Bleach 36, Goong 22 and m&c!'s Love is Everwhere Valentine manga attack (19 January 2011 street date) [UPDATED]

Includes reviews of several Valentine manga — from me and new blog contributor Dalina-san or Lina-chan who is also the Typical Shoujo Triad Secretary-General (check the comments)

Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~ © Minase Ai/Shogakukan
[Serialized in Sho-Comi]
Published in Indonesia as Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~
by Gramedia/m&c!

STRETCHING OUT the Goong Shin x ChaeKyeong angsticipation by blurbing top DO WANT! Bleach 36 first:

More than a century ago in Soul Society, Urahara Kisuke was promoted to commander of the 12th Division. At the same time, Soul Reapers start mysteriously disappearing, prompting an investigation by the 9th Division.

Bleach 36: Turn Back the Pendulum, featuring Hirako Shinji doing his turn back the back, I mean, clock on the cover, compiles flashback stories -108 through -100, Turn Back The Pendulum to Turn Back The Pendulum 9.

Goong [Palace Story] 22 of 24+ by Park SoHee

By order of the King, Shin has to place ChaeKyeong under house arrest at the Princess villa. This as ChaeKyeong promises stay by Yul's side. Meanwhile, Yul masterminds a plot to bring the monarchy down if he cannot have ChaeKyeong for himself.

m&c!'s Love is Everywhere Valentine manga, Part I ♥

Constituting m&c!'s initial Love is Everywhere Valentine manga salvo (yes, moar planned for the weeks before the 14th) are Miyawaki Yukino's Bitter Trap, obviously NOT Takagi Shigeyoshi's Kingdom of The Beast one-shot that bears the same title (this Older Female/Younger Male ChuChu manga serialized in Cherry); Shibano Yuka's Music/Vocalist-troped Diamond Beat; Konno Risa's I Love You, Sensei!; Yoshinaga Yuu's One sided Love; Kosaka Mariko's Powerful Cheers!!; the triple-launch of Chiba Kozue's Music, Singer, Painful Past, Possessive Lover, Angst Lonely Without You series; and the premieres of Usami Maki's Naive Female Lead, Platonic Love, Tease Love Button and Minase Ai's Shy Girl/Megane Bishie/Photography Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ that merited the lead for its terminal Awww-someness. (Talk about burying the lead or lede.)

The overlong babble and reviews have been tucked below the manga list.

m&c! regular manga and manhwa (2011.01.19)

1. Bleach 36 of 48+ by Kubo Tite

Bleach 「ＢＬＥＡＣＨ－ブリーチ－」 by Kubo Tite Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump, shounen Volume 36 first published in Japan 2008.12

Volume 36: Turn Back The Pendulum contains chapters:
-108. Turn Back The Pendulum
-107. Turn Back The Pendulum 2
-106. Turn Back The Pendulum 3
-105. Turn Back The Pendulum 4
-104. Turn Back The Pendulum 5
-103. Turn Back The Pendulum 6
-102. Turn Back The Pendulum 7
-101. Turn Back The Pendulum 8
-100. Turn Back The Pendulum 9

Awards
Best Shounen Manga, 50th Shogakukan Manga Awards

Other languages
English Bleach (VIZ Media: volume 33 per 2010.12 • volume 34 street date: 2011.03.01), French (Glénat; tome 40 shipped 2011.01.05), Spanish (Glénat in Spain, Grupo Editorial Vid in Mexico), German (TOKYOPOP Germany), Dutch (Kana), Russian (Эксмо), Polish (JPF), Portuguese (Planet Manga) and simplified Chinese (Chuang Yi: volume 48 per 2011.01.18)

Related
Kubo Tite and Makoto Matsubara co-authored two Bleach novels: BLEACH-letters from the other side: The Death and The Strawberry (Japan release: 2004.12) and BLEACH: The Honey Dish Rhapsody (2006.10).

The Bleach All Colour But The Black artbook, compiling color spreads from manga volumes 1 through 19 with original art and author annotations, released in Japan (2006.12), USA (The Art of Bleach, 2008.10) and France (All colour but the black: Recueil des illustrations de Bleach, 2008.11).

Companion guidebooks have also been published: Bleach SOULs and Bleach VIBEs released 2006.02 in Japan (The English Bleach SOULs. Official Character Book shipped 2008.11 in North America, while the French version streeted 2009.11). A third Bleach Official Bootleg: KaraBuri+ guidebook released 2007.08 in Japan. (English Color Bleach+: The Bleach Official Bootleg street date: 2010.08.10.)

Adaptations
Studio Pierrot's Bleach anime adaptation first broadcast in October 2004, continuing to this day. Season 14 opened with episode 266 in April 2010; latest episode 305 aired 2011.01.18). Seiyuu Morita Masakazu and Orikasa Fumiko star as Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, with Park Romi and Namikawa Daisuke playing 10th Division captain Hitsugaya Toshiro and Arrancar Ulquiorra Cifer respectively. Two OAVs and four theatrical movies—Memories of Nobody, The DiamondDust Rebellion, Another Hyōrinmaru, Fade to Black, I Call Your Name and Bleach: The Hell Verse—have been released. Additionally, Warner Bros. has confirmed it will be producing a Bleach live-action film.

At least eight drama CDs have been produced. Featuring the original anime cast, the drama CDs were bundled with the DVDs.

Bleach has also been adapted into rock musicals (spanning the the Substitute and Soul Society arcs). The first musical had its performance run in August 2005.

2. Goong [Palace Story] 22 of 24+ by Park SoHee

Goong 「궁(宮)」 by Park SoHee Seoul Cultural Publishers Wink, soonjung Volume 22 first published in Korea 2010.03

Other languages
English Goong: The Royal Palace (Yen Press: volume 10 per 2010.12 • volume 11 street date: 2011.05.31), French Palais (Samji Editions: tome 10 per 2011.01.20 • tome 11 ships 2011.02.03), Japanese (Shinshokan/Un Poco Comics: らぶきょん　ＬＯＶＥ　ｉｎ景福宮 volume 23 per 2010.10)

Adaptations
Live-action Princess Hours, starring Yoon EunHye (ChaeKyeong), Joo JiHoon (Shin), Kim JeongHoon (Yul) and Song Ji Hyo (HyoRin) aired in Korea from January to March 2006. The Goong S spin-off aired on the same MBC network from January to March 2007.

m&c! Valentine manga: Love is Everywhere (2011.01.19)

1. Bitter Trap by Miyawaki Yukino

Bitter Trap 「Ｂｉｔｔｅｒ　Ｔｒａｐ」 by Miyawaki Yukino Shogakukan ChuChu, shoujo This volume first published in Japan 2009.08

Serializations
Indonesian Cherry (concluded)

2. Diamond Beat by Shibano Yuka

Diamond Beat 「ダイヤモンド　ビート」 by Shibano Yuka Shogakukan Betsucomi, shoujo This anthology first published in Japan 2010.02

3. I Love You, Sensei! (Sensei Datte Otoshigoro ♥) by Konno Risa

Sensei Datte Otoshigoro 「先生だってお年ごろ」 by Konno Risa Shogakukan Betsucomi, shoujo This anthology first published in Japan 2009.06

4. [Series Premiere] Lonely Without You (Hitoribocchi wa Samishikute) 1 of 3 by Chiba Kozue

Hitoribocchi wa Samishikute 「ひとりぼっちはさみしくて」 by Chiba Kozue Shogakukan Sho-Comi, shoujo Volume 1 first published in Japan 2009.03

5. Lonely Without You (Hitoribocchi wa Samishikute) 2 of 3 by Chiba Kozue

Volume 2 first published in Japan 2009.06

6. Lonely Without You (Hitoribocchi wa Samishikute) 3 of 3 by Chiba Kozue [Finale]

Volume 3 first published in Japan 2009.09

7. [Series Premiere] Love Button (Kokoro ・ Button) 1 of 4+ by Usami Maki

Kokoro ・ Button 「ココロ・ボタン」 by Usami Maki Shogakukan Betsucomi, shoujo Volume 1 first published in Japan 2009.10

8. [Series Premiere] Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ (Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~) 1 of 5+ by Minase Ai

Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~ 「なみだうさぎ～制服の片想い～」 by Minase Ai Shogakukan Sho-Comi, shoujo Volume 1 first published in Japan 2009.12

9. One sided Love (Kataomoi no Mukougawa) by Yoshinaga Yuu

Kataomoi no Mukougawa 「片想いの向こう側」 by Yoshinaga Yuu Shogakukan Betsucomi, shoujo This anthology first published in Japan 2009.07

10. Powerful Cheers!! by Kosaka Mariko

Powerful Cheers!! 「ぱわふるチアーズ！！」 by Kosaka Mariko Shogakukan Ciao, shoujo This anthology first published in Japan 2008.02

Serializations
Indonesian Cherry (concluded)

[Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details.]

¹ Source: m&c! (artwork and release advisory)
² All GN priced at IDR 16,500.
³ Links like this are commercial Amazon search and/or product links (other language versions).

Love is Everywhere Previews continued

Bitter Trap by Miyawaki Yukino

Hime is famed among her school friends as a ‘Love Master’ extraordinaire, despite her inability to keep a boyfriend for more than two weeks.

Hime's life changes when she meets Boyfriend for Hire Kei. She starts dating Kei, little knowing the bitter trap about to be sprung under her.

Thoughts and Impreshuns
Miyawaki Yukino's art seems to have regressed (I don't like). Kei suffers in comparison with other Miyawaki-sensei bishies (I consider Brilliant Magic's Atsuki the bar). The lack of fangirl squee-inducing beauty equals meh, despite the Nice Try attempts at keeyootness. Random Hime boyfriends, too, are depicted as little more than name sketches. (I will come back to this topic.)

At any rate, the romance, which pivots around Revenge, likewise left me tepid which accounts for a grade of only 6.5 of 10.

For more satisfying Miyawaki Yukino reads, I suggest the aforementioned Brilliant Magic, the ½ series (½ Engaged, ½ Wedding, ½ Honeymoon and ½ Ceremony), Crazy 24 Hours, NG Boy x Paradise, Triangle Kiss, When You Look Like an Angel, heck even Seven Colors Girl (my gateway Miyawaki Yukino manga), Café de Romance or My Fragile Love. All of these were published by m&c!

I don't really recommend the likewise m&c!-released Lunatic Honey, Our Graduation or Whistle in the Heart but they're still marginally better than Bitter Trap.

Diamond Beat by Shibano Yuka

Though born into a family of renowned classical musicians, Satsuki has always been excluded from the world of music. Only genius guitarist Kiichi realizes the talent Satsuki possesses and makes her a rock band vocalist.

Satsuki thus spends days performing in concerts attended by Kiichi's fangirls (who may or may not know that she is now also Kiichi's girlfriend). Things take a turn for the worse just when the chance to debut professionally comes up. The talent scout makes the surprising condition: “I only want Satsuki.”

The Diamond Beat anthology contains the title story Diamond Beat, as well as three more shorts, 7 Days Cinderella, Yuki. Doki. Suki and Diamond Beat - Extra Story.

For Lina-chan's review of Diamond Beat (Rated: 8/10) and the gem that is 7 Days Cinderella, jump to the Comments.

m&c! has published all of Shibano Yuka-sensei's listed manga at Baka-Updates Manga: School Baby (2010.10.06); 1/3 Romantica (2010.06.30); March Our Hearts Together (2010.03.10); and My Summer Love (2009.10.21).

I Love You, Sensei! by Konno Risa

Twenty-year-old Itano Kayo (still a virgin) is overjoyed over landing an internship at a senior high school, but on her first day, the super naïve wannabe teacher spots a handsome student—tie unfastened and shirt unbuttoned All. The. Way—sneaking out of the infirmary. What's worse, sed bishie steals Kayo's first kiss! Ugh!

The above blurb obviously refers to the antho-christener I Love You, Sensei!, which spans three chapters. The anthology, originally Sensei Datte Otoshigoro, also contains: Happy End in The Other Side Love Trap and the I Still Love You, Sensei! extra.

Thoughts and Impreshuns
Lina-chan observes the same thing I did: that Konno Risa's I Love You, Sensei! resembles Tachibana Yutaka's Honey in its Teacher-Student Relationship trope, up to and including the Living Together and intimations of semut/smut (See Comments). I found this omnibus adowable and give none of the stories a grade lower than a 6.75 of 10. (Lina-chan is more generous; she gives it 9 of 10.) And while Lina-chan is tickled by the fact that Kayo and Takatoo-kun's mothers wholeheartedly support our couple's relationship, I lurved the manga-ka's quarter-column freetalks that let us peek into the name sketches for some of the most doki-doki moments and elicit LMAO! (The sketches show a BALD Takatoo-kun).

Konno Risa-sensei also created shoujo romances Muteki Kareshi (which contains the Amairo Omoi one-shot) and Katakoi Drops.

Lonely Without You 1-3 of 3 by Chiba Kozue

This is another Singer/Musician manga, superficially similar to Diamond Beat:

Introvert Nanahara Shio, a girl who loves to write song lyrics, dreams of one day becoming a singer. The school's bad boy Takagi Nao supports Shio's dream for he too wants to make it as a professional musician. They promise to pursue their dreams in Tokyo, but once in the big city, only Shio is offered a chance to become a band's vocalist.

The story continues —

So as not to interfere with Shio's dreams, Takagi leaves. But Shio realizes just how much he means to her. Her “Don't leave me; stay by my side, Takagi!” longing prompts Shio to write a love song dedicated to her beloved.

And wraps with —

Shio finds acceptance from her peers through her songs. At this point, her ex-boyfriend Shuu appears. Shuu also cherishes dreams of musical stardom, dreams he was forced to relinquish. Shio pleads with Takagi to let Shuu join their band.

Lina-chan provides a better synop in the Comments and explains why she eventually gives the series an overall grade of 7.5 of 10.

Before this series, m&c! published Chiba Kozue-sensei's standalones Falling into You Like a Magic (2010.11.03); Love Letter (2010.07.07); Hug Me Kiss Me (2010.03.03); 24 Colors (2010.02.03); Let's Meet at School Tonight (2009.10.21); and Secret of the 7th Lesson (original premiere N/A). Her current Sho-Comi serial is the childhood friends/love triangle-troped Blue.

Love Button 1 of 4+ by Usami Maki

Koga-kun helped a feverish Nina during the new students' acceptance ceremony and from then on, it was lurve, lurve, lurve. Nina declares sed lurve to Koga-kun who agrees to date Nina on a trial basis. Nina should've been over the moon, but instead she's dismayed to find out why Koga-kun asked her if she was sure she wanted to go out with him: he's one inveterate tease!

For [Nina], going out with Koga may bring a grim future, as Midnight Scans points out in its Kokoro Button description (excerpted by Baka-Updates Manga).

Lina-chan rates this series premiere 7.5 of 10, despite not being exactly enamored with Koga-kun nor Usami Maki-sensei's art. The latter actually places the courageous Lina-chan at odds with m&c! readers who adore Usami Maki manga. Among those published by m&c!: Caramel Milk Tea, Happy Couple, How Much is Happiness?, Love Sign, Orange Kiss (the first Usami Maki antho I read), Sakura Rhythm and Bus for Spring.

Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ 1 of 5+ by Minase Ai

Seating change is a big event, attended by much “Who will sit next to me?” thumpity-thump-thump. In Momoka's case, the heart beats are even louder because she draws the class weirdo Narumi as her seat-mate. Classmates say whoever sits next to the gloomy Narumi will end up boyfriendless. For Life.

But Momoka gets past her fear of Narumi to discover the kindness that lurks beneath the bespectacled surface.

And love ensues...

Thoughts and Impreshuns
KimiTodo meets Kokoni Iruyo!. As I noted Above the Cut, this manga brims with Awww...someness and succeeds where Crescendo for You fails, i.e., making me stalk Minase Ai-sensei AKA Strawberry Lunch. (I wants 37°C no Boyfriend, Dakara Ore ni Shina yo, and Sensei to Watashi STAT!)

I gave this first Namida Usagi tank a 7.75 of 10, but Lina-chan was again more munificent and gave it a whopping 9.5 of 10. GET! and see what the fuss is all about.

One sided Love by Yoshinaga Yuu

Whenever Azusa goes to the library, she always finds Iwasaki sitting on the same bench, staring outside the window with yearning in his eyes. Her constant observation of Iwasaki allows love to blossom, but what will happen when Azusa learns that Iwasaki's longing is reserved for her best friend?

Aside from One sided Love, this omnibus contains: When You Come to My Corner, An Angel's Gift, Low Sugar Love and Summer Sign With You.

Neither I nor Lina-chan got/read this (yet), so no reviews.

Yoshinaga Yuu-sensei also illustrated shoujo romances Hatsukoi Hakusho, Kiss made no Kyori and Koibito wa 16-sai. m&c! published Sinful Love last May 2010.

Powerful Cheers!! by Kosaka Mariko

Tomboy Matsuri quarrels often with childhood friend Tenchi who just loves to tease her. One day, Matsuri stumbles on Tenchi gazing in wonder at Saika, the captain of the cheerleading squad. Jealous and wanting Tenchi to also look upon her as a girl, Matsuri decides to give cheerleading a whirl.

Contains Powerful Cheers!!,Smile! Strategy, Class 6-6 Battle Kids and Fight Diary.

Like One sided Love, we didn't get this, so review nashi.

Iamque opus exegi,
~niki DBA 30uɐlnɯɐnɥ (花木蘭03)
(Exhausted) Mistress of Adoxography

disclaimer

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

other manga available this week (19 January 2011 street date)

• Elex Media: Detektif Conan 59 · Crayon Shinchan 49 · Kariage kun 38 · Kindaichi Special Case: Snow Spirit Murder 2 of 2 · Alice Academy 14 · Skip Beat! 18 · Defense Devil 2 · Palette of 12 Secret Colors 2 · Sanzoku Ou: King of Bandits 9 · Hero Tales 2 · Want You 5 · Ogawa & Team Saito 4 · Global Garden 4 · My First Mr. Akuno 3 · Detektif Conan 01 - 10 and 11 - 20 [BOX SETS] · Shonen Star 1/2011
• Level Comics: Red Eyes 14 · Love & Collage 12 of 12 · Kyoko Karasuma's Cases Files 4 · Priest 13 · To Be Beautiful 6 of 6 · Historie 4 · Nurse Aoi 18 · Boule & Bill - Ayo, Bersenang-senang

other invaluable resources

Baka-Updates Manga · 7net Shopping · manaworld · Wikipedia · ANN

Technorati tags

m&c! · manga · manhwa · shoujo · shounen · soonjung · Bitter Trap · Bleach · Diamond Beat · Goong · I Love You, Sensei! (Sensei Datte Otoshigoro) · Lonely Without You (Hitoribocchi wa Samishikute) · Love Button (Kokoro Button) · Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ (Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~) · One sided Love (Kataomoi no Mukougawa) · Powerful Cheers!!

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