Archive for the Artists Category


Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 8 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)

March 3rd, 2022

Yippee! A whole volume of this manga in which I never once wanted to shake the daylights out of the creator!

Ahem.

But seriously, Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 8 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ) was… nice. No obnoxious jokes about Maina and Eripyo not being able to communicate in an excruciating way.

The volume begins with a nice juxtaposition of the Cham-Jam members delving into Youtube videos and dreaming about more opportunities (as well as Aya eating her weight in doughnuts.) This smoothly dovetails into several collaborations between Cham Jam and singers from other groups (notably, Reo’s old group Maple Doll.) Once again, the personal lives and relationships of the other girls in Cham Jam is the best part of the story.

And then the volume winds down and I steeled myself for the dumb joke du jour. And it came, as I expected it would.

There is a running gag in the series that Okayama, where Cham Jam performs, is best known for being the setting of the story of Momotarou. Cham Jam always brings kibi dango with them as a gift, because that’s the local souvenir. More specifically, because they can never think of another notable thing about Okayama. So, Cham Jam is invited on another group’s show and they are struggling to come up with something unique about Okayama, beyond kibi dango.  Maina is wearing a cute shirt and is asked if it’s a local exclusive brand. Embarrassed, she admits it’s a 480 yen shirt – at which point her adorableness is discovered by the world at large. Suddenly, Maina becomes “480-chan.” Obsessed with 480-chan, Eripyo buys things for 480 yen, talks about 480 yen, to the point of mania. (So, no change for her, really.)  At their next appearance, “480-chan” has a line of fans waiting to get a handshake! Eripyo is blown away that she’s actually got to stand on line to speak to Maina  – she is in heaven! Ecstatic that Maina has been discovered at last, Eripyo cannot wait to see her favorite.

When she finally sees Maina for the first time in a while, Eripyo starts to call her “480-chan…” but stops. Maina, for once(!) figures out what’s going on in time and asks Eripyo to call her to please call her “Maina.” Eripyo turns to the line behind her and calls out “Her name isn’t 480-chan, it’s Icchii Maina!”…then she turns back to Maina. I actually cheered, as she said, “Right, Maina-chan?” And Maina smiles and says “Right!”

I practically cried with relief. Thank goodness. A whole volume without once wanting to commit an act of violence.  I ought to give it a 10 just for that…..

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9 I didn’t hate a single page. It’s a Cham Jam miracle!
Character – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – They had a conversation and it wasn’t incoherent. 10

Overall – 10 There.  Good job, Hirao-sensei. See? You can do it.

You can find this manga on Amazon JP, Bookwalker JP (where I read it) or CD Japan, if you’d like one <bleep>ing volume of this series that isn’t utterly enraging. ^_^





I’m in Love with the Villainess, Volume 2

February 11th, 2022

I’m in Love with the Villainess, Volume 2 is a super fun volume of this story. In many ways, it’s the first turn away from goofy comedy to serious story. This volume contains the first of many conversations about sexuality and gender that this series will provide. I know I reviewed this back in February, in digital, but I wanted to take a look at the print volume as well. ^_^

For the first time, we really meet the three princes, the love interests of the game “Revolution, “and get to know their personalities. This is followed by the student ranking, where we finally understand that Rae, as protagonist of that game, is overpowered and formidable. And how obsessed she really wad with the game…and Claire.

This is followed by a magical battle against a giant water slime, that forces Claire to save Rae, but also keeps Rae on the lonely path she had set for herself. We know this because this is the volume where Misha asks Rae if she is homosexual. I want to stop and say that the art in that section is devastating, as we see Rae with her usual smile, talking about the old her, about how she’s used to her love not being returned – and –  how she’s convinced herself that Claire’s happiness is enough. Devastating…and irrelevant as we know. Phew.

And then(!) the volume wraps up with the lead-in to the Academy Knights arc…and more magic battles, lest we forget that this is a magic isekai. ^_^

Following the manga is a bonus story about Claire and Relaire bonding, which of course is ridiculously cute, and character descriptions.

Many thanks to Joshua Hardy on translation, Courtney Williams handling the lettering, Nicky Lim for the cover design and the rest of the team at Seven Seas for an enjoyable reading experience.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Service – 1 Very little for this series
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9





Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 1

February 7th, 2022

It is my incredible pleasure today to introduce you to one of my favorite series of 2020, Yayoi Ohsawa’s  Hello Melancholic!, Volume 1.

Minato’s goal in life, is to slip through without being noticed. This goal is difficult, as she is unusually tall, a little shabby and her voice is rough with disuse. She’s extremely nervous and afraid of offending anyone. So when she notices someone playing music in her school that, notably, has no concert bad, she’s intrigued despite herself. And…she has been noticed. The upperclassman she saw finds her, and Minato’s life is completely turned around.

Hibiki is a 18-wheeler truck of a personality and she’ll wheedle, cajole and beg if it gets her what she wants. A fair objection at this point is that she’s really not listening to what Minato wants and that may make some readers uncomfortable. If you’re able to let that go in hopes that Hibiki’s plan is pure of heart, I can assure you that it is. All she wants is to have fun and play music! 

As I said in my review of Volume 1 in Japanese, “Hello, Melancholic! is a story of a life redeemed from the darkness. It’s a joy to experience sneaking out and jammimg with Minato and a delight to see her lifted by Hibiki and given space and imprimatur to spread her wings and fly.”

But you don’t have to rely on me to convince you. Instead, let me once again share this magnificent 23 minute voiced manga promotional video from Ichijinsha. This is the promo video Ohsawa-sensei refers to in the author’s note. If this doesn’t convince you, feel free to walk away and not look back. But for me, this was a clincher. It even has an original piece of music, but for me, it was the color that nailed the point.

 

 

Minato has been traumatized, but Hibiki is a perfect psychopomp to help move past her trauma. By giving Minato a welcoming space – even if Minato can’t quite stop waiting for the other shoe to fall- she’s able to start healing. We’ll see so much more of that in the upcoming two volumes.

I want to thank Margaret Ngo and Marykate Jasper for their translation and adaptation and Mo Harrison for the evocative lettering. There’s no actual music in this manga, but the sounds of music making are very visible. It’s important for the lettering to capture that. Thanks to the whole team at Seven Seas.

Lastly, I’m absolutely delighted that we finally have something from Ohsawa Yayoi! She had a bunch of one-shots that became her Black Yagi/Strange Babies series, which I adored and I still hope to see 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei. in English one day. In the meantime, we have this three-volume story that is,something I wish we got more of – people being empower in small, but important ways, to grow.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 2 A bit, but Hibiki’s doing it on purpose
Yuri – 1

Overall – 8 because it’ll get better and needs room to go up. ^_^

Finding yourself and friendship in band. There’s nothing more I could ask of a high school manga.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 3 ( 私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

January 27th, 2022

In Volume 1, Oohashi Rei, found herself waking in the world of her favorite otome game and free to pursue the villainess of the game, the highborn noble, Claire François. In Volume 2, Rae begins to worm her way into Claire’s life, turns out to be overpowered and adopts a baby water slime that she names Relaire. (I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 2 manga in English hit shelves yesterday! So you can read that for yourselves.)

In Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 3 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。),by inori, with art by Aonishimo, character designs by hanagata, Rei and Claire, along with Rei’s roommate Misha, the princes of the game and other students compete to become members of the Academy Knights, the school’s student council.

The first half of this volume is filled with the battles for these positions…and they give us a better idea of the skills and styles of our main players. I will venture a small spoiler – they all get in to the Knights.  Having been made part of the Knights, Claire and Rae head out into their first task  – solving a late night mystery!

The final half of the book details the Knights’ preparation for the Founder’s Day event, the Royal Academy’s school festival.  The Knights settle on a gender-switch cafe and we get to enjoy the prices dressed as maids, and Claire, Rae and Misha dressed as butlers.

All of this is charming and wonderful, but I’m going to share my favorite panel of the volume:

Look at Thane playing with Relaire in the background! Isn’t that squee-worthy? ^_^

This kind of thing is why I genuinely love the manga. It’s the same story as the novels, but with little details thrown in that really just level it up. Aonoshimo-sensei’s art really adds points to what is already a fantastic story.

Because I bought this volume at Melonbooks again (in order to score an awesome acrylic standee) it came with this lovely insert. There is a comic on the other side in which they play dress down with Lene.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Service – 4 Dressing and undressing
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

 

I’m currently reading Ichijinsha’s brand new print version of the first novel, Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou ~Revolution ~, Volume 1 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-) and I’m not tired of this story yet!

 





I’m in Love with the Villainess Light Novel, Volume 4

January 17th, 2022

When we left our heroines in Volume 3, they were in the Nur Empire, and we have had any number of massive plot points set up. So, of course, the first half of the book deals with literally anything else.

I love the first half of the book so much. ^_^

In the first half of I’m in Love with the Villainess, Volume 4, Rae and Claire will be dealing with important things like a cooking contest, getting dresses for a grand ball, solving two murder mysteries, and opening a forbidden box. There will be discussion of rights and lives for for sexual and gender minorities. And they will, presumably, also be going to school.

And, then, in the second half of the book, our Heroines of the Revolution, will jump willy-nilly into another fraught political situation and shepherd the world to a shape we could not have predicted. But, because I am in Rae’s position (in a meta sense – she knows what will happen in the narrative up to the end of this novel and I know what will happen afterwards,) I also know that none of it may matter. But that is for Volume 5. I cannot *wait* for you to read Volume 5.

Chapters here are short and move quickly, whether they are serious of silly, which means that both serious and silly items have an equivalent weight in the overall narrative. And, indeed, some of the stuff that is silly, will come to be serious in time.

One of the major concerns I had after reading Volume 3 in Japanese was the twins. They are savants, clearly, but in different ways. Volume 4 goes a long way to sorting their paths. I hope, after inori-sensei finishes her current work, which I hope you will all be able to read in published format soon, she takes a look at the twins when they are taking after their mothers in high school, causing societal upheaval.

hangata’s art has visibly improved since the first novel, but this book still favors character over scene, so we have a lot of straight-up character portraits with little scenery.

It will come as no surprise that I love Dorothea with all my love. Competent, impatient, not prepared to suffer fools, the only thing wrong with her is her disinterest in food. That’s a fatal flaw.  Aonoshimo-sensei, the artist for the manga recently shared their version of Dorothea and I just completely lost my mind – just perfect. ^_^

So, you’re all set up now with the world as we know it. You’ve met all the players, you’ve learned about Dana, Melica and Kiko. And you are ready for them all the return home. Volume 5 does not have a release date yet, but my gut says it will be late summer, based on the release dates of the rest.

I read this on Bookwalker because I did not want to wait – the paperback will be released in late February.  Overall, it is a good adaptation but, I have one teeny weeny quibble.  Sorry. I know translators have hard jobs and I’m not angry or anything and probably no one but me cares. I just …could not cope so I made a meme. ^_^ I will keep this meme, and probably use it endlessly for the rest of my life, because “translating” itadakimasu into another not-English language is my personal path into madness. My head screams “Why!?!?” every time I see it.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Service – 4? Suggestive commentary, dress-up and Rae slavering over Claire.
Yuri – 10
Queer – 10

Overall – 10

Overall, this was everything was as fun and memorable as I hoped and I am now waiting for Volume 5!