June at Omari's Sister

Despite the appendicitis set back that began May, things went very well.  We plowed through a lot of series and had a successful trial of "Seirei Produce." We will be continuing "Seirei Produce" as a joint project with La Noche de los Caidos and Hayana.  The other two teams will be translating SP into Spanish and French, respectively.  I'm happy to report as we exit May, the return of Sephyna and Kuma-chan.  Welcome back!

What on deck for June?

• The "Kimi no XOXO" trial
• Orange Chocolate chp 14
• Akagami no Shirayukihime Chp 19
• Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen Chp 17
• The preview for Ouran Chp 81

Please see the release schedule for the latest on the release dates for all these series!

Orange Chocolate Chapter 13

Here is "Orange Chocolate" chapter 13.  Just a note so you'll be aware as you read this, the narrator changes to Ritsu towards the end of the chapter (pg 37-ish).  It's hard to convey this in English since English has no male or female version of "I."  Anyhow, this chapter starts to give us insight into Ritsu thinking and into Chiro's seemingly surprising confession. 

Link: Orange Chocolate Chp 13 (update 5/31/2010 minor correction from Kuma-chan)

Kimi no XOXO Update

Update 5/31:
Things have picked up quite a bit now that the fairy creature appeared.  The sweetness is quickly going away...yippee!!!!  There's hope for this :).
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I just finished translating the first chapter and it ended nicely.  I can't make the decision whether to pick up this series based on the first chapter alone, so I will extend the trial to the 2nd chapter.
update 5/30:
Next up after this is the "Kimi no XOXO" trial.  I've translated a little over a quarter of the first chapter and so far, it's different from what I expected (I was hoping for a farce...).  First of all, it's extremely verbose which slows the pacing quite a bit when compared to a series like "Orange Chocolate."  So far it takes itself more seriously than I expected and, over all, it seems to be aimed at late "tween"/ early teen audience.  My initial feeling from these first few pages is that, though it is not bad, there may be series that are more suited my and the group's taste than this.  I'll see if it picks up once the fairly-like creature is introduced.  If it stays on the sweet with light humor track, then I will complete the first chapter so people will have an idea of what this series may be like and then move onto some other series that I've flagged. If that happens, hopefully, a more appropriate scanlation group will pick up the series.

Last Day for Arakure on this Blog

This is the last day before I retire "Arakure" (Wild Ones) on this blog. Amazon already has volume 10 in stock and will, supposedly, ship the book on Tuesday. I already bought my copy :). Buy your copy through my Amazon Associate store and help put a little change in my pocket.

Link to purchase Arakure (Wild Ones) volume 10 from Amazon

To all you folks in the US, happy Memorial Day weekend. I hope you are having a safe and fun time. Me, personally, chicken wings -- 4 flavors. Hellz Yeah!!! I better get started on cooking.

Can Tiki has Cheezburgerz?

This chuckle is courtesy of Silver Lunar ;p.

"Seirei Produce" Chapter 1

It's here!  Here is "Seirei Produce" chapter 1:

Link to "Seirei Produce" chapter 1 (English)
Spanish
French

As you probably noticed above, we are working with Spanish and  French scanlation teams on this series to do a multi-language release.  The Spanish team is called La Noche en los Caidos and the French team is called Hayana. I'm very excited about this and I'm happy that this series will be accessible to more people.

Please give us some feedback on the first chapter of this series.

Sapphire Pyro did a nice write-up of "Seirei Produce" on Hyper-Parfait. Check it out!

Poll: Kimi ni XOXO or Orange Chocolate Chp 13 First?

Update 5/26 -- It's abundantly clear that most of you want OC 13 first.  Your wish is my command :)
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Please take the quick poll if you care and help me decide what to work on next.

"Kimi ni XOXO" Sneak Preview

Here are some sample images from "Kimi no XOXO" so you can see what the artwork looks like:

One-Shot: "Shinobigoto"

Here's the short story "Shinobigoto" by Kusakawa Nari. It's a little bit of a change of pace from the kind of story I usually select, but variety is good. I hope you all enjoy it!

Link to "Shinobigoto" English
(PDF)
In Spanish (La Noche en los Caidos)

Next up is "Seirei Produce" chapter 1!

New Series: "Kimi ni Kiss & Hug"

"Kimi ni XOXO" or "Kimi ni Kiss & Hug" (Kisses and Hugs for You) is a new series from Mizuno Tohko that debuted in Lala issue 7.  It looks adorable!  Taking a cursory look, the story seems to center around a boy with girlish features who has a crush on confident female friend.  Somehow or another he meets a fairy-like creature who transforms him into a fabulous bishonen.  Of course as this fabulous binshonen he rescues his crush from some bad guys.  The artwork is ADORABLE!!! And skimming the first few pages, though, cliched, the story might not be too bad, so after Seirei Produce, I will do a trial of the first chapter of this series.  I will put out a preview after we finish "Shinobigoto."

Shinobigoto Preview

Here's a short preview of "Shinobigoto:"

"Seirei Produce" Sneak Peek

Here's a small sample of some pages from the first chapter of "Seirei Produce."  Hopefully this will give you an idea of the artwork: 

We're currently working on "Shinobigoto" and then after that, we'll move onto "Seirei Product."

"Seirei Produce" Update

I can't sleep 'cause my stomach's rumbly, so I did a quick read of the first chapter of "Seirei Produce."  Basically, 16-year old Momose Shina meets a couple of strange guys in a park.  One of them is dressed in a kimono and asks if she believes in God.  Shina thinks he's a proselytizing weirdo and tries to get away from the guy in the kimono.  A little later, Shina gets very tired to the point of barely being able to move and she looks so sick that strangers are taking pity on her.  She goes to rest on a bench.  While on the bench, a crow starts talking to her and tells her she stinks (rude little bugger!).  They exchange words (Shina ends up choking the crow -- LOL!!!) and the crow scratches her as it flies away.  A little later, the guy in the kimono and his attendant show up in front of Shina.  Shina notices that the guy in the kimono has the same scratch as hers.  Some stuff happens, he pulls out a fancy fan, and then declares that from now on Shina will become his.  This, of course, doesn't settle well with Shina.  Anyhow, that bastard crow comes back with his friends and attacks the guy in the kimono.  Every injury the kimono guy receives, Shina receives too.  Shina gets fired up with fighting spirit and helps the kimono guy use the fan to drive the crows away.  The guy then explains to Shina that he's a "Water Mirror" named is "Amane" and that she is his possession (or more like he's possessing her).  She tries to run away, but it seems that they are now are linked, and poor Shina has lost her freedom...

In the second chapter it looks like Amane goes to live with Shina in her ramshackled place and by the end of it we find out that Motoko is trying to become a God and Shina believes that if she can help him achieve that goal, then she can regain her freedom...and that bastard crow shows up again with a human companion...hmm...

My initial thoughts are that Shina is very spunky and likable and I like the interaction between her and the wannabe God, Amane.  Despite Amane's insistence that Shina is his possession, it seems that Shina is firmly in control of the situation and of him.  For the most part this is a comedy and I can see no opening for romance now, and, because this is a series in Asuka, there's a good chance there will be no romance, but rather a strong friendship between Shina and Amane.

I will definitely scanlate the first two chapters and then we'll see where things go from there.  As always, I welcome your comments :).

The Princess and the Three Wild Beasts Update

Another blogger started writing a summary of the first chapter.  Here's a link to the summary. I'm not sold on it yet and I think there could be better series out there.  Let me know what you think.  Until then, the search continues, starting with a closer look at "Seirei Produce."

Orange Chocolate Chp 12 Preview

Here's a short preview of "Orange Chocolate" chapter 12

"Gliding Reki" Update

I cannot find a good source for this manga series.  It is currently available only online and I suppose given the trouble Mi Ciao/Kodansha has gone through to secure the download (and Kodansha's recent activities), it probably could be detrimental to us to translate and distribute an English version of this series without permission.

Some Thoughts on a New Series to Translate and Recruitment

http://deliporo.wordpress.com/I've been looking through my stacks of magazines and so far here's what caught my eye:

• "Jiu Jiu" -- Chp 1 is already out, but there hasn't been an update in 3-months.  The first chapter didn't impress me that much (the dialog is very flat and lifeless), but the later chapters look interesting.  I will check back into this series to see if the groups that did the first chapter are, indeed, continuing it.  If some of you have time, please read the first chapter (Link) and let me know what you think.
• "The Princess and the Three Wild Beasts" -- This series has super long chapters!  The first chapter is 80-pages and chapter 2 is 70-pages.   Another blogger started writing a summary of the first chapter.  Here's a link to the summary. I'm not sold on it yet and I think there could be better series out there.  Let me know what you think. 
• "The Shadow Butler's Mistakes" -- This series looks like lots of old fashion fun and easy to digest.  I will do a first chapter trial of this series too in either June or July. I took a deeper look and it's the typical super butler/ojou thing.  I think we can do without another one of those series.
• "Seirei Produce" ("Spirit Produce") -- It's a new series running in Asuka magazine.  I will do a first chapter trial in June or July.  The female lead character looks quite spunky ;p.

After translating the first few pages of the "Love Sick" chapter 2, I've decided to leave it on the back burner.  There are many more interesting series out there than this.

Recruitment for "Gliding Reki"
"Gliding Reki" is a short series from the same mangaka who writes the "Legend of Zelda" manga.  It's only 2-volumes long.  I will do the translation, but to complete the project, we need a typesetter and another person to do cleaning and image editing.  I'm also open to having someone other that me do the English adaptation from the translation.  This recruitment is only for this project.  We are also open to collaborating with another group for this project.  If you are interested, please send me an e-mail.  I am currently sourcing the raw and I expect to start this project in June.  We cannot find a good source for this series.

I will continue to look into new series.  Please continue to comment with your suggestions.

New Poll: Ukon or Sakon?

Top Right Corner!  Go take it!  If you want to elaborate on your choice, please leave a comment to this post.

"Kaichou-san no Konenko" Chp 2 Preview

I scanned the second chapter from a "Animal Special" comic book that came with an issue of either "Hana to Yume" or "BetsuHana,"  but I translated it from the tankoubon.  As I edit the manga, I've noticed that the two are slightly different...eh-heh-heh...oh well.  I prefer the tankouban version because it's more decorated than the "Animal Special" version...sigh.  Why did this happen?  Well, the tankouban was nearly impossible to scan without dissecting the book.  Oh well...here's a preview of what's coming up next in "Kaichou-san no Koneko:"

Retiring Arakure (Wild Ones)

Arakure ("Wild Ones") volume 10 releases June 1st, and, with that, the complete series will be out to purchase in English from Viz.  At that time I will be pulling the series from my blog and server.  If you like the series, I encourage you to support the author and the distributor by purchasing the books.  Also, this will make room for me to add new unlicensed series and one-shots for you all to read.  I will be doing the same with Ouran 1-month after I release the translation of the final chapter.  Of course, I have no control over the content posted at the manga aggregation sites, so do what you must if you truly cannot purchase the manga in your area.

New Manga Purchases: Week of May 2, 2010

• Otomen Volume 6
• Black Bird Volume 4
• Flower in a Storm Volume 1
• Trinity Blood Volume 12

Last Week:

• V. B. Rose Volume 8
• Za Hana to Yume ("The Hana to Yume") Issue 6/1/2010

If you wish to purchase any of the US titles, please support me and use my Amazon Associates Store.
To purchase Za Hana to Yume, please go to the Amazon Japan Website.

Kuroneko003's Appendix = Fail, Surgery = Success!

Hi All -

I had my appendix removed yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty rotten.  I'll be down for a few days...