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Posts Tagged June

Digital Manga Tweets Tateno with Two New Boys’ Love Titles

Digital Manga Tweets Tateno with Two New Boys' Love Titles

It’s not the title I recently wrote my hopes for, but Digital Manga shows we’re still on the path of potential when they announced licenses for two new manga series:

A Murmur of the Heart – Makoto Tateno
A Waltz In The Clinic – Makoto Tateno

Both titles are boys’ love one-shots, and are scheduled for release as print and digital editions. When? Still a mystery. Digital Manga announced both licenses via their Twitter account earlier in the month.

Not only do these titles have the creator in common – who has had many of her works released in English over the years – but they both also cater to readers looking for some physical physicians. Of course it helps they share the same characters and locale. A Waltz in the Clinic follows a hospital resident who falls for a patient he meets while avoiding the advances of a physician in his department. In A Murmur of the Heart, that same physician is inspired to explore his feelings for a surgeon when he sees the resident he was chasing fall into a relationship of his own.

Amazon.jp has some preview pages up for A Murmur of the Heart, while we’ve reviewed a number of Makoto Tateno’s titles here on Kuriousity. Her titles are always lukewarm for me – I never think they’re all that great, but I’ve rarely found them bad. They sure are books I read! I’d be lying if I said the hospital theme didn’t pique my interest a little more than usual though.


Digital Manga Announces Return to Print with Two New Licenses

Digital Manga Announces Resume of Print with Two New Licenses at Fanime

Do you remember the time when all of Digital Manga‘s boys’ love books were in print? Sometimes it feels like only yesterday I was unwrapping the plastic from a new volume of Tyrant Who Falls in Love, and other times it feels like ages ago. And, yes, the irony of their company name to the woes of them going almost entirely digital for a while does not escape me.

Digital Manga’s print hiatus is soon coming to an end, and the company confirmed upcoming dates along with announcing two new licenses at their recent panel at Fanime:

Apple and Honey – Hideyoshico
Apple and Honey: His Rose Colored Life – Hideyoshico
Wolf Magic – Natsuki Zippo

All three titles are one-shots, with the first two connected by some overlap in the collection of short stories that make them up. This is the first time either artist has had works released in English. Digital Manga hasn’t yet given dates for their publication. It seems likely all three books will be published under the company’s June imprint.

According to Digital Manga’s release schedule, their next boys’ love book in print will be the one shot, A New Season of Young Leaves. The release schedule also includes updated release times for most of their upcoming titles. While SuBLime‘s excellent book selection has done a great job filling the hole left by Digital Manga’s hiatus, I am glad to see the company back to its’ BL book roots and will definitely continue purchasing what they put out as they become available again.

Other little news tidbits from the panel include word that DMP will, at some time in the future, be releasing the last volume of Vampire Hunter D and the second volume of Castle Mango. They also said that they do plan to have Yaoi-Con back for 2014 (it was cancelled for 2013), but do not yet have a date or location. Digital Manga also plans to slow their licensing over the next six months and launch some new Kickstarters in the new year.

Credit for the details goes to AnimeNewsNetwork and Deb Aoki.


Swag Bag: Prequel, Vampires and Caramel Pudding

Swag Bag:  Prequels, Vampires and Caramel Pudding

Swag Bag time! I had a little shopping hiatus the past month, but, believe me, I’ve made up for it in the last couple weeks. So, without further ado, here’s the first of a few Swag Bag posts to cover it all!

To start things off with a dose of boys’ love, I bought the Digital Manga oneshot, Caramel. My first impression was that the little guy has really silly looking hair. Second impression was it looks adorable. Both were correct – the little guy had silly hair and the story was super sweet, albeit a little sad being so short.

My impulse purchase of the day was Dark Horse‘s Blood-C (Vol.01). I don’t have any real interest in the Blood franchise, and my knowledge of this anime stops at CLAMP’s involvement. Still, the cover was really nice and the interior artwork looked good too. It looks very CLAMP-like actually, I’d say very likely inspired by their more recent works such as Tsubasa. We’ll see how the monster hunting itself entertains as I read it.

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Vol.11)

Something that is never impulse and always a must-have-right-now is Naoki Urasawa’s work. This week that was 21st Century Boys (Vol.02). It’s the last volume in the 20th Century Boys story. It’s so weird knowing this series is now done after all these years. I’ve already read this final volume and I’ve gotta say… I can’t remember who ‘that’ is. Oops. Time to re-read!

It never stops being weird buying a new volume of Fushigi Yugi though, such as this week’s Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Vol.11). Now this is a series I’ve been reading a long time. It was one of my first manga from back in the Animerica Extra days of serialization. This prequel series only has one volume left, however, and the downside to it being a prequel is we all know how it’s going to end. So sad! But it’s so good.

Then it was meta territory with Bakuman (Vol. 18) – manga about making manga! This series is fantastic; I adore every volume, even with the awkward romantic subplots. This volume addresses the intensity of manga deadlines when the two leads launch yet another series. How many pages a month!? Freaky.

I finished off my Viz Media purchases with Pokemon Adventures (Vol.15) and Afterschool Charisma (Vol.07). There was quite a wait since the last volumes of each but fortunately neither are especially complicated in the plot department (though telling the clones apart in Afterschool Charisma isn’t always easy).

And then what’s a week without an omnibus? I’m a few months late on this one but I was pleased to buy Young Miss Holmes (Casebook 3-4). The first volume was cute with this precocious niece of Sherlock Holmes solving mysteries. I loved the short cameo from the dowdy Sherlock and Watson as well.

And then lastly for manga I had to nab a digital copy of Sword and Mist, released by SuBLime. It’s a digital only release but I’ve made my peace with these as an occasional thing, and I can’t deny that SuBLime puts out a great product. This title was a must have because it’s by Hayate Kuku. She’s only had one other series released in English – Love Sickness by Digital Manga – but I really loved it. Her masculine characters and sense of humor reminds me a lot of one of my BL favorites, Naono Bohra, who unfortunately hasn’t been as embraced by English publishers as I’d like. In any case, Sword and Mist! It’s got manly men, assassins, feudal China and cross-dressing – how could I resist?

The Adventures of Superhero GirlAnd then finally was a new book by a friend of mine, Faith Erin Hicks. Out now from Dark Horse is a hardcover, full color compilation of her web comic, The Adventures of Superhero Girl. It’s been a while since I read these comic strips so it’s been fun re-experiencing all the funny in-jokes about comics and super heroes. It’s an entertaining and worthwhile purchase for sure, and I’m looking forward to finishing it cover to cover again.


Review: Sky Link

Sky Link

Manga-ka: Shiro Yamada
Publisher: Juné
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2011

Synopsis: “The sky was a bright shade of blue on the first day of university and Ritsuki Ban hopes for a fresh start. As mysterious past regrets continue to linger in his mind, Ritsuki collides into a man who takes on an immediate interest in Ritsuki’s looks— a man whom he later discovers, is one of his new professors! The confident Professor Takagi does nothing to hide his feelings towards Ritsuki; however the reclusive Ritsuki refuses to become teacher’s pet. As Ritsuki and Takagi find themselves sky gazing together one day, they are moved by each other’s expressions and begin to find out more about each other.”

Clichés can be executed well. Sometimes a manga-ka can take a situation that has been done a thousand times before and still make it sing. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with Sky Link. Shiro Yamada’s story only highlights how absurd and tired these clichés can be.

Read more…


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – January 2, 2013

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - January 2, 2013

It’s the first new manga of 2013! 2012 went out soft with no new volumes of manga released in its last week, but distributors and publishers worked to ensure that the new year was much more stacked to start. Get those gift cards ready!

You can read my thoughts on the new year’s first week of releases over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

Bleach (Vol.54) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Cage of Eden (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Caramel [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Dengeki Daisy (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Heroman (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Hunter x Hunter (Vol.29) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
I’ve Seen It All (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Jiu Jiu (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Love Makes Everything Right [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Message to Adolf (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Ninth Life Love [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Oresama Teacher (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Otomen (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Psyren (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Strobe Edge (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Ultimo (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – November 21, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - November 22, 2012

Bathtubs! Bathtubs! Bathtubs! The theme of my favourite book out this week, Yen Press’s Thermae Romae. It’s a downright classy book and I hope it does well.

For more of my thoughts on Thermae Romae and some of the many other books out this week (ahhhh, November you spoil us!), then head on over to my weekly On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – November 14, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - November 12, 2012

It’s week two of wow-is-there-ever-a-lot-of-new-manga-coming-out-this-month (aka, November). There’s a lot of variety this week too – new books, old books, back-from-the-dead books, boys’ love, shonen, 4-koma, shoujo,  whatever the heck Excel Saga is, and more! Ahhh, I wish I could afford them all!

You can read my thoughts on a number of this week’s books over at Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article.

07 Ghost (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Arons Absurd Armada Omnibus (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bad Teachers’ Equation (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Blood Blockade Battlefront (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bunny Drop (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Cross Game (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Excel Saga (Vol.24) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Inu-Yasha VizBIG (Vol.13) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan (Vol.06) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Missions of Love (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Nabari no Ou (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Omamori Himari (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Rin-Ne (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Secret Thorns [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sleepless Nights [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Soul Eater (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Soul Eater Not! (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Spice and Wolf (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Start With A Happy Ending (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Umineko When They Cry: Golden Witch (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]

Note: Links on the site are affiliation links for Kuriousity with any and all proceeds from them going towards our hosting fees.


Yaoi Con 2012: Digital Manga Deals Out New BL, Pups and eManga News

Digital Manga Announces New Manga Titles at YC 2012

Along with being the host for this year’s Yaoi Con, Digital Manga Publishing was also present still as publisher with licenses to announce and word of big changes coming to their online digital manga store, eManga.

Digital Manga’s new for-print license announcements were:

As Many as There Are Stars – Matsumo Miecohouse
Does the Flower Bloom? – Shoko Hidaka
Kinoko Inu, the Mushroom Pup – Kimama Aoboshi
(A) New Season of Young Leaves – Venio Tachibana & Akeno Kitahata

Admittedly I was surprised by how little Digital Manga Publishing how to announce, especially at what is now pretty much their convention. It wasn’t even all boys’ love they announced either, and while that’s not in itself a bad thing, this was Yaoi Con after all. And then there’s the fact that what is likely their biggest announcement – Shimotsuki Kari’s Brave 10 (pictured above on the left) – will be digital only and published via their quality-inconsistent, Digital Manga Guild.

As Many as There Are Stars is a boys’ love one-shot by an artist being published for the first time in English. I can’t say much about it except for a really cute cover staring a very androgynous looking lead (Amazon.jp). A New Season of Young Leaves is another one-shot boys’ love book (Amazon.jp), which I can’t say anything about concretely past there’s likely students, one has glasses and they very, very likely will be romantically involved. Yep!

As Many as There Are Stars by Matsumo MiecohouseDoes The Flower Bloom is a multi-volume boys’ love series by Shoko Hidaka, who has had two books released by DMP in the past (Restart & Not Enough Time). Currently the series is three volumes long and stars a budding relationship between a college student and older salary man who bond over a magazine they both read.

The two series DMP announced that aren’t boys’ love are Kinoko Inu and Brave 10. Granted, Brave 10 does seem ripe with boys’ love subtext and is also by the same creator of BLU’s Madness. I would be most interested in this one if not published via DMG, which combines two of my very few pet-peeves about manga publishing – digital only and poor quality control. Kinoko Inu is a one-shot title (though it does look to have a follow-up volume) starring a chubby little dog with a mushroom head decoration. And it’s… pink? Said ‘mushroom pup’ pictured in this post’s header image and that’s all I’ve got on it (DMP – please start including synopsis with all your licensing announcements, please and thank you!). Cute though, definitely looks cute.

DMP also announced new volumes of titles they’re currently publishing – Depression of the Antiromanticist (Vol. 02), Hey, Class President (Vol. 05), ZE (Vol. 08-11) and Itazura na Kiss (Vol. 12).

Digital Manga also announced that eManga will be going through a big transformation that will include being able to download their manga after you purchase it, giving readers a lot more control over how and where they read it. I don’t purchase digital manga often, but when I have purchased manga volumes it’s only been via DRM-free files that I can read freely on my iPad without internet dependence . Plus, no more point system! I’m a lot more likely to explore DMP’s digital-only library when they relaunch eManga this way, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they roll out in November.


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – August 22, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - August 22, 2012

It’s the week of threes! I have three top picks out of the manga this week and all are the third volumes of their respective series – Countdown 7 Days (Vol.03), Replica (Vol.03) and Gate 7 (Vol.03). All three are also some of the best manga eye-candy out there to my tastes right now so I expect lots of oogling will happen tonight. So, so pretty.

For the full list of titles available in stores and retail sites this week, check out my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – July 18-25, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - July 18-25, 2012

The recent lull of Kuriousity updates extended over to my On The Shelf article as well, but worry not curious list-seekers and manga-buyers (because I’m quite sure you were beside yourselves) – this week’s On The Shelf is a double-dose edition collecting what’s new and recent from last week and today!

My does-want-must-haves of this shipping stack include the first volume of Project-H‘s Velvet Kiss, Vertical Inc‘s classy looking one-shot, Sakuran, Viz Media’s new 20th Century Boys and the tenth volume of Black Butler from Yen Press.


Take me back to the top!