"Magnolia" Chapter 34

This chapter ends the Masquerade party arc and now we move on to examining the fallout of Ayato's decision.  According to Naked Ape's Twitter feed, the next arc will center around the King.  I guess we're going to get to the question of succession and more about what Vincent is up to.

Anyhow... Sui apparently likes to touch everyone. He's creeptastic and confusing. Does he in anyway like Robert? Or is he only using Robert?

Hugo... hmm... I don't know what to make of him. He's looks a little love sick at the end of this chapter.

Welp, that's enough writing before I get too spoilery. On to the release!

Recruitment: Proofreaders and QCer's Needed

We're running low on active proofreaders again.  Here are the duties:

• Compare the translated version against the raw to make sure all the dialog and sound effects are present on the translated version.
• Check the translated version for grammar errors, spelling errors, and typos.
• Suggest better sentence construction if the wording reads clunky.

Workload: 1 - 5/ chapters per week, though proofreaders aren't expected to work on every project (that's why we have a pool of them.)

Requirements:  English fluency, attention to detail, a good grasp of grammar, and at least 1 free hour per week to dedicate to the task.

If you are interested, please contact me (Kuroneko003) at omarissister@gmail.com

"many" Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2 of "many". Thanks again to Peonine for translating, Suzume for cleaning, and Holanio for cleaning.  Hopefully we'll be able to get the final chapter out sooner (depending on whether there's an available typesetter.)

Onto to the release!

New Josei Series: "A Pair of Wing of Blue" ("Ao no Souyoku") by Fusanosuke Inariya

This is the last of the josei series we are debuting at this time. This one came out of nowhere in Haruca magazine.  I started reading the first chapter and I couldn't stop.  I strongly felt that this could be a special series, so I jumped on it without hesitation. I hope the rest of the series lives up to the promise of the first chapter.

Haruca comes out quarterly, so expect chapters once every three months.  The next chapter will release in Japan in early September.

And now on to the release!

Initial Exploration into Josei

In an effort to find some more mature content for Omari's Sister and Bakeneko's Lair, I've been exploring josei manga.  By "mature" I don't mean sexual and violent content. What I mean is content that revolves around women who are older than teenagers or stories that do not take place in high school or junior high.

It's been a hard genre to research because so much it is what I'd consider pornographic, and apparently so does US Customs, because certain magazines will get caught in US Customs for DAYS. And then there's the age difference manga that may get you in trouble with the law or, at the very least, on a law enforcement watch list. The josei waters are indeed scary waters to brave, so if you are going to blindly try stuff out like I am, proceed with an abundance of caution because the Japanese don't label their porn/hentai or inappropriate age difference content.

Leaving that topic aside, once you cross the "smut" off your list, the list of magazines to look at becomes a lot more manageable. This is exactly what I did because smut is not my thing. I'm more into the suggestive drawing with sensual text for sexy time. I'm still exploring content, but here's what I've discovered so far (my faves are highlighted in green):

Office romance and slice-of-life:

• Kiss
• Kiss Plus
• Ane Lala
• Cocohana
• Feel Young

Fantasy

• Aria (magazine is sold as shoujo but the tanks are sold as josei)
• Itan
• Haruca
• Nextcomic F (specials)
• Zerosum (Magazines are sold as shoujo)
• Zerosum Ward  (Magazines are sold as shoujo)
• Rinka

 Variety

• Petite Princess (sold as shoujo)
• Princess Gold
• Wings (sold as shoujo)
• Avarus (feels very josei even though it's sold as seinen)
• Rinka

If you want to decrease your risk of running into smut when blindly choosing magazines watch out for these signs (applies to josei, ledicomi, and shoujo):

• It's on your local Japanese bookstore's list of hentai
• The title contains the word "Renai"
• The cover image looks like something from a bad romance novel
• The women on the cover is half naked and doesn't seem to be enjoying it ("rapey" alert)
• The man is holding the woman's face as she's trying to look away (another "rapey" alert)

Also, watch out, because at least on Amazon JP, a few of the smutty ledicomi are listed with the shoujo.  Use the rules of thumbs above and you should be safe. This is a prime example of a magazine I would not touch: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00ECFY8R0

Since there seems to be a GAPING info gap with regards to non-smutty josei, it think it may be worth my time to do a more in-depth survey and spread some knowledge.  Perhaps armed with some knowledge we non-smut josei lovers may be able make better decision about what licensed and unlicensed content we read, as well as make more recommendations to US licensors than "Chihayafuru" and "Princess Jellyfish".

If you read Japanese and would like to help with this, please let me know by contacting me at omarissister@gmail.com

Also, look out for our josei releases!

Some Thoughts on Josei Manga

I've been following the Tumblrs and Twitter feeds of US and Japanese publishers. Lately Kodansha USA has been answering fan questions.  You should check out their Tumblr (LINK). This morning there is some discussion about josei manga. It seems the observation is josei manga doesn't do well in the US despite many attempts.  The exception is "Nana". This got me thinking about my limited exposure to josei manga.

First of all, I get bored with josei manga quickly. "Nana" got on my nerves, "Butterflies and Flowers" got repetitive and I didn't finish the series. I don't even look at anything from DMG/DMP.  I have enjoyed:

• "Sakuran"
• "The Midnight Secretary"
• "Tramps Like Us" ("Kimi wa Petto")
• "Paradise Kiss" (If you haven't read this series, you should. And please buy it to support Vertical Inc, a wonderful and passionate publisher.)
• "Nodame Cantibile" 
• "No. 6"

While thinking about this topic, I've launched a large purchase to check out the latest licenses (except for "Happy Marriage?" because everything I've seen on Tumblr about it makes it look rapey unappealing to me.) I'll write something up as I read my purchases.

Okay, back to josei! As for finding josei content for Omari's Sister, it's been extremely difficult. The vast majority josei are office romances with rapey softcore porn overtones.  I don't understand the Japanese fall-in-love-with-your-rapist fantasy. It's a disgusting notion and I can't and won't support it. There is also a lot of slice of life dramas... ugh... boring... I end up gravitating toward fantasy, supernatural, and horror series and oneshots. I particularly love fairytale redos.  I think that's also the inclination of the readers of this blog.  However, so far we are getting a lot of office romance licenses. I can't say whether this is a mistake or not. I also can't recommend buying this stuff if you don't like it, because it doesn't mean we'll get more different josei. Rather it means we'll get more office romance because the publishers will think that's what we want. It's understandable since the publishers don't have extra money to take chances.

As for performance on Omari's Sister, the josei works we have selected have been received extremely well. Our readers read the hell out of "Lovely Vampire Weddings". It blew past all of our other series 6x, with the exception "Kanojo ni Naru Hi" which is performing similarly well. Butakai Ouji also get a lot of readers and lots of positive feedback. I don't know whether this is bias because the selections suit our audience or whether this is a true signal that readers want fantasy.  Regardless, I would like to see a fantasy or sci-fi josei license to test the waters.  I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon because the US publishers are extremely cash strapped.

To wrap things up, if there's licensed josei manga you like out there, buy it so there will be more josei licensed. Money always speaks louder than words.  Also, if you have an interest in josei, let the publishers know and send them your wishlist. They may not do much about your specific request, but it's good to let them know that there's general demand. And as a personal request, get out there and support Vertical Inc. with your dollars. Vertical is probably our best bet for non-office romance josei, so let's do our best to keep the printing presses running!

New Series: "Magical Change" Chapter 1 by Homerun Ken

Continuing with our new series debuts, here is a comedy series called "Magical Change". It features two character types I love: Maoh (A Demon Lord) and Magical Girl who is actually a boy.  Hee! This series is heading off the wall, so if you like STOOPID, this is the series for you!

Here are our current retranslation partners for this series:

La Noche de Los Caidos -- Spanish
Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees -- Italian
Vampire Scans -- Portuguese

Without saying much more, let's get on with the release! I hope you enjoy it! We'll try to release this series monthly.

July Statistics

Here's a quick look at the stats for Omari's Sister during the month of July.

Top 10 Visiting Countries:

1. US
2. Canada
3. France
4. Germany
5. Australia
6. Indonesia
7. Philippines
8. Malaysia
9. UK
10. Singapore

Top 5 Releases

1. Kanojo ni Naru Hi Chp 1
2. Lip Smoke Chp 1
3. Magnolia Chp 33
4. Magnolia Chp 32
5. One-shot: Koi Koinegau