June Statistics and July Announcements!

I went and checked the stats from Google Analytics rather than the Blogger stats, and WHOA! Our anniversary oneshot party was very successful! We had readership exceeding the height of Ouran, AnS, and J + K triple whammie!  Actually, it was our best month EVER! The "Lovely Vampire Weddings" compilation was incredibly popular.  Your voices have been heard and I enjoy stories like that, so we will be bringing you more from that publishing line starting this fall! We will also be bringing you more Nao Tsukiji starting in August. And we will now resume releasing oneshots regularly.  If I were purely looking at stats, it seems like the readers mainly want oneshots and "Magnolia". Haha! It makes me wonder whether there's any point to finishing Rex Fabula. I've already read it... sooo... sigh...  Anyhow, let's get to the June stats:

Top Visiting Countries:

1. US (CA, NY, TX, PA, FL)
2. Canada
3. France
4. Indonesia
5. Australia
6. Germany
7. Philippines
8. Spain
9. Singapore
10. United Kingdom

Top 5 Sources:

1. Manga Updates
2. Tumblr
3. Mangafox
4. Disqus
5. Batoto

Top 10 Releases:

1. "Lovely Vampire Weddings" Story 1
2. "Lovely Vampire Weddings" Story 2
3. "Eikyuu Shoujo"
4. "Lovely Vampire Weddings" Story 3
5. "Mayonaka ni Binetsu"
6. "Netsugen wa Koko"
7. "Otona no Tame Piano Lesson"
8. "Haru no Ame"
9. "Zutto Miteita Mono Desu kara"
10. "Shinigami no Aria"

Coming up for July!
We've got some concrete items on the schedule and some project that are being worked on in the background that might get finished in July. One of those projects in "many".  I'm quite optimistic that it will be released before the end of July.  We are also making nice progress on "LLLL".  Both of these are new short series.  We also hope for finish up "Hakamori Majo Bianca" and to take another big bite out of "Rex Fabula".  We will have a double release of "Magnolia." Chapter 32 is ready for release, but we're just waiting for it to be July already.  Also the first chapter of Akane Ogura's newest series "Kanojo ni Naru Hi" ("Becoming a Girl Day") is ready for release. Our July oneshots will be a combination of works that were not completed in time for our anniversary and three other works:

• Jinrou Chronicle
• Ogaku Mieru Otoko
• Lip Smoke
• Koi Koiegau
• Kutsunatsuhime

It should be a packed month! Please check the release schedule for details.  We are still recruiting for the summer as we begin working on oneshots for Halloween!  So if you wanna help translate, edit images, or typeset, please drop me an e-mail and I'll get you started!

Ane Lala Update: We're Holding Off

We're gonna hold off on Ane Lala for more evaluation. Looking it over more closely, it seems like a competitor to magazines like Kiss and Kiss Plus. These magazines mainly feature stories about young ladies fresh out of college and at their first jobs. Quite honestly, there's a sameness to all these stories to me, and the main characters usually do a lot of self-indulgent whining (or the series are trying to be "Nana" clones).  So I want to take more time to evaluate the offerings in Ane Lala instead of blindly jumping in.  If there's something truly unique, then we'll go for it.  But as of now, I don't see anything truly compelling. Honestly, I would like some stories with more fantastic elements and passion. It's getting kinda hard now as most of the mainstream shoujo mags are now hardcore and singularly devoted to high school love trains. BORING.

Banners Needed!

Are you tired of seeing this "Pochamani" banner day after day on this blog? If so, then make some new banners for this blog! Here are the requirements:

1. Dimensions width: 1250px, height 200 - 350px
2. Must be relevant to this blog -- this is a shoujo manga and anime blog
3. If you take a piece of art from a fan artist, get permission and make sure to tell me who to credit.

  (some pretty Tsukiji Nao banners would be nice)

Happy 4th Anniversary!!! Oneshot: 'Boushi no Ue no Oka" ("The Hill on Top of the Hat") by Tsukiji Nao

Hooray! We saved the best for last, or at the very least, my favorite of the oneshots we've done for this celebration. Not only is Tsukiji Nao a favorite of the group for her artwork, but her storytelling is  masterful as well!  We will be continuing to translate Nao-sensei works, resuming in August with the "Kiniro Kishi" oneshot compilation. ("Ogaku Mieru Otoko" should be ready for release in July. It's currently being lettered.)  If you belong to a group that would like to re-translate the next batch of Tsukiji Nao works, please contact me via email so we can work jointly. We already have an Italian partner and I imagine La Noche will be doing the Spanish versions.

And now onto the thanks! I would like to thank all the volunteers who have given their time and expertise these past 4 years to Omari's Sister. Without you, none of this would be possible. Your dedication to quality has made us a very well respected group :). Let's continue forward to a wonderful 5th year!

Speaking of going forward, we have lots of projects planned and lots of projects being planned.  Of course there's our annual spooky oneshot party for the month of October.  I'm assembling a slate of oneshots for that now. We're behind on our announced new series because some of the oneshots we worked on became series and some short series we thought were done were extended.  Haha! Such is life! Anyhow, I promise we are working on those new series. Expect in July the short series "many" by Tsutsumi Takeru and the first chapter of "Kanojo ni Naru Hi" by Akane Ogura. We will also continue pushing to complete "Rex Fabula", "Hakamori Majo Bianca", "Ore to Atashi no Kareshisama", "Wild Wing" and a good chunk of "Yuurei Apaato Kanrinin" by the end of the year.

And now I present our anniversary oneshot!

Tonight's Release is on Bakeneko's Lair!

Tonight's release is raunchy tale involving a very perverted hamster and a shy boy. Half of the proofreaders hated the oneshot because it was too vulgar. I thought it was hilarious.  So, if you're over 16 and love crass humor, head over to Bakeneko's Lair to read "Bright-Red Blushing Boy Akasa". (LINK)

Recruitment: Typesetters Needed!

Finally, I've figured out how to write my own scripts in a timely manner! I was transcribing from post-its which took as long as typesetting, so I decided to just typeset myself. But now I'm comfortable enough to type as I translate :). I know that sounds derpy, but I write all over the pages as I translate and write the translation on Post-it notes.  Anyhow, I would like to transfer most of my typesetting role to a small team of dedicated typesetters.  I would prefer to bring in people who have some experience typesetting and who also know how to create various special effects on type.  The commitment would be two projects per month (50 - 90-pages).  If you are interested, please contact me via e-mail at: omarissister@gmail.com

Opportunities:

• "Pochamani"
• "Rex Fabula"
• "Yuurei Apaato Kanrinin"
• Short series
• Oneshots

Oneshot: "Sokkuri Mate" ("Matched Pair") by Yuki Shiwasu

This is something a little different from Yuki Shiwasu. We're used to her doing horror comedies and piratey stuff.  She has another high school oneshot, which is quite good, but it has horrendous redraws, so we haven't gotten to it yet. (It's the same reason we haven't gotten around to "Unknown Madousho"-- I've been trying to give the group a little break.) Haha...hmm... Anyhow, the drawing style of this oneshot is similar to the other high school oneshot.  I like this style much more because the hair is so luxurious and lovingly drawn.  The storytelling is her usual cute comedy, so if you like "Furou Kyoudai", you'll like this oneshot too. (My brain is super-farty tonight, so I hope I just didn't write a paragraph of complete gibberish.)

On now onto the release!

Oneshot: "Daikyouen Mususbi" ("Unfortunately Union") by Mai Nishikata

The first oneshot we did was Mai Nishikata's "Small World". She's definitely one of my favorite mangaka, and I look forward to releasing more of her oneshots and series. 

This is a very cute New Year's oneshot from 2012.  I've been wanting to do this oneshot for a while, but it kept slipping through the cracks. The same is true for the other Mai Nishikata oneshots I've been hording.  Haha! Anyhow, we're making an effort to get them out this summer so, stay turned.

And now onto the release!

Short Oneshot: "Because I've Always Been Watching" by Hisaya Nakajo

First a plug!  Purely fanservice oneshot "Neko Hiroimashita" ("I Picked up a Cat") is out on Bakeneko's Lair.  It's safe for tweens and up, but just not appropriate for Omari's Sister. Anyhow... bishies with cat ears in loin clothes doing cute stuff and absolutely no story... have at it!  (LINK)

Hooray! Something new, albeit very short, from Hisaya Nakajo.  Her series "Hana Kimi" was the first manga series I ever purchased. This very short oneshot was a real pain in the behind. Some of the run-on sentence kept making us trip all over keyboards. Haha! Hopefully we've wrestling this spunky little oneshot to the ground and subdued it. I wanted to release this with "Netsugen wa Koko" because they are similarly themed... but... well, it just didn't work out right.  Anyhow, onto the links!

Links to Purchase "Lovely Vampire Weddings"

If you enjoyed "Lovely Vampire Weddings" ("Kyuuketsuki no Uruwashiki Kekkon"), please consider showing Kanari Hashimoto and Mika Kajiyama some love (and food) by purchasing your own copy.  Here are a couple links for purchase:

Amazon JP
Yes Asia

Copies can also be purchased through me for $12. This price includes shipping within the US. (If you live outside the US, it will be cheaper for you to purchase it through YesAsia).  If you are interested in purchasing this book or any of the other works featured on this blog, contact me at: omarissister@gmail.com

"Lovely Vampire Weddings" Story 3: "The Beautiful Lady and the Vampire"

And here we are at the final story. I honestly can't decide whether I like this story or the second story best. The main heroine, Josette, though is my favorite of the three heroines.  I like her pluck. Oh!!! And my favorite part of the story is this chapter's epilogue! So many doki-doki's!

I'm very surprised at how popular this series oneshots has been.  The feedback is encouraging and I take it that a great many of you would like more projects like one.  If that really is the case, then we can make it happen.

Anyhow, I had a lot of fun doing this project. I love editing beautiful artwork and I love translating lovely little idealistic stories.  I'm still a silly romantic. Forgive me :3. I look forward to sharing more confections like this.

On to the release!

Omari's Sister 4th Anniversary Kickoff! "Eikyuu Shoujo" ("Eternal Girl") by Akane Ogura

Our anniversary is actually on the June 26th, but I decided to expand the celebration throughout the whole month of June. Because we don't like to blow our wad all at once, we'll be releasing a new oneshot at least once every two days.  For this anniversary, I picked works that span the various magazines we pull content from.  When we started back in 2009, we were a Hakusensha focused group that mainly pulled from Hana to Yume and Lala DX.  Now we pull content from:

Hana to Yume
The Hana to Yume
Lala
Lala DX
Lala Special
Asuka
Princess
Petite Princess
Wings
Zero-Sum Ward
Avarus
Aria
Itan
Comic Gene
Kiss
Kiss Plus

Yes... I subscribe to many magazines, but it's all in search for the best shoujo and josei to read and share. I also have a nice library of materials for the group. I admit that I love curating all the works for this group. Anyhow... this month I hope to show the depth and breadth of works this group does. There's a lot more to shoujo than girl focused high school dramas.

To start things off, I've selected the latest oneshot from one of the first mangaka we started translating, Akane Ogura.  We took on "Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen" halfway through the series. Since then, we've continued to translate her oneshots and we hope to eventually release our version of all of her oneshots.  Her next work will appear in Lala DX 7, which comes out on June 10th, followed soon by another compilation of oneshots, which we will translate.  We hope to squeeze in the new oneshot during this celebration, so please look forward to it.

And now onto the release!