A Devil and Her Love Song

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Posts Tagged June

Review: Clan of the Nakagamis (Vol. 02) – The Devil Cometh


Manga-ka: Homerun Ken
Publisher: June
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “You’ve already met Keiichi Maebara and his mischievous friends in the Abducted by Demons Arc. But Oyashiro-sama’s curse is poised to strike anew in Hinamizawa village. When Keiichi spots tomboy Mion working at a maid café, he can hardly believe his eyes! But it’s not Mion after all — it’s her identical twin sister, Shion. Keiichi’s never heard of this “twin sister” before and suspects it’s just another one of Mion’s pranks. But through Shion, Keiichi is able to see a quieter, more feminine side of his best friend, even if it is all an act. As Keiichi spends more time with Shion, however, Rena grows more accusatory…”

I’m going to start this one out by saying I’m not really a huge fan of yaoi. I don’t mean that I don’t like it; I just don’t have a tendency to actively seek the stuff out. That aside, I couldn’t put Clan of the Nakagamis: The Devil Cometh down. Though I can’t personally say how clichéd the characters might be, I can honestly say that for all I know they struck me as charmingly unique in all the right ways.

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Del Rey With Kodansha Listings, Digital Manga Picks Up DQ License

Makoto Tateno's Premonition, Yotsuba and Akira

Some note-worthy new listings popped up on Amazon over the week and this time one of them even comes with a confirmation from the company.

Two new Digital Manga listings of interest: one is for another omnibus edition of a previously released series of theirs, this time Hinako Takanaga’s fantastically charming Little Butterfly (big recommendations from me on this one!). This joins the already confirmed omnibus for Makoto Tateno’s Yellow.

Speaking of whom, Makoto Tateno’s boys’ love series Yokan is now listed on Amazon from Digital Manga under the name Preminition. Some yaoi fans may recall this title as having been previously licensed by the now defunk DramaQueen (under the title Omen). Word is that several of DQ’s licenses have begun to expire after years of no releases, which means there’s a likely possibility for more license rescues in the coming future. Preminition, along with a couple other newer licenses, are now listed on Digital Manga’s website.

Other Amazon finds of interest includes two editions of Yen Press’s upcoming first volume release of Soul Eater, one of which apparently coming with a presumably-snazzy slipcover. Extra attention for a series with a big fan base? Speaking of big fan-base (which should be bigger still!), Yen Press will be releasing not one, not two but six volumes of Yotsuba&! this September!

And lastly, though my Twitter followers heard this from me a couple days ago, listings for Akira by Kodansha Comics (previously reported as one of the most solid pieces of Kodansa-related news the English manga world has gotten so far) are now all being listed as the following: Akira Volume # (Akira (del Rey)).

This isn’t the first time I’ve noted overlap in publishing credits between Kodansha Comics and Del Rey, who already has a close connection with the company and releases their titles predominantly. Of course this could just be a slip-up on Amazon’s part, though some other retail sites have the publisher for Kodansha Comic’s rereleases of Akira and Ghost in the Shell listed as Random House (of which Del Rey is an imprint of). Is Del Rey merely helping Kodansha find footing in North America? Or could Kodansha Comics show up as another Random House imprint as a more all-inclusive joint agreement for manga releases? Time will (we hope) tell for sure!


Review: Love/Knot

Reviewer: Shannon Fay


Manga-ka: Hiroko Ishimaru
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: February 2009

Synopsis: “On his way home one peaceful night, Keigo Someha, detective-by-day/assassin-by-night, discovers a boy collapsed on the street. He takes the boy home, but soon finds out that he’s taken in something troublesome. For one thing, the boy, who introduces himself as Emiya Nozaki, asks to be allowed to stay in Keigo’s house permanently. Emiya doesn’t seem to know much about household chores or ordinary everyday stuff. He seems to be keeping a huge secret, and he seems to have a knack for finding missing people- something that is invaluable with Keigo’s “official” work.”

At some point, being a detective replaced being a hairdresser as the stereotypical job for gay men, if yaoi manga is anything to go by. Keigo, however, is not just any gay detective, he’s also an assassin! And Emiya isn’t just any cute waif with psychic powers, he’s… well, actually, you’ve probably seen both of these characters before, not just in yaoi manga but in various mediums. And you’ve probably seen them done much better than in Love/Knot.

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Makoto Tateno To Appear At Yaoi Con, Yellow Omnibus Announced

yellowyaoicon

A press release sent out yesterday reveals that popular boys’ love creator, Makoto Tateno, will be appearing as an industry guest at this year’s Yaoi Con 2009. Digital Manga will be hosting her appearance and have already released numerous Makoto Tateno titles in North America, including both her boys’ love and shoujo series. This will be the artist’s first time attending the Yaoi-centrique convention which takes place in San Mateo, San Francisco. You can read more about Yaoi Con at their website.

Along with this news, the press release also makes official announcement of the omnibus release of Makoto Tateno’s Yellow series. The first of the two-book set  is listed for release in November 2009 and will include some “unseen artwork and unpublished content!”.

You can read the full press release here, along with other recent manga PR in my Press Release category. Edit: Some information corrected. Thanks, baramanga.


Review: Pure Heart (Vol. 01)

Reviewer: Shannon Fay


Manga-ka: Hyouta Fujiyama
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: February 2009

Synopsis: “Tozaki is a freelance writer who, through a coincidental assignment, is reunited with his first high school crush, Kurata. Certain that the once-popular athlete doesn’t remember him, Tozaki confesses his past feelings after a night of drinking together – but Kurata does remember. Curious enough to agree to a one-night stand, will Kurata develop the romantic feelings Tozaki always hoped for? Or is the relationship that follows between them merely Kurata’s way of humiliating his bookish, former schoolmate?”

If there’s one thing I like best about Pure Heart volume one, it’s that the characters are adults. Maybe it’s because I’ve been on a bender of high-school romances lately, but there’s just something refreshing about characters that have to worry about their career as well as their romantic entanglements.

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Review: Ludwig II (Vol. 01)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo


Manga-ka: You Higuri
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: June 2009

Synopsis: “Ludwig II, the King of Bavaria, has unthinkable wealth and legions of retainers at his disposal… but he’s the victim of a madness that is capable of turning reality into a mere shadow! Has passionate fantasies and hunger for life’s most unreachable beauties seize control of his every waking thought and transport him away from the dire day-to-day problems of conflict-riddled Europe and into a hypnotic dreamscape of his own design. But when the shy and handsome footman Hornig suddenly appears, the King finds himself irresistibly drawn to the sweet boy’s innocence and pure heart. Will Ludwig’s spell of isolation finally be broken… by love?”

A loose retelling of the days of true-life historical figure, Ludwig II, the book opens with a brief, event-to-event summary of Ludwig’s life up until his death, foreshadowing the apparent end result of the story as a whole. Ludwig II himself is set up by this opening chapter as an introverted dreamer with his own unique take on the world, a seductively torn character who is introduced to readers in more detail as the story progresses.

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Review: Live For Love

Reviewer: Shannon Fay


Manga-ka: Jun Mayama
Publisher: June (DMP)
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “Yasuie runs the Kiryuuin Detective Agency in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Nichome neighborhood. With no clients and no money, it’s a constant struggle just to live and pay the rent. For the past seven years, Yasuie’s assistant and partner Yoshiyuki has been willing to suffer through all the good and bad times with him – even considering Yasuie’s playful advances, which approach sexual harassment – but life has a way of changing things. Faced with his family’s ultimatum, Yoshiyuki must choose between a penniless future with Yasuie and a more traditional lifestyle. Can Yasuie convince Yoshiyuki to stay with him? Even if Yasuie does confess the true reason he brought Yoshiyuki into the detective business, will it be enough to change his partner’s mind?”

Yasuie and Yoshiyuki follow a long line of other yaoi characters that run a detective business, though their occupation isn’t a big part of the plot as they do very little detective work. They could be astronauts-in-training and it still wouldn’t affect the story all that much.

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Review: The Way To Heaven

Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Yamimaru Enjin
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: February 2009

Synopsis: “Cruel fate claims the lives of former boxer Moriya and former yakuza Watase off the edge of a busy freeway overpass. But the end for these two is just the beginning. Rescued from “ground zero” by a mysterious alien woman with magical powers, Moriya and Watase find themselves trapped in a world almost like the one they left – yet completely different! Appeasing the whims of their alien overseer seems to be the only hope Moriya and Watase ever have of returning to their former lives. Will the time traveling events Moriya and Watase find themselves in bring them closer together… or will they alter the past so much, it dooms any hope for a relationship?!”

This one-shot yaoi manga throws a sci-fi monkey wrench into the usual boy-meets-boy story. Watase and Moriya are saved from certain death by a female alien who needs their help. The alien wants the two men to go back to Earth and collect human energy. For Watase, that means basically becoming a vampire and sucking the blood of virgins. Moriya on the other hand, must collect seman by sucking off men.

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Review: Manhattan Love Story


Manga-ka: Momoko Tenzen
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “In the heart of New York City, florist Dan “Diamond” Loving makes his living selling colorful bouquets to customers looking for a little romance in their lives. Actually, Dan has a romance of his own – a secretive affair with handsome, powerful CEO, Rock Melville. Rock owns a good part of the city, including Dan’s own flower shop, and the business responsibilities which go with that make him a hard man to get to. For some, money and power can be a powerful aphrodisiac, but for Dan, dealing with a workaholic boyfriend has its difficulties. True, the time he does spend with Rock always warms Dan’s heart, but what good is a lover he can only see once in a while?”

Starting with the love story of a humble flower storeowner named Diamond, and his successful businessman lover, Rock, Manhattan Love Story is a collection of interconnected short stories taking place within unexplored New York City.

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JuneManga.com Recieves Its Overhaul

June's May Makeover

Following behind the Digital Manga conglomerate site, DMP Books and the recently revamped eManga.com, the next website revamp on the Digital Manga train is their original yaoi line-up headquarters, June Manga.

Along with a shiny new May-makeover layout, with much improvement navigation and easier on the eyes graphics, comes the following features that connects this site to those previously updated before:

  • Better search capabilities so you can easily find the titles you’re interested in
  • Sample pages for all of our published titles and YouTube previews for select titles
  • A regularly updated release schedule so you can keep track of what’s coming
  • A new blog that’s integrated with the rest of the Digital Manga website
  • A new integrated forum system that fixes several problems with our old forum

As with DMPBooks, the new layout change to June Manga also brings with it the new look June books will soon be sporting. My comments on the new look would sound like a repeat of what I had to say about DMP’s change, so I’ll save further opinion until I hold the first new book in my hands. Thumbs up to the look of the soon-to-be-released Ludwig II, however. Looking forward to that one for sure!

You can read the full press release under the cut.

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