New Bookcases

I recently purchased several new bookcases. With all the new space, I rearranged almost all the manga I own. After being over capacity for months, I’m amazed at all the extra space and snapped a few pictures.

Sugiura Shiho’s new manga to appear in Avarus magazine

The publisher Tousuisha and its magazine Ichiraci have made major issues lately: they’ve recently cut back to an every two-month publishing schedule, they lost Abe Miyuki, they lost Hashiba Maki, and now their best mangaka, Sugiura Shiho, is moving to a different magazine.

With the end of Silver Diamond and its side stories, a big question loomed: what will Sugiura Shiho’s next manga be? Her newest serialization is called Shuuten Unknown (Last Stop Unknown) and will appear in the May issue of Avarus. It’s a fantasy story about two men belonging to different (perhaps rival?) organizations that hunt treasure.

Treasure hunting? Sounds like more adventure, which is what she’s so good at writing. Love the character designs. I’m honestly tempted to buy the magazine and I never, ever do that. Either way, I’m excited to see information on her next manga.

With the departure of Sugiura Shiho, I can’t imagine Ichiraci has much to offer anymore. If the ship is sinking, someone needs to rescue Morimoto Shuu and Togawa Mitomo. Tousuisha used to be my favorite publisher and I love the hundreds of manga I own from their earlier days, so it’s been hard watching this obvious decline. However, as long as my favorite mangaka is still working, I’m good. I was nervous waiting for specific news about Sugiura’s next manga, so at least we know she’ll be okay and perhaps receive the same boost in popularity that Abe Miyuki experienced when she switched publishers.

Favorite Manga Purchases from 2012

Last year, I posted Favorite Manga Purchases from 2011 on a whim and I might as well do the same this year. I read a lot of manga and buy many unknown titles. Some I love, some I hate, some I can’t be bothered to care about again. That’s the risk. So it’s time to look at the manga purchases which were most satisfying.

2012 was marked by the loss of bk1/cheaper shipping for me. Three different orders took ~1 month+ to reach me (I’m not sure if the third even made it yet). So selectivity is more important than ever. I’m still reading some of the more recent purchases, so here’s my favorites of what I’ve completed thus far.

Shiny New Releases: Oji-san Gahou

It’s a good time to be oyaji-obsessed. Our ranks seem ever expanding and that just means more old guys in manga for all. Oji-san Gahou (aka Everything About Oji-san) will treat us to illustrations, essays, and comics from 40 different oji-san obsessed mangaka. Glancing through the contributing mangaka, I see both josei/shoujo and BL mangaka, so we should get a nice sampling. Some names include Kuroda Sakaki (cover illustration), Akimoto Naomi, Amano Kai, Arai Sachi, Inariya Fusanosuke, Ima Ichiko, Takaguchi Satosumi, Hiiragi Nozumu, Matsuzaki Tsukasa, Miyawaki Akiko, and more. It will be released on 11/29, cost 1260 yen, and be 100 pages long.

Shiny New Releases: Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai and NightS

2013 will start off strong with two tankoubon releases from Yoneda Kou! On 1/30, Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai Volume 1 will be released (ending on a god awful cliffhanger, I’m sure). Soon after on 2/9, a short story collection titled NightS will be released. According to her blog, it will include the obvious NightS oneshot, Kanjou Spectrum, and Reply.

NightS is my absolute favorite and I’ve been dying to own it in print form for some time now. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite BL mangaka, but Yoneda Kou would be in the running and now I’ll own beautiful books by her! I can’t wait. By the manga gods.. what will I have to look forward to for the rest of 2013?!

The End of Silver Diamond

The 27th and final volume of Silver Diamond has been released. It’s the end of an era for me. Silver Diamond is one of my favorite manga series and I don’t know how I’ll be able to say goodbye to it. I started reading from the beginning (so ~2004) and have continuously read every manga volume released. In 2007, I lost most interest in all manga and wasn’t reading much at all, but I still kept up with Silver Diamond. This sustained me until the manga addict revival in 2008, which was around the time I signed up for myanimelist.

Even though I read lots of manga these days, Silver Diamond time is special time! I need to finish an end of October release order to get my hands on the final volume.  Before that, I should probably post the manga I’ve gotten in the past two months.. oops. Whenever I get incredibly busy with work, I just don’t feel like writing. Things will calm sometime in November after my new outreach program is finished.

Currently, Sugiura Shiho is publishing some side stories for Silver Diamond, so that might soften the loss. I’ll just have to look forward to her future manga. Although I doubt anyone could be as hot as Chigusa. I’ll miss you!

Wild Adapter to resume serialization in spring 2013

Title says it all. We all knew it was coming eventually because Ichijinsha revived Wild Adapter by obtaining the rights, re-releasing Volumes 1-6, and releasing an additional artbook, but now we have a time frame. Spring 2013–can’t. fucking. wait. Until then, I’m going to have to reread one of the best manga series ever. Here’s to another decade of being Minekura obsessed.

Shiny New Releases: LE THÉÂTRE DE A ~A no Gekijou~

All those gorgeous stories that Nakamura Asumiko published in Gothic & Lolita Bible are being collected in an all-color, hardback volume: LE THÉÂTRE DE A ~A no Gekijou~.  There will be one new story, bringing the total to 16 different oneshots included in this volume. The release date is 8/27 and the sticker price is 2400 yen. I can’t wait for the chance to read all these and add this beautiful book to the collection.

Shiny New Releases: Ore Monogatari!! by Kawahara Kazune and Aruko

I found a high school shoujo romance manga that I want terribly.  It’s been a while since I’ve burned with such strong manga lust.  It’s because the main character of Ore Monogatari!! is a bit different this time.

For starters, Takeo is about two meters tall and weighs 120 kg (265 pounds).

The more typical-looking shoujo manga male character is Suna, Takeo’s best friend.  Despite their gap in appearance, they’ve been good friends since childhood.  The only problem is that every girl Takeo likes ends up chasing after Suna, who never accepts confessions from the girls anyway.  However, Takeo’s luck might be turning around after one girl seems to have eyes for him and not his friend.  If only the awkward and dense Takeo could realize it.

Takeo is as pure as untouched snow–a feature typically reserved for the heroine.

I could go and on about my love for this manga, but I figure that means I should just do full entry on it sometime.  Thus, I should save something for that time!  There’s a lengthy sample available online to satiate the hunger in the meantime.

Oh god, where have you been all of my manga life?  You’re late!!

Natsuyuki Rendezvous Anime Confirmed

It’s already official–we’re getting a Natsuyuki Rendezvous anime in July.  I can’t decide what is more exciting:  that I get to watch this anime, that this means more people will read this outstanding manga, or that more people will discover Kawachi Haruka and subsequently fall madly in love with her work (don’t resist–it is inevitable).  I’ll have to settle for spazzing uncontrollably.

Rokka looks so cute! And all the colorful flowers are still there!