.
Question: How come Elex didn't tag this volume a Must-Have?
(More synopses after the manga list.)
Elex Media manga and manhwa (2009.07.15)
Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details and cover scans.
- Alice Academy (Gakuen Alice) 11 of 19+ by Higuchi Tachibana
- [Premiere] The Best Skilled Surgeon (Saijou no Meii) 1 of 5+ by Irie Kenzo & Hashiguchi Takashi
- Change Guy 28 of 31 by Son EunHo and Choi MyungSu
- [Premiere] La Corda D'Oro (Kin Iro no Corda) 1 of 13+ by Kure Yuki
- Legend of the Cursed Sword (Pageomgi) 26 of 37+ by Park HuiJin and Yeo BeopRyong
- Rocket Man 8 of 10 by Katou Motohiro
- Yotsuba&! (Yotsubato!) 8 of 9+ by Azuma Kiyohiko
 | Gakuen Alice 「 学園アリス 」 by Higuchi Tachibana |
 | Saijou no Meii 「 最上の命医 」 |
 | Change Guy 「 체인지가이 」 |
 | Kin Iro no Corda 「 金色のコルダ 」 by Kure Yuki |
 | Pageomgi 「 파검기 」 |
 | Rocket Man 「 ロケットマン 」 by Katou Motohiro |
 | Yotsubato! 「 よつばと！ 」 by Azuma Kiyohiko |
Source: Elex Media STO 15 July 2009
NOTE
(1) Yotsuba&! 8 SRP: IDR 16,000.
(2) Synopses here were adapted from the Indonesian blurbs in the July 2009 Komikologi, unless indicated otherwise (by external links and/or other denotation). Translation mistakes and unwarranted inferences remain the property of yours truly.
(3) Links like this are Amazon.com search and/or product links (commercial), in case you're interested in another language version.
mangazines (2009.07.14)
The latest issue #70 of the Indonesian Nakayoshi streets next Tuesday. Highlights include one-shots CCC (Triple C) by Fukushima Haruka-sensei, whose AAA (Triple A) series is being serialized in the same mangazine, and Shy Soul Dynamite by Sakyo-sensei, creator on the ongoing Naka-serialized Ogawa & Team Saito (Ogawa to Yukai na Saitoutachi).
Other series: Hell Girl (Jigoku Shoujo) by Etoo Miyuki & Jigoku Shoujo Projoect · I am Here! (Koko ni Iru yo!) by Toyama Ema · Shugo Chara! by PEACH-PIT · Sweet Lollipop Return! (Modotte! Mamotte! Lollipop) by Kikuta Michiyo
Synopses continued...
Change Guy 28
Despite the deferment of their fight because of the rain, Kwon Shin and Shin Jinho continue their match. Shin Jinho's lightning-quick assault pushes Kwon Shin into the corner, but Kwon Shin retaliates by imitating his attacks.
Legend of the Cursed Sword 26
Rei yan, Haixia, Jaryun, Xiao, Mei, and Siyan descend into hell. Their mission: to gain even more strength. But power comes at a price and before they can obtain what they came for, they have to undergo a series of frightening tests.
UP NEXT
m&c! 15 July 2009 manga: 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
~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03) of the Deliberately Parenthetical, Going Nowhere Elliptical Style
disclaimer
Cover images and source summaries used here for reference are © their respective intellectual rights holders. No infringement intended.
manga available this week (7 and 8 July 2009 street dates)
- Chuang Yi - Singapore (7.07): La Corda D'Oro 6, Hellsing 9, Those With Wings 6 of 6, Spriggan 11 of 11, and Vagabond 16
- Level Comics (7.07): Rainbow 12, Psychometrist Eiji 5, Bad Guy (Warui Otoko) by Yoshimura Akemi
- Elex Media (7.08): Nodame Cantabile 21, Eyeshield 21 volume 27, C.M.B. 10, Dragon Drive 14 of 14, Touch 17, Golden Days 4
- m&c! (7.08): Venus Capriccio 1, The Magic in Me 5 of 5, Crossroad 6, Yokohama Shopping Blog 14 of 14, Dawn Aria 1, A Future Doctor 2
...and next (14 July 2009 street date)
Level Comics (7.14): Fight!! Ippo 68 and Tokyo Juliet 7
related links
Elex Media July 2009 manga: Premiering I Hate You The Most (Sekai de Ichiban Daikirai) by Hidaka Banri, La Corda D'Oro by Kure Yuki, A Promise About Glass Shoe by Selena Lin, Tokkyu!! by Komori Yoichi & Kubo Mitsuro, and Uzumajin by Ohse Yoshio
other invaluable resources
7&Y · Amazon Japan · Baka-Updates Manga · manaworld.com · TV Tropes · Wikipedia
Technorati tags
manga, manhwa, Elex Media, Nakayoshi, seinen, shoujo, shounen, sonyun, Alice Academy, The Best Skilled Surgeon, CCC (Triple C), Change Guy, Chronicles of the Cursed Sword, Gakuen Alice, Kin Iro no Corda, La Corda D'Oro, Legend of the Cursed Sword, Rocket Man, Saijou no Meii, Shy Soul Dynamite, Yotsuba&!
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Arigatou gozaimuchness,
Niki